WE'RE FINISHED!

Tomorrow I will post a picture of the completed Rosary. It was begun on July 4th. It took us much longer than 59 days to cover each bead, but we did it! There were many nights we actually prayed the Rosary, but forgot to cover the corresponding bead, and in the beginning there were a number of nights we were so tired by the end of the day that we skipped our Rosary.

But we plugged on, and here we are - ready to plan our trip to the zoo. A little hitch though. A few children had indicated that they are missing their second oldest sister at Belmont college and have hinted that they would rather spend the gas money to go see her, than go to the zoo. I am sure that if I polled them all, the answer would be unanimous - visit Jenny.

So - I got on the phone, and asked her if she would like... to go to the Zoo? She would! So in two weeks, God willing, we will all meet at the Zoo and visit the monkey, zebras and lions together. What fun it will be. Already Hugo is teasing the kids that they need to wear name tags informing the keepers of the following:

"Please do not shoot me with a tranquilizer. I might look like a monkey BUT I am NOT!"

They are also wishing they could see their sister in Boston. Hmmm, maybe another goal for a Rosary Poster? Read more!

"Oh ye of little faith..."

"Last Friday we learned some news that simply devastated us. While not entirely stripped of all hope - our business's future did not look very optimistic. The bank did not completely slam the door in our face, but left it open by just a sliver.

I stared at that small sliver of hope and tried with all my might to see it expand into an actual positive outcome. But so many times in the past, the door has slowly swelled completely and irrevocably shut. When my husband first came home and told me the news my heart just fell with a thud into the bottom of my stomach. I went upstairs to my room, kicked the laundry basket and cried.

My two oldest sons tried hard to put a good spin on it. While I was grateful to them - I also felt irritated, after all I am the parent. Aren't I the one supposed to be providing direction? My husband was very quiet, but also tried to be optimistic and accepting of the situation.

I wrote a few close friends and begged for their prayers for us. It was such a struggle, the temptation to despair was so strong and pulling me down. But I was determined not to give in. I grabbed a hold of that sliver of hope and prayed, and prayed, and prayed. 'Mary - help me not to give up. Mary - pray for me that I have the strength and grace to accept the final answer, whatever it is.' I also implored the Infant of Prague to whom we have been building a devotion to, and were in the middle of a novena to.

Monday the bank called.... the answer was not good, but again - was not a complete no. There was still hope. It depended on the new manager.

tick tick tick....

Wednesday, today, I worked hard out in the packing shed, with shed being almost more accurate than packing to describe the building. If there is one thing we all agree about this business - it is that packing is the most disagreeable part of it. And the most disagreeable part of packing is trying to find the right sized box for the item you are selling. Rarely, we get in a number of like items that require the same sized box, and happily a size we just happen to have in abundance at that moment. But, as I said, that is rare.

This day - it seemed as though not one box matched one item we had to pack. My two daughters, 14 and 12, helped as much as possible while 4 of their brothers helped their dad and a friend work outside, trying to beat the rain as they moved heavy equipment and merchandise into already over stocked outbuildings.

My husband, while carrying an item that weighed about 30 plus pounds, stepped on a rusty nail and in the agony of that misstep, dropped that piece of equipment on the ankle of the other foot. He had to limp about the rest of the day, when not resting both feet. By 5:30, we had about 18 items packed, and I was still out in the shed going through paper work and feeding my grumbling tummy with chips and soda water.

As paper whirred out of the printer, I noticed a shadow hobble through the door as my husband stepped over the threshold. I turned around. My husband looked at me and said:
"The bank just called." I sucked in my breath silently.

"They said yes."

I fairly danced a jig, and I think if Hugo had not been feeling so crippled with his injuries, he would have too.

And tonight Jonathan, our 20 yr old son, was reading a sermon from St Alphonsus Liguori to me and one of the quotes St Alphonsus used was: "Oh ye of little faith, why did you doubt?"(Matthew 14: 31) and it spoke so loudly to me. I am not just grateful for the positive answer, but that for the first time in a long time, I did not completely give up, and give in to despair. I was so tempted to.

Thank You, Jesus, for prayers answered and Thank You, Mary, for prayers made." Read more!

We spent Sunday visiting our daughter Jenny at college this weekend. We had a really great time, and after church, we met the priest who had celebrated Mass. Each of the children had the opportunity to introduce themselves. Some of the youngest ones received big hugs – much to their delight.

When Noah, our ten year had his turn, he was treated to a little known fact about his namesake. Father told him that Noah was the greatest financier of the Old Testament. Apparently he was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Read more!

It is better to be the child of God than king of the whole world. Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Read more!

The Blessings of praying as a family...

Back in June of this summer I began to ask Mary to pray for me that I would find an inspiring way to help us pray as a family regularly. Several years ago - something like 14, we had begun the practice of praying the Rosary nightly. It was not long before we felt the benefits in our family life. More peace, more order as well as a sense of well being simply because we were praying as a family, almost every night of the week.

Then about 18 months after we had begun this wonderful routine, we had our sixth baby, moved, and my husband's hours changed at work adding more hours to a day we had just lengthened with a 90 minute commute. In short, evening prayer fell apart as I coped with being a mother who felt as though she were single so rare was the time my husband now had to spend with us. And even then, his hours were spent trying to finish off the basement so that we could enjoy the views of the lake, as a family, while basking in front of the ancient wood stove that smoked down there diligently trying to heat the three stories above it. The 5 ft high windows, on either side, framed the lake and maple trees through their wide panes. The following summers, his spare hours were spent building and repairing outbuildings for the animals on our growing 5 acre hobby farm.

Meanwhile our prayer life remained in neutral and our wheels, as a family, began to spin. Then my husband discovered Opus Dei and I truly could feel the blessings of his time spent in prayer and learning with this very holy society. After many months of his weekly hours of recollection I found that I would notice a lessening of graces that seemed to flow from God through Hugo to me on the occasions he could not attend Opus Dei. I wonder sometimes what kind of graces our family could have obtained had I been less stubborn about the necessity of Hugo being present so we could pray the rosary as a family.

Months turned into years and we were transferred to the US. We sold our animals, and put our little house on the lake up for sale. Nortel paid for our belongings to be packed up and we were moved lock, stock and barrel to NC in January of 1997. A new beginning like that would have been an ideal time for us to start new habits such as praying daily again as a family. Instead, we discovered that once again hours at work were such that my husband could not even continue with Opus Dei, nor daily Mass. Or at least we convinced ourselves of this. We began a long journey into the dessert, but just were not aware yet that that was where we were. We did make an attempt to sponsor a weekly Rosary on Sundays at our house with some of the members of our new Parish. Yet, the will required to make prayer a part of our daily routine still eluded me. The years marched on solidly, children grew and more lovely babies joined our family, some in quick succession.

Our oldest children, now teens, joined a local youth group and while some of them began to pray the rosary daily, as a family, we remained in the dessert unaware of how badly we were thirsting for the graces that come from daily prayer.

God decided to jolt us awake from our slumber in June of 2002. My husband lost his job and I was pregnant with our eleventh child. Thus began our journey with Job, but without his saintly patience. We were more of the attitude of his neighbours and wife. What had we done to offend God? What terrible sin had we committed?

Terrible health problems ensued, attacking especially my husband. Despite great pain, poor health and lack of medical care, my husband pushed on working un-godly hours, building a business in hopes of keeping a roof over our heads and food on our plates, never mind diapers on the bottoms of our babes! Did I yet clue in to the need to start praying as a family? No - I succumbed to bouts of depression and fear. Marilla, of the Anne of Green Gables movie, puts it so well when Anne asks her "Have you never been in the depths of despair?" and she replies” No - to despair is to turn one’s back on God." Well - if that is so, than I gave my back to God as completely as one can, and indeed fell into the depths of despair. I have never felt more alone in my life, and could not wish that misery on my worst enemy.

Then to add to our sadness our eldest daughter went though an incredible crisis of faith and ultimately left the Church. Then this spring, when it was time to baptize our newest baby one of the siblings we asked to be a God parent told us that they did not think they could be a God parent as they too were having doubts about our faith. I was so crushed. Which brings me back to this June. I sat there on my bed in tears asking God, and Mary, what had we done wrong? We had taught both these children their faith so well, we had attended church faithfully… Both children had been so in love with their faith that they had both considered the possibility of a religious vocation. I was filled with fear - what of the other children? Would they too suffer in this way and stray from their faith - possibly never to return?

The answer came to me in one simple word.

Prayer.

I had failed my children by not praying for them daily. And I was continuing to fail them - daily. By not praying. I needed to pray for their faith, for their future vocations and for those who would be called to married life - I needed to pray for their future spouses. If only I had done this the past 12 years, perhaps some of this pain and suffering incurred by my beloved children could have been avoided.

