Homeschooling With Joy

7 Quick Takes January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T05:00:00.003-06:00

--- 1 ---

As much as I dislike looking at this red blob of stuff moving around in a clear tube, I found myself mesmerized by it while we were praying our rosary the other night. It was a great thing to focus on while trying to meditate on the mysteries...and believe me, I need all the help I can get.

--- 2 ---

I can't believe that I am already contemplating things to do during and give up for Lent. There's that kind of love/hate relationship I have with Lent. While I can't say I look forward to extra sacrifices, it does give that extra motivation I need to stick with something. So far we're considering taking on something in the dietary realm which would be quite a challenge for most of us. It's something called "clean eating". Even the sound of it makes my skin crawl.

--- 3 ---

On the same note - I also found the thought of fresh strawberry paczki's smothered in whip cream running through my mind the other day.

Only 25 more days until I can get one!

--- 4 ---

In case you didn't get a chance to see the trailer for our upcoming production of "The Seven Last Words of Christ", you can go here to take a look at it. Even if you don't live in our area, the pictures are mesmerizing, so it is worth six minutes of your day! We'd love to spread the word, too, so feel free to share it with others who you think would appreciate good, Catholic theater.

--- 5 ---

One of my favorite movies and one of my new favorite songs. We've been playing this over and over again...it, too, is very captivating!

--- 6 ---

Doesn't this picture remind you of something out of the 40s (or some earlier time era)? This is a photo from our Father Daughter Ball a few weeks ago. I'm finally getting all of the pictures processed and this one just keeps jumping out at me. Ah, the beauty of innocence.

--- 7 ---

I'm contemplating running a series during Lent here on my blog that would be connected with my book "A Plan for Joy in the Home". I haven't developed it fully yet, but I'd like to take a day a week discussing each of the chapters. This way, if you have the book, you can work along with me and emerge at Easter time a much more organized person. Sound good? I know...that love/hate thing again. You'd love to be more organized and have a plan for your day, but you hate the thought of working to get that way. Well, maybe the "pressure" of Lent and some guidance are what you need. If you'd like to participate, you can go here to get the book in time to begin. Remember...only 26 more days till Ash Wednesday!

Have a great weekend.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

The Seven Last Words of Christ - a Trailer...

2012-01-25T07:00:00.003-06:00

We just got the finished trailer today and I couldn't wait to show it to y'all. I know that most of you don't live in the Chicagoland area, but this video is still worth a watch. The images give you a great sense of the profoundness of this production.

My family is privileged to be a part of this performance. This year we will have my husband and four of our girls performing and our oldest daughter and oldest son singing in the choir. It is such an incredible way to meditate on the Passion of Christ that I wish all of you could see it. For now, however, you'll just have to be content with watching this video:)

If perchance you do live in the area, drop me a comment...I'd be happy to tell you when the three performances will be and get you tickets, too.

If you like what you see and you'd like to help support these performances you can make a donation here.

Two Powerful Days

2012-01-24T08:16:00.001-06:00

I have to say that I rather enjoyed the split between the actual Roe v Wade day on the 22nd and the day that everything took place on the 23rd. Since Ms 16 yo's birthday is the 22nd, we usually spend our time split between celebrating and praying. Many times we're having dinner, shoving cake in, ripping through cards and gifts and then running out the door to a prayer service.

This year, however, was so nice and peaceful. We had the opportunity to focus on her birthday on Sunday and then on Monday were really able to devote time to praying for LIFE.

Two of our daughters were in Washington over the weekend, so we attempted to watch EWTN's coverage of the March on the computer. Unfortunately the picture quality was poor and our feed was slow. There would be about 5 seconds of talking for every 10 seconds of silence. Very frustrating when you are trying to concentrate on all of the great speakers they had. Needless to say we didn't see anyone...or at least we couldn't determine if the blobs we were looking at were anyone recognizable.

Then on Monday evening we went to our parish for a very beautiful holy hour. The lights were dimmed, candles and incense were burning, Our Lord was on the altar and we prayed the Evening Prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours. It was very moving. After that they showed the film "Blood Money". I had not seen it before and I must say that it is a very powerful movie. I am glad that the little kids bailed out early and went to play in the narthex. While there wasn't anything visually graphic, the discussions were very forthright and incredibly disturbing. I can't imagine how anyone who would see this movie could still support abortion afterwards.

So now I await the coming home of my pilgrims and I have a feeling that we've all just been reinvigorated in our desire to fight for LIFE! I pray that the entire country has, too.

Pray for the Culture of Life to Prevail

2012-01-22T20:59:00.002-06:00

May God have mercy on our country. As our Pastor warned us during Sunday Mass, God cannot and will not put up with the culture of death that is permeating our country for much longer. Pray to end abortion and euthanasia, and then find a way to actively fight for this end.

7 Quick Takes January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T05:00:00.009-06:00

--- 1 ---

Do your children love these little cuties as much as mine do? I seriously cannot keep enough of them in the house. Well, at least they are devouring something healthy! (Keep reading, I promise it gets meatier :)

--- 2 ---

This past weekend we went to the annual Mass for Life that our diocese holds. As an added bonus, we got to meet our new Bishop. There is a procession at the beginning of Mass with candles from each of the years since Roe v Wade became law. The littler kids get to carry in roses instead of lit candles! At the end of Mass there is a blessing of all the people going to the March. Afterwards you can go and get a candle (or four :) and a rose.

--- 3 ---

This year two of our girls are going to the March with two different groups. It is the first time for Ms 17 yo and the second time for Ms 19 yo. Sadly, this is something we have always wanted to do but have never done as a family. Some day...

--- 4 ---

It is also a bittersweet moment because, while we are happy to send our girls off to take part in such an important event, we are sad to see them go because Ms 15 yo turns into Ms 16 yo this weekend, and thus they will not be here to help us celebrate. Ms 15 yo was my sign that the pro-life movement was something we were going to be involved with for the rest of our lives. She was born on the 22nd and was my first baby after my "reversion" back to the faith. I was searching for direction in my new-found faith and her choice of a birth day gave me what I was looking for!

--- 5 ---

I am so excited to have found a new facebook group called "The Catholic Bloggers Network". It is a closed group, so you can search it out and ask to join if you're interested. There are a lot of cool things going on over there. I am looking forward to diving in and getting involved.

--- 6 ---

I'm very excited about this! I was able to link up my "A Plan for Joy in the Home" website to this online Shoppe to spread the word about my workbook! There are other great Catholic shops listed, too, so make sure you check it out.

--- 7 ---

I pray for the safety for all of those marching in the March for Life on Monday. Wouldn't it be nice, too, if the media recognized "all" of them this year, and not just the couple hundred who usually show up? Have a blessed weekend.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A B See - W is for...

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

weights. Something I've been getting reacquainted with (of course, not quite this heavy yet) as I plow my way through a Supreme 90 Day workout. I do believe it will take me multiple 90 day sessions to get this ole body into the kind of shape it should be in.

Join in the photo meme fun by clicking on the image below.

