On Halloween and Rome

Every year at this time the Catholic on-line world goes crazy with posts about whether or not it is Catholic to celebrate Halloween.  I suppose at some point my overloaded brain knew all the reasons for and against this argument, but today, for the life of me, I can't remember any of them.

This year we will be donning saintly costumes and attending our parishes All Hallow's Eve party.  Father decided to host it on Halloween and so we are going to go and watch skits, play games, go through mazes and get candy.  I think it sounds like a great mix - religion, fun and candy!

So as I sit here waiting to get ready to leave, I was reading the next chapter in our history book about the Roman Empire.  I was so struck when I read these two paragraphs about how history does in fact just keep repeating itself.  We humans, try as we might, just keep falling into the same sins.  See if this sounds familiar to you:

"Roman citizen farmers could not compete with these large farms and so were forced to sell their small farms and move to Rome.  In Rome, these once independent farmers relied on the government for food, which was handed out daily.  In this way, Rome's empire destroyed the small citizen farmers who had made Rome great in the first place."

and this one:

"Rome's power and wealth changed the patricians as well.  Many of these once patriotic men who served as senators and generals became selfish and greedy.  As senators they became more concerned with their own success than what benefited all Romans.  So it was that Romans came to lose the virtues of courage, loyalty and self-control - the virtues that had made Rome great."

Sounds all too familiar to me.  I know you are wondering what these two things have to do with each other and how I am going to tie them together and my answer is:  they don't and I'm not, so have a safe, fun, holy time over the next few days :)

God Bless!
 

As My Son Grows Up

 

My first four children are all girls.  Since they are currently 20, 18, 16 and almost 14, I have a pretty good handle on what to expect from a girl while she is growing up.  My eldest son is currently 12 and it is fascinating to me to watch him mature because he is (and rightly so) so different from the girls.


While he wishes he was growing taller, he is definitely growing stronger and I love to watch him use his strength around the house.  As us girls are always struggling to do push ups and sit ups and such, it is fun to watch him do them with ease.  I hate to admit that he is already stronger than I am as this does not give me much leverage going into the teen years :)

I also enjoy watching his mind grow.  His ability to reason is growing by leaps and bounds lately.  He loves to argue points with us...unfortunately he usually picks the already proven losing point, but I still egg him on so that I can see him hone his debate skills.   All someone has to do is say something along the lines of, "Hey, I just heard Pluto isn't a planet any more" or "Didn't you know fish isn't considered meat", and he begins to debate with you why that point is not necessarily true.  All we need to do is to work with him and I can see him becoming a skilled debater of apologetics.

I thank God for giving me this boy!  I am so glad that God made such differences between boys and girls because it truly does make the world a better place.  I look forward to watching him as he strengthens his mind and body even more in the years to come and uses them for good in this world.

God Bless!

Catholic Woman's Almanac

Joining in with the women over at Sucipio!

Moments of Grace:

* The first weekend of fires in the fireplace
* Whole chickens that tasted awesome for a change
* Raking leaves and lots of sunshine
* Watching a series with my daughters and hubby

Beauty in the Ordinary:

Getting my camera out again after a short hiatus and taking pictures of the kids out in the yard felt good.  Seeing things through the lens and working with the light to try to create memorable images is very cathartic.  It takes your mind off of your troubles.

Around the house:

Two girls are playing Blokus, my husband is making his famous peanut butter protein bars, my youngest son is making bombing noises on the other side of the room, so some elaborate battle must be going on :).  My oldest son was practicing the piano (finally) and the other girls are on their computers somewhere.

In the Kitchen:

I'm not kidding about this - our chicken turned out awesome today (Sunday).  I've lived in this house almost three years and had yet to use the convection part of my oven.  Since we were cooking two whole chickens (and the white meat usually turns out dry) I thought I'd figure out how to use it.  It cooked a lot faster and the chicken was so juicy and tasted fabulous!  Now we're on to cranberry bread for tomorrow's breakfast and baked potato soup later in the week.

Pondering:

Why so many people have lost that healthy "Fear of the Lord".

Praying:

For all those on the East coast:  for their safety and their property.  For the upcoming election, that Sandy will not interfere with voter turnout or the election. 