Then and there, I determined not to fail them any more. So I began to pray for inspiration. I knew I was weak and would not pray daily alone. I needed to find a way to encourage all of us to pray, preferably the Rosary. I like praying the Rosary with the family as it is precise, easy to follow and something even the youngest child, who can lisp, can follow. Also - it is Mary's vocation to bring us to Christ and this is done so beautifully through the mediations of the Rosary.

Still – how to do this in a way that would inspire us and keep us on task. I suddenly thought of how we had first begun the habit of the daily family rosary when Gabriela was a baby, 14 years ago. I had drawn a huge rosary on some poster board and bought some flower stickers. For every night that we prayed, we applied on sticker on a bead. The reward for covering all the beads with flowers, or in other words, praying the Rosary as a family for 59 nights, was a trip to Madonna House which was nestled up in mountains of Ontario, in a little community called Combermere.

Each child also had his or her own rosary to fill during the same time that we filled the family rosary poster. If they felt they had prayed well, they were permitted a sticker for their rosary. Once their own rosary was complete they would be allowed to purchase a new rosary on our family trip to Madonna house. Eight to ten weeks later, we set off for Combermere – each of the four oldest chattering happily about what kind of Rosary they wanted, and of course, often punctuating this with “Are we almost there YET?”

Well – back in Canada we were only about three hours from Madonna House, but here in NC we were looking at a two day drive, one way. A lovely thought – but incredibly unrealistic. I could think of no other place similar to Madonna House that was close enough to spend only a day visiting. Then I thought of… the Zoo. Okay – it was not exactly a religious pilgrimage, but it would inspire the children and I knew we needed every ounce of inspiration we could get. I certainly needed it.

Not wanting to wait until I had time, and a car available, to buy poster board; I immediately tore a huge piece of white paper off a large roll that we have. I drew a large Rosary on it and on my first trip for groceries bought flower stickers. I was ready in a day or two, and after discussing it with my husband announced to the children our plans. I have posted a picture of our rosary poster so that you can see how we have been progressing.

Ideally we would be finished now, but we have missed the odd night and have actually forgotten several times to add our flowers to the beads on nights we have prayed. In less than two weeks we will have earned our trip to the Zoo. Mary has already provided the money for the gas – it arrived in a paper envelope the same week we started praying daily.

Best yet – I can actually feel the graces flowing once more. Life is still difficult and money often short. But the graces to bear these difficulties are there in greater abundance than ever before. And I feel so much better knowing Mary is praying with me daily for all of my children, their vocations and for their future spouses. Read more!

Our Rosary Poster

Read more!

This sister's love knows no bounds...

Thankfully Emma has responded to the antibiotic injections she received yesterday, and today the doctor was able to call in oral antibiotics, Nice pink gooey cherry flavoured liquid to be dispensed one and a half teaspoons at a time. Our pharmacist suggested following it up with a chaser - something chocolate maybe...

I strolled through the door laden with bags of groceries, with various chocolate treats hidden between the bananas and jugs of cranberry juice. Nonchalantly I announced to the room in general, I have Emma's yummy medicine. As I feared Emma crumpled to the floor, her happy dance at seeing me halting abruptly. A wail of dismay rose, "Nooooooooo! I don want yummy medatin. Noooooo!"

The others, sensing sheer disaster if we can not get her to take her pink goop - immediately all grouped around me. They began to clamour, one and all, “Oh Mummy! Can I have some of Emma’s medicine? Plleeeease?” They took turns chiming things like, “Oh it looks so yummy – Emma can I try it?” and “Oh look – it has YOUR name on it, Emma Louise!”

Emma was having none of it.

With screams of anger and fear she plugged her hands over her mouth. After her traumatic visit to the Doctors yesterday, complete with two very painful medical procedures as well as two injections, through which at times she cried to me, “Mummy, make them top! Make them top!” I understood perfectly. Still, just as I had to ignore her pitiful pleas yesterday, I had to ignore her cries now and hold her firmly in my arms and administer this foul medicine. Her Daddy heard her and came to help – his gentle and calm voice assuring her we needed to give her this stuff. The children all applauded her braveness as she swallowed mouthful after mouthful of what felt like a never ending dose.

She ignored this applause with an injured countenance, but cheered a little at the pretty smiley face stickers I had bought as a reward. Proudly bearing her badge of honour, she walked away to the living room sucking on her lolli pop thoughtfully. A moment later she returned to the kitchen where I was organizing the groceries, and cleaning of the fridge. With great regality and dignity she drew in a deep breath and announced:
“Tanny Paul tan have my medatin.”

Ah – the love of this sister knows no bounds! Read more!

Prayers please...

Please keep little Emma in your prayers. She is quite ill with a kidney infection. Thank you Jesus for antibiotics! Today she suffered greatly, and tomorrow may need more injections. Poor baby.

Blessings
mum2twelve Read more!

26th Sunday in ordinary time

Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer to Him - the heaven of our souls, created in His Image, the living temples of the Adorable Trinity. St. Therese of Lisieux

Saint for the day: St Sergius (pope) Read more!

Emma, poor baby, is ill...

Read more!

Anna does not dissapoint!

Scroll down to the Mice, mice, mice everywhere post, and you will find the new cartoon to go with it. Thank you all for your patience! :-) Anna has been very busy helping us pack for the business while also keeping up with her school work, so I always appreciate it when she takes the time to draw something for my blog. Thanks Anna! Read more!

Ode to Shelia

Shelia has left, moved, died or been eaten. Whatever has happened - she is gone! The children have been speculating the past few days what happened to Shelia, Noah's "pet" spider. He and Teddy had been feeding her grasshoppers the past week, fattening her up it seems. Perhaps Shelia had an image problem and decided to move where the pickings were a little "more slim". At least the children got some awesome photos of her before she departed. A picture they say is worth a thousand words so here is our Ode to Shelia.

(Post script, in orginal posting, I got Shelia's name wrong but soon corrected!) Read more!

To give you some perspective, this is Shelia photographed with Noah, 10, as the backdrop! However, as Noah is further back, the spider looks slightly larger than she was. She was about the size of the large blue mark on Noah's old tee shirt.
Read more!

Comic update...

We have a mound of suitcases, diaper bags, wet laundry, dirty clothes, knap sacks and coolers to unpack, wash and put away. At some point during this task, Anna will get her comic drawn and I will post it. See you then!
Blessings
mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

Highly trained pets...

We stayed at an amazing hotel on this business trip. It was set up as a complex with several units spread over a number of acres. I am sure I jogged off all the calories consumed during breakfast just by walking back to our room. None the less, it was a beautiful walk through palm grass bushes and under trees that we called "the jungle" that emerged into a small grassy plain.

It was at this point that we heard dogs barking, completly startling the children with me on this trek back from breakie. (I was NOT going to haul eight children to breakfast, on foot, up oodles of stairs so we did it in shifts - I told you I jogged all those calories off.)
I explained that this great hotel even allowed pets!
"Woah!", exclaimed Noah. He joked; "Hey, I could have brought Marzie (his chubby guinea pig) and let him run around here through the palm grass..."
I listened to him rattle on describing all the things Marzie would do, and finally said to him: "But if you let Marzie loose here - you would never see him again, he would run away!"
"Oh, I could only do this if he were a highly trained pet!"
To which Anna whispered to me as she once more grabbed Emma, almost three, and pulled her back onto the path; "I wish Emma was a highly trained pet!" I laughed as I sped up to catch up with this wild "pet" in hopes of getting her through the parking lot in one piece. "Yes! That would be great, wouldn't it?" I called back to Anna. Read more!

Mice, mice, mice everywhere!

We have been experiencing a mouse problem of epidemic proportions! So, sadly we have had to resort to... POISON!

Blegh! But - it's the mice - or us! We have been gradually losing turf to them. First it was the drawers so silverware was moved to the counter top, then under the sink we noticed mousie doo. Now we have to cover our plates in the cupboards. It's getting so we are almost afraid to eat without washing everything a second time!

Well, today I decided to check on the box of poison hidden in the back of the now empty silverware drawer. It was mid-day and because I was scheduled to go get groceries I had my contacts in so I could see to drive the ten blocks there. Good thing too. Because as I opened the drawer I disturbed a little grey demon - uh mouse, I mean. I don't know who was more startled, him or me. He certainly jumped the highest, which is what provoked my little scream of surprise. "A MOUSE!"
Emma, almost 3, and Tanny Paul, 5, came running. "Let me tee! let me tee!!!"
Said demon, err mouse, jumped again and I jumped too with another squeak! This startled my audience. If this creature could make mummy jump like that - then this was a monster indeed. Their eyes round, and hair almost on end they both proclaimed; "Ewww! I hate mite! Ewwww!! I cared of mite"

Nathaniel though, all boy, did ask to "Hee de mout" again. I told him; "Oh no, the mouse is gone. He went home!" I did not want him digging around in the drawers looking for it. I was worried he might get bitten, or worse, find the little box of nasty green poison. Teddy, almost nine, being "helpful" opened the bottom cupboard doors. "Oh! He is hiding behind the garbage bags - right there!"

