An Advent Blessing-Snow!

Today we had or 3rd snow of the season.  It is just so nice to have snow on the ground during Advent.  My preparations for the coming of our Lord's birthday have been going really well.  I am very busy of course but in a good way.  We have a couple of traditions that we do each year that help with preparing for the Christmas Season.  First we have the Advent wreath, we have an elf that visits us each year to report about the children to St. Nicholas, we do activities on an advent calendar, we do the Advent Adventures with Holy Heroes (www.holyheroes.com) and new this year we are making Jessie tree ornaments.  On Christmas day each child recieves 3 gifts (as Jesus did) and Santa brings each child one.  Santa also fills their stockings with little things.  After opening gifts we have a nice breakfast and then play until our dinner of ham, etc...  May God bless you this Advent Season and this Christmas!

Thanksgiving visit

We are heading back to PA for Thanksgiving soon!  It is really coming up fast.  We are so looking forward to visiting with family and friends alike.  We hope to see as many friends as possible given the short time.  We miss everyone so much!  Looking forward to catching up.  :)

We are having a....

We had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound today.  Thanks be to God that everything looks as it should with no idications of abnormality or complications.  We found out the sex of the baby today and it is a .... call me! lol

Speaking of Life

I just found a great blog dedicated to life when I was researching certain company's links to Planned Parenthood. It is www.erasetheneed.wordpress.com I was looking at the October 7 entry regarding the Susan G Komen Foundation and their link to Planned Parenthood. Things in life are rarely cut and dry but there are a lot of shades of gray for us to grapple with. This entry helped me to decide what I think is right (from a Catholic perspective). I hope that you will visit this site and talk with others about this important subject.

40 Days for Life

An update on the 40days for life campaign going on until Oct. 31st (you still have time to fast and pray!) as of day 20 238 little babies have been saved! How wonderful keep up the good work out there! Our school is going to Planned Parenthood this Friday to pray, will you pray for an end to abortion too? God bless.

40 days for life

As of the 13th day of the current 40 days for life campaign 138 babies have been saved!  Thanks be to God!  Keep up the prayers and fasting.

Saving money

This week I attended our Mother's group and they had a great subject this meeting-saving money!  Two of the ladies shared some wonderful information with us about coupons, freebies and their strategies for saving in their households.
They shared that you can download coupons right to your Kroger card!  How wonderful!  Printable coupons are available at http://www.coupons.com/ and http://www.print.coupons.com/  Daily deals can be found at http://www.groupon.com/  A good blog out there to catch deals is http://www.gooddealmama.com/  There are so many ways to save out there once you start surfing the web on this topic there are hundreds of free products and coupons to be had.  Happy shopping!

St Therese pray for us!

Happy St. Therese feast day!

Another school year

Well, the older 3 children have been back to school for about a month now. I think it is safe to say that the family has adjusted to the dramatic change in routine. We are happy with Lumen Christi Catholic school it is a great fit for our family with daily Mass (in Latin 3times per week), a classical curriculum, faith filled teachers, and wonderful families. The decision to stop homeschooling is a good one for us, I now have the time to spend with my 2 little ones still at home as well as to join the local Bible Study and mother's group both of which are great for me. Also, I am able to get most of the rest I need for my pregnancy.
The adjustment to a new school year always takes time and effort. I think we are off to a good start so far. Adding in football for my 9 year old and soccer for my 8 year old has added quite a bit of extra running around that we hadn't had to deal with before but they both love it so it is worth the extra effort. I hope your family is transitioning well to another school year. God bless!

In this post I am trying out my new iPad that my husband got for me for our 10th anniversary. What an amazing device! Our wedding was on August 25. What an awesome day that was! Over dinner we were remembering our happy memories of which there are so many. God has blessed us in so many ways and for that we are truly grateful. We look forward to many more happy years to come raising our children and serving God as best we can.
My posts have been few and far between this summer mainly because I have been so sick with this new little one I carry these days. School has also started so that has been another adjustment for our family. We had a wonderful vacation that started with a brief visit to West Chester,PA. We were able to see some of our friends and that was such a great beginning to our vacation. Then we were off to Ocean City, MD for a week. We met up with my parents and my brother and we all had a great time together. We had good weather and the children loved the beach. I will post pictures soon!

