Today...

... is the day! Counting down hours now instead of weeks and days! Hugo and I will pack up the van with the equipment (projectors, computer, screen etc) this afternoon, have an early dinner with the kids and then head off to set up around 5 pm.

Again... prayers please! And thank you in advance!

News Flash...Update..... News Flash...Update.....News Flash...Update.....News Flash...

Twenty Two CDs burnt, labeled and in their sleeves, 8 more already burned waiting to be labeled with our new lightscribe. Will provide a photo of the CD when I remember where I placed my camera for safe keeping. (Excuse me... Saint Anthony - I have a rather urgent request! Could you please pray with me that I find this camera SOON!)

This accomplishment is due to not just a little thanks to my good friend Peggy who has come to my rescue more than once when it was time to print something for our seminars. After playing email tag for a while yesterday afternoon as we emailed the document back and forth until I was happy with the resulting pdf file. Then she graciously offered to keep a pot of decaf coffee in the offing in case my burner did not work and I needed to go to her house to burn the 30 CDs. This, despite two sleepless nights in a row due to a teething toddler! Thank you Peg!

Tonight S.I.T , in a near by town, hosts our seminar. Continue to pray please! Again - thank you in advance!


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Tomorrow...

drum roll please.... Tomorrow is our first English Seminar. I have heard a rumor circulating that a local tv news team has been invited to view our seminar. No pressure there.... I'm totally cool with that! Not a problem... really!

Okay so I'm a liar - any volunteers to take my place? I'm a good coach & I could have you ready by 5 pm tomorrow night - Honest! Oops forgot I just admitted that I'm a liar!

Prayers PLEASE!

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chillin'

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An award!

for little old me! Now I have to share 7 things about myself you are not likely to know and then I'm to pick 7 other creative blogs! Hmmmm.... I have some work cut out for me. But as I am still swamped with trying to burn and label 35 cds for our seminar this will have to wait but I was so tickled about being give an award that I just had to share the surprising news. Thank you Squelly and if you have not met her yet - pop on over and check her out!

Stay tuned for 7 unknown facts about me and 7 nominations for this fun award!
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our babies are growing....

Enjoying a leg of lamb in May

Cooling off in Daddy's arms with a little water sprinkled on her by her oldest brother, Jonathan on Father's Day

Time for bed. Baby boys need their beauty rest if they are to grow in strength and size.
Night Night Blaze!

There is only one month, almost to the day, between Cecilia and Blaze who are now 5.5 months and 4.5 months. (In the picture of Blaze he is about 3.5 months)
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Basketball a la cuatro

This father's day we had all five boys at home and the four oldest decided to play a quick game of basketball. When I saw them out there in the parking lot next door, I quickly grabbed the camera. With Miguel shipping out for bootcamp in early August to train as a calvary scout (and then airborne training) we don't know how many more opportunities there will be for this brotherly comradeship with the four of them and I needed to make sure I got this 'on tape'. We are hoping for at least one more chance for some fun like this before Miguel leaves, if everyone's work schedules allow for it.














Finale! Noah accidentally shot the final basket into the goal when it belonged to the other team - giving them the winning ball. Benjamin and Jonathan are celebrating while Miguel is grasping his head in disbelief and Noah looks as if he is celebrating but is actually laughing/groaning at himself for the stupid mistake he made!

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We are...

...moving! We get the keys to our new home July 10th and moving day is set for the 11th so mark your calendars. I expect you all out front with dollies, working gloves and I'll provide the water and snacks while you all help us load up and move out.

Seriously though, we are very excited about this new home. It is in the town where my husband will be employed this coming August. Living in the same town will be invaluable for him as there is much for him to do to help prepare the technology classroom before the school's doors opening in August.

Look for pictures of our new home to come. While I have been there several times the past week - I have forgotten every time to bring my camera.