"No, no he's NOT!" I firmly admonished him. "Get - scoot! All of you! The mouse is GONE!!"

Ten minutes later, having almost forgotten the mouse affair, I was settled at my desk trying to finish my grocery list, so I could eventually take those contacts out of my burning, tear streaming eyes. Emma suddenly appeared with a spray bottle of Tub and Tile bathroom cleanser in her little paw!

"Ewwww! I hate Mite! Let me tee the mite! I will kill with dis!" And she brandished her lethal bottle of all natural non-toxic cleanser!

Oh - I wish it was that easy! Just stalk through the house with a spray bottle in each hand calling the little mousies to me. Squirt! squirt! No more mice! Yes, that would be very nice indeed - wouldn't it?

PS - this coming Tuesday when we return from a business trip look for one of Anna's comics to be illustrating this story! She worked on one Saturday, but was unhappy with the proportions with one of his characters.

Saint Christopher pray for safety for us on the road! Read more!

As my frequent readers know - I have been ill on and off the past month with a variety of viruses and infections. Now I find myself struggling, one more time, with a nasty eye infection. It is rather painful and is making it almost impossible to use my computer as the glare of the screen of my monitor blinds me, causing tears to stream down my face. I have even tried to use sunglasses to no avail.

My husband's laptop is a little easier on my eyes so I will try to use it to post - but it is possible that I will 'dissappear' for a few days, as I wait for my eyes to heal. Please feel free to include me in your prayers!!

Blessings to all!
mum2twelve Read more!

Out of the mouths of babes...

Early in the afternoon, Nathaniel was coming down the stairs when suddenly those eagle sharp eyes of his spied something. Something treasured and that, unbenownst to me, had been missing. Or, at least as far as he was concerned it had been missing. I, hpwever, had placed this little something there on the video case, unaware that it's owner was missing it.

He had given an excited gasp that caught my attention. He stopped and leaned towards the banister and stuck his slim arm though the railings. He grasped a small Winnie the Pooh photo album which contains the only photos we have of him as a baby. "My Album!" he whispered to no one in particular, and then to my surprise he continued with a very sincere; "Thank you God!"

Gabriela was sitting opposite of me and looked at me in surprise. "Did he say Thank you God!" she asked. I nodded. Yes he had, my little five year old who often proclaims come family rosary time; "Oh, I not paying."and then wanders off to a quiet corner of the living room to either play with one of our kid friendly rosaries, or perhaps to line up a row of his little cars.

Because he suffered a severe hearing loss for a period of two years, and as such existed in a world of his own for some time, unable to communicate and at times highly frustrated by this, we are sometimes reluctant to push him. I imagine that at times we are correct in this decision, and other times - too soft. Prayer time has been difficult for me as an area to push with him in particular. I want to gently lead my children to God, not shove religion down their throats. So for the most part what we have asked of Nathaniel is to be quiet and respectful during the Rosaries, but I oftened wondered what was going on in his mind while we prayed.

Clearly something has been getting through and now I think I am succeeding in gently leading him. Such a small statement, but one that gave me a very important insight of my little boy who is not "paying".

Thank you God! Read more!

Elsa...

...is not so sure what to think about rolling over. In fact, she seems to be somewhat insulted by the whole thing. There she is just lying there minding her own business and while innocently playing with her toes and stretching this way and that; she suddenly finds herself face down. She lies there for abit, somewhat startled by this sudden change in events and then struggles to pull her arms from wherever they have landed which is usually under her stomach. but occaisionally is under her face and neck. Then comes the insult to injury, someone finds her in this unprotected position and just has to blow bubbles and kisses into those delicious folds in her neck. What's a poor girl to do, eh? Well, she has no choice but to just lie there and take it, of course.
Well - Elsa soon, all too soon, you will find a great deal of usefulness this suddenly aquired new skill! You will discover you can roll AWAY and make us chase you before we can cover your beautiful neck with our kisses! Roll Elsa, roll! Read more!

AND it's off to the movies we go!

Well - yesterday I had a HUGE list of things to do ready for myself, but first I needed to lie down with Elsa after breakfast I was, err - I mean she was tired. She nursed quietly for a bit and we both dozed off. I woke with a jolt and hurried downstairs to grab my clothes out of the dryer.

Once dressed, I called the gang together and we said our Rosary. By now it was about 11 am. Well - I thought I still have a little over half a day with which to tackle my ‘to do’ list. Lesson plans times five children so we can get back to school next week. List five items for sale for my husband; help with packing as we are behind since so many of us have been ill. Finish two loads of laundry, prepare supper. Get everyone to do the three o'clock chores, preferably at three for a change. Oh, there were other inspirational thoughts on my list of to do's but at 12, almost exactly twelve, Nathaniel, my five year old handsome red head (not toot, only girls and babies are toot!) remembered that I had promised that I would take him to the movies.

I had been looking at his hair that was badly in need of a trimming so I asked; "Tanny - would you like me to cut your hair today? (Not, btw, on my to do list!) And his little face just lit up as he said; "Oh yeah - so we tan go to the mooies? You haid we would go to the mooies today. "

He had me over a barrel with those big owl round blue eyes that were shining with expectation as well as the confidence that I would keep my word. I had promised. I had promised I would take him LAST Saturday, but I saw no benefit in pointing that out since I had clearly forgotten that promise. My husband's eyes grinned at me over his laptop balanced on his knees. "I have a ton to do with this business plan.", he reminded me. This was also true. I looked at Nathaniel and his happy grin. "Well," I said, "we need to have a bath before we can cut your hair."

He skipped up the stairs ahead of me and made not a complaint while I scrubbed his scalp clean and wrapped him up in a towel in prep for the hair cut. While I was doing this, word got around that 'we are going to the movies'. Bethany pirouetted before me seeking approval of her blouse and pant combo. She got it. Another child checked to see if their hairdo was suitable for the movies. Another child was told he was not invited, no one was sure why but apparently he was not. I quickly put that rumour to rest. So, total count for this trip was eight plus Mummy. Thankfully we were heading for the 1.50 theater.

Finally, all groomed and presentable, my ‘to do’ list completely forgotten, we loaded all the car seats, diapers bags and babies, toddlers and the rest of us into the van. We waved goodbye to Finnegan and left. We made a quick pit stop at Ahmed's to top off the gas and thriftily pack the diaper bag with some candy and tiny cans of pop - cans the perfect size for the youngest to enjoy a taste of soda during the movie. The older kids and I would buy some there.

We got there with time to spare to spare so I ushered all the girls into the Women's bathroom while sending Teddy and Noah to the Men's. I had a mild heart attack when Anna asked me; "Where's Nathaniel?" He, of late, has decided he is too old for the Women's restroom but I had not given him permission to go to the Men’s and did not know if he had done that or gone looking for our movie - Madagascar. I hurried back out and, of course, there was no little red head to be seen. But I did spy a little blond boy about 7 years old. AND he was heading to the Men’s. I cut him off and asked him if he would look for a little red head who was five, or maybe just call out Nathaniel and see if anyone answered. "Sure!" he said as the door swung shut behind him while I tried not to obviously glance in. I strained my ears and I could hear a young voice calling out Nathaniel and I heard other voices. I waited and then clapped my hand to my forehead - of course - I had not asked him to come back out to tell me, so of course... he did not. A few paces back and forth and the boys, all three, trooped back out. By now Gabriela, 14, had joined me in the hallway so I told her watch them all while I went back to supervise the rest of the female pit stop.

Bladders empty and fingers squeaky clean we scooped up two booster seats neatly piled by the door to Madagascar and filed into the empty theater. After all - it was too early on a school day for there to be many children there. Two other families joined us as we settled into our seats and quietly divided out boxes of candies and split up the single box of popcorn I had purchased. Sadly I had not thought to bring some zip locks so I carefully wrapped up handfuls of popcorn times seven and passed them down. We were all ready when the lights finally dimmed and the previews rolled across the screen. Jaws silently chewed, and Emma gave up on her seat since it kept closing up on her like a clamshell regardless of her booster seat. Elsa more or less co-operated, but surprisingly I found that her attention is better held by the grown up movies we have brought her to. Perhaps it was the fault of the much taller seat backs in this theater? None the less, she added to the enjoyment by constantly tackling the wrinkly sounding chip bag on my lap.

Ninety minutes later and it was all over. Not a single bathroom trip was requested and I consider that quite a feat! Madagascar gets five stars from me!

Later, at night, I lay in bed and thought guiltily of my forgotten ‘to do’ list. I felt a bit miserable. I had not done a single thing on it. Nothing had been posted for sale, I had not packed one item, supper had been late and the three o-clock chores were done around seven. But then as I lay there, I looked at the 'got done' list; breakfast together, a little laundry, a pleasant cuddle with an adorable baby, a hair cut, one set of bangs trimmed and happy memories for seven wonderful kids. And most important - a promise kept, even if two days late. Read more!

