Unexpected Guest

The best unexpected guest came to our home last Thursday, and is staying the week! I was so excited when I got the phone call last week, looking for a place for her to stay - she must have known we needed her presence!

Pray, pray a great deal and offer sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them.

-Our Lady of Fatima

Pilgrim Virgin Statue

Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for Us!

Happy

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!

St Maria Faustina Kowalska

Jesus I Trust in You

St. Faustina is the one whom Jesus worked through to bring us His message of Love and Mercy. In this International Week of Prayer, would you be willing to join me in saying the Divine Mercy Chaplet?

Jesus to St. Faustina, "Their love is weak, so I put them in your special care - pray for them."

FYI:

Here is a great DVD for kids! If you click the image it will bring you to EWTN catalog. It might air today on EWTN sometime between 4-5 PM Eastern time if you want a preview.

St. Faustina, teach us the mercy of Jesus that we may be merciful. We all fall to sin, but those who trust in God's Mercy prevail! His love and mercy are greater than any sin.

God Loves You!

*Actually, this is the DVD I was thinking about:

The sister teaches the children how to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and what to think about as they are saying it.

Need a Body Guard?

1-800-GUARDIAN ANGEL

Too many #'s? Then try the prayer line!

All you have to do is say, "Guardian Angel" and Bam, you've got yourself a body guard, protecting ALL of you, most importantly, your SOUL!

Give yours a call, today!

*Bill Osborne, a Christian artist, has some great digital pictures of Angel Warriors, the Guardian Angel is my favorite. These are the types of angels I want protecting me!

Here's one example named

Divine Protection:

-Psalm 91:11

In the blink of an eye

I just realized today is the 30th. The last day of September. I thought it just started...

So here is what I have learned in the blink of September:

-1-

I can still scream like a girl when surprised!

Some of you know, I don't get surprised by much, and I can't remember the last time my vocal cords let out a squeal because of something surprisingly gross-I'm referring to critters.

Daniel my boy who always has a bit of nature in his hands (from dirt to plants to critters) came into the house while I was on the couch half awake nursing Christopher. He showed me his net. This one to be exact:

And continued to ask me if I wanted to know what he had in it. Tiredly, I said, "Sure." He took his hand off the top, and a BIG BULLFROG jumped on my shoulder, just above Christopher's head.

Go ahead, scream with me!

AHHH!

Daniel was full of laughter, and so was I a few seconds later.

He tried it again, but to his surprise, I didn't scream anymore: I took the frog, reminded him that it belonged outside, and laughed some more!

-2-

Have I ever told you how much I like preschool helpers?

They make a mess

In a blink of an eye

And I love it!

Really, I do!

I wish I could join them!

And their innocence!

-3-

And then they grow up!

And I'm learning to love it.

Yes, Learning:

To understand

To teach

To let go

-4-

The race is on:

Last year, Luke was the fastest 4th grader in town!

This year, he had the honor of lighting the torch for the 4th grade 'fun run'.

-5-

Bracelets Anyone?

I told her she had to take them off before we went to the store, and she replied, "But they are pretty and soft!" I'm sure it would have brought a few chuckles at the store, but I just couldn't do it. She reluctantly took them off.

-6-

We've been in a 'No' Craze:

If I say "No" to one child, why do the others have to do/ask the exact same thing?

Just in case its ok for them?

It's making me craz-E:

Mom: "Didn't I just tell you, 'no'."

Kid: "No, you told ___ 'no'."

-7-

F.R.O.G

Fully Rely on God

He is always watching us. ;)

*may or may not be the frog mentioned in 1*

But isn't it cute peeking in the window?

I leave you with this:

"Pray, Hope and Don't Worry!"

-Padre Pio

September 23

And that folks, is our September in a blink of an eye!

Hopefully October will be a better blog month ;)

Can't keep my hands off you!

Christopher is 2 months old!

And look at all the help and love around him!

Children too are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed are they whose quivers are full.

Psalm 127

Empty Box = Full Lesson

Maybe its because the kids are getting older...