News

We have wonderful news these days we are expecting a new baby!  We are so excited and happy for this blessing.  Expected due date is March 14, 2010.  Another March baby!  God is good.  Babies are so wonderful.  I have been feeling sick and fatigued though I look forward to feeling better soon.

My Summer with Therese of Lisieux

I have started my next book "Story of a Soul, the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux" and have come across a goldmine just in the first pages of what Therese is writing and wanted to share them as best I can.

She starts her writing about herself by opening the Gospel and she says: "my eyes fell on these words: "And going up a mountain he called to him men of his own choosing, and they came to him" (St. Mark, 3:13) This is the mystery of my vocation, my whole life, and especially the mystery of the privileges Jesus showered on my soul.  He does not call those who are worthy but those whom He pleases or as St. Paul says: God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he will show pity to whom he will show pity.  So then there is question not of him who wills nor of him who runs,but of God showing mercy" (Ep. to the Rom.,9:15,16)
She goes on to say: "I wondered for a long time why God has preferences, why all souls don't receive an equal amount of graces. I was surprised when I saw Him shower His extraordinary favors on saints who had offended Him, for instace, St. Paul and St. Augustine, and whom He forced, so to speak, to accept His graces.
Jesus deigned to teach me this mystery. He set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy.  I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers.
And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus' garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to Lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God's glances when He looks down at his feet.  Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be."
Wow, how beautiful and articulate.  What a treasure this book it to us who read it.  All of this in only the first pages!  I hope this inspires you to read more about St. Therese and that she touches your life in a postive way.  God bless.

Summer reading

I have just finished a book written by Dorothy Scallan called "The Whole World Will Love Me".  What a wonderful book!  It is about St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.  One of the things  I really liked about the book was it's focus on the second part of her name which highlights her devotion to the image of our Lord on Veronica's veil.  I learned so much about the life of St. Therese and I feel that I will reread this book again and again.  I was so interested in the story I am sure that I missed some very profound meditations that deserve futher thought and consideration.  Here is a poem written by Therese while she was a Carmelite Nun that really shows her love for and devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

Living On Love

Jesus, Your ineffable image

Is the star which guides my steps.

Ah, You know, Your sweet Face

Is for me Heaven on earth.

My love discovers the charms

Of Your Face adorned with tears.

I smile through my own tears

when I contemplate Your sorrows.

Oh to console You I want

to live unknown on earth!

Your beauty, which You know how to veil,

Discloses for me all it's mystery.

I would like to fly away to You!

Your Face in my only homeland.

It's my kingdom of love.

It's my cheerful meadow.

Each day, my sweet sun.

It's the Lily of the Valley

whose mysterious perfume

Consoles my exiled soul,

Making it taste the peace of Heaven.

It's my Rest, my Sweetness

And my melodious Lyre

Your Face, O my Sweet Savior,

Is the Divine Bouquet of Myrrh

I want to keep on my heart!

Your Face is my only wealth.

I ask for nothing more.

Hiding myself in it umceasingly.

I will resemble You, Jesus

Leave in me, the Divine Impress

Of Your features filled with sweetness,

And soon I'll become holy.

I shall draw hearts to You.

So that I may gather

A beautiful golden harvest,

Deign to set me aflame with Your Fire.

With Your adorned mouth,

Give me soon the Eternal Kiss!

Vacation Bible School

We just finished our vacation bible school last week.  The children just loved it as usual.  Beebo came to me on Saturday morning to ask what shirt she should wear to bible camp that day.  She was so disappointed to find out that it was over, so cute!  I love that they have fun learning about the bible.  I love to see their excitement to start each day with the other children.  Little B was too young to join this year but she was happy to come along to drop off and pick up her older siblings as well as listen to the CD of bible camp songs.  What a blessing to us to have this wonderful activity for our children.  Thanks be to God.

Our baby is One already!

Happy Birthday Little Buddy!  He turned one on May 20th.  Here he is enjoying his special birthday cake.