We Remember 9/11

We remember the victims and their families. May God continue to bless this great country and protect us from further terrorist attacks. Read more!

A flower for you...

Saturdays have become our yard cleaning days. Now what kid looks forward to a Saturday morning clean fest, eh? None that I know and I happen to know twelve. So when I created this new family tradition this summer, I decided that I would get up early and have a nice hot breakfast ready for everyone, with coffee and bacon smells calling everyone out of bed, instead of me with a cup of water poised just so over one's forehead.

So far - it has been well received and everyone enjoys the special ‘breakies’ I have been concocting, pancakes and fried ham on the side, or fresh bread toasted with eggs sunny side up - you get the idea. Right out of Little Farmer, by Laura Ingles Wilder, only not quite on the same scale. Same menu, only spread over several weekends, not served all on the same Saturday morning.

As some may know, I have been ill. Quite ill actually, so the groceries had really petered out and there was no juice to go with the hot breakfast I was planning on, so I slipped off with cash in my pocket and walked over to Ahmed's Gas Station. As I made my way through the crackly dry, freshly mowed field that lies between us and the gas station I glanced down at the bright yellow mustard flowers. Despite the heat and dryness of the season they were in abundance.

Suddenly I thought of Emma, my soon to be three year old. Actually I thought of all my children when they were of the flower bearing age - sidling up to me poesy in hand. I remembered the delight that always danced across their faces when I accepted this token of love with a smile and a thank you. I thought; ‘How fun it would be to give Emma a little token of love for a change. Children take so much delight in this; it must be so special to them.’ I chuckled mentally at the thought of her face when I surprised her with a little handful of flowers.

I quickly made my purchases of juice, greeted Ahmed and hurried back to the field where I carefully chose a few buds of yellow. I made sure they were long enough to put in a glass of water. When I entered the house through the back porch, Emma was sitting at the computer with one of her siblings playing a PBS kids game online.

"Emma," I called coyly, "Look what Mummy has for you."

She scrambled down off the chair and with her face lit with expectation she hurried to me. I showed her the flowers. "I brought you some flowers Emma." She drew in her breath; "For ME?"
"Yes - for you!"
Anna, twelve, asked her; "What do you say Emma?"

"Your Welcome Mummy!" she breathed as she started to show everyone her flowers before feeding them to Finnegan.

Hmmm, yes. Thank YOU Emma, I thought, YOU give me so much pleasure! Thank YOU! So really - her welcome was quite appropriate! Read more!

Thing One and Thing Two

Well - the puppies are growing. I swear they are double their size since we "adopted" them from the stranger that ambled up our drive that hot dusty Sunday afternoon. Since then they have been de-wormed, vacinated and eaten us out of house and home.

They have been learning how to sit and to "walk easy!" as well as to sit at the door before we open it. However, I have not been able to work with their training much the past two weeks between being ill, and still trying to keep the house going. So I have been worried they would forgot much of their training. But I never thought they would forget their names - or at least one of them forget.

Tonight my son Jonathan came out to the garage where I was hidden, working on the computer for the business. He said; "Madre - did you know we have two puppies named Zack?"

"WHAT?" I asked!

"Yup - tonight I called Zack, and he came bounding across the living room, but then seconds later Ares skidded around the corner, crashing into him. So I waited until Ares was distracted and chewing on a bone and then called him by his name. 'Ares....' no response, he just kept chewing on his bone."

Jonathan continued: "Ares, I called louder, slapping my thigh and clapping. Nope - no response. 'Zack?' I said, and he leaped up and tore across the room to me, with his tail whipping like crazy. So, I guess we now have two puppies named Zack."

I just stared at him in disbelief. But then it is no wonder, as almost none of the younger children get Ares's name right, They keep calling him things like Heiress, Areeeez, anything but Ares.

So, maybe they'll just be "Zack One" and "Zack two", they certainly cause as much trouble as Thing One and Thing Two!

My poor puppies.... I clearly need to get back to their training! Read more!

Lost keys... again!

Earlier this week my husband was once more desperatly searching for keys. Keys for a vehicle that, again, has not been driven for a while. But this time I did NOT climb on a chair and search through bottles and bottles of Baby Tylenol, Children's Motrin and other sundry medicines. I had already cleaned the fridge off, and it was quite empty, so I already knew there were no keys of any sort there.

I did not empty out laundry baskets or sort through the items that are stacked on the shelf over the washer and dryer. I didn't even ask my husband if he had looked in any of these areas - I just stared at my rectangular bruise and bit my lips. I said not a word - I was sure he would find them again without my help and... he did.

I learned this when he walked into the kitchen covered with sweat and announced; "I just walked three miles."

In this heat?

I whirled around to stare at him and asked, "Why did you do that?" He and I have been talking about excercising, but surely there was a cooler, and less busy time of day, to take a walk. Especially a three mile walk.

He wearily wiped his forehead off, with a look of disgust.

"Because the stupid blue van broke down three miles from here, that's why."

I didn't bother to ask where he had found the keys this time. I just called AAA and asked for a tow.

Anyone know of a Patron Saint for old vehicles? Read more!

I am stealing from Danielle Bean...

I am stealing a list of items needed by the Baton Rouge Saint Vincent DePaul Society from Danielle's Web Site. Like so many other's I want to do more than pray and wring my hands while I listen to the suffering that is still ongoing and here is a chance to do so.

Locally there was ONE location in a nearby city that was accepting donations between 10am and 2 pm for only TWO days... Doesn't really seem as if they want many doantions. And we have received a few hundred evacues here in NC.

Given I am still sick and unable to drive, these limited hours and a location more than an hour away kept me from being able to donate the toys my children have chosen to share. I also want to go through clothes we have and share these items as well, but I could not do it before those two dates came and went, so when I saw Danielle's posting I grabbed it to share and to use!
Here is her list and the address is below it:

• Infant Clothing/layettes
• Diapers
• Formula
• Bottles
• Baby wipes
• Children’s Clothing
• Children’s Shoes
• Socks
• Undergarments
• Washcloths
• Towels
• Toiletries
• Blankets
• Children’s Sleeping Bags
• Book bags
• Pillows
• First Aid Items
• Children’s Tylenol
• Baseball Caps to limit sun exposure
• Non-Aerosol deodorant
• Non-Aerosol Bug Repellant
• Coloring Books
• Crayons

Please list contents of all packages on the label. And please package clothing in separate boxes or plastic bags according to size and sex (example: Boys Size 6 or Women’s Size 12) and be sure these are clearly labeled as well.

Please ship packages to:
St Vincent DePaul Society
St Vincent DePaul Place
Baton Rouge LA 70802 Read more!

Check this out...

Here is a URL to a local Mississippi tv station. Here you will find articles as well as video clips of the devastation that the residents of the Gulf Coast have suffered!

http://www.wlox.com/

I have finally turned the news off and am not so focused on it today. I have done this especially for the children. Still, I feel so much compassion and horror for these poor people, that they are on my mind all day. There are whole towns gone, wiped offthe face of the earth. Because of the immensity of the problems New Orleans faced, it has over shadowed Mississippi's and Alabama's tragedies.

Today and yesterday my children have taken turns going through their toys and we will pass those on. Yet, I wish to do more. Because we travel so much, these are areas we know. In fact last summer we raced, I think it was Ivan, to gather up merchandise that was on the Kessler Base. We were afraid to wait until after it had passed in case we lost our purchases in the storm. While there my husband, Hugo, said; "Hey - we are only about 55 miles from New Orleans, why don't we take a quick detour and head over there." Tired and anxious to get home before the hurricane made land, I replied;
"Nah, New Orleans will always be there, we can check it out another time..."

Now we scour the tv screen trying to catch a glimpse of anything we recognize from Biloxi or Gulfport, and I regret not having gone to New Orleans. Who would ever have thought it would not always be there? Read more!

Where are the keys...

I had a fever, a sinus infection, an eye infection and my chest was hurting. Then because I was feverish and a bit dizzy I lost my balance while standing on a chair. I was trying to help Hugo find the keys to our van. This van has been up on blocks for WEEKS and we were finally ready to test drive it... but the keys were missing.

Earlier that day Hugo had turned his pockets out... I had turned my pockets out... he had dumped his laundry basket... I had dumped the big boys’ basket (and then picked it all up again). No keys.

Later the kids searched through the couch and chair cushions in the living room, and searched under these pieces of furniture as well. No Keys.

Eventually I called from my sick bed; "Have you checked the fridge?"
''Oh yes - several times.
"Humph - I thought. Sure you did. I know how well you check on there.