Maybe its because they are too much like a parent before them...

Maybe its because if they didn't get to them first, they wouldn't get any...

Maybe its because they don't want to get caught...

In any case, I found an empty box of cookies in the cupboard, neatly placed so that it looks like it has never been touched and opened. Another empty box/container kept special in the cupboard to fill with childhood memories:

One Christmas, my dear mother baked cookies. Actually, she baked every Christmas, but this one fills the cookie box today. She kept the cookies in the deep freezer out in the garage. A perfect place for cookies to be kept until Christmas; that is, unless you have a dear husband and 7 kids looking for treats.

About 2 weeks before Christmas, my mom decided to pull out a container of cookies. My grandparents were coming to celebrate my brother and I's December birthdays. Well, she pulled the container out and opened it. The container was empty, so she pulled another. It was empty. And another, and another and another: all empty! All the sudden we heard an agonizing "NOOO!" come from the garage. Mom went through the cookie containers (11 or 12 of them) which were supposed to be full of cookies-all empty!

A little later, Mom shared the story the neighbor, who also had a big family. And the neighbor lady said she was getting together with her adult girls to make Christmas cookies. My mom wished us girls were old enough to do that, but that was not the case. So, she got busy baking again, and made a few more containers worth. This time, she marked them "For Christmas! Don't Eat!" In the meantime, the generous neighbor lady came over with about 5 dozen of their Christmas cookies to share. Thank God for neighbors!

So, today's lesson for me comes from my mom whom I love, a memory, and an empty box: We must give and keep giving even when there is nothing in it for ourselves. Yes, there's nothing in it for me. It's not about me, but Christ who lives in me, doing His work. And as we keep giving, he fills us with more! It's all about Him.

Our Lord to St. Catherine of Siena (youngest of ≈ 25 children)

Do you know My daughter who you are and who I am? You are she who is not, and I am Who Is.

I spread the grace of my Spirit where I will... Be brave and obedient when I send you out among people. Wherever you go I will not forsake you, I will be with you, as is my custom, and will guide you in all that you are to do.

kinda sounds a lot like John 14.

All for the Glory of God!

Note:

1. Now just so you know, freezer cookies are different from fresh cookies or treats left out on the counter. When we got into those, we NEVER took the last one! It was then that we were working on our sharing hearts. ;)

2. Even to this day, (my dad is the only one home) she puts a note on the special containers: "For _____, Do Not Eat!" It is understood, and everything else is free for all! (Her notes remind me of Adam and Eve, and the forbidden fruit ;) )

Rest

I wouldn't recommend it, but the bassinet does hold more than 15 pounds.

Thank God!

You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

Job 11:18

Brain damage...take 2

Child, "Umm, Mom, the stool broke."

To clarify the type of stool:

Parents, "Were you sitting on it properly?"

"I don't know. I was just sitting on it, and it broke."

Yes, I think our child has brain damage...

Being a brilliant parent that I am, I later pointed out the safety sticker on the bottom of the stool stating:

Proper use: ...Do NOT rock or tilt stool on two legs while seated.

Only to notice the next line: Do NOT let children use stool without adult supervision.

I guess I am at fault, too.

Why is it that kids can't resist rocking on a chair or stool. How many times have we heard, "Don't lean back in the chair!" Maybe it's just me, but growing up, we heard it a lot. Which brings back memories. At one point in time my parents decided to add a room on to the house. I had a particular brother who was notorious for balancing his chair on two legs, and reclining it back to rest on the wall behind him. That wall is the one that would later be knocked out to an open room. Yes, he was in such a habit of sitting back in his chair that he tried to lean it against the wall that no longer existed. He will never live that down, except for the day he was "down" on the floor. ;)

Thanks for the laugh, bro - you know who you are!

Trick Question

Kathryn was going to demonstrate to Michael and Daniel a take down handshake. (Like they need to know how to do this at their tender ages of 8 & 6 sigh) They both wanted to go first, so she did the famous pick a number game:

"Ok, I've got a number behind my back between 1-10."

