happy feast of the annunciation!

Today's feast day holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. Not only is it one of my favorite Marian feasts, but four years ago today Bradley asked me to be his girlfriend! I made a pizza, we prayed a rosary together and then watched the Sound of Music (he knew even then how to love me best).

Since I've discovered I'm expecting a little boy, my devotion to the Blessed Mother has only grown stronger.  I feel like I can pray with a new understanding of how Our Lady must have felt during those 9 months of waiting for her son and her Savior to enter into the world. 

                              "The Annunciation after Duccio" by Michelle Arnold Paine

Reflecting on today's feast, I flash back to when I found out I was expecting a baby and I experience the array of emotions all over again.  I was excited, scared, nervous, and filled with overwhelming JOY.  I also questioned a lot if I could actually do this and I told God I SURE hoped He knew what He was doing (side note: of course He does because, duh, He's God and His plan is way better than anything I could ever decide for myself).   Our Lady probably felt a lot of those emotions as well (Luke 1:30) , but instead of questioning, she humbly responded with her heartfelt fiat in Luke 1:38 - “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”  

When I am too scared to say yes to God, I ask Our Lady if she will lend me her yes so that I may have the courage to do what is asked of me. Her simple "yes" changed the world, and if I freely give my own yes to Christ, who knows what He will do through me.

Today also serves as a beautiful reminder that my job to bring this soul to heaven begins now.   A priest recently told me that Mary acted as the world's first missionary when she was carrying our Lord because she brought Him physically to everyone she met.  Expectant mothers have a beautiful call to bring their children to Christ as a child grows in her womb -- to daily prayer, to Adoration, and to mass so that they can physically receive the gift of Christ in the Eucharist. 
Catechizing our children begins in the womb, not after.

So on this feast of the Annunciation, let's rejoice that Our Lord has come!  Let's pray for all expectant mothers that they may have the courage to say "yes" to God's plan for them.  Praise God for the gift that is life!

“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine.  It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” - Theology of the Body, St. John Paul the Great.

a beautiful baby shower (+ gender reveal)

We had my baby shower today in Louisiana and I couldn't wait to share with all of you! I had been looking forward to this day for so long, and to see everyone help celebrate this sacred time in my life was one of the most amazing feelings I've ever had. There is nothing more humbling than having the people you admire most in the world shower you with their love.  This baby is already so spoiled ;)

B and I kept the gender a secret (we found out in January!!!) until we could tell everyone in person.  I used a balloon filled with confetti to deliver the news. 

Anddddddd it's a.....

BOYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or in the words of my 1 year old niece "oh BOY!"

the aftermath

These are the only photos I have on my phone, but will post more later.  I want to thank my aunts for throwing me the best shower I could have ever imagined. To all the friends + family who traveled (cough cough Lucie who flew from D.C. and my sister-in-law Katherine who traveled even being million months pregnant) THANK YOU.  Baby and I felt so special.  We love you and I know he can't wait to meet each of you!!!

A warm welcome

The Little Fossi Way blog is official! What am I doing?! I am so excited (and a bit nervous!) to share this space with you all and to see how it will evolve over time. I know the internet doesn't need another one of these things...but...I couldn't help myself. Sorry, internet.

My purpose for writing this blog is so that family and friends don't seem so far away. We miss you guys so much!!! We love our life in Indy, but the Louisiana hole in our hearts just won't go away. Especially during Mardi Gras season.  Annnnnnd as much as I would love to get coffee with each of you and catch up when we're in town, I realize this isn't possible. 

So, this is my solution to keep you updated on our newlywed life and the sweet milestones of our little one's babyhood.  My goal is to use this blog as an authentic example of our family life -- highlighting my favorite moments of the ordinary day-to-day.  I plan to use this as a tool to reflect on my marriage and to capture random snapshots of how our family grows through the years... Hopefully you will all be able to laugh along with me as I fumble through this whole motherhood thing :). 

So here I am, beginning this new Little Way project and sharing it with you.  I can't wait to look back over time and relive these precious memories.  How great is it that we have the ability to do that these days? I think pretty great.

the little namesake:

St. Therese’s Little Way is the moniker of this blog. "Fossi" (fō-cee) is the nickname my husband and I use for each other, and I added it in there to be fun (hopefully the Little Flower won’t mind).  Her "little way" philosophy plays a big role in my personal spirituality and it is one I seek daily to adapt in my everyday. 

I admire this beautiful saint because she had this burning desire to attain heaven by becoming as little as possible -- "Whoever is a little one, let him come to me" + Matthew 18:6.   She lived out Matthew 18:6 in a truly profound way.  Her response to this scripture revealed a "totally new" spirituality and a recognition that there was "no need to grow up, but rather...to remain little and become...more and more" (Story of a Soul).  How beautiful is that!!!  I don't know about you, but I don't really ever want to ever grow up either.  

^ taken at the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux, France -- I had an opportunity to visit there while studying abroad in Paris.

Her solution to attaining holiness resonates with the everyday man -- she rejoiced in the hardest of chores at the convent, she enjoyed being with those whom others found were unbearably difficult to be around, and she prayed in confidence that ordinary people can become extraordinary saints. 

This simple wisdom is something we too may carry into our busy lives.  Whether it's doing the dishes for the 100th time that day, or working long hours at your job, or making the bed in the morning even though you HATE making the bed (guilty)...you get the idea.  It's about joyfully seeing these things as opportunities to bring us closer to Christ, rather than dwelling on the hardness of it all, that's what my girl St. Therese is all about. 

This is just a simple glimpse into her philosophy, and I highly suggest reading St. Therese's Story of a Soul if you get a chance.  It is one of my favorite books, packed full of spiritual goodness that has changed my life and serves as the inspiration for this blog.  I mean, she's not a doctor of the church for nothing so really, you should check it out. St. Therese of Lisieux, thank you for praying for me and for giving me the hope that even I can become a saint like you!

“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues.
And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden.”

+St. Thérèse de Lisieux