-1-WOW! I'm actually doing a 7 quick takes!
I got up really early this morning, so I'm able to
fit this blog post in before I head off for the last
day of classes this week.  So glad to be
back, you guys.  I hadn't realized how much
I missed blogging. *Sigh*.

-2-
Best part of the upcoming weekend?  Adoration
on Saturday night.  Cannot wait to pour out
my heart and soul before Our Lord.
Let's just say we've got some things to
discuss....which means I need to
be working on my listening skills.

-3-
College is crazy! I've learned that the
energy level of drained is my new normal.
Midterms started yesterday (Whaaat?) and
I am realizing that these four years
are literally going to FLY by. One test down...four
more to go!



-4-
Currently I am attending a public
University and will finish my Freshman
year in December (credits from high school...
gotta love 'em!).  Due to the fact
that I have seriously been praying about
a degree in Theology with a possible
emphasis on high school education, I called
my "dream (Catholic) college" and am
starting the transfer student applications this weekend.
All depending on financial aid...with the soonest
transfer being Fall of 2014.  Prayers are very very much
appreciated!

-5-
We've been studying childhood development
in Psychology this week.  I know what babies
look like in the womb and how they develop due to
having seven siblings and pouring over those one magazines
in the doctor's office that show "what your baby looks like
this month!"  But WOW - isn't God amazing!
1 cell division + 9 months of development and BAM!
There is a baby composed of 1 to 5 trillion cells.
#prolife#allthetime


-6-
My life was instantly made better
when McDonalds released their pumpkin spice
latte.  Is it as good as Starbucks? Nope.  Is it
cheaper than Starbucks? Yep.  Sounds like a good
college-budget option to me.
Yes, I've had three in the past two weeks.
Let's just say the people at McDonalds need to
get to know me on a first name basis.  The conversation
would go like this:
"Good morning! I'd like to order a medium pumpk...."
"Okay, Chloe, we'll get it right out for you."

Epic, right there.
-7-
I forgot how hard it was  to come up
with seven of these!)  So here are some of my favorite
fall memes - see if you can spot a theme!








Okay, and since this is a Catholic blog,

I'll toss in a Catholic meme, too.

God bless and have a great weekend!

Chloe M. 

I Don't Want Easy - I Want Crazy....

(My dream of being a stay- at- home mom)


You're not hallucinating.....this is actually a new post.  Believe it or not.

School has been crazy.  This is an understatement.  I find myself often wishing that there were minimally twenty-nine hours in the day.  Who am I kidding....I still wouldn't get everything done then!  Between fifteen credit hours at school and twenty to twenty-five hours of work a week, I don't think I'm home long enough to breathe before I'm headed out the door again.

One of my latest assignments in class has been to write about my "Ideal Self."  You would think that writing about who you want to be when you grow up would be easy, right?  Wrong.  The only reason this task has been a challenge is because my ideal self is not very typical an eighteen year old college student.

One of the questions was : "In fifteen years from now, how would a friend describe your life?"  The following is my answer:

   Chloe is living a very simple and quiet life...but that is what she always wanted.  She may not travel, work the average 9-5 job, or be making six figures, but she loves her family and enjoys spending time with them.  She may not have all that the world offers, and her world may seem unbelieving crazy at some times.  She used to love dressing up and looking put together, and now she is just happy to have her kids and herself dressed by noon.  Her kids take a lot of time and love to nurture and teach, and, boy, she seems tired most of the time.  But she is content....which is better than a false sense of 'happiness' anyway."

Pretty radical, huh?  That would be the JPII generation for you.  Yet to be completely honest, I can't wait to get married, hold my children in my arms and be filled with the knowledge that I am responsible for their very souls and path to the Lord.

Here is where the double standard comes in, though.  Proceed with caution, here comes the great and dread vocation talk!