With only ONE hand behind her back, I wondered how she had a number bigger than 5.

Maybe she was growing fingers back there...

She's not fluent in sign language. (But you can try it if you click on the 1-10 link.)

She covered up with, "Ah, yes, it was a trick question!"

A Slug-ger

There are just some things about boys that make me laugh! Maybe that's why God keeps gifting us with them: to bring humor to our lives. Some of you readers might not find the humor in this little story, but I am still chuckling. Maybe it's because I had to try and bottle the laughter up when it happened...thus no picture. These boys of mine don't need any encouragement!

John came strolling back into the bathroom this evening, after his shower, bare back, announcing, "Mom, can you get the slug off my back?"

I questioned him, "You have a slug on your back?"

"Yes, I can't reach it, Daniel put it there."

John turned around, and I didn't see a slug. It wouldn't surprise me if I did see a slug there. The boys have found slugs in the yard to feed to the fish. It's possible one of them snuck a slug into the house. It's also possible that one of them would think it is cool to see how a slug would crawl on someone else's back.

Daniel came giggling into the bathroom as I was telling John he didn't have a slug on his back. Try as I might, I could not keep a straight face as I looked at Daniel and his "slug".

Do you want to know what was crawling on John's bare back?

A big slimy booger!

aka slug

straight from Daniel's nose

got milk?

I'm sure you've seen the ads. One of the latest is of Batman with the quote, "Others reload, Batman refuels." gotmilk.com tells us, "With all its healthful benefits, milk could be considered a superdrink." Now, my favorite memory of a milk add is from the 80's, "Milk, it does a body good- Pass it on!"

So, where am I going with this milk fetish?

I was feeding Christopher this morning as I sat in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and thought about this superdrink. G.K. Chesterton tells us, "A baby does not find nourishment from sucking his thumb, but from an outside source." And so it is with us!

However hard we try to satisfy ourselves, we still need nourishment from an outside source. What better place can we go to refuel from a superdrink than to Jesus? Jesus: the one who gives us drink when we are thristy (John 4:14), food when we are hungry (John 6:35), healing when we are hurt (Matthew 9:35; Luke 6:19), and the touch of Love when we simply need to be picked up.

Got Love?

Adoration, it does a body good - Pass it on!

I think the dog is cleaning...

But I am cleaning more, ugh.

Maybe I should invest in one of these:

Any thoughts?

If I could keep the door closed to the room, it would be good; but evidently we don't do a very good job of this. Do you think the dog would leave these trash cans alone? I'm beginning to think it is worth a try...

Embraced by God

B- Born a new child of God

A- Anointed with oil

P- Precious Gift: Purified of sin

T- Torch Passed On

I-Imprint of Christ: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy spirit.

S- Saint in training

M- Mentors Matter

Christopher, may you always carry Christ and share Him with everyone you meet!

Parents and Godparents

Teammates on the Journey

My Baby

I was feeding Christopher, and Vincent came over to sit on my lap. Gina took notice of this and states, "Mom, you have 2 babies."

I told her, "No, Vincent is a big boy now and Christopher is our baby."

She didn't seem to accept that answer and proceeded to confidently voice her opinion, "No, you have 2 babies, Vincent is your baby and Christopher is my baby!"

She then tried to take Christopher out of my arms. I stopped her and said he was eating.

She surprisingly pipes up, "He's eating THOOOSE?!"

She now knows where the food source is, and the next time Christopher began to cry, she came running over to me demanding, "Mom, feed him NOW-OW!"

I'm glad someone in this house knows what to do with a crying baby!

Gina and Christopher

"Mom, he's starting to cry, I'm done with him. You need to feed him."

Looks like he's done with you, too. ;)

note: I forgot how much fun it is to get "those" conditioned.

Just another day at the park...

The Teeter-Totter!

This was my favorite thing to do at the playground, aka hospital, last Monday as I went in for a scheduled induction to have the little one, now known as Christopher. Yes, it was just another day at the park. I've been through this enough times, you'd think it would just be a simple stroll, but as many of you know, I don't sit still for long, and the excitement of a teeter-totter was quite appealing. I played on this thing all morning!

