Please pray

(Photo Credit Salisbury Post)

for the souls of two fire fighters, Justin Monroe, 19, and Victor Isler, 40, who died today in a ferocious five alarm fire that has completely destroyed the Salisbury Lumber Mill.

To read more about the fire click here. Saint Florian please pray for all who are still fighting this fire and may all the Saints and Angels in heaven join us in prayer for the souls so recently departed and for their families.

The words to TAPS, the melody typically played at a fallen hero's burial.

Day is done
Gone the sun
From the Lakes
From the hills
From the sky.
All is well,
safely rest.
God is nigh.

Fading light
Dims the sight
And a star
Gems the sky,
Gleaming bright
From afar,
Drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

(Words were found at this SITE.)

Read more!

My apologies...

...once again to my readers - assuming I even have anybody reading me anymore! Life has been a challenge - learning how to accommodate a part time writing job into my daily schedule and still be able to find time to write for my enjoyment of writing.

I have had some great family moments that would be fun to share but simply have not had the time to sit down and compose my thoughts. I have also had some inspiring moments I have wanted to share but again - not the time to sit and write them in a lucid and entertaining manner. I will not post just to simply post. I want my readers to be entertained, or enlightened and sometimes both!

Please pray for us while we seek discernment regarding some difficult decisions facing us in the upcoming weeks and possibly months.

God Bless and I hope to be able to find some time in the very near future to post. In the meantime - enjoy some photos from the wonderful Sunday afternoon we shared today as a family in the park. Read more!

A sunny day in March...

Read more!

"God's grace can fill us this Lent, provided we do not close the doors of our heart. We must be well-disposed, we must really want to change; we cannot play with God's grace. We cannot regard this Lent as just another liturgical season which has simply happened to come around again. It is a unique time: a divine aid which we should accept. Jesus is passing by and he hopes that we will take a great step forward - today, now." St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By Read more!

Little lost girl

This little girl has been missing for almost a year. The URL I have pasted below takes you to Urban Legends where one can see that this is a true story and not just a joke or urban legend. Please pray for her and her family...

To read more about Reachelle Marie Smith's disappearance click here.

Then read an extra story to your little ones and give them lots of hugs! I'll be doing that today for sure! Read more!

Note to self...

When next we visit Charleston and my loving husband generously offers to walk fourty minutes back to where the van is parked to save the children, and I, the long arduous walk back... remember to give him the van keys. Read more!

Charleston...

As you know from my earlier post about keys and long walks in Charleston you now know we were in Charleston a few days ago. We drove down to deliver a compressor for a customer. It was cheaper to deliver it than to ship it.

What has often happened on our business/pleasure trips is that once we arrive it is almost lunch time or just past and everyone is starving and we drive around wasting gas trying to find an inexpensive place to eat - if we have not brought a picnic lunch. In which case we drive around looking for a park to eat in. This time we decided to be smart and head straight for the visitor center loudly proclaimed on a nearby street sign.

Once there, we parked and soon found a friendly volunteer whom we asked where one might find a Subway or similar eatery where one could feed a hungry crew of eight children cheaply.

"Weeell," he drawled. "you won't find much of that in the downtown area - it's mostly your regular restaurant fare. For the fast food joints you want to go to Spring Street." And then he kindly drew a black line on the map he was using to show us the highlights from the area to us, and made a few more suggestions about where to sight see.

As Hugo and I hustled back to the starving captives in the family van we discussed whether to sight see just a little in the down town area before heading to Spring Street. I argued that the children would not enjoy walking around downtown much as long as their tummies were grumbling. Consulting the wiggly black line our friendly volunteer had drawn for us - we agreed to compromise. We would walk to the local fast food strip. It appeared to be within ten blocks. Blocks, that our volunteer had assured were much shorter than most city blocks.

We released the hungry horde and strapped the two youngest, Emma and Elsa, into their strollers and I heaved the knapsack, filled with the essentials, onto my back. Remembering I wanted to add to my booty the waterless hand sanitizer that I rarely leave home without these days - I asked Hugo for the keys... the fatal error you recall reading about earlier this week.

Loooong story short - we strolled for about 3 blocks to get to Spring Street - so far so good. However, about 20 blocks later - we began to realize this was not going to be the short jaunt we thought it was going to be - but by then we were so far from the van that it seemed to make more sense to continue on as surely we would soon see a fast food joint.

A quick stop in a florist shop and we were assured that we would see a MacDonalds about 2 - 3 blocks after the very next set of lights.

Three sets of lights later - and we were really beginning to lose hope. Suddenly one of the children spied golden arches in the distance and we hurried our sore and aching feet a little more quickly.

Thirty minutes later - tummies full and Hugo ready to head off for the van, I prepared myself to keep the smaller clan members busy. We waved good bye to Daddy and Anna and refilled our cups at the Soda Fountain.

Forty minutes later - when I confidently announced that Daddy and Anna were probably at the
van Noah asked the fatal question... at which point we began to hurriedly pack every one and everything up and. About 2/3rds of the way back down Spring Street we met up with Anna and Hugo walking back up towards us.

Deciding we had not driven four hours just to deliver a compressor and eat at MacDonalds, it was decided that even though it was rather late, starting to get chilly and dusk was just a short time away - we would still explore the downtown...

We were enjoying the old fashioned store fronts and the incredible architecture
when I spied a familiar sign in the very near distance. In a horrified tone I exclaimed; "HUGO LOOK!"
"What, look at what?" he asked.
"LOOK" - I commanded and pointed.