In the meantime I will be extremely busy... reviewing and preparing for our first English 'Parenting Kids Online' seminars. Some of you may remember that at the end of May early June we did our first Spanish seminars. Please keep this seminar in mind when you do your prayers and also, if you don't mind, please also pray for our success in continuing to procure funding for this important mission we have undertaken. We are also trying to create a professional looking website where one can learn more about what we are trying to do with these seminars. (informing Spanish & English speaking parents of the inherent dangers of the internet as well as some of the dangers of unsupervised use of camera enable cell phones and internet capable wireless mp3 players. )

In addition to this we will be packing up a five bedroom home to move to another 5 bedroom home - in under 20 days. Oy! Prayers, prayers, prayers please! Please also pray for our eBay business as at this time (until August) it is our only source of income but Hugo does not have much time to dedicate to it while he is preparing for his new job. We also have a vehicle up for sale and if it sold - the money would go a long way to help us meet some of our upcoming bills. We are only asking 800 for this classic vehicle so hopefully it will move soon.

God Bless you all and thank you in advance for your prayers.
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promised photos

My talented friend, Peg, printed these out and she and her 11 yr old daughter cut them in preparation for the afternoons assembly line that was to take place at our house that afternoon.

The take out platters assembled by a variety of ages from 8 up 18 yrs of age. This is a project that can accommodate a range of ages.

French Fry holder

Nathaniel 8 yrs old helped tape a number of these closed after I folded them for him. The whole process of assembling FIFTEEN happy meals took less than 30 minutes. I don't think McDonalds has a thing on us - try ordering 15 happy meals to go and see how long it takes them to fill the order!



A close up of the finished product. The burgers are brownies cut out with circular shaped cookie cutters. And the buns are white cupcakes. The deliciously salted fries are sugar cookies that were baked and sliced and 'salted' with regular sugar earlier that morning by Peg. Did I mention she is talented. My daughter Anna (we both have daughters by that name) baked the brownies following a teasing debate as to whether brownies should be made with cocoa powder or squares... Squares won out since (my) Anna was baking them and would have to clean up the mess anyway.

fifteen happy meals to go

Drooling over Smiling in anticipation of a happy meal!

If you have not yet seen Peg's post at Good Remedy hop on over and enjoy some pics of the kids devouring these delicious meals. A few kids were obviously filling more than the checkered trays and fry holders as some were just too full to be able to eat their whole meal. They were chastised that if they did not finish their "meals" there would be no dessert.

To view the original post about these fun meals travel on over to Bakerella's site. This is an awesome site to spend time. However, beware if you are feeling in need of a chocolate or sweet fix - this is a hazardous site to visit. If you go anyway - don't say I didn't warn you!


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Happy Father's Day

... to all of our spiritual fathers - our priests and our God Fathers. To our earthly fathers, whether our own or the fathers of our children. We entrust you all to our heavenly foster father, St. Joseph.


"O Glorious Saint Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, and the head of the Holy Family. You have been chosen by Christ's Vicar as the heavenly Patron and Protector of the Church founded by Christ.

Protect the Sovereign Pontiff and all bishops and priests united with him. Be the protector of all who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life; and grant that all peoples and fathers of the world may be docile to the Church without which there is no salvation."

Thank you Heavenly Father both for my father and the father of my children. Both of them are awesome men who are much to be admired. Both are hard working men after the spirit of St Joseph, both are lovers of Christ after the heart of St. Joseph. And both have blessed my life greatly and for that I am profoundly grateful. Thank you Dad and Thank you Hugo.

(prayer found here)
(picture found here)


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So lazy...

and uh busy... that I am simply directing to my friend's blog, Good Remedy so you can see what we have been up to lately. I have to admit I mainly directed traffic, err maybe I should say quality control for this project. My friend Peg is about 89% responsible for the success of this project, and Anna, who made the brownies, is responsible for the another 10%. The rest of us carried about 1% of the work - unless you count eating the happy meals. In that case we were all about 100% responsible.

I will post pictures later, I think promise. But honestly - Pegs pics are better than mine as I ran out of battery when we got to the important part - the EATING!


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Hats off to Scribbit...

... who once again shares a cool and inexpensive way to have fun with your kids with a new twist on an old game - Concentration. Read more!

SAY WHAT???

Cardinal Newman Society uncovers ten CATHOLIC Colleges that are promoting student internships with organizations whose missions or activities are directly opposed to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, including on fundamental issues such as abortion and marriage. Click here to read the article.

Thank you Kathy H. for sharing this article.

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Interrupted...