Strike Against SOPA & PIPA

2012-01-18T10:12:00.000-06:00

Just wanted you to know that today will be the largest internet protest in history. Thousands of sites across the internet, including some of the biggest in the world, will be blacking out and directing people to contact Congress to kill the web censorship bill, SOPA and PIPA. According to Fight for the Future:

"In just 7 days, the Senate will vote on forever altering the free and open internet by instituting a new regime of extra-judicial, corporate-led website takedowns. This is a fundamental fight about who has power in society -- the people with the means to communicate freely or the governments and corporations that feel threatened."

For more info you can go here and here. Contact your Senator today to put an end to this bill. If it passes, the internet will never be the same.

Mexican Cultural Day

2012-01-16T19:00:00.001-06:00

A good friend of mine started a club about 10 years ago, called the St. Faustina Club, for girls ages 10 thru high school. Each year she picks a different country and the girls learn about the history, culture, food, music and any saints from that country. Sometime during the year, all the families involved gather to have a cultural day, complete with skits, activities and lots of good food.

This year the country the girls are studying is Mexico. We gathered a few weekends ago for our cultural day and were treated to some great activities and performances.

The day began with a Mexican dance done by the girls in the club who have a Mexican heritage. The costumes were beautiful and their dancing was pretty good, too.

Next the girls all did the Mexican Hat Dance. They then brought a bunch of these little hats out onto the gym floor and invited us all to participate.

The Mexican Hat Dance is very good exercise, as the song goes on for ever!

We then participated in Las Posadas - the story of how Joseph and Mary went from inn to inn looking for a place to stay.

They were turned down at three houses (one of which is pictured here)

And are finally given a place to stay!

And what Mexican Fiesta doesn't have a pinata? We were convinced that this particular one was made of concrete. One of the boys finally beat it enough to break the string, but a dad still had to tear it open!

This is such a great club. The girls learn so much and my friend who leads it does a wonderful job every year. She keeps going with it, even though her own daughters are in college, and we are grateful that she does!

7 Quick Takes January 13, 2012

2012-01-13T05:00:00.001-06:00

--- 1 ---

Well it finally snowed here today. The kids' prayers have been answered.

Quite a dramatic difference from yesterday, isn't it?

--- 2 ---

While all the kids prayed for snow, only some of them got to enjoy it today.

Some of them were not feeling well and ended up having to endure the torment of their brother and sister throwing snowballs at the window while trying to get some rest. At other times they just looked on mournfully...

--- 3 ---

I guess the good news in all of this is that it is going to stay cold for a few days so the snow is in no imminent danger of melting away, which will hopefully allow those who are still coughing a chance to get out and play in it. I'm convinced that there is no such thing anymore as "normal" weather for an area. 53 and sunny yesterday, 20 and snowy today. Tomorrow is predicted to be -10 wind chills. I guess winter had to arrive sooner or later.

--- 4 ---

As much as it feels like an anvil hanging over me all year long, we are again doing our "Dessert of the Month" for the grandparents again. This time, though, I'm trying something different. Each child got assigned two months of the year. I wrote their name on the calendar and it is then their responsibility to pick out and make (with help, if necessary) the dessert for that month. Here is our first one:

It looks delicious, doesn't it? We usually split the dessert with the four of them; they each get a quarter and we get the other half. Can't wait to sink my teeth into it!

--- 5 ---

So now that school is underway again for everyone, how is your day going? Are you feeling stressed already or do you feel like you have a good handle on your day? If you're feeling stressed, I recommend you hop on over to "A Plan for Joy in the Home" and get some help :)

--- 6 ---

This weekend is our annual Daddy/Daughter Ball. The girls are all very excited and have been working this week on getting their dresses in order. This is such a fun evening for the girls and their dad. I get the privilege of seeing it all because I get to take the pictures. It really is such a beautiful event.

--- 7 ---

You may remember that last week I had a free giveaway. I got the stats back earlier this week and over 60 people visited my page on one day to check it out, however only 4 people entered. As I see it, either something is wrong with the comment function on my blog or people aren't interested in unit studies. If you'd care to leave a comment to help me figure out which it is, that would be great...although if it is a comment function problem, then I guess you wouldn't be able to leave one, would you? In which case, how would I discern whether or not people really wanted to help me but just couldn't or no one really cares?? Oh the things that clutter my mind....

Have a great weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Mr 6 Year Old - The Painter

2012-01-11T19:52:00.001-06:00

I believe it began over the weekend when we watched "Ms. Potter", a wonderful movie about Beatrix Potter. The movie showed a lot about her drawing and painting, so it was after that that we noticed the two youngest pulling out the paper and paints.

Tuesday night I was having some ladies over when Mr 6 yo came up with a small easel we have and put his painting on it. On the easel was a small piece of paper with a "10" on it. "What's this?" I asked. He told me he was putting his painting up for sale for $.10 in case one of the ladies wanted to buy it.

Well, seeing as how his grandmother was one of the ladies, she, as any grandmother would do, bought his painting...and gave him a $.05 tip! Ah, what a little bit of "incentive" will do for someone.

After school work was done today he got out his painting supplies and set himself up outside.

We were a bit curious why he was outside (beside the fact that it was January 11th and 50 degrees) but the best we can figure was that he was going back to the movie that showed Ms. Potter drawing by the lakeside. It was so cute to watch him out there going to town on his painting. His lips were moving, but the door was shut so we don't know if he was singing or just talking to himself. Either way he finished up and came in with a painting of a barn.

We were supposed to have more people over tonight so he wanted to be ready for another possible sale.

Unfortunately, our weekly formation group got cancelled for tonight, so he'll have to wait until next week. If you're interested in purchasing his artwork, just drop me a comment, I'm sure he'd be thrilled (and encouraged :)!

Who knows, with a bit of persistence, he might just be another Beatrix Potter.

A B See - V is for ...

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Violin! I'm almost to the end of the alphabet. Yippee!! If you'd like to join the meme, click on the image below.

Thanks for the Award!

2012-01-09T19:34:00.000-06:00

I'd like to thank Theresa over at Carmelitemom for passing this award on to me. A Liebster Award is an award specifically dedicated to bring notice to up and coming bloggers. Liebster is a German word meaning dearest, beloved or favorite.

I definitely have to say that I love to read Theresa's blog as she is very spiritual and often speaks to my heart through her thoughtful posts. Thank you so much, Theresa!

I really don't read that many blogs, but the few I do read I read for a reason...because I can connect with the people who write them. These I would also consider "Liebster" worthy:

Minnesota Mom...I love Margaret's sense of humor and her honesty. I look forward to all her new posts.

Totus Tuus Family...Allison does an incredible job posting all kinds of great things about homeschooling and Catholicism. I know she's already up and coming as she participated in a Vatican Catholic bloggers meeting.

Lord Make Me a Saint...Jamie is a very down-to-earth, say-it-like-it-is blogger. I love reading about her family.

Check out these great blogs and, thanks again, Theresa!

Vocation Chalice

2012-01-08T20:46:00.000-06:00

Our parish began a new ministry a few months ago called the "Vocation Chalice". Each week a family gets to take home this beautiful chalice and rosary and are to pray for vocations for the week.

The chalice is carved from olive wood from Jerusalem and was personally blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in May of 2011. It was also placed near the tomb of Blessed John Paul II.

The detail on this chalice is just wonderful. I've heard that many blessings have come to the families who have had this in their home. The very holy woman who started all of this urged us to pray, not only for vocations, but for anything we needed or wanted. No matter what the outcome, it will be an incredible blessing to have this in our home for the week.

