Came in under the wire..

..but I did it. My exercise goal for 2009 was 9,002 minutes. My total for the year is 9,007! That's just over 150 hours invested toward improving my health, endurance, and strength.

I'm so proud of myself; to celebrate I'm going to eat extra dessert tonight. ;-) Just kidding...

Just had to write a quick "go me" post. It's almost time to start cleaning up before Chuck gets home. We're planning to go celebrate the new year with some friends tonight. We'll probably be home before midnight, though, since we have to get up early to get to Mass tomorrow morning.

God bless!

2009 Almost Over

I'd really like to share some meaningful insights on the events of the past year. Everything I come up with, though, sounds much too much like Dickens- the best of times, the worst of times, all that.

This year was indeed very good to us in many ways; in other ways, not so much. I can't really say that I'm sorry 2009 passed us by so quickly. That in itself was one of the blessings of this year. ;-)

I'm not sure if 2010 will be any better, but I always look positively at a new year regardless of the events in the old. Things change too quickly to stop hoping they just might change for the better.

So at midnight I'll kiss my children goodnight, snuggle next to my sweetie, and thank God for all His blessings- those of 2009 and those of the new year.

Be safe, everyone; God bless!

Straight No Chaser

No, that's not what I'm ordering for breakfast. ;-)

They are the men's a cappella group who put out the only version of the 12 Days of Christmas that doesn't have me bored to tears by "three calling birds".

Today is looking like it is going to be a brilliant day. We started off a little cloudy, but now about an hour after sunrise the sky is almost clear. We are at a comfortable 11 degrees F. It was a "sloppy" day yesterday with overcast skies and blowing snow, so I guarantee we're all going to be out enjoying the weather today.

God bless, Happy 4th Day of Christmas!

I do moderate comments.

It's really pitiful, but I guess I have to do a better job with moderating the comments left even on this little blog of mine. I sincerely apologize for the link left in one of the Anonymous comments left on my last post. The comment has been deleted, and I'll try to be quicker about these things in the future.

God bless!

Merry Christmas!

Unto us a Child is born. For us a Son is given. His name is Wonderful, Counselor, Almightly God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ, Emmanuel- God with us.

Let us make haste with the shepherds to worship Him.

My prayers are with all our family today. We miss you all so much... I ask that God will fill your hearts with the peace and joy of Christmas.

God bless!

Savage Chickens

I just love these "cartoons on sticky notes".

If you have a few minutes to spend, check it out.

I exercised today!

I've had to take a long break from exercising, thanks to feeling almost constantly sick the last several weeks. I did a 3-mile walk today, with some yoga stretching to cool off. I enjoy exercising so much- if I had it my way I'd probably workout three times a day. :-) I just figured my exercise minutes for the year as of today- 8,425! To reach my goal of 9,002 minutes for the year, I'm going to need another 577 minutes of exercise in the next 13 days. If I get 45 minutes or more every day for the rest of the year, I'll make it.

I'm feeling somewhat better most of the time these days. I'm still feeling nauseous (funny how I always need spell-check for that word...) most evenings, but I'm having more energy during my good part of the day. Last night in the middle of the night it occured to me that I might have miscalulated my due date. So this morning I grabbed my last chart and visited a few websites. Sure enough, I was off by about a week. I had thought I was due June 27, but according to the due date calculators I tried I'm actually due around July 4th or 5th. I'm not convinced it makes much difference, since Baby doesn't use a calendar but will instead prefer to come when he or she is ready. I should be having a preliminary appointment with a new midwife soon, so we'll see what she thinks.

Everybody has been healthy and staying busy. Winter has officially arrived to the UP! Today we are having a brilliantly sunny day with temps in the lower 20's. It's so beautiful.

That's all the update for now. Only 7 praying days until Christmas! Love you all, God bless!

Advent Meditation 2

from today's lectionary, Saturday of the First Week of Advent:


Thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind a voice shall sound in your ears: "This is the way; walk in it," when you would turn to the right or to the left.

Isaiah 30: 19-21

Come, Lord Jesus!

An Advent Meditation

"Small was the cave. Small and graceful the young mother. Small, against the cave, people, and animals, was the Baby. Yet, immensity, eternity, and all power and glory were contained in his smallness!

"Let this Christmas be for us a turning point. Let us kill 'self'. Let us become small enough to kneel at the crib, and big enough just to reach the level of the Baby's eyes. Let us then look into them- and catch sight of Love Incarnate! Then we shall be made whole again, and our hunger will be filled."

-Catherine Doherty

daybook for today, the day before Thanksgiving....

Outside my window... wet and grey, but no snow. Is it really November?

I am thinking... since I'm feeling pretty good right now I really should be up and busy, but here I sit and type.

I am thankful for... the usual list- my faith, my family, my health, my precious hubby who wakes me up in the morning by setting a steaming cup of coffee on my bedside table.

From the learning rooms... not much this week; we're taking our "Morning Sickness Break".

From the kitchen... breakfast was boiled eggs and hot cocoa; lunch will be boiled potatoes; dinner will be... something easy. I've got to start Thanksgiving dinner prep!