The Week Ahead:

All Hallow's Eve will be celebrated at out parish this year.  One of our priests puts on an elaborate event for the kids and this year it is on "the day".  Some of our girls will be singing the Mass parts in Latin for the Holy Day and for All Souls Day.  I am so excited about this! 

Captured:

My first thought for this spot is to find pretty photos or photos to make you smile.  This is a "keepin-it-real" photo.  Our cabinet was falling off the ceiling.  Here's my hubby using his male-ingenuity to fix it :)

 God Bless!

7 Quick Takes October 26 2012

--- 1 ---

We're firming up plans to take Ms 16 yo on a retreat soon and I suggested that my hubby and I drive her out there and stay at a family lake house for the weekend since it is too far to drive there and back and there and back in one weekend.  Mr 7 yo chimed in, "Yeah, it could be like a second honeymoon!"  Now where did he get that from?
 

--- 2 ---

We enjoyed some nice Indian Summer weather Thursday; until about 5:00 pm when a cold front blasted through and the temp dropped a good 20 degrees.  I'm so glad we were able to get out while it was warm and start on those leaves!
 

--- 3 ---

I was reminded today that I love photography :)  I haven't had my camera out in quite some time, so today I just decided I was going to take pictures.  Not much else has been going on around here, so the next few Quick Takes will be mostly visual!
 

--- 4 ---

  

--- 5 ---

Here are some of the last flowers of the season.  I am surprised that they've hung on as long as they have.

 

--- 6 ---

I think a lot of the fun of digital photography is seeing what kinds of things you can do to your pictures!

 

 

 

--- 7 ---

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Once we finish "Once Upon A Time" I plan on working on some projects that are much overdue.  Other than that, we'll be inside enjoying the toasty warmness instead of outside in the cold.

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Once Upon A Time...

...there was a woman who knew that she could very easily get caught up in works of fiction.  It didn't matter if it was a novel or a TV program; if it was captivating, then she was sucked in.  The problem was that, once sucked in, most of life came to a standstill.  Sure the family got fed and schooled and prayers still got prayed, but other things fell by the wayside until that book was finished or that series was done.

Such was the case when said woman's daughters brought home the first season of "Once Upon A Time" from the library.  22 episodes - 2 weeks to watch them.  Every spare moment was spent thoroughly wrapped up in the lives of these story book characters.  All extraneous work was put on hold until all 22 of those episodes were done.  It's a good thing this woman has a patient husband who thoroughly understands her obsessions.

God Bless!

 

Wordless Wednesday

God Bless!

Thank You, Lord, for Not Sending Me This...

I wrote a while back about how God has tailor-made our particular cross for us.  While I can embrace my crosses, I can also thank God profusely for the crosses He hasn't sent me at this time.  I can be thankful for so many things; and this, my friends, is one cross I am thankful I have not encountered...

A friend of mine had some plumbing problems a few weeks back.  It seems that her kitchen sink drain plugged up.  It also became apparent that her upstairs toilet pipe is somehow tied into the same pipe as her kitchen drain (use your imagination and I'll spare you the details).  That, however, is not the worst of the story.

Her son was in the upstairs bathroom emptying the garbage can when something caught his eye in the toilet.  It seems that there was something in there looking back at him.  He called his dad upstairs who, upon coming into the room and going toward the toilet, saw a nice sized sewer rat swimming back down the pipe.

They slammed the lid down and put some bricks on it to make sure the rat stayed put.  In all likelihood, the rat got trapped in the upper part of the pipe since the lower part, the one leading back to the city sewer system, was currently plugged.

Well, they eventually got it all cleared up and the city came and put poison in the manholes and their kitchen is restored to its original pristine condition.  I can't say, however, that they don't look twice before they sit down :)

So for my part, I just want to say that I am so thankful that our house is not connected to the city sewer system.  To the best of my knowledge there aren't things called "septic rats".  I am thankful for the trials in my life - the ones that don't include four legged creatures invading the very private parts of my home!

God Bless!

Catholic Woman's Almanac

Joining in with the Ladies over at Sucipio!