Winner Announced!

2012-01-07T12:11:00.000-06:00

Using an online random number generator, the winner of my first giveaway is #2

Margaret from Minnesota!

Congratulations, Margaret! Send me an email at

laura@catholic-homeschooling-resources.com

and I'll send you the link for the unit study!

7 Quick Takes and Giveaway!

2012-01-06T05:00:00.001-06:00

--- 1 ---

I'm hosting a GIVEAWAY of this unit study until Saturday the 7th at 11:59 am. If you've never tried a unit study, now is the time to enter! All you need to do is go HERE (the original post) and leave me a comment about whether or not you've done a unit study before. I welcome details, but they aren't necessary. Unit studies are a great way to teach all your kids at once, take a break from your regular routine and cover a lot of great material at one time!

--- 2 ---

Since I'm not above begging and pleading, please go and enter HERE because it would be a lot more fun if there were a lot of entries! Wouldn't it???? Good, thanks for agreeing with me :) Now go and invite a friend over so they can enter, too!

--- 3 ---

It is confusing to me...is today (Friday) the Feast of the Epiphany even though we celebrate it on Sunday? This is the day after the 12th day of Christmas, so what does it mean? Well, Happy Feast of the Epiphany, anyhow. Sad to say that we've never developed any real traditions surrounding the Epiphany. I've heard about different things to do, and we've even tried a couple of them, but none of them have really stuck.

--- 4 ---

It is back to school for us next week. I usually change subjects around this time since the kids have finished some of their other ones up already. I have a few more days to figure out where I'm going to fit them all in and then it is time to hit the books again! I suppose the routine will be a good thing to get back to.

--- 5 ---

Have you had a chance yet to take a look at my new book? Have you thought about having a more organized and better plan for your day? Are you ready to take the bull by the horns and do something about it? Good, I thought you would be ready by now! See ya' over there after the Quick Takes!.

--- 6 ---

We had a bit of excitement this week when Mr 11 yo was washing dishes at lunchtime and a bowl slipped, broke and cut his wrist. Seeing as how we couldn't get the bleeding to stop enough to put a bandage on it, we took him to the Immediate Care. While the doctor wasn't happy that he cut himself, she was impressed that he got his cut while helping out with chores! Thankfully there were no stitches necessary.

--- 7 ---

In case you missed it, Ms 15 yo has started and is facilitating a year long prayer campaign for our country. If you would like to join in, you can go here for all of the details! She needs 280 volunteers to cover the whole year. Will you be one of them?

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

My First GIVEAWAY!!!

2012-01-05T00:01:00.004-06:00

To start the new year off on a good note, I thought it might be fun to try my first giveaway!

All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment and tell me if you've ever done a unit study before. If you'd like to give some details, that would be even better. If you've never done one, would you like to? What has stopped you from doing one in the past? In other words, let me know what you think of unit studies.

You have from now until Saturday, January 7th at 11:59 am. Saturday afternoon I will use a random number generator to pick a winner and the winner will win...

A free download of my St. Ignatius unit study.

This unit study is adaptable for all grade levels. Obviously the older the student, the more in depth they can get. That's the nice thing about unit studies...they can work however you need them to!

This way if you've always wanted to try one or you've never tried one, you have nothing to lose! If you've done them before, here is a chance to do another one for free.

Here's your chance to learn all about St. Ignatius and the Renaissance Era. This unit study encompasses history, art, writing, vocabulary and much more.

Remember...leave me a comment and you'll be entered!

An Important Prayer Campaign

2012-01-02T15:59:00.001-06:00

Along with our other girls, Ms 15 yo has involved with a Catholic girls' club for quite a few years now. One of the requirements of this club is that the girls, when they reach a certain number of years of participation, do three major works.

This year, both she and Ms 17 yo are working on their work of Love. This is how she describes what she is doing:

For my third major work, I am going to begin and facilitate a year long prayer campaign for our country. It will consist of 40 consecutive novenas ending on Christmas Day, 2012, with seven people praying each novena. This is where you come in. I need 280 volunteers to pray ONE novena each sometime during the year.

The prayer that each participant will be praying is the "Powerful Novena in Urgent Need" to the Infant of Prague. The specific intention that will be stated is:

O Jesus we come before you humbly asking for the return of our country to your Sacred Heart that we might come to know, love and serve you.

If anyone is interested in volunteering for a 9 day spot, please either email me at

laura@catholic-homeschooling-resources.com

or leave a comment here with your email (which I will not post :) so that she can get back to you and assign you a spot during the year. I believe she is working on filling up the slots for January and February, but if there is a specific month you would like to pray, just let me know in the email/comment.

I know there are a lot of praying people out there, so please don't hesitate to get in contact with us so you can participate. You can even sign up your whole family to take spots, as she is looking for 7 people for each 9 day time frame.

Thank you in advance for your generous participation!

7 Quick Takes December 30, 2011

2011-12-30T05:00:00.001-06:00

--- 1 ---

Occasionally I do let go of my camera, although I don't know why. The photo prior to this showed me holding up this same necklace and earring set with a much more pensive look on my face. My family accused me of not liking my new jewelry. That was not it at all. I had moved that quickly to the thinking mode...things like, what else would this go with, when could I wear it next, etc. This picture was of me showing my true feelings for my new gift.

--- 2 ---

My older girls had a Christmas party on Thursday. They decided to do a homemade gift/white elephant grab bag. I have to say that everyone took it to heart and came with some really nice gifts. One of the younger girls crocheted a beautiful shawl that Ms 8 yo won. I love kids with creativity; especially because I have always been creatively challenged. Creativity is actually one of the few things that is improving in me as I age.

--- 3 ---

If you are reading this on Friday, then Happy Feast of the Holy Family. It is a bit confusing this year with it being on a Friday and not a Sunday, but none-the-less, have a grace-filled, holy family kind of day.

--- 4 ---

Have you seen this one yet? If not, give it a go...it is quite funny.

--- 5 ---

Here was a conversation that transpired between Ms 19 yo and Mr 6 yo the other day:

Ms 19 yo: What'll you give me if I make you a sandwich?
Mr 6 yo: Candy?
Ms 19 yo: Mmm... no. How about a big hug and say "You are the most wonderful person in the world.
Mr 6 yo: No, because that isn't true!
Ms 19 yo: O.o
Mr 6 yo: Well, you are the most wonderful person in the world to me, but not to anyone else. It's not like that.

Well, at least he's honest; although I'm sure her boyfriend might not agree with him on that last part :)

--- 6 ---

Today, Friday, marks a grand occasion for me...I get to go take photos for a 50th Wedding Anniversary party! I can't wait. I love taking photos and I've not done this type of event before so I'm excited to see how it goes. I'm thrilled that it is during the day because it is always easier to shoot in daylight! What fun to capture the joy of a couple married so many years!

--- 7 ---

Have a very happy and blessed New Year! If one of your resolutions for the new year is to be more organized and have a smoother running household, then make sure you go here!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Are You Ready??

