Dear Voskamp family, especially Caleb,
What do you think? Hubby says this one is neater and cleaner. It also reminds him of the forests of sun bleached driftwood we walked through on our honeymoon.
Now, I'm thinking that too... : )
One more question: Would it be a huge problem for anyone if I took the coloring pages off the side bar and put them on a separate page up there by the Good Shepherd Garden Party tab?
I am posting this page so that it can be added to the Catholic Coloring Page tab at the top of my blog which is where you will be able to find all of my coloring pages listed alphabetically. My hope is to list the saints here by their feast days to make it easier to find them in advance.
For those of you who are new, most are saints from the new calendar, some are from the old calendar and some are of feast days special to my family. You may use them for your families and friends provided they are used freely and not for profit. Thank you!
Misc.
Baptism
Divine Mercy
Our Lord, Our Lady, Saints and Beati by Feast Day
January
Jan. 1 Mary, Mother of God
Jan. 2 Holy Name of Jesus (simple or window)
Jan. 21 St. Agnes
Jan. 25 The Conversion of St. Paul
February
Feb. 1 St. Brigid of Ireland
Feb. 3 St. Blaise
Feb. 8 St. Josephine Bakhita
Feb. 10 Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck in Malta
Feb. 11 Our Lady of Lourdes (Immaculate Conception)
Feb. 14 St. Valentine
March
Mar. 19 St. Joseph
April
Apr. 24 St. Mark
Apr. 28 St. Gianna Molla
Apr. 29 St Catherine of Siena
May
May 1 St. Joseph the Worker
May 10 St. Damien of Molokai
May 26 St. Philip Neri
June
June 29 Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
July
July 26 St. Anne (with and without date)
August
Aug. 1 St. Sophia
Aug. 4 St. John Vianney
Aug. 14 St. Maximilian Kolbe
Aug. 18 St. Jane Frances de Chantal and St. Helena
Aug. 21 Pope St. Pius X
Aug. 22 Queenship of Mary
Aug. 27 St. Monica
Aug. 28 St. Augustine
September
Sept. 3 Pope St. Gregory the Great
Sept. 5 Blessed Teresa of Calcutta portrait and landscape
Sept. 12 Holy Name of Mary and Marian Names
Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows and the Sorrowful Mother
Sept. 17 St. Robert Bellarmine
Sept. 20 St. Paul Chong Hasang
Sept. 23 St. Padre Pio alone and at Mass
Sept. 29 Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
October
Oct. 1 St. Therese as a child and in habit
Oct. 2 Guardian Angel
Oct. 4 St. Francis of Assisi
Oct. 6 St. Bruno
Oct. 7 Our Lady of the Rosary
Oct. 13 St. Edward the Confessor
Oct. 15 St. Teresa of Avila
Oct. 16 St. Margaret Mary
Oct. 18 St. Luke
Oct. 23 St. John of Capistrano
November
Nov. 11 St. Martin of Tours
Nov. 13 St. Francis Xavier Cabrini
Nov. 16 St. Margaret of Scotland
Nov. 17 St. Elizabeth of Hungary
December
Dec. 8 Immaculate Conception
Dec. 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dec. 13 St. Lucy or Syracuse, Santa Lucia with star boy
TERMS OF USE: All of my coloring pages are my own artwork and are free for any fair, not-for-profit use by individuals, families, home schooling groups, or other educational cooperatives and schools.
Copies may not be sold or reproduced for profit. Thank you!
Mary, Mother of God (January 1)
Immaculate Conception (Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11)
Queenship of Mary (August 22)
Holy Name of Mary (September 12)
Marian Names to color (September 12)
Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15)
Sorrowful Mother (September 15)
Our Lady of the Rosary (October 12)
Immaculate Conception (December 8)
Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)
Part Three: Part One and Two
So what does a non-medicated treatment plan look like? Of course, it's going to look different for everyone. I can only tell you about what mine looked like.
There are a few things about a non-medicated treatment plan that you should be aware of before deciding with your doctors if it's right for you… it might take longer than you'd expect, it might mean much more frequent contact with your medical professionals than you'd expect and it might mean a lot more exercise/nutrition alteration/therapy than you'd expect. That isn’t always doable for everyone.
What do I mean by "it might take longer than you expect"? When I asked my doctor if I could do this without medication she very honestly told me, "Yes, but you can do it faster with medication." So I knew going in that it was going to take longer. How much longer? That's going to be different for everyone but it took about a month before I felt like the depression had completely lifted and that just left the anxiety to deal with which took significantly longer and is still something I deal with even today.
How much contact with a medical professional? I saw my doctor about every 3 months for about a year. I'll get to how often I visited the therapist later.
