Currently. {Vol. 1}

Hopefully, I will get back to the regular posting soon. We've been running off of our Labor Day weekend high

Starting the boys off early with a Catan lesson

We still have been going at it with the homeschooling. Though, we have had to change it up a bit. I'll tell you about soon. Week 4 before the trip (letter D / make Way for Ducklings FIAR) and Week 5 after trip (Letter E / Babar: To Duet or Not To Duet).

This guy wants to walk SO bad... And, I'm ok with him crawling just a tad bit longer.

He turned 10 months old on the 6th!!

I got Jason to search the attic and grab my boxes of Fall/Halloween items. Don't worry. Halloween won't go up until October 1st. But, all the Fall stuff is out!

We are working on a reward system... And, I'm not sure how it's going just yet. But, so far, the fact that Lightning McQueen and Mater are on these charts seems to make a small difference.

The Homily from the past Sunday's Mass really hit me hard... My brother, Brendan, signed the papers... He will be serving in the United States Army after graduation. And, while I am supportive of whatever any of my brothers do, this is just hard. I question his decision all time - at least I have since I found out 2 weeks ago... And, I question what is wrong with our world... And why it seems like God is doing nothing...

But, back to the Homily... Father Muller told us a story (pictured below) and I realized what it is that we need to do when we know nothing else that we can do: PRAY. Just pray... And, while yes, that doesn't seem like much to those that don't "get it" or are losing faith in all of this, we are reminded that when we are gathered in prayer God is there....

Love that kid. He is going to be an amazing soldier.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." ~ Matthew 18:20 (outdoor Catholic Mass, Vietnam circa 1966) source

Homeschool - Week 1 {The Journey Begins}

Well, we have complete 2 weeks of our homeschooling journey for the bigger boys. It's been interesting, fun, exciting, stressful. It has been pretty much the same mixture of feelings for all of us. Whether we had decided to continue to send them to preschool or do this homeschool deal, it's been the same. We are just working off of our schedule instead of someone else's. Which is nice in some ways. Of course, we have had a day or two in which I wondered if that shiny yellow school bus wouldn't mind taking these monkeys to the big kids school for...a field trip? Kidding. Kinda. (They will never ride the bus. I've already burst that bubble. I mean, come on. I rode the bus. I know what happens on a bus. And, these buses...the high school kids ride with the elementary kids. Um, no.)

So, before I share the start of this new school year, let's take a look back at the first day of school last year!

First day of PreK-3 - August  27, 2013

First day of PreK-4 - August 4, 2014

Look at that. Where did that big kids come from? The glasses are just awesome. We go in for a check-up in October to see what's next. He will be 5...FIVE YEARS OLD!!! next month. Gasp! He is such a bog boy... No longer wants anything to do with Thomas. He just wants real trains. Real tracks. He is loving his Legos and will sit at the kitchen table for HOURS building all sorts of things. And, this is killing me just a tad...he no longer can fit in anything that has a "T" at the end. Yep, we shop in the big boys department now. No more 5Ts...it's all XS and 4/5/6 for this guy. And those feet! Those shoes from last year's picture...Alex can't even wear those anymore. Just amazing how much they grow in a year, right?

First day of Mom's Day Out/PreK-2 - September 3, 2013

First day of PreK-3 - August 4, 2014

Yes. I know. This guy doesn't just think he is awesome. He knows he is awesome. He is hilarious. We still have the "terrible threes" days (because everyone know that the terrible twos is just a load of you know what...two was NOTHING compared to three. Especially with this one. Oh. Dear.), but mostly he is still my sweet little snugly guy. He talks nonstop. Wants to know everything about everything (Which I'm sure is all thanks to Sid the Science Kid - which is fine by me. Sometimes.).

Time for school!!


Curriculum: We are using Five in a Row (Volumes 1-3) and Twenty-Six Letters to Heaven (the link goes to another favorite blog that reviews this curriculum and sold me on it. Love Carrots for Michaelmas)

WEEK 1: How to See the World and Make Apple Pie / Letter A

This book was great! So much fun! We "saw the world" via the ever-awesome iPad and made our apple pie.

