A little more reason to support our own....

Contaminated fish? Antibiotics illegal for use in food meant for human consumption? Filthy?
These are just some of findings of Alabama when they decided to test foreign imports of fish.

CLICK HERE
to view the video.

Read more!

the saga continues....

Our financial adviser in Canada emailed us a tracking number. And OH - you will not believe what has happened. Mutual - the company that held the funds in Canada sent the cheque via OVERNIGHT courier and thank GOD requested a signature. According to the tracking number something was wrong with the address and TODAY - it was signed for by an employee of Mutual back in CANADA....

So praise GOD - we know where the cheque is - it just isn't in our hot little hands yet.

Now I could whine and moan about the incompetency of Mutual who told us it went by UPS and, as such, did not have a tracking number.... BUT I KNOW whose fault it is and when my friend reads this - she will know who she is - because she predicted that the Good Lord would hold this money UNTIL EASTER!!!

And I refused to believe her. HA! I was so wrong wasn't I my dear friend, and you (dang it) were right!!!

But the Good Lord has kept us with just enough Manna and continues to be faithful in that regard. So we begin the process all over again while the good Lord enjoys His little chuckle along with His lesson in practicing the virtue of PATIENCE and of FAITH.

THANK YOU everyone for your continued support and prayers. Read more!

Sharing...

If you have been following our saga you know that company that held our Canadian Retirement funds did not bother to keep a record of the tracking number of the package that contained our cheque and now it has been almost a week since they sent it through UPS.

I am having to work on letting go and trusting. It was so easy the first day when the cheque did not arrive as we expected it to. We simply assumed that it would be here on Monday as the person we spoke to on Friday said it had gone out with UPS that morning... sadly we did not even think to ask for a tracking number at that time, although I doubt that would have made a difference as who ever sent it had already NOT recorded it.

However, I can truly see the benefit of this wait. I can even see God's hand in the tracking number being left unknown to us. In this way we have to blindly trust. Because of this we cannot be continually reassuring ourselves by tracking the cheque's progress online. "Ok, the package is at the border, the package is in NY, the package is...."

The disciples had to walk through all of Holy Week - not knowing the future and they had to trust that all would be alright, that God's hand was in all of these mysterious events they were facing. So too are Hugo and I being asked to trust that God is in control. Not UPS, not us, GOD is.
And it is so HARD! So please pray for the graces for Hugo and I to let go and trust. Read more!

Tomorrow...

... my oldest baby is leaving for here:




Aimee, dearest, is there any chance you could squeeze me into a small corner of you suitcase so I can enjoy some of this scenery with you??? Read more!

Love is...

...seeing that mummy is too tired to wash out the tub
and run a bubble bath for herself so you do it.
Thank you Bethany!

Read more!

You know you are really tired...

...when your two year old who routinely asks you around 7 am every morning 'if its morning' and today you have to stop and think before you can say: "Umm, yes it is morning." Read more!

Prayer prayers prayers....

... we need a few prayers please!

We are waiting on a cheque that has been sent by courier and apparently the company that mailed it, chose to mail it the slowest, cheapest way possible and without a tracking number.

Groceries are low and the pennies are being counted and stretched as far as possible.

Please join our pleas to Heaven that this money gets to us as soon as possible. God willing tomorrow, because even if it were to arrive tomorrow we will not be able to access the funds from it until Wednesday. The Lord has been good providing for us with Manna from Heaven - always just enough.

We have rarely, for the past two months, had more than a third of a tank of gas - usually it is just a quarter tank - just enough to get us there and back for any errands needing to be done. We have been buying food enough for one to two days at a time.

Hugo is about one third through his certification process and sadly - although I have been working for two months writing for this non profit company - they have yet to be able to pay me. This Lent has been a streeeeeetching of faith exercise for us.

I have not always done well - but I have done better than in the past. And we have experienced some little miracles as a result. For instance last week, old Mother Hubbard's cupboards were bare and so were the bank accounts. There was little reason to expect any eBay sales to pull us through the next 48 hours and I was feeling low.

"Lord," I grumbled, "I thought we had a deal. I thought I was to have faith and you were to provide." I grumbled some more to Him and struggled with the crisis of faith I was having and finally I threw up my hands and said; "Okay Lord, if this is how it is to be - I am needing some graces to deal with this. I can not do this alone - I NEED You to carry me. I need YOU to give me the graces I need to believe and to relax and not to worry."

It was then that, out of the blue, I remembered our gracious priest from a previous parish who had mailed us a gift card a few weeks previously but I could not remember where I had put it. I asked Saint Anthony to help me remember where it was.

"A black binder," sounded in my head.

I reached for the one next to me - nope.

"Upstairs," whispered a voice in my brain.

I dashed upstairs and found another black binder beside the desk in my bedroom. I opened it and looked in the sleeve. There was the Wal-mart card!

I danced a jig and the whole family rejoiced. We were able to buy enough food for two days with that card. Always just enough - just like the Manna from heaven.

So please pray with us while we wait for next gift of Manna or the cheque to come - whichever happens first. Read more!

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!