Moments of Grace:

* Praying and socializing with friends on Friday
* Celebrating a birthday with family
* Warm weather and a bit of rain to enjoy
* Laughing with family

Beauty in the Ordinary:

We've often seen a male and female cardinal in our yard; they are so beautiful to watch and it is so nice to always see them in pairs.  Well this morning, they must have been in a socializing mood because we saw multiple pairs of cardinals in our yard at the same time.  I really don't think I've ever seen that before.  There were also a few bluebirds that joined them.

In the Kitchen:

This week is "eat cheap" week.  I needed to make up some ground in the budget this week, so I pulled out all of my cheap meals; things like turkey tetrazzini, American spaghetti, tuna casserole and bean tacos. 

Pondering:

The fact that we've been encountering the same message again in many different ways over the past week:

You will be judged only on how well you have done what has been given to you to do and how much you have loved.

Praying:

For so many people and their intentions.  For our priest and his pilgrims as they head home from New York.  For the wisdom to discern God's Will and the grace to do God's Will at all times.

Meditating on:

Bible verses having to do with prayer.  There are quite a lot of them and I'm looking forward to seeing what they hold for me.

The Week Ahead:

This is a quiet week:  no field trips, not too many activities.  We have the first season of "Once Upon A Time" on DVD, so we look forward to watching all 22 episodes before we have to return them.  We've watched 7 so far and have a little over a week left.  The temptation to call a Teacher's Institute day is great, but as my kids pointed out, the principal probably wouldn't be too happy with that!

Captured:

God Bless!

My Relationship with Food

Food is something we should consume...not something that should consume us.  Sometimes I find myself totally overwhelmed with all of the uproar about food.  Emails, facebook, conversations with friends.  Everywhere I turn there is an opinion about what I should or shouldn't be putting in my mouth - and more importantly, in the mouth's of my children.

Moderation.  That is my take on the whole issue.  I am friends with A LOT of people who are very concerned about what they eat, which is good, as I've learned a lot about making good choices because of them.

However, I can easily become obsessed about things and so I find that I have to remove myself from some of these conversations because otherwise food would consume me, too.

Now, over the years I have learned some very valuable things about food.  Like the fact that aspartame and I don't get along; that I get a horrible headache and my eyes swell shut.  For that reason, it is not allowed in my house or near any of our mouths - just not gonna take that chance.

Learning what artificial colors can do to a young child who is allergic to them saved my sanity and opened my heart to more children :)

Finding out that my nursing babies were much happier when I didn't eat or drink certain things was a life-saver (can you believe one of them didn't like it when I ate chocolate??? That was just plain wrong :).

The real issue, at least for me, is finding balance.  God has never put it on my heart to eat a raw diet (even raw meat as some people I know do), grow a huge garden and stock my shelves with canned goods, turn my kitchen into a sprouting field or put a dairy cow in my backyard.  I'm okay with that.  It might be what others are called to do, but I'm pretty sure it isn't what I am called to do.  We eat the best we can given the grocery stores that are available to us and the money that is in our wallet.

I used to get caught up in all of this and upset that I wasn't following the latest dietary "fad".  But one evening, I realized how much it had been consuming me.  I was invited to speak at a homeschool group gathering that was about an hour away.  When I walked in and began mingling, I noticed that there were bottles of diet pop in the kitchen and that PEOPLE WERE ACTUALLY DRINKING IT!  Wow, really, there are Catholic homeschoolers who actually drink diet pop, and they looked okay!  My reaction to that was what made me realize that proper nutrition has a proper place in my brain.  I cannot make everything perfect.  I cannot make sure that everything we eat is pure.  I cannot, and will not, make the eating of everything proper and healthy a god.  

Balance and moderation. Awareness and prudence.  Common sense and reality.  Those are the things that should guide our interactions with food.  Let's face it, this country has a long way to go to getting its food supply to where it should be in terms of healthiness and purity.  We should all work towards that but know the limits of what God has called us to do.  We should fight for things that are wrong and try to make choices that are good for our family and pray that some day we will all be able to eat healthy, good foods that are readily available to us that don't cost an arm and a leg.  I guess that would be called Heaven, wouldn't it??

God Bless!