On the "beaches" of Jamaica having a French baguette and a crisp not-so-Vermonty apple!

Learning about Italy

Making our homemade apple pie - the recipe was from the story, too!

And that apple pie, my friends... That was think that made me realize that I have to have patience to homeschool because OH. MY. GOSH. The flour...oh, the flour... Yes, I knew it could get all over the place. And, it did. So, we also added in a lesson about science. As in, mommy's brain is going to explode all over this kitchen JUST like the flour if y'all don't cool it with the rolling pin. Good thing I had a little bit of Italy left in my fridge for later in the form of my favorite wine... It was fun overall, really. The boys learned about some amazing places and I learned that I need patience. Which I don't have. Can you buy it at Target??

For Twenty-Six Letters to Heaven, we learned about alligators (Which included...wait for it...a trip to the zoo! You had no idea, right?), made some "A" crafts, and did a little something for St. Anthony!

"A" is for alligator! Chomp-chomp!

Made the letter A out of cheerios...which starts with C...better luck next week! Haha!

Are you wondering where St. Anthony fits into the other than the fact that he is our letter A saint of the week?? So, here is the crazy story...

I had originally wanted to do both Saints Andrew and Alexander, but realized that being a mom there is ALWAYS something lost in this house - a forgotten action figure, a set of keys (or two), jump drives, name it... Something is always lost. Well, perfect. Let's learn about Saint Anthony and the little "prayer" that goes along with him:

Tony, Tony look around
Something's lost and can't be found

Maybe there is more to it than those few words, but that is all I know so that is what I taught them. And, really, if anything...it does give a little patience and calms one down enough to actually think where the lost item would be.

Only, I promise there is much more than that. At least for me - and now Jason believes it, too! He had lost his key to the van and some other item I can't think of right now. Well, I was helping him look every where for these things and I had not a clue. So, for kicks, I said the little diddy and suddenly I thought to look under the computer armoire... Why? I have no idea... But, jump back! BOTH ITEMS WERE THERE. Jason is just is complete shock and we are both laughing. Cracks me up still. Catholic "voodoo" what can I say? Kidding. Thank you, Saint Anthony.

Another thing that we did - almost completely accidental - for Saint Anthony was recommended by one of my favorite authors, Lisa  Hendey of CatholicMom.com. In her book, A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms, Saint Anthony was highlighted. For the activity she suggested baking a loaf of bread and bringing it to your favorite priest as a thank you for his service. Well, not only did we bake a load of banana-blueberry bread for him to take home, but we were able to have Father Jaya over for dinner! We have been working on a night that would work for him all year and we finally found a great weekend that worked out. And!! It just so happened to fall on this week! Crazy! Maybe this homeschooling thing is exactly what God's wants us to do right now. Interesting how things just work out like that, huh? The stories he shared with us are just absolutely amazing!! So, so glad that we were able to do this and get to know one of our favorite priests a little better.

Have you had a priest over for dinner? Or your pastor and their family over? I was nervous to begin with, but we had a great time! The stories he shared with us about India, his family back home, and his life as a priest are just absolutely amazing!! So, so glad that we were able to do this and get to know one of our favorite priests a little better.

Father Jaya and Andrew - winners of round 1 and 2 of Go Fish!

Don't worry! I didn't leave out the smallest one! Austin gets to play, play, play with everything he can get his hands on while we get our school work done. Luckily, I have a few tricks I pull out when I need him to be occupied. These magnet toys from Uncle Justin and Aunt Kate are his new favorite things to play with. He has figured out where I keep them, too (in the pantry behind him...). So he will actually go over there and bang on those doors for me to get them out. So funny. Love that little guy!

 

There you have it! The first week of our preschool homeschooling journey! Lots of changes going on here, but were are having fun and learning something new each day.

