The Less I Have...

When I was younger (say, 15 - 20 years ago...) my thought was that the less I had, the more I WANTED.... 20 years ago, my husband and I were still newlyweds and had no children of our own. He had two children from a previous marriage, that we saw every other weekend and for longer periods of time during the summer and holidays. We both worked for humble incomes, had horrible spending habits, and even though we made PLENTY to sustain our home, more often we often came up short... We wanted MORE...

As years went by, because of a windfall of money paid out to my husband for a job related injury, we purchased a good car and opened our own business. We worked long and hard to build up and promote our business and were able to do quite well, as far as income... It was our out go that still had some BIG kinks in it... and as our business grew so did our expenses, but even THAT didn't seem to curb our STILL horrible spending habits... We managed to become well known in our community for our business, and lots of customers that we gained the confidence of, sending more and more people our way. We had it made... but after 10 years, the business was wavering, as we grew tired and depressed from the long hours and weeks. It seemed like LOTS of money was always flowing in to the office but there was still nothing, really to show for it... We struggled with our marriage, my step son was living with us, but we barely saw him unless it was at the office, I was pregnant with our second son and SO tired of the chaos that self employment brought. Payroll started cutting in to our own expenses and we played a lot of "money musical chairs" and robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak... We KNEW we wanted MORE...

My step-son turned 18 and moved on to seek his own fortune and our lives continued to struggle. After 10 years, unable to go any further we called it quits on the business... with no real plan in mind, we closed the doors and filed bankruptcy... financially and emotionally... That's when I learned I was pregnant with #3... I wanted more, but not necessarily more children....

With both of us out of work, Despite the nausea and exhaustion from pregnancy, I went to work as a substitute school teacher while my husband looked for full time employment. We had no choice... Our family of 4 1/2 was learning to live on less than $900 a month, with $550 of it going to pay the rent each month, I was at least grateful we were no longer going IN the hole with payroll and other business expenses... We went without a lot of the things that we had grown so used to having... cable, cell phones, credit cards, vacations, new clothes, eating out... You might think that I look back on that time as a time of dread that I wouldn't wish on anyone... But for me, it was a wonderful turning point... I think it's the time that instead of wanting "more" I began to realize how much I "had" already... It's the point in time where I realized the difference between "want" and "need"...

It was still another 8 years, and two children before we were able to crawl our way out of that hole and actually buy a home of our own, 21 years after we were married. Lots of frustrations and road blocks along the way... But here we are... Though I really don't want to go back to that time in our lives, I wouldn't change it for anything... It taught me life lessons that has made us stronger for it. You know how the saying goes, "that which doesn't kill you can only make you stronger"?... It really did! The lessons we learned about our lives, our life style, what's really important, all came in to focus during that time! Among other things, it made our marriage stronger. And THAT is priceless... Especially in this day and age of broken families... I am SO thankful for my marriage and family, despite the other "stuff" that we may or may not have...

Now, don't get me wrong... Everything hasn't been "peaches and roses" since that time... I still go through my struggles with "want" and "need"... but they seem fewer and further between, now... I remember seeing something when we were in our lowest time about "When you find out that God is all you have left, you figure out that God is all you need..." So true... I couldn't have come through without Him...

I remember these events now, contemplating the number of friends, family, acquaintances, etc., currently going through rough marriages... Some are struggling to stay together, some have already split, some speak of it as if there is no other option... It all breaks my heart... And there are lots of different reasons for the troubles. Some are pretty serious and not all are about money or finance... though money and finance is one of the BIGGEST reasons couples/families split up... But after 22 years and 5 children with my spouse I feel like we have gotten through some very stressful situations and I look back at our rougher areas with gratitude and the maturity that the years have brought.... I always seemed to be JUST where God wanted me to be... I have replaced "WANTING more", with realizing "HOW MUCH" we really already have and clinging to those blessings when the waters get rough, again... and they do, and they will... Squeeze your family tight.... and if you can't do that right now, then pray for them. Pray for healing in your own soul, mind and spirit, then pray the same for your family. Then offer your sufferings for other broken families. The numbers are epidemic...

Get Smarty....