As I am too busy dealing with the interruptions that life as the mother of a large family brings with it I am once more stealing borrowing from Elizabeth Foss. I need to add her to my favourites list on the side if I have not already done so. When I am not so busy dealing with all of these interruptions - I will double check and add her if she is not already there!

In the mean time, if I am not already on the top of your prayer list - please put me on it. This is promising to be a rather stressful summer. However, I promise that in between interruptions I will continue to post about the joys and struggles of being the mum of a large family. So keep popping in and checking to see if I have had a moment to share a thought, whether serious, joyful or just plain silly.

I am also hoping to do a review and possibly a giveaway sometime this summer. Note I am not being rash enough to say this month... or within a few weeks. I am giving myself lots of leeway!

Ok - brief respite from interruptions, aka my life, is over. See you soon - I HOPE!

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DEFIED but not defeated!

On the sly I have been slowing eradicating sweets and replacing them with fresh and sometimes canned fruit. There have been less and less cookies purchased with the groceries the past two months.

This morning I opened my desk drawer and instead of the pen I was looking for I found this. Now I am left with several questions:

1) Who bought it... logical answer - the person most recently out for milk and bread and that was NOT me. I am sure you are rapidly coming to the same conclusion. My husband is in cahoots with the kids.

2) Who would be silly enough to hide it in MY desk drawer? Logical conclusion - someone with a guilty conscience. However, when I pulled it out of the drawer my surprise was met with a roomful of nervous giggles and some chuckling. No one sounded too laden with a heavy conscience. However the chuckles quickly became groans when I cheerfully announced that this unexpected treasure should be placed in the coffee cupboard so that we can use it as a coffee flavouring....

"Not for chocolate milk?" one lone voice dared to call out?

I did not dignify it with an answer but simply grinned. I may have been defied but I am not yet defeated.

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Borrowed...

I am borrowing a link from Blessed Among Men with whom I offer my AMEN!

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I am sad to say

...that one too many editorial disagreements between Blaze and my assistant blogger has lead to Marley (aka Ninja) to pack his bags in a huff and move to the local SPCA where he is waiting for reassignment so if anyone would care for a most excellent should partner I can forward job offers to his new address.

In truth, Marley's life was in danger from a rather impetuous puppy who was overly friendly in his attempts to play with Marley. The last straw was when he accidentally pawed one of the children in the face, just missing her eye as he tried to reach Marley. I had for days been trying to decide whether to keep the kitten or not - that accident made it abundantly clear. A kitten and a puppy do not good bed fellows make. We need the dog but we do not need another cat at this time.... But I do miss his editorial assistance.

(Note Blaze is very good about not pawing at the children, has learned to sit, wait and is generally well behaved, but he just could not resist playing with that little furball that looked like a living toy!)

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heard from the back of the van

As we were driving around looking at possible rentals, scribbling numbers down, quipping about small houses and fitting our crew into them I heard a tiny voice from the back call out to her father:

"Daddy, how will we fit everything into our van when we move?"

I love the four year old mind as it struggles to understand the world around it.


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Misplaced

You know you are misplacing your phone a lot when your first thought when you can't find your sunglasses is to call them....


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BUSY BUSY BUSY

Elizabeth Foss posted this quote this week:

The reason that we are not fully at ease in heart and soul is because we seek rest in these things that are so little and have no rest within them, and pay no attention to our God, who is Almighty, All-wise, All-good, and the only real rest.
~Blessed Julian of Norwich

Today I read Elizabeth Foss' post on being at rest for which she had posted the above quote. She reflected on how close she came to death in the emergency delivery of her youngest child born last October and how she found perfect rest in the Lord as she "settled into a room and continued to wait to see how God would write this chapter"

With so many changes on the horizon for us... I am busy, busy, busy. And have been far from feeling at rest in the Lord. Some difficult decisions have loomed in front of us and I was worried about decisions being made through the lack of action. Not a good way to make important decisions.

Finally I wrote and asked you my readers for prayers and wrote to Jesus Himself asking for guidance. Later while resting in the afternoon I prayed some more and a thought came to me. I immediately shared it with Cecilia's God Father, who is also a priest and he agreed that it was a perfect step in the right direction. I have found a way to take action while leaving room for God to act. Hopefully in doing so we will hear God's voice in our confusion and He will make it clear the path to take. I know what I want, but I do not know if that is what God wants.

