Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother

A Christmas Gift

2009-12-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

As a child, I fell in love with Midnight Mass. I fell in love with celebrating the miracle of Christ's Nativity in the best way possible. Last night, I fell in love all over again.

We arrived at our parish around 10:45. Prior to Mass, I said my usual prayers, but I added, "Dear God, please let me remain in the church. Mary, please comfort my little children and help them to sleep." Shortly before the Lessons and Carols began, Patrick lay down on one side and Finnian lay down on the other side of me. Elizabeth fussed as the First Lesson began and I repeated my prayer. She started to nurse and soon fell asleep. I sat silently listening to the Lessons and Carols, thankful for the silence around me. After the last lesson, the Infant Jesus was placed in the manger and the faithful joined the choir in singing my favorite hymn, Silent Night. As we sang, tears started to stream down my cheeks. My eldest son asked, "Why are you crying?" I could not respond. I saw Bernadette wiping her eyes and I realized that she understood.

The Lessons and Carols were followed by a Mass in which I could fully assist. Theresa eventually crawled under the pew, put her head on a coat, and fell asleep. I continued to follow along, respond, and listen. The homily was awe-inspiring, focusing everyone's attention on the Christ Child. Elizabeth continued to sleep as I received Communion. I returned to the pew and knelt in silence, thanking God for the blessings that he has bestowed on us. After Mass, I knelt again and said a few prayers before putting coats on the children. We made a little stop to see the Baby Jesus in the manger and then we headed to the van. As we drove home, a little after 2:00 a.m., I couldn't help but think that the Traditional Latin Rite Midnight Mass is truly one of the most beautiful things this side of Heaven.

Thank you, God, for blessing my family and me with the best possible Christmas gift, celebrating the birth of Your Divine Son at Midnight Mass.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

Come to Bethlehem, and see

Him whose birth the angels sing:

Come Adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the new-born King!

Gaudete Christus est natus!

We hope that everyone has a happy, holy, and blessed Christmastide!

For Where Your Treasure Is...

2009-12-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

The Ballad of Befana

by Phyllis McGinley

Befana the Housewife, scrubbing her pane,

Saw three old sages ride down the lane,

Saw three gray travelers pass her door--

Gaspar, Balthazar, Melchior.

"Where journey you, sirs?" she asked of them.

Balthazar answered, "To Bethlehem,

For we have news of a marvelous thing.

Born in a stable is Christ the King."

"Give Him my welcome!"

Then Gaspar smiled,

"Come with us, mistress, to greet the Child."

"Oh, happily, happily would I fare,

Were my dusting through and I'd polished the stair."

Old Melchior leaned on his saddle horn.

"Then send but a gift to the small Newborn."

"Oh, gladly, gladly I'd send Him one,

Were the hearthstone swept and my weaving done.

"As soon as ever I've baked my bread,

I'll fetch Him a pillow for His head,

And a coverlet too, "Befana said.

"When the rooms are aired and the linen dry,

I'll look at the Babe."

But the Three rode by.

She worked for a day and a night and a day,

Then, gifts in her hands, took up her way.

But she never could find where the Christ Child lay.

And still she wanders at Christmastide,

Houseless, whose house was all her pride,

Whose heart was tardy, whose gifts were late;

Wanders, and knocks at every gate,

Crying, "Good people, the bells begin?

Put off your toiling and let love in."

Confirmation

2009-12-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years, my two eldest have wanted to be confirmed. After hearing our pastor say that our parish's first Confirmation would take place on December 17, Bernadette told my father-in-law that she would be confirmed in December. I told her that she would need to wait a couple more years. She was upset and shared, among other things, that she needed to be confirmed, so that she could be a soldier of Christ and defend the Faith. I signed her and her sister up for our parish's Confirmation class.

The Processional

Each Friday, since September, Catherine and Bernadette have been going to a Confirmation class taught by our pastor and completing Baltimore Catechism lessons at home. On December 11, our pastor gave them an oral exam. On Wednesday, December 16, they spent the evening at our parish, eating dinner, attending their first evening of recollection, assisting at Mass and Benediction, and participating in the rehearsal. They arrived home very excited about their Confirmation.

Grandpa and his Granddaughters

Last night, my father-in-law drove 3 hours to meet us at our house and go to his granddaughters' Confirmation. Bernadette's godparents were both present (her godmother made an incredible effort to come), and so were Finnian's and Elizabeth's godparents. It was the first Tridentine Rite Confirmation in the Archdiocese of Seattle in over 40 years.