There, not ten minutes from where we had parked beside the visitors center, was....

(Not my photo)

My husband looked at me and asked "What did I want to do? EH? What did I want to do?"


None the less - we had a great time and we are really looking forward to heading back to Charleston soon and seeing all the sights we didn't have time to see due to our decision to be smart and eat first....




We arrive in Charleston and catch sight of an awesome bridge in the distance. This picture was taken from the van as we were driving, with the camera set on the sports/action setting.


Next thing we knew - we were actually crossing this really cool and huge bridge.


A very tall hotel downtown.


At some point in Charlestons history - it was decided that property taxes would be determined by the amount of road frontage one took up. This led to very narrow and incredibly long houses. One house's windows numbered ten and then there was an addition beyond that.



The highlight of the trip came soon after the shock of learning that our friendly volunteer clearly knew not of what he was talking about.

We do not sport any Catholic bookstores within an hours drive of us, so for some of the kids - this was their first experience of a Catholic bookstore. They were delighted. Here below I caught a photo of Bethany and Noah after a friendly exchange with Sister Jane. All of the children had the opportunity to chat with her.


Sister kindly invited us to visit their enclosed rose garden that one enters through their little tea room. It was a delight as you will see...

Elsa enjoyed blowing kisses to the Baby Jesus cradled in His Foster Father's arms. She is clutching the post card she was allowed to pick out and pay for.


Emma and Bethany posed under the palm tree for me.


Another, much smaller, statue of Saint Joseph in the Daughters of Saint Paul's rose garden.


Our Lady Of Guadalupe graces their garden wall.


They have very thoughtfully created a lovely little play room in the back of the store where you can easily keep an eye on the children and browse the many books nearby.



Some of the trees sprouted very large roots. Bethany sat here for me so we could show how big this set of roots are.


Nathaniel enjoyed pushing his baby sister in her stroller. In fact he was very determined to push her as much as he was allowed.


Here Benjamin, Noah and Bethany are exploring a very knobby tree trunk.

Despite the crazy turn of events that lunch took, we really had a good time and all of the kids agree that they are looking forward to going back. But most especially - they are all looking forward to visiting the Daughters of Saint Paul again. Read more!

Urgent Alert from the Knights of Columbus...

Congress considers transforming AIDS relief into a massive abortion program financed by U.S. taxpayers

ACTION:

A Congressional committee is about to take America's overseas AIDS relief program and use it as a vehicle for population control and abortion promotion. Knights are urged to write to their members of Congress (especially if they're members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee) to oppose this change. See additional details at the bottom of this e-mail alert.

BACKGROUND The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is due for reauthorization in 2008. In 2003 this bill was passed with bipartisan support and has a proven record of success in saving lives. Last month, however, the House Foreign Affairs Committee proposed a reauthorization bill (the "Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008") which would drop the program's exclusive focus on HIV/AIDS, and define HIV/AIDS and pregnancy as a "dual threat" to women's lives. The $50 billion authorized by the bill would then be used for both AIDS relief and what are termed "women's reproductive health services" and "family planning services." Although the bill's definition of "reproductive health" does not mention "abortion," abortion advocates have long interpreted "reproductive health" and "family planning" to include abortion. Women seeking solely HIV/AIDS treatment could unexpectedly find themselves subjected to abortion counseling. MEXICO CITY POLICY Currently, the Mexico City Policy provides that no U.S. population assistance funds can be given to non-governmental organizations unless they certify that it will not perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning. But the Mexico City Policy does not apply to AIDS relief legislation. The insertion of "reproductive health" and "family planning" in AIDS relief legislation is a ploy to redirect AIDS relief money to international abortion organizations, and represents an end run around the Mexico City Policy restrictions. Foreign abortion groups that cannot currently obtain US funding for family planning would be able to do so under this AIDS relief legislation. CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES AFFECTED Catholic health institutions deliver approximately 25% of all HIV and AIDS care worldwide, and this bill places Catholic participation in jeopardy. Men, women and children seeking treatment for HIV and AIDS by Catholic providers in the world's poorest regions could lose their access to treatment. On February 6, Bishop Thomas Wenski, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Ken Hackett, President of Catholic Relief Services, wrote to the Foreign Affairs Committee, welcoming the major increase in funding for AIDS relief, but said that they were "deeply troubled" by inclusion of 'reproductive health' and 'family planning' services . . ." That is why the National Right to Life Committee and many other organizations are asking that the legislation be changed, and we ask that you do, too. Click here for the full text of Bishop Wenski's letter and a fact sheet.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Contact members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee by phone, FAX or e-mail. This is especially important if your own representative in Congress is a member of the committee. Click here for a list of committee members.

Even if your representative is not on the committee, it will also be helpful to contact your representative and your U.S. senators by mail, Fax, e-mail or phone. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121 or call your representative's local office.

MESSAGE:

"When you reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), please do NOT link the AIDS/HIV program to family planning and abortion. PEPFAR should keep its bipartisan focus on saving human lives. Those suffering from HIV/AIDS should not be sacrificed to the cause of abortion and population control."

WHEN:

Due to the death of Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, markup of this legislation has been postponed until February 25. Immediate action will ensure that your voice is heard before the committee action is taken. Read more!

Pinata Slide Show...

