The Lovey Award

My new friend Lana, at Knit and Pray has given me the Lovey Award : ) thank you so much! And now that I have received this wonderful gift, it is my job to pass it on... So here's the rules:

The Lovey Award:
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find
and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that
when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.
Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight
bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into
the body of their award.”

So, without further ado, here are a few of my favorite blog friends:

WICatholic Musings
Sarah's Journal
The Exspresso Catholic Mom
Linda at Don't Poke the Baby
Suzi the Catholic Yankee in Texas
Rebecca the Catholic in Film School
JP the Catholic Canuk and
Melissa the Almost Catholic Momma

BIG Surprise Here...

I had caught a blurb at Fr. Z's yesterday that some were trying to get the recent pro-life commercial from CatholicVote.com aired during the Superbowl. How COOL THAT would be, huh?... anyway, apparently they DID try and, well, as we might have guessed....

It's Not About Me Anymore...

Something that I have been told, thought about, and have heard time and again and even repeated... When you have children, it's not about YOU anymore. Many anti-lifers will refer to those who have children as being selfish by putting so much strain on the environment etc... whatever... The truth is, when you have children it is hard to remain selfish. Children require that you give them pretty much every part of your time, attention and being in order to remain happy, healthy and alive...


Sometimes I find myself in a fog, or a funk... wondering where am I?... WHO am I?... I have been lost in the sea of "wife and mother"... But Jesus gave/gives me EVERYTHING in order to be reconciled with His Father and have salvation. In like fashion, Mary, His mother, OUR mother did for him and then GAVE Him (EVERYTHING she had) BACK to God her Father, in order for her spiritual children (that's us!) to be reconciled and have Salvation... It's not about me, anymore...

Such a contrast to societies thinking of today... I ran in to an old acquaintance at the grocery store a couple of nights ago... I say acquaintance... He is actually someone that I had butted heads with on more than one occasion... But, I hadn't seen or spoken with him in probably 6 years or more and simply smiled, and said "hi! how are you?" He, apparently wasn't as happy to see me, from the startled look on his face : ) Anyway! He managed a smile and shook my hand with a forced something about "letting bygones be bygones" and "time heals all wounds" before he asked if I was working, to which I said that I stay at home with our now 5 kids..." It was kind of funny how his face fell... then he stumbled out, "oh....... good?..." to which I laughed and said, "yes. It's good!" He said, "Well, then, good for you... if you say so... better you than me...." : ) But his reaction is SOCIETY'S typical reaction!!

By society's standards, our family of 5 plus two parents is a BIG family, even though there are some that have more, including the Duggers, they are far and few between... Just last night in my daughters First Communion CCD class I was speaking with another mom who has two boys telling another gal that she is past 30 and doesn't want any more children. I laughed when I said I was 43 and just had #5. She shook her head and said, "nope. no more for me... two's enough..." I tried to explain that two WAS hard, but three and four were no big deal... you have your mothering routine down pretty good by then... : )

How corrupt society has become when children are no longer seen as a blessing but a burden... and it's not this particular gal's fault, really... not completely... she is only repeating what she's heard, even, sadly, from a lot of Catholics... "2's enough, 3 is pushing it... global warming, hug a tree, kiss your dog but those kids... those kids you need to keep under control and if that means controlling how many, well... we have a WHOLE PLETHORA of solutions for you!! We got your pills, we got your devices of various sorts, we got your creams and concoctions, we got your abortion on demand, we got your tubal ligation's and vasectomies! What's your pleasure ?..." are you KIDDING me?! What's pleasurable about trying to fix something that ain't broke?! Fertility is NOT bad in any other sense... What would a tree-hugger do with in-fertile ground? or the animal lovers do with in-fertile animals?... What would we eat? or wear? or sleep on?... Yet if we continue to wipe out our own kind, our own species, be it through abortion or pills or contraceptives a-plenty, what or who are we saving the planet for?...

THIS is the backward thinking of our world today... A world where environment is placed at a higher place of importance than a person.... Where we are asked to "change the world" and "make it a better place" by exterminating ourselves.... Think it won't happen?... In the first few days of our New Presidency our Commander in Chief, under the cover of darkness has already rescinded the Mexico City Policy, forcing taxpayers to pay for that which many find morally abhorrent. Our country's House Speaker is saying that contraception is the answer to our current economy crisis... and NOW President Obama is looking forward to restoring financial support to the UN Population Fund. The latest is the scariest so far, when you consider that there are actually countries that exist in this world where women are FORCED to not only abort but to have contraceptive devices inserted against their will in order to control population growth... all funded through the "UN Population Fund".... again, our tax dollars at work...

