Question Number Three

Why do you support the catholic view on abortion even in extreme instances of rape, incest, and under-age?



The short answer: because I believe that an unborn child, at any stage of development, is a human being with an immortal soul who has been created by God. Since it can never be acceptable to intentionally kill an innocent person (murder is never justifiable), abortion cannot be acceptable no matter what the circumstances.

Long answer to follow...

God bless!

(I found this image here, the website for Priests for Life.)

Looking into the Future

What do I hope to accomplish in the next year? The next five years?

Well, I had some specific New Year's Resolutions that were maybe a bit too ambitious. I didn't know to take into account that we will be having a baby so soon, although I should have suspected!

I hope to bring more discipline into my spiritual life. I hope to learn to be more diligent and organized with my daily tasks so that I can be a better wife and mother. I hope my ewes give us a few lambs this spring, and I hope to learn what to do with their wool and milk. I hope we can get a cow and/or dairy goats, and chickens for both meat and eggs. I think we will put in two small gardens- in two parts of the yard- to see which area will work the best. (Thanks, Zach, for that suggestion!) Hopefully we'll actually produce some edible crops! I hope that we can get our homeschooling back on track with more regular assignments in the basic subjects. And I hope that by the end of the year we can eliminate all of our debt down to just the mortgage.

I also hope that in a few more weeks this morning, noon, and night sickness will go away so I can start planning on how to accomplish some of these goals. Right now it almost looks too overwhelming, but I think with diligence, teamwork, and planning (and God's help, of course!) we can accomplish all this and maybe even more.

I can't even begin to look five years into the future. A favorite quote of mine is from Mother Teresa: "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans." I can look back five years ago and compare our lives then and now. Things have changed so dramatically, and unpredictably, since then that it would simply be folly to try to look so far ahead. I can only hope that we are still happily together, with our faith and our family still growing.

God bless!

My Writing Assignment

My dear sister has given me a list of writing topics. I wonder if she knew just how difficult some of these questions will be! Here's her list:


1. What do you hope to accomplish in the next year

2. the next 5 years

3. why do you support the catholic view on abortion even in extreme instances of rape, incest, and under-age

4. what are your views on the political world

5. what types of livestock do you hope to raise and what will you do to train yourself on how to care for them.

6. what do you dream about for your kids

7. What do you hope to accomplish this summer during warmer weather

8. a funny childhood memory, a sad childhood memory

I'll plan on sharing my thoughts on these topics one or two at a time when I don't have anything else to write about. I'm really looking forward to this! Thank you for the ideas, Amanda!

God bless!

Hi

I'll be honest; I have no idea what to write about. But I promised my sister that I would write as often as I can. She has internet connection at her house now (welcome to the 21st century, Sis!) and she said I need to write every day.

So, I'll tell you about our day today. We got up, did our morning routine, had breakfast (scrambled eggs and EMs), and did breakfast chores like usual. Robert was given a Lego set with approximately a gillion pieces, so he worked on that the rest of the morning. Raechel is working on another book of stories. Daniel and I had a reading lesson, and then he spent time with Thomas building airplanes out of the larger legos designed for the little guys. Joseph was here, there, and everywhere; helping with the legos, re-rinsing the breakfast dishes (just to make sure), coloring for a while with Raechel, and planting kisses on my arm or cheek or leg every time he ran past. I just love five-year-olds!

For dinner I made a dish of rice and lentils. It was similar to kitcheree but not exactly the same since I didn't bother with looking at the cookbook and just seasoned it according to inspiration. I have noticed we tend to eat a lot less meat when Dad isn't home. The kitchen was too cool for the bread dough to be ready in time. That was disappointing, but it meant fresh bread for supper! We each have a job to do to clean up after dinner.

In the afternoon we had some friends over. They are moving back to California this weekend (praying for their safe travel) and we were sorry to see them leave. After they left we decided to do our evening chores a little early and watch a movie together. I've been really dragging in the evening lately! Next thing I knew, movie was over, supper was done, and the children were in bed. About that time, Chuck called to say he had just gotten back to the hotel after a 13-hour day. Boy, did that make me feel lazy!