How much exercise? Every time I felt anxious. Every time I felt the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. Every time I felt a fluttery sensation in my chest. Every time I felt a tight knot in my stomach. Every time I caught myself pacing around the house. Sometimes, it was 3-5 times a day. But I'm talking about 15-20 minute little bursts. Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds DVDs are wonderful. Talk a walk in your home if you can't get outside. Dance around the house, jump rope, walk around the back yard, anything that gets your heart rate up. When that starts to drop, your anxiety level will drop as well.
What kind of nutrition alteration? Again, it's going to differ for everyone, but for me, I quit caffeine cold turkey! Sorry, my coffee/Diet Coke loving friends, but it's a drug... in the same category as speed (amphetamines) or cocaine. It might be beneficial in small doses, but it can be addictive and so it should be used with moderation. If a friend you loved who's last cold was months ago told you she couldn't go to bed without her NyQuil spiked tea, that she couldn't even imagine tea without NyQuil or that she's just too awake normally and needs her NyQuil to help calm her down and get her brain ready for sleep, you'd be concerned, wouldn't you? Consider this a caffeine intervention!
How did I quit? Well, caffeine can trigger panic attacks. You have enough of those and you won't go anywhere near the stuff. You will even start calling companies to find out if their products contain caffeine and what levels. Chocolate (the darker the chocolate, the higher caffeine content) and all dark colored sodas with the exception of a few root beers have caffeine. Some drinks like Big Red and Mountain Dew have more than Coke or Pepsi.
If you love the taste of coffee, try decaf. The amount of caffeine in decaf is so insignificant. And don't tell me that you can taste the difference! Caffeine naturally tastes bitter. Barq's Root Beer adds it to their recipe to cut the sweetness. If you want bitter, there are tons of bitter decafs to choose from. Eight O'Clock would be my first suggestion!
Caffeine is addictive. It forces your brain to produce beta-endorphins. It blocks adenosine receptors in the brain causing your neurons to become more active. Then your pituitary responds to what it perceives as an emergency situation with a fight or flight adrenaline response. You can read more here. It's a drug. A socially accepted drug, but a drug none the less. And while it might be a mild drug, it does have side effects. If you think you are addicted, ask yourself if you're OK with that. Is it OK for this thing to have control over you or should you have control over it? I know that it can be used for medicinal purposes, but like all medications, it should be used in moderation.
I did not explore any other kind of nutritional therapy other than identifying other natural stimulants like cinnamon, for example, but Elizabeth has written up her PPD treatment plan and you might find that helpful.
How much therapy/spiritual direction? Once a week. For a few months. And I do believe that I might have begged for twice a week at one point. Then once every two weeks. For a few months. Then once every three weeks. For a few months. Then once a month. Then once every couple of months. And finally...only on an as needed basis. That much. And then, you might have other homework to do. Relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, aroma therapy, journaling, prayer... get ready to work!
Now, I get that this plan for treatment may not be doable by everyone out there. It's the treatment plan that worked for me. I am in no way trying to say that one size fits all. There are so many resources now, so many options. Find the one that fits you! Get help. Take care of yourself so that you can better care for those precious little ones God has placed in your arms!
As some of you may have already read, Jessica and I are putting our heads together this year to come up with a new, exciting and, hopefully, easier means of celebrating the 50 days of the Easter Season. For the past couple of years, her family and mine have been using The Garden of the Good Shepherd: A Sticker Calendar and have been coming up with a fun craft, or fun food item to represent that day's sticker. You can see our ideas from years past here.
If there is one thing that Jessica and I agree after two years of visiting the Good Shepherd's Garden is that 50 days is a LONG TIME! So rather than take an every day approach, we came up with the idea of celebrating all of the days at the end of the week with what we are calling a Good Shepherd's Garden Party. Jessica came up with that name! Isn't it adorable? And look at what her talented sister created:
Part Two
I want to address something that Michelle rightly brought up in the combox of Part One. It is hard to tell the difference between the symptoms of PPD/PPA and just plain new mommy exhaustion. The sleep deprivation you go through in the last weeks of pregnancy (who can sleep well when they feel like a beached whale?) coupled with the endless nursing, changing, bouncing, swaying that a new baby needs usually means Mom is missing out on the luxury of sleeping a good, solid chunk of hours at a time. (Unless, of course, your baby is magical like my Sunshine was and slept 5 hours at a stretch every night from the minute we brought her home! I loved her for that!)
A trained medical professional can recognize the difference. In fact, they have a handy dandy little list of questions to ask to help them determine the difference. I know because I failed the exact same exam when both my doctor and therapist administered it. You would think I would have learned the right answers the second time I took it. : )
I encourage anyone who is struggling with what might be depression to ask their doctor or midwife to help them evaluate it. They are pretty straightforward, simple questions, but it makes a world of difference to hear them for yourself and to have to think about them and answer them honestly. Don’t go Googling them! Talk to someone you trust first!