Austin's Baptism

On December 15th, Austin was Baptized! Here are a few pictures from that weekend that I wanted to share.

His little outfit for his special day! 

 Austin is Baptized! My parents are God Parents for a third time. I had to promise 4 of the 5 brothers that they could be sponsors when we get around to Confirmation. Too funny.

Father Jaya with the newest Catholic at OLS :)

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19

Here are a few other pictures from the weekend's fun:

My Dad playing trains with Andrew

4 of the 5 brothers - this cracks me up. I really wished that William (red shirt) had his leg crossed the other direction. Hilarious!

 And speaking of hilarious...this guy thinks he is just that. He is QUITE the morning person. Love that smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

House Update: 3 out of the 5 of us are under the weather with some obnoxious stomach bug. Fun. Fun. So, Mama is on 24/7 medic duty (on top of the 24/7 everything else duty lol). Blog posting will be mainly pictures until the beginning of the New Year. Enjoy! And, please say an extra prayer for this nasty bug to leave our house! Thanks!

Understanding the Bible {Toddler Style}

We just love Andrew's school! Not only do they TEACH (it is NOT a daycare, mother's day out, etc), but they also incorporate Bible stories. As it is the beginning of the year, they are starting with the story of Creation, naturally. Well, Andrew has been a Mr. Man (shocker) lately and was not into sharing his school day - until today.

While he is sharing his treasure box treat with Alex (ah, so so sweet! makes me smile every time!), I tried again to ask about his day and shared what Alex learned while he was gone. I asked about everything - coloring pages, shapes, etc. But when I got to, "Did you read any stories or books today?" This is how the convo continued:

Andrew: Um, no. Wait! Yes, we read Bible.

Me: (trying not to jump out of the drivers seat in excitement and calmly asking) Really? What story was it?

Andrew: Oh, Garden Den (aka Garden of Eden).

Me: Wow. What happened in the Garden? Who was there?

Andrew: People, bad snake, trees and apples.

Me: A bad snake? What did he do bad?

Andrew: Girl touched the apples and dat baaaaaaad. (enter angry face by Andrew) God dead.

Um what? Ok, I know that this school is Church of God and we are Catholic, but I KNOW that these stories are the same, people. But, let me continue and explain.

Me: What? Honey, God can't die. He is everywhere. (at this point we are home now and I go get their Bible.) Andrew come here a second (he's my big boy and ran to the potty!!! Hey, I'm a mom and I can SO say that in a post! LOL)

We sit down (before getting anything else started to figure out what he is really trying to say and correct it) and look at the picture. By the way, this is the Bible they have:

My Take-Along Bible

Alex's Baptism gift from Rachel (and family!!) :)

Me: Andrew, is this the story? (showing him the Garden pages) And what do we see on the pages? What's happening here?

Andrew: That Garden Den. Those people went to the tree and it was baaaaaaaad, Mommy!!!(he was rather annoyed I was not getting it...I mean we had the facial expressions, hands flying, etc.). Bad bad and God died!!!

WHAT?! What is he really trying to tell me????

So then I go get my Bible. I tell him that all Bibles look different on the outside, but they say the same thing pretty much. So he and Alex are both sitting with me on the floor and we are reading the story of the Garden of Eden (i.e. Paradise and the test of free will). So, we are reading it and - DUH! - I figure out what he means and which I should have known. However, someone saying "God died" kinda threw me off a bit...Here's where I finally got what my almost 3 year old was trying to tell me:

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for, the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die." Gn 2:17, NJV

At this point, Andrew says...ok, yells, "See? Dead!"

Wow.

So, we sit for a minute more while I explain carefully that it is not God that dies. It is people. They did a bad thing by not listening and now they are doomed. I told him that it was ok though, because God send us his Son, Jesus, to help us out. Short, sweet to the point for now.

He was glad I got it (and that I corrected it) and said, "Yes, people die. Can I have ham cheese crackers now?"