2011-12-29T07:51:00.000-06:00

While perusing my new Christmas gift, I found a section towards the back entitled "How to be a better Catholic". It gives an outline for the things you need to do daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. It is very Ignatian (is that the proper term for something Ignatius??) so you will find the same type of outline in the prayer section of "A Plan for Joy in the Home"!

I'm always excited when I'm reading something that tells me that God wants us to be organized. It makes me feel like all the time I spent on this book is really worth it! Here is what the "Daily Roman Missal" has to say:

"The practice of some acts of piety throughout the day will help you to have a divine contemplative life in the midst of the daily routine. The habitual performance of these acts will also be the foundation for growing in Christian virtues. Most important is to be consistent in your daily schedule, in your spiritual game plan, so that you will live as a child of God."

If you are ready to be more organized and build your spiritual game plan, then I have the book for you! I hope 2012 is a more organized, more prayerful year for you :)

A B See - U is for...

2011-12-28T12:00:00.002-06:00

unwrap! U is a tough one. Thankfully Christmas was coming and I didn't have too long to wait in between T and U. Happy 4th Day of Christmas!

Click on the image to join the fun.

Christmas Review

2011-12-27T12:32:00.000-06:00

Praise God, we had a wonderful two days this weekend with family celebrating the Birth of Our Lord! Everyone remained relatively healthy and in good spirits. We had great food and lots of laughs.

The highpoint of Christmas for me, though, is Midnight Mass. This one was particularly good because Ms 15 yo sang her first solo ever. She sang "O Holy Night" for the communion meditation song. She did a great job and didn't have too much "nervous" vibrato in her voice. She's the blond on the left in the front row.

Then we were all surprised when my husband came into Mass dressed as the MC. He had gone early to bring Ms 15 yo and Mr 11 yo to prepare for Mass when he got asked to be the MC so Fr. Michael could con-celebrate. It was cool to see him in his cassock and surplus.

Mr 11 yo got to be the thurifer. He enjoys that position and does a good job of not gagging when all the incense is hanging around his face!

Another big highlight for me this year was the gift I received from my husband.

This book is awesome! It has all of the prayers, Sunday readings and daily readings from the Mass as well as all kinds of other prayers...pretty much anything you need!

I love books like this; especially ones with ribbons. I took it to Mass this morning, and while it will take me awhile to find my way around, I loved having everything I need all in one book!

The kids are all happy, too. The older girls now have the challenge of fitting all of their new clothes into their already stuffed closet (three girls to one closet :) and the boys and Ms 8 yo have the challenge of figuring out where to store all of their new Legos. You pretty much can't take a step around here without stepping on a Lego.

All-in-all it was a very blessed beginning to the Christmas season. I hope that your Christmas was off to a good start, too.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.002-06:00

7 Quick Takes December 23, 2011

2011-12-23T05:00:00.001-06:00

--- 1 ---

While things get terribly hectic and life gets increasingly complicated, we must persevere in our quest for that elusive feeling called JOY. I hope that you are experiencing JOY as you prepare your hearts and homes for the coming of the Lord in a few more days!

--- 2 ---

We experienced some JOY late Wednesday evening when Ms 19 yo made it home safely and on time for Christmas from a visit to her boyfriend. They live quite a few states apart and she had to fly out there, so we had been praying for quite some time that weather would not delay her coming home. Thankfully, our prayers were answered. Now, however, the kids have begun their prayers in earnest for a white Christmas. They truly believe that nothing is impossible for God, even if the weatherman says it ain't gonna happen.

--- 3 ---

The JOYful message above was made with our homemade fudge. We've been preparing treats for the past week for some of our people and this fudge is one of our family's signatures! It is so good you could eat the whole batch...of course you would then feel horrible, but it sure would feel good going down. We've yet to make our toffee and truffles. You can see other items we're including in our goodie buckets here and here.

--- 4 ---

Now this story truly brought JOY to my heart. A local couple won 11.2 million dollars in the state lottery last week! I read the whole story and was astounded at the simplicity of their desires: They want to pay their bills off and buy themselves a home in a local community. Then they want to take some fun trips, the first of which will be to Minnesota to see the settings for "Little House on the Prairie". I love these people! Now a skeptical friend of mine chimed in that in due time they will go off the deep end. He might be right, but for now I am celebrating their simplicity!

--- 5 ---

We will be JOYfully celebrating Christmas with our immediate families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We are fortunate to live close to all our relatives, which allows us to see everyone for all of the holidays. We will celebrate with our church family at Midnight Mass where Mr 11 yo will be serving (and he even stays awake up there!) and Ms 15 yo will be singing in the choir. I love Midnight Mass...to me it is the highlight of Christmas.

--- 6 ---

While we are always hoping for that JOY in our lives, at this time of the year it is very hard to find for a lot of people. Our prayers go out to all of the people who have lost loved ones and those who are just plain grieving during this Christmas season. May you at least find some peace to help heal your pain.

--- 7 ---

Here's wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

More Christmas Treats

2011-12-20T15:50:00.000-06:00

Day three of the fourth week of Advent finds us doing another "craft", this time in the kitchen. To go along with our decorative cubes from yesterday we are adding various treats. Yesterday we made the yummy Rolo/pretzel/pecan treats. It is very hard to control yourself when those are around :)

Today, the younger three in the group helped make the dipped pretzels. I can't believe we've never made these before!

We dipped some pretzels in white chocolate and others in semi-sweet. Here's Mr 11 yo stirring the pot - in a good way this time...

And Ms 8 yo getting ready to cover her pretzel in sprinkles. I'm so glad that they both like to bake and make things in the kitchen.

Here's what Mr 11 yo and Mr 6 yo were doing in between batches...melting colored sprinkles in water to see what colors they could come up with :)

A budding photographer, Mr 11 yo asked for control of the camera and took a rare shot of me...or at least my hands.

Kind of hard to tell, but this one is Chicago Bear's colors! We did make a Green Bay Packers one, too, but I dare not put up a picture of that one :)

And the final product. Ready to get wrapped up and given to family members, who thankfully don't ever read my blog!

Hope your final days are going well!

An Easy Christmas Gift Craft

2011-12-19T12:41:00.001-06:00

This Christmas, like many Americans, we are trying to still give gifts that mean something while working on a smaller budget. At a craft fair not long ago, I saw a woman who had made all kinds of nicely decorated journals and little photo books and such. I had also seen someone else decorate the jumbo clips you see below and use them as note holders or photo holders. We decided to combine the two and try it with those little cubes of paper.

We got our cubes and clips through an office supply store. The decorative paper we found at a resale shop. You can use any kind of scrapbooking or decorative paper. Here are the basic supplies we needed:

Now, I am NOT a crafty person. I came up with the idea, I left it up to the kids to figure out the process! Ms 15 yo took up the challenge and figured out how to wrap the paper around the cube as well as what the dimensions of each paper needed to be.

She decided to cut a large square to cover the bottom and two longer pieces to wrap around the sides. The exact dimensions here won't matter because it would depend on the size of your cube (or whatever else you are planning on covering).

Using a lot of hot glue (another thing I have little patience for), she glued the bottom piece onto the bottom :) and wrapped the overlap up the sides. In order to do that, however, she had to cut a diagonal slit in the overlap of the paper.

Next, she glued the two long pieces around the sides, overlapping both of them. As you can see here, the paper extends up over the top of the cube.