I am wearing... A hoodie over a t-shirt, but oh, the shame! I'm still in jammie pants!

I am creating... really, nothing. I need to get something going in that department.

I am going... to try making a cole slaw or similar salad for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Don't know why bother, all we really want is stuff that goes under gravy anyway.

I am reading... excerpts from Saintly Solutions; Advent ideas from A Year With God; and the mail.

I am hoping... nobody gets sick at least until after the first of the year. Is that too much to hope for?

I am hearing... Mary singing to herself while she stirs her cocoa with a spoon, Daniel whistling, Robert going outside with his bow and arrows; Joseph coming inside, also singing. Never noticed we have such a musical family!

Around the house... Oh, my what a wreck! Nothing else to say about that...

One of my favorite things... Popple- their music is just great!

A few plans for the rest of the week: I think this year instead of a too-huge dinner on Thanksgiving Day, I might try spacing out the celebration throughout the four-day weekend. I mean, why have four desserts on Thursday when we can have a pie on Thursday, a pie on Friday, a pie on Saturday, and cake on Sunday? Why should I make both a sweet potato casserole and a green bean casserole on the same day when one would be enough? I've been wanting to make a German Chocolate Cake for a while, so even though that's not usually on our traditional list of desserts, it will be this year. I never realized that there were only four pilgrim women and two teenagers to cook that first Thanksgiving meal for about 95 people. No wonder it took them three days to celebrate!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Daybook template courtesy of The Simple Woman's Daybook

Long-Overdue Update

My goodness, how do I recap the last busy few months? I'll do my best!

My job at the grocery store is going very well. I don't mind the work, I like the people I work for, and the hours are working out so much better for all of us. Typically I work three days a week (sometimes two when it is my turn for a Sunday off), but many times I've been able to pick up extra shifts. There are three very important aspects of my job... making sure the till is as close to "right" as possible, counting the cigarettes, and stocking the beer cooler. Not necessarily in that order, especially now that we're into hunting season. ;-) Besides my job at the store, I've also been "hired" to play music at our parish for Mass. I've never played organ until two months ago; it is a whole different animal from piano! Some weeks it comes together quite well, other weeks I feel completely silly up there, masquerading as a musician. Chuck assures me that when everybody is singing loud enough, nobody can hear my mistakes.

The kids are all doing well. The first round of flu went through town, but nobody in our house has been sick. Thank God for that! Between chores, lessons, and their own interests they manage to keep busy most of the day. Mary Mae celebrated her second birthday nearly two months ago. She is so much fun! Sometimes when I look at the older kids it seems like they have grown overnight and I hardly recognize them. I love having little kids, because it is so much fun to watch them learn and develop and grow. I am realizing that the older kids are still changing just as much and almost as fast. Suddenly they seem like young men and women.

Or maybe I'm just feeling old. ;-)

We are expecting company any minute now, so I guess that's all the update you will get from me. I'm not going to close this post with hasty promises to blog and post lots of pictures from now on. I do promise, however, that all my family and loved ones are close to my heart always!

One final note... check out Chuck's blog for a very special announcement. :-)

Love you all, God bless!

One more week

I have one more week working at the restaurant, and then I'm free! Well, not so completely free because I'll be starting at the grocery store the day after my last day at the restaurant. Training in on Labor Day, how appropriate is that?

Today is cool and rainy. The kids and I spent most of the day catching up on all the housework that didn't get done during the week. My kitchen is now so clean that I'm reluctant to use it. Supper tonight will be grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup. Hoping we can't make too big a mess out of that.

I've decided that we will go back to school on the 14th of September. That's a little later than is traditional, but I think it will work better for us this year. We can always make time up later if needed, like in May when we are still waiting for the snow to melt. ;-) That gives me a little more than two weeks to decide what we're going to use for the basics this year. I've never been one to plan too far ahead, ya know. I'm sure it will be a good year anyway!

We don't really have plans for this weekend. Chuck and I are going to try getting out together for a couple of hours on Saturday mornings. Tomorrow will be the first such morning, and I'm not sure what we will do. We have Mass tomorrow evening, and I work Sunday morning. There is about a ton of laundry to do (only a slight exaggeration- the boys cleaned upstairs today), but we have to wait on the weather to clear up.

I hope all of you enjoy this last weekend of August. God bless!

Well, that was fun...

We enjoyed our two weeks of summer; too bad it's over now. ;-) Today's high temp was 69, and we had light rain most of the day.

No news, everyone is doing well. I'm hoping to get my camera working so I can get some pictures up. All the kids seem to have grown a lot!

God bless!

Summer! (Finally....)

Well, we've waited for months and finally got a bit of summer weather here in da U.P.

For most of the country, mid-August highs in the upper 80's would hardly be impressive. BUT we gotta take what we can get. We have been to the lake three evenings in a row, and the kids are loving it. I've got probably forty pounds of sand built up somewhere in the guts of my washing machine, and twice that in the floor of the suburban.