The day after Christmas is observed in Canada, and other countries, as Boxing Day. This is the day our family has our Christmas dinner for various reasons I may have explained before; but if not feel free to ask and I will tell all later. This year our oldest daughter Amanda decided she thought it was time for a new tradition and she opted for a Pinata.

I have added a slide show on the side bar of some of the highlights - but unfortunately it does not show as well in the side bar as it does full screen. After all of my work I feel obliged to leave it up, at least until I have something better to put in its place.

I hope to post more later but to be honest, my brain has run away again. Hopefully it will come home soon. Tomorrow though, we will all be Charleston, South Carolina delivering a compressor so if it should come home tomorrow (my brain - that is) there will be no one here but the dog to receive it. Let's hope he doesn't decide it is a chew toy!

You see how my humour deteriorates when I have no brain... Read more!

We have recently begun journaling as a part of our prayer life. Here is a small taste of some of the fruits of Lenten journaling.

You pick me up when I fall.
You pat my shoulder if I bawl.
Show me how to count my joys,
and not be greedy with my toys.
This hard, hard life I can not bear
but yet you help me persevere.

Bethany Rose, age 9

(photo credit http://www.childoflight.org/children.html)

Read more!

This blog is currently....

I am slowly changing things around
Check back now and then as I figure out
how to add stuff.

Read more!

"The Devil tempts us so that he may ruin. God allows him to tempt so that He may perfect us in virtue."

-- Ambrose of Milan

Read more!

Sometimes a tragedy hits close to home.

I did not know the two young college students who lost their lives when their van plunged into the icy depths of the lake they were trying to cross last week. Yet, somehow I feel their loss more deeply than I would for most strangers.

Sometimes a tragedy hits close to home. Maybe because you knew the extended family, or you went to school with a friend of someone involved, or maybe its just because it was where you used to live or visit often. In this case - Combermere is a place of special memories for our family. We traveled up the mountain roads on more than one occasion to visit Madonna house or friends who owned farmland up there. And having lived so far north it is easy for me to envision the snowy white roads and the frozen lake where the tragedy took place.

While we have not been to Madonna house or in the nearby area where the two college students drowned in over 11 years, learning of this tragedy has brought back many memories. And mixed with them are my prayers for all of those involved in this very sad event. Yet while all who knew the two young people who died are greatly saddened, it seems that this college is filled with a hope. A hope that springs from living out their Catholic faith.

The president of the college has shared; "While the college, and indeed, the surrounding community, was shocked and saddened at the news, the sadness at the college is pervaded with a hope and even a joy at the near knowledge that these two souls, so close to God on earth, are bound to be with Him in Glory.", and one of the professors stated that; "I'm going to continue talking with them," he says of Sanders and Lieu. "I'm going to tell the students they're more real now than they were when they were alive."

Such amazing faith. To learn more about the college the students were from go here. And please remember this tiny Catholic community that is tucked away in the snowy valley of Ontario Canada as they mourn the loss of two beautiful lives while they also celebrate the life they brought to the community. Read more!

Sometimes...

...just sometimes you get the words you need to hear/read at just the right time.
Sister Patricia has been sending out a novena for employment and I read the first days prayers and then a fit of rebellion slipped in and I refused to read any more of the prayers as they came into my inbox the past few days. (If you do not know Sister yet - click here)

Now after my wonderful announcement of employment why am I irritated by a novena for employment? Well, while I am working... it is on commission and it will take a while before I see the fruits of my labour. Hugo is busy with school, maintaining the eBay business at a very low key level and has not had the time to begin the Spanish classes we had hoped to start. He is still looking for a job and we are w a i t i n g, w a i t i n g, w a i t i n g for a withdrawal from our retirement funds in Canada and it is a p a i n f u l l y s l o w process. If all goes well - so many prayers will be answered and our life will improve immeasurably. But so many things have gone wrong the past years that sometimes I have a very difficult time being able to trust in God.

Sadly the past few days, partly I suspect because I am suffering from what I am calling 'battle fatigue' due to the illness our family has been battling against, I have been finding it especially difficult to be patient and to trust in God's goodness. Until recently I had just kept giving this whole "waiting" scenario over to God.

Then tonight I was eating a quick bowl of cereal and writing a note of thanksgiving to my Dad and step mum, when I noticed an email had come in. I was curious so I clicked on it - it was from Sister Patricia. I sighed, felt grumpy and was not going to read it - after I had not read the last 4 or 5 so why read this one, eh?

Well - I decided to take a peek just to see how irritated it would make me feel.

This is the message I got...

Now its time to spread a little Franciscan wisdom. One of our own American Franciscan saints to "be" (he's a blessed but not canonized) is Bl. Solanus Casey. A very wonderful and holy man. Father Solanus's favorite saying, was "Thank God ahead of time!"

Of course we know its very St. Paul based too! But this is such a great and wonderful way to pray. If you want a miracle - then Saint Paul tells us we must believe we are going to receive one. What better way to jump start our faith than to start "Thanking God ahead of Time!"

Solanus Casey used to say with a twinkle in his eye (he was a very warm-hearted and holy man) that when we thank God ahead of time... we put God in a tough spot....God is almost obliged to give us what we want because we've already thanked him for it!

Trusting God enough to thank Him before we get what we want is a great way to step out in faith. It's like trusting your parents to provide good things for you - trusting that your best friend is going to help you out when you are in trouble. Thanking God is all about trust and appreciation. I truly believe that God likes to be thanked .... and doing it ahead of time is showing our great confidence in our loving God. Anybody can thank God "after" they get what they prayed for - but it takes faith to do it "before" the answers come!