So, the other day, the hubby and I and the kids were playing around on a site called "mixer" where hubby is able to somehow download free ring tones to our phones. Call me "cheap" but anything more than "FREE" for a ringtone, is too much... lol...

So, the kids are calling out different song tunes to see if daddy can find them on the site and download them to my oldest son's phone... Suddenly, the theme from the old "Get Smart" show popped in to my head and I asked hubby if he could find it to down load to my phone... a few minutes later it was done, and I was pleased : ) when my oldest son requested the same tone, dad told him "no. that's mom's ringtone. you can't have the same one..." I chimed in that we didn't need to be "twinsy's.... how UNcool is THAT?!" lol... yet my son continued to beg, "PLEASE Dad?... PUHLEEEEEEEEZE???? I want that ringtone! I like that ringtone! It doesn't matter if mom has the same one! I want THAT ONE.... PUHLEEEEEEEZE?.... PUHLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE?!!!" IN the middle of folding clothes I just sort of listened and chuckled to myself...

In the mean time my second oldest son had picked up my phone and was listening to the different ring tones, something he does from time to time, and I overhear my oldest asking him "Hey! Send me that ringtone from mom's phone... " My younger son says, "Okay, hold on..." and proceeds to push buttons, staring intently at the little phone screen... a few minutes later, my oldest gets the message, and it's some other tone that he didn't like and he gives a mean glare to my younger. "That's not what I wanted!" Delighted with his "trick" the younger again tells the older, "Okay, okay... I'll do it... hold on.... " again, looking intently at the screen and pushing buttons.... The message transfers and the oldest plays to hear some OTHER tone that wasn't what he wanted... the younger literally squeals in delight as he runs through the house the older in hot pursuit until the younger finally runs in to his room and shuts the door leaving the older outside the door growling that that ISN'T what he wanted and to send the right one ....

When the younger emerges a few minutes later, the older is again begging for him to just send the Get Smart ringtone from my phone to his and again, the younger pushes buttons and tells the older, "Okay, okay... for real this time... I'm sending the real thing...." Hubby is still on the computer, and I'm still folding clothes as everyone falls silent waiting for the message to transfer... moment's later, as the older opens the message we all wait and listen.... and there, over the phone we hear my younger sons shaking voice, "do do doooooo DO! do do dooooooo DO!" to the tune of Get Smart... Hubby and I both fell to the floor laughing! The oldest tried not to laugh and make it known he was mad, but he couldn't help it. Even HE couldn't keep a straight face.... The younger son went around the room serving up "high-fives"... lol

St. Therese, Miracles and Moving....

So, my last post last August I informed you that we were looking for a house, without much luck. The market had been set at a stand still trying to boost up the economy again and we were waiting for mid-September to roll around when we were told that the market would open up again... in the mean time, I had begun a Novena to St. Therese in the hopes that she would bring me a miracle in finding us the perfect house. Now I had been given not one, but two beautiful novena's that I liked to St. Therese. The first was sent to me by a friend after i told her that I had taken to asking St. Therese to help us find a home. The second came from another friend of mine that sent it a couple of weeks before St. Therese's feast day on October 1. I had already been saying the first one, but when I got the second, I just started saying both.

Nine days came and went. I had never been so specific in a request to a Saint, or with a Novena, but I figured it couldn't hurt, so I just kept praying... 9 days... 2 weeks... 3 weeks... I had even told my realtor about my prayer request and said that she should be on the lookout for roses... That was my quest...

Over the next few weeks, the houses to look at were far and few between. And it seemed the ones we did look at, weren't much to look at... lots of repairs, or bad neighborhoods, etc... and the few that we did make offers on were just not meant to be. Still trying to keep a positive outlook, I was feeling pretty defeated... like maybe we just weren't meant to move to a bigger home in a better neighborhood... maybe we were just meant to rent forever...

The second week of October my realtor called me on a Saturday afternoon. She had just gotten word about a house and she really wanted me to meet her there to see it. It sounded really good to her... So, a bit reluctantly, hubby told me to go. I went, and I remember thinking/praying along the way, telling St. Therese, that if this was the house, she was going to have to make it clear to me.... My prayer all along was that she lead us to the house that God had picked out for us.... I arrived less than 3 miles of our current home to what appeared to be a fairly nice/quiet neighborhood. The house was nice, clean, big.... everything we were looking for... except roses.... there were no roses... and I had told St. Therese on the way over that I would be looking for them... ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE.... and I did... there were some bloom less rose bushes in the back yard, but nowhere did I see a single rose... not even on the tiles in the house... My realtor was emphatic that we make an offer and I told her I would talk to hubby about it.

