Stoooopid "Tree-huggers"

Apparently PETA has taken it upon themselves to use the Duggar name to promote the spay and neutering of pets.... good for pets, not for people... and I just thought it was in the poorest taste to not only COMPARE human beings to animals, but they used SPECIFIC human beings that did nothing to deserve such insult...

It's just a good example of how some people can get so engrossed in their "cause" that they develop complete disregard for what is really important... Don't get me wrong... I love pets! We have a dog and a cat and will have both spayed very soon (not quite old enough, yet...)But pets should not be given the same and even in some cases MORE respect and dignity than a human life...

When's the last time we've seen a radio, TV, magazine or newspaper ad condemning the abuse and killing of innocent human life (abortion?...., euthanasia?....) yet, we will see and or hear something all the time, complete with pictures and sad music, teary eyed movie stars, etc... looking for support for abused animals.... Again... love pets... have them myself... don't want to see them hurt or mistreated.... but seriously! ....

... stepping off my soap box now....

Playing for THE "Major"

My son belongs to our parish Edge group, which is a"pre" Lifeteen youth group for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. This last week they had a special guest speaker that his youth leader had emailed me about that I just had to sit in and listen... Now we don't get the local paper(really not worth the money...) and about the only local news we watch is the weather, unless we have "heard" of something to watch for... Anyway, I had never heard of this local kid, but was intrigued by his story.

Grant Desme, Major League Baseball's latest-greatest hopeful, before taking his BIG chance to play the game he loved his entire life, at the level he had always dreamed of, decides to retire and join the seminary. Turning away from the Big Leagues in order to play for THE Big League... The kid was SO cute I seriously wanted to just put him in my pocket and take him home! With great humility and humbleness Grant shared his story and answered questions of the teens and parents alike (I wasn't the only parent that didn't want to miss him!)

Grant did such a fantastic job of sharing his heart with us, and it was so wonderful to hear such a young person reaching out to kids barely younger than himself. I think the most inspiring thing that I got from his talk was when he shared when he realized that he had learned that going to Mass wasn't just a matter of "punching a time clock" and doing his obligation for the week. Tears literally came to his eyes when he shared how blessed he felt to stand at the foot of the cross with Mary at every Mass and receive Jesus inside of him.... He shared that he discovered that God created him, out of LOVE, for a REASON, and it was his job, and all of our jobs to contemplate "Why are we here?".... We must put god first before all other things, and even though it may not be easy at first, we need to take time to quiet ourselves and be with God... have a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ... He told us to love Mary with all our heart, because if we want to get close to Jesus, go to His Mother..... beautiful stuff....

Grant spoke of how surprised and humbled he was by all the press that he has received for his decision, again, giving all the glory and credit to God and how blessed he has been... With the full support of his family, and happy to leave the life of fame and fortune behind, Grant Desme will be entering the order of Norbertines in Southern California this summer, looking forward to a quieter, more contemplative life.... Please pray for him...

The Dominican Sisters on Oprah

... and Hell didn't even have to freeze over! : ) In case you missed them, they were FABULOUS! Granted, I got a little annoyed by some of the questioning, but it was to be expected considering the secular source, and the Sisters did a great job of answering! But in my opinion, the BEST part was Lisa Ling's final comments at the end when she said that even though most people think of Sisters and convents as so rigid and confining, these sisters showed that that is not the case at all. Because of the life they have chosen, they really have chosen the greater FREEDOM. And it isn't hard to SEE that, in their shining faces....

She GOT it!! Christ is the GREATER freedom.... If you didn't see them, you can watch the videos here.

This Just Bugs Me...

In the grocery store this week I see the latest cover of People Magazine with an adorable picture of Jim Bob and Michelle Dugger and their latest little blessing, Josie Brooklyn. The title of the article was something like "How many is too many?"...

Seriously? First of all, I don't think it's ANY ONE'S business HOW MANY children a family has, especially when that family is hard working, honest and expecting NOTHING from anyone but relying on God's grace to help them and their family through... Certainly a foreign concept to many of the secular world, but for Jim Bob and Michelle, it seems to just come naturally... I for one appreciate and enjoy watching the Duggars on TLC when I get the chance. It's so nice to see a large family in a positive light to let people know it CAN be done! Not only are they a large family, but they are debt free, and low and behold, they actually ENJOY each other's company! HELP each other, ENCOURAGE each other to succeed...

Now, granted, I have not read the article. Quite honestly, the title on the cover was enough for me. BECAUSE the Duggars are open to life and however many children God chooses to bless them with, some how, the secular media thinks that gives them the right to question whether or not they have too many.... excuse me, if this had been their first or second child and she was born prematurely, due to circumstances beyond the mother's control, would THAT have been "enough" or "too many?..." Would there be articles written asking society if they were having too many, then?... I know, I know.... gotta sell magazines.... Here's a family with no scandal, no grudges, no "dirt" so to speak, so we might as well slam them for being.... loving, growing family, choosing to swim against the current and trust their and their children's lives to God.... go figure...