The Night Prayer for one of the weekdays concludes with a prayer that says "may the work we have done today bear fruit in eternal life". When I look back over this day, like so many others, I do not see anything all that special. Yet, I can pray with full confidence that what good I may have done today, no matter how small, might bear good fruit for eternity. And as for my mistakes- and yes, I certainly made a few even during such an ordinary day as this- I only trust that the Lord will be forgiving and help me to do better tomorrow. Isn't God good!

It is now 10:30, or half-past bedtime. This is what happens when I sit down and have no idea what to write!

God bless!

Heat Wave!

It actually got up to a scorching 31 today! I would never have guessed one degree below freezing could feel so comfortable, but it sure did. I actually had to let our fire die out in the middle of the day because it got so warm inside!

Speaking of warm, it was in the 80's down in Texas where Chuck is working. Maybe I should say he is "stuck" rather than "working" because it has been too windy for them to go up and do the inspections.

God bless!

The Lord is Kind and Merciful

The responsorial psalm sums up very well the entire message of the prayers and readings of today's Mass. The Lord is kind and merciful, and we are to be more like Him. On this last Sunday of Ordinary Time before the beginning of the season of Lent, we are reminded that we shall "bear the image of the Man of heaven", and we are challenged to become His image here on earth by truly loving ALL those that God puts into our lives.

He says to those that will hear that we must love our enemies. I've had a hard time thinking of how to put this into practice. I would rather think that I don't have any enemies. "How could anyone hate me?" I wonder. Yet, I have to admit, there just may be people out there who would wish harm on even little ol' me. And when God allows me to come into contact with such people, I must be prepared to turn the other cheek, to forgive, and to offer all for the salvation of souls.

We went to the vigil Mass this weekend, since I wasn't sure how much snow we were supposed to get overnight. (It turned out we only got about two inches, but better safe than sorry!) I stayed up later than I have in a long time, well past midnight. Before I went to bed I turned off my alarm, fully intending to sleep in and just let our morning routine fall apart. This was quite a bit of laziness and selfishness on my part, and I should have known better. Just a few days ago I read this article at Spirit Daily about the importance of giving the first of your time in the morning to God. I knew God was sending me an important message: NO MORE SNOOZE BUTTON! So, early this morning, my dear Guardian Angel not only woke me up, but made sure I had the motivation to get out of bed. (I was wondering why I was so thirsty right before turning in!) Once I was up, I didn't feel like going back to bed, so I sat with my breviary and prayed the Morning Prayer. Not surprisingly, today has gone well. God is kind and merciful; He wanted me to have a good day today despite my best efforts to spoil it before it even started. I can just see Him shaking His head and musing, "Will she ever learn?"

One final note, today is Chuck's Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! "Somebody" took your card out to the mailbox on Saturday, but forgot to put up the flag. So your birthday card, with pictures, will go out in the mail on Tuesday. Sorry it will be so late, but know that we are missing you and praying for you on your birthday!

God bless!

A Link for You

It's a chain-of-thought kinda thing. Snow makes me think of snowmen, and snowmen makes me think of Calvin and Hobbs. So, in honor of the snowstorms everyone seems to be getting (it's even snowing down in Texas!), here is a link to a collection of the classic Calvin and Hobbs Snowmen strips.

Also, today is the 7th birthday of my precious niece and god-daughter. Happy Birthday, Maple! Please send up a prayer for birthday blessings for her. Her dad told me that she will be having some minor surgery later this month, so we are praying that the procedure is uncomplicated and successful!

And, for those who have been praying for Kelsey, please keep the prayers coming. At the last update, they have a few leads, but still no diagnosis. Kelsey will go through cycles of appearing better, and then suddenly being dreadfully sick. This is (I believe) the FOURTH week she has been hospitalized. I just can't imagine how hard this is for her and for her whole family! Thank you for continuing to pray for them! In case anybody is able to help financially, a savings account has been opened in her name for her parents to use. Please contact me if you would like more information.

God bless!

I didn't mean to disappear!

I didn't realize how long it has been since I wrote last. I don't know where these last two weeks have gone! Chuck was home for a good while, and has been sent back to Texas. We've gotten snow and cold, but nothing like upstate New York. Thank goodness! We enjoyed a lot of time outside today; the bright sun and mostly clear skies made the 14 degrees feel almost, well, not comfortable, but certainly bearable!

I will write more when I have something besides the weather to talk about.

God bless!