So, when I got home I showed hubby the pictures and told him that Cindy (our Realtor) thought we should make an offer. After the last 6 1/2 months with no luck he said, "why not?" and I was pretty much of the opinion "whatev..." so we did.

I kept praying my now perpetual novena and scanning the listings looking for THE house and two weeks came and went. Normally, in the past, when we had made offers we heard back within the week. Having not heard a word from anyone in two weeks, we had moved on from this last offer when Cindy called us out of the blue to tell us that our offer had been excepted.

"Really?.... huh...." I was sort of in shock... I thought, "But there were no roses... okay, God... who am I to argue with God and His Angels and Saints?..." so, I began to get things ready for a move...

Escrow was supposed to be a MAXIMUM 30 days, according to the seller. They didn't want to give at all, even when we asked for 35... Nope. November 20 was the closing date... Well, then there was the holidays, so it became November 30, than December 4th, then the 7th, 8th and FINALLY we closed on the 9th. So the month of November was WAY crazy between packing 21 years worth of stuff, with 5 kids and a husband that had pretty much NO TIME off, since he took it off during Thanksgiving week when we THOUGHT we were going to move... and then the holidays mixed in, it was pretty crazy...

But we DID get moved, thanks be to God and our guardian angels! and were even able to host Christmas Dinner and a small New Years party at our new home. And the house, even though I wasn't "sold" on it at first, was really starting to grow on me. So many things happened in our first weeks here that seemed to just fall in to place and we felt SO blessed that this really MUST be where God wanted us to be, roses or no roses... : )

about a month after we moved in, my husband was headed out the front door to return to work after his lunch when he was met by the postal carrier, who handed him our mail. In the mix was a letter addressed to the former proprietors of the house.... "St. Therese Group Home"

I kid you not.... I was stunned when my husband came in and told me. I asked him to repeat it 3 different times to make sure he wasn't kidding me! He had forgotten about my novena! I had sort of let it go, figuring that regardless, prayers were OBVIOUSLY answered... but St. Therese had NOT forgotten my prayers... No, she didn't send roses... she sent me HER HOUSE!! : )

I was so excited I emailed my realtor, Cindy (a long time friend from Church), right away. She wrote back that my story had given her chills, but she had to add to it... her confirmation name was "St. Therese".... : ) I guess she WAS really with me, all along....

So here we are, settling in our first home to call our own. And in the living room, on the piano sits the antique statue that came from my mom, who got it from her mother many, many years ago... of St. Therese... God is SO good! St. Therese, pray for us!

If You Ever Want to Make God Laugh...

Then tell Him your plans! : ) Yeah, this is a lesson I learn over and over again...

You see, my latest "plan" was to finish out our school year, get our pre-qual and spend the summer finding "THE" house and moving all in time to start our new school year... I'm SO funny, aren't I?... : )

So here I sit at my computer, in the same place it was when we finished out the school year, outside in my van are the three baskets of books that I picked up from our resource teacher yesterday afternoon. I have a schedule book and curriculum ready to go through and schedule... school starts on the 24th. I am SO NOT READY... and house hunting is HIGHLY overrated... But thanks be to God that He is still sitting on His throne on high watching over each and every one of us.

So "THE" house has failed to show itself yet... we've made 5 different offers on houses we thought could possibly be "it", but as it turned out, apparently weren't... and after a 90 day moratorium placed on foreclosures took place mid-June, the number of available houses has slowly ground to a halt... While in the past month to eight weeks there has been a house here or there to look at, nothing that "spoke" to me... It's been frustrating, to say the least... and then we have the news telling us that the economy is "looking up" because there haven't been as many foreclosures in the past couple of months... HELLO??!! Does it occur to these people that there was a 90 day STAY on foreclosures placed, oh, I don't know... A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO??!! OF COURSE there has been a slow down in foreclosures! sheesh...