I pushed up and rushed down. I'd fly up into the air, and feel my stomach in my throat as I came back down. I'd use all my strength to push back up and stay on top with the thoughts of, "I can do this." Then crash back down with, "No I can't." To top it off, I had a straight forward doctor who simply told me, "It's multiple choice:

A. We can do this

B. You can go home

C. None of the above is NOT an option"

Darn, I was so close to picking C.

One would think I would jump off this teeter-totter, but evidently I was having too much fun. I think my husband was tired of watching me, God Bless him for supporting me in this endeavor.

As I continued to play, I tried so hard to stay on top, but no matter how hard I tried, I always rushed back down. You see, the teeter-totter is a 2 person ride. Someone else was on it with me; Someone much stronger and heavier than I, controlling when I could be up and down. When I discovered this, I began to let go a bit and enjoy the ride.

I stayed on that teeter-totter, now waffling between thoughts of epidural/no epidural. I wanted so much to be strong and endure what was to come, yet I was so weak. Just the week before, I was in for pre-admission, and told the nurse I won't be needing to sign the anesthesia papers because I wouldn't be getting an epidural. I hadn't truly had one since my oldest, and decided I wouldn't do it again. It seems a bigger lesson was in store for me this day. As the time drew closer, I remembered something I had just been told a few days before I went in, "just be happy God invented drugs." I laughed and thought, "Yes, I shall give up pain, that would be a good sacrifice for me." Do you notice the prideful theme here? I was on top - I was too good for an epidural.

As time went on, I asked for the anesthesiologist. The whole "God invented drugs" kept ringing in my ears. I was at peace with this decision, I was looking forward to the more "relaxed" birth. However, as the nurse and doctor left after the epidural was in place, I rushed back down bumping the ground with the teeter-totter. It hurt. It hurt my pride. I couldn't believe I just went through with it. Was this really what God wanted of me?

I believe it was. He was stronger, He pushed to the top, and as I cried at the submission of my will, He took control. The humility He was teaching me was more important than my efforts to show my strength. I learned about humility in the excitement of a ride at the park, "True joy in the ride comes as we let go and are plummeted down."

The greatest blessing that July 20 afternoon

Christopher

9lbs 1.6 oz. 22.5 " long

All for the Glory of God.

No more room...

Well, it has been declared, there is no more room at the "inn". Baby will have to come outside with the rest of us poor creatures. Please keep us in your prayers for a safe delivery.

Thank you!

Camping Highlights (vol 3)

Just a relaxing camping trip:

Dad and the big kids went froggin after dark; Minus Gabrielle who was cat-fishing with Grandpa.

Mom sat by the fire a bit, then nestled in bed with a new book.

(As well as a 9month pregnant woman can nestle, that is.)

Here is a clip:

More Fishing:

Luke

Michael and Daniel

John and Gina

Vincent's First Fish with Grandpa's Assistance

Teamwork:

Sometimes, one's role on the team is to cheer the others on as they carry the load.

At least that's what I keep telling myself as Princess Gina was being carried on her throne to the lake.

And, Rudy learned to swim.

We have proof!

Until Next Time...

Corn Detasseling

Question:

What do you get when you have a teenage night owl detasseling corn?

Answer:

"Mom, can I shower and go to bed?"

(It's 8:20pm, and still light out!)

Tis the season to de-tassel!

I think I am going to enjoy this ;)

Thank God for summer days, tassels that need to be removed from the corn plants, AND the teenager who engages in such work!

Camping Prep...

Mom: "Do you have your clothes loaded in the camper?"

Child: "Almost! I just have to pack."

hmmm...

Brain damage...

Today I was looking for the phone before I headed into the store-

You know, in case blood was shed back at home.

I found it!

Attached to my ear; actively being used as I conversed with my mom.

Can I blame it on pregnancy?

plus/minus 13 days

But who's counting?

Just some desperate hopeful mama.