St. Joseph the Worker (May 1)

Fidelity to Work

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God, disregarding difficulties and weariness; to work, above all, with purity of intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes death, and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, patriarch Joseph. This will be my watchword in life and in death. Amen.

~ Father Hardon's Catholic Prayerbook with Meditations, p. 239 ~

May Day Baskets

As a young girl, I enjoyed hanging May Day baskets on ours or our neighbor's door. On Monday, we made May Day baskets, during Little Flowers.

Catherine's and Bernadette's May Day Baskets
Materials:
Wallpaper Scraps (or Construction Paper)
Template (see below)
Scissors
Stapler
One-hole Punch
Ribbon
Easter Grass
Flowers

How to Make:

Trace the template onto the back of the wallpaper (or construction paper). Cut along traced lines. Roll the wallpaper into a cone shape. Staple the cone together (a high and low staple work well). Use the hole punch to make a hole on either side of the open end of the cone. Lace the ribbon through the holes and tie on each side. Fill the basket with Easter grass. Place real or foam flowers in the basket.
On May 1, hang the basket on a neighbor's door, ding the doorbell and run.

Template

A Common Occurrence

Theresa is watching her brother.

Catherine is working diligently.

Patrick has three of his siblings for an audience.

The children continue to watch Patrick.

Patrick is my child who keeps me on my toes. He keeps his siblings watching in awe. If he pours Raisin Bran on the floor, so he can eat the raisins, his sisters and brother watch him. If he pours juice all down the hallway, his sisters and brother watch him. If he pours shampoo on my bedroom carpet, his sisters and brother watch him. If he jumps off a table, his sisters and brother watch him. If he draws on the wall, his sisters and brother watch him. If he pulls everything out of a closet, his sisters and brother watch him. No matter what he does, Patrick's sisters and brother watch him. After Patrick has made a mess, hurt himself, drawn on the wall, or pulled everything out of a closet, then his sisters and brother come and tell me what he has done.

I have to admit that my husband and I often find ourselves watching Patrick. Not when he is being naughty, but when he is figuring out how to do something he has seen one of us do. He is a very intelligent, active, little boy and I thank God for Patrick and his siblings every day.

Happy Birthday Marie-Caroline

A belated Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law! I hope you had a wonderful day, Marie-Caroline! May God continue to bless you!

Daisy Highside (Osteopermum ecklonis)

We planted these on Wedneday, April 26.
Care Notes: Full Sun, Water lightly

Prayers Needed

Some dear friends of mine were in the process of adopting a baby boy. He has been living with them for almost three weeks. The husband just called to ask for a phone number, so that he could call his wife and let her know that the family wants the baby back. Please pray that God's will be done for the baby. Please pray that Mary wraps her mantle around my friends and helps them and their one biological son to get through this. They have suffered so many losses already.

Impatiens Double: Victorian Rose

We planted these on Wednesday, April 26.

Care Notes: Shade, Water regularly

Take Your Children to Work Day

Today was take your children to work day. In our house this is also known as the little ones who stay home get spoiled day. While my three oldest were seeing what Daddy does, visiting the animal shelter, going to the conservatory and sitting on replicas of camels from the Ming Dynasty, I was spoiling Theresa.

First, we went to the pet store. Upon entering, I knew I had to leave as soon as possible. The animal smells made my nausea reach an all time high. We made a bee line for the fish section and finally found the bettas (a Siamese fighting fish). Theresa chose the liveliest red and blue fish she could find. Next she picked out pink gravel and a piece of pink and purple coral. We paid for the fish and other items and I thankfully left the store. Our next stop was right next door, Barnes and Noble. Here, I picked up Sir Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math Adventure. We got back in the van and I realized that I had forgotten to get fish food. I debated going back into the store, but I decided I could not torture myself like that again. We headed to Wendys for lunch, instead. After Wendys, we went home.

When her siblings arrived home, Theresa told them about her fish. They asked her what animals she had seen at the pet store. She responded, "They only had fish there." Actually, the pet store has birds, rodents, rabbits and reptiles, but I felt too awful to show her any of them.

Thank you God for blessing all of us with a wonderful day!

What Do You Use for Garden Tools?