God help us... I'm 43 years old and my child bearing years are coming to a close... but what about my daughters? What about YOUR daughters?... What is the future of their families?... What happens when they are not only told that they can have no more than one or two children but when they can have them? what happens when contraception gets SO out of hand (I know... like it hasn't already...) that infertility is the norm?... The inventor of The Pill is regretful now, when will the rest of the world wake up? We have to be willing to do what we can NOW giving EVERYTHING we can in order to make a safer world for their future.... It's just not about us anymore...

Who'da Thunk?...

It was a year ago, January 25, that I, encouraged by friends, decided to start my own blog... gosh it's been fun! : ) Not to mention therapeutic, in many ways... And I see that today I passed the 4000 mark on my blog counter! Who'da thunk? That this 43 year old stay-at-home-homeschooling mommy of 5 would ever have her life be of interest to others around the globe, that many times??.. From Sri Lanka, to Japan, the Philippines, Germany, India, Ireland, England, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and across this nation from coast to coast... It's been a great ride! Thanks for joining me! Please come, again! : )

Fireproof is out Today!

If you're like me and getting out to the movies is a rare event... Fireproof is one movie I have been anxiously awaiting release on DVD. Hubby pre-purchased it at our local Christian bookstore before Christmas and will go pick it up on his way home from work! I'm so excited! It's been so cold out today, it will be a good evening to just curl up and watch a good movie together : )

That Anaheim "Religious Education" Congress, again...

It's THAT time of year again! Begining February 26, to be exact.... Now if there is anything that I am "thankful" for, as far as this conference is concerned, I'm thankful that it is no longer called the Catholic Religious Education Conference... They have long since dropped the "Catholic", thank you, Jesus, for small favors...

And returning again for this years line up is Richard Rohr... yippee... Apparently he still considers himself a Catholic priest, though I don't see why ...? I suppose even after Roger Cardinal Mahoney is no longer around, the conference will continue... it seems to have gathered a life of it's own... like a festering wound... The descriptions in the article are nothing short of spot on and have been this way for years.... I haven't personally attended a conference myself in 13 years and the leotard wearing, gyrating dancers were there, then. Not to mention the talks by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, discussing everything from A to Zen... The last year that my husband and I went, I remember struggling through the conference handbook trying to decipher some actual "Catholic" speakers that wouldn't be completely heretical...

The really frustrating part for me is HOW MUCH this conference is STILL encouraged by our own local clergy, as three of the larger parishes in town still send their catechists to Anaheim in droves to "refuel" with "spirituality".... It's kind of funny, really, when one will come up to me literally "gushing" about their "wonderful" experiences at the weekend and my husband and kids run and duck for cover! lol!! They KNOW what's comin'! : )

Jack-Catholic, Case In Point...

Pelosi: Birth control will boost economy Argues fewer people stimulates economy by cutting cost to state, federal government

When are some of these politicians going to be willing to take a cut in their own pay to help the economy?... No, I suppose that's up to the mid and lower class people to stop having so many children!

Nancy could only HELP herself by taking some time to learn and know her own Catholic faith... Too many children aren't the problem... God really did have the perfect plan in mind when He told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply".... Who is going to be around to support future aging generations? But, then, I guess that's where euthanasia comes in... giving "peaceful death" to those who are no longer "productive"... such a slippery slope....

Will These People EVER Get It?..

Have the Catholics in America reached a NEW low?... That they are actually giving STANDING OVATIONS for the then soon-to-be Vice President after receiving HOLY Communion??!! When a parish becomes more focused on who is receiving communion rather that WHO they are RECEIVING, me thinks that some MAJOR catechising needs to be going on... It's so very sad... It's no wonder that jack-Catholics in politics are so confused, and continue to spread their confusion at epidemic proportions... God help us...

Washington D.C. March for Life 2009

Here are some pictures that I borrowed from my friend and editor, Sarah, who made it to the March for Life this last Thursday. Feeling disappointed in the SEVERE LACK of media coverage AGAIN this year, she was more than happy to allow me to share these here. Her comments from the event were on the tens of thousands of people, including Italy, France and Germany making their presence known.... Lastly, she was able to catch a glimpse and a picture of our mutual friend and author Jane Brennan, part of the Silent No More group, as she spoke in front of the Supreme Courthouse after her first attendance to the March of Life in Washington D.C.