Here she cut out a part of the paper for the little slot in the cube and then folded over the excess and glued it down inside, thus giving the edges a nice covering, too.

She then cut the appropriate slits in the corners of the top excess paper and folded over the excess and glued it around the top edges of the cube to give this a nice finish, too.

After the cube is finished, you can add any kind of embellishments that you would like. We first glued on a flower...

and then some ribbon.

Here is the finished product with the paper back inside the cube.

Next, she measured and cut out the same paper for the jumbo sized clip.

Getting that hot glue gun out again, she glued the paper to the clip.

We found coordinating embellishments to make a nice matching set.

And there you have it - an easy (I know, easy for me to say, I didn't do any of it :) inexpensive and nice Christmas gift.

If those of us in this household who aren't overly crafty can do this, so can you!

7 Quick Takes December 16, 2011

2011-12-16T05:00:00.002-06:00

--- 1 ---

It's still premiere week, so I'm going to post another picture of my new book about how to organize your day! My book "A Plan for Joy in the Home: A Workbook on Organizing Your Day for Homeschooling Mothers" is now available for all of your daily organizing needs!

--- 2 ---

While a week before Christmas probably isn't the best time to release a new book, I'm thinking ahead to the new year. What better way to start off 2012 than having a plan for your day that will help bring peace to your home? Many people want to be more organized, how many will actually do something about it? Here's your chance!

--- 3 ---

In this book I make you take a serious look at five important areas of your day: Your prayer life, your chore routines, your meal plan, your school day and the time you spend with your husband, family and on yourself. We talk about it, we pray about it and then you plan your day to incorporate them. 3 easy steps that will pay off big time for your whole family.

--- 4 ---

At first I wondered about the size of the book...I mean, it is only 65 pages. But then I thought, who needs 100s of pages to tell them how to get organized? Wouldn't a couple hundred pages seem too overwhelming? So, in 65 pages I get right to the heart of the matter...short and sweet.

--- 5 ---

In case you missed the post yesterday, here is where I talk about the lovely young lady that did the layout and illustrations. When you're done here, make sure you check it out so that you can learn a little bit about her!

--- 6 ---

Would you like to help me promote this book to other homeschooling mothers that you know of who want/need to be a bit more organized in their day??? Great, why not share this link with them or send my website on to them or your group newsletter? That would be so wonderful and very much appreciated. My website address is: www.aplanforjoyinthehome.com.

--- 7 ---

Oh, so you want to order a copy, too? Why of course! That would be wonderful and also very much appreciated! You can go here to do that. Or, if you like to read it in longhand...

www.aplanforjoyinthehome.com

Thanks! And have a very blessed last week of Advent!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

One Talented Young Lady!

2011-12-13T14:31:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I announced the release of my new book, pictured above. Today I would like to talk specifically about the picture you see above and tell you a bit about the young lady who drew it. Here's what happened...

I was looking for someone to lay out the book for me when an acquaintance told me that her daughter knew how to do that. Her daughter, who is 16, is friends with some of my daughters and when I told them about the recommendation they all raved about Shaylynn's talents. I knew that she was behind some of the graphics and layouts of the Ink and Fairydust Magazine, so I figured she would be a good person to try.

When it came time for the picture on the front cover, I wanted to have a peaceful family scene; one that made you feel calm when you looked at it, maybe even sigh a bit. So I took six of my seven children and my parents and shot some pictures from outside the house looking in (a hard thing to do at night!)

She then took this picture and turned it into the image you see at the top. Of course I told her to make my parents look a bit younger :) but we think she did a fabulous job of turning my idea into a reality.

In case you haven't figure it out by now, I cannot say enough good things about Shaylynn. She is incredibly talented, prompt, polite, thorough, joyful and, most importantly, she could read my mind! When she offered to do sketches for each of the chapters, I thought that might be a great idea. She took the ideas from the chapter and came up with a sketch...each of which fit perfectly and brought a smile to my face. Her sketches definitely add to the book.

This sketch is from the chapter on Meal Planning (I just love the girl's hair:)

Not only did she do the layout and sketches for my book, and do the work for the Ink and Fairydust Magazine, she also makes jewelry that she sells. If you would like to check out some of her jewelery, you can do so here.

I find it's kind of funny that people don't feel comfortable recommending something unless they say some kind of disclaimer like "I didn't receive any compensation for saying what I just said." So here is my disclaimer...I didn't receive any compensation from Shaylynn for what I just wrote...in fact, I paid her :) But I am so impressed with the professionalism and talent of this young lady that I just had to make sure that you were all aware of it, too.

These are the kind of kids who will grow up and change this country for the better. If you can help her out along the way, please do so!

A Plan for Joy in the Home

2011-12-12T14:24:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to announce that my book is finally ready for purchase! You can check out all the details here!

This book has been a labor of love for quite a few years now. After learning how to plan and organize my day out of necessity, I took all of that information and turned it into a workshop.

After helping others to get their days planned and organized, I decided to turn the workshop into a workbook. Here is the end product. Boy have I learned a lot about writing and publishing your own book!

So, for those of you who are looking to be more joyful, more organized, more prayerful...this book is what you are looking for. I will be doing additional posts this week about the great help I had in putting this together, as well as delving into the content of the book just a bit further...you know - enough to whet your appetite, but not enough to give it all away :)

Go on, check it out now...you know you want to :)

PS It would make a great Christmas gift! Or better yet, how about a great gift for your New Year...2012 will be the year you will be more organized! I just know it.

Happy Gaudete Sunday!

2011-12-11T00:01:00.004-06:00

It is so hard to believe that it is the third Sunday in Advent! Gaudete means Rejoice, so let us rejoice that we are in this joyful week of Advent. It has been quite a hectic and somewhat stressful first two weeks but I'm hoping that this week will be a bit more Advent-like (ie prayerful and quiet :)

This week, too, I'll be launching my book "A Plan for Joy in the Home: A Workbook on Organizing Your Day for Homeschooling Mothers". I figured the joyful week of Advent would be a great time to present a book whose mission it is is to bring joy into your home. Get your copy in time for the New Year :)

One of my all time favorite songs of the church is "Gaudete". I found this video to share with you. Enjoy this third week.

A Boy and His Pants

2011-12-07T23:05:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of fall when the weather started to turn cooler and the wearing of pants became a necessity, I picked Mr 6 yo up some new blue jeans.

Time went by and I noticed that I never seemed to see him in any of those blue jeans. Instead, I was consistently seeing him in either his green or his black track pants...from last year. As you can imagine, they were getting to be a little above flood stage by now.

"Why," I asked, "are you not wearing any of the jeans that I got for you?"

"I don't like jeans," he replied.

"You what?? You're a boy, you have to like blue jeans. There is no other option. What are you going to do, grow up and wear sweat pants for the rest of your life?"

I mean, really, how can a boy not like blue jeans? I tried to reason with him, I tried to threaten him, I told him he couldn't wear his track pants out of the house because they were just getting too short. He was very compliant. He would put on his jeans to leave the house and then promptly change into his track pants as soon (and I mean AS SOON) as we got home.

I tried to dig deeper. "WHY don't you like your jeans?"

"Well, these have a button and I don't like buttons, I like snaps, and these have the buttons on the insides of the waist and I don't like those, and...I don't know...I just don't like blue jeans."