7 Quick Takes October 19 2012

--- 1 ---

Finally got to a few thrift stores this week to do some fall clothing shopping.  There's nothing better than a 30% discount on already discounted clothes!
 

--- 2 ---

So far so good on keeping up with my daily readings from the Catechism.  They have been much more manageable than I thought they would be.  I was expecting many more paragraphs than they are actually sending. I'm also trying very hard to s-l-o-w down and read what is there instead of doing my usual skim job.
 

--- 3 ---

Our pastor and people from our parish are leaving on a pilgrimage today to New York to be at Kateri's shrine for her canonization on Sunday.  We were really hoping to be there too, but alas, it was not meant to be.  I will live vicariously through the facebook page created just for the trip :)
 

--- 4 ---

I'm still plugging away on that St. Kateri unit study.  I only have two more chapters to get through and then clean it up.  So, all in all, I'm not too far behind my goal...hopefully another week or so.
 

--- 5 ---

The girls and I are still exercising.  We've been at it now since the beginning of September; which is quite a feat for us!  Using the weights has been hard, but I actually am beginning to feel as if there is muscle somewhere under all this flab!  I love that feeling right after working out of being strong enough to punch something :)  Don't worry...it isn't anything I've ever followed through on.
 

--- 6 ---

 Facebook and politics...what's your take on it?  I just skim through most of it and only slow down for things that look interesting.  People keep complaining about too many political posts on there, but hey, it's a change from hearing about what people have been eating, isn't it??

--- 7 ---

 Mom's rosary night, basketball evaluation and a birthday party...a nice mix this weekend between quiet and activity.  Although, looking out the window, I think all of those leaves on the ground might be calling to us.  This brings many groans from the kids, but think of how many calories one can burn!  Have a great weekend.

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Wonderful Resource for Your Family

The other day I was fortunate enough to find my way to a wonderful resource for this Year of Faith.  I was reading some posts over at Sucipio when I saw this one that led me to this great book written by Jenny.  It's called the "Catholic Child's Teaching Bible" and it is chock full of Bible verses that are organized based on various vices and virtues.

I always read about Protestants who would use Scripture to teach their children the "ways in which they should go" but I often wondered how they took the time to find all the right verses.  This book does that for you, but from a Catholic perspective.  I am so excited to finally have handy Scripture verses with which to teach my children.

We plan on doing this as a family over this Year of Faith.  There are twenty different chapters and more than 52 weeks left in this Year, so I figure we should be able to complete it before next November :)

Also, although I don't know why I'm telling you this because it just diminished my own chances of winning, if you purchase the "Catholic Child's Teaching Bible" this week you're entered to win the items needed to go along with the book.  That would be a great win!

I hope you'll go and check out this great resource.  You can just tell Jenny put a lot of love into this project (and I'm not even getting paid to say that :).  Anyhow, I know we can't wait to get started...we're just waiting to see if we will win the other items of if I need to go out and buy them!!

God Bless!

Catholic Woman's Almanac

Joining with the lovely women over at Sucipio!

Moments of Gratitude:

* An incredible dinner made by some friends on Saturday.  Their company was wonderful, too!

* A son who serves Mass with much reverence.

* Daughters who sing beautifully.

* A husband who listens patiently.

Beauty in the Ordinary:

Teaching the kids this morning.  Sometimes they just have such profound things to say about what we are learning.

In the Kitchen:

We're baking bread and just finished making Texas brownies.  The salmon will be grilled later and the vegies steamed.  All this is in preparation for our pastor who is coming for dinner before we head off to our annual homeschool group Mass that he will be saying for us.  The rest of the week just pales in comparison.

Looking Forward:

To another field trip this week.  This time to hear a local college's symphony orchestra.  I can't wait to close my eyes and revel in the music.  I used to play the violin so I've always loved a good symphony.

Praying:

So much right now.  Our family, our needs, our country, so many others who are hurting and fighting illnesses that I can't even imagine fighting.  There is much knee time here.

Reading:

I'm almost finished with "I Believe in Love" and I cannot tell you how profound this book is.  It was my time to read it and it has been profound.  I just hope I can remember all of the treasures it contained :)

Pondering:

What it is that God wants me to do next.  I feel like I'm on the edge of something (other than insanity, of course :) and I'm looking forward to finding out what it is so that I can get going!