Bernadette with her Sponsor and Godmother, Maria

Catherine with her Sponsor, Elena

Bernadette with her Godparents

Bernadette with her Godfather and his Wife

(The first time that I met Sarah, I told my husband,

"Sarah and Jeff would make a great couple."

The rest is history.)

2009 North American Martyrs Confirmandi

As my father-in-law wrote to Catherine and Bernadette in their cards, she and her sister are soldiers of Christ.

Bernadette with His Excellency the Most Reverend Alexander Brunett

Catherine with His Excellency the Most Reverend Alexander Brunett

Congratulations Catherine and Bernadette!

As you know, I cannot stop smiling.

Additional photos can be seen here. Yes, that is my little boy eating from the pie pan in the last photo.

Prayers Needed

2009-12-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

A very good friend from college, Avi, just sent the prayer request below:

I haven't had a chance to let you know yet, but my dad was diagnosed last Thursday with liver cancer up at OHSU and was waiting for more information. He was back in Bend when his tumor on his liver ruptured, causing severe pain and internal bleeding. St. Charles hospital airlifted him up to OHSU, where he is doing fine now. He is going to have (non-emergency) surgery today! Please keep him in your prayers.

Please keep Avi's dad and her whole family in your prayers.

Christmas Books 2009

2009-12-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

As I shared last year, each of our children receives a Christmas book from us on December 25. This year's books, in no particular order, are:

The Little Boy's Christmas Gift by John Speirs

This is a cute story about a young boy who gives a recognizable gift to the Christ Child. The pictures are exquisite.

The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke

I have never read this book, but have been told that it is very good. Hopefully, my child who receives it will think so, too.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Arthur Rackham

This was my book when I was a child. I always liked the pictures in this edition of this classic poem and I hope that my child who receives this will do the same.

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco

Patricia Polacco's story about her uncle and his family brings tears to my eyes each time that I read it. We have checked this book out from the library numerous times; it is about time that it made its way onto our shelves.

Poor Souls Novena

2009-12-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

I received this from a friend whose sister, Helen, died yesterday morning. Please join me in praying this novena, and in praying for the repose of Helen's soul and my friend's entire family.

Today is the day to start your Poor Souls (in purgatory) novena (9 days before Christmas): Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that the following prayer would release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners, which would alleviate the indebtedness accrued to them during their lives. Please remember my sister, Helen, deceased, in this prayer:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the World today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family, Amen."

Homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments

2009-12-15T04:56:00.000-08:00

Please don't tell my children. On Friday, we are going to make some delicious smelling Christmas tree ornaments, using our Nativity Cookie Cutter Set that my parents gave us the year we moved into our house. We still have some of the figures that we made that year and a couple of years later, but I know that the children will delight in making more. Plus, they make our house smell so good. Hopefully, the ornaments will be fully dry just in time to hang them on our Christmas tree on December 24.

Applesauce and Cinnamon CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS

Ingredients and Materials:

1 ½ cups ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
¼ cup white non-toxic school glue (optional; if you decide not to use glue, then increase the applesauce by ¼ cup)
Bowl
Saran wrap
Rolling pins
Wax paper
Nativity Cookie cutters
Ribbon, fishing line, thread, etc. for hanging
Straws

Directions:

Mix cinnamon, applesauce, and glue together in a bowl. The dough should be as thick as cookie dough. If the dough isn’t thick enough, add a little more cinnamon. If it is too stiff, add a little water.
Remove dough from bowl and knead. Put it back in the bowl, cover with saran wrap and let it sit for a half hour.
Remove the dough, knead again until it is smooth (the smoother the dough, the better the ornaments look). Roll the dough between wax paper so that it is ¼ to ⅛ inch thick.
Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Use a straw to punch a hole for the ribbon to hang.
Carefully place the shapes on a piece of clean wax paper. Turn the ornaments over regularly in order to prevent the ends from curling up and help them dry evenly. They will take about 5 days to dry.

Notes:

The ornaments will get smaller during the drying process.

Once the ornaments are dry, acrylic or fabric paints may be applied, if desired. We leave our ornaments plain.

I am sorry that I don't have photos, but all of our ornaments are still packed away. I will try to add some next week.

Teacher In-Service Day

2009-12-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

My husband gave me a much needed teacher in-service day, today. Our six oldest have accompanied him to the Museum of Flight, taking advantage of the "Free Youth Days" which run through December 20. The children were looking forward to going on the flight simulator. I am looking forward to hearing what they thought about their excursion and seeing the video that my husband is taking. Hopefully, they are all enjoying themselves and my two youngest sons aren't wandering off to look at things.

