Monday, August 30, 2010

Happy Bday to my 5 yr old!!!

On Sunday, August 29th, 5 yrs ago....our most chunky baby was born!!!

WE love you so much, sunshine!
You bring such JOY to our family!
We thank God for choosing us as your parents and your family.
Having you in our family makes it a perfect fit!!!
You are an incredibly sweet child, very easy going and can get along with just about anyone.  (Love those types of kids!!!)
You are carefree and not much bothers you.  You have taught me to let go of a lot of things.  But one thing is for sure, you love your dollies, you love us, your family, and you love your God. 
For all this, Praise be to God!!!

Here are some pics of her special day:

Per request:
Homemade chocolate chip waffles!  They were delicious! I am glad she chose them!!!



Waiting to go to the EARLY 8am MASS!!! And we made it ON TIME!
AMAZING!


Oh, I wonder what's inside that wonderful looking wrapped paper bag present!!!


Keeping busy doing her own thing.  Her absolute FAVORITE THING....to play a Mommy to her dollies and that is what she got...a little baby bag complete with all items below... (but not her favorite dollie, Kelly!)

WE also had a surprise with her little friends to come and help us celebrate.  It was so fun!  Dress up, dollies, bella the dancerella ballet dancing, swimsuits and water, cake and ice cream.
What else could a 5 yr old want for her bday!?!?!
SHe said it was a perfect birthday!
That makes me so very happy!!!

I Love you, sweet L!
Love, Mommy

Early morning book discussion

"Wow, Mom, check out this book I am reading."
I look at what is in his hand, The Three Musketeers.

"That's great buddy!"  I reply.

Then he goes on to say..."Yeah, and I'm actually reading it, not just looking at the pictures and stuff!"

Haa!!!

Funny!  At least he is honest and at least he is reading!!!

God bless,
Mary

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Quote of the Day

"What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble Himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation."


--St. Francis of Assisi

Friday, August 27, 2010

Kids say the oddest things

Kid #1 says at lunch:  "I have something in my head that is bound to come out."


Whaaaaa??!!!!!!!?!?!?!??!?!?!?

ha ha ha ha

God bless,
Mary

Happy Feast of St. Monica!

St. Monica, pray for us!

St.  Monica truly amazes me.  She had a wild child and maybe you have one of those too?  She had a pagan husband and maybe you have one of those too?  It is said that they had a troubled marriage and maybe you have one of those too?

She had an intense prayer life and endured much penance for her son.  And eventually her son, Augustine, changed his crazy immoral ways to hear God in his life...he went on to become a Bishop!  Tomorrow we celebrate his feast day!!! 

St. Monica was a patient wife who loved God with all her heart and that led to her angered husband to hold her in a sort of reverence.  This love for God that she lived helped convert her husband on his death bed!

Prayer can change things!!! 

Patiently enduring sufferings for others can change things!!!

What a gift for a wife to see the conversion of her HUSBAND in her lifetime. 
What a gift for a mother to see the true conversion of her child in her lifetime. 

She is an example to many mommas out there to keep persevering in prayer, to never give up.

St. Monica, pray for us.

God bless,
 Mary

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Hey, Caught ya!

Catching frogs is a must in our family...our backyard, at the park or playground, on a hike...you name it, my kids will find a frog there...


Then my kid #3 loves to catch these beautiful creatures!  These I really like...




But things were to change....and then....just yesterday...we spotted this....



There.  Can you see him better now?
WOWeeeeee!


"Get a bucket!"  I yelled to my kid #3! 
"Hurry!"

Sure enough he did and kid #1 went for the catch.



Success!
Check out our big catch of the day!
He really is pretty cute, don't you think? 


We were really glad it was not this kind of turtle...


A snapper turtle!  YIKES!!!

What makes a playdate even better?  Just before our friends (from our previous state! :)) left, I noticed that lil guy walking in our backyard-and we caught him!  Needless to say, they enjoyed watching him immensely!  Our first EVER box turtle!  Now it's time for us to learn all about turtles...who knows what else we will find and catch in our backyard!

As you can easily tell, my kids really and I mean really enjoy catching all sorts of bugs and insects, butterflies, frogs and toads, and now turtles!

I have a feeling that SCIENCE CLASS is going to be REALLY COOL THIS YEAR!!!
We're off to a great start!!!

God bless,
Mary

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Quotes of the Day

LUKE 11:2-4...
"And he said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation."


Our Lord said in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”


Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: “Everyone is called to holiness, which is achieved through God’s grace and our will.”


Blessed Mother Teresa also said that ...

the fruit of interior silence is prayer,

and the fruit of prayer is faith,

and the fruit of faith is love,

and the fruit of love is service,

and the fruit of service is peace.

God's blessings~!
God bless,
Mary

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Summer 2010 in Pictures!

I finally, and I mean FINALLY!!! got my pictures on the computer.  Here are some from the summer.  I am sure there will be many more to come as time permits!

