The Story of a Miracle

If you've read the gospels you have heard the stories of Jesus healing the lame, providing sight to the blind and now I want to share with you another miracle story. Most of you have been a part of this story but I thought I'd share this with you as well. I called in to Relevant Radio and told the miracle story of Mary Claire. You can listen to the story here:  http://relevantradio.streamguys.us/MA%20Archive/MA20131015b.mp3 (jump ahead to 37:40 where I start talking).

Also, here are a few of the pictures from Bella Baby at the hospital. We've taken about 1 million pictures of her between the camera and the iphone we just haven't had time to load them on the computer. But hopefully soon.

The Long Awaited Gift

There are some things in life that God gives us and blesses us right when we ask. There are other things that we want but are never given. And still other gifts which are asked for, and asked for, and asked for and finally God gives! This is the latter.

On October 7, 2013 at 1:56 a.m. Mary Claire Kramer, 9lbs4oz, was given to us. The long awaited gift that Megan and I asked for since our marriage four years ago. The gender was a surprise to us and I cannot tell you the joy that filled my heart when, after 24 hours of labor, the doctor said, "It's a girl! You have a daughter!". I have a little princess. Someone to take to the daddy-daughter dance. A girl to vent all boyfriends who think they are hot stuff! Taking her to college her first year and crying all the way home - because she has left us and because we have to pay for her college. A beautiful woman to walk down the aisle. All these thoughts raced through my mind and then I saw her and my heart melted. And now in the first few days of her life I'm just enjoying her sleeping on my chest and whimpering.

So here are a few pictures of her. Now that she is part of our family I'm sure I'll be posting a lot more photos of this cutie. Enjoy my Mary Claire!

Due Date

Well today is the due date, but no baby yet. We're not too worried though. Megan had a doctor's appointment yesterday and both mom and baby are healthy and well, and that's the most important part.

Besides that quick update I wanted to share with you something I read this morning while praying with the daily readings for today. In the Magnificat the meditation of the day ends with this line,"Many miracles and graces depend on the trust with which they are prayed for and expected". I read it again and again because I realized that is exactly what our child is, a miracle and a grace to us because of the trust from your prayers storming heaven and expecting this child to make it.

So please continue to pray. We have the nursery ready. The car is packed. Our birthing classes are done. All we need now is the baby - and the child will come when he/she is ready.

I'll certainly keep you all updated and send pictures when we meet our sweet child.

Sterotypes

They're not usually PC (politically correct, not personal computer) but they are often right on the money. Think about it.

• Men are strong and do all the work. 
• Tall guys are handsomer. 
• All blonds are dumb
• Women are bad drivers
• All librarians wear glasses, wear their hair in a bun and are old maids
• All black people are amazing at sports

Okay so maybe they aren't always right (but I'm pretty sure the one about tall guys is spot on). In any case my friend sent me this video from some guys (Dude Perfect) who know how to perform some awesome trick shots and know exactly how to stereotype. Watch this video:

Now anyone who has ever played pick up basketball knows that these stereotypes are as good as you can get!

And in case you were wondering, I am Mr. Excuses, Mr. The Tall Guy Who Shoots 3 and Mr. Imaginary Dunker - all rolled into one sweet package!

After the Inital Thoughts on Pope Francis

Pope Francis has been leading the Catholic Church for just over 5 months now and I wanted to share my thoughts after my initial thoughts - the post-initial thoughts.

1. He Makes Himself Vulnerable: Pope Francis loves to keep everyone on their toes - his security detail, the Vatican gardening staff and even the media. He has often given the slip to his security by just going out the back door and stroll down the streets of the Vatican and Rome. He asked that the walls be taken off the popemobile so that he could be closer to us, "the people". The first week in the Vatican he started saying daily mass with his gardening and housekeeping staff. Nope not cardinals, bishops or other dignitaries, he opens himself to the servants of the house - he serves rather than be served. He even keeps the media on edge when he says he won't be able to do an interview, then shows up 10 minutes later and is ready to talk - now that will keep the writing and journalists on their toes!
2. He Preaches Humility; He Demonstrates Humility: The Holy Father says he will pray for you - that's nothing new. But Francis then asks for my prayers too! He has the humility to recognize that he needs prayers more than anyone else. He even asks prayers from the youngest ones. 
3. He Solidifies Through Solidarity: He does have a computer, and my guess would be that the cell phone he does have isn't a smartphone. But even though he himself is not sending out tweets, updating his status on Facebook or posting new pics to instagram, he knows how to unify the Church through solidarity. When he was in Argentina he would give out his cell phone number to all his priests and told them to call him whenever they needed to talk. While he isn't publicizing his papal phone number he still remains open to his bishops and cardinals, and to you and me.
4. He Loves Simply: The best way to tell you how he loves simply is to show you this video. He is leaving an event at World Youth Day and as he gets into the helicopter (after saying his pre-travel prayer) he makes a universal gesture of love. It's cute, and simple.