Called to Witness

FOR ANYONE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH OF EVERY DENOMINATION, PLEASE VIEW THIS MESSAGE. 

Know the candidates before you reach the polls. Know your faith. Know that somethings are much more important that the cost of gas.

 Know the candidates before you reach the polls. Know your faith. Know that somethings are much more important that the cost of gas.

Please make the right choice this November. Protect the gift of life, protect the gift of marriage, and
PROTECT OUR FREEDOM!

*this video was shared by Catholic Mom*

A Little Bit of ME Time Goes a Long Way

For the past few weeks, I have started a new routine for myself - waking up at the crack of dawn. Well, I wake up at 5:45 am, so it is just before/right at dawn these days. It was extremely hard the first few days. I had to make myself get off the computer at 9pm telling myself I have to finish that book. Of course, Life of Pi, was an exciting book, so I had to make myself stop reading by 10pm - giving me enough time to get myself in bed by 10:30. Done! I'm now on a great sleep schedule (when I can fall asleep, that is.)

I'm excited to wake up because the morning is so wonderful. It is a different quiet than "nap time quiet." Everyone is still asleep, including our dog. Yes, I LOVE our children and my husband, of course. But, I would love to not be summoned for a moment, you know? I would love to have a peaceful way to start the day instead of rushing people to eat their breakfast to get out the door (or whatever it is that the day calls for that morning). It has been so wonderful.

via

Here's my morning:

5:45 am Wake and make a lovely cup of coffee! Sometimes, if I'm lucky TWO CUPS!


While sipping on my coffee, I'm reading a chapter or two of whichever Gospel I'm working on - currently, I'm almost finished with Mark. This is part of my "game changer." (See post here about how Catholics can change the way we are viewed by Catholics and non-Catholics in the modern world. It is quite interesting what I have found out these past few months about what other denominations think about us. Why, I have no clue... But that is another post for another time.)


 
Now that I have time to start my day with God instead of the stresses of motherhood, I can actually think better. Seriously.

If I have time, I catch up on a few emails/blogs.

I get breakfast ready and start the waking of the house LOL

Jason's up by 7-ish and the boys are getting dressed.

I'm dressed and have a clean house. WOW! (I do that the night before - just pick up here and there)

This is only Wednesday, I know. But, this has been the best week ever! I haven't yelled at anyone (except when it's across the house - gotta work on that still) and I am FINALLY starting the process of getting OFF the anti-depressants (No more happy pills?!  What's this all about? see post here).

If you are a mom (or even someone who is under a lot of stress for whatever reason), consider getting up before everyone else. I have NEVER been a morning person - until now. Jason learned over the years to not mess with me if I am sleeping. LOL, I get really annoyed when I'm woken up. Ok, I used to. No, I still do - I think. Not sure really. It's been a while since anyone has woken me up in the middle of the night. And, no. I was never annoyed with the children for waking me - I knew that was going to happen. I mean, the unexpected waking up in the middle of the night stuff. That's annoying.

Anyway, I have learned through this routine change that:

A) I actually get better sleep
B) I get to enjoy 1 full cup of coffee without having to microwave it for even a second.
C) I get to start my day off with God.

Good things, people. Good things.

Where/how do you enjoy your "me time" during the day?

The Brothers in Black

Meet the Brothers In Black. These two are so great! I found about them through Catholic Mom. Thanks!

How great is that? LOL If you aren't Catholic and/or don't really understand the whole "confession thing," then read my post on my recent experience here. Good stuff.

Confession = Free Therapy

I will continue to say this again and again. I am PROUD to be a Catholic. I LOVE being a Catholic.

But...I am not a very good one at times...

Confession is one of those sacraments that some Catholics, like me, have not fully appreciated until they realize how bad they needed it. Father Alex Steinmiller has been a guest priest at our Church for most of this week (promoting the mission of spreading the word of God's love through the Passion), and last night was the Penance Mass. I knew I needed to do this...