So... I went downstairs and began a through search over the fridge; moving bottles of Advil, boxes of Band-Aids, bags of dog treats etc, found missing nail clippers. And then I stretched a little too far to the right and the chair I was balanced on flipped over out from under my feet. I swung precariously through the air while holding onto the freezer door and managed to land on both feet, but not before banging up my left foot and right leg.

Sporting a gumball under the sole of my left foot, and a bruise 4 inches long and 3 wide on my right leg, I crept back to bed. There I quietly prayed for help from St. Anthony in finding the keys as obviously I was in no shape to keep looking.

I fell asleep and when I woke up the van was gone. THANK YOU St. Anthony I whispered to myself! When my husband got back from his test drive of the van, I asked him where were on earth had he found the keys???
"In the van.” he responded nonchalantly.
"In the van??” I repeated, staring at my black and blue calf.
"Yeah, they were in the ignition." Read more!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

This month my first baby boy turns TWENTY!!!!

I will then have THREE kids in their twenties, but I still consider myself a “young” mother. As long as I have a child still in the single digits – I figure I can qualify as a young mother… At current count I have five children still in the single digits, but once Elsa hits ten – I will have to think of another way to define young. Read more!

Here is a most interesting blog dedicated to Katrina and her aftermath. There are photos such as you are not seeing on national tv, making it even more personal than the tv coverage has been able to do.

http://dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com/

I have not checked it out in it's entirety, so I am not sure how graphic some photos might be. Therfore, I would caution allowing children to view this blog until you have perused it yourself. So far I have not seen anything I would not allow my children see but, as I said - I have not viewed the whole blog.

I continue to pray... Read more!

The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme object of our worship. We must preserve in the depths of our hearts a constant and uninterrupted, profound adoration of this precious pledge of Divine Love.
Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
http://www.goodshepherdsistersna.com/Euphrasia.htm Read more!

SPAM Comments...

Because I have had what I consider a large number of SPAM comments for what I am assuming is a rather small readership I have added a verification step so that people will have to type letters that they see in a box before posting. I am sorry for that but I feel that it is unfair to everyone to have SPAM posted on our blogs. Has anyone else had this problem? I hope to eventually have my own website and possibly avoid this problem as a result.

I will try to remember to post my email address so that people can write to that if they prefer rather than go through the verification process. I hope it is not too cumbersome. I really enjoy reading people's feedback. If I forget to add my email address you can always roll down a little and find an older post with my email address.

I will republish this explanation for a while. I am sorry for this!

Blessings
mum2twleve@yahoo.com Read more!

How can we help the victims of Katrina?

I have been extremely restless the past week as I have had my ears glued to Fox News via our XM radio. I have been spared the horrific views of the pain and suffering, but my heart still cries for the hungry, the displaced, the babies, the mothers of these babies. I have listened to the frantic notes of Shepherd Smith’s voice, of FOX News, as he pleaded for help for the people surrounding him on highway 10 exit 235 a. As I listened to him describe fathers helplessly wandering up and down the pavement while jiggling newborns in their arms and describe a mother cuddle her desperately ill 3 year old, I itched to be able to fill my van with water and diapers and head to the highway myself. But this was neither feasible not realistic, but I want to help someway myself.

So I am listing here a number of ways that one can donate to the cause. Many people will have already have done so, but it you have not, and are not sure the best way to help – here are a number of Charities, some that President Bush himself has suggested we give to.

The two suggested by our President are the Red Cross , and the Salvation Army .

Here are some others:
Catholic Online
FEMA's link to many other valid charities

Where to help the pets of Katrina’s victims: SPCA

Please, please – keep in mind that there will many despicable folks, disguised as charities, out there trying to fleece others. It can not be emphasized enough that there will be a number of scams going on. I have heard on Fox News, that at this point, charities such as RED CROSS are too busy actually assisting the victims to be making phone calls soliciting donations. If you get such a call – it is most likely a fraud. Please do not make donations by phone. If you get a phone call ask the caller to mail you documentation so that you can confirm that they are legit. Tell them you will donate by mail after you receive confirmation that they are legit. If they are real – they will only be too glad to mail you this information.

In some situations people do not have the money to send to a charity – in those cases we can go through our closets, bookshelves and pantries and select pieces of clothing, shoes, books, children’s videos etc to donate to local charities to give to the hundreds of shelters for the victims.

We can also volunteer man hours to local charities to help sort through the donations and organize them for deployment.

And, of course, we can continue to pray.

God Bless America and, most especially, the victims of Katrina.

POST SCRIPT a link to FEMA's guidance regarding legit charites vs Frauds
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/charity.htm Read more!

One Person's Punishment is Another's Game...

Recently my nineteen year old was enjoying himself regaling tales of when he was little to his younger siblings. Somewhat along the lines of "I used to walk 3 miles in barefoot in the snow to get to school" he told of how he and the other three oldest children, would have to share a single can of soda pop.
"You guys have no idea how lucky you are - maybe once a month we would get to share a whole can of soda. Yep, Daddy might bring home one can of soda and would tell us - You can all share this - and we would be so exited. And you guys get a whole can each!!!" He shook his head sagely as he watched their eye get rounder and rounder. Eventually he switched from tales of treats and sharing, to the subject of discipline.
"Do you know what we use to have to do if we got caught running on the stairs?" Pausing for effect, he glanced around the dinner table as our "second" family stared mutely back at him shaking their heads no. One or two stole a sip from their cans of sodas.
"Oh Man - you guys have no idea how good you have it. We had to walk up and down the stairs the same amount of times as we were in age. "
One of the youngest piped up; "So I would have to go up and down seven times?"
He solemnly nodded. All that was missing was a long white beard for him to pull at while he continued. “And you had to walk up and down for that to count as one!”

This was punctuated with the arrival of eight year old Teddy as he landed with a thud at the bottom of the stairs. Unaware of the change in the subject he had flown down the stairs and cleared the last three in a single leap. Jonathan looked at me expectedly and six pairs of eyes fastened on my face. Struggling to keep my face straight I explained to Teddy he would now have to walk up and down the stairs eight times. Nathaniel, five, watched with wide eyes and then got up and came over to me. He pointed to Teddy as the other children counted the trips; “Four….. five….”
“Can I have a turn Mummy?” he chirped eaglerly. He grabbed Jonathan’s hands and said “Tum on Jonaten. Mummy said I can doe up and down too! Tum with me.”
Smothering a chuckle at how the tables had been turned on him, Jonathan joined Tanny Paul as he happily counted steps up, and then down again. What a game he thought it was, while Teddy wearily finished his count of eight. The rest of us started to clean up from supper, a few not bothering to hide our grins as Jonathan continued to help Nathaniel count his steps up and down, up and down and up and down. One person's punishment is sometimes another's game.

mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

This is almost eerie. This article was actually written and published a few months ago. It could have been written yesterday or today.

We continue to pray and turn our thoughts towards all those who are suffering.


mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

May God be with the people of the Gulf Shores!

My 19 yr old son personally has friends in New Orleans. He has heard nothing from them since Sunday night. As well, he has a friend in college up North whose parents live in New Orleans and he has not heard from his parents since Katrina struck. The last he heard was they were unable to escape due to huge gridlock that occured when people realized Katrina had become the much feared cat five. Understandably, this young man is feeling somewhat desperate for news.

How many others are in this heart wrenching situation - worrying about their loved ones and unable to contact them? Our family has been praying for all of these poor people. For those trapped within the chaos and disaster along the coast. For those who escaped, but now have no home to return to. And finally for those who wait, with hearts in their throats, to learn what has happened to their family members and friends who were unable to evacuate.

May God Bless them, and may His saving grace pour down on them all! Read more!

The verdict is in...

And... it is red hair. Yup, we have finally all concured that Elsa's hair is red, or well maybe strawberry blond, or possibly auburn. At any rate it has a definite red tinge to it - don't you think so?

mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

Let us pray for those in the path of hurricane Katrina

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.

Amen.

Read more!

The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since It contains Christ Himself and his Passion.
Saint Thomas Aquinas Read more!

No news yet re the AMBER alert...

Thank you, everyone, for praying. For now there is no additonal news - the amber alert is still active. It is very, very sad! We are so praying for a positive outcome, but as everyone knows - typically the more hours a child is missing, the less likely that there will be a happy ending. But one thinks of Elizabeth Smart and hopes!

Please continue to pray for this little girl. I intend to write to various members of government regarding the sentencing of sex offenders. In our small zip code there are SIXTEEN registered offenders alone. Many of them REPEAT offenders. It is sometimes a very scary world out there. We have reminded our children of the need for safety and caution as we live a very short distance from the highway. As well, we are just a jump, skip and a throw from one of the local gas stations where a lot of young men hang out washing their cars and it seems, sometimes imbibing in illegal activites.