All in all, I like how Pope Francis has approached the papacy and led the Catholic Church in his first 5 months.  He is clearly a man who lets his actions speak louder then his words. 

What do you think of Pope Francis thus far?

Also, a fun little test. How well do you know the past 3 popes?

In the Silence of Millions

Who is the one person that can silence millions and millions of people with just His presence? Who can make grown men of 80 years old, young teens of 16 and 17, women of all ages and a leader of more than 1.2 billion people fall to their knees?

Jesus Christ.

Adoration is such a beautiful thing. I can't even imagine playing for millions of people, hundreds of bishops, and the Holy Father Pope Francis. But the coolest thing is all of them were crying out to another, to their Father, "Lord, I need you. Every hour I need you. My one defense, my righteousness. O God, I need you".
This videos is from World Youth Day just a couple of weeks ago. I love how when the song finishes no one erupts in applause for Matt Maher but rather they all stay silent for Our Lord. Enjoy...and then go to adoration and tell God how much you need him.

An American Coach in London

Now this is funny. Football is football, right?

A Pregnant Update

Hi All,
I know it has been a couple of months since the last update here so I wanted to let you all know how the summer is going.

The short answer is GREAT! Megan is healthy, the baby is healthy (and I'm healthy, although that's not quite as important) and praise God that the weather isn't as hot! It was getting a little stuffy in our non-A/C house. 

Nevertheless, we still need your prayers! Please!

With some of the complications of us getting and staying preganat, comes the possibility of pre-term births. So we ask for your prayers that our child would continue to grow and remain healthy until the end of September, around the due date (9/26/13).

That's all for now. For those of you who haven't seen us (and Megan in particular - because I don't look much different) here is a picture of her from our niece's baptism a couple of weeks ago. (Isn't she cute?!) And just think, you can all come to our child's baptism in about 2.5 months!!!

Thanks again for the prayers.


Also, we got our travel system yesterday and we just had to try it out!

Happy Anniversary!

To my wife,
Thank you for being my best friend! Four years ago was the best day of my life. Being married to you has been the greatest blessing.

Love,
Your husband

Jesuit Wisdom

Yesterday, June 21 was the feast day of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, the well know Jesuit who had a beautiful spirituality and the man who the west coast university is named after. But I wanted to share with you the meditation of the day from the Magnificat. This was written by Father Pedro Arrupe, the Father General of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).


Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what siezes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heard,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

Flags + Bourbon = America!!!

While I am a usually a straight irish whiskey/scotch man myself I do appreciate a good bourbon every now and then. Having its roots in the 18th-19th centuries from the early settlers moving west from the original colonies to the Kentucky area - Bourbon County to be specific - bourbon was giving the presidential stamp by LBJ as "The Official Spirit of America". So on this National Bourbon Day, June 14th (which also happens to be Flag Day - coincidence?) go out and enjoy three fingers of Jim, Maker's, Woodford or another fine bourbon or bourbon based mixed beverage and thank God for America!

Check out the official website for more - http://www.nationalbourbonday.com/

The Ideal # of Kids

My sister just had her third child. (This gives her household a total of 5 people - 2.4 MORE than the average from the last major census in 2010.) We visited her in the hospital the day after she (Charlotte) was born and I had so much joy walking into the room and hearing her tell me how happy their other kids were to see their new baby sister; to hold new addition of their family and give her sweet kisses. It reminded me of two things that I wanted to share.

First, I was reminded of a discussion my friends and I were having just a couple of months ago about the ideal number of children for a family. We had just finished reading a book which studies Love and Responsibility ("LR"), the great philosophic work of Blessed John Paul II - a sort of precursor to his Theology of the Body (see My Top 13 for more). In LR, he alludes to the fact that the ideal number of children for a family is 3 or more. He explains it as the first child is able to love and play with the second child, and that in itself is beautiful. But the great love occurs when the first AND second child can love the third child together. Similar to the Trinitarian model where the Father and the Son together Love with the Holy Spirit. Now he is not saying that if you only have one or two kids you are bad people or your family is not as good as a family with 3 or more kids but that young families should strive to have more than 2 kids.

