Gaudete! Rejoice!

This may come as a surprise to you, but I don't often rejoice. I mean, really rejoice. I get happy at times, moments of joy come once in a great while...but to actually take part in the act of rejoicing? I tend to think that I'm just a person that doesn't have reason to do much of that.

A positive pregnancy test - now that would be cause for some serious rejoicing. But so far, that experience has escaped me.

But today, on Gaudete Sunday, we light the pink candle - the one that always got me excited as a kid, and still does, out of habit - and rejoice. What about those of us whose lives seem dismal and bleak, who are on the outside looking in, who won't get what we want for Christmas?

As our priest said during his homily this morning, we all have reason to rejoice - the fact that Christ died on the cross so we can spend eternity in heaven is reason enough.

Usually, pointing to something so big and huge - like, you know, the afterlife - doesn't really sink in with me like it should. That sounds terrible, but I'm just being honest. It is not tangible to me, and my infertility is here and now. The idea of rejoicing in this very moment because I'll one day, God willing, get to heaven doesn't make me mourn not having a baby any less. But, at least for today, I'm going to try to remember that I do have a reason to rejoice - and a BIG one, at that! We'll see how it goes.

On a completely different topic, I have some more aprons to show you. So WARNING - if you are one of my sisters or my mother and have found my blog and read it without my knowledge, I'd like you to stop reading because I'm about to show your Christmas presents. And I'd like you to feel really guilty if you keep on reading. And while you're at it, you should feel guilty for reading this without telling me in the first place!

Okay...

This apron is for my sister. I'm calling it (in my make-believe product line) the "Frankie" because a) that's her dog's name and so far all my aprons are named after the person-I'm-making-it-for's dog, b) it's similar to the "Sophie" but just a little different - just like the real-life Frankie (he's Sophie's real brother), and c) because I decided that while I'm naming all of my aprons girl names (for obvious reasons, of course - don't you know the apron naming rules?), Frankie can be a girl's name sometimes.

I'm a little nervous about it because it's a little eccentric, and it's not like I know she loves the fabrics or colors or anything. I was just drawn to them, but they don't really "match" in the traditional sense (although I think they match), so I went out and bought the cupcake fabric to bring them to together. I love it, but it's hard to make something for someone else. With this, I just made something I would like and I'm hoping her tastes are similar to mine, which they usually are.

I also didn't realize until I was completely finished that it's pretty short. It's a mini-skirt apron!


This one is for my mom. When I gave her an apron for her birthday she said that now she needed one for Christmas. I'm not ever sure if she remembers saying that, but she's getting one! If you're keeping track, this is still the "Sophie," but with a few additional embellishments.

I'm going to give it to her when we first get there on Monday so she can use it all during the week. 

Speaking of that, I am SO excited to go home! That is reason enough to rejoice!