(In his defense, I have since talked to other moms who have had the same problem with their own sons.)

I was at the end of my rope when God intervened. Last week both pairs of track pants somehow ended up in the laundry bin for an extended period of time, thus forcing him to either wear his jeans or remain at home for the entire week. After the clean laundry was distributed last night, however, he called me into his room and said, "Mom, I just got these pants back but, you know what, I just don't want them anymore. I like wearing my jeans, so you can get rid of these other pants."

Alleluia!

My prayers had been answered! I ran out of the room with them before he could change his mind! It is after experiences like this one that I can't believe people think there is no God. If you know someone who doesn't believe there is a God...please have them read this story, and maybe they will believe when they see that an obsessive little 6 year old boy suddenly changed his mind about his pants :)

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

2011-12-06T05:30:00.004-06:00

What a wonderful feast day to have during Advent; a mini-anticipation of Christmas Day! We haven't always celebrated this feast; it came along later as our family grew and we looked for more ways to celebrate our faith.

We do the usual "put your shoes out" routine. Sometimes we put them next to the beds, sometimes in the hallway outside the bedroom doors. This year we lined them up by the fireplace.

St. Nicholas comes and fills the shoes with candy. I know many families who fill them with healthy things to eat, but here, it is candy. Not any candy, mind you, but candy that was frozen at Halloween and taken out special for this feast day!

St. Nicholas also usually brings us a movie. It either tends to be the new Narnia movie or the new Pirates movie. As you can probably guess, this year it is Pirates 4 for all of us to enjoy.

One thing that has been added over the last few years are the little treats and notes that are put into the shoes by some of the kids. This year one of the kids put a penny in each shoe, while two others wrote little notes from St. Nicholas for each of their siblings. That, to me, shows what this feast day is all about...thinking of others and doing something nice for them.

In the spirit of good ole St. Nick, have a very blessed feast day!

Stay at Home Mom, ha!

2011-12-04T19:50:00.000-06:00

Last week I was messing around with my facebook account and was updating my "work" status. I saw "Stay at Home Mom" as the closest choice for my official work status, but then I thought about how ridiculous that really is.

Seriously, do you know any mom that actually still stays at home more than not? I can honestly say that I do not. All the moms I know are always out running around. Now I know what you are thinking. "Stay at Home Mom" means that we are voluntarily staying home to raise our children and are willing to forgo any income. I understand that. But if that is the case, then shouldn't we really stay at home? Should we be out putting thousands of miles on our car, running from event to activity to performance to competition, etc.

OR...is the solution in finding a different name for what we do? Should we call ourselves, instead, "Away from Home and Unpaid" moms? I know that is a more accurate representation of what I do almost every day. I just cannot relate to "Stay at Home". Thinking of myself that way makes me want to go sit by the roaring fire and read books with the kids all day. I know that I am in control of my family's schedule, but the "stay at home" mode is just not the season of life we are in right now.

So on to the next week, when we will have multiple places to be every day. I will try to enjoy the running around and will continue to consider myself, at least for the time being, an AFHU Mom!

7 Quick Takes December 2, 2011

2011-12-02T05:00:00.048-06:00

--- 1 ---

We took some family photos this past weekend in preparation for the big Christmas Card extravaganza! I don't intend on using this one, but I just had to try it. I saw this on another photographer's site and I just loved it. The only thing I don't like about it is that I kept forgetting not to smile. By the time I would set the timer and run to my spot, I'd have a big ole smile on my face, the camera would click and I'd remember that I wasn't supposed to be smiling. Oh well, some of us are just better at portraying an "attitude" than others!

--- 2 ---

"A Plan for Joy" update...I'm hoping to have my workbook on how to organize your day ready for pre-sale by the Joyful Sunday in Advent. Seems an appropriate time, doesn't it? I'm just waiting on the cover art so that I have an image to use on my web page and we'll be all set to go (I think). Think now about buying a copy to have when it is time to make your New Year's resolution to be more organized :)

--- 3 ---

Like everything "fall" in my house, I was getting tired of the fall background on this blog. I went searching for something for Advent and couldn't find anything. My next search was for purple. I chose this one because it was called "sunset over Rome". Oh well, at least it sounds religious :)

--- 4 ---

Every night each member of the family shares something that they are thankful for when they do their rosary intentions. Many times it revolves around food (no comment) and usually about some kind of treat they got that day. Tonight, however, I was surprised, because 3 or 4 of them mentioned they were thankful for the "Cuties" I bought...you know, those cute little clementines that taste really good...Had I known they would get so much praise, I would have bought them sooner!

--- 5 ---

The other day Ms 13 yo was complaining about having to do the laundry. Ms 15 yo replied, "You know you'll have to do it when you're married." Ms 13 yo said back, "Well, I won't have anything else to do." With words well beyond her years, Ms 15 yo said, "You underestimate the married life." Ah yes, sometimes they are so right....

--- 6 ---

Mr 6 yo was at Blue Knights the other night with his dad, his brother and all the other guys. This year, for the "physical" part of the evening, they are learning some of the fundamentals of basketball. Mind you, Mr 6 yo is one of the youngest boys there, with the bulk of the group averaging about 10 years old. He came running in the door that night to tell me that his team won and it was all because of him! He bounced the ball really hard and it went over all the boys' heads and his teammate was able to grab it on the other side, shoot a basket and win the game. We're now trying to figure out how to teach him to keep his enthusiasm but mix it with a bit of humility!

--- 7 ---

Well, another full weekend ahead. Have a joyful and blessed 2nd Sunday of Advent!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary

The Sound of "S"

2011-11-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

Mr 6 yo has really been struggling to remember his letters and the sounds that they make. A couple of weeks ago I pulled out my yellow phonics flashcards and started teaching him from the beginning.

No matter how hard he tried, however, he would never get the "s" card right. For the longest time he couldn't even recall it was the letter "s", let alone what sounds it made. Last week, slightly exasperated by my futile attempts to get him to remember this letter, I said, "Son, the day that I lift up this card and you can tell me the name of the letter and the two sounds it makes, I'll bake you a cake."

Okay, let me just tell you that you NEVER say things like that to someone like Mr 6 yo. Today, a day when I had an unexpected appointment in the morning and an appointment in the afternoon, he decided to get it all right; and boy did he hold me to my word.

I tried to tell him that I didn't have a cake mix so I couldn't make him a cake. He suggested pear pie (which we've never had before, but he claimed he loved it). "Sorry," I said, "no pears. How about some brownies?" That didn't go over at all.

Next thing I know he's pulling out the cookbooks and looking through the dessert sections, occasionally pointing out a recipe or two. Eventually he came to a recipe that I did in fact have all the ingredients for and could make before I had to leave. God and he were holding me to my word, it seemed.

So I put together this chocolate banana cream pie and when I got a look at his face this evening, I knew it was all worth it. Thank God for a boy who made his mommy keep her word!

A B See - T is for...

2011-11-29T07:00:00.002-06:00

Trains! This was a picture I took while I was doing a family photo shoot. One of the boys just loves trains and he wanted to know if I would take a picture of them for him. He even set up the shot for me!

Do you want to join in the photo fun? Click on the image below.

And So It Begins...