Captured:

God Bless!

7 Quick Takes October 12 2012

--- 1 ---

We took advantage of the nice weather this week to visit a local pumpkin farm.  We were shocked to realize that it had been six years since we had been there.  Ms 20 yo found a picture we had taken then and thought it would be fun to take a picture using the same pose, six years later.  Here is the one from before:

and here is the one from this year.  My how time flies!

 

--- 2 ---

We found out about it at the last minute, but Thursday night we attended a prayer service for the opening of the Year of Faith.  Our church doesn't have bells, but we joined in the 7:00 pm bell ringing by having about 10 people ring bells inside the church.  It was a very peaceful service and we are looking forward to the coming year.
 

--- 3 ---

Unfortunately we went from a peaceful church service to an annoying debate.  I don't know about you but it was quite frustrating to have to listen to Ryan debate both the VP and the moderator.  Ugh.
 

--- 4 ---

Anyhow, back to the Year of Faith...I signed up for the emails that will get sent to me everyday so that I can read the Catechism in a year.  I can't wait to get the first one to see how much is contained in it.  I have this vision of paragraphs a day being sent to my inbox where they will slowly begin to stack up, so that by the end of the year it will read 365 unopened emails.  I hope I am wrong, but I just can't envision myself keeping up with this.
 

--- 5 ---

I was trying to update the photo in my blog header the other day when Blogger informed me that I had reached my upload quota.  I've done a little bit of research and this seems to be just a header picture problem (backed up by the fact that I successfully uploaded two pictures to this post) that doesn't have a solution.  Anyone else have this problem?  I'd hate to think that my current picture will have to remain there for the rest of my blogging days.
 

--- 6 ---

We've been on a run of free field trips lately.  Next week takes us up to a local college to view a free concert of their symphony orchestra.  Ms 14 yo was commenting awhile back about how boring it must be to go and listen to a symphony.  Of course we all got on her case about how wrong she was, especially since she had never been to one.  Low and behold, within a week or so we got an email with the offer for the free concert and couldn't pass it up.  Looking forward to hearing some awesome music and proving to her she was wrong!
 

--- 7 ---

 Some warmer temps, some rain and dinner with some friends...look out weekend, here we come.  Hope you have a blessed weekend!  And remember...let's reclaim Sunday for the Lord (I read that somewhere in connection with the Year of Faith).

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

The Weight of the Cross

The crosses in my life are tailor made for me by God.  He has given them to me because He knows that there is something that I need to learn through them, because of them, in spite of them.  I can fight them, I can complain about them, I can try to escape from them, but until God wants them out of my life, they will remain.

I can compare my crosses to others.  Compared to some they loom large, but lately, from what I've seen coming across my screen, they seem so tiny, so insignificant.  Yet I struggle to carry some of them.  

Some are easy; just an annoying blip on the radar screen of my life.  Some of them, though, are so heavy.  I know I need to embrace them because once I do there will be peace and joy.  Yet I cannot seem to do that all the time.  

There are good days and there are bad days.  On the good days I see these crosses as a challenge; I can face them head on.  On a bad day they weigh me down and threaten to bury me.  When that happens I have found that a few things help to get me through those times:

* Of course prayer.  Without God, nothing is possible.  I cannot carry the weight of the cross on my own.  I depend entirely on His grace.  Sometimes it seems slow in coming, so I wait as patiently as I can.

* Exercise.  Yes, I have found that some good ole vigorous exercise is good for the spirit.  It gets those endorphins flowing and I just feel better.  The hardest part is starting.

* Being thankful.  On bad days I try very hard to think of all of the things I am thankful for and all of the things that God has blessed me with.  I can also be thankful for the crosses that God has NOT sent me.  

There are days when I try all of these and I STILL feel the weight.  That is when I retreat into the quiet of my soul and just wait.  I know that it will pass eventually.  I go through my day saying as little as possible so as to do the least amount of damage possible.  At the end of the day, I beg God for more Grace and hope that tomorrow will be better.

God Bless!
 

Wordless Wednesday

God Bless!