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!

I'm Back : )

Just a short notification to anyone that still might be checking in! (I hope you do!) but I'm back! Life has been crazy and there is SO MUCH to catch up on... But I have REALLY MISSED my Blog and writing about life etc... SO! Without further ado....

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!

Notre Dame Pressing Forward with Trespassing Charges...

Friend, author and speaker Jane Brennan and Laura Rohling went to the Universtiy of Notre Dame on Friday may 8th in order to be a witness to students on campus that they regretted their abortions. They went to pray for the students and staff at Notre Dame with rosaries in hand.... They went and instead of being welcomed with open arms, for being a great witness for this most basic fundamental Truth of the Catholic Faith on a Catholic campus, they were met with handcuffs and arrested for trespassing.... I have earlier posted their open letter to Fr. Jenkins . Further details of their arrest and where the case is headed can be found at their website Free Jane and Laura. Check them out and consider helping in any way that you can...

With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies?....

My sister alerted me to this piece of brilliance....

Writer Removed from Near Air Force One at LAX

If you don't want to bother going to the link, the story is about a "Roman Catholic Priestess" and her protesting "Same Sex Marriage".... yeah... great... the irony... Obviously, that's not ALL she's "protesting"....

Okay, I'm sure she is a very nice lady (Honestly, I don't know, but I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt...) and I appreciate her "zeal" in her defence of marriage being between one man and one woman... but it just shows me how much these people that claim to be "Catholic" but choose to practice their own version of it, just really don't get it. If there is something about Catholicism that you don't understand or agree with, research it. Pray about it. Ask someone that knows, not someone that is going to promote their own agenda... It's a BIG Church and an open book... It really isn't too difficult, if you really want to find Truth... But then again, if you are more interested in molding the Church into your own version, then I guess you can. It's a free country(for now, anyway...).... Just don't call it "Catholic" aka: "universal", as in "in line with the Magesterium, and Her teachings, under the guidance and leadership of our Holy Father the Pope despite WHERE in the world you find it", when it's not....

It's Sad to Think That It's Come to This...

But the Thomas More Society has actually assembled a legal team of Notre Dame Alumni to defend friend and author Jane Brennan with Laura Rohling against trespassing charges on Notre Dames campus... I'm still wondering 'HOW does this make sense??'...

Notre Dame: Prosecutor Presses Trespass Charges
Against Pro-life Advocates
5/29/2009
Clarion Herald (http://www.clarionherald.org/)
Chicago-based Thomas More Society assembles a Fighting Irish legal defense
team.

NOTRE DAME (Christian Newswire) - Thomas More Society attorneys
appeared in St. Joseph County Criminal Court to defend two prominent pro-life advocates against trespass charges brought this morning by local prosecutors in the wake of protests at the University of Notre Dame.

Laura Rohling and Jane Brennan went onto the Notre Dame campus to educate students about the after-effects of abortion, based on their own personal experiences with abortion. Ms. Brennan, author of "Motherhood Interrupted," is a frequent guest on Catholic TV and radio. She serves as regional coordinator in Colorado of "Silent No More," a group which brings public attention to the plight of women who have experienced emotional and other pain after abortion. Ms. Rohling serves as assistant regional coordinator of that group.

"The Thomas More Society is urging the University to request that these trespass charges be dropped," said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society. "Such a magnanimous gesture will go far toward healing the divisions that have arisen between Notre Dame and the pro-life movement, in light of recent events."

The Society has assembled an all-"Fighting Irish" team, including President and Chief Counsel Thomas Brejcha, Notre Dame class of '65,
Executive Director Peter Breen, Notre Dame Law class of '00, and South Bend attorney David Wemhoff, Notre Dame class of '79, in defense of Ms. Rohling and Ms. Brennan.

"What's vitally needed is dialogue about pro-life issues of abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, marriage, as well as about capital
punishment and peace issues rather than confrontation in South Bend's criminal court," Brejcha continued. "The pro-life movement is the next stage of America's civil rights movement, and Notre Dame is not Birmingham.

" The Thomas More Society has a history of partnership with the University of Notre Dame. The late Fr. Ned Joyce, former Executive Vice President of the University, was a regular financial supporter of the Society. Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, former President of the University, wrote fundraising letters in support of the Thomas More Society's successful defense of peaceable, non-violent abortion protests in
the landmark United States Supreme Court case, NOW v. Scheidler.

More can be found at Catholic Online.

Jon and Kate Plus Eight... give or take...