Anyway, our beautiful friend and realtor is doing her best to find us the right home, putting the work out to all of her realtor connections that her family of 7 needs to find a home NOW... : ) bless her heart! I'm not sure if her diligence and anxiousness to find us a home isn't fueled by her wanting to be rid of us! lol... seriously, she and I have been ALL OVER this town... please pray for her! In the mean time, we have learned all kinds of new information about buying homes and tricks of the trade... our goal (and hopefully God's) now is to hopefully find something before November 30, in order to qualify for the $8000 rebate for first time buyers, from the federal government.... Mid September, the 90 day stay will be up, and it is expected that there will be a lot more homes flooded on to the market again... again, good news for us... so, all hope is NOT lost : ) I have taken to asking St. Therese to send me 3 pink roses to the right house... I've never been this specific with a Saint request, but I know others that have, so I figured it couldn't hurt to put it out there... I know that she is praying for us regardless, because I have asked... "Big house, big yard, safe area to raise my family...."

So, that's what I've been up to all summer. Some days are better than others, and I don't always feel too inspired to write, but I have missed my blog... I'm trying not to get too down and trust God knows what He's doing : ] often easier said than done.... but I'm a work in progress! Any and all prayers offered on our behalf are very much appreciated!

Bed Time Prayers...

Reading up on Matt Archibald at the Creative Minority Report reminded me how good it is to have some routine in life... Sure, routine can get boring or monotonous or pick another similar word to insert here... but routine brings security and peace in knowing that somethings shouldn't change...

In case you haven't noticed (I have...) I haven't posted a whole lot of what's been going on in my home life as of late... I guess because life has just been so crazy... We've been trying to finish out our school year, trying to do some house cleaning and re-organizing (yeah, right... ), trying to pre-qualify for a house, and hoping and praying that God will find us the "perfect" home, once we get the other stuff out of the way... Trying to occupy a two year old, juggle an infant, and get some semblance of school work out of the older three on top of this, it's been a bit stressful...

The economy is bad (like you haven't noticed : ] ) and since Tuesday's election, $2 billion more will be cut from education... and while my hubby isn't a teacher of children, he IS a teacher of school bus drivers, in charge of training those that pick up your children and take them to school... So, yeah, it's a little scary to think about his future job prospects, especially in light of our trying to buy a home...

I know, we aren't the only ones affected... Jobs ALL OVER are in jeopardy... I have to sit and wonder WHERE IN THE WORLD is the future of this STATE headed?... Thank God for my Faith! Because i honestly don't know HOW ELSE I could see ANY good out of any of this! It would be SO EASY to get down and depressed... Sometimes i do... But right now, I'm not... I get frustrated, but not hopeless. In my heart, I know that God is still in control here, and the best thing I can do for my self and my family, right now is to stay grounded to Him... and in return, He grants me little tid-bits of light, here and there, of where I can actually SEE His work... in me, in my family... Which brings me back to routine...

I went to put the two year old to bed the other night, after an especially trying day... Not much sleep the night before, dealing with screaming, crying kids through most of the day, lots of teasing and just general orneriness going on. It was bed time and I wanted nothing more than to just put them all to bed and have some quiet time before I fell asleep, myself. I took the 2 year old to the bathroom, had her use the potty, I cleaned her up with a wash cloth, threw a diaper on her because I didn't want to have to get up with "accidents", walked her to her room, put her in the bed, covered her up, almost zombie like, on my part, turned out the light and started to close the door.... "Mom-mom! Mom-mom!"

"What, #2?... Go to sleep! Mommy's tired!..."

"Mom-mom, mmem..."

Though she is starting to talk a lot more, it still takes some skill to translate, so I said, "uh-huh... good... go to sleep..." and started to shut her door...

"Mom-mom! mmem..."

"What are you talking about?.. Mommy's tired!" I looked at her this time and there she was sitting up, giving her best effort to do the sign of the cross, mumbling and finishing off with "mmem", translated "Amen", then folding her hands, waiting for me to say prayers with her...

oops... forgive me Father... So, tired as I was, I went to her bedside, knelt down and began "Angel of God, my guardian dear..." and she mumbled her way through every word, with a resounding "Mmmemm!" at the end, then leaning forward with lips puckered for a kiss, says, "luv-oo"... and rolled over fast asleep, probably before I was able to haul my fat, tired fanny up off the floor! lol... "I love you too, sweetie... have nice dreams..."

yeah... routines are good... And God is still in control... and He'll use the smallest among us to remind us! : ) Amen and amen!