This morning, I started to read Sharon Lovejoy's Trowel & Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies & Shortcuts for the Gardener. Towards the beginning of the book, I came across the following:

Don't be afraid to break the rules about what to use for garden tools.

I chuckled to myself, as I reminisced about my mom's lamentations regarding her kitchen belongings. My dad (the man who taught me so much about gardening) often took something from the kitchen to use outside. If my mom's kitchen scissors were missing, we all knew who had taken them and where they could be found.

The Song of the Herb Robert Fairy

Little Herb Robert,
Bright and small,
Peeps from the bank
Or the old stone wall.

Little Herb Robert,
His leaf turns red;
He's wild geranium,
So it is said.

Thank you, Dawn (By Sun and Candlelight), for making me aware of the above poem from Cicely Mary Barker's The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies.

DK Eyewitness Travel Guides

Yesterday, I checked out a DK Eyewitness Travel Guide on South Africa. I was very excited, as I looked through the book. It was informative and well-done. I told my husband that I would like to purchase some of the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. Then, I turned to page 372 of the survival guide section and I changed my mind. Someone at Dorling Kindersley had decided to turn the travel guide into a moral, or rather immoral, guide. On page 372, under the heading Women Travellers, the reader is warned not to have unprotected sex. The next sentence reads, "Condoms are available at pharmacies and supermarkets." The book goes on to dedicate 3 paragraphs to Gay/Lesbian Travel. I will be expressing my disappointment to Dorling Kindersley and a few other organizations, this week.

If you own any of the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides, I recommend you look at the survival guide section(s) before allowing your children to look at the book. In addition, you might consider voicing your disapproval to DK.

Wildflower or Weed

A few days ago my children and I discovered these unknown plants growing near our back fence and in a nearby flower pot. The purple flowers look so delicate and I am inclined to leave them where they are, but first I would like to know whether they are a weed or a wildflower.

Does anyone know what they are?

Update: Our unknown flower has been identified by Dawn (please see comments) as Herb Robert. More information about this annual can be found here, Noxious Weed Control Board.

My Budding Scientist

Today, I took my children to Barnes and Noble to get them each a book. I was looking for Starfish, by Edith Thacher Hurd for my son. They did not have the book in the store, so I told him he could choose another book from the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series. He looked at a few of the books and then he told me, "Mommy, I want a real science book. One where you do science." I told him he was welcome to look at the books on the shelf.

A little while later, he was holding two DK books in his hand, Nature Ranger and Rock & Fossil Hunter. We bought the first and I told him we could get the other one when he finishes Kindergarten.

He is so excited about his new book. He informed me that tomorrow we need to make sure he has all of the supplies. He told his dad and me about a bunch of the different activities in the book. I looked through it and I believe that my son discovered an excellent book.

Dear God, please help my husband and me to follow through on doing the activities in the book with our son.

What's for Dessert?

Why do some children like to eat dirt and mud? Two of my children (the second and the fifth) insisted on putting dirt and mud in their mouths. Now, I see their cousin likes to do the same thing.

My oldest son attempted to eat pinecones on a few occasions. He decided he no longer liked them, when he got some pinecone stuck in his gum. It had to be removed by the dentist.

I wonder what other strange things children like to eat.

Little Flowers

Today, we had Little Flowers at our house. This is the third year that I have worked with these girls and I was struck by how much they have grown, by how much they have learned. During snack time, I forgot to have the girls say grace. They all said it, anyway, ending with our traditional, “St. Thérèse, pray for us.” They were very focused on the presentation (this isn’t really new) and on their craft. I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with these girls and I pray that they always practice the virtues they have learned.

Little Flowers Luncheon
June 5, 2005

The Thanksgiving Place

This morning before Mass, Theresa kept asking me, "Mommy can we go to the Thanksgiving Place today?" I did not know what she meant by the Thanksgiving Place.

Finally, I asked, "What's the Thanksgiving Place?"

My little angel responded, "Mommy, it's the place where Patrick was born."

I Have a Secret...

Me: Theresa, Mommy wants to tell you a secret.

Theresa: Silence

Me: Mommy has a baby in her tummy.

Theresa: Is it a girl baby?

Please keep this little blessing from God and all my children in your prayers.

