Oh! Is THAT How it Goes?....

I just love listening to my kids when they are playing "Mass." My second oldest son has always had a fasination with Mass and all that is going on in Church. So much so that he was trained to be an altar server at the age of six... and even now, at almost 11 years old, he likes to dress up in the mini priest robes that we bought him at the Catholic Family Conferance a few years ago and play "Mass". And as his little sisters grow older, they, too, love to play along, saying the readings, sitting in the pews, carrying up the gifts, etc... This evening after dinner, as they were playing and my husband and I sat in the dining room listening, smiling, we heard that it was time for the Gospel reading and they all rise up singing "Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ! King of endless stories!" good thing we were done eating and didn't have food in our mouths.... : )

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!

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!

My 6 Year Old Makes Me Laugh... : )

She comes in looking at a Star Wars book with pictures that her brother got at the library the other day. She says, "Daddy! Guess what? This Star Wars book has a song in it! You know that, dad? It's got a song and it starts with a 'D'! Do you know what song it is, Dad? Can you guess?... " With a HUGE smile on her face like she is keeping the BIGGEST secret EVER and it's about to BURST out of her mouth any second.... "Can you guess Daddy? It starts with a 'D'!"

A few seconds later she starts, "dum dum dum dum dee dum, dum dee dum...." to the tune of the Darth Vadar theme. lol!!

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...

My Veggie Tales

There was a time when I still had my sewing machine out and could actually sew the kids costumes for Halloween... I remember I had so much fun with these... Veggie Tales weren't as well known as they are now... this was October of 1999. I remember when I took them out trick or treating there were some that thought "Larry the Cucumber" was "Gumby"! lol... There were a few that did recognize them from such classics as "Dave and the Giant Pickle".... But, by the time #3 was born and #2 was in FULL MOBILE (crawling, walking, climbing...) mode, the sewing machine had to be put up, along with all the pins, needles and scissors... The last costumes I made were Sponge Bob and Patrick and #3 was a jellyfish, fashioned much like the tomato costume but in pink, with long pink chiffon ribbons hanging down from underneath.... All the costumes now reside in the "costume bucket" where they are all taken out from time to time to play with.

Is THAT How it Looks?...

You gotta love the mind of a two year old : ) You just never know what is going on in that head of hers! lol... She loves to say prayers before bed at night, but doesn't want any of her siblings saying it with us. JUST her... but the cute part is watching her make the Sign of the Cross. First she holds her fingers tightly together and taps her forehead 3, 4 or 5 times, then she touches her tummy before she swiftly tucks her fingers under her armpit then slides them out like shes wiping them off ! lolol... I'm thinkin' "Is THAT what it looks like we are doing, to her?!... lol...

Is Church Almost Over?...

My own little "Chatty-Cathy", #3... I told her AGAIN this morning as we were getting ready to leave for Mass that she needs to be quiet in Church and try not to talk so much. She's six, so I tried to explain, "when we go to Church, that is time we give to Jesus, so, if you want to talk, talk - quietly - to Jesus... tell him thank you for all the blessings you received this week, or anything that is bothering you, or ask Him to help you get along better with your brothers and sister! But mostly, TRY to be a good example to your baby sister and PLEASE don't ask me during the consecration if Church is almost over!... we go to Mass every week, sometimes during the week, you know when Church will be over..." she nodded her head and went on her merry little way...

Now, we are constantly told by other parishioners how well behaved our kids are in Church. I realize that our own kids probably bother us WAY MORE than they bother anyone else... we also belong to an older parish, where you are almost always surrounded by surrogate grandma's and grandpas that love to smile and coo and tease with them, though we try to keep the kids focused forward, and try to sit close to the front to minimize the distractions... When we get to Mass #3 spots her Auntie/Godmother and asks to sit with her and Grandma and I reminded her that she should not talk during Mass and then we sat at the other end of the pew with the little ones while the boys went to serve at the altar... Everything went fine and then as we get up to go to communion from behind me I CLEARLY hear "Oh, yea! Church is almost over!" lol... Well, she didn't ask... lol... Such is the mind of a six year old, anxious to get out of church and see her cousin that has been gone on vacation the previous six weeks... : )

Two Nights in a Row...

Not to jinx it or anything, but my little angel has slept through the night two nights in a row now! Woohoo!! I put him down anytime between 9 and 10 in the evening and he wakes at around 6. #4 didn't sleep through the night until I quit nursing her, and THAT didn't happen until I figured out I was pregnant with #5, but by THEN I was up in the middle of the nights to use the bathroom... wow... it's been awhile since I've slept through the night... : ) feels pretty good! Sssssshhhhhh!

My Elves...