Right now, while I sit at the computer typing up this post and sipping coffee, Chuck is making omelets. Mary Mae, Thomas, and Joseph are already eating. Robert is helping cook, Daniel is building star ships out of legos upstairs, and Raechel is working on her book. After breakfast is cleaned up we have some housework to get done, and I plan to try to get all the laundry done. I need to practice music for Mass this evening, and I'm hoping we will have time to get a workout done. This evening we will probably head out to the lake. Tomorrow is Sunday, but I work in the morning. If we get enough done today we will have next to nothing to do tomorrow afternoon, so if it stays hot we might make it another lake day.

God is good! I hope you all have a blessed weekend!

daybook for today...

Outside my window... blue skies, white clouds, green grass
I am thinking... I should have done more laundry today.
I am thankful for... having a really good morning at work; I waitressed and we were pretty busy for a Monday morning.
From the kitchen... Dinner tonight is spaghetti, steamed broccoli, and a salad made of lettuce, tomato, sprouted lentils, cucumber, and whatever greens I can pull from the back yard.
I am wearing... old Levi's and a pink t-shirt.
I am reading... Gone With the Wind I've read it before, but I found this copy at St. Vinny's and needed a dose of Southern culture.
I am hoping... to go swimming sometime this week if it warms up.
I am hearing... the wonderful, chaotic, familiar, comforting noise of my family.
Around the house... Flies! My goodness there have been so many houseflies and fruit flies the last few days! The kids are buzzing around (ha, ha) with fly swatters, regular serial killers.
One of my favorite things... Almost the end of another good day; soon the kids will be in bed and Chuck and I will have a few hours of quiet time.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Not much is going on this week. I'll work just a few days, we celebrate Robert's Baptism Day on Wednesday, and sooner or later I'm going to have to catch up on laundry!

God bless!

Daybook for today...

Outside my window... the kids are playing and the sun is shining.
I am thinking... I am so glad to be home.
I am thankful for... God's providence over the last few months. We have been so blessed!
From the kitchen...I adapted this recipe to suit some lamb loins. It was really yummy! I should add my crock pot to the list of things I'm thankful for. :-)
I am wearing...blue jeans, my work shirt, and the odor of french fries.
I am reading...The Turn of the Screw and a book I picked up at the thrift store about the end of the oil era in America.
I am hoping...Chuck's job will be rewarding for him, and that we will be able to make our schedules work around each other.
I am hearing...screaming from outside, but I'm pretty sure they are just playing.
Around the house...my goodness it is so cluttered here. I used to be so good at keeping our "stuff" under control, but I'm not sure what's happened the last six months. ;-)
One of my favorite things...after I'm done here I'm going to go change clothes and go outside to take laundry off my clothesline. I seriously love folding laundry that still smells of the clean outdoors. Putting it away is another matter.
A few plans for the rest of the week: This week is almost over. I work Friday night, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning at the restaurant. I am, however, really looking forward to playing organ again at Mass on Saturday evening. That's one thing I forgot to mention in my previous update- I have a permanent 'gig' at St. Mary's in Rockland as organist and cantor. I've never played organ before, and it is a totally different creature from piano! But I think I'm catching on; maybe I'll eventually even learn the foot pedals! :o)

God bless!

courtesy of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Today's Dilemma

How do you clean up Vaseline off the toddler, the floor, a table, and a small toy phone?

Mary Mae is going to have the softest hands and arms ever.

Back to Blogging

I mean it... I'm seriously going to continue updating more regularly from now on! ;-)

First, some good news... Chuck has found a job working at the local car dealership/garage; he starts tomorrow. We are so relieved! I will continue working at the restaurant for now, depending on how well we can juggle schedules. Hopefully this will give us enough to squeak by. Thank you, Jesus, Amen!

All the children are doing well, staying healthy, working and playing lots, and growing like weeds! Robert celebrated his 14th birthday last week We are so proud of him, happy birthday, honey! Our next birthday will be in September when Mary Mae turns two. All my babies are growing up too quickly. :-)

We have enjoyed a very cool, comfortable summer so far. Actually, I can hardly bring myself to consider this summer! I don't think we've had a day above 90* so far, and many days we don't get out of the 70's. So far today our high is 68, and it is already after 3pm. We're enjoying it, but our garden not so much. We've got some plants that may yet do okay, but there's really no hope of getting peppers or cukes this year. Most of the other seed we planted didn't even germinate at all, not even the lettuces. :-( BUT we've got a few good-sized rows tilled that we can keep weeding, then mulch over really well this fall to use as potato beds next season. I figure that any time and effort we put into the garden is not ever wasted, because of the experience we gain. For example, I've decided that trying to grow veggies is pretty much pointless unless I can figure out a place to start the plants indoors ahead of time.

Today Chuck and I finished Day 51 of our 90-day exercise routine. I'm so proud of us! :-) Out of those 51 days we've only missed four... I'm just amazed that we're doing as well as that! For July we logged a total of 1,693 minutes. My YTD is 6,060. I'm more than two-thirds of the way to my goal already! :~D Chuck and I have both definitely noticed major improvements in the last eight weeks. When we did the Day 1 exercise we were both huffing and puffing before the end of the warm up. Neither of us are even close to being in "athletic" shape BUT we have both gained strength, endurance, and flexibility.