Jamba Juice...

I had to look this up for my beautiful niece and God-daughter... She will TOTALLY get this... : )

Easter Sunday

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! We had beautiful weather for this holiest of days! After early Mass we spent the day with family, enjoying the weather, the company and good food! Here's wishing you all the blessings and graces that our Risen King brings to those who call on His Name!

A Day at the Park

Doing our school lessons, I have to admit, is REALLY hard when we have had the BEAUTIFUL weather we have had the last few days... High 60's/low 70's under CLEAR skies... We decided to make a day of it and get away to the park for a couple of hours last Tuesday... We met up with some old friends and their daughter, my little God-daughter : ) and the kids had a blast playing while we BIG people sat and soaked up some sun while chit-chatting....

Baby's First Doctor Visit...

So, yesterday I finally got the baby to a doctor's appointment. You see, I took him in the week after he was born to have him circumcised and then made an appointment for his one month check up. Well, when I went in for the one month, there was a screw up with the insurance, and he had not yet been put on it, so I had to go home, straighten out the insurance mess, but never got around to scheduling him back with the Doctor. Now he is 4 months old and so I figured I better get him down. He really is such a "mellow-jello" baby. Very happy go lucky and easy to take care of. Not fussy-cussy at all, so I just didn't think about taking him to the doctor. Anyway, when we get there, they ask if there are any problems [no] and then tell me that they will just do a "well baby" check up. Sounds good! : )

So could someone PLEASE tell me WHY, when you take a perfectly healthy, happy baby in to see the doctor, they tell you that he's "behind" 10 shots that they say he "needs" and call it a "well baby check up"?... TEN SHOTS!! No exaggeration!! I about fell over! I said, "He's ONLY 4 months old!! What in the world is the necessity of giving him TEN shots?!!" For PETE's SAKE!! The doctor told me about some kind of "roto-virus..." something or other oral immunization. He said that it was the "easiest" to give, because they just put it in his mouth... Well, sorry, Doc, but JUST BECAUSE it's "easy" doesn't mean it's necessary... It wasn't to eliminate the chance of stomach flu, but to keep it from getting to the point of dehydration and hospitalization... Well, since my baby is ONLY breast fed right now, we home school and so is not exposed to the usual "muck" and he is baby #5 and I have NEVER had stomach flu in my house to the extent of hospitalization even being warranted with ANY of my kids, I think I'll pass... sheesh...

It is SO frustrating, because you want to trust your doctor to do what's best for your children to keep them healthy, but gosh! IT seems that every year they ADD to the list of "immunizations" to give children, and I'm sorry, but all that extra "Stuff" put in to an already healthy baby just doesn't seem right... *Sigh* I allowed four of the 10.. for now... and even THAT leaves me feeling a bit of guilt... I honestly don't know too much about these things... Poor baby... He is SO ticklish, there he was laughing and cooing and giggling, as the nurse was rubbing alcohol on his little chubby, thunder-thighs when his face suddenly froze in fear and pain as he felt the "stick"... it's enough to break a mommy's heart.... We're supposed to go back in a month....

A Mini Vacation

So, hubby and I decided that we wanted to take advantage of the nice weather predicted for the weekend (low 70's with clear skies) and take an impromptu trip North to the Zoo and the Metropolitan Museum. Now while the weather wasn't as clear as we had thought it would be, there was no rain on Saturday while we were at the zoo (yippee!!) and though we woke to rain on Sunday, the museum was inside, so no harm, no foul : ) We had a great little get away and came home to find FIVE eggs from my chickens! woo hoo! We have 5 hens, so one from each! They must have missed me! : ) Here are some pictures from our adventures! We really had a great time! The first one reminded me of the AT&T commercials that advertise "More bars in more places..." lol...

The only disappointment was not being able to meet up with an old priest friend of ours at Mass on Saturday evening. We learned at the beginning of mass that he had taken suddenly ill and was not able to attend. Being the only priest at his parish, reminded us of the need to continue to pray for more men to hear their calling to the priesthood....