While they are having fun, I am getting some very necessary December things accomplished on my day off. I have gotten so much finished that I might even be able to join my family on their annual Christmas light car tour this month. I hope that I find a "Family Day at the Museum of Flight" video under the Christmas tree this year (it would be the next best thing to having a Mass said for me). Yes, those are hints for my husband who already gave me a much needed gift today, a quiet, productive day at home.

Breakfast in Bed

2009-12-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

Our eldest daughter surprised us this morning with breakfast in bed. She came up with the delicious menu on her own, making scrambled egg, french toast, and orange juice. Our St. Lucia even took the time to decorate the trays. It was a wonderful and relaxing way to begin a Sunday morning. She is such a blessing to us.

Happy Feast of St. Lucia!

Christmas, Feast Day, and Winter Books

2009-12-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I like about this time of year is snuggling up with my children and reading picture books. Each year, we read a lot of Christmas, Feast Day, and winter books. This year, some of the books are new to us, but most of them are old favorites. The books that we have read so far are:

Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett

The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard (December 6)

The Christmas Bird by Bernadette Watts
The Christmas Coat by Clyde Robert Bulla
The Christmas Donkey by Gillian McClure
This is a beautiful story about a proud and stubborn donkey who learns a very valuable lesson from the Holy Family.
Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren*
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski*
Christmas in the Stable by Astid Lindgren

Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett

Cobweb Christmas: The Tradition of Tinsel by Shirley Climo
The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger*
Father and Son: A Nativity Story by Geraldine Mccaughrean

The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen, adapted and illustrated by Bernadette Watts
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett

Good King Wenceslas by John M. Neale (December 26)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss*
The Huron Carol by Frances Tyrell*
Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie dePaola

The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola (December 12)

The Legend of Old Befana: An Italian Christmas Story by Tomie de Paola (January 6)

The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi (December 6)
The Little Donkey: A Christmas Story by Gerda Marie Scheidl, illustrated by Bernadette Watts

The Little Drummer Boy illustrated by Kristina Rodanas*
The Little Drummer Mouse by Mercer Mayer

Mary: The Mother of Jesus by Tomie de Paola (December 8)*

Merry Christmas, Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

The Miracle of Saint Nicholas (Golden Key Books) by Gloria Whalen (December 6)*

The Mitten by Jan Brett*
Mousekin's Christmas Eve by Edna Miller

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco*

Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey by Robert Byrd
Saint Nicholas by Ann Tompert (December 6)

Silent Night: The Song and Its Story by Margaret Hodges
A Small Miracle by Peter Collington
This is a beautiful, wordles picture book.
The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden*

Take Joy! The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book by Tasha Tudor*
This Is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
Cynthia Cotten uses lyrical verses to tell the story of the first Christmas. The illustrations add to the beauty of the story.

The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
The Tomten and the Fox by Astrid Lindgren

Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett

Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? by Jan Brett
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston

Books that we own are marked with an asterisk*.

Dates indicate Feast Days when we make a point of reading or rereading a book.

As we read more books from our home library and from the library, this Advent and Christmas season, I will try to remember to update this list.

Thank you to Jenn Miller for sharing The Cobweb Christmas and The Christmas Bird with us via her blog.

Originally Posted: December 8, The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Updated: December 12, The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Coming Up for Air

2009-12-09T10:08:00.000-08:00

Recently, I found myself drowning, struggling with homeschooling, due in part to the behavior of some of my children. A week ago last Monday, I was ready to throw in the towel. Later that day, or that night, I received an email from a friend and I replied, asking her to pray for me. She stayed up late and responded with moral support and advice. She knew, without my even telling her what exactly was going on, what I needed to hear.

The next day, another friend sent me an email and, thanks in large part to Shelly's response, I was able to let her know that I was struggling. Fortunately, this friend and home-educating mother was able to respond with concrete advice, regarding discipline and structure. I pondered something that this mother wrote all last week. She said (slightly paraphrased), "If you are disciplining your children and you are still experiencing problems, then you need to look at yourself. You need to have discipline and structure in your life in order to be able to homeschool effectively." I will add, "I need to have God, discipline, and structure in my life in order to homeschool effectively."

I went into this year thinking that it was going to be great. I had stepped down from various volunteer positions, so that I could fully embrace my vocation as a wife and mother, and focus on my husband and children. However, I was encountering laziness and opposition from some of my children and I was resenting the fact that "I had to homeschool." I was relying on myself and not trusting in God. I was ignoring all of the blessings that He has bestowed on me.