That's all the update I have time for right now. It's dinner time. God bless you all, please say a prayer for us, too.

Hello, July!?

Is it just me or is time speeding up?

I was just telling Chuck that he needed to update his blog. "My blog?" He says. "You need to update your blog!" So, here I am... updating my blog just in case there is anybody who still checks in on me from time to time. :o)

We didn't do much for Independence Day, just did our normal morning exercise and then worked around the house most of the day. We met some friends at Mass and then afterward went to a neighbor's house for a potluck dinner. That was fun, and we leared quite a bit about the area from folks that have lived, and farmed here for almost 30 years. Just don't ask me how to pronounce their (Finnish) last name!

Speaking of exercise, I bet you're wondering whether or not I've been keeping track of my minutes. (Remember my resolution to get 9,002 minutes of exercise this year?) Well, I don't have the exact number in front of me now, but I've gotten somewhere over four thousand minutes of exercise through the end of June. Thanks to P90X, Chuck and I are getting at least an hour of exercise a day, six days a week. We've just completed week 3!

The big event from the last week was a new addition to our family. No, I'm not pregnant again... yet! ;-) We adopted a new dog named Sophie. She is a St. Bernard; she's actually small for her breed weighing "only" about 100 pounds. I'll admit, the first day she made me nervous. Such a huge dog around the little children would make any mother nervous, I think. The fact that she got away from Daniel and killed one of our chickens that first day did NOT help matters. However, as she has been settling in this week, I've realized she really is a very gentle and well-trained dog. We just don't take her anywhere near the chicken yard! She has very good leash manners, will heal and sit on command, and she's already house-broken. Either Chuck or I will get some pictures up pretty soon, I hope.

It's been so long since I last wrote, you would think I'd have more to write about. Well, that's all I really can make time for right now anyway. The kids and Chuck and I are all doing well. God bless you all!

I'm Still Here!

I think it is funny that my last blog update was on April Fools' Day. Ha!

We are all doing well, we've just been so busy. I'm only getting on the computer every couple of days, and when I do it's only for a minute. Quite a change from a year or so ago when I'd sit at the computer any time Mary Mae needed to nurse, several times a day!

As of yesterday, Chuck has been home for exactly three months. Every once in a while one or the other of us will have an attack of doubt and worry, but for the most part we encourage each other right out of it. Lord help us if we ever have an attack at the same time! ;-)

Well, since I last updated we went and got a pair of dairy goats. Cocoa is a 4-year-old Alpine and Lily is a 2-year-old Toggenburg. They are both sweet as can be, very well behaved as far as goats go, and they are giving us about 5 quarts a day of the sweetest, yummiest milk we've ever had! We've also increased our chicken flock to 40-some hens. Not all of them are laying yet (the younger ones) but we're getting around two dozen eggs a day. We've put up signs to start selling eggs... only sold one dozen so far, but gotta start somewhere. Now if we could just get the garden in it would feel like a "real" homestead around here.

All the kids are well, staying healthy and spending as much time as possible outside. They only come in these days to eat and sleep, and even then they come in reluctantly. ;-)

There really isn't that much to share as far as news goes. Our little lives in the North Woods just goes on, day by day, one way or another. God is so very, very good to us. I cannot begin to tell all the little ways in which He has blessed us these last few months.

I'm posting this message with a bit of haste and a lot of love... God bless you all!

April

The first quarter of 2009 is already over. Time flies when you're having fun! ;-)

We have had wet stuff falling out of the sky off and on for a couple of days now. It is too cold to be rain, too wet to be snow, not icy enough to be sleet... just your typical "early-early-spring" nameless precipitation. We still have lots of snow, but the bare patches of ground are spreading and multiplying day by day. I think all of us are getting restless for spring.


Today I did something that surprised all of us, even myself. I made pasties. Usually when I've attempted to make pastry it has ended in frustration. But it worked today. The amazing thing is that I didn't follow a recipe, didn't measure a thing, and yet this pastry crust dough turned out more workable than anything I've done before. Within this crust you put a mixture of meat (I used ground beef and pork, but we'll probably use ground mutton next time), potatoes, carrots, onion, and rutabaga. It is quite literally a beef pot pie but without the "pot". They are so yummy, and I think they look pretty, too.

I've been keeping up on my exercise resolution, aren't you surprised!? ;-) In February I got 1,038 minutes of exercise. March was way less, only 691 minutes. This gives me a YTD total of 3,056 minutes towards my goal for the year of 9,002 minutes of exercise. "Somebody" broke my scale more than a month ago, so I have no idea what I'm weighing these days. Maybe that's just as well! I'm feeling good, though, and that is the point anyway.

One thing I have NOT kept up with, and that is taking pictures of the children. I'll really try to get lots of pictures to share tomorrow! But Mary is pushing her blanket on my lap and that means she's ready for bedtime.

God bless!

What a month!

I can't believe I've neglected my blog ever since Thomas' birthday. Bad blogger! We have had a very eventful time since then, so at least I have a good excuse for disappearing.