The World Within our Reach Through the Keyboard

When I was growing up my world view pretty much consisted of my block and the classroom I went to school in.  Not very broad.  We didn't have friends or relatives that we saw often that lived out of the country, or even out of the state.  When I think about my own children, I am truly amazed at the connections they have made with people their age all over the world via the internet.

Now I know all of the concerns and arguments about the bad side of the internet, but we're called to embrace our world today and bring light and good to it.  Therefore, the ability of my children to get to know, and yes actually meet, many of the people they've become friends with from all over is amazing. 

For example, they had a friend that they met who lives in Canada come and stay with us for a week over the summer.  Yesterday we got to chat with her about how and why Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  Much better than looking it up in an encyclopedia!

I am thankful that we can bring our faith into our internet connections, too.  Without that, it could be a scary place for them to be.  They connect with others who share the same faith but live it out in many different ways due to the location they live in.  They can pray together and for each other in a way that I never even dreamed of (although, sadly, it never even occurred to me to pray for anyone when I was growing up!).  

How much more enriched all of our lives are because of the friends that they have made in so many different places; all without having to travel the world.  Well, now that I mention it, it definitely would be more fun to have met these people by traveling instead of chatting, but nonetheless, what a wonderful opportunity they've had to expand their horizons and share their faith that I never had when I was younger. 

I believe that if we keep a cautious eye on the bad, but yet work toward increasing the good, the internet can be a great place of enrichment for all of us.

 God Bless!

A Walking Rosary

 It was a beautiful fall day here today, a bit chilly, but nice and sunny, so we took a walk...

 

It was a big day in the Church, too.  We joined in with many others around the country praying our rosary for our country; 2:00 our time.

We prayed, we laughed (not while we were praying, of course), we enjoyed the scenery... 

We spent some time bonding.  All good things to do on a sunny, Sunday afternoon!
 

God Bless!

7 Quick Takes October 5 2012

--- 1 ---

Happy Feast of St. Faustina (October 5th).  We were wondering why she is no longer on the church calendar.  It seems kind of odd to see the Feast of Divine Mercy growing each year but not to have St. Faustina's feast day on the calendar. 

--- 2 ---

Fall is in the Midwest in all of its glory!  I love Fall.  I love the colors and the cooler temperatures.  God has colored His world a beautiful cornucopia of colors this year.  What does it look like where you're at?  If you live in a part of the country that doesn't really have all four seasons, how do you deal with not seeing all of this gorgeousness???

--- 3 ---

My three older girls have taken over our soap business.  Hey, if you can't find a job, why not create one for yourself?  Here is their latest marketing effort.  Seems they have some old favorites to sell off before the new fragrances come in.  Why not check it out and then hop on over to their facebook page and like them!  It sure would make them feel loved :)

 

--- 4 ---

I've been kind of stalled out on my soon-to-be-St. Kateri unit study.  This time period is just harder than I thought it would be.  I know that there's a lot that can be done with the Native Americans, just have to find the time to sift through it all.  I'm still hoping to have it done by the 20th.  Any extra prayers would be appreciated :)
 

--- 5 ---

I was so excited to have sold a copy of my book, "A Plan for Joy in the Home" to a wonderful woman in Spain.  We've been emailing back and forth trying to figure out the ins and outs of it and discussing differences in homeschooling in our respective countries.  It has been so much fun to be in contact with her.  She also said she could translate the book into Spanish for me.  I'll have to do some research to see if there is demand for that :)
 

--- 6 ---

We listened to the debate last night as a family.  It was interesting to say the least.  I will just say that I can definitely identify with Mr. Romney's view of middle class America rather than President Obama's.  I would love know what the President's definition of "middle class" really is...my guess is that we wouldn't qualify for it.
 

--- 7 ---

 We have yet another quiet weekend.  This is really unheard of!  I think we'll go back and watch "Ironman" and then do some pro-life work at the church on Sunday.  The weather isn't looking that great, so I think it will be an inside kind of weekend.  Have a great weekend!

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Dressing for the Day

I have never been the kind of person to spend all day in my pjs, even as a kid.  Maybe after the birth of a child or a surgery I might have spent prolonged time in them, but on the whole I've always been a get up and get dressed kind of gal.