So go ahead! Spend the whole day thanking God for the wonderful job he is finding for you or for those you are praying for. Almost immediately you will feel stronger and excited about what is going to happen. A Joyful heart is good medicine and a joyful spirit makes someone want to be around you. If you are looking for a job than you really need to have people be glad to be around you because who knows where that job opening might come from? A family member, a friend, a person you smile and help on the street?

Dedicate yourself to Thankfulness!

So... that is what I am going to do this LENT - spend each day thanking God for the blessings that have yet to come. I am going to thank Him for my first pay cheque from SIT, for Hugo's job that is just around the corner and will be a perfect fit, for the mortgage we will get. I will thank for the good health also just around the corner. I am going to thank him for the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit as he guides us in the purchase of our new home. I will thank him for my success in building a better prayer life and for success in creating and following a solid family rule - and on and on and on.... This Lent - I am going to just keep thanking God. And in thanking Him - I will be believing in Him and His graces and His gifts. Read more!

When do you praise the Lord that we have the Influenza?

When you drag a very sick toddler into the doctor's office, trying really hard not to think how much your child's behaviour and symptoms for the past month have been like that of the two year old who was just diagnosed with Leukemia.

When the pediatrician looks very worried because he can not find an explanation for the sudden onset of a 105 temperature... after weeks of flu like symptoms that keep coming and going and had finally seemed to be gone and then this sudden spike in her fever brought you into his office.

When the doctor orders a blood count test and a Flu test and tells you our best hope is a positive flu test, and his voice trails off...

When the nurse comes back with a big grin on her face and says "SHE HAS THE FLU!" and you laugh in relief.

YES, we have the influenza - Type A - highly contagious, but treatable. Very treatable.

Praise God.

Read more!

When does hearing Thank You put a lump in your throat...

...when your 2 year old, while running a fever of 104, says thank you as you move the cool clothe to a different spot on her head.

... and again later while this same two year old lies limply in your arms and whispers thank you as you put her favorite cartoon back on for her to watch for about the 12th time in a row.

This being the same 2 year old who has recently fallen in love with the word HATE. In fact you have heard "I hate dis tupid thing! " so much you begin to wonder how much you are carelessly using the word hate and resolve to be more attentive to your own vocabulary.

Yup - that is when the expression 'thank you' wrings your heart. Read more!

Out of the mouths of babes...

This morning (Sunday) our 2 yr old Elsa woke up shivering and groaning. She complained she needed to use the bathroom, but when I picked her up I realized at once she was a little furnace. Her temp was about 103. After a quick trip to the potty, I grabbed a 'vitamin" out of its package on the medicine shelf. (Vitamin is code for Tylenol as if we call it by its proper name - she won't take it...)

She tearfully chomped on the tablet and then grabbed her legs complaining that they hurt. Then she jumped. "Mummy, der's a monster over der!!" she whispered.

I peered into the darkness to try and see what might be disguising itself as a monster but could not identify the culprit. I scooped her up and carried back into our bedroom where she shivered and shook in my arms.
"Mummy, DER it is!" She gasped.. "It's in my drawers." I flipped on the closet light and we both examined her drawers and again could not find the culprit.

I was beginning to worry she was hallucinating from the fever. As we turned away from the closet, she whispered, "JESUS!" Startled, I looked at her and said, "What?"

She whispered again to me, this time she said "Mummy, I want Jesus!"

As we lay in bed together, she continued to see monsters and then would call for Jesus. I talked a little to her about Jesus being with us in our hearts and all around us. Eventually she drifted off to sleep, leaving me to wonder about the innate ability of children to seek what is right and good. She was ill and frightened, seeing who knows what terrors of the imagination, and when I could not make the monsters go away - she instinctively called to Jesus for help. It is for no small reason that Jesus commands us to believe like little children. Read more!

Silence is Golden...

"God is a friend of silence. We need to find God, but we cannot find Him in noise, in excitement. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, the grass grow in deep silence. See how the stars, the moon, and the sun move in silence. The more we receive in our silent prayers, the more we can give in our active life. Silence gives us a new way of looking at everything. We need silence in order to touch souls. The important thing is not what we say, but what God says to us, and what He says through us. There is no life of prayer without silence."

To read the entire article that I have borrowed this quote from, click here. (If for any reason this link does not work, the blog is HERE. )

I have to admit, I am not a friend of silence, which is why this quote struck me with such force. I find silence lonely and sometimes overwhelming. When the house is silent - I turn on EWTN on my computer, or I put some music on. But I prefer hearing human voices in the back ground. Maybe that is why Ia m able to deal with the constant babble of noise in our home. None the less, I think I need to learn how to value silence and maybe in doing so - I will be better able to hear God. Read more!

Calling ALL Parents!

Do you have a paper shredder in your home, possibly because of the increased risk of identity theft? Well - if you have a child under five in your home AND a paper shredder - you now are entertaining one of the newest 'hidden hazard' scenarios.

Because this is typically an office machine that until recently, was only found in the office - the voluntary standards only call for an opening above the blades that will prevent a twelve year old's fingers from being caught in the machine.

And if your machine boasts of auto stop features to prevent entrapment in the blades one family's recent experience begs to differ. Danielle Bean shared one friend's horror story on her blog. Danielle's friend, referring to her two year olds situation, shared the following:

"his hand was between two pieces of paper, so the machine still sensed paper and didn't stop..."