Finding a way to move forward with physical action while leaving the door open for God to act even; if it is not the answer I might be wanting to hear... gave me the same rest in the Lord that Elizabeth Foss shares in her post. I am not talking about a possible life altering crisis yet I was still needing to fine peace. Peace from depending on God for my answer and not my actions, or of those around me.

So if you have not yet meet Elizabeth Foss - its time you did. I think you will enjoy meeting this quiet, unassuming, talented writer who is so close to God and a great inspiration to me.

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A Job....

I have wonderful news to share with my readers. After using our savings to live on so that Hugo could go back to graduate school in hopes of improving his chances of a job, he has indeed procured a job. He has been hired to teach in a private school as the technology teacher. As an entry level teacher his salary is on the lower end of the scale so we are not totally out of the woods, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

We are continuing to pursue the creation of our seminar business and have already taught one seminar in Spanish last weekend. We are scheduled to teach another at the end of June. We are very excited by all of this.

However this excitement is tempered by the fact that it will be August before the salary for the new job kicks in and bills still need to be paid and we are praying we can move to the town where the job is located. There are many reasons for this. Chiefly with the gas prices moving up and our only vehicle being a 15 passenger van - well you can do the math and see that an already tight budget will be squeezed significantly by the cost of gas. Add in that the van has over 200,000 miles and is monthly spewing out this belt and that belt and revealing a hole here and there you live with the constant fear that this trip is its last trip and we are too far from the town to expect another teacher to be able to swing by and pick him up should the van be out of commission for a day or two.

But if any of you have been unemployed for a significant period or have been self employed - you are well aware the negative impact this can have on your credit history - the life blood of today's economy. So renting a home in the new town might prove dicey... Another straw on the proverbial camel's back is that the rent is about to go up where we are... Add that to the increasing gas costs.... our worries are high.

So we are extremely grateful for the job and all the wonderful opportunities this door is opening for us - but we could use some prayers as we face these new challenges. God is good and we thank Him for these blessings and now humbly ask Him to guide us in the decisions facing us the next couple of weeks as we must make a decision about this house within the next week. Very scary...

THANK YOU all for your past prayers and continued prayers!

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Goldie Locks and the Bears

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Prayers please

Tomorrow is our first seminar, "Siendo Padres en la era de la Internet". Please pray for the graces we need to do a good job, and that we have a good showing.

Below are some pics of my prep for binding the Parental Tool Box manuals as well as the finished product.




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New Blogging partner...

As you all know, of late I have been pressed for time and sometimes unable to get things posted on a daily basis so I have hired an assistant blogger. You can see pictures of him assisting in the writing of his first post below. In future all comments will be moderated by him so I would suggest that no one write any derisive cat jokes or comments as I believe he will simply delete them or possibly even retaliate.

Here the budding journalist is seen chatting with fellow residents about some of his ideas for new posts. He would like to see some articles on the conditions of the local SPCA as well as how they drag their feet picking up strays. Then he thought better of that, recently having been homeless himself.

Then he got down to the serious business of implementing some his ideas for future posts.

A little spell checking and we were good to go on this post.
So please would one and all readers take the time to welcome the newest member of this blogging team. A poll will follow to help him settle on a pseudonym for his posts. Currently he is known as Marley- of the Dickens sort, being an orphan and all.

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Update on Michael B

In this day and age - we can all use the good news of a miracle. Do you remember when less than a month ago we were pleading for prayers for our son's girl friend's 14 yr old brother. The day we learned how ill Michael was, he had received what used to be referred to as the last rites and is now called the anointing of the sick. Michael's sister, Alicia, and our son, Jonathan were called that morning and told to hurry home to the state of T. as the outlook for Michael was grim.

Even as I type this I get a lump in my throat remembering. It was mother's day and I could not imagine being in this mother's shoes. Sitting helplessly by my son's bedside praying desperately for a miracle.

Well, we were granted one. Less than a week later Michael was released and since returning home has continued to grow in strength. At this time it looks that there is not even any damage to his kidneys, that on that Mother's day were shutting down. At that time if Michael even survived it was not known if he would need dialysis on a permanent basis.