My wonderful Catholic therapist helped me determine that in my case, the depression was probably a side effect of the anxiety disorder and I can’t tell you what a relief that was to hear. I know it sounds strange, but I was relieved to know that essentially I didn’t understand I had an anxiety disorder but that once I understood more about it and how to cope with it, I could be pretty confident that the depression would subside.
I can’t tell you how much I recommend finding a Catholic or at the very least, a Christian therapist. CatholicTherapists.com will help you locate one in your area. If you cannot find one close by, consider calling your nearest one to request a recommendation of someone in your area. It might not be a colleague on the Catholic Therapists list, but most therapists are likely to associate with other like-minded professionals. My therapist was so comforting during those first meetings, so good at incorporating my faith into my treatment and also very supportive of my preference to avoid medication.
Regarding the medication issue, I want to address this as openly as I can, but you also must realize that I have to maintain a certain level of privacy as well. Like I said in Part One, I am not opposed to the treatment of any kind of depression or anxiety including PPD/PPA with medication such as an anti-depressant or hormone therapy. However, in my case, a long family history of chemical dependency and problems with self-medication made me very hesitant to that course of treatment. Also, I have a sensitivity to certain medications. I did take one dose of a very mild anti-depressant and had a very bad reaction to it. My doctor agreed at 1 o’clock that morning that I should definitely NOT take another dose. I agreed. My preference was to try a course of treatment without any kind of prescription help with the understanding that both my doctor and my therapist would monitor my progress and be honest with me if they ever felt that I wasn’t getting better.
If anyone reading this tried a non-medicinal approach and ended up needing prescription interventions to succeed, then I join you in thanking God for the gift of modern medicine and for your success in battling this difficult burden. But, if you are afraid to get help because you think your only option is medicine and you believe you have serious reasons to try to avoid it, then I heartily encourage you to ask for the help you need from someone willing to listen to your concerns and someone willing to give you a chance. And keep asking until you find that person who will listen.
In Part Three, I will tell you specifically what a “non medicinal” treatment looked like for me.
Part One
I've been participating in a discussion about Post Partum Depression/ Post Partum Anxiety over at F&F Live started by the courageous Kate Wicker and also over at Kate's blog. There are a few things I feel as though I need to say here in this safe, comfortable space. Maybe I need to get them off my chest or maybe someone needs to hear them.
Some of you already know that I struggle with an anxiety disorder. I've been through some really difficult times and still have moments when I recognize that certain corners of my mind are like a bad neighborhood that I shouldn't be allowed to wander in alone especially at night. While I was not diagnosed with PPD specifically, my most recent problems did begin when my youngest was 6 months old, although that wasn't the only contributing circumstance. Looking back on all of my post partum experiences, I can say with a good amount of certainty that I was suffering from various levels of PPD/PPA during all 4 with the most notable instances occurring after babies 3 & 4.
The discussion over at F&F has included stories of triumph over this illness using different prescription therapies like progestrone or anti-depressants. Women have also admitted to feeling as though their pride and fear kept them away from accepting the chemical intervention for longer than was good for them. That just breaks my heart. There is a certain stigma attached to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, which PPD/PPA is classified as and that needs to change. We need to do whatever we can to destroy that prejudice, especially in Catholic circles.
Why especially in Catholic circles? Because the guilt we inflict on ourselves can be overwhelming. As faithful Catholic moms, we are all trying to live a truly pro-life lifestyle and we are taught by our Church that children are a blessing to be cherished, welcomed and treasured. It's the Culture of Death that says babies are a burden, motherhood is a millstone, parenthood is something to be endured. When you find yourself sad, crying, miserable, angry, or anxious after giving birth to this helpless creature whose coos and gurgles bring you no joy, the guilt is crushing.
Have I given into the culture of death mentality? I am a terrible mother. I am unfit for this noble vocation. Everyone else can handle motherhood just fine, why can't I? Was I just fooling myself? Am I going to break my children and damage them forever? Don't they deserve better than me? If I just prayed more, if I was a better Catholic, if I was a better person, I wouldn't have this problem.
Every woman thinking thoughts like these whether you have a newborn or not needs to know... that's not really you. That's not who you are! If you've recently had a baby, it might just be your brain's response to a chemical cocktail gone wrong. There are ways to come out of that fog. Ways to find your real self again. There are a whole host of ways these days to treat this illness, one of them is bound to work for you. I pray you have the courage to get the help you need and the support of people you trust. It's a tough road, but it's worth it!
(Next post I will talk a little about what worked for me.)