Divine Mercy Sunday

When my mom was sick, she had a picture of the Divine Mercy hanging next to her bed. I would often look at it and say, "Jesus, I trust in You!" When she died, the picture we chose for her prayer card was the Divine Mercy. "Jesus, I trust in You!" has become a prayer that I say with increasing frequency, when I miss my mom, when I want to speak with her, when I am afraid, etc.

If you would like to learn more about the Divine Mercy Devotion, please visit EWTN.

Jesus, I trust in You!

A Prize-Winning Photo

My nieces' new dog explores a flower pot.

Call Someone

Do you have a friend whom you haven't spoken with in a while?

Today, I called and left a message for a friend of ours whom we haven't spoken to for a long time. We talk about him and pray for him, but we don't usually take the time to call him. He called back tonight. He spoke with me, with one of our children, and he is still speaking with my husband. I believe he was really touched to know that we still think about him.

Next week, I hope to call my 3-year-old's godmother. She moved to North Dakota over a year ago and I really miss her.

15-Month Well-Child Check

Our little boy had his 15-month well-child check today. I was not surprised to learn that he is the average height of a two-and-a-half-year-old and the average weight of a two-year-old.

He screamed each time the doctor or the nurse came close to him (in the past, he was pretty quiet). He scowled when the nurse blew bubbles for him, but he did stop crying.

My Pint-Sized Gardener

Here is a picture of our flower picker.

Yard Work with Children

On Wednesday, I decided to spend some time in our backyard rearranging the landscape which has looked a little strange, since we had two big fir trees cut down last fall. My children were all excited about helping me, except for my youngest. He systematically picked our little fig tree and every flower he could find in our garden. He would pick a flower; I would admonish him. He would help us move a few little rocks and then...He would pick another flower before I could stop him. After every flower was picked, my son returned to a tulip, whose petals he had plucked, and tried to eat the filament and anther. Last year, it was the squirrels that kept destroying my flowers; this year it was my little boy. I would much rather see my little boy delighting in picking the flowers, than a squirrel ruining my garden!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Whitley! We hope you had a wonderful day!

Our Lady's Garden

There is something about the outdoors that beckons to my children year round. Whenever they are outside, they marvel at God's creations. They bring me worms, beetles, caterpillars, roly polys (a.k.a wood louse), pseudo-scorpions and whatever else they find. They notice the "little bells" on the hyacinths, the first tiny forget-me-nots, the cherry tree blossoms, the rose buds, the lupines, the colors of the lilies and the green strawberries that are always eaten by one of God's creatures before they can be picked. They climb trees, run and play. My children also sit on a piece of fossilized wood, looking at a statue of Our Lady of Grace, and pray. I pray that our blessed Mother, the patroness of our garden, always watches over my children, as they delight in the wonders of God's creation.

If you would like to read more about our garden, please visit Our Lady's Garden.

Priceless

I think this picture of my nephew, finding an Easter egg, is absolutely priceless.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Claire! We pray you had a wonderful first birthday!

Our Learning Room

When we first moved into our house, I set up a classroom. My classroom was my pride. However, last year it started to become an embarrassment. It was no longer neat and organized, as I had started to store non-learning related things in the closet and elsewhere around the room. Then, last summer my in-laws moved and our classroom turned into a storage room. After much pleading from my children, yesterday, I decided to try and restore some of our classrooms former appeal.

I had been working in the classroom for approximately five minutes, when our little angel came into the room, took an alphabet puzzle off the shelf and quietly started to work on it. Shortly, thereafter her two brothers came into the room. Her older brother started by helping me, but ended by busying himself with an activity from the shelf. Her younger brother squatted next to his sister and tried to help her. She quietly and patiently helped him to place the pieces he picked up into the puzzle frame. After a short while, Patrick tired of doing the puzzle, gravitated towards a shelf, took something down and started working on it. When he was finished, he took something else down and started working on it. Pretty soon, our two older children came into the room and busied themselves with an activity.

As I cleaned, I looked around the room at my five children and all of a sudden I realized that our classroom wasn't a classroom at all. Rather, the room, I was cleaning, is a learning room. Last night, as we were getting the children ready for bed, I explained to my husband that the classroom had a new name, the learning room, because our house was a learning house.