Chuck has been home for over a month. It has been a big adjustment for him and for the kids and me, but we are so happy about being all together again. The "vacation" feeling has been wearing off for him, though, so he's been chopping wood, working around the house, spending extra time playing with the kids, and generally keeping himself busy doing all those "guy" things he now has time to do. Right now he is giving the Suburban an oil change under the watchful eye of a few little boys and one curious chicken. And in his "free" time he is studying for the state licensing exam to sell insurance. He is hoping to be able to complete this process within a few more weeks so prayers would be most appreciated!

In a way I guess you could say that Chuck and I have temporarily traded places. I got a part-time job working at the restaurant in town. I've completed two weeks now, and there are lots of things I like about the job. I'm finding out that cleaning somebody else's kitchen can be a lot more enjoyable than cleaning mine. I'm also picking up a few ideas that will help keep my own kitchen running more smoothly. When there is time I'll be sure to share some of these tips, in case some of my readers might find them helpful. It has been very strange to be employed outside the home again after more than a decade of being "just" a mom. Despite the fact that staying at home is looked down on by most people as a waste of time and talent, I was always really proud of my "SAHM" status. Thinking about it, maybe that is exactly why Our Lord has asked me to give up that status for a while. Another benefit is that I will never walk into a restaurant again without more appreciation of what the staff is dealing with.

And through all this we are seeing just how wonderful our bunch of kids can be. They have really pulled together and been working well through this time of adjustment. We are keeping up with their school work and chores pretty well. Everybody has been healthy, which is just amazing. For this cold and flu season we've had one minor bug that didn't even hit all the children. I am so thankful for their good health! I know it has been a long time since we've put pictures up. I promise we will get pictures just as soon as I have time to take some worth sharing.

We are heading toward spring break-up, but not there yet. There is still way more snow than bare ground out there! We're having highs above freezing, but there is snow in the forecast for this weekend, and we still have the "Easter blizzard" to contend with. Then there will be several weeks where we trade in the snow for mud (not an improvement, if you ask me.) And THEN it will finally really be spring!

I'm sure there is more that I'm forgetting to share, but that's all the update I have time for right now. Thank you all for your love and prayers... God will bless you for your kindness!

Happy Birthday, Thomas!

Five years ago today, our Thomas was born!

Interestingly enough, Mardi Gras fell on this day the year he was born, too. I remember joking that I began my penance a day early. ;-) Chuck made homemade doughnuts for breakfast today, so that was a real treat. Thomas has requested shepherd's pie for his birthday dinner, and a chocolate cake for dessert.

I'll post some pictures later this evening...

Bizarre

When Obama's picture showed up on votive candles a few weeks before the election, I thought that was strange.

Since his election I have seen him referred to as "Savior" and "The One" as well as the "Anti-Christ". That's weired enough. But this picture, which I snagged from a news article linked in my yahoo mailbox, is just plain CREEPY.

I asked Thomas and Joseph what they thought it looked like, and they said he has a "halo".

Like I said; creepy.

Lord, have mercy...

Almost here!

Chuck just called a bit ago.. his plane landed safely and he is driving home right now. Thank you for your prayers! I hope you all have a very blessed weekend!

Yay!

Good news! Chuck will be traveling home tomorrow! He has a long day, so please pray for patience and strength for him! He will need to be at the airport by about 8:00 in the morning California time, and he will not get to Houghton until about midnight Eastern time. Then he has the hour drive home. Prayers for his safety are greatly appreciated, too!

And I'd also like to wish my dear Mother-In-Love a very happy birthday. We all love you and miss you very much, and your card is in the mail. ;-)

God bless!

Have you ever found a Lego imbedded in an onion?

Neither have I.

Until today.

Philipians Friday

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philipians 4:8 NIV

I am totally stealing this from another blog, and I am VERY SORRY to say I do not even remember which blog! Still, I like this idea so much, I hope it is okay for me to adopt it. I've been really fighting a negative attitude lately. I pray that forcing myself to "think Biblically", even for just a little while on a Friday morning, will be a blessing for me and perhaps an update and an inspiration for my readers- all four of you. ;-)

True- It will be winter here for a while yet, and that's okay. No matter that the daffodils at the Dominican Monastery where we used to attend Mass are already blooming; no matter that the last few days have been so unseasonably warm that much of the snow has melted. It is only February and this is the U.P. and the snow won't be going anywhere for a long time yet, and it really is beautiful.

Noble- I finally mailed the photo albums we made for the children's Grandparents back in December. The fact that I made it to the post office is fairly noble; the fact that I made it about two months late, not so much.

Right- "Let us never grow weary of doing what is right." (see Galatians 6:9) I have this printed off in the largest lettering possible and hanging up in the bathroom above the dryer for a "Memory Verse". This time of year it is easy to grow weary, but I have to keep doing what I know I should!

Pure- I overheard Joseph discussing his catechism lesson with Thomas. These two boys have certainly contributed to some of my grey hair, but deep down, they LOVE Jesus and are learning to follow Him. What they lack in maturity at this point in their lives, they make up for with their pure little hearts.

Lovely- Our Mary Mae is lovely, of course. She has started "talking" more suddenly, and I just love her precious voice!