Thy Will Be Done by Marie Bellet

It was an unexpected flood
That came to me today
Sometimes bad news follows good
And it's really hard to say
Thy will be done

So there's been a change in plans
What am I supposed to do?
When it is out of my hands
And I can't see my way through
When I can't say
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

Well I will go to the altar
And I'll say "Amen"
And I'll open my mouth
And I'll try again
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

Well it scares me so to think
What You can take away
But I know that if I ask
I'll have the grace to say
Thy will be done

Oh, the flesh and blood of life are yours for the taking
And my helpless human heart is yours for the breaking
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

It was an unexpected flood
That came to me today
Sometimes bad news follows good and it's really hard to say
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

We found out we were blessed with a new little one and miscarried him or her all within the same week.  It has been a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs.  The song I quoted here gives me comfort while facing this sad event in our lives.  Also, the words of a dear friend were like salve to my soul.  She said to pray to our Mother Mary to have clarity, for our Blessed Mother was never confused about what she was to do.  Original Sin makes us confused at times.  I took the advice and was wrapped in Our Blessed Lady's Mantle immediately.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful and generous friends who held us up in prayer and love during this difficult time.  We have another saint in heaven to pray and intercede for us.  What a wonderful reward for being open to life. God's will be done.

Motherhood

"But she will be saved through motherhood, provided women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self-control." 1TIM 2:15

I attended a talk a couple of weeks ago, the topic was on Purgatory.   It was given by a very wonderful priest.  At the end of the talk he gave us a blessing.  In the blessing he said that God has given us the gift of mothering to help us work out our salvation. How beautiful that through my efforts to care for, teach and love my children I can possibly achieve heaven! God bless mothers!

Picture thoughts!

Beebo is 4!

Happy 8th birthday E!First haircut for Little Buddy!Happy 9th birthday, Froggy!2 year old B!

First Holy Communion Day.  God bless Little E!

Precious Babies

At a White House dinner party some years ago, 2 distinguished women were carrying on a conversation.  Everyone was listening to learn what they were talking about.  During the conversation, one woman asked the other a very simple question.  "Why do you think that in the USA, a country with all our liberties and freedoms, we have never elected a female president?"  The other woman, without looking up from her meal, calmly said, "Because you probably aborted her."
The woman who asked the question that day was then-first lady Hillary Clinton.  The woman who answered the question was Mother Teresa.

This story was told by Shawn Carney one of the co-founders of the 40 days for life campaign.  40 days for life has grown from the involvement of 60 churches is Texas in 2004 at the first 40 days for life to having the campaign in 305 cities in all 50 states, with 2,801 women have confirmed they chose life at the last moment as a result of the campaign.  There have been 5 abortion facilities close forever and there have been 350,000 people who have participated in this campaign.  32 abortion clinic workers who have spoke with campaign members and have left their jobs.  According to Carney, there are 3,000 pregnancy centers across the country and 1,500 abortion  facilities.  In the past 15 years 1/2 of all the abortion facilities in America have closed.  Still, 25% of all women between the ages of 18-25 will have an abortion. It is clear how effective this campaign has been and will continue to be in the future.  Keep joining activities for the 40 days for life and keep praying for those babies and their distressed mothers!  God bless

Litany of Humility

I have this posted in my kitchen but don't seem to look at it enough.  Lord help me to focus on Humility this week and going forward in my life.  This is for private devotion only.  I hope sharing it with you will help all of us!

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.  Amen.

Special Indulgence for the Year for Priests

Described in the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary published in May 2009 The Holy Father has granted the gift of special Indulgences.
A Partial Indulgence is granted to all the faithful every time they devoutly recite 5 Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glorias, or another expressly approved prayer, in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to obtain that priests be preserved in purity and holiness of life.
This Decree is valid for the entire duration of the Year for Priests. (June 19, 2009-June 19, 2010)
This seems like a small thing to do for such wonderful benefits for us and our priests.  I did this today, will you?  Please do!
 Note: there were several other Indulgences granted for details look in the decree or in the Magnificat's Year for Priests Companion.