Hubby and I were also reminded that it is important to take advantage of these simple moments with our children. They grow so fast... These pictures show me, especially how my 12, soon to be 13 year old son is going to be out and on his own before we know it, and probably before I'M ready! So I'm thankful we had this opportunity. God is good!

My Anniversary/Christmas/Birthday Gift...

FINALLY!! My husband's made an honest woman of me! lol! Probably 2 years ago as I was getting my kids out of the tub I noticed one of my diamond "chips" missing from my wedding rings. Afraid to lose another I took them off and put them away until I could get them fixed. In the mean time, my husband had quit wearing his a couple of years earlier because his finger had outgrown the band, so I wore it... Well, we have finally gotten ourselves in to a situation to where we could actually afford to have the rings fixed, so last November when I was asked what I wanted for my anniversary, the answer was, "To have my rings fixed!" Then came Christmas, and my birthday and the question and answer was the same... "To have my rings fixed!" We finally took them in to a reputable jeweler a little over 3 weeks ago and got them back today! As beautiful and shiny as the day we exchanged them! : ) My husband is now adjusting to wearing a ring again... the rash should disappear in a couple of days... ; )

Happy Birthday, Dad!

God rest his soul... Dad would have been 85 today... In his memory, I would like to share with you now what I was graced with the opportunity to share with those who came to his funeral 5 + years ago.... Tho it makes me cry, still, it brings a smile to my face as well... Dad knew not to take life too seriously... well... except during baseball season! : ) I love and miss you, Dad! Thank you for all the "Life Lessons" : )

Life Lessons from Dad...

Dad taught me sign language:

If he wanted you to fetch something for him, with a whisk of his finger and a few “tst! tst! tst!” We could run and get what he wanted.

Dad taught me caution:

When teaching me to drive, he knew that was NOT the time to raise his voice....

Dad taught me service:

If someone asked for help, anywhere, anytime, anyway, he was there, almost before you finished asking.

Dad taught me “promptness”:

As we ran through the house trying to finish getting ready for Church, knowing dad had already gone out the back door, and was sitting in the car, waiting...

Dad taught me “choices”:

As you sat at his breakfast table waiting for waffles that may have gotten slightly “overcooked” on one side, he would just ask you “light or dark?”

Dad taught me “seniority”:

When he answered the phone and I would say “hello” he would pause for a moment before he’d say “who is this?” “It’s ME, your favorite!” “Richard?.....here, I’ll let you talk to your mother.” then with his mouth away from the phone “Honey! Richard’s on the phone!”

Dad taught me “ingenuity”:

From machines to motors, gadgets to gizmos, if something quit working, Dad NEVER threw ANYTHING away, before trying to “fix it” first.

Dad taught me “resourcefulness”:

I don’t believe there was anything he couldn’t fix with his power drill, a few bolts, some wood glue or duct tape.

Dad taught me to “appreciate the small things”:

In all our travels back and forth across this country, he made sure to stop, often, so we could “experience” the beauty of the land.

Dad taught me how to be “worry free”:

Whenever he would call to check on us he’d say “well, you need to call and let us know how you’re doing.... you know how your mother worries.....”

Dad taught me his love for music:

With speakers wired in every room of the house, including his garage, it was the first thing he “fixed” in every camper, motor home, or trailer he owned. And contrary to his “gruff” exterior, there were still a few songs that could easily bring a tear to his eye....

Dad taught me unconditional love:

More than once I had to call him with the dreaded news that I had been in a car accident. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?” “No, dad” I would choke through tears. “Where you at? I’ll be right there....” When he saw me he greeted my sobs with a big bear hug and tell me “It’s all right, Emily. Cars can be fixed..... You’re okay. That’s all that matters.....”

Dad taught me “team spirit”:

From my sporting events in grade school, to drill team in highschool, and from swim lessons to sporting events of all his kids and grandkids... dad was ALWAYS there to be our “number one fan”.

Dad taught me “family first”:

No matter the cost to him, dad made sure that we had a good education, going to Church was NOT an option, and family vacations every year. After we were grown, when we came by the house dad would stop what he was doing to visit for awhile, but more often, you would have him stopping by to check on you. Many times, leaving with a grandkid or two..... The kids always loved “grandpa day”. And nothing made dad more happy than to see a house full of “family” that he could make breakfast for.