And while this two year old is recovering well from the surgery it took to repair the damage " his hand will never be the same" his mother also shared with Danielle's readers.

Danielle posted a link to an article that explains in full detail the dangers these now common home office machines pose to our young children. Please, if you have children or know somebody with children who might have access to a paper shredder - take the time to read this article and share it with others. Lets all try to work together across the world wide web and see if we can't turn the statistics around and prevent other similar tragedies from happening.

Currently our shredder will be staying at our business location, but if we ever decide to bring it home - I will be following the advice proposed by the article. Given that many of these accidents occured while children were under the supervision of their parents doctors suggest the following: "...Paper shredders should be kept unplugged and out of children's reach. They also urge parents not to let young children use or be near shredders at any time, adding that the No. 1 way to avoid an injury to a child's fingers is to keep them away from shredders altogether"

To read the article click here - if for any reason your browser does not open to this link simply copy and paste the following URL in your browser.

http://www.factory-express.com/blog/2006/02/shredder-safety-and-children.html Read more!

CALLING ALL NC HOMESCHOOLERS

Thank you to Maria, who brought this to my attention.

"In September, the North Carolina Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) sent a letter to some randomly selected homeschooling families requesting that they voluntarily meet with a representative of DNPE to review their school records. Parents agreeing to meet with the state official were required to bring their attendance, immunization, and standardized test records to be reviewed. Parents were also requested to bring their school-age children, a textbook list, a daily log/lesson plan book, and samples of each student’s work for review by the state official."

To read the complete article CLICK HERE

Please do take the time to read this article, especially if ou are a homeschooler here within NOrth Carolina. Read more!

Going for a fourth....

...am I catching my readers off guard? Making you worry that maybe you should start reading me daily again? Nah - don't worry. Maybe tonight I will get enough sleep to be able to focus on the more important things in life - like laundry, meals, grant proposals. Don't worry - I don't think I will top the number of posts today for quite a while.

In the meantime - I am here to tell you that while waiting for Canada Revenue to decide to either a) install more phone lines,
b) hang the phone up from their lunch break
or
c) for the majority of Canada talking to Canada Revenue to hang up so I can get through,
I have continued to entertain myself by doing further research on the origins of Canuck, aka Cannuck, aka Kanuck.

I was successful, but in the interim realized that while I do not miss Canadian taxes, I do miss Canadian humour. To share in my enjoyment - click here. (Note the last name given by the person writing in to ask the origins of Cannuck) Read more!

WHAT? Another post, THREE in one day?

This is what happens when you are brain dead and trying to complete paper work that entails frequent online research. You get sidelined by interesting questions like what is the origin of Cannuck... which leads you to stories online - like this one: Click here to read!

As to the origin of Cannuck (AKA canuck) - still working on that, in between getting busy signals from Revenue Canada. Who would have thought Canada's equivalent to the IRS would be so popular - or maybe they just took the phone off the hook for lunch!

PS for those who click to read the story above - the author does a great job of explaining various Canadian terms but forgot to explain that the Hydro bill is not the water bill - it is Electric bill. This is because so much of Canadian electricity is derived from Hydro Dams. Read more!

Some days this is how I feel as Elsa trails behind me asking "Ooopa Mummy Ooopa!"
(Ooopa is a Spanish/Argentinian term for up, spelling probably not accurate, but Hugo is not home for me to check.)

Read more!

Too tired, too sore...

... to move let alone think of something worthwhile to post. Most of us are down with some nasty flu bug that I swear must be traveling via the internet disguised a a computer virus as we have hardly been anywhere but on the internet these days. Yet everyone I know has/had this flu!!!

So once more I beg my readers for their prayers. We woke to a beautiful light blanket of snow covering the ground and about six stuffed, snuffling noses pressed to the windows - pining for snow boots so as to be allowed to play in this ever so rare occurrence. And despite the light rain that is now melting everything away and threatening to turn into freezing rain, several volunteers lined up to walk to the puppy.

In truth the children are too sick for me to allow them to enjoy this snow for more than it takes the time to walk to the dog. Please pray for me to have the graces to deal wit the frustration the littlest ones will have about not being allowed out to enjoy this miracle of whiteness and pray for my tired, sore body that has spent the past number of nights squeezed between two small bodies that might as well have been stone boulders for all the rest I got.

Please also pray for our eBay sales - as things stand it will be at least a month, maybe two, before we receive any pay from my new job and Hugo's new venture, and if we lose the power due to freezing rain - we will not be able to monitor potential customers questions and concerns. A power outage can be very disastrous for an eBayer.

And thank you ALL for all of your prayers. If I disappear for a while - it could be the weather or just plain fatigue! If your comments do not get moderated though, you will know it is the weather. (Or we were not able to pay Internet bill!!)

God Bless
Christi Read more!

Thank You Hugo

I want to publicly thank Hugo for being such a wonderful husband.

Sometimes love is shown in little ways that we can take for granted. He did not sleep well either last night while we coped with two sick children, watching Pink Panther on Youtube at 2 in the morning as we waited for a the tiny drop of Motrin I squeezed between reluctant lips to kick in. This was followed by waking up at 3 am by a still feverish child who was murmuring, crying and tossing turning until she finally fell back asleep leaning on me with both baby and I still sitting up. Five year old Emma clambered in at I don't know what time, adding her inferno temp to the warmth of our crowded bed. Now we each had our own live heating pad crowded up against us.