I did one of these last year but had forgotten about it until some friends of ours sent us one with their own family pictures. I couldn't resist, so I made one of our own. It's fun! So, once you have a look, make one with your own family pics and then send it out to friends and family for a laugh!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

FINALLY! A Picture!

Happy Feast of the Holy Family! My friends and family know that every year I manage to dress the kids up and get them to sit still long enough to get a few good pictures in their "Sunday Best"... but with so much going on, and it's just not too easy with five... But I took advantage this morning after mass, when we were at grandma's and before they had a chance to change in to their play clothes... actually I threatened the boys that I would take away their new MP3 players if they didn't cooperate! lol! Anyway! It went smoother than I had anticipated and here is the result... They are, oldest to youngest, 12, 9, 6, 2 and 2 months (already!). We are very blessed... And I didn't notice until I downloaded these that you can see last years family Christmas picture sitting on Grandmas end table! lol! Minus Sam, of course... I hope to have another family picture done soon, with all of us...

Find the Sammy! : )

The kids thought it would be funny to surround their new baby brother with the girls' dolls this morning...

: )

A VERY Merry and Blessed Christmas to All!

I have been taking some extra time with my family over the holidays and put my blog on hold for a couple, but there are lots of pictures to come! We have been very blessed this Christmas with friends and family to share it with. I'm still looking forward to a hopeful visit from our beloved priest friend visiting from Sri Lanka... I will be back in the next day or two to share some with you of our Christmas... in the mean time enjoy these next twelve days of the Christmas Season as we contemplate the anticipation the Magi must have felt in their journey to meet the Christ Child, Emmanuel...

Dear Santa...

Okay, so we hadn't done much Christmas shopping yet.... okay, we hadn't done ANY... Just with so much going on, and a little bit of dread and not wanting to deal with the crowds and trying to balance what the kids want and what we can actually afford AND keep everyone grounded on the TRUE meaning of the season, I had already discussed with each of the kids that we ARE a 'large' family by society's standards and we are also a single income family on a tight budget. Don't get yourselves psyched up and set your minds on "big ticket" items... it just ain't gonna happen... we can't afford it and neither can Santa... I think we are like most other parents who want to do and give nice things to their kids, but just can't afford a lot of the things that kids seem to be in to these days... and times 5, well, it gets expensive... Anyway, I had set mine and the kids thoughts on preparing our baking gifts for the season and shopping has been avoided thus far...

Lo and behold hubby brings in the mail yesterday afternoon and opens a Christmas card sent from no return address. Inside was a note from "Santa" explaining that he was having some trouble with elves and ran out of time to do any shopping for us but enclosed a lovely gift card for us to do some shopping of our own for us and each of the kids... completely unexpected but so appreciated... : ) it was signed "Love, Santa"... So Santa, if you're reading this, we got it... and thank you from the bottom of our hearts... It was so very thoughtful... and a VERY Merry Christmas to you and YOUR family!

Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Clause.... ; )

GREAT Family Movies...

Hubby found some great family movies on sale at the local Christian Bookstore last week... If you haven't seen them already, these are GREAT family oriented movies that are VERY SAFE AND entertaining for the entire family. And some GREAT lessons taught, to boot! Hubby and I totally enjoyed watching something that we could watch with the kids where we didn't have to worry about being on guard to "ff" or cover their eyes! : )
















Flywheel
























Facing the Giants











and Bella

All three were on sale here locally, and are movies we will watch again and again... They also had Fireproof (due out in January) on sale if you pre-ordered it, for only $12.49. Fireproof was from the same makers of Flywheel and Facing the Giants. So, you might check out your own local Christian or Catholic bookstores to see if you can find them! They would make terrific Christmas gifts!

No One Wants My Roosters...

Our last 'hold-out' for a hen has been dashed... One by one it became apparent that the 89 cents a piece chickens that we bought last spring were roosters... so much for our hen/egg laying venture... as it turns out, the ONLY hen we have, is the one we got for the one barred rock rooster we traded for her. So, the kids take turns gathering the egg(singular) ever day. Some days we get lucky and she'll leave us two...

So, initially I got really lucky in offering my roosters on our local Freecycle site and had two people that had lots of land and some lonely hens that they wanted to find "company" for... so I made two of our roosters VERY happy... off they went. When we discovered more roosters I once again turned to freecycle, and the only response I got was from a gal who suggested that I take them out to the local wild bird rescue center at the college, and they would take my roosters to use as "live bait" for the rehabilitating birds... uuuuhhhh... Okay, I realize "circle of life" and all that, but I guess we are just terrible "farmers" when it comes to that aspect, and the kids were kind of freaking, as these roosters have pretty much been "pets" to them. SSSssoooo...