Secondly, I have heard the argument that people don't want to have more than 2 kids because they can't handle it or they can't afford it or they won't be able to give them the time and attention that they need. And to that I tell you what Megan said to a co-worker who said they don't imagine having more than two kids. "Well then you wouldn't have me!" She really is a great witness to family!!! I love her comment. Not only would you not have Megan but you wouldn't have me if our parents had decided that the could only handle two kids. If you're deciding between another kid and a new tv, or your family vacation, or a dog. Choose the kid. You may just get a really special one like ME!

The Newest Niece!!!

A week ago on Sunday, 26, 2013 at nearly 3:30 in the morning Megan and I welcomed a new niece into the world! Charlotte Jean Korney was born to proud parents Steve and Lisa and most proud big brother and sister, Jacob and Madelyn. We are so happy to have another little one in our family. See my upcoming post on why I am so happy the Korney's have a third child (that's what the entertainment biz calls a teaser). In the mean time enjoy the pictures of this cutie and her happy family!

A Real Man, Husband and Father

I just read this article about a man who stood between his family and a bear. He ended up fighting the bear with his bare hands. Now thats what I call a real man, husband and father; someone who says to his family "Get behind me!" All men should take a page from his book.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/alaska-man-fights-off-bear-walks-away-minor-100049041.html

He Is Risen!

He Is Risen, Indeed!

Have a happy and most joyous Easter season!

Just Past 13

Good Monday Morning Prayer Warriors,

Well at the end of last week we past the 13 week mark. Yup our little one is now getting older and getting bigger. Just about the size of a peach now! We bought an at home doppler last week so we could hear the baby's heartbeat whenever we wanted and it was the best money we've spent to hear such a miracle!

When we sent out our first email nearly 2 months ago we asked for you to pray the Memorare with us and we originally wanted to lift up 5,000 to Mother Mary. It turns out you, and your friends and family who have prayed with us, are more generous then we expected and in the past 8 weeks there have been over 17,000 Memorares sent up to heaven for our child. We really cannot express the full extent of our gratitude for all these prayers, and we know there were others out there praying who I'm sure we didn't count. 

In our original post we talked about just praying until March 22, to get our baby through the first trimester but we would love it if you could still pray for our child - and if you would like you can send us your Memorare count and we'll continue to update it here.

Again, we are so so grateful for your prayers in this miracle that we have. We really believe that this child is a miracle and that your prayers have helped keep this miracle alive and growing. Thanks again and have a wonderful and blessed Holy Week!

Love,

Kevin & Megan

Habemus Papam!!!

Habemus Papam; We Have a Pope!!!

Let us pray for our new Holy Father, Pope Francis I

Benedict's Photo Album

Megan shared this with me today and I have only gotten about halfway through it but I wanted to share it with you, in case you haven't seen it. Below is the link on the Vatican's site that shares a beautiful photo album reflection on the papacy of Benedict XVI. The captions below each picture are his own words from letters, encyclicals, audiences and homilies that he gave over the past 8 years. After each quote is a link to the original document. I pray that you read, reflect and enjoy the images and quotes from the 265th successor of Peter!

http://www.vatican.va/bxvi/omaggio/index_en.html

Adopt A Cardinal

Have you ever wanted to adopt a Cardinal? Well now is your chance!
Go to this website. Type in your information. And they will send you a Cardinal from the conclave that you can pray for to make a holy, informed decision on the next maximus pontifus (Pope)!
www.adoptacardinal.org

What I Want From The Next Pope

About two weeks ago Fr. Faulker (Father Talks to Fast) asked his readers what they wanted from the next pope. I thought this was a great question and wanted to 1.) post my answer to it here and 2.) pose the same question to you. I got to thinking about the two popes that I have known in my lifetime - Benedict XVI (B16) and John Paul II (JP2) and about some of the Holy Fathers before them that I've read about - John XXIII, Pius XII and Paul XI. So, speaking from what I've seen from past popes and where our society stands now here are some qualities I'd like to see in our next Supreme Pontiff.