Prayer to Mary, by de Grandmaison

Holy Mary, Mother of God, preserve in me the heart of a child, pure and clean like spring water; a simple heart that does not remain absorbed in its own sadness; a loving heart that freely gives with compassion; a faithful and generous heart that neither forgets good nor feels bitterness for any evil.  Give me a sweet and humble heart that loves without asking to be loved in return, happy to lose itself in the heart of others, sacrificing itself in front of your Divine Son; a great and unconquerable heart which no ingratitude can close and no indifference can tire; a heart tormented by the glory of Christ, pierced by His love with a wound that will not heal until heaven.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!!

  The feast of St. Joseph is such a special day during Lent of such a humble Saint.  He was so humble in life and still is even in heaven!  Besides being the spouse od the Blessed Virgin, Foster Father of Christ, he is the patron of the Universal Church and of fathers and families.  He is especially beloved by the Sicilians.  One way they express their devotion to St. Joseph is through the tradition of tavola di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Table or Altar).
  The St. Joseph Altar comes from a legend that many years ago there was a famine in Sicily.  The famine was severe and the people had to sustain themselves on fava beans (which were used mainly for caddle fodder).  The people prayed for St. Joseph's intercession to end the famine and these prayers were answered.  In thanksgiving they had a celebration which over the years has become the St. Joseph Table.
  Some of the things found on the table include:  the table is made up of three tiers of tables representing the Trinity and the three members of the Holy Family.  Then it is furnished with pastries and breads representing a Monstrance, chalice, cross...etc...  The fava bean, Mudica (bread crumbs representing the sawdust of carpenter St. Joseph), 12 fish (the apostles), wine, and many other foods except meat.  A feast day compatable with obstaining from meat on Fridays, yeah!

  We made a 3D St. Joseph's Table this year.  We got the idea from the St. Joseph's Altar website and it was a lot of fun for us to do!  I hope you do one too!  God bless and Happy St. Joseph's Day!

Our Lenten Rosaries

We have made the commitment this Lent to say daily rosaries as a family.  And it has gone really well.  With children ages 8,8, 4, 2 and 9 months it can be challenging but very worth the effort.  The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is such a powerful prayer.  We have been blessed by being faithful to reciting it.  Our 4 year old has even lead a couple of decades this Lent!  What a precious sound to hear this little one recite the prayers.  It has also been very soothing to our family.  It is a wonderful time to come together. 

Prayer intention time at the beginning of the Rosary is especially rich and touching.  The children pray for the end to abortion and for those suffering in Hati as well as praying for conversion of some of the people we love.  I have a new appreciation for the fact that the children actually do listen to me and want to emulate their parents beliefs and preferences.  I have heard that fact many times but it is very different to actually experience it firsthand in a good way!

We had our first fall in our commitment to say the rosary last night.  I felt terrible as a tried to say the rosary myself in bed before falling asleep halfway through.  Waking up today I find that we will copy what Our Lord did during His Passion when he fell, which is to get up and continue again.  Our evening rosary will continue tonight and for the rest of the Lenten Season.

I hope all of you are having a productive Lent and that each thing you do less or extra brings you closer to the Lord as the rosary has brought us closer to Him and eachother.

Lenten traditions/sacrificies:

Due to the move I almost forgot a wonderful Lenten activity with do with the children every year. Thanks be to God I remembered before Lent was over.   It was introduced to us by our good friend Mary several years ago and has been a great success in our family.  Thanks Mary!  It is the Lenten Crown of Thorns. 

At the beginning of Lent, (preferably Ash Wednesday) we take 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and enough water to make a dough.  We roll it into three long "snakes" and I braid them into a crown.  We put in many toothpicks and then bake it at 350* for one hour.  If you want it to be brown you can paint on egg whites as an option.  After the crown is cooled we put it in the center of the table on a purple napkin and the good deeds start.  See, when someone in the family does something extra good, kind or wonderful for someone else they get to take out a thorn from our Lord's Crown.  The goal is for all of the thorns to be removed by Easter Sunday.  The children are always so excited to take out a thorn!  I like this because instead of always focusing on giving something up we can help the children remember that doing a extra for our Lord it good during Lent too.  I like having both aspects be remembered each Lent (especially for me). 