Admirable- This girl. (Link is to a youtube video of a 12-year-old girl's pro-life presentation)

Excellent- We will be watching my all-time favorite movie The Song of Bernadette this weekend, in honor of the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11. I just love this movie, and I've been looking forward to seeing it again all week. We watched it all together the morning before I went into labor with Hope. The final line, "You are now in heaven and on earth" never fails to make me cry. It's also kind of neat that the actress who played Bernadette was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, our home town.

Praiseworthy- All the children have been doing really well with their lessons since we got back to work after the holidays five weeks ago. They are really making progress. I'm very proud of them for working so hard and so cheerfully!

Thank you, Dear Lord, for all these things!

Consider the Lilies

And why do you worry about clothes?

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If God so clothes the grass which is here today and tomorrow is thrown in the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? Oh, you of little faith!

So, do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What will we do for clothing?" For the pagans run after all these things and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

January Thaw in February

We haven't been UP here long enough to really know what is normal weather and what is not. But from what we understand, there is "always" a thaw in January.

We didn't see a single day in January even approach 30 degrees, much less get above freezing. But it's finally happened. Even our overnight low was above freezing last night, and we are in the 40's right now!

Needless to say, we will not even try to do lessons until the children get tired of sledding through the slush and playing baseball on our long-lost driveway. (There's gravel under there!)

I was talking to the nice lady at the post office (the one who knows EVERYBODY'S name and address off the top of her head- amazing!) and she said she even starts corn indoors around the end of February or by mid-March. I never knew you could do that. Of course, I do not have any growlights, but I might be able to at least set up a table under our large, south facing window in the living room. Hey, it might work.

I gotta say, this winter has seemed really long for me. It has not been easy to adjust to the climate up here, so very different from southern Alabama! Can't start thinking too much about spring yet... last year it was May before we finally saw the snow disappear...

Matthew 6:26

Behold the birds of the air,

for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them.

Are not you of much more value than they?

January Exercise Update

My goal for this year is to get 9,002 minutes of exercise. Well, I really got off to a strong start with 1,327 minutes for the month of January!

Now that exercise is a well-established habit for me, I really need to start addressing some issues with my diet. So, for February, I'm going to focus on eliminating refined sugar while keeping up the exercise. For the longest time I didn't even buy white sugar- I used only honey or real maple syrup. But that sack somehow snuck back into my pantry, I'm not even sure how. And, well, since it was there I figured a teaspoon (or two) in my coffee or cocoa wouldn't hurt...

So, that's my health resolution update. What about you?

Heat Wave!

http://st-anthonys-weather.blogspot.com/

Tomorrow's Forecast

Much warmer... highs around 30.

The funny thing? I'm excited!

Wow!

The California octuplets have six older siblings.


Suleman said her daughter had embryos implanted last year, and after finding out she was pregnant with multiple babies was given the option by doctors of selectively reducing the number of embryos. The woman declined.
"What do you suggest she should have done? She refused to have them killed," Suleman told the Times. "That is a very painful thing."

I can only imagine that she was under tremendous pressure to "selectively reduce" (despite her mothers comment that she was merely given the option). I can almost hear her doctors' arguments... You already have six other children. This pregnancy is extremely dangerous. Seven is too many (the eighth baby was a complete surprise at delivery). You could loose them all. You could die.

They called it "reduction" of "embryos". But she refused to KILL her BABIES.

God bless them all!

Matthew 6: 24

No one can serve two masters;

for a slave will either hate the one and love the other,

or be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and wealth.

Gee, thanks, Uncle Sam

Do you remember that stimulus check we all got last year? Well, Chuck and I just filed our taxes for 2008 through taxslayer.com (who we highly recommend, btw!) I will now pause briefly for you to enviously admire the awesomeness of our organization and responsibility in getting this dreaded annual chore completed way before April 15.

...

Now, are we supposed to imagine it is just coincidence that entering in that stimulus check as "income" reduces our refund by almost exactly the same amount?

I'd be interested to hear if anybody else finds these same results... Feel free to leave a comment.

Baby it's cold outside.

Do you see the porch swing in this picture? Not really? That's because it is practically buried in snow. Mind you, this three feet is in a relatively sheltered area. There is actually quite a bit more snow than that where the snow has drifted. Maybe it is because I'm not used to winters up here yet (this is only our third winter since moving) but I am amazed at the volume of snow. I never could have imagined it if I weren't actually here living in it. Amazing.

Yes, I'm going to join in the complaining and whine "It's coooold". It took until almost noon to warm up to zero today. We are supposed to get to 20 below tonight, not counting the wind chill.

But the good news is that the sun is staying up noticeably later in the evenings, so at least I can tell myself that at this point we are more than halfway through. Seems like February has a reputation for being dreary, but it is the shortest month of the year, so how bad can it be? Now when it is April and I'm still shoveling snow while the rest of the country is picking tulips and planting tomatoes... then I'll be really complaining.

Okay, enought of that. For now.

Chuck had a great week home last week, and now he is in Alabama for some testing. He hates taking tests, so please send up a prayer for his nerves! After that he might be going to California for a few weeks, but we really have to just wait and see. Meanwhile, we are all doing fine here at home; staying healthy, staying warm, and keeping busy with lessons and chores.