This morning, as I was eating breakfast, Brendan came to me and asked, "Mommy, when can we use the learning room, again?" I love little ears that hear conversations and embrace, in their mind, ideas that they like.

Homeschooling

My husband and I decided to homeschool in order to help our children grow in their knowledge and love for God and their willingness to serve Him.

We started homeschooling when our oldest was an infant and we haven't looked back. Of course, that doesn't mean that there haven't been days when I longed for an excellent Catholic school. When I experience those days of longing, I am thankful for my rock, my husband. He helps me realize that one or two down days cannot erase the joy we experience from living and learning together.

At my mom's recommendation, I began by reading everything I could by and about Maria Montessori. My husband and I busied ourselves making and purchasing a few materials and I tried my best to implement Montessori's ideas, especially in regards to reading. Like many oldest children, our first child started to read at 3. She continues to be an avid reader today and our next child has followed in her footsteps. Our second daughter started reading at age 5 and quickly became a bookworm. Our other children enjoy listening to stories and are excited about the prospect of reading.

Today, our oldest daughter is fully enrolled with Seton Home Study School and she is thriving. She is a self-motivated learner, who loves to share her knowledge with others. In addition to using Seton's curriculum, she is also studying Latin and she follows her mother down many a rabbit trail. I hope her love for learning continues to grow.

I am designing my own curriculum for our two other school-age children and their younger sister (she is biting at the bit to read). Thus far, all but one of my children really like homeschooling and learning together as a family.

Our second daughter enjoys Reading, Art and Music. I have not succeeded in finding the key to sparking her interest in learning Math, Phonics, Spelling, etc. Some people tell me she is learning, but on her own terms. Most days, she does one subject and then somehow ends up spending the rest of her time reading or drawing. There is only one weekday when she focuses on the material at hand. On Thursdays, she completes all of her lessons (plus some) in an hour, while we sit in the car and wait for her older sister's ballet class to end. Sometimes, I wonder if the material is simply too easy, in her mind, and therefore not worth doing.

Our third child is very good at Math and likes learning. It looks like he will probably be reading fluently by his sixth birthday. He is my child, who I constantly have to try and slow down. He always wants to do more and learn more. When he is not inside learning with Mommy, he is outside looking under rocks or climbing a tree.

Our fourth child has decided that it is high time she learns to read. She has joined in her brother's reading lessons, much to his chagrin. She also takes pleasure in answering her sister's catechism questions and doing any workbooks she can find.

Our baby seems to be eager to learn, as well. He insists on a story before taking a nap or going to sleep at night.

I am truly thankful for the opportunity God has given me to teach and learn with my children. I pray that in guiding my children, I am growing in my knowledge and love for God and that I am serving Him well.

How is the date for Easter determined?

Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal or spring equinox, which is March 21. Thus, the date for Easter will always fall sometime between March 22 and April 25.

Easter Sunday

Christ's Resurrection
by Bernadette and Catherine

Christ's Resurrection

Christ's Tomb is found Empty
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought sweet spices, that coming, they might anoint Jesus.
And looking, they saw the stone rolled back. For it was very great.
Mark 16:1-4
Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid.
Matthew 28:6

Good Friday

The Crucifixion
by Bernadette

Christ's Tomb
by Catherine (2002)

Christ's Death

Jesus Carries his Cross
And after they had mocked him, they took off the cloak from him, and put on him his own garments, and led him away to crucify him.
And going out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they forced to take up his cross.
Matthew 27:31-32
Crucifixion
And after they had crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: They divided my garments among them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.
And they sat and watched him.
Matthew 27:35-36
Christ's Death
And Jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent.
Now the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake, and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: Indeed this was the Son of God.
Matthew 27:50-51, 54
Christ's Burial
And when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus.
He went to Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that the body should be delivered.
And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth.
And laid it in his own new monument, which he had hewed out in a rock. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the monument, and went his way.
Matthew 27:57-60
Guarding the Tomb
Pilate saith to them: You have a guard; go, guard it as you know.
And they departing, made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting guards.
Matthew 27:65-66