I understand my desire to be a wife and mother comes from God.  Yet I also know that I am where I currently reside for a reason.  The Bible says there is a time for everything, a season for all things.  There is a time to get to know a certain young man and fall deeper into a relationship with him daily.  There is a time to hold warm and precious new baby in my arms.  Yet there is also a time to be with my family.  A time to focus on studies and be a great student in fulfillment of my vocation.

Sadly, if the focus is so intent on what will come eventually, the daily beauty of everyday life is lost.  The hysterical comments made by little brothers.  The times of uncontrollable laughter with sisters over coffee and board games.  The in depth conversations with parents.  The bonding time with great friends.

A priest in confession once told me that we call the current time "present" because it is a gift.  (Get it?) What a waste, in fact, a slap in the face to God, to say: "No thanks...don't even bother 
trying to give me amazing things now.  I'm so concerned with what may/will happen that I really don't care what you have for me now.  Leave me alone until I'm ready to get married."  It's tough, but we have to take time to stop and smell the roses (as cliche as that sounds).  Enjoy the little things.  Enjoy your ideal self that is in the present.  God has amazing things He wants to do with you NOW.  Listen to Him.  Trust Him. (That's a hard one!).  Rest in the knowledge that He's got you in the palm of His hand...and what a wonderful place of rest that location is.

God bless you all!!

Chloe M.

The Super Hero Effect 

     If you haven't noticed, lately there is a huge infatuation with the characters of superheros.  They are everywhere.  In the movies.  In the media.  Both genders associate them.  Guys can appreciate the heroic values accomplished by the characters in the movies and books.  Yet girls have gone crazy over the notion of a hero.  Why is this?

     The answer is pretty simple if you think about it. Feminism has destroyed masculinity.  It has taken down the art of manhood piece by piece until what we are left with is men who are afraid to open doors for women lest they be berated by feminists.  It has left us with guys who are so hesitant to do anything along the lines of gentleman behavior that they resort to crude humor to get attention   Or, in efforts to be attractive and relate-able to a gender that pushes them away, guys start to be more and more feminine in words and action.

   

  It is then no wonder that we, the women left with the aftermath of the feminist regime (that unfortunately still has quite a hold on the culture) look to super heroes to fill a void that females themselves have created.  For the generation of Catholics raised on the words of (soon to be Saint!) Blessed Pope John Paul II, we find ourselves looking for something radically different than what the current world has to offer.  The young Catholic women are looking for a spouse to lead them to Heaven, raise Catholic children, and build a 

relationship that is built with eternity in mind.  This is strange.  This is not characteristics found in the average guy in your college classroom.  So, the girls turn to an infatuation with super heroes. 

    Portrayed on the big screen is a guy who is everything we want and nothing we normally see.  A guy who is ready to fight for what is important and love the woman of their dreams, to the point of death (shout out to Captain America!) Yet, we know that our dreams and desire cannot really be fulfilled in these fictional characters   Then what do we do about this dilemma?  There are two parts to this solution.

     The first is to encourage your little brothers.  Well, your big brothers too.  When their actions are commendable, and even when you can see that they are making an effort to act like a genuine guy, thank them.  Let them know that you see it and appreciate it.  All of us know that when we do something we deem worthy of recognition only to have no one say anything about it, the action becomes less desirable to do.  When a guy offers his seat to you, thank him. Same for when he holds the door.  I was surprised at school this week have a guy looked at me with a shocked expression when I thanked him for holding the door.  I don't believe that it is a common practice (both the holding and the thanking.)  Make an effort when they make an effort.  

     The second solution is to become the kind of girl that an authentic guy is going to want to hang out with.  Become "wife material" versus "girlfriend material."  Don't be the kind of girl that a guy wants to take home to do you-know-what with.  Be the kind of girl that he wants to take home....to introduce to his parents and be proud of.

     Will it be an overnight culture change.  NO.  That is a guaranteed no.  Yet is it possible?  Perhaps it will start small at first.  An appreciation of the gender-based characteristics of masculinity and femininity?  Let's just say Matthew 19:26 and we'll leave it at that.

God bless and have  great rest of your holiday weekend!

Chloe M.