Yet he rolled out of bed first thing this morning and started in on the dirty dishes everyone was either too sick, or too tired to cope with last night. With his hands in hot soapy water he informed me that my toast was in the toaster and while I sat bleary eyed at my desk rescheduling a dentist appointment that took a month to get - he dashed out to get apple sauce for those whose throats are too sore for toast.

So thank you Hugo for being the best Husband EVER! I love you, and when you do these things for me - I know you love me! Thank you!!! Read more!

The Power of Prayer and the Promised Announcement.

If you recall, before Christmas, I promised an announcement of something big. Well, after much prayer Hugo and I decided, just before Christmas, to close down the business. Currently we are in the process of liquidating and Hugo has begun the application process to Grad School and is also looking for a job, part time or full. This was decided with some trepidation as we really were not sure where we would go from here.

Last week Hugo and I began a nine day novena to the Infant Jesus with the request being a job for Hugo, a job for Miguel and a job for Jonathan who is returning to college and badly needs money to help pay for his next semesters expenses. As usual, Baby Jesus is coming through for us. Miguel had a job interview today at 4 pm and a few days ago I received a call from a fellow parishioner. He had read some of my writing and wanted to know if I might be willing to try my hand at writing grant proposals!

I was! So long story short, Hugo had the cell phone when Charles Patten of SITorg called and later the next day both Hugo and I met with the staff as well as the founder of SITorg. We were very impressed with the enthusiasm of everyone involved in this organization and it seems that they in turn were pleased with us. So both of us will be involved with SITorg for the next little while. (Hopefully for some time to come!) I will be involved in procuring funds for the organization and Hugo will be developing the Hispanic line of courses and teaching classes in Spanish/English. He will keep our business going for a little while longer esp. as what he is doing actually works well with the mission of SITorg, which is:

To Provide free upgraded computers for those in need.

Low cost technology services, and computers to benefit the community.

Provide environmentally sound solution for technological waste.

And all of is this is accomplished through the mentoring of the young children who participate in this after school program. What the children gain from this program is priceless. They are not only learning marketable skills, but the importance of proper stewardship of the environment as well as practicable means of accomplishing this, and all of this in a safe, Christian environment.

We have not yet finished the novena for jobs for Hugo, Miguel and Jonathan, we will be finishing it this Saturday, but the sweet Baby Jesus has already been busy! Not only have Hugo and I found something, but tonight Miguel received a phone call telling him that he had the job he interviewed for today.

I am very excited about this new venture and have already been working on finding some local donations as SITorg is between grants and would be very happy to receive monetary donations as well as computers! Please be sure to move your cursor over the red print in bold and check out the pages they take you too. Please note that SIT's website was created by the students involved in this program and if you wish to view another website created by them you can click here . If, after exploring SIT's site, you think this is a worthy program and would like to support it in some way, large or small, please click here.

In the meantime, Hugo and I need to finish our Novena and then begin another of Thanksgiving and we would certainly appreciate all of your prayers for success in these new endeavors, my grant proposal writing, Hugo's classes and Hugo's studies as he pursues a Master's degree in Project Management. Please also keep Miguel & Jonathan in your prayers as they further their studies and Miguel begins a new job!

And I would like to finish this post with a note of gratitude to all of you, my readers, for the prayers you have offered up again and again for us!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

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Landry AKA Mount Everest

Mary left an interesting comment on my blog asking for advice on laundry. Oodles and oodles of laundry - the kind of laundry only a large family, especially one with lots of young kids, can generate.

Here is the crux of Mary's problem:

I am a homeschooling mom of 5 little children all under 7 years old....

So, anyway, my question is: do you have a set number of pants/shirts (not including Sunday best clothes) but every day clothes. Do you have the kids in uniforms? With all the changes of the seasons, we have such a huge amount of shorts/t-shirts/pants/shorts

/sweaters etc…the list could go on.

Do you have any type of system that works for you?

I know of another mom who has ONLY 5 OUTFITS-per child per season-hung on hangers-1 per day. They wear them stains and all.

I am a bit on the fence about this….well it is tempting to get rid of most of the kids’ clothes to just have 5! But I do like to see my children dressed nicely without all those stains(if I can help it).

Overwhelmed with the laundry loads, I figured I would ask you and I can’t wait to hear what you (or others) have to say about this deal.

Thanks in advance!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to your family!!!

God Bless you,

Mary

Here, at last, is my promised answer to you Mary.

I have tried a variety of systems. I have tried only having a specific number of outfits per child per season as your friend does - but there is a set back to this as insinuated with the " stains and all" comment. So I tried doing that with back ups put aside in my closet, or in a storage closet, but then when you need them they smell like, well stale laundry.

I have also struggled, as you do, with the feast or famine of donations. Because one can never be sure when the next drought might strike - you never like to say no to an offer of clothing. And then some seasons you get an overload of say, size six and absolutely no size eights so there is the temptation to hoard against the future. But I have learned to go with the ebb and flow of the donations and to not keep things that I do not believe I can use within one year of receiving - trusting to the Lord to provide when the need occurs.

I have a few ideas I can share with you - some I am currently using and some I am no longer using but might work for you, and at least one I am doing that you might not want to try until your children are older.