1)  Happy 8th Birthday to my kid #2~!  So much for a creative cake...I was down and out with first trimester blues and could only muster up cupcakes!!!  But having a party with her very best friends made up for Momma's lousy wanna be cake!

2)  Spring soccer!  Fun!  There's my kid #1 as goalie-he loves that position


3)  Random sunny summer day picture. 

4)  Lincoln log fort


5)  My monkeys on the monkey bars!

6)  Buddy playing time...

7)  What is summer without a pool and slide? 

8)  Roasting Marshmallows

9)  What is a hike without catching a FROG?!

more hiking...


10)  Ending our summer with a family vacation.  It was incredible!  Here is our youngest (almost 23 months) on a supposed to be 'pony ride' but with a real size horse.  Was he scared?  With Daddy by his side, he hopped up and even said "Giddy-up!"  HAAA HAAA!!!

11)  Lastly, do you remember my last post that included my son catching a butterfly?  (BTW, he is very good at this!  Indeed he caught another one this weekend too!)  We kept this particular butterfly in a special butterfly cage overnight.  The following morning we let him loose throughout our house and the kids loved it!  But it had to end when he landed on the rug under my son's leg and then my littlest son went over and stepped on the poor thing!  But we think he is okay, we decided to let him go after that incident and away he flew.  Each of my kids had a turn holding the butterfly on their fingers.  It was awesome!


...
..........Maybe there'll be more pics to come...!!! :)

God bless,
Mary

Thursday, August 19, 2010

"Signs of Life"

"We’re chatting on the phone when my baby begins to cry. “I’m sorry,” I say, “but I have to take care of my baby.”
When I return to the conversation, I apologize again. “Please,” my interviewee says. “You’re a mom. You’ve got to make your baby a priority. This is an example of taking our faith from the theoretical to the practical.”
..... “All of our beliefs can be grounded in Scripture, but it’s another thing to discover that our faith offers a culture with customs and all sorts of traditions that once seemed alien to me,” he explains. “You can’t become an American by reading and studying the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address. It’s a life lived by people, and it has been for so long that you really have got to step into the middle of it. The same is true with our faith. I became motivated to really become a Catholic - not just in my head but in my heart, not just in my soul but in my body. Not just in my career but in my marriage and family.”
Now if that sounds good to you, go read the whole article HERE.   I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

For me, I have been scheduling my day around snack times and nap times.  This is the way my own children get an idea of what is to come.   I can say "we're going to the library after naptime"  and they get it.  Or "Before lunch, we will be cleaning the house"  and  they get that.

What a terrific idea to get the prayers on a schedule FIRST then all the rest will come into play.  What a great idea to say "We're going to the library after the Divine Mercy Chaplet" or "Before lunch, we will be saying the Angelus".  Love it!  I will be trying to be more spiritually focused from now on. 

How about you?  How are your days split up and focused?
 
God bless,
Mary

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

And Sometimes...

Sometimes...you just have to stay outside in the hot and humid 93* while pregnant with the children and then you get to see your son catch a butterfly.

And then sometimes you allow your children to set up their school desk and make a sign that says:  "Butterflies for sale for $2". 

And then you smile.

And you are delighted.

And you are at peace.

And you are sweaty.

And you remind the children that they are in charge of making dinner tonight, even if it is 5:14pm b/c for a very long time this Momma has made dinner after dinner after dinner and they have not eaten it. 

And sometimes you allow them to make that creative crazy weird "I don't know what that is" dinner along with the 'safe' dinner of pasta and sauce.

And then you wonder if you will eat that stuff.

So, then you gently ask them if they'd be interested in making quessadillas and they respond with squeals and joy knowing that we'll all actually eat this dinner.

And sometimes this Daddy arrives home with questioning looks and smirks to his wife.

And you are happy.

And you are at peace.

And you say "Thank you Lord."


God bless,
 Mary

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Gone for 34 days!

You'll not hear from me for a while here on this blog. 

Ya know, longer than this week that I did not blog a thing.  Did you even notice?  Haaa haaaa!!!!  Well, we were just on a family vacation!  What a gift  for us all!!!  It was wonderful, even more wonderful than last year.  In fact, so wonderful that both my husband and I are feeling very called to consecrate our family to Jesus through Mary.  It follows the act of Total Consecration by St. Lous de Montfort.  See HERE



We have the whole kit to do it and are pumped up.  I figured, why not?  It surely cannot hurt us but only help us and help others!!!  Both my hubby and I are very excited to do this, feel so called to do this and we are doing this together!!! I am so blessed to have this hubby of mine.  What a blessing he is to our family~! 

We have been struggling saying the Holy Rosary as a family for a while now.  This helps us to focus on saying the Rosary as a family daily, starting with a decade first and building up.  I have all these wonderful ideas on how to set up our "domestic church" -- an actual  prayer room-complete with an altar!  I am sure it will be so beautiful and hopefully pleasing to Mother Mary and our Lord too!