Home education is one of those blessings. However, it is so easy for it to be seen as a burden when we forget to take time to pray, when we forget to put our trust in God and don't embrace our responsibilities. I am reminding myself that if I don't have self-discipline, then I cannot expect my children to have self-discipline.

In Christ Speaks to Us, Fr. Hardon, S.J. stated, "Catholic home schooling is the planned and organized teaching and training of children at home, for their peaceful and effective life in this world, and for their eternal salvation in the world to come." (emphasis mine) God is a God of order, not a God of chaos. We are created in the image and likeness of God; therefore, we need order in our lives.

In the same talk, Fr. Hardon also shared, "Today, Catholic parents must not only endure the cross, resign themselves to living the cross, but they are to choose the cross. In case no one has told you, when you chose home schooling, you chose a cross-ridden form of education." I know that the crosses that we are given are much lighter than the cross that Christ carried; however, in accepting and carrying our crosses, we can unite ourselves with Jesus and show our love for Him. I am trying to embrace my cross and I am breathing again.

Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. "Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you; and if you find that you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext."

~ St. Francis de Sales ~

Why did I share something so personal? I have been ending some of my emails with part of the above quote. Last Thursday, I received an email from a member of our homeschool group at large, thanking me for the quote, saying that she really needed it because her family has been struggling. On Friday, after Mass, a home-educating mother came up to me thanking me for the quote, as she had really needed it. On Sunday, a friend was speaking to me and shared that sometimes she needs to hear and know that others also struggle (not everything is rosy); she needs to know that she is not alone. We are never alone. We can turn to our husbands, our pastors, our parents, or our friends. If we cannot turn to them, then we can simply rest in God; we can trust in and pray to Him. God will never give us more than we can handle.

Nicholas of Myra

2009-12-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Nicholas of Myra movie

I hope that everyone had a happy

Feast of St. Nicholas!

HT: Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschool

Patron Saints

2009-12-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, we chose patron saints for our family for the year. I think that I first read about this tradition at Castle of the Immaculate.

Our patron saints from oldest to youngest are:

St. Boniface

St. Elizabeth of Portugal

St. Joan of Arc (Confirmation saint)

St. Agnes (Confirmation saint)

St. Augustine of Canterbury

St. Marguerite d'Youville

Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

St. Kenneth

Bl. Christina

If you only have time

2009-12-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

to read one thing today, read this: Living for Love as we prepare for Christmas.

Chores

2009-11-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

I have had a few friends ask me about chores. We cannot afford to pay someone to come into our house and help clean it. Even if we could, I don't think that I would. If my seven children were ten and under, I might seriously consider it. A friend once shared that she stopped having someone come and clean her house when she started to think about the message that she was sending to her children, especially her oldest, by having someone clean their house on a regular basis. Thus, chores are a necessity in our house.

A while back, Danielle Bean shared the chore chart that her family uses and I immediately adapted it for my family's use. This summer, I made a chore chart based on Managers of their Homes. It looked nice and neat, but it did not work (the schedule did, but that's another post).

Over the past year or so, I have found that chores work better in our house if:

The children can easily see what they need to do
The chores are reassigned once a month
The children are assigned to specific areas or tasks (i.e. The same child is assigned to sweep the dining room and kitchen throughout the day.)

I uploaded our December and Saturday chore charts (with my children's names omitted) to Google Docs. If anyone would like them in Word.docx format, please let me know via a comment and I will be happy to e-mail them to you.

Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant,

count as nothing.

~ St. Therese of Lisieux ~

Disclaimer: This does not mean that we have a clean house at all times. It does mean that it is usually presentable (except for the off-white carpet that shows every speck of dirt no matter how often it is cleaned).

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T08:47:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, thanks to family near and far. My father-in-law arrived at our house early in the morning with some stuffing for our turkey. He visited for a little while before heading to the cemetery to visit my mother-in-law's grave. After he left, I called and spoke to my dad. Then, we focused on getting the turkey in the oven.

Once the turkey was cooking, the children watched a movie with their dad. I made a couple of dishes (yams and green beans); Catherine had made a jello mold the night before. The meal tasted delicious. As we finished eating, my oldest sister called and asked us to come over to their house for dessert. My younger sisters were already there. I enjoyed seeing all of our children together. Our nine nieces and nephews, plus our seven children, made for a full house. I wish that my brother, his wife, and their five children could have been with us, too.