Move - JPII revolutionized the role of the Pontifex in many ones but one of the most dramatic changes was to how the Shepherd of the Church went to his flock. Before John Paul most of the popes lived and died in the Vatican. There was nothing wrong with that but many of them rarely left Rome or Italy, much less traveled the world to meet Catholics in their homelands. Benedict did a great job - esp considering he is in his 9th decade of life - at continuing the globe trotting life. But he is retiring because he can no long fulfill the duties of the Seat of Peter as they are meant to be fulfilled. I believe he feels this is a needed quality for the job and being that he can't travel anymore and no longer continue those duties of traveling to his people he will retire.  Nevertheless, I'd like to see the new Pope continue to move!
Trustworthy - I'm not saying the past popes have been liers, untruthful or men not to trust but the international media always seem to think the worst. Perhaps the nature of media outlets will never truly take a Pope for his word but even with the announcement of his retirement writers, tv hosts and bloggers can't seem to believe he is retiring because he can't fulfill the papal duties anymore. They think it's because he is trying to avoid a scandal or hide something from his past. It may never fully happen but we need a pope who not only Catholics can trust but who media and the world can trust.
Motivational Speaker - I want a pope who can get me fired up. There have been some great speeches from past popes that really get me excited about being Catholic, about being a follower of Christ and about wanting to live a life worthy of Heaven. The one quote from a pope that really sticks out to me can from Papa Benny when he said, "The world promises you comfort. But you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness!" Wow I love that. I still get pumped when I read that.
Defender of Justice - In college I took a class called Modern Catholic Thought. One of the books we read and discussed was called "The Myth of Hitler's Pope" by Rabbi David Dalin. It was a fascinating book of how the entire world thought Pius XII was a coward for never standing up to Adolf Hitler during WWII. But the fact was, while he never came out with bold statements decrying the acts of Germany and Hitler, he was a defender of justice by rescuing and hiding thousands of jews during the war at his summer home, Castle Gandolfo. He used his actions to show that he defended justice and preserved life. I want a pope who will be a superhero for the Catholic Church, for Human Rights and for Christ himself!
Social Butterfly - While this is not a must, given the state of our society and the way the upcoming generations of the Church communicates, it will be very helpful to guide all Catholics. Now I'm not saying that the new pope will need to use linkedin, after all he won't be looking for a new job, but it would be nice to keep up the twitter handle B16 started. The youth of today, who will be the leaders of tomorrow talk, text, walk, watch, listen and read all at the same time. So while he doesn't need 1,000,000,000 friends on Facebook it will be essential to reaching Generation Y and any after them. Oh and it would be cool to start on instagram, I'd like to see some pics of the pope chillin' in his apartment under a cool filter.

The Church has had many great popes and saints and some not so great popes, but the leader of more than 1 billion people is a man, a flesh and blood, sinful man picked, after much PRAYER and deliberation, by other men, so that is to be expected. Therefore, we have to pray for the Bishop of Rome and the bridge-builder who will lead the Bride of Christ and all those who follow Christ. Now I ask you, what do you want from the next Pope of the Roman Catholic Church?

9 Weeks!!!

Readers,

Megan and I have some wonderful news. We had an ultrasound done yesterday and saw a healthy 8w6d old baby growing big with a healthy 160bpm heartbeat! Praise the Lord! While we know we're not out of the woods we are so grateful that this child has lived past 8 weeks. Please please please keep praying those memorares, at the very least until March 22, after the 1st trimester. Megan is feel sick (which is a good thing) and ever sacrifice, prayer and offering has been worth it so far to see that heart beating yesterday. We did get some pictures and, like any good father, I wanted to show you all! ("picture me taking out my wallet and flipping it open") Here is a picture with the head on the right and little arm and leg buds. (It looks like our kid is going to have some big feet!)

So thank you for all your prayers. We have nothing else to believe or hope in than the our God and his mercy. So please keep praying. Just like the gospel says today, "everyone who asks, receives".

With Grateful Charity!

Now This Is Funny...And So True

Prayer Novena For B16

At praymorenovenas.com a novena will start tomorrow to pray for Pope Benedict XVI. I would encourage you, your friends and your mother to all sign up for this. (Click here)

It's super easy. He will send you a reminder each day to your email and it takes just a few minutes to pray for the Holy Father and for his successor. If you dont want the emails you can print out all the prayers here and put it by your bedside and pray it each night.