I modified my posts to read something like:

"Offer: Roosters. Fairly tame. Would appreciate them not being taken for fighting or eating. Would appreciate you telling me that you just have some lonely hens that need company. what I don't know, won't hurt me!"

I've posted and re-posted 3 times now, with no response... *sigh* I'm not sure what we're going to do, now... The incessant crowing beginning at 3:15 each morning (not to mention the "crowing-wars" that take place throughout the day) is becoming more and more frustrating and I'm worried that we're really ticking off our neighbors... (though no one has said anything, yet...) My sister suggested that we advertise them for Thanksgiving... I'm starting to second guess the whole "not for eating" idea... We just need to get rid of them.

Attempting to Get Back to SOME Normalcy...

Things are starting to settle down and I am attempting to get back to our routine... We started with our schooling this morning... It's hard to get back after a break, but we had no choice...

I am SO thankful for all the prayers that were offered up during my pregnancy, as it seems that God has answered with an ABUNDANCE of graces, from pregnancy, to birth to my beautiful son! I have to say that this was probably my most physically UN-eventful pregnancy of all. Except for the morning sickness, which seemed to last only the first 3 or 4 months, as opposed to it lasting throughout, as in previous pregnancies... I really managed quite well. My blood pressure was NEVER an issue, despite my history of hyper tension and developing preclampsia. I went in to deliver 15 lbs. LIGHTER than when I delivered my previous baby... and it was only in the final 3 weeks or so before I delivered that the weight shift on my body REALLY began to affect me and became more and more uncomfortable... but then, what mother-to-be in her 36+ week of pregnancy IS comfortable?? : )

After only two nights in the hospital (with EXCELLENT nurses, I might add...) Sam and I were ready to go home. And SO FAR, Sam seems to be the "Mellow-Jello" baby that the Nurse Practitioner deemed him to be... Contrary to the doctor's and specialists "predictions" because of my (ahem) age... Sam entered this world at a happy and healthy 8 lbs. 12 oz. All his fingers and toes and every bit as beautifully perfect as my previous 4 babies... VERY attentive to his surroundings, and will lie awake looking around for up to 45 minutes to an hour a couple of times a a day! And he is sleeping REALLY well at night, which makes mommy EXTREMELY happy! I figure since I was already getting up 3 or more times a night to use the bathroom, getting up around 2:30am to feed him and then not again until 7:30am or sometimes later, is GRAVY! And getting my body back, a little more each day, isn't bad, either! I'm already down about 25 lbs. since surgery... God is GOOD... and I am grateful to the many friends, family and readers that helped pray us through... Thank you, again! We were able to SEE God's wonderful plan unfold before us when we were still afraid and unsure...

So, without further ado... here are a few pics of our newest member making the rounds in his "mellow-jello" way... : ) Before long we will have a date set for his baptism...

"It's Gonna Happen.. Like it or Not..."

The ANNOYING words spoken by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome in the "Yes on 8" campaign commercial.

If you're not familiar with it, 'yes on 8' will keep traditional marriage between one man and one woman. For those of you here in California, you know last May, four California Supreme Court judges took it upon themselves to disregard the California voters voice for traditional marriage, making same-sex marriage legal. As we gather momentum toward the November 4 elections, the campaigning is heating up and the commercials are hitting the airwaves. Surprisingly, up to this point, I have seen MORE 'yes on 8' commercials than contrary... though the anti-family sect is definitely making their presence known... Even within our own Diocese there's been a recent "coming out" of a Catholic priest who, following his Sunday mass last week decided to purposefully invite the media to witness his closing thoughts and opposition to Proposition 8 to his congregation...*sigh*... applauded by some, others leaving in tears... It is so sad when even within the Church there is SUCH confusion...

This morning I woke to find a story of California's Creative Arts Charter School based out of San Francisco taking 18 FIRST graders on a "field trip" to witness their lesbian teacher's "wedding" to her same-sex partner... I just wonder how many "traditional wedding" field trips this class has taken or will take?... Are we really THAT hard up for educational material that we have to stoop to taking "wedding" field trips?... It is just yet another attempt by the secular agenda to FORCE their views upon our most innocent, our children. Indoctrination at it's worst... But THIS is not only what's "gonna happen", as we are hauntingly reminded of by SF Mayor Newsome in the "Yes on 8" campaign ad... apparently THIS is what is ALREADY HAPPENING... Is it getting so bad that even a word like "reproduction" becomes a "discriminatory word" that needs to be eradicated?... unfortunately, some say "yes"...