Dad taught me true love and loyalty:

I don’t think there was EVER a time that dad came home or left that he didn’t greet mom with a kiss. His main concern was to make sure that SHE was happy. There was NEVER a doubt about how much he loved her.

Dad taught me devotion:

He loved a silent retreat or a quiet Church. As loud as he could be, dad had a quiet spirit that he took very seriously. I think, in the quiet, dad felt closest to God......

Dad taught me that a good laugh could last so much longer and feel so much better than crying.

This is a tough one dad..... But I know you are with us still, living in our hearts and our minds, until we meet again. We love you very much, and will miss you, dearly. Thank’s, dad, for all the lessons. When I grow up, I want to be a teacher, just like you.....

An Awesome Kid!

and one of my FAVORITE teenagers, is my nephew... Home schooled his entire life began high school this year at the local Catholic High School. Not only has he done a FANTASTIC job with his classes and adjusting to the routine of actually GOING to a school and a schedule of going from class to class, but he has also made the varsity swim team! WooHoo!! I'm in awe of how they even get in to a pool at all at this time of year! : ) It's COLD out there!! I'm just so darn proud!

I'm Really NOT an Irrational Person...

I took my nine year old son to the dentist today. I admit that it's been about 2 1/2 years since we've last gone... We had a change in insurance and I've had two babies, so I just hadn't had the chance to sit and make dentist appointments... Well, hubby has been having his teeth worked on and has had nothing but praise for his dentist and has since made appointments for myself and our oldest son. I figured the easiest way to handle this was two at a time, so after we were done, than we would work with the next two youngest... unfortunately, my younger son was having some tooth ache issues, so we ended up making an appointment for him to get in today. I got a babysitter and off we went.

Now mind you, my son is 9 and has never experienced "the shot" from the dentist before... last time he had work done, it was under the influence of the "silly juice"... and being his first visit to this doctor I wasn't sure what exactly they would do. After waiting over an hour in the office, they finally call him back for x-rays. A few minutes later the assistant comes out to tell me that they need to extract a tooth that is falling apart and that is what is causing the pain. I tell her that he has never had the shot before, but it would have to be done, so okay... "sign here" and I did and she never said another word but went back to the back again. A little bit later I hear my son crying and look down the hall only to see him come out holding the side of his face and crying. They tell me that he will have to be referred to the specialist that gives "the juice" but the insurance won't cover it because he's over 7... huh?... OR I could make another appointment to meet with their other dentist, but he only comes in on Wednesday's and he would still give the "shot" but he works more with kids... Well, Wednesday's happen to be our "nightmare" days, where we are pretty much gone from morning to night...

To say the least I was little annoyed... no explanation, other than my son wouldn't cooperate and they couldn't do it... Now, I realize that a lot of people don't "get" home school mom's. A lot may assume that because we are HOME all day, we MUST sit around eating Bonn-bons watching soap opera's and have all the time in the world to drop everything for appointments! Anyway, I told them that I would have to call back after I got home... we left, nothing accomplished, thank you very much...

So on the way home I ask my son, "What happened? What did you tell them?" Thinking he must have had some tantrum breakdown for the operation to shut down so quickly and without explanation... he said, "I told them I didn't like shots..." well, duh... I don't like shots!!

So I get home and call the dentist to see if I can find ANYTHING else out... I don't know who I spoke with... the first girl answered the phone and I tried to remain calm as I explained to her that it was frustrating for me, because I had 5 kids and don't have a babysitter at my disposal for endless appointments... I wish that someone could have explained to me what the problem was when we were still there and at least given me the chance to TALK to my son and calm him down and MAYBE we could have tried again... but no one even offered that... she said, "well, he's nine, and he's had dental work done before..."

"Yes!" I told her, "But it was a couple of years ago and he was able to take the juice! This was his first experience with the shot, and he just wasn't prepared. He understands NOW that there is not an option, but from what I understand, this doctor doesn't even want to try with him anymore and the other doctor, he couldn't see him for another 2 weeks and you're telling me that this needs to be done soon..."