God bless!

Overheard

5-year-old boy: "When I grow up I want to marry Mommy."

12-year-old girl: "You can't marry Mommy. She's too old."

A Prayer

On this eve of the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade and the March for Life in Washington, D.C. I offer this prayer for the end of abortion.

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,

And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.

I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,

Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son.

I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.

Today I commit myself

Never to be silent,

Never to be passive,

Never to be forgetful of the unborn.

I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,

And never to stop defending life

Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,

And our nation once again becomes

A nation with liberty and justice

Not just for some, but for all,

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen!

(from Priests for Life)

Chuck Day

Happy, happy birthday to my dear hubby!

I love you so much!

For the Beauty of the Earth

LORD of all to Thee we raise this our hymn of thankful praise!

Click here to see more amazing satellite images of God's magnificent creation!

Done!

We did almost everything on our list, and then some. The only thing we did not get to was the sauna; Robert did tend a fire in there for a while, but it wasn't going to get hot fast enough so we decided to wait until tomorrow.

We had some friends over for a few hours today. They are "puppy-sitting" a one-year-old Chihuahua named Taco. Unlike every other Chihuahua I've ever personally known, Taco is a very sweet dog. It is hilarious to see this little thing running around the house in her sweater and jacket! Mary fell in love with Taco when she visited last week, and I think she was very happy to see her wee doggie friend again this week.

Chuck will be flying home tomorrow; his plane should land sometime around 7:30 so I'm hoping he'll make it home safely and without incident. Please pray for good traveling weather! There is a chance of snow tomorrow (such a surprise, I know) but it looks like nothing too serious.

God bless you all, have a beautiful (if cold) weekend!

To-Do!

I am always amazed at the "power" of having a To-Do List. Some days I feel organized, productive, and in control. Other days I feel like I'm spinning my wheels- working frantically and getting nowhere. Most often the difference is in whether or not I have a clear plan for the day, and keeping that plan written in the form of a check-off list really helps me. When there is nothing on my to-do list, that is exactly what I accomplish.

This week I've printed off our To-Do List and kept it on a clipboard on my desk so that all the kids can follow it with me. Keeping the list on the computer makes it easier to update daily; since so many things are the same day after day I do not have to write out a completely new list every day. Not everything I do is on the list, but the major things are all there. Here's a peek at our list for today:

• Morning Prayer
• Morning Routine (dress, make bed, etc.)
• Animal chores, snow shoveling, fill wood box, outside chores
• Breakfast and Kitchen Chores
• Start sauna fire
• Lessons
• Mid-Day Prayer
• Exercise
• Animal chores
• Dinner and Kitchen Chores
• Free Time and sauna
• Evening Prayers
• Animal chores
• Clean living room and zones
• Supper and Kitchen chores
• Story Time
• Bedtime prayers
• Brush teeth, call Daddy, and go to bed!

Lately we've been getting started with our day around 9:00 in the morning, and the kids have been going to bed by about 10:00. I stay up until at least midnight lately, but staying up later and sleeping later seems to work best for all of us anyway.

Now we will have to see how this works when Chuck is home again. If all goes well (and please pray that it does!) he will be home tomorrow. Yes, things always change with his work schedule at the last minute, but it is a pleasant surprise this time! It can be quite a challenge to switch back and forth from "Daddy's gone" mode to "Daddy's home"... it is a challenge I really don't mind, though!

God bless!

Just Pitiful...

Our forecast for Friday: "Warmer... highs 4 to 9 above."

Sigh...

I miss him already.

I tried going back to sleep after Chuck left this morning, but I just couldn't. Now it is after 7:00 and I'm at the computer wondering: Why do the kids sleep later when I get up earlier? And when does it get light here???

Please pray for safe travel for Chuck today; he should make it to Texas sometime in the mid-afternoon.

God bless!

Our holiday is over...

Chuck is on the first flight in the morning, which means he needs to leave here at about 5 in the morning. I've made up this week's lesson plans, and I'm hoping that everyone will be excited about getting back on routine with school work after such a long break.

Yesterday we were treated to the most beautiful moonrise I ever remember seeing. We first saw the full moon rising over the trees while we were driving home from Mass. By the time we got home the sky was a pale purple behind a full, glowing moon that looked close enough to touch. It was just amazing.

I hope you are all having a blessed Sunday evening!

Exercise Resolution

This year rather than making it a goal to loose a certain amount of weight, I'm going to log minutes of exercise. I will define "exercise" as any aerobic, strength training, or stretching activity in addition to whatever normal chores I might have to do. So, in that context, snow shoveling or gardening or hauling fire wood will not count as "exercise".

My goal is to get 9,002 minutes (that's 2009 backwards) by the end of this year. If I get an average of 30 minutes six times a week, I will accomplish this goal by mid-December.

I've been exercising pretty regularly since Mary was about a month old, and I am really proud of that! I'm going to keep track of my weight, but I'm not focusing on the scale this year. Still, weight is a useful indicator, and I've got a few pounds to loose. Before my pregnancy with Mary I weighed 210 pounds and wore size 18 pants. I weighed 216 when I started working out at 5 weeks post-partum. I'm starting this year at 197, in a size 14.