Right now, I feel my children are relatively safe... We home school... but I can already tell that it won't be long before even that becomes more and more threatened by the liberal agenda wanting to get their hands in and on our children, filling their minds with all things "open"... We must protect our children! I have my "Yes on 8" yard sign posted, and happily, have seen several posted in and around our neighborhood. But sadly, because I have a 12 1/2 year old son, he has been MUCH MORE aware of the upcoming election issues than the younger ones and has asked many questions, so we have had to discuss some of these issues that I wish we really didn't need to... But even he understands that two roosters can't lay an egg and two hens can't make a baby chick, so either pairing will eventually die out...


Most of all we must continue to pray for our broken land. Traditional marriage isn't about "taking rights" from anyone, but for preserving that which was established from the beginning as God meant it to be... The Church STILL teaches that compassion and human dignity should be given to any and all men/women, despite their state in life. We just can't make marriage what it is not. Cling to your Faith and cherish it. Pass it on to your children as well as you can... It is the BEST defense that we all have as the fires are turned up and the water starts to get warmer...


I wish I could find WHO said, "the only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." The WORST thing we could do, especially now, is "nothing". A few days ago I blogged about at least one California Bishop who is certainly DOING his part.... Holy Family, pray for us!

Another Day, Another Doctor...

So, I returned to see my Doctors "associate" this morning since my doctor is out on vacation until the 20th. Unfortunately, I'm four weeks from my due date and my blood pressure was a little higher than it had been... Not horrible - 140/80 - but higher than it had been... my husband is sure that my stressing over the unresolved billing and insurance issue was at least partly to blame... could be... All the same, even though my urine was fine and clear of any protein, he had me do a baby monitor check for 20 minutes, where they wrapped my tummy with the elastic bands and monitors and listened to Sam swim around for a few laps : ) He was great! Then I had to bring home a BIG empty bottle to collect 24 hours worth of urine... fun-fun... Everyone at the doctors office seemed anxious, like I was just about "ripe", but I feel like I am SO NOT ready... I think I'm still in denial... Can't believe that I will have another little tiny one to hold... I am supposed to go back next Wednesday to get the results of the urine testing, check my blood pressure again and see the nurse practitioner (my doctor will still be out...) and then I see my doctor again on the 20th. They keep telling me that "39 weeks" is the "recommended" time to have a c-section for the sake of the baby, but I guess we'll see where my BP is going and how long it lasts... My second baby is the only one that was born on his due date. The other three were 2-3 weeks early each, and all were quite healthy...

The best news is my sisters and nieces are gathering to help me out NEXT Saturday to finish all the details here around the house to make room for Sam. clearing and cleaning out rooms, installing bunk beds and hopefully having at least a week to get the baby to stay in a room with her big sissy at night. This will probably "hurt" the most, as she is quite the "mommy's girl" and we still have our little "bonding" time at bedtime, where she snuggles with me in my bed until she falls asleep, then I put her in her crib. I've never had two babies so close in age.... She just turned 2 only a few weeks ago... *sigh* We'll be fine, I know... Each baby went through a period of where they had their way of "protesting" the new addition, making Daddy the "favorite" from "that trader mommy who is spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME with 'that' baby..." ; ] My oldest has already claimed that HE will be the "baby hog"... hhhmmm... well, #4 may have something to say about THAT, too... As far as SHE'S concerned SHE'S "queen bee" of his life! lol!

Movin on Up... and Out...

Daddy and the boys set fast at work the other morning to expand their chicken coop. Dad decided that he would like to plant some winter rye in our back yard in the next few weeks, so he no longer wants our chickens "ranging"... I have mixed emotions about this, because I DO enjoy watching them strut through the yard gathering bugs and worms... the down side is that they have made what little bit of grass we had left, virtually non-existent... So! included in this 4 foot length extension was 3 new nesting boxes for our remaining hens in hopes that they will soon began "earning their keep" with some egg laying.

This last weekend we traded one of our barred rock roosters for a barred rock hen and she already lays. The boys were so excited to find an egg, that yesterday evening my younger son pulled one right out from under her, still soft... oops... "honey... you can't get them THAT fresh... you need to let them have a chance to harden up..."

Also on the list of "to do's" in trying to get some eggs was to gather up and separate the roosters... still trying to decide WHAT to do with them... poor things... Freecycle is one option, but hubby is worried that they will end up in the cook pot or as fighters. He and the boys don't like EITHER of those options... and upon closer inspection this evening, he thinks he found yet another rooster in the pack... that would make roosters: 4, hens: 5. *sigh* and here we thought we were so "lucky" in having all hens when we first got them... Anyway, the boys did a great job on the coop, and if that isn't inspiration enough to make a hen lay an egg, well I guess we'll have to resort to feeding them some high protein 'crumble' food... the guy at the feed store told me that they started using it and it really works well... And, now, of course, the guys are VERY anxious to get some more hens... I sure hope that the ones we still have don't ALL turn out to be roosters! lol!!