Cheaper by the Dozen

"What movie should we watch, Landon?" I asked my 7 year-old brother-in-law after I put my two tikes to nap. As he inspected our small DVD collection, his hands snatched up a personal favorite, Cheaper By the Dozen. I love this movie! Not only does it have solid acting (ok other than Hillary Duff), but it encourages large family values (and I think they are semi-Catholic from one of the comments about looking at picture of grandma and praying a rosary...altho I DO note that they are not following Catholic values since Tom gets a vascestomny...I digress)! I happily agreed to watching the family flick and Landon seemed content, even though he "wishes our house had more movies".

Why do I bring this insignificant instance up on my blog? WELL, a few reasons: 1. I LOVE this movie! So if you haven't seen it in a while, or ever, and live close by, just let me know and I will gladly loan it to you to watch with a big bowl of popcorn. 2. I think this movie embodies a LOT of my thoughts when it comes to having a large family... I mean when people ask us how many kids we want, our first reaction is "As many as God blesses us with..." followed immediately with "But I would LOVE to have at least 12; two basketball teams with some subs! And hopefully, we can help fill in some slots for the priesthood shortage :)"

And lastly 3. This weekend kicks off the National Natural Family Planning Awareness Week! YAY! If you haven't ever really sunk your teeth in the Church's teachings on NFP, this week is a perfect invitation to do so, whether you are single or married. This past weekend, Super Hubby gifted me with a brand new book to read, it's called " Life-Giving Love: Embracing God's Beautiful Design for Marriage" written by Kimberly Hahn (yes, Scott Hahn's wife!). I'm only 40 pages in and ALREADY I am so amazed!! I would suggest EVERY woman, regardless of age, to read it! Kimberly's approach is an easy-read as well as enjoyable since it brings basic language to Church's teachings which can be hard to swallow at times.

"Sometimes people approach others in a blunt way: 'Here's the Church's teaching. Tough it out. Others did!' This approach makes us feel bound in chains from which there is no escape. That is not the way of truth spoken in love. Rather than binding us, truth liberates us to be all we were created to be. That is why Jesus said, 'You will know the truth and the truth will make you free!' (Jn. 8:32)" - Kimberly states in her introduction... SO TRUE!

But this upcoming week, there will be many reflections on how amazing NFP is as a gift to us as Catholics, married couples, parents, everyone basically. So strap in and get ready for some awesomeness!