This is a great retirement present for our Pope. Please join the over 41,000 who are signed up!

Scott Hahn's Thoughts on the Pope's Abdication

Benedict XVI at the tomb of Pope Celestine V

Scott Hahn has posted the following on the pope's resignation. This is fascinating...

Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed. 

He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb! 

Benedict places his pallium on the tomb of Pope Celestine V

Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V. 

Few people, however, noticed at the time. 

Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way. 

Benedict XVI leaves his pallium

In the year 1294, this man (Fr. Pietro Angelerio), known by all as a devout and holy priest, was elected Pope, somewhat against his will, shortly before his 80th birthday (Ratzinger was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005). Just five months later, after issuing a formal decree allowing popes to resign (or abdicate, like other rulers), Pope Celestine V exercised that right. And now Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to follow in the footsteps of this venerable model.

Check This Out: Are We Catholics Willing to Die for the Sake of Modesty?

This here is an excellent blog post of 1.)What is wrong with our world and 2.)What is right with our world, that is, how we can make it right. If I had a daughter to take to mass I would!

Dr. Taylor Marshall's Blog Posts: Are We Catholics Willing to Die for the Sake of Vi...: I didn't watch the Superbowl, but I heard that half time show was not wholesome.  Let me be completely honest. Many of you may disa...

Another Miracle Needed

Things aren't looking great right now so please keep praying. We need a miracle. And while I believe it could happen I can't seem to bring myself to expect, or even really hope, that it will happen because of the hurt I would feel if it doesn't. So please, pray hard and hope for a miracle for me.

To All The Prayer Warriors...

UPDATE: We have already passed 10,000 memorares pledged/prayed for our dear child (and that isn't even counting the ones Megan and I have been praying and I'm sure there are others who are praying that might not have sent me an email). We are touched and overwhelmed by everyone's prayers. Thank you so much! We would gladly take more prayers from anyone else wanting to pray. If you want to email me my address is kkramer15@gmail.com. Our kid can use all the intercession it can get! And if you are the type who likes to pray with music, meditate on the memorare here, a beautiful version by Danielle Rose.

I sent this email out to family and friends this morning and I wanted to let anyone else who might read this blog, and didn't get the email, to know that I am asking for prayers:

Dear Family, 
Friends and Prayer Warriors,Megan and I have some news to share...and great news at that! We are pregnant! Believe me when I tell you this is not the way I would want to tell all of you but we need your prayers right now.  As many of you know this is our third pregnancy. Our first two we miscarried at 8 weeks (God Bless you Cecelia and Peter) so we really need prayers early on in the pregnancy, that's right now!

So I bet you're wondering what to pray for or how to pray. Well when Mother Teresa needed a new school for their ministry she had her order pray the Memorare. They prayed over 85,000 memorares to ask Mother Mary to provide for their needs. Well this is what Megan and I would like to do too. We want you to pray the memorare and ask Our Blessed Mother to help protect our baby. While 85,000 might be a lot to ask to pray for our little one, we'd like to be able to offer up 5,000 memorares between now and 12 weeks (March 22). That's 84 memorares a day. We need to storm heaven and let our intentions be known. Knock and the door will be open...ask and it shall be given. Please help us!

If you will pray for Megan and our child please email Megan or myself with how many memorares you did prayer, are going to pray or are praying. You can put it in an email today or send me one on March 22nd or send me an email every day saying how many you prayed. I will keep tally here and we'll see how many prayers we can storm the gates of heaven with our intention! Please pass this on to anyone that might be able to pray for our child. Thank you so much for your love and support. We really do appreciate it.The prayer is below. Please pray, and pray, and pray some more.

Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother; to thee do we come; before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us. Amen.

Peace,
Kevin & Megan

If you can please say a prayer or two that would be wonderful! You can leave a comment with how many you've prayed and I'll update the number of prayers for our little one here. I really feel all we can do is pray, everything else is up to God. So let him hear our desires through the intercession of His Mother!

Here's to 2013

1. Happy New Year! May 2013 be better than 2012 with more ups than downs, blessings than curses, joys than sorrows and smiles than tears.
2. Be sure to check out the new "My Top 13" page.
3. Also, men. Do this for your wife or girlfriend. I challenge you. If you are a real man you will try it and stick with it. I just finished and I tell you true, she will love it and you will see how beautiful a person she is.

God Bless!