It is a delicate line to balance on - keeping them alert to possible dangers without terrifying them. I fear that I err on the terriying side of things. It has been a terrible summer, whether there are really more abductions or just the media playing it up more - I don't know. I suspect the latter. Still - better safe than sorry is the old adage and I really prefer that my children be more safe.

My fourteen old has suggested that we add the safety, in this regard, to our prayer book that we read our intentions out of before praying the family Rosary. Out of the mouths of babes! Read more!

An Amber Alert here in NC!!!

Above is picture of a 2005 Hyundia Sonata.

I REALIZE MANY OF YOU ARE NOT FROM NC BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THE ABDUCTOR & VICTIM ARE ALREADY IN A NEGHBORING STATE... and I am trying to inform as many people as possible!!!

Formal Alert reads as follows:

"The Rocky Mount Police Department is searching for Jodie Renee Collie. She is a 12 year old white female, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 114 pounds. She has blonde hair and green eyes.The abductor, Phillip Daniel Denkler - a registered sex offender, is a 27 year old whilte male with straight, short, black hair and brown eyes.
They were last seen in a beige 2005 Hyundia Sonata, NC License Plate NMN-2630.
Call 911 if you have information on this abduction."

This little girl is from Rocky Mount NC. Please pray for her safe return!!! Please also share this info with anyone you might know that is, or will be, traveling and can watch for this vehicle.

God Bless
mum2twelve, including a 12 yr old daughter - so this really hits home! Read more!

Hermosa!

Babies are absolutely adorable. Yes, I think we can also all agree that babies are cute, sweet, beautiful and absolutely delicious to behold. Yet somehow we can't get away with being bald, chubby and toothless. How is that? Read more!

Be careful of the words you use!

You never know how seriously they will be taken...
Mummy; “I am dying for a book to read!”
Nathaniel (5) in a shocked tone; “You’re DYING, Mummy?”
Mummy; “Oh No, Tanny – I’m not dying, don’t worry!”
Nathaniel; (Sounding somewhere between questioning and making a statement) “Oh – you were dust doking?
Mummy; "Yes Tanny - I was just joking!" Read more!

A Little Favour to Ask...

Mum2twelve needs some help, a little input if you would. As you know Emma Louise Kathleen is pottie training and has been making progress. She loves to show me on a regular basis - her accomplishments. Whether I am on the phone, eating, or nursing the baby at any moment, I might have the pottie waved under my nose. Yes- right under my nose!

But while there is progress, I have run into a problem that I have never experienced in the toilet training of my previous ten children. As long as Emma is bare bttomed she will remember to use the pottie, but let us dress her in panties and she wets them and only then runs to the pottie to "finish".

Having had so much illness in the house along with just the normal 'heckness' of running a business out of the home - I must admit that I have not been a 100 % concentrated on her training. Still, my experience has been that once the child has gotten the idea of what the pottie is for - we could start using undies with few accidents. Right now, a pair of undies equals 100 % accidents.

My question is; "Has anyone else experienced this with their child and if so - how long did it take before the child could start to wear the undies with a "normal" amount of accidents?" Normal meaning possibly one accident a day, with them spacing out slowly until they are non-existant. And the time frame being a month or two. I am just flabergasted by the 100 % predictability of undies equals puddles! But bare bottom equals 100 % use of the pottie.

Here is the favour I am asking - would people having experience with this, or a having suggestion, leave a comment or send an email to mum2twelve@yahoo.com. I would so appreciate it.

Emma will be three in a month, and while I know every child is different, this is VERY different from my vast and varied experience! Still, I am sure others have experienced this. I probably should just be surprised it took to # eleven to have this problem.

Many thanks in advance!
Blessings from
a somewhat frustrated and puddle mired mum2twelve Read more!

Your Welcome...

Recently my daughter Anna was serving ice cream cones and Emma, who is two and a half, called out; "Tank ooh Daddy", as he was the one who had gone out to buy the ice cream.

She looked around the room and seeing that her father was not there - she called back to herself; "Your Welcome Emma!" in a deep voice. Satisfied that she had been acknowledged, she bit into her cone and wandered out of the kitchen, leaving Anna in a fit of giggles. Read more!

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart. "
Saint Therese of Lisieux Read more!

Oh yum....

Recently, while I was enjoying a well deserved respite with a cup of tea and a snack - Emma very proudly showed me the results of her newly learned ability! Emm yum! Read more!

The Power of a Mother's Prayers...

A few weeks ago my two oldest sons announced that they were going to go camping. Not the “cushy” camping that we, as a family, are accustomed to, in a campground with camp sites, bathroom and shower facilities and water spigots spread through out the campground. No, this was going to be “real” camping.

In preparation for this long weekend adventure, they went shopping and came home with roman noodles, some chicken, milk, rice, juice, cereal and all the ingredients needed to make s’mores on the nightly campfires they were eagerly anticipating. I approved their purchases while noting the lack of vegetables, but they were only camping for three days – they would survive.

All Thursday was spent packing the back packs, and checking, and rechecking their gear. They hauled all their groceries, back packs and the like out to the trunk of Jonathan’s old jalopy. They threw the sleeping bags and other assorted camping gear into the back of the car and finally, eager to be off, they called out good bye to the rest of us watching from the back porch.

After watching all of this prep through out the day I suddenly realized something very important.

“Wait!” I called; “Exactly WHERE are you camping?”

“The Linville Gorge.“

“The what? Are there are camping sites there?”

They stared at me like I had two heads.

“No.”

“Oh - so what are you going to do?”

“Camp, hike – eat – have fun. We gotta go now, Madre – we’ll be late. We agree to meet Don at three, and we still need to get Mike.”

“Ah, okay. You have cell phones – right? Don will have a cell phone – right?”

“Sure!” they called, as they waved good bye in the dust stirred up by their spinning tires. The last I saw was their grinning faces as they drove off carefree, happy and young.

A cold piece of ice gripped my heart as I thought about just how young they really were and that this was their first camping trip without their 21 yr old sister to keep them grounded. Heck, this was Miguel’s first camping trip, period, sans parents.

They’ll be fine – I assured myself. We can call them on Don’s cell phone.

Of course, Don’s cell phone was out of range and not reachable when later that evening I realized I had forgotten to lecture – er, remind them to be careful about diving into unknown waters.

“Oh Mary – please pray for these boys who believe themselves immortal, and with boundless luck. Please safeguard them if they go swimming – don’t let them drown or break their necks diving into too shallow waters. “ This was followed by several Hail Maries.

Friday dawned, and still Don’s cell phone was unreachable. Suddenly I experienced this horrible lurch in my stomach – what if they were to get lost in the Gorge. What if they had left the trails they were planning on following? How would we know? When would we know they were lost? Not till well after Sunday when they were to return at some indiscriminate time in the afternoon.

“Oh Mary – please watch over my sons, as well as Don and Michael – don’t let them get lost please. Help them stay safe.” I followed this with more countless Hail Maries all afternoon and throughout the night, neglecting to mention my fears to Hugo, thinking he would just chide my foolishness.

‘Of course they are fine – it’s just a short camping trip, just a few hours away. Relax. They’ll be back Sunday.’ I could hear my husband’s quiet, calm voice in my head and I tried to listen to those imagined words of advice, but continued with my Hail Maries regardless.

Saturday morning dawned and with my sons hopelessly lost in my imagination, another horror hit me – what if one were to step on a rattle snake while traipsing about lost and bewildered through the Gorge??? More fervent Hail Maries were uttered under my breath as I went through the day – cleaning, tidying, reading emails, answering children’s questions and planning Sunday and generally just trying to whittle the day away.

We prayed our evening Rosary. With the children settled down for the evening, I sat down before the computer, prepared to distract myself some more when a slight movement in the corner of my eye caused me to look to my right – just in time to see Jonathan, exhausted and rumpled, sink into the arm chair beside me. His bare arms were badly scratched; his face was sun burnt and very, very tired.

I glanced behind me expecting to see his younger, though taller, brother behind me. He wasn’t. My heart leapt to my throat! This was not Sunday – why was Jonathan home so early, and without his brother? Why did he look so disdraught?

I gaped at Jonathan, and startled him out of his reverie as I yelled at him; “WHERE IS MIGUEL?”

“I don’t know…”, he replied as he rubbed his hand over his eyes.

“YOU DON’T KNOW?????” I could barely breath.

“No – he’s around somewhere, maybe still in the car. I don’t know.”

A huge sigh of relief issued from my lips. Now I could relax and pepper him with questions.

“Why are you home so early?"
"Did you have fun?"
"Where is Don?"
"Is Michael still with you?”

Again, my son wearily rubbed his hand over his forehead.

“Don is home I guess, Mike’s in the garage and we got lost.”

“Lost? You mean as you were driving home or when you drove up?”