Broken families make me sad... My 6, almost 7 year old used to love to watch the TLC show, Jon and Kate Plus Eight. I have to admit that at first, even I would get a kick out of watching the antics of raising a set of twins and sextuplets under one roof, and even admired how Jon and Kate seemed to work so well together to raise their little ones... True, as a Catholic, I have some definite opinions about using fertility methods that usually are the cause of these multiple pregnancies, but after the fact, it's not really the child's fault of HOW they got here. So, that being said, watching this show, in the beginning, I was attracted to how this large family had become such a hit, in how they work together and make things "work"... Although I had lost interest in the last couple of seasons because it seemed to become more about "Jon and Kate take vacation comp trips with their kids all the time..."... How is THAT reality?... No, seriously, in "reality" especially with a big family, you just can't take vacations all the time. Every family is NOT asked to take a 'comp' trip to anywhere from Disney world to Hawaii week after week...

Now any of you that watch the show, if you'll recall the beginning of just LAST season, the opening was all about the family returning to Hawaii to renew their wedding vows, and it was all about showing and assuring their growing children that they (Jon and Kate) were together FOREVER... Now, this season opens with quite the opposite... I watched it, hesitantly after everyone else had gone to bed and it just made me so sad... I really don't "know" these people... other than what is allowed to show through the TV screen on Monday nights... Kate is a little bit OCD and Jon is pretty laid back... as different as their personalities could be, they seemed to fit one another and work it through... but now, for whatever reason, they can't seem to, anymore... why?... In my humble opinion, if it were MY family, whether the rumors were true or not, the show would be over... at this point it seems that it is all about the money and how much everyone can make on this show, this family, these children...

By their own admission, Jon quit his job two years ago, so that he could stay home full time with the kids, while Kate traveled the globe promoting her book... Their "show", their "hobby" had become the "job"... sadly, it's almost like they sold their souls... We were no longer looking "in" on their day to day lives, but the show had become their lives... While Kate seems to have taken to this new "job" I think Jon, down deep, was seeing real "reality"and regretting it... The premier show last night had the two now speaking to each other in terms of "I don't know if we can fix this" or "where our future is going", etc... yet they are both all about "I'm here for the kids", "the kids are our top priority"... and I'm thinking, "You stupid, stupid people... don't you KNOW that 10 and 20 years from now the kids aren't going to give a flying flip about the show or how or where they lived or how much money or fame they had because of the show??! They will care about their family... their PARENTS... they will care and be affected by whether or not the family stays in tact over this..." I don't care HOW amicable a couple thinks they are being in a split up... if kids are involved, they WILL be affected negatively... I think that was even in the closing lines of last nights show... about trying to remain friends for the sake of their kids... it doesn't matter... kids aren't stupid and they can read the writing on the wall... Kids want mom and dad together forever...

I found myself praying for this family as I went to sleep last night, and again this morning, as well as all families that are in turmoil right now... broken families really make me sad... and the kids are always the biggest casualty... And these eight particular children unfortunately have their families turmoil recorded for all of history... was it worth it?... Something I have heard before, and I'm not really sure who said it, but I believe it with all my heart:

"The greatest gift that a father/mother can give his child(ren) is to love their mother/father"... Jon and Kate seem like nice enough people, I really hope that they figure this out before it's too late... Life is not a TV show and sometimes it can get messy... That's when we have to close the door and hit the floor praying for His strength to help us through...

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!

In Local News...

There are some things that happen in life that really cause me to cry out and ask God, "WHY??!! What POSSIBLE "good" could come from this??!!"

A warning to those that choose to read this entire article. It is quite graphic... Please pray for this child, and his family... The image has haunted me since I first heard of it on the news... May God have MERCY...

Father Accused of Eating Child's Eyes Out

I've Said it Before and I'll Say it AGAIN, "Just BE Catholic!"

On Catholic Complacency in America....

"Some Catholics in both political parties are deeply troubled by these issues. But too many Catholics just don’t really care. That’s the truth of it. If they cared, our political environment would be different. If 65 million Catholics really cared about their faith and cared about what it teaches, neither political party could ignore what we believe about justice for the poor, or the homeless, or immigrants, or the unborn child. If 65 million American Catholics really understood their faith, we wouldn’t need to waste each other’s time arguing about whether the legalized killing of an unborn child is somehow ‘balanced out’ or excused by three other good social policies.We need to stop over-counting our numbers, our influence, our institutions and our resources, because they’re not real. We can’t talk about following St. Paul and converting our culture until we sober up and get honest about what we’ve allowed ourselves to become. We need to stop lying to each other, to ourselves and to God by claiming to ‘personally oppose’ some homicidal evil -- but then allowing it to be legal at the same time." --Archbishop Chaput

Fr. Weslin Arrested at Notre Dame

This brings tears to my eyes... If this doesn't cause you to recognize the Spiritual Battle that we are in and cause you to pick up your rosary to pray, I don't know what will...



h/t to WICatholic