Praise God for this miracle and thank you for all of your prayers! THANK YOU from us and his family that has repeatedly asked us to thank all who prayed for him.


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Over heard

My husband has worked hard to help, almost 9 yr old, Nathaniel develop a sense of humour. Nathaniel is very puritan in that regard. So the other day Hugo remarked to Nathaniel as to how cute he was. Even just a year ago that would have brought scowls and growls from him. This time he just grinned and said;

"I haven't been cute since weeks ago." Then he stopped up short and exclaimed; "WAIT, no! I haven't been cute for .......... 8 years now!"

Now that, I have to say, is just plain ... CUTE - sorry Nathaniel! You will always be cute to me!

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Stated ...

as only a four year old can state it:

"Mummy there is a black baby kitten here. Do you think it has raibins cause I don't. I think it is a poor kitten. Nosey might have raibins too."


Again I ask - does anyone want a black baby kitten... especially since Elsa has declared it free of raibins? I think I will be visiting the SPCA again... soon.

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Bleary eyed & tired...

It was shortly after midnight and suspecting my 15 yr old was still chatting through her gmail account, to an old friend who had moved out of State, I headed downstairs to tell her to clear off the computer and hit the sheets. As my feet hit the floor I discovered another pair of feet that were attached to a long pair of thin legs that were attached to the torso of my 12 yr old while his head and arms were somewhat hidden almost under the TV. I could not tell if he was shoving videos under the TV cabinet or pulling them out from under. However, before I could discern just what weird activity this errant 12 year old was engaged in a small black furry body shot out from under the tv and across the room, scurried past my feet and down the hall. At almost equal speed the young man dropped his videos and was off after the black blur of fur with his eyes widening as he caught sight of me in his peripheral vision.

In silence and shock I watched this young kitten mewing in terror as it fled about the house with Benjamen hot on his tail, spewing out an explanation as he passed by me. "I heard a noise, I thought it was Nosey (his other adopted stray) I was worried he was hurt so I came down..." At this point both he and the kitten skidded and turned the corner and Benjamin shouted over his shoulder..."I saw him on the road and I just couldn't leave him there..."

I saw a chance this wild kitten might tear out the front door if I opened it as he fled past me again, so I positioned myself by the door and opened it. Standing there, as if in anticipation of a possible late night snack, was Nosey. He confidently sauntered in and the kitten quickly veered to its left and scurried into the fireplace where it cowered behind the decorative logs. Nervously eyeing Nosey and wondering if he intended to join the frenzy, I moved towards him to encourage him to go back whence he came - into the dark humid night. But before I could get close enough to him to shoo him out, what to my wondering eyes should appear but Sam - the family indoor cat. Sam detests Nosey but loves kittens. Not yet spying his mortal enemy Sam tried to seek out the source of the wild mewing and I scooped him up and thrust him into the lap of the oblivious 15 yr old who was still calmly tapping away on the keys of the dining room computer. "Quick" I hissed at her, "Get Sam back upstairs and CLOSE the hallway door!" Bewildered, she hurried away with him while I guided Nosey back out the front door and firmly closed it.

Firmly grasping a broom with the hopes of gently encouraging the kitten out from behind the stack of logs and into the cat carrier Benjamin now had waiting in front of the fireplace I strode across the living room. After several unsuccessful attempts at this, I had Benjamin carefully remove the logs. all the while this kitten was screaming frantically mewing, leaving me to wonder why the whole house was not yet awakened and all in the living room offering advise and guidance.

Anna appeared and quietly watched, worry sketched in her eyes. Obviously she had finally looked at a clock and knew this kitten was not enough of a distraction to save her from what was to come. At last we achieved success and the kitten was deposited in the side yard and Nosey carefully admonished not to eat to leave said kitty alone and the front door was closed and locked. After I was finished with discussing the errors of the night with the two culprits I hoarsely quietly bid them good night and crawled back into bed again, thinking that by tomorrow this kitten will have disappeared back to where ever it came from.

At 7:30 am a cellphone buzzed, notifying me that a text had come in. I opened it and read from my neighbour;

"Just a little heads up. Walking Ariel early this morning & saw a new visitor on your front porch of the itty bitty kitty variety."

Anyone want a cat... anyone.... please???

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