“No – in the Gorge. We got there late Friday night, and that's when we found out that Don had neglected to inform us that we were hiking in – everything had to fit in the back packs. So we set up camp for the night, packed up in the morning, leaving the chicken and milk behind and hiked into the Gorge. Within about an hour we were hopelessly lost. I almost drowned crossing the falls, but luckily one of the guys was holding onto my back pack and kept me from going over. They hauled me out of the water, and we decided to cross further down. Then Don almost stepped on a 5 foot rattle snake. Man – it WAS HUGE! We scrambled through underbrush for hours and hours – look at my arms. You should see my legs, they are worse! Oh, and some bug bit me on my back – hurt like the dickens. Can you check it later Madre? So, when we finally stumbled out back onto a trail we told Don we had had enough and high tailed it back to the car and came home. And THAT’S why we are home today instead of tomorrow. If you don’t mind – I think I’ll take a shower and go to bed."

I will never doubt the strength of a Mother’s prayers and especially those of our Mother Mary. Thank You Mary – for hearing my prayers and praying with me so that my boys and their two friends came home safe and sound!


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Is It FAIR??

Sometimes I question God's sense of fairness. Sometimes - like now for instance as I watch Nathaniel who, just yesterday was still lanquishing about on the couch recovering from the virus that had caused a fever to spike as high as 105 (41.2c), is now able to tear about today as if he had never been ill. Not a care in the world, nor any responsibilites beyond being cute and helping his sister rip the living room apart whilst building great railroads for the world to admire...

But I, the heart of the family, am still just limping along. Barely a fever, but aching joints and sore throat still plague me slowing me down to a crawl!

Where does all of that energy come from - or perhaps the better question is - where did it all go? I am tempted to tell Nathaniel to slow down and try to conserve some of that excess energy for the future - for when he is 40 something and feeling - somewhat tired. Yet, I know if anyone had told me that when I was five, I would have stared at them as though they had three heads and eight eyes. In fact I would have still stared at them like that when I was eighteen? Me - old? Me - tired?

Still, I can't help but wish that someone had warned me and that I had been able to save a little of that precious energy for days like today! Yup - it somehow just doesn't seem quite fair - does it?

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Whose Living Room is It?

Do you ever do stupid things like getting mad again over something that happened a long, long time ago. And then lie awake for hours stewing about it - getting more and more incensed thinking about what you should have said and what you could say, if it were to happen again.

How about doing that until you finally fall sleep exhausted at 3 am, only to wake up to see that it actually has come to pass again!

Over the winter I was often frustrated and irritated by the fact that due to cold temps making the garage impossible to work in, my husband had to work with his equipment in the living room. Today - my living room floor was littered with projectors that my husband was testing, since he likes to use the white wall behind the couch as a screen.

While I sat there typing on the laptop writing a different story I intended to post today, I was expending much needed energy in ignoring this intricate design of silver boxes spread about the living room floor. Possibly reading my mind, my 19 yr old son ventured to ask me how I liked the current display? 'Padre spent hours designing it, I think he means it to be permanent.'

My husband sitting beside me snickered, and made a joke himself about it. I stared at him for a second before informing him how I had lost hours of sleep last night lecturing him mentally about all of this mess I had put up with in my living room all last winter. Now did my husband repent, and immeadiatly offer to remove these items?
No - he merely grinned and said;
"Well, there's your problem - if you would just think of it as MY living room instead of yours - it wouldn't bother you so much.... " Read more!

Thankful...

I am very thankful!

The past week we have had a virus spreading through the house - typical symtoms - heach ache from fever - usually running between 103 - 104 f or 38.8 - 40 c with either an accompanying stomach ache or sore throat. Most of the children recovered with in 48 - 72 hrs and a few had sore throats that lingured longer.

However my little red head, Tanny Paul, decided to go a slightly different route and scare the Dickens out of me by running a fever that spiked at almost 105 f - or 41 c. Over the past 22 years of parenting/nursing - I have yet to have a temp hit that high. So I was scared.

Nathaniel braved a tempid bath and the little fellow, who hates "hot" baths, actually found it cold. Still - the temp would not fall below 40 c. We thought we were out of Motrin and clearly the Tylenol was not cutting it. A call had already been made to the Doctor's office and an appointment secured for the little fellow. I finally remembered a bottle of Motrin that I thought was tucked away in one of our many travel bags for the numerous family business trips we make yearly and checked. YES - it was there!

Got him to swallow the sticky orange goo, and watched the clock while we waited to leave. We are now 45 minutes away, instead of 15 from the doc's and the a/c is NOT working in my older son's car, (The family van still only drive forward!) and I did not want to be too early for his appointment since it was the first after lunch break, and I was not sure the doors would be open.

We finally got there - late. I will enventually adjust to the longer drive and start arriving on time again! Steam was raising off the wet pavement, and heating our knees as we hurried through the parking lot, Gabriela with her God-daughter in her arms, and I with Nathaniel in mine. He was too weak to walk, but did not seem as hot to me as when we had left home.

Despite the lateness of our arrival we were seen quite promptly - perhaps some other mother was also late - caught in traffic in the sizzingly heat, about 89 or so, not including the humidex. The nurse asked the normal questions and soon our favourite Dr. came in and chatted with Nathaniel who stared at him with his blue owl eyes, sometimes nodding yes to his questions, and at other times whispering no. Clearly his throat hurt. When teh Dr learned how high the temp had hit he was concerned about menigitus, but thankfully Nathaniel was able to move his neck and head just fine. Next the temperature check.....

97.3

How much more normal can you get, than that??? Isn't that always the way?

As a precaution, our pediatrician ran a strep test and while we were waiting the results - Nathaniel had his hearing retested as he had failed his last test several months earlier.

HE PASSED!!!

I am so happy! AND he also "passed" the strep test - so we are dealing with a "simple" virus - no more, no less! AND he doesn't need hearing aids - just possibly some speech thereapy. I am so happy! And I am so grateful!

Thank you Jesus, Mary and Josef for prayers heard and answered! Read more!

Guardian Angels come in all forms...

In our case one came as a dog - a Bouvier des Flandres, by the name of Caila. Before she was even a yr. old she proved without a doubt that Bouvs make great protectors, whether trained to do so, or not!

One warm spring day way back when Noah, now 10 and a half, was just a newborn; we left all 7 of the children (ages 12 and down) in the van in the local strip mall parking lot of small town Perth.

My husband went to pick up a couple of items from the IGA, and I headed into the small privately owned pet store for… pet supplies! Typically on the occaisions that we did this, we always told the kids to lock the doors, but this particular time we forgot to remind them of this. So, of course, they didn’t.

Greatest on my mind right then was the possibility that Caila might have an accident while in the van as she had bowel problems that, as yet, we had been unable to resolve. This problem had resulted in our typically leaving her home on family outings despite her love for car rides. That morning she had jumped in the van as soon as she noted the crew all boarding together. Although not yet fully grown, she was big, heavy and determined. She is a Bouvier after all, and they are known for their pig headed manners. Anyway – my husband asked if I wanted him to pull her out, but feeling a little sorry for her, as well as in a hurry to get the day’s errands over I responded; “No – just leave her, and let’s all pray she doesn’t have an accident – poor thing!”

So while I was searching for cat food, litter and puppy food and my husband was searching the isles of the grocery store for whatever was on his list, the children sat chatting away waiting for our quick return. A few cars back, they noticed three teenagers, 1 girl and 2 males. These three were weaving in and out between cars laughing and joking together, as they made their way in the general direction of our van. The kids thought nothing of it as it was small rural town and generally peaceful.

Suddenly, however, the three teens came to a stop beside the side door of the van beside which my 9 yr old son, and newborn sat. As they continued to laugh and joke with each other, the tallest of the three yanked the door open. The children were shocked into silence while unbeknownst to the invaders, one “passenger” seated in her favorite seat, the driver’s, was alerted to the danger by the sudden tension that filled the air.

Up till then, the only training Caila had received was to sit, lie down, and GIVE (whatever is in your mouth to ME NOW). However – despite her sad lack of training in family protection Caila, swiftly and silently, moved from the driver’s seat to between the intruder and his prospective victims – my children. Now silence befell the three teens as Caila stared them down and then silently barred her teeth. She made not a sound, the children said and, in text book fashion, she warned these three potential criminals out of HER van.

The teens slammed the door shut, and the three of them made a hasty retreat and in high voices asked each other – “Did you SEE that DOG, Did you see those TEETH?? And then the comments that still today, leave chills down my spine;
“I’m not doing it, are you?”
“No – I’m not – are you?”
We will never know what “it“ was, Thank GOD and Thank Caila!! Ten years later, the oldest four still remember that day very, very clearly.

Dog books describe the protective and intelligent attitude of the Bouvier as follows. 'When confronted with an intruder the Bouvier will size up the situation, and apply force only as needed. At first the animal will silently bar its teeth. Then, if the intruder does not respond appropriately, the Bouv will growl and if that still does not cause the intruder to retreat, at that point the dog will attack.'
What amazing dogs, eh!?!
Amazing Caila! Read more!

St Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for you!

This prayer was recently posted on a Yahoo Catholic mom website/support group - I thought I would share it here.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday!

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Neck and Neck!

Well - I have to say that Emma, Zack and Ares are all progressing with their toilet training. In fact you could say they are currently neck and neck, with some days better than others. But I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel! Read more!

illness abounds...

I have not had time to post the last three days since in addition to the normal, (usually joyful), chaos that abounds in our life ,we have various children running temperatures from 39 - 40 c or 103 to 104 f. (I guess I really did have the flu last week, and not just an "allergic" reaction to puppies!)

I feel blessed that so far we have not had stomach heaves or any other complaints - just a general malaise and high temps. Mind you, I am keeping a close eye on Bethany, my 7 year old, who started with the fever last night. Last November, while my husband was on the road, and I was without a vehicle and did not have 911 activated on my phone yet... she had seizures as a result of a very mild fever! Praise be to God she survived with no lasting side effects, while I (alas) gained a few more gray hairs!

So far her body is dealing well with the fever and responding to the Motrin - but I am still keeping a close eye on her!

My cartoonist has just sucumbed to the fever today - but still a cartoon is in the making and will be posted later today or early tomorrow. She has been hinting lately for a raise - I really should consider doubling, or even tripling her salary, after all 3 times zero is still zero - no? On the other hand - a night out with mummy for an icecream, or a soda might please my artist!

With this new onslaught of illness I have just remembered one very important way to know when you are a large family...

When you have enough members in your family that by the time a virus ciruclates through, it has mutated enough that the first victim falls prey to it a second time and the party starts all over again!

I would also like to thank Saint Anthony publicly for prayers answered. We have been looking for some time now for bunks - the ones with a double on the bottom and we are being blessed with not just one set, but two! These will come in very handy as we are currently squeezed into a 3 bedroom home!

Blessings to all and please keep us in your prayers the next few days, esp Bethany!

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Before you know it...

Before you know it the tables will be reversed.
Yes – before you know it, your 18 yr old son will be following you as you walk to the gas station, because he is worried for your safety.
Before you know it your oldest daughter will be sending you to bed for a nap because you look tired.
Before you know it, you are not needed to make dinner for Thanksgiving.
And then before you know it, one of your oldest daughters starts baking the birthday cakes instead of you…
And before you know it the oldest, instead of calling from the kitchen table - "Mummy - can you help me with this algebra question?" is calling you on her cell phone and asking; "what's the difference between a POS, an HMO, or a PPO insurance plan?"
Yes, before you know it – the oldest of the bunch are almost all grown up, and you feel misty eyed. Where did the time go? Wasn’t it just yesterday you were bandaging their knees, and changing their diapers?

And while you feel a little stunned at this reversal, you put your feet up on the coffee table and gratefully accept that cup of tea while you ask hopefully - "Are those oatmeal cookies I smell in the oven?"

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Meet the boys...

Zac & Ares 12 weeks

Here are our little orphans that we "adopted" a week ago! Zac is on the left and Ares the right. I'm sorry to say that these two mites are doing much better at their 'toilet training' than Emma is with hers!

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We have lost control...

“We have lost control” stated my husband helplessly as he stood there stunned by 2 yr old Emma’s determination to go to the store with him. Her happy little jog down the stairs in her cargo blue jeans, hippie t-shirt and good shoes was followed by a determined little shove past her daddy as she announced “Hey – I’m tumming!” in a voice that was irresistible.

He was standing in the doorway about to slide out hoping she would not see him. Already the little red head, who had quickly whipped his bathing suit off and replaced it with his cords and t-shirt was sitting expectantly in his boaster seat in the car. Emma having noticed him change in the middle of the living room (without his customary – “Hey duys – no lookin, I’m donna be naked!”) had immediately caught on that a trip was about to be made and had dashed up the stairs with a big sister in tow to help her change. In a voice strangled with laughter he stated; “We’re getting too old for this! It’s time to be grandparents!” (Please note however that I am NOT ready to be a grandmother!)
While Emma pranced down the front porch stairs, completely sure of herself, we choked back our chuckles and went out the back door to retrieve her car seat from the van. We know when we have lost, and this time the battle didn't even have a chance to get started.

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Happy Birthday Tanny Paul!

Guess who turned five this month? Nathaniel Paul! Now, although five technically, he is a teen in spirit. Also he is "han'um and dood lookin" But he is not, I repeat, NOT cute!
Babies are cute - Nathaniel is not!

But I say - look at those pictures have you ever seen a more cute - err, sorry, dood lookin', han'um red head?
Happy Birthday Tanny!!!!

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Good News Bad News, Bad news Good News

The Good News is that Sam's Club took care of my husband's laptop - no questions asked!

The bad news is my husband lost his wallet with THREE green cards in it, his license and social security card. OUCH! This is going to be a challenge and prayers are heartily welcomed!

Bad news - again.... the transmission went on our "new to us" van - again prayers heartily welcomed! :-)

Good News - this has forced us to go to Mass seperately, which means I went with only three of the girls tonight and actually got to concentrate on the Mass instead of on children 5 and under. What a peaceful experience. I do enjoy attending Mass as a family and I am impatient that we get the van repaired, but at least I have found a silver lining in this problem.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday!

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NICELY!!

Earlier this week Emma, two and a half, had finished her dessert and decided she wanted down. This she proclaimed to everyone in general with a bellow. Given all of us were still busy eating our own dessert, we did not all immmeadiatly jump up and respond to her highness. Miss Emma proceeded to bellow;
"I want DOWN! I want DOOOOOWWWN!" This was varied with "I want OUT!", this was usually followed by a grunt as she pushed on the highchair tray in an attempt to free herself.
At last, tired of her screaming and whining Noah, 10 years, stood up and with his hands on his hips yelled back; "How about maybe you ask NICELY?!"
Emma paused, drew in a deep breath and in a sweet voice sang "Nicely!"

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Prayer Request to any and all who may read my blog...

I have a wee favour to ask. Please pray for our lap top. My husband is self employed and the lap top is fairly integral to the business. This morning my husband was getting out of the bath and had the lap top a safe distance (he thought) from the tub so he could listen to Rush.
As he was getting out, he slipped in the tub and thank God is okay. However, a small tsunami ensued and flooded the bathroom. As a result his laptop got wet and immeadiatly shut down.
He has gone online and read what to do, and we have taken all of the steps. Please pray that it will turn back on in 24 hrs when we are to try again. And NO, he will not be listening to Rush in the bath anymore!

Many Blessings
mum2twelve

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Call me crazy...

...because I am!

Yesterday I claimed to have the flu and I certainly felt flu like. Aches and chills, and a certain feeling of confusion. But was it a virus, or was it PUPPIES???

Yes, that is in the plural. You see on Sunday, out of the blue, a small thin man walked up our drive and he had with him two small animals on chains. They loped along tiredly beside him in 90 plus degrees. Who was he, and why was he coming up our drive and with such purpose in his stride. In a hurry to head him off, I went out onto the porch and sat down on the front door step. With a tired look matched only by the pups’ drooping chins, the gentleman wiped his brow and asked for my second oldest son. By now, excited faces were pressed against the porch door and one child raced off to find said son.

While he waited patiently for my son to appear the puppies flopped down and chewed on my sandals and each other until my husband joined us. As Hugo scratched the puppies’ humongous ears the man finally divulged his business.
“Y’all give me ten dollar, and a’ll give ya them dawgs.”

I looked at the exhausted wee things and said in Spanish to my husband – give him the ten dollars and we’ll take the poor things to the SPCA. My husband nodded and the fellow continued to chat in a language foreign to my understanding. I understood a few words, but his southern accent was so heavy it was difficult to decipher much of what he said. We did understand one thing – “Don’t fed ‘em all ta'geder or them'll fight!”

Small wonder I thought – the poor things are skin and bones. I asked him if they were maybe 12 weeks, he nodded and wiped the sweat off his brow again. It was obvious he was ready to go. I asked the kids to get the poor puppies some water while my husband dug into his pocket and pulled out a five and four ones. We were a dollar short.
“Never you mind,” he said, “I see yo’ son around all da time. He can give me a dollar any ol’ time. “

Stuffing the loose bills into his pocket he called to one of the pups gruffly, causing it to lean into my young son’s side.
“C’meer dawg!" Sssvet he whistled. "Get over here dawg. You be good booboo – you be good now!”

With that, he rumpled the pup’s ears, and sauntered off into the hot Sunday afternoon.

I stood up and shooed everyone out of the heat into the house and amidst the excited giggles and yelps I said determinedly;
“Now, the pups are only here until we can get them to the SPCA. “

The pups now named, Zack for Zackaria and Ares, are STILL here and while the aches and pains are fading – I am still experiencing a sense of confusion.

What can I say – except… call me crazy.
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