"well, do you want to come back?..." Upon further inquiring, according to the assistant my son started crying and said he didn't like shots... so the doctor asked him if he wanted to leave and my son nodded, and they let him leave... I almost lost it! I said, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! He is NINE... He is in a new office, with NEW faces, a NEW experience that isn't the most pleasant, and a doctor hovering over him with a needle asking him if he wants to leave... for Pete's sake, I would want to leave!!" She laughed... I'm really not trying to be unreasonable... And I'm not the kind of mother that will baby my kids through normal "life" things, like having to go to the dentist and dealing with "shots"... his having to get the shot wasn't the problem... all kids have to go through their first, at some point... he just wasn't prepared, because I wasn't sure WHAT to prepare him for... if they had JUST given me 15 minutes to talk with him... calm him down and explain what was going to happen and why, we'd be done by now... She said "well, WE told him what was going to happen..."

"You aren't his mom... I'm sorry, but to him, you are a stranger..." After I hung up my son told me that after he said that he didn't like shots, what they told him was he needed to be good or they were going to have to tie him up... yeah... that'll calm his nerves... sheesh... I called my husband and told him that HE could call and talk with them... They were probably hoping that I would just go somewhere else...

So, Hubby called, and they said that they were just looking up his number to call him... They didn't want him mad at them... Apparently he convinced them that they should give our son another chance and he would take him back down there himself and sit with him... they never even gave me the chance... When I heard him crying and got up to look down the hall, they told me I could go back to him, but he was already on his way out, and you know the rest of the story... I'm not sure that I'm happy with the decision to go back, but I don't want my son's mouth in pain any longer... so off they went... My oldest Son and I are supposed to go in to the same office a week from Monday... should I keep that appointment?...Perhaps they're hoping I won't...

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Today is my Mom's 84th Birthday.... My sister, my husband and I and all the kids took her to ice cream at a local family ice cream shop to celebrate, and I gave her a copy of The Priests CD. She was surprised and happy. I remember going to daily Mass when it was Mom's 75th birthday, and when it was time for the prayer intentions, I asked for prayers for my mom on her 75th birthday... The lady sitting behind me was the mom of an old school time friend of mine and she tapped my shoulder and whispered that I shouldn't have "announced" my mother's age... but mom was sitting just a couple of rows ahead of me and she didn't seem to mind... After all, no one ever believes her age... In fact, in my humble opinion, if you looked up "Aging Gracefully" in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of Mom.... So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!! You look mauhvalous! : ) I hope your day is happy and grace filled! You deserve it! I love you MUCH!

Goofy Kid...

#2 has always been a busy guy... I call him my "stealth" kid... if it's quiet, too quiet, you better go see what he was up to... More than once I took him to the doctor to have them help me get something out of his ears... he had a thing about putting chips (as in potato or corn), tiny pieces of balled up paper, or sometimes foil, or pretty much anything small in his ears and then when he tried to pick them out he shoved them down even further. Once he wedged a popcorn seed/kernel, pointy end in down in his ear canal that required a trip to the eyes, ears and nose specialist. After that, i kept my booger-sucker bulb handy to flush his ears with warm water when the need arose.... Anyway, all that happened when he was 2, 3 and 4 years old.... He's 9, almost 10 now...

So, today, we are sitting at the table/desk and I see him poking his ear with his pencil, so I tell him, "quit that! you're going to damage your ear..." he says, "well, the tip of this pencil fell off in my ear..." sheesh! So, I go and dig out my gear to flush his ear. After a couple of squirts, sure enough, out comes a small piece of pencil led out of his ear in to the bowl... I said, "There. Is that better, now? Can you hear?"... "yes," he responds, "Now, can you get the one out of my other ear?..." I kid you not... One of those moments when you aren't sure whether to laugh or scold.... Given the hard time that his older brother gave him I think maybe he'll think twice before doing it again... but then again, maybe not.... with this one, you just never know... lol...

Mary Had a Little Lamb....

My sister sent these this morning and I just had to share! Isn't she the cutest little lamb?... This is my great-niece, "Lamby-ella" : ) sporting the latest in "adorable winter time baby apparel"...

I added a picture of her with her Momma, so you can see the whole ensemble, including the little lamby-mittens. Can I hear a collective "Aaaaawwwww"...?