I will start with the one thing I am currently doing but your children are probably not old enough to do yet. Once my children are tall enough to reach the back of the washer and dryer and so the dials - I begin to teach them how to do their own laundry. They learn to sort their clothes and they learn how to use the machines. Each bedroom has their own laundry day with one day of the week free from laundry. They also learn what happens if they miss their assigned laundry day - no clean clothes!

Is not a perfect system but it works fairly well and when I notice the washer has finished and throw a child's clothes into the dryer for them - I am rewarded with a large smile and a huge thank you.

However, something your children can start to learn with you when they get ready for bed each evening is how to sort their clothes. I have used a white basket hamper for the lights with a darker one for darks.

To deal with the challenge of the change of seasons, I have begun purchasing the huge zip lock bags. I like that you can see through them and that they seem to be quite durable. When the season begins to change I keep them near the laundry area and as we make our way through the laundry the bags are slowly filled. I assign a bag to each room, but one for each teen. In other word the three boys rooming together get one bag and the two little girls get one bag but the two teens bunking together - each get one. They have more clothes and the individual articles are larger in size as well. When the bag is full I put them away in the corresponding bedroom's large closet. We have been so blessed with awesome closets in this house.

A suggestion I have not implemented but hope to soon, is to use baskets of different colours to indicate whether the laundry in the laundry room is fresh or waiting to be washed.

One disadvantage to the system I use of teaching the children to be independent with the laundry is that we sometimes experience a back up or over flow in the laundry area. And others waiting their turn for the facilities do not always know what has been washed and what hasn't. If the child before them is not around to clarify the situation we can end up with dirty clothes mixed with clean. This can be compounded by the general laundry, such towels, being left in the laundry area so I am hoping to be able to budget for some colour co-ordinated baskets soon.

My intention is to use a light coloured hamper for clean clothes and a dark one for dirty in hopes of preventing some of this confusion.

Now as to the number of articles of clothing, I do try to keep it somewhat limited but not as strictly as I once did. If I can't fit all of the clothing for one child in one large dresser and their alloted closet space, I know we have gone overboard. I have one drawer assigned for good clothes per child in his or her dresser. I also keep some good clothes separate in my closet for the younger children so that I know for sure that they have a good out fit for Sundays. When I have a special occasion coming up I do this for some of the older children as well. (Not the teens though) This removes some of the stress when preparing for the special occasion.

As I mentioned when I described how the older children learn to do their own laundry, each bedroom has their laundry day. This is something you could try to implement, it helps me a lot although on occasion we can get thrown off by being away on someones laundry day, that free days helps and when I know ahead we will be away, we try to squeeze a small extra load in ahead of the missed day.

I hope that some of these ideas help you Mary. I pray that one day soon you are able to tame your Mount Everest. Please, if any other readers have some ideas or solutions that have helped you - please feel free to share them with Mary and I in the comment section.

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I am spoiled...

... I really am. I look at awesome pictures from various blogs and admire the pretty snow. And I sigh at my romantic memories of sliding with the children. Bundling them up to take for a walk, pulling whoever was the current baby behind me in a sled. Catching small snowflakes on both my tongue and eyelashes. Watching children create snow angles, smiling as I remembered my own attempts, in vain, to get up without messing up my angel.

But then we have spots of weather down here in NC when it is so warm that I have to open the van windows if I am out driving - like I had to tonight. There was a softness to the fresh air and I glanced at the porches filled with laughing couples and families enjoying this spring like weather as I passed them driving home from visiting my boys.

And I realized just how spoiled I have become - how used I have become to such gentle and happy days such as this one today, here in the south. Or maybe I am just acclimatizing to my southern home where I have resided now for eleven full years. Regardless of what it is - I felt so grateful tonight for the taste of spring we have been granted several times this winter. Read more!

Heatless but not hopeless...

Our house is again without heat on the main floor and the temperatures dipped to -9 celcius last night. (15.8 F) BRRRRRR!!! But despite being heatless, I am not hopeless as I face the New Year. Never mind that my repeated attempts to establish a family rule has failed over and over again the past three years. Some of my readers might be scratching their heads and asking what is a Family Rule and why would you want one?

I find it easiest to answer this question by quoting the author of a Mother's Rule of Life?

"A rule is, and will always remain, a response to the call of God - a means of fidelity to one's vocation as a mother; a way to ensure that one's basic calling is being met with conscious care and a reasonable attempt to meet the many and varied needs of self, husband, family and home -- in such a way as to reduce unnecessary emotional turmoil or physical & psychological stress But instead, to have this valid tool as a means of living motherhood in a life-giving and self-offering way. This is the route of love." (To read the question and its full answer that this quote is from - click here.)

I read A Mother's Rule of Life a few months after a Priest, in the confessional, remarked that our family life needed to resemble that of a rule - perhaps the Benedictine Rule. 'There are so many individuals, varying needs and schedules to try to meet and adjust to, that in your life is almost like that of a monastery and you should try implementing a rule - maybe the Benedictine Rule.' Obedient confessor that I am, I immediately began to research this particular rule and shortly after came across Holly's book - A Mother's Rule of Life.

Since then I have come to know Holly Pierlot and we joined together to begin an online google support group and this lead to Holly directing an online workshop for us that was recently released as a workbook (To view a sample click here or to purchase - click here and a review of this book can be read here.)

Despite having read the book and worked through parts of the workshop and reviewing the workshop again when I helped Holly to compile it into the workbook, I still find myself failing when I attempt to implement my family rule over and over. Why, I have had to ask myself, is this so?