Side note: My confession... I have not been since...a few days before our wedding. That was a bit over 4 1/2  years ago. I would say I'm overdue, wouldn't you?

I know that many of my/our friends/family are not Catholic and do not quite understand this whole thing. Back to Fr. Steinmiller... he asked/answered the question why many Catholics no longer go... Why do we need to tell a priest what we did wrong? Why can't we just tell God in our prayers? You can still do that, yes... But, going back to a looooong time ago, Jesus has disciples...they were his followers, his students. They wanted to learn how to become like their great teacher. Today, we have priests - they are acting as Christ, just as the disciples. So, when you are going to confession, you aren't telling your priest all your sins...you are telling God. And, what really helped me was the next part that Fr. Steinmiller said, not only are well telling God how sorry we are but we are also telling the people that we may have hurt that we are sorry, too, or that we finally have let go or the anger, or whatever it is that you needed to tell someone but weren't able to do so for whatever reason.

Anyway, I went to the Penance Mass last night. There were 8 priests and a lot of people. I was nervous, too. But, with all that Fr. Steinmiller had said, I calmed down a bit...

This is where this is going get difficult. Those of you who read the blog always see the happiness and love and such within our family. We are very happy. We love each member very much, even our furbaby, Max. But, the past 8 months have been a very rocky road. Are you counting backwards yet? Yes, that puts us at April...when Alex was born. Alex is wonderful and he is amazing! And seeing Andy and Alex growing up and becoming best friends day by day...there are no words. I just love it.

However, there were MANY things that I should have done much differently. That WE should have done differently. WE as in Jason and I. Until Andy started going to Growing with God, there were days when I just didn't see the point of going to Mass. Recently, as we were getting Christmas decorations up, I didn't even feel like doing any of it. Not good feeling to have during the Christmas season, I know... But there was so much pain and seemingly unanswered prayers, that I didn't know what to do about anything anymore.

1. I couldn't breastfeed Alex
2. There was a tornado that, thankfully, didn't destroy our home, but left me feeling helpless to others (since I was allowed to due to just having a baby via c-section)
3. Unnecessary/unappreciated stress from others
4. I felt like we were making Andy grow up too fast
5. I felt like I couldn't do the same things I did with Alex that I did with Andy

The list goes on much longer...

I am on antidepressants, too. Did I mention that? Probably not. Like I've told my closest friends, I cannot talk about Alex's birth - how sad is that? That is probably why there are only pictures instead of words. Probably why I got Jason to post them instead of me. Who knows?

Finally I finish my confession. And never have I ever left confession in tears. But they were tears of happiness, I think (it's been a while so I'm not sure...). They weren't sad tears, I know. I felt better after talking to my priest. Telling him everything. Pouring it out. Realizing what it was that I was trying to find again.

I was told to say 1 Our Father as my penance. I remember, maybe about a month ago, that our priest said that every time we pray the Our Father, God hears us immediately. Yes, He always listens, but with this prayer He knows that were are much need of His help ASAP. I was also told to read Corinthians 13 when I got home. He also told me that God wants us to be happy. He enjoys our smiles and our laughter.

I did both. This morning, I woke up happier than I have been in a long time.



**Linking up with A Life-Size Catholic Blog**

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!

We headed out for early Mass this morning so we could get to a party afterwards. A birthday party! A birthday party for Baby Jesus. How cute! I love that our church does this. During the 8:30 Mass, we have the Children's Liturgy. If you aren't familiar with this idea, it is a great program for children of all ages (typically beginning around 3 or 4 years old and to about 2nd grade). After the opening prayers, just before the first reading begins, the priest calls all children up to the Altar, then the children head out together to the Vestibule to listen to their version of the readings, do a craft, ask questions, etc. It is great! We have not had Andy start this just yet, but maybe next year. We will see.

Anyway, this week, after Mass the children who attend this program (and other Sunday school programs within the church, I believe) put on a Nativity play. It was so cute! I wish I had gotten a picture of the little "sheep" - they were so cute! The children playing the sheep wore all black and a white tee that had cotton balls all over it! Love it!