Please share with me any Lenten traditions your family does and maybe I can add to our Lenten journey for next year! 

Wordless Wednesday

The Big Move

Well, we finally made it to Indiana and have unpacked almost everything and got our internet squared away.  God has truely blessed us in so many ways (see pictures below).  An unexpected thing came up in the move.  I will preface it by saying I do try to be detached from my things.  I try to excercise this virtue on a regular basis (by getting rid of things, not getting upset when things are broken, avoiding the mall etc...just to name a few).  But I found it to be very stressful to have 367 boxes to unpack (so much for being dilligent about getting rid of stuff!!).  And I found that my stress level has decreased significantly now that I have all of my things out, orderly and around me.  Apparently I have some more work to do in this area of detachment, do you?

More later, homeschooling is calling!

A Birth-Day book

Outside my window...the sun is shining and there is still a little snow left on the ground.

I am thinking...that I hope my three little babies recover soon from this latest illness they have.  My prayer life is active to this subject in the past couple of days.

I am thankful...for my husband and family.  Also for the fabulous friends that we have.

I am wearing...comfy sweats, again.  I think that I should be comfortable on my birthday!  I don't look great in them but it sure feels good to be comfortable.

I am reading...The Domestic Church: Room By Room A Study Guide for Mothers.  Written by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle.  What a great book.  I have been working on the first chapter called The Foyer: Our Blessed Mother Mary and Motherhood.  I think it will take my some time to work through this chaper and have already found it to be helpful.

I am hearing...Dr. Ray on EWTN radio.  I enjoy the show "The Doctor is In" which airs on EWTN or Holy Spirit Radio at 1 PM weekdays.  Check it out.

Around the house...each room is in a different state of readiness for our impending move to Indiana which will occur in a little over 2 weeks.

Learning all the time...I am busy preparing to homeschool as the school out in Indy has a waiting list so we have decided to homeschool until we get in to the parish school (which is free, by the way!).

One of my favorite things...Dairy foods!  Which I can't have right now because my sweet baby boy who is nursing is allergic to it.  It is a sacrifice I am certainly willing to make for him but it is hard to do. 

I am creating...bags ready for our move that provides my children with everything they need for that week we are without our stuff.

A picture thought: made by my son Froggy.

Motherhood in the New Year

To paraphrase a few words from Donna-Marie Cooper-O'Boyle's Preface of the book The Domestic Church: Room by Room:  The gift of conceiving & carrying a human life within one's own body-under one's own heart-and then giving birth to and raising this little one is almost beyond words- and nothing short of a miracle.  The vocation of motherhood is a sublime privilege and an awesome responsibility.  We are partaking in a partnership with God and our husbands, through our marital vows.  In that partnership, we can experience a special communion with the mystery of life as he or she develops within our very being.  What a gift it is to be a mother. 

 The Catechism says: "The Christian home is the place where childeren receive the first proclamation of the faith.  For this reason the family home is rightly called 'the domestic church', a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity" (CCC, 1666).

How beautiful and profound!  Life can be so messy I am happy when I come across such notions to meditate upon when I am in the thick of daily living.  It helps me so very much to hear and contemplate these ideas instead of my own some what selfish ideas.

The other idea this book reminded me of is to look at the example of our Blessed Mother and her generous heart.  "Mary's determination and generous heart sent her-alone, on foot, and pregnant-on a 3-day journey to help her cousin Elizabeth, who was much older and also expecting a child.  We can be sure that Mary prayed and reflected all throughout her journey because the blessedness of Jesus dwelled within the tabernacle of her womb." (The Domestic Church: Room by Room page 3).

Sometimes I find it overwhelming to follow Mary's example because she was so perfect, but I can immitate her in the little things I do (visiting someone in need instead of staying home and getting my things done) and it somehow doesn't seem so overwhelming.

So for this new year of 2010 I am looking forward to doing a better job of immitating our wonderful Blessed Mother in the little things I do each day. 

Thank you Donna-Marie for the inspiration and insight!  God bless you in your work.