I think most of the pictures speak for themselves, so I'll leave it at that. Enjoy!

A Giant of a Man - Nick Vujicic

People such as this are wonderful reminders that we should NEVER give up or lose hope! God is good, and it is our job to find Him wherever we are in life and introduce Him to others so that they too can be inspired and have hope...

Reason Number 4,984,974 Why I Homeschool...

And if you DON'T homeschool, be sure to check your child's homework BEFORE they turn it in! : )

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever
been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how
hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out
every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that
several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture
doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling
the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check
her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in. Sincerely,Mrs. Smith

In The Cover of Darkness...

WHY do you suppose that the man that has been BASKING in the media spot light... and the media predictably pursuing his every move from sun up to sun down... WHY do you suppose that he signed The Mexico City Policy "quietly and without coverage by the media"...? Did he think we wouldn't find out?... Or do you think he's just trying to block out that small spark of a conscience that he may still have....?

While 100's of Thousands March for Life....

Obama "Celebrates" death.... Oh, he doesn't word it that way, but in his statement he reaffirms his "commitment" to "protecting a woman's right to choose...." death of their pre-born baby... to quote a statement that I heard over the airwaves from the crowd more than once yesterday during the ProLife March aired on EWTN, "President Obama, you can thank your mother that SHE was pro-life...."

He sounds no different than the abortion rhetoric that comes from the mouths of the usual suspects... Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Diane Feinstien, Barbara Boxer, etc... all in the name of "health" and "freedom".... They believe that it's a woman's "right" that she should have the "freedom" to terminate the life and "health" of her unborn baby....

How many KNOW that Norma McCorvey, better known as "Jane Roe" of Roe -v- Wade, NEVER had an abortion?... and how many know that NOW she works tirelessly on the side of Life? Now, how many actually know a woman/victim of abortion, still working in that industry, that is HAPPY with her life now and encouraging others to do the same?... My point is, is that woman who actually have had abortions are either "A" coming out in droves speaking the TRUTH to what happens, and how they FEEL after an abortion encouraging others to choose life and consider other alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, or support to those who would rather keep their baby, or "B" dying little by little on the inside with the realization of what has been done... acting out in anger, violence, drug and alcohol use, depression, etc...

I think our Nation is in for a wild ride... The ban on stem cell research has now been lifted... is this supposed to justify the "need" for abortions?... There will continue to be millions of silent screams increasing in number with a swipe of his pen... President Obama, will you or any of your cabinet hear them?... I'm not too hopeful... The media will continue to ignore the numbers and turning their backs on the HUGE 'pink elephant" in the room, insisting instead to continue to report on that which is more important (to them), like how many times President Obama used the bathroom today... *sigh*

As a Christian I know I must certainly pray, AND hope... it will be a L O N G four years...

How God Brings Good from Bad...

I have been watching/listening to the March for Life in our Nations Capital all morning on EWTN. The actual March started over an hour ago and there seems to be no end to the sea of people that have gathered to show solidarity for the Culture of Life... What a site! I have to admit that I was watching initially to see if I could catch a glimpse of my friend and author of Motherhood Interrupted Janie Brennan with the Silent No More group... No such luck, but gosh, I am just OVERWHELMED with the numbers of people marching! HOW CAN THE SECULAR MEDIA NOT COVER THIS?? They just don't want to hear/see... How BLIND they are... I believe that the election of Barak Obama and knowing his stance on abortion, has only bolstered the confidence of the pro-life movement to work all the harder to make their voices heard. Rumor has it that this is the largest turn out ever, for the annual D.C event. President Obama, are you listening?... The people that you promised to serve and protect are crying out from their mothers wombs...

Eternal Father, for the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have Mercy on us and on the WHOLE world... Amen...

Followers of Christ and F.O.C.A.

A podcast by Fr. James Searby that should not be missed! This is his homily from this last Sunday's Mass. God Bless Fr. Searby and may his efforts prove fruitful! We live in scary times... and if you're not really sure HOW scary or WHAT exactly F.O.C.A. is all about, have a listen... it is SO worth the 10 or so minutes of your time... Our world could use MORE priests such as this...

Followers of Christ and F.O.C.A.