Now, you are probably wondering where the "birthday party" comes into play here... Well, remember Day 17 of Advent? Well, it turns out that Andy did pick out a lovie and a blanket (sort of) for the baby. See, at the birthday party, the gifts that were brought were all donated to Her Choice - a women's center to help those with unplanned pregnancies (like Mary) who refuse abortion. The table of gifts was overflowing! I wish I gotten a pic of this, too! It was wonderful to see! Every child/family that came in had a gift in hand.


Here is what Andy picked out to give to Baby Jesus - the duck is from him and the wearable blanket is from Alex he said :)

Just a few words before closing this post... 

Please, please. If you (or someone you know) are pregnant and are thinking about an abortion, please know and understand the consequences. Abortion is WRONG! There are so many families out there who are unable to have children. Families who pray and plead and beg for a child. Being a mother is hard, but I would not trade it for anything. 

Her Choice Birmingham

2120 7th Avenue South
Birmingham, AL 35233
Phone: (205) 252-0706 






Disclaimer:  This post is not sponsored or affiliated in anyway with Her Choice. The thoughts and feelings expressed about abortion are my own.

Feast of St. Nicholas - December 6th

We "celebrated" the Feast of St. Nicholas. I saw this post on Catholic Mothers Online and loved it! I loved that (when the boys are a bit bigger to understand more) we can learn about St. Nicholas and the story of Santa Claus and - get ready for this moms - we can lessen the chaos of Christmas morning! HA! See, on the Feast of St. Nicholas, we see what has been left in our stockings. Ah, ha!

A little info from Catholic Mothers Online:

Christmas Stockings

The beginnings of Christmas stockings came from one of the stories about St. Nicholas.  As the story goes, he heard of 3 maidens whose father could not afford a dowry.  In order to keep them from being sold into slavery, he threw money for their dowry into the window which landed in their stockings.

You can read more about the stories behind the other fun Christmas traditions here, such as candy canes, chocolate gold coins, and oranges. 

What we did:

We hung up our stockings when we set out all of our other decorations. After dinner on the 6th, while I still had every sitting at the table finishing up (those 2 little guys are ALWAYS on the move!), I read a little story about St. Nicholas. Of course, I chopped up the story. I do have a 2 year old and an 8 month old - what else can you do? I told them about a family who didn't have enough money to have a party for their children. So, when it was night time and everyone was asleep, a nice man from church Nicholas threw some gold coins in their windows. (almost the same - next year I'll change it up again to make it more like the story above in red ) Andrew thought that was pretty cool. He said, "Money!" LOL

Once the story, was over I grabbed the stockings (which were filled during nap time - by the way, since they were already up...it wasn't something NEW and EXCITING to mess with. So, Andrew never even noticed) and brought them to the table. Andrew and Alex were both smiling! It was so cute! Jason was smiling, too - I guess he didn't realize we were opening our stockings! Surprises for everyone! 

Every one got chocolate gold coins and a few small presents. 

Jason's stocking - Gold coins and A&W Root Beer Jelly Beans

Andrew's stocking - Gold coins, Christmas book "5 Little Christmas Trees", a mini Santa snow globe, and his ornament for this year (picture below)

Alex's stocking - Gold coins (no, he didn't eat them. but he liked shaking them in the little bag they came in - picture at beginning), Christmas book "Hello Santa", and his ornament for this year (picture below)

My stocking - That's right, Mama needs a prize, too! Oh, what's that? Dark Hot Chocolate K-Cups?! St. Nicholas is awesome. ;) Kidding...I didn't put those in my stocking. Alex has my gold coins actually. But I did get the k-cups! 

For more stocking-stuffer ideas for the little ones, you can read my post from last year. Do you have any special stocking traditions?

We Are Catholic

I saw a wonderful video on "O Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New" that I wanted to share with you. The description reads:

We Are Catholic.
It isn't something we 'do', it is who WE ARE.
We are something positive, wonderful, and special.
We are loyal to the Church, to the Pope, our tradition, and our God.


