Happy feast of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary! His name is in my book because of his connection to her, and this is the feast that most celebrates his Marian connection (more than his feast as St. Joseph the Worker in May). A great feast day! St. Joseph is the man! A special shout out to my Italian/Italian-American readers — enjoy all your St. Joseph’s Day festivities!

You all have been amazingly patient with me as my previously tentative consultation reopen date of Christmas came and went and still, I didn’t feel able to give enough regular, dependable time to working on non-baby things (thanks to my Little Mister, who was declared to be “impatient and demanding” at his six-month appointment by our beloved pediatrician, who said it so matter-of-factly after listening to me give him all the updates on all the eating/sleeping/interacting things that I laughed out loud and realized how perfect that is! I’ve been calling the baby “high maintenance,” but “impatient and demanding” is more precise! 😀 ). I dipped my toe in with Genie’s consultation back in January/February, and was so glad I had several weeks to work on it, because it took me that long!

But here we are in the second half of March, and it’s probably because the baby’s past his six-month-birthday, as well as the spring breezes that are dancing with the remains of winter, but I’m feeling cautiously optimistic that I can handle a little more.

I’m going to start slow, hence the “soft” reopening: I’m opening up for ONE consultation, and I’m going to ask that only those mamas who are due in May put their name in the hat, as I can’t guarantee I can get it done before April 17 (Wednesday of Holy Week), and I want to give the mamas that are due soonest the first chance, as well as enough time before their due date for the consultation to actually be helpful.

If all goes well, then I’ll do the same next month as well, and just go monthly until I’m able to resume a busier schedule.

HERE’S HOW TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A BABY NAME CONSULTATION:

(1) Click here if you’re a mama due in May who would like me to do a baby name consultation and don’t mind receiving my ideas as late as April 17.

(2) Rafflecopter will ask you for your due date, and compile all the entries received between now and midnight on March 25, Feast of the Annunciation. (Note: “midnight on March 25” means at the end of March 24, not the end of March 25.) You can enter once a day, for each of the six days that the raffle will be live.

(3) I’ll have Rafflecopter randomly choose one name on March 25 and I’ll email the chosen one with the next steps. To be clear: as much as I’d like to I’m not giving away a consultation — I’ll ask that you pay via PayPal before I get started (all payment info is here).

(4) There’s also, of course, the chance that something will come up that will prevent me from completing the consultation as promised. I really hope that doesn’t happen — I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought there was a good chance it could — but if it does, I’ll refund the mama’s money.

If I don’t get any entrants for this consultation, I’ll try again in April.

As always, thank you all for your patience and enthusiasm! My prayers for all of you are ongoing, with a special request for St. Anne’s intercession! ❤ ❤ ❤

My book, Catholic Baby Names for Girls and Boys: Over 250 Ways to Honor Our Lady (Marian Press, 2018), is available to order from ShopMercy.org and Amazon — perfect for the expectant parents, name enthusiasts, and lovers of Our Lady in your life!