2011-11-27T21:31:00.000-06:00

The ever changing front hall tree...I am grateful that Advent is here because I was really getting tired of all the fall decorations we had up. For Advent we decided just to go with some simple pine cones and evergreen sprigs in our purple-covered basket. Ms 15 yo cut out a paper advent wreath to fancy things up a bit and we will add a new flame each week.

This day also marked the official start of the season known as "you may now begin to talk to me about Christmas lists". Prior to today, I just can't deal with discussions about who wants what and what ideas I should give to whom. As is our tradition on this first Sunday in Advent, the kids all pick their sibling grab bag name and make up their lists and we discuss any gift ideas we have for others.

This year will entail some creative shopping and many more homemade gifts. I also like the idea of supporting small businesses, so whenever I can, I hope to buy things from others, like myself, who are trying run a small business. If you like this idea, you can check out our Goat Milk Soap Shop for great Christmas gift ideas :)

As we do every year, we hope to make this a peaceful time of preparation. I'm sure, however, that like all of the other years, it will be a time of frenzied preparation. I just pray that I can maintain some semblance of peace within myself as we prepare for the coming of the Lord!

7 Quick Takes November 25, 2011

2011-11-25T09:11:00.000-06:00

--- 1 ---

Never underestimate the desire to learn something new! My father, who is in his late 60's never painted anything before (other than walls, that is). When he retired a few years ago, he decided he wanted to learn to paint so he taught himself. This is just one of his many paintings! I am definitely impressed. If you'd like to see his other works, you can check them out here.

--- 2 ---

We spent the day yesterday eating, driving and being with family. It was a wonderful time, but quite a few of us came home with stomach aches. After getting up this morning, I guess it must have been from all the rich food and not the flu. Thank you, God, for that. We had breakfast with my parents and then moved on over to the in-laws to enjoy all of the usual Thanksgiving goodness!

--- 3 ---

I have to go to Wal Mart today and...I am afraid. I'm not going to buy presents, because I just don't like to be that organized for Christmas yet. Instead I have to go buy food because I didn't have time to go on Wednesday. The good news is that the food section will probably be deserted while everyone is fighting it out over by the toys. I'm just afraid of what I'll find at the checkout!

--- 4 ---

It is so good to have Ms 19yo back home for the weekend. She spent some time on Wednesday getting used to looking at Mr 6 yo without any front teeth. She commented to him that he could now sing the "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" song, to which he replied, "Nope. I can't have them. They're already in the garbage." After a small pause, I replied, "No, son, she means your NEW front teeth."

--- 5 ---

He was on a roll this week, it seems. The other day the kids were sitting at the table working on their school work when the conversation went something like this:

Ms 13 yo (who was taking a math test): What does a billion look like?
Mr 11 yo (taking the same test): I'm not supposed to be helping you.
Ms 13 yo: I wasn't really asking anyone in particular.
Mr 6 yo: What? Were you talking to God?

I love that kid's brain!

--- 6 ---

Our big plan for the weekend is to somehow get our family Christmas card picture done. This is really the only time we'll have everyone together but we are competing with the weather, the earlier darkness and hunting season. In addition, I'm on a quest to take a picture this year of all of us, which means I have to be in it. The joy of being the photographer means that I usually am not in the pictures, but alas, this year I feel the calling to take the entire family. We'll see how it works out.

--- 7 ---

I'm really looking forward to Mass this Sunday. A triple header: The first Sunday in Advent, the new Mass parts and the Feast of the Miraculous Medal (a special day to me because my grandmother died on this feast day and she was very devoted to the Blessed Mother). Hope you're looking forward to it, too! Have a great weekend.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T05:00:00.002-06:00

A Hot Chocolate Experiment

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Some friends of ours gave us some Mexican hot chocolate awhile back. My son happened to find it in the freezer and since it was a grey and dreary day, we decided to give it a try. First, we had to boil some milk...

Next, we broke up the chocolate pieces that they gave us. My son was tempted to eat those by themselves, but we held him back!

After we boiled the milk, we put both ingredients into the blender. I learned that hot liquid squirting out the top of the blender, no matter how hard you're holding the top down, is still hot...and messy. After that I turned the speed down and it didn't squirt out quite so far...

After a few minutes of blending, and wiping up, we poured it into a mug...

and gave it a taste test...

The cinnamon taste in the hot chocolate took us all by surprise, but most of us agreed that after a few sips, it really did taste good.

Our other favorite hot chocolate recipe involves the blender, too, but only during the initial powder stage so it is much harder to get it to fly all over the kitchen (although not impossible). We really enjoy this recipe, so I thought you might, too.

All Natural Hot Chocolate Mix

2 1/2 c powdered milk

2 c sugar

1 c cocoa

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients into a food processor (though a mixer works fine if you don't have a food processor) and mix until no lumps or visible bits of brown or white can be seen. Store in a container.

To mix: combine 3 tbls mix with 6-8 oz of hot water.

Of course, add some "squirty" whip cream or add marshmallows to make it even more fun!

Enjoy.

A Pioneer Woman Review

2011-11-22T11:33:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, instead of doing the things I was supposed to be doing, I sat on this couch:

and read this book:

and I am so glad that I did. Last week we were at the library and this book was propped up on top of one of the shelves. After perusing it, I decided to give it a try; after all I love people stories, and even more than that, I love a good love story. This seemed to be both, so even though I knew I had a lot to do, I checked it out anyhow.

Wow...what a good writer she is! I'm officially a fan now. Between reading this book and checking out her blog, I've discovered we have a lot in common! We both:

1. Love the wide open country even though we never thought we could.
2. Both our husbands drive pick up trucks and we love to look at them in jeans, cowboy boots and a hat :)
3. We both love photography
4. We both homeschool

I think that list right there makes us potential BFF, if only we lived in Oklahoma. I felt those wide open spaces calling to me as I read...

Really, though, I was captivated by her style of writing and the way she made her story so engaging. One of the comments on the back of the book says,

"This story helped remind me just why I fell in love with my husband...and why I'm still mad crazy about him."

I have to agree. As I read along with this story, it reminded me again that I am so lucky to have my own cowboy (one forced at this point to live in the midst of suburbia) who loves me and our children with a passion. Now that is the sign of a good book...one that you can relate to your own life and walk away from feeling good!

If you need a break this weekend, run to the library and check out this book! Watch out, though, you just might not know what hit you :)

My First Hunt

2011-11-20T19:53:00.000-06:00

I surprised both myself and my husband this afternoon by telling him that I wanted to go out hunting with him.

There was truly a momentary look of shock on his face. Why? Because first, I'm not fond of sitting in the cold and 2nd, I'm not fond of sitting...still that is, especially for 2 1/2 hours.

So off we went to sit in our humble abode, my hubby and me. I with my Canon, he with his gun.

We sat, and we sat, and we whispered a bit, and I got cold and he got sleepy. I decided to use my weapon to fire a few shots. Here is what I got...the view from my room....

Here is my husband checking out the scenery for any signs of life...this is before he got sleepy. He wondered aloud, "I wonder how many deer get to live because of sleeping hunters?" Good question.

And then it happened, I spotted a doe in the field up ahead. We watched her for awhile, then we saw two others come to join her. Well, darkness was closing in on us, so I suggested that my husband crawl through the field to see if he could get closer before he ran out of light (you know, me being the experienced hunter that I am).

