Radio tomorrow morning: Son Rise Morning Show

Son Rise Morning show tomorrow morning (Tues.) with Brian Patrick at 8:20 AM Eastern. I hope you can join us!

http://www.ewtn.com/radio/weekday/thesonrisemorningshow.asp

Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers to Be

My book Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers to Be is now reprinted with a lovely hard cover. It's the same content, but with a nice sturdy cover.

I wrote this book while I was on complete bed rest during a high risk pregnancy with my fifth child, Mary-Catherine. Blessed Mother Teresa whom I knew at that time, gave me a Foreword for the book. This book is meant to celebrate a pregnancy as a wonderful time of anticipation as the mother awaits childbirth. It offers the expectant Mom the opportunity to transform her pregnancy into a novena of prayer to God. It's a "baby book" for the unborn baby! An expectant Mom will be able to follow her baby's progress and record her thoughts and prayers as well as save her ultrasound pictures to cherish in years to come.

Many expectant mothers all around the world have used this book throughout their pregnancy and have felt spiritually nourished while using it.

Here's a very brief description of the book: This beautifully crafted book is a reflection guide, keepsake, and prayer journal that offers inspiration for each month of pregnancy in the tradition of the popular nine-day prayer, the Novena.

Here are a some of the reviews:

"Prayerfully Expecting is a different kind of pregnancy journal. Imbued as it is with Scripture, exhortations from John Paul the Great, wisdom from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and both traditional and original prayers, it steeps expectant mothers in an atmosphere of holiness, reminding them that what they are experiencing is sacred. I plan to put away three copies of this book -- one for each of my daughters -- for "someday."~Karen Edmisten


"My best friend gave me this book when I was expecting baby number 7. I had never seen anything like it and read it through pregnancy 7, 8, and 9. I'm now expecting baby number 10 and will read it again. I couldn't wait to get to the next month (and I was tempted to read ahead!) It's the perfect read whether this is your first baby or your 10th!! It's also perfect for busy moms. I'm so blessed to have received this as a gift and will treasure it always!!"~Amy Ekblad

"Prayerfully Expecting's beautiful prayers and reflections helped me to make the most of this precious time. It gave me the encouragement to approach my pregnancy and motherhood with utmost gratitude, reverence and faith. This was my favorite pregnancy book by far and prepared me in the most important way. I'm still using it for reflection now. This is a book you'll be able to go back to again and again. It includes space to write your own reflections as well, so it can be a wonderful keepsake."~J.H.S.

"This book brought amazing comfort and peace to me it what was a very complicated and stressful pregnancy. I love that you can journal all of your experiences and save pictures. Great book! I recommend for anyone who is pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant!"~D.R. King

"Excellent book for mothers to be! I definitely recommend this one!! Wonderful prayers and its kind of like a diary too. So I think its beautiful memories to be kept and later share with that child. Wonderful prayers for parents to be to pray together and beautiful moments to share. I prayed all the prayers in this book with all my heart and many people tell me that my child is very calm. I think it has to do with all the prayers that were said while the baby was in my womb. Wonderful book for a gift too."~Vanessa R.

"You have been blessed with the privilege of conceiving a child, whose heart beats within you. Cradled inside you, your unborn child will be nourished and kept warm in your womb for the next nine months. What an incredible miracle!" With these words, Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle planted a seedling of hope in my heart with this, my second pregnancy, and nurtured it over the course of months. She didn't spoil the fun of what I would find in this nine-month journey - because not only am I not a rookie at it, but I am also not finished with it - but she did reframe it for me in a way that I never would have thought of - she turned me back to God with this, the incredible miracle of life within me. She changed my paradigm from one of self-focus to one of heavenly focus, and taking the nine months of my pregnancy and transforming them into a novena, a series of prayers, has made my bond with my baby and my Savior completely different...I can't help but feel, as I continue to read Prayerfully Expecting, that I'm not alone. I knew that before, though. Of course I did. It just didn't seem as obvious. Donna-Marie has made this a journey I'm taking with Mary, an adventure I'm undergoing with Mother Teresa's blessing, and an opportunity that's full of scriptural wisdom and advice. With this book, she has given expectant mothers a new approach to their vocation right from the start, without any strings or preconceptions."~Sarah Reinhard

Autographed copies are available at my website: www.donnacooperoboyle.com

New Review of my book Prayerfully Expecting

Anne McClure at "Catholic Mommy Brain" has just reviewed my book: Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers to Be:

"Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is a Catholic wife, mother of five, author, speaker, and Lay Missionary of Charity. Inspired by the idea that pregnancy spans nine months, Donna Marie created a guide to using this period of time for a novena of prayers and reflection on the blessing of new life.

This reflective journal helps you pray through your pregnancy, using beautiful meditations on all the mysteries of the Rosary and asking the intercession of Saint Anne and Saint Gerard Majella in particular. Interspersed with these prayers are descriptions of the baby’s development and quotes from wonderful models of love such as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (a personal friend of Donna-Marie’s). These nuggets of wisdom will deepen your experience on the incredible dignity of life.

I am praying through this book myself and am so grateful for the peace I am finding. It can be so difficult to simply appreciate pregnancy. After all, everything about a pregnancy is oriented towards its conclusion. We can’t help but ponder names, prepare for labor, and dream about cuddling a new baby. These thoughts can be fun, but they can also prevent us from enjoying the experience of pregnancy itself. Prayerfully Expecting allows us an opportunity to slow down and find God in the process and not just the product. It offers a window into how God sees pregnancy– as a gift of self and an act of love.

Donna Marie is an inspiring witness to the joy of mothering. Prayerfully Expecting seeks to help every mom deepen that joy. To purchase this book, or to learn more about Donna Marie’s other writings, visit her website. You can also find her blogging at View From the Domestic Church, Moments of Inspiration From Your Favorite Saints, Embracing Motherhood, and Daily Dose of Donna-Marie. Her new TV series, “Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms” will soon premiere on EWTN as well."

Visit Anne's blog here.