We came home with one of my sisters' dogs. He (Tommy) will be staying with us for two days and the children are delighted.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

I pray that everyone has

a safe, happy, and blessed

Thanksgiving!

I found this story, Florida teacher chips away at Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving myth, interesting. Thank you to The Black Biretta for sharing the story and the picture, last year.

Excuses

2009-11-24T04:29:00.000-08:00

Me: "Finnian, please skoochy over."

Finnian: "I can't. I am superglued."

I love my little boy's imagination. He often surprises me with his responses.

Win a Free Copy of You Need a Budget 3

2009-11-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

We just received an email letting us know that You Need a Budget will be giving away 5 free copies of YNAB 3 when it is released. This is the same program that I wrote about earlier today.

The email stated:

We're giving away five copies of YNAB 3 when it is released (once it's released)

We've launched a little contest to help spread the word about the upcoming release of YNAB 3. Entering's easy, and we're giving away five free copies of YNAB 3 once it launches! Enter to win your copy of YNAB 3 once released.

Please visit You Need a Budget for all of the details. I am enjoying using YNAB Pro and I am looking forward to using the newest version of YNAB. Thank you, Jesse!

Budgeting: One Baby Step at a Time

2009-11-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

When my husband and I were first married, a Catholic home-educating friend, Debbie Brock, introduced me to Phil Lenahan's Finances for Today's Catholic Family (updated title: The Catholic Answers Guide to Family Finances). This book served us well and gave us a proper understanding of budgeting in relation to Church teaching, tithing, and the need to always pay off our credit cards right away (my husband was already aware of the latter). Eventually, we simply incorporated the principles and stopped budgeting.

This spring and summer, I was constantly telling my husband, "We can't pay this bill or that bill until your paycheck arrives." A friend, who was completely unaware of my comments and the stress that I was unknowingly inflicting on my husband sent an email to our homeschool group with the subject, "Budget is Not a Four-Letter Word". She was recommending You Need a Budget. We started using YNAB Pro in October. After receiving our bank statement, I entered the balance from checking and savings into their respective categories. When our credit card bills arrived, I entered those purchases (some were made in September) under the specific credit card categories, transferring the payment in checking and recording the purchases in our budget. I tried to make sure that our budget equaled $0, but I overspent a little bit in two categories. October showed me the total of my husband’s income (I already knew this number in my head) and what we needed to budget in each category in November. It also made me aware of the fact that money spent on our credit cards was truly spent.

Prior to using YNAB Pro, I had no idea what our credit card bills would be. We always payed them off, but not without a little juggling and stress. This month, I know what our bills will be in December and we will be able to pay them off without any stress.

Thanks to You Need a Budget (and the principles that I learned from Phil Lenahan), we have taken our first baby step towards not experiencing financial stress. Now, we need to start working on Rule 1: Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck; we need to start making a buffer.

This is an unsolicited recommendation.

Dominus providebit!

Grocery Budget Challenge

2009-11-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

We are a family of nine and usually spend between $850 and $1000 per month on groceries. This month, I budgeted $750 and it looks like we might actually be able to pull it off. Don't worry, the children are being very well fed and I have most of my Thanksgiving shopping done.

I usually shop at two grocery/wholesale stores once a week, Winco (employee owned) and Costco. If a store is advertising a loss leader (a grocery item at a very low price) that we usually buy, then I have my husband stop on his way home and pick up that item only.

What I Changed and Rules that I Made:

1. Made Wednesday the only day of the week that I can go grocery shopping.

2. Visited Winco and Costco on a bi-weekly, instead of a weekly, basis (i.e. I went to Costco this week, so I go to Winco next week).

3. Limited my family's milk consumption to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We are only allowed one (breakfast) bowl or glass of milk at each meal. We were drinking ten or more gallons of milk a week; now, we are drinking 8 gallons of milk a week.

4. Only purchased meat or chicken breasts if they were under $2 a pound. Only purchased whole chicken if it was under $0.80 per pound. Turkey was purchased for $0.27 per pound (or less) and I bought two of them (one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas). I want to buy one more turkey for whenever.

5. Only cooked chicken or meat two nights a week. Cut up the leftover meat or chicken and mixed it into other dishes (no recipes, just something that I threw together). This means that we are having meat or chicken at least four times a week, sometimes five.

6. On the remaining two or three nights a week, I made a lentil or bean dish. I bought lentils and beans in bulk or in bags, not canned (the latter gets expensive). To soften the beans, I added a pinch of sugar to the water when I cooked them (I got this tip from Like Mother, Like Daughter). I made enough for two nights and lunch one day. I varied the dish slightly by throwing in some new ingredients the second night (vegetables, spices, barley, brown rice, etc.).