Hopefully this video will do its small part in leading you towards the truth of the One True Faith. I pray that it gives you hope and fills you with joy. Please share it or use it for educational and evangelization purposes!

Enjoy!

Growing with God

Andy had his 1st day of Sunday School yesterday! And he gave us the sweetest coloring page and letter!

The letter reads:

Dear Mommy & Daddy, 

I cant wait to go to Sunday School!! I have so much fun singing, playing, and learning about God with my teachers and friends.

Did you know that God made me? And, I am special!!  God made angels, apples, monkeys, and a man named Zacchaeus, too. God even made mommies and daddies. No wonder you are so special! God made everything from A to Z!

Please take me to Sunday School so I can learn about more things God made. Is it Sunday yet?

I love you!

Your special,

ME!

How cute is that!? He loved it! He enjoyed playing and coloring. His teacher even told me that he was a big helper! Love it! We are so proud of him!

Beyond Belief - My Apologies

Note: I am very upset of the poor portrayal of Catholics (and others that believe in Mary similar to us) on ABC's Primetime Nightline Beyond Belief episode. The show did have a few good and well-known stories, at least. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone in any way. However, I feel that when my faith is made out to be a joke, then something(s) do need to be said.

Yesterday, I wrote a post about ABC's Primetime Nightline Special on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Well, never again will ANYTHING be posted about ABC by me! There are a few things that I would like to point out.

Their first story was about the visitation at Caritas of Birmingham. I ran at the commercial break to see where this place was as I have never heard of it (and apparently is quite close to us). No story of it or anything. NOTHING. But I did find out 2 interesting facts about Caritas:

1) The Diocese of Birmingham has warned its members to STAY AWAY and THEY DO NOT SUPPORT Caritas. Mother Angelica of EWTN also warns to keep away.



2.) A Bigger Issue: There is NO ecclesiastical evidence!! Mass has even been forbidden to be celebrated there.

Despite that upset, there were some wonderful stories of inspiration and miracles that were sprinkled in here and there. But, it was ruined it by making us Catholics (and other believers in Mary) out to be completely crazy. That is how I felt after watching this show. I was so very excited that something was airing about Mary. I will only say this about Bill Weir - how he got a career in journalism is beyond me. I was embarrassed for him as he asked one woman towards the end of the show if Mary tells jokes when she appears to her. Really, Bill? MARY IS THE MOTHER OF GOD. I am pretty sure she has much more important things on her plate than becoming the next host of SNL.

Finally, a few words on Mary: Please go here for a simpler version of the Catholic teachings of Mary. We do NOT worship her. I have heard that just one too many times and that seriously needs to be corrected. We pray to her. We hold her in high respects because she is the Mother of God. And, we do believe in the Holy Immaculate Conception. Yes, she was born without sin because God made it so. Those that really are against that belief... I'm sorry, I thought that God can do anything. If He wants to have His Son's mother be absolutely perfect in every way, then that's how it was to be. Ugh, I really dislike getting into these religious discussions, but when you attack my faith then it becomes necessary.

Primetime Nightline Special: Miraculous Mysteries

Note: I cannot take credit for this information. My mom told me that this was going to be on. Thanks, Mom!!

Tomorrow night, you will have to tune into to ABC's Primetime Nightline: Beyond Belief Series for a special on visitation and miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It will air at 9 pm CST.

Video courtesy of ABC News

I'm linking up with Holly at A life-Size Catholic Blog for this week's Pay it Forward :)

Happy Sunday!

Saw this posted on the Community for Catholic Bloggers. What a great way to start your Sunday!

Are you kidding me?

Have we been living under a rock?! I'm am disgusted and appalled by what I just read over at Happy Catholic. And this Catholic family is now far from happy... Oh my gosh! What is wrong with this world?