Christ's Passion

Mount of Olives
Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as You will."
Matthew 26:30,39
Betrayal
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-16
Jesus Brought Before Pilate
When the morning came all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
Matthew 27:1-2*
Pilate Washes his Hands / Christ is Scourged
So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this righteous man's blood." And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" Then he relesed for them Barabas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
Matthew 27:24-26**
Christ is Mocked
And stripping him, they put a scarlet cloak about him. And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand. And bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: "Hail, king of the Jews." And spitting upon him, they took the reed, and struck his head.
Matthew 27:28-30
*First posted on April 11, 2006 at 10:20am
**Updated on April 13 at 10:10am
Updated Good Friday

The Last Supper

Above is our Last Supper display. Our two oldest girls made Jesus and the 12 apostles four years ago, using Seton's Art 1 for Young Catholics. The children have requested that we make new figures next year, as they would like to have figures made by at least four of them.

We pray that everyone has a blessed Triduum!

*It was just brought to my attention that one of our apostles is missing.

Braces

Catherine got her stage 1 braces, yesterday. She has four on her upper front teeth. They are metallic blue and metallic purple (i.e. blue, purple, blue, purple). She actually looks kind of cute with her colorful mouth. Thank you God for giving us an excellent insurance plan and orthodontist. Without the former, we couldn't afford the braces. Without the latter, our daughter probably wouldn't be as accepting of the palate expander and the braces. Her brothers and sisters all want braces, too.

"Exploring Boston with Charlotte Tucker"

Melissa Wiley is working on another unit study. This time, she is focusing on Chartlotte Tucker (I wrote a short review of these books for Saint Joseph Catholic Homeschool last year). We might have to reread the Charlotte books, too.

"Nanny"

Please pray for my mother-in-law. She was rushed to the hospital yesterday with extremely low oxygen and high blood-sugar levels. She has been diagnosed with a very bad case of pneumonia.
May Mary wrap her mantle around "Nanny" and may God watch over her.

Grooming

I gave our little boy his second haircut today.
"Daddy" took the photos.

Palm Sunday

I have been a little lax about our art projects lately, much to Bernadette's dismay. Yesterday, she decided to correct the situation. Bernadette pulled out Seton's Art 1 for Young Catholics and proceeded to do the project for Palm Sunday. She spent most of the day coloring, cutting and gluing. The result of her hard work can be seen in the picture below. I am very thankful for her diligence, as it will help me to present a Palm Sunday lesson to my children today (better late, than never).

Countdown to Christ's Resurrection

Yesterday, we were given a wonderful Palm Sunday gift after Mass by some new-found friends, the Cruser family. They gave us an egg carton, filled with plastic eggs. Each egg contains a bible verse and something to represent the verse. The beautifully drawn picture on the left was glued to the top of the egg carton. I hope to share some of the contents throughout holy week.

The Cruser girls were so excited to share the gift that their family had made with such love. My children were very touched to receive this carefully made and well thought out gift. I am pleased that we have an excellent means of focusing our intention on the Passion, Death and Resurrection during Holy Week and on Easter Sunday.

Chemo

My dad started his oral chemotherapy yesterday. Please pray that he suffers no serious adverse affects and that he gets well quickly. May God continue to watch over him.

Palm Sunday Crosses

One of my fond childhood memories is of my mom making crosses out of the blessed palms on Palm Sunday. When my husband and I were dating, I made crosses for some of the children after Mass. The first year we were married, I made crosses for some of the children after Mass. The second year we were married, I made a cross for our little baby, one for my husband and one for me. Yesterday, I made 7 crosses (one for each member of our family).

Dear Lord, please help us to carry our crosses without complaint.

Holy Week

I pray that everyone has a blessed holy week!

Adoration

Every First Friday, my children and I spend an hour or more, or sometimes a little less in Adoration. The children surprisingly all look forward to First Fridays. We have an Adoration (EWTN) bag that we take with us each time. It includes religious books, coloring books or pages, and crayons. The children are required to pray for the first few minutes and then they may choose to either read or color. We sing songs, depending on the season (Forty Days and Forty Nights was sung today). Sometimes we pray the Rosary. Today, I read the St. Bridget prayers (found at the beginning of the blue Pieta Prayer Booklet) to them and we all said the Our Fathers and Hail Marys together. While I attended to Patrick, Catherine read King of the Golden City to her brother and sisters. What was Patrick doing? When he wasn't nursing, he was exploring the confessionals and telling me all about them, "Mama..." When he wasn't saying "Mama", he was pointing to the monstrance saying, "Jesus...Jesus...Jesus..." I always leave Adoration feeling so happy that I spent time with Our Lord. Thank you God for providing us with this wonderful opportunity to adore You!

