Small Successes

1) Hugo and I taught a successful seminar on the 30th (Tuesday of this week)

2) I finished my CD for the seminar and we successfully labeled and burned 30 copies of it.

3) Successfully packed ONE whole book shelf so that I have at least one that is completely empty. We have packed about 10 boxes of books, but so far only one bookshelf is completely empty. It is so restful to glance at one that is totally empty and know eventually they all will be empty.

4) And last, but not least, plugging on despite a ranging headache that just makes me want to cry. It is very tempting to give in and give up! But several boxes of clothes have joined the boxes of books... Like someone afraid of heights trying to climb a ladder or tree - I just simply must not look down, but look ahead! And PRAY! I must pray - quietly in my head all day "Lord - Help me, Mary - please pray for me!"

ignore that blamed darn read more that I can't figure out to get rid of.

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learning to sit

Sometimes we leaned too far back... with predictible results!

Ooops! This time we leaned too far forward!

This time we got it just right!

And sometimes when we got it just right we were able to enjoy such delights as a flower with our sister, Bethany!






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three good kids for sale...

I picked up an excellent bargain while in the mountains last week and, NO, I will not resell them for they are too priceless!





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Now we begin to pack....

This morning we begin to do some serious packing with me actually involved. I have tried not to stress out over the number of boxes being packed the past week with who knows what and stacked here and there through out the house. The plan is to begin moving a little into the house each day. Its going to be hot, hectic and hopefully fun too. We are all excited about moving to this new house. It needs some work but we are not afraid of work. This house is owned by our parish and they want to sell it to help add to the new building fund campaign so every little repair we make we will see as a gift to our parish.

Fellow parishioners will be helping us to move as well and everyone so far has been excited to hear we are moving to the same city as the church. I have not yet arranged for Internet at the new house and sadly the company we have been with for the past three years is not yet available in the area. So I am not sure what we will be doing for Internet. I might be blogging from the local library so in anticipation of that I will post some scheduled postings which due to time constraints will mostly be pictures from our recent trip to the mountains.

Stay tuned for Internet details....
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Happy Canada Day

We have often enjoyed watching the change of the guard as we lived in Ottawa for years.

One of my favorite views - from my dad and step mums back yard! They have a bread and breakfast in New Brunswick and it is a beautiful place to visit.

And here are a few links you can visit to see some pretty places I have either lived in or visited with Hugo, when we lived in Canada.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA

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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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