So, apparently PepsiCo, Nestle, and Kraft products all uses cells from aborted fetuses to produce taste receptors. Yes, they are only used for testing (they aren't in the foods)...but still! Gross!

I just told my husband about this and we both have a look of complete disgust on our faces. So, we are now boycotting! I think I may be writing some letters this week, too.

If you want to read more about this, check out Happy Catholic's posts. She also has a great PDF file of the loooong list of products to stay away from.

The Word Among Us

So, I found a great Catholic blog the other week and have become an active follower quite quickly. Holly, over at A Life-Size Catholic Blog, has a post party going on today that emphasizes some good things that we have come across that should be shared.





Well, two Sundays ago at Mass, they had these booklets out to pick up on your way out. It is called, "The Word Among Us" and it is basically a monthly publication that is filled with great articles on strengthening your Catholic faith and daily meditations. Since, picking this magazine up that morning, I have read the chosen Scriptures and have prayed every day. This is something that I have not done in a LONG time. I have even prayed the Rosary a few nights so far.

It had helped A LOT! And, honestly, (for those that don't personally know me), I have been under an unbelievable amount of stress since the week before Alex was born. So much, in fact, I am now taking medication to help me out. It's is so hard to be a mother, but I need to be the best I can be, right? Well, I am a definite believer in the power of prayer now. I really did not want to call the doc and ask for help. I am a first-born... You know...we think we know everything and we are crazy independent. Ha, not so much... Anyway, the point of that blurb just now was that there was an article about how to hear the Holy Spirit. Well, I prayed last week for help.... Suddenly, I found myself calling Rachel, and she really helped me to understand that it really is ok to get help and that I need to just do it already. Next thing I know, I am calling the doctor.

So, if you are looking for help to strengthen your Catholic faith or just want a good read, this magazine is great! I don't know if this is something they hand out every month at Mass, but I'm definitely going to get a subscription.

Alex's Baptism

Sunday was Alex's Baptism :) I just wanted to share the pictures from the ceremony. I just love our Church - it is so pretty!! Father Muller preformed the ceremony. He is such a great priest. We are so happy to be a part of Our Lady of Sorrows!

Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ~ Luke 18:16

Waiting for Snow, I think.

If you were looking for Day 6 of the Bowl Full of Lemons Challenge...ugh...my dresser didn't come today :( So, organizing the dresser for the boys' room is not able to be posted yet... Hopefully, Mr. UPS Man will come tomorrow... That closet of death is killing me.... You have no idea what lurks in Andrew's closet right now. No idea.

In the meantime...

After nap time this afternoon, Andrew and I work on a little winter picture. Snowy Hand Trees!

Yes, those are my little boy's hands. They are so much bigger than they were at Thanksgiving when he did a turkey (click here to see it). Wanna do this with your child? Grab some paper, a glue stick, and some paint. That is all you need! Oh, and you will need the Wet Ones, too!

While we were doing this little project, I told him about how we might get some snow. So, he had to check that out as soon as we were done.

But, then he saw some birds came to visit our bird feeder (finally! I've only had the thing filled for 2 weeks...).

 Uh-oh. He realized I was taking pictures. Can't you tell he is totally saying, "Moooom....no more." Haha. Nope, not ever, little man.

And check this out, just before I got him up from his nap, I got the mail. He got his first book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. AND! It's his Daddy's favorite. AND! It's about a train! Score!

Also, just so you know...we've had a bit of a late start on a few of our resolutions... But here is the beginning of the recycling. We are going to do paper and coke cans to start. Once we have a habit of doing this, then we will add in glass and #1/#2 plastics. Since, we aren't sure how well our attempt at this is going to be (since AL sucks and is sooooo far behind the rest of the world in recycling - and other things -don't get me going...it may be another post....) Our "recycling station" is done very cheap with Publix reusable bags. The top is for paper and the bottom is for cans.

As for our other resolutions, it's been going well for most of them. The "taking Andrew to Mass" thing has yet to start. But next week is a new week! We can do it!

How are you resolutions going?