Children's Conversations

Brendan: "Boys are better than girls."
Catherine: "They are not."

Brendan: "Yes, they are. Boys become men and get married. Then they become fathers and fathers are the head of the house."

My little boy still needs to learn that the heart is as important as the head. Maybe, I will have him read The Privilege of Being a Woman when he is in college.

Bernadette (talking about some toy rabbits): "Mine are in Heaven and yours are in Purgatory. Or if you really want, yours can be in Heaven and mine can be in Purgatory."

In Memory of Pope John Paul II

My brother just sent me this tribute to Pope John Paul II: We Remember His Holiness Pope John Paul II: May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005.

Please Pray

My dad is at his doctor's appointment. I won't know anything more until tomorrow morning.

Prayer to Saint Peregrine*
O great St. Peregrine, you have been called "The Mighty," "The Wonder-Worker," because of the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have had recourse to you.
For so many years you bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fibre of our being, and who had recourse to the source of all grace when the power of man could do no more. You were favoured with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction. Ask of God and Our Lady, the cure of the sick whom we entrust to you.

(Pause here and silently recall the names of the sick for whom you are praying)

Aided in this way by your powerful intercession, we shall sing to God, now and for all eternity, a song of gratitude for His great goodness and mercy.
Amen.

*The St. Peregrine Novena is from EWTN. I could not find my holy card with the same or a similar novena at the time I wrote this.

Spring

The weather was beautiful, so I decided to take advantage of it. Before leaving for ballet, I piled the bikes, a trike and a stroller in the van. While their sister danced, Catherine and Brendan rode their bikes in a nearby empty parking lot. Theresa impressed me by riding her tricycle back and forth across the parking lot. I had thought that I would push Patrick in the stroller, but he had other ideas. He pushed the stroller around the parking lot, watching his brother and oldest sister race. At the beginning of each race, Catherine yelled, "Go." Pretty soon, our dear little boy decided it would be more fun to run around the lot and yell, "Go, go, go." He is now sound asleep and I believe he and his sisters and brother will sleep well tonight. Thank you dear God for blessing us with such a wonderful day!

It Doesn't Rain, but it Pours

The title is a saying my mom used to use and today I learned why. In the backyard, we have a tree that is falling down (the roots are partially out of the ground and it is leaning terribly). We are trying to decide if we should try to save it or take it down. Saving the tree would cost more than taking it down, but it provides us with a lot of privacy. That sums up our first dilemma.
Now, let me move on to our second dilemma. I started the dishwasher tonight. It filled up with water and then stopped. It doesn't work anymore. Ironically, my husband wanted to get me a dishwasher for Christmas, but I did not want one. Ugh, now we have a dishwasher full of water and dirty dishes.
Thank you God for giving us a greater appreciation for upright trees. Thank you God for giving us an opportunity to get a new dishwasher. Finally, thank you God for showing me why I should have listened to my husband.

"Exploring Scotland with Martha Morse"

Last year, I wrote a mini-review of Melissa Wiley's books for Saint Joseph Catholic Homeschool Group. This morning, I found that Melissa has a wonderful Martha Morse unit study on her blog. My children and I may just need to reread Wiley's books this summer, so that we can put this study of Scotland to good use.

The Triduum

I am so excited. Yesterday, I learned that our parish will be celebrating the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) with Masses and services in Latin (Novus Ordo). Our parish is Polish and usually the Masses surrounding this special time of year are in Polish. I am looking forward to standing room only, as I expect most of the Polish and American parishioners will be in attendance.

Standing room only will provide me with a lot of company because I am rarely able to remain in the pew with our active and talkative little boy.

Being Thankful

Dear God,

Please help me to be thankful for the roof over our heads and not long to live somewhere else, especially when we find a beer bottle smashed in our driveway. Thank You for all that You have given us.