If any of you have exercise or health related goals, I'd love for you to leave a comment and share them. I plan to update about once a month with my total of minutes logged (or jogged- ha, ha). I've read that a support network is a determining factor as to whether or not a person sticks with health-related goals. Let's be sure to share our goals and progress, and support one another in prayer!

Here's to a healthier year!

Birthdays and Epiphany

I have a few pictures from the last two days to share. Raechel had brownies and ice cream for her birthday dessert.

Do you think Mary looks like me (except for the dirty face)?

We had banana splits for Joseph's birthday dessert, but I didn't get pictures of that. We had such a fun day, though!

Proud big brother and loving baby sister...

Joseph's birthday is also the traditional day to celebrate the Epiphany. Since the day after Christmas we have been putting figures in a special 12th Night calendar and singing the hymn "We Three Kings" along with our evening prayers. Here, Thomas gets a little help from Daniel with placing the last figure just right.

Here is our completed calendar which we will leave hanging until Lent. The calendar is published by Dumb Ox, and they also have a lovely Advent calendar that is filled in the same way. They are inexpensive so I don't mind buying new ones each year. The kids really enjoy having the figures to color and cut out every year.

After our calendar was completed last night, Chuck led us in a house blessing. Traditionally, the initials for the wise men, enclosed within the year and connected with crosses, is written over the doorways of the home with blessed chalk. This year is written:

+20+G+M+B+09+

The wise men were blessed with the wisdom and courage to seek the Infant Christ and worship Him. In blessing our home on the day in honor of the Epiphany, we ask for the same grace to seek and serve Jesus Christ in the coming year.

I'll close with another picture of all the children, although it didn't turn out great. For one thing, they don't fit so well on this couch any more. Mary is grumpy, the little boys are sleepy, and Daniel looks like he's just about bored to death. One of these days I'm going to get them all dressed up and get some good pictures when we have time to pose and everybody is well rested. In the meantime this will have to do.

God bless!

Happy Birthday, Joseph!!

Today is our dear Jo-Jo's 7th Birthday.

Happy Birthday, darling boy. We love you so much!

Raechel's Birthday Today!

Happy 12th Birthday, Raechel. We all love you very much!

(more pictures to follow...)

First Weekend of '09

We have had such a good weekend. Chuck is still home, we are still enjoying Christmas celebrations, and the weather has been pretty nice even though cold. He took the older kids sledding today, so I had the house to myself for about an hour. I cleaned up the living room (the kids would say I did it "Mama style") while Mary took apart the games and math blocks in the kitchen. Then I tidied up the kitchen and started dinner after putting Mary down for a nap. I'm making pot roast, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli all on our woodburning stove. It smells so yummy!

We have a busy week coming up. Raechel's birthday is tomorrow, and Joseph's is on Tuesday. We have some chores to do in the garage, Chuck needs to replace the battery in his truck, and I plan to get the kids "back to school" on Wednesday through Friday. That will make the week go by quickly! No word yet on when Chuck will have to head out for work, but he put in to stay home through the 11th.

I need to go finish up dinner before the smell drives me nuts...

God bless!

About our New Year's Eve

I didn't get as many pictures as I thought, but here are some to share. Here is Mary Mae fulfilling her role as "Mama's Helper". She is very diligent with her job of overseeing the biscuit-making process. Like any good manager, she is very "hands on".


"I give these biscuits full and official approval!"


We spent the afternoon tidying house, at least that's all I remember doing. We had our favorite meal, chicken and rice with gravy, and then cleaned up and got ready to go to Mass. January 1st is still a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics, the feast day in honor of Mary, Mother of God. Traditionally, it is also remembered in honor of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus. I really enjoy going to Mass on New Year's Eve. It seems like the best possible way to finish the year and begin the next.

After we got home from Mass we all took a nice, hot sauna. If you have never had a traditional steam sauna, you really don't know what you are missing. There is nothing that feels better on a crisp winter's evening! You have to do it the right way, though. After you've been in there a while and you are so hot you don't think you can stand another minute, you go running out naked in the snow and jump in the nearest snow pile. Then you have to run, squealing and laughing, back to the sauna to warm back up! Chuck has tried this, the kids have done this, I will not do this. They assure me that it is not that cold and actually feels really good. I assure them that I am happy taking a sauna the "wrong" way.

So, after the sauna we had your typical snack foods and Chuck beat Robert at Battleship. Then I beat Chuck at Battleship only because I know his strategy too well.

We lost the youngest two by around 10:30. Thomas fell asleep on the couch shortly after locating his pajamas.

Mary was soon to join him. (Remember, she was up early slaving over the biscuits!)

At almost midnight we went outside, admired the beautiful sky for a few minutes, fired a couple of shots into the woods, yelled "HAPPY NEW YEAR", and then went back inside to thaw out. At this time it was -3 degrees, afterall. We prayed our bedtime prayers, brushed teeth, and all the children were in bed by 12:30 (except for Mary who had woken back up).

I pray that God will bless all of you and your families in the year to come!