It takes 34 days, so that's what I am going to be focused on. 

Now now, I may feel inclined to post a thing here and there, so do check back, ok?!?!?

Oh,on a totally different topic... I also decided on a ciriculum that will fit our family for this school year.  What a relief to be settled on one.  Catholic Heritage Cirriculum it is.  See HERE.   Now all I have left to do is order the grade level kits ;) !  We do not have a set day to start school.  Initally it was going to be this week, but nope! not ready yet!  As in....have not ordered their books yet! haaa haaa .  But I am not worried, in God's good timing.

CHC seems to me, to be more slower paced, which is perfect for this school year.  With baby #7 due in January, I know we will not be schooling for a while then.  Plus, this year, both my hubby and I agree that this school year will be more about HOME than about SCHOOL  (HOME-SCHOOL).  We have a lot of work to do at home here and I thank God for all His awesome gifts to us. 

I am not overwhelmed and am actually looking forward, really looking forward to school this year!  What a joy to be the excited Mom to teach.  Thank You God for these graces-keep them coming!!!

On this great feast of St. Maximillian Kolbe-one of our very very favorites---Happy Feast day!!!


One last thing as we are in the midst of our Family's Total Consecration...If you can remember amongst all of life's craziness, would you please keep my family in your prayers, thank you!

God bless,
Mary

Friday, August 6, 2010

Stop running from our crosses!

Last week, I went to confession.

Surprise, I know....right?!?  (heee heeee)

What the priest told me during confession has stayed with me and I keep returning to it during some quiet prayer time in the mornings.  He said "Embrace your cross, don't run from it."  Nothing too profound.  Certainly nothing that I have not heard before.  But that is precisely that I have been doing-running from it.  I have been trying to rationalize that if only I had more alone time I could pray more.  If only my prayer time was uninterrupted, I could concentrate on what God needs to say to me.  If only I could wake up earlier than the children, I could start my day better with prayers and coffee...alone.   If only the kids were not fighting as much, I could feel the love of Jesus more. 

If... If.... If...

While these are all legit and true, they are not me, not right now.  I responded to these If questions with anxiety and upsetness that it was not the way it should be.  

But truly, it is what it is. 

This is my cross.  We all have them.  These crosses are the step ladders to heaven.  To holiness.  They are constant reminders that Jesus said to pick up our crosses and follow Him.  HE knows the perfect cross for us and this is it. 

He is reminding me and calling me to find HIM in the dirty dishes, in the crying children, in the chaos and loudness.  My perfect idea of a quiet peaceful home is at a distant wish, for now at least.  These are the moments that my Lord is waiting for me, to be close to me.  To me!  Everytime I can look past the feelings of the moment and try really hard to see Jesus, that is where I will find my peace.  That is the peace that is being reserved for me now.  Amongst all the chaos, Peace is there.  Amongst all the loudness, Peace is there.  These are my opportunities to grow in grace and to find my Lord, my Peace.

Dear Lord, forgive me from running from my cross, my path to holiness, my path to Heaven.  Help me to find You in my daily efforts today.  Help me to find You, my Peace, in all that I encounter today.  I love You.  Amen.

God bless,
Mary

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Reality check

When I plan to go to DMV to get a new state license, I need to be ready to wait a long time.

A long time to see the information desk lady.

Just to have her tell me that I do not have the right documents.

So I go home and get another document.

She does not like that one either.

So I go home again and get something else.

She is not sure so she still gives me a number and I wait. 

I wait a long time again.

Just to see the desk lady who reviews my documents. 

She is not satisfied either.

So I go home really impatient.

God is teaching me major patience.  Why?  I wonder.

I wait 2 days and go back.  I bring the document they asked for.

They do not like it.

I go home to get the last possible document and I am so not very happy at that point.

I go back to the DMV.

They like it!  They approve them all!

I have a new lincense on its way!!!

A reminder to myself that:
Life is sometimes NEVER what you expect!!!

I did declare to my hubby that I am not going back for any car registrations or ANYTHING!!!

God bless,
Mary

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I'm reading a book!

Between wet laundry that I keep forgetting to put into the dryer and keep putting that laundry back through another cycle....to....loads of clean laundry that are adorning my living room couches....but for some odd reason I have found time to squeeze in a little reading. Imagine that!  Reading a book!

So, what am I reading, you ask?

"Stay Home, Stay Happy--10 secrets to loving at-home motherhood" by Rachel Campos-Duffy. 

Thanks to my mother in law that saw her featured on EWTN a while back, she and my father in law bought me this book for my bday yesterday.  (Thanks T and S!!!)  It is an easy read which fits my life right now! haaaa haaaa ;)

There is one thing that she pointed out and reminded me in this book that I am focusing on:

"Whenever I feel overwhelmed or down, I remind myself that this is, indeed, my choice
Unlike women of earlier generations, most of us have made a choice to be at-home mothers.  There is real power in exercising choice." (Pg 25).


.....And I'll leave it at that.

God bless,
Mary