I've been coming across various things discussing what people wear all day long.  Of course the old homeschooling joke is that the beauty of homeschooling is that the kids (and mom, too) can do school in their pajamas.  From what I've been reading, many people spend the day in their pjs or something very similar.  I got to thinking about how what I wear influences how I feel.

I have been wearing skirts every day for the past 12 years or so and that is when I really realized how clothing effected me.  When I wear a skirt, I feel more lady-like.  When I wear jeans I feel more adventurous.  When I wear sweats or comfy clothes like that, I definitely feel, shall we say, a lack of motivation.  I can't imagine that I'd feel very get-up-and-go if I wore my jammies all day.

I guess I am a definite believer in being dressed for the day.  I get up, shower and get dressed.  If that doesn't happen within the first hour of me being up, well the morning just doesn't seem to go as well.  It is definitely less productive.   I usually end up doing this on Saturdays and then by noon, when I've really done less than half of what I wanted to, I kick myself for not just getting up and getting going.

My husband, too, appreciates the fact that he doesn't come home to me in a ratty t-shirt and sweats or pjs.  I can tell by his actions and words that he likes to see me "put-together" at the end of his long day at work.

The fact that I am the mom also means that my kids don't stay in their pajamas all day (and also the fact that they wouldn't be caught dead in them at Mass :).  They are allowed to stay in their pjs all day the day after Christmas, but the funny thing is, many of them get dressed anyway.

So what do you think?  Does how you are dressed for the day have any impact on how productive, or unproductive you are?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

God Bless!

The Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

God gives each one of us a Guardian Angel for our very own - to guide us and to protect us all the days of our life.  Do you know the name of your Guardian Angel?  A long time ago I had heard the story from a friend of mine about how her husband spent his adoration time praying to find out the names of each of his children's Angels.  It took him awhile, as he had quite a few children, but he was eventually able to tell them all. 

I had also heard others say that if you pray for God to reveal the name of your Angel every night before you go to bed that He would do that in the morning.  The first name that pops into your head upon awakening is the name of your Angel.  Now, this might take a few times, because my daughter had a friend who did this and the first few times she woke up with the name of Lord of the Ring characters in her head.  She highly doubted that her Angel's name is Frodo :)  I did this and the name that was with me in the morning was John.  Until I meet the Lord, I will not know for sure that this is his name, but for now, it gives me something to call him.

Each morning you should say a prayer to your Guardian Angel.  Of course the Guardian Angel prayer is a good one :)  I also read somewhere that you should say one Our Father in honor of your Angel every day.  The Pieta book recommends seven Glory Be's to your Angel every day.  No matter what you choose, start building that relationship with your Angel, so that when you need to, it will just be second nature to call upon him for help. 

God gave us angels to help us.  We really need to start utilizing them more by calling upon them in times of trouble or concern or even in joy!

God Bless!
 

The National Shrine of St. Therese

 We are so blessed to live within driving distance of the National Shrine of St. Therese which is run by a local order of Carmelites.  We went there today on a field trip to partake in the festivities they were offering.  It is such a beautiful place to be, and today was no exception.  The place was packed, which, as Father pointed out, is so wonderful considering St. Therese was a young girl locked in a cloister that no one even really knew.  To see the devotion to her today is truly a work of Heaven!

As you can imagine, roses abound.  Every where we went there were roses of all colors.  In fact, Father said the vigil Mass was so crowded that they ran out of roses and had to raid all of the grocery stores in and around the area in order to have enough for this afternoon.  They then ran out again and still have a Mass this evening!

I will let the pictures say the rest (with a little commentary from me :)

The following pictures are of vestments made by the Vatican that contain pieces of the bridal gown that St. Therese wore when she entered Carmel.  These were truly stunning!

 A new exhibit they added was a replica of St. Therese's cell.  Many of the items, like the outer door and some tile came directly from her cell...these are the items she touched and walked on every day!

This was St. Therese's missal when she made her First Holy Communion.
 

The shoes she wore when she entered Carmel:
 

The following photos are of some of the many relics that are at the Shrine.  Some we could venerate and some, like the one directly below, we could not.
 

How blessed we all are to have a Saint like St. Therese.  

St. Therese, pray for us!

God Bless!