That's him, inching his way up the field. He got pretty far before he lifted up his bright orange cap at the wrong time. Ms. Doe spotted him and let out her cry of alarm. They didn't run too far away, but then darkness set in and we had to leave. It was pretty exciting and, even though my toes were numb, I'm sure glad I went. It's good to do things like that with your husband every once in awhile :)

7 Quick Takes November 18, 2011

2011-11-18T05:00:00.001-06:00

--- 1 ---

We originally saw this cartoon on someone's facebook post but I was able to find it again here. Anyhow, Mr 6 yo absolutely fell in love with this and said that we should go on a campaign to protest stores that have their Christmas stuff out already. He told me that we should print this picture out, put it on a stake and pound it into the ground in front of their store. (Well, he wasn't quite that articulate, but that is what I gathered from all his hand gestures and "boy" sounds :) I think the Lord has big plans for this kid!

--- 2 ---

I am always impressed by homeschooling moms who can do things I can't do. One of my favorites is Lacy over at Catholic Icing. She is so crafty and, well, I am not! She put together a Mass response book for children for the upcoming changes in the Mass. I've printed mine out, have you?

--- 3 ---

In addition to the book work we do around here, we also try to teach our kids about being entrepreneurs. Sure it takes longer for the payout, but there is something very fulfilling about seeing all of your hard work pay off. This week, Ms 15 and Ms 17 yo were working together to finish off our goat milk soap website. Ms 15 yo staged and took the pictures while Ms 17 yo put the pages up. Now all we have to do is promote, promote, promote....After you're done reading here, why not go check out all the great work they did!

--- 4 ---

This year I'm all for supporting small businesses in my Christmas shopping. Why give money to China when we can support people who are working hard right in our own communities (or at least our own country). It might take a bit more thinking and searching, but I think it will be worth it. Support small businesses...support America :)

--- 5 ---

Last weekend I was out perusing a craft fair when I came across this lady who hand-painted absolutely gorgeous designs on Christmas tree ornaments. We were having a fine conversation until I mentioned that we don't put up our tree until right before Christmas. She commented that we must buy a real tree. "No," I replied, "we just like to keep Advent as Advent and Christmas as Christmas." Let's just say the conversation ended rather abruptly.

--- 6 ---

We have one more week to figure out how we are going to change out "Touch of Fall" basket to and Advent basket. As I stated in #2 above, I am not that crafty and sometimes creativity eludes me, so as of yet we don't know what to put in our basket that represents the time of preparation for the coming of the Lord! I'm trying to find ideas for some kind of Advent "calendar" that could utilize the basket and the mirror above it. Any suggestions or links to ideas would be greatly appreciated.

--- 7 ---

What are your plans for Thanksgiving. Ours are the usual...driving and eating. Really, if we aren't eating something then that usually means we are driving in the car to the next place to eat. I am truly thankful that we have family close enough to drive to and spend the holidays with. Thank you, God, for all of the countless blessings you have given me and my family. May you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving, too!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

What About Your Kitchen?

2011-11-16T07:00:00.005-06:00

In our previous house, it seemed that I spent most of my day in the kitchen. In this house, I don't. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it is because my older girls are doing more cooking than they used to. In fact, right now, Ms. 15 yo is starting a crock pot lasagna recipe we just found that is very yummy!

No matter if I'm in the kitchen cooking or baking, or just walking through it, a messy kitchen is another thing that just drives me crazy. I just can't stand to walk in there to do something and see dirty dishes in the sink, food on the counters or the stove looking a mess. I think the best thing that ever happened to us in the kitchen was the day our dish washer broke. Before that day, the dirty dishes would stack up in the sink because no one would empty the clean dishwasher until the afternoon. Now, someone is assigned to wash dishes after each meal. Others are assigned to wipe counters, put the food away and sweep the floors. This insures that the kitchen will be clean after each meal.

A clean kitchen puts a smile on my face. A happy mom means a happy household :)

Another thing I learned about the kitchen was from my mother after one of our moves. She helped me organize the cabinets and drawers into related areas. I must confess that prior to that I had never really given it much thought. Now, whenever I organize a kitchen, I make sure that all of the items we need for meals are close to the table, all the pots, pans, lids and cookie sheets are close to the oven and all of the items I need for baking are in one section.

That is the part I love the most about all of this. In one corner of my kitchen I have all of the main ingredients I need to bake, as well as my mixer, utensils and all of my cookbooks. Since I love to bake, I LOVE my baking center! It makes it so much easier and faster!

So what does your kitchen look like? Is it organized? Is it clean? Does it make you smile when you enter it (or at least not frown)? I hope you answered yes to all of those questions. If not, what are you waiting for? Happy organizing!

A B See - S is for...

2011-11-15T13:00:00.000-06:00

Snake. We saw this snake trying to get its lunch while we were in Michigan this past summer. It was fun to watch it trying to get up the concrete wall without losing the fish. Sad to say that it dropped the fish right when it was almost to the top. Both the snake and the fish were never seen again.

To join in the A B See fun, click on the image below.

A Rite of Passage

2011-11-13T19:15:00.000-06:00

Ms 12 yo turned into Ms 13 yo last week and with it came a rite of passage...that of being allowed to read the Fairy Tale Novels by Regina Doman. In our house, once you turn 13 your older sisters happily hand over their copies of the first three books "Shadow of the Bear", "Black as Night" and "Waking Rose". Ms 13 yo, however, was allowed to read "Shadow of the Bear" a bit early because we went to Minnesota this past summer to see the premiere of the movie.

Seeing as how she just turned 13 at the end of the week and today is only Sunday and she is already finished with the book shown in the picture, you can imagine that the posture seen above was one that was seen quite frequently over the past few days. Like the rest of us, she didn't stop until she finished them all! They really are that good!

Now that she is done with the books, I'm sure she'll be reminding me that the second part of this rite of passage is that she gets to join the Fairy Tale Novels Forum. Like her sisters before her, she will be venturing into fun discussions, creative adventures and the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. The girls have met some really great people from all around the world through this forum, and with her sisters to keep an eye on her, I'm sure she will enjoy herself.

If you or your children haven't read Regina's books, we all highly recommend them! You can find out more about them here. The kids involved in the forum have also begun a magazine that you can check out here. It is a very well-produced magazine that offers the kids a great chance at writing and creativity.

Overall, I'd have to say that our involvement with Regina and her books has been a very positive experience for our family. I hope you enjoy them, too.

Thank You!

2011-11-11T08:12:00.000-06:00

Many heartfelt thanks to all of the men and women who have served, and are serving, our country to keep us free. May God bless them all and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. May God have mercy on our country!

Words of Wisdom from St. Paul

2011-11-09T19:11:00.000-06:00

1 Tim 6:6-8: There is great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content."

I read those words yesterday and I stopped and thought about how far I must be from contentment and, therefore, godliness, because I do have food and clothing, and even a nice, warm, dry house and yet I find myself not being content.

At times I think more about what I don't have, or what we can't do because we don't have the money, or what I feel we need, and I fail to be content with all of the things that God has blessed us with...so much more than just food and clothing. Really, if I believe