I have come to the conclusion that I always try to change, as well as implement, too many things at once. I become overwhelmed and give up. As well, our family is/has been facing trying times for the past six years and, with the changes we are facing in the upcoming months, I am going to have to remain very flexible in my daily schedules. However, after some prayer and reflection I have concluded that there are some goals that I must meet daily and I have realized that for now, my Rule will have to be simply be a list of these daily goals. There are ten in all.

1) Pray with my spouse, in the morning before we leave our room.
2) Attend daily Mass or start the day with the family Rosary.
3) Wash, dry and put away (at a minimum) one load of clothes a day. (Keep in mind my dryer is on its last legs or I would try to do more)
4) Breakfast & breakfast chores
5) School, including Tanny's Speech Therapy exercises
6) Lunch & lunch chores (recheck laundry)
7) Read w/ Emma, Elsa and Tanny
8) 3 pm Chaplet, followed by 3 pm chores.
9) Supper @ 5 pm, followed by supper chores
10) Bedtime routines started by 7:30, include examination of conscience at this time.

This is not a full rule and those familiar with Holly's book, will immediately see some holes in it such as time alone for myself. While this is a bare bones start, all of the five P's discussed in Holly's book are covered in a minimal way here.
First P - Prayer; is covered in 1, 2, 8 and 10.
Second P - Person; is covered by 4, 6, 8 & 10. Eating our meals on time is a basic need I must follow for myself as well as the family. Also by ensuring my children follow a bedtime routine, I leave time open for myself to be spent alone, as well as with my husband.
Third P - Partner; is covered by Hugo and I agreeing to start our day by praying together as well as through # 10 as I mention above.
Fourth P - Parenting; simply attempting to achieve all of these 10 daily goals will make me a better parent.
Fifth P - Provider; in ensuring the daily meal chores are done daily, and on time, helps with the area of provider as in doing so - I will ensure that food is not left out and wasted. As well, # 10 helps to provide for an earlier bedtime for Hugo and I, allowing us to rest and have more energy to give toward the needs of providing for our family.

My goal is to try and accomplish each of these goals daily for a minimum of thirty days and then add to it. I have determined that these is the very minimum that I must achieve daily in order for God to be able to bless my efforts and help me to lessen the mental stress that I am feeling daily. In doing this I am confident I not only will gain energy, but that I will also find that large gaps of time will open up, allowing me to pack more meat on this skeleton of a rule.

Now why have I chosen to share this publicly? Largely to put a little pressure on myself by publicly sharing a commitment I have made to myself.

And so now you know that while I may be without heat - I am not without hope as I face 2008 spanning before me, yet to be filled with challenges; met and conquered. 2007 was a difficult year that seriously drained our energies and sometimes our hope and even our courage. I can only pray that by starting off 2008 with this simple rule for myself, I will find the energy, courage and strength to face come what may. And most importantly, I know I will be doing it hand in hand with God.
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P.S. Whilst working on this post, the heat (after 8 hours of not functioning) kicked back in downstairs. Praise be to God and may the heat STAY on! Although we will still request a service visit to make sure that something is not wrong as it is very bizarre... no heat... heat... Read more!

The Kindness Test

I took this test and scored nine, the lower end of "kinda nice person, but as a follower of Christ I need work!" Ooops! Try the test yourself and see how you score!
Good Luck!

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Christmas Eve Prep

• Gifts Wrapped and locked in St Nick's work shop... check

• Clothes laid out and ready for Mass... Check

• Last minute mad dash to get ready for Mass... Check

• Hot chocolate and cookies before bed - forgotten in their haste to get to sleep so St Nick could get busy.
  

• Gifts now under the tree... check

• Stockings filled by St Nick... Check
  

• Snacks prepared to be left in bedrooms to help keep kidos busy and happy until 9 am, expected arrival of older siblings... check
  

• Coffee machine set up and cider warming in crock pot... check
  

• Ready for hot drinks for fifteen in the morning...

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Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!!!

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Note to self...

...next year do NOT buy cap guns for Saint Nickolas to leave in the stockings. And when I leave instructions for where and when to put out the stockings remember to tell St Nick that Hugo does not want the stockings put out before 7 am in hopes of avoiding the 3 am wakeup call we had this year.

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NO more till Dawn!!!

The Western style shoot out that was played out in the upstairs hallway around 4 am prompted my announcement that no more cap guns were to be heard until dawn. By midmorning at least one of the felons involved appeared to be regretting it. Read more!

More Christmas Pictures to come...

... I promise!

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Are you READY???

Are you READY!? Are we ever really ready though for the birth of Christ? I know I always feel somewhat unprepared, no matter how well stocked my cupboards are, or if all the gifts are wrapped and ready for Baby Jesus and St Nick to put under the tree. And I think this has a lot to do with the hecticness that I allow to creep into my last week of Advent. Every year I swear it will be different. But this year I think I feel a little more prepared than normal because I have worked hard to be able to relax today. Today I plan to do a little baking with the children. Originally, before so many were felled by a virus, I had planned on this baking to be done sooner. But one must roll with the flow, eh?

To help the children get through the day without busting a seam, I am posting a list of to dos over the Baby's creche so that they may make it just a little softer by adding yarn as they do these things. In doing so, they will be more focused on Baby Jesus rather than what might be under the tree tomorrow. (Well, sort of! They are kids after all and even I am looking forward to the tree and all of those expectant glowing eyes!)

(This awesome picture was found HERE.) Read more!