7. I alternated what we had for breakfast each morning. We used to always have breakfast cereal, but this gets expensive.

Now our breakfast menu looks like this:

Sunday: Eggs, bacon/sausage, and orange juice (made from frozen concentrate)
Monday: Oatmeal
Tuesday: Ceareal
Wednesday: Oatmeal
Thursday: Eggs, bacon/sausage, and orange juice
Friday: Cereal
Saturday: Oatmeal (I want to change it to pancakes or homemade waffles)

8. Limited fruit consumption to one a day. Reminded the children that "An apple a day (not two apples a day) keeps the doctor away." Cut up apples and/or oranges for snacks...this guaranteed that my little boys ~~did not waste any~~ wasted less fruit.

9. Reminded the children that I had purchased plenty of food for the entire week and that it needed to last us a week. In other words, it is not okay for seven children to eat a 2 pound loaf of cheese in one day. Nor is it okay, to eat three or four bananas each in one day (this goes along with number 8).

10. Made a running list of what we needed throughout the week, so that my husband did not need to stop at the grocery store for forgotten items.

What I Need to Do:

1. Encourage the children to eat carrots, celery, etc. for snacks.

2. Be better about alternating our lunches.

Thank you to my husband, my older sister, and my friend (Elena) for their support and ideas. Thank you to my mom for her example as I was growing up and her advice during the first few years of my marriage (I miss her). Thank you to my dad who used to enjoy cooking eggs, bacon, and tomatoes for us on Sunday mornings.

Dominus providebit!

All Saints Day Photos - Finally!

2009-11-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

Finnian trying on his St. Dominic de Guzman, O.P. costume.

All Saints Day Cupcakes of the North American Martyrs (parish patrons) made by Catherine.

Saint-O-Lantern: St. Jean Vianney's profile carved my husband.

A very happy St. Isaac Jogues

St. Isidore's Pumpkin Patch: Pumpkin Roll (thank you, Jessica, for the idea)

St. Francis of Assisi rolling the pumpkin.

St. Alice: Our "nun on the run"

Our little St. Dominic looking at our pastor like he is St. Nicholas.

St. Agnes speaking with Father.

Saint-O-Lanterns Carved by Parishioners

All Saints Party Group Photo

2009-11-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is just a sneak peak of our parish's All Saints Party that took place after Mass on Sunday, November 1. More photos will hopefully follow throughout the week. If you're a member of our parish, we will be uploading the photos to Costco and sharing them that way.

Thank you, Elizabeth, Regina, and Meredith for all that you did!

My boys are still talking about St. George's Dragon Hunt.

Glory Stories and Homilies

2009-10-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

We have been listening to Glory Stories since Patrick was a baby, possibly even a few years earlier. As we drove to my parent's house after Mass one Saturday, we heard the story Treasure in Heaven: The Story of Saint Katherine Drexel on Sacred Heart Radio and we knew we had to buy theses CDs (each purchase assists Catholic World Mission in helping the poor). That year, our children received one each on St. Nicholas' Feast Day, some more (plus the coloring books) in their Christmas stockings, and even more CDs and coloring books in their Easter baskets. We were hooked and we still are. We listen to Glory Stories when we drive to Mass and at other times. The children really like them and so do my husband and I.

On Sunday, our pastor mentioned the words "Viva Cristo Rey" in his homily a few times and I wondered whether my children were paying attention. They are very familiar with these words thanks to the Glory Stories Viva Cristo Rey: The Courageous Saints of the Knights of Columbus and My Battle Name is Jose Luis!. Last night, I got my answer. As we sat at the dinner table, Patrick said, "So, Fr. Saguto knows about 'Viva Cristo Rey'. He talked about it in his homily on Sunday. He must listen to Glory Stories." At that point, all of the older children (4 and up) started to discuss Father's homily on rightful authority and standing up for Christ and the Church.

I was temporarily stunned. Patrick, my son who says he wants to be a priest, but also complains about going to Mass (like a lot of little boys), actually listened to our pastor's homily. My son, who sits on his Daddy's lap or lies down in the pew and looks like he is trying to sleep during Mass, actually heard and remembered our pastor's words. I interrupted my children's conversation to ask, "Was it Patrick who just started talking about Fr. Saguto's homily?" Everyone answered in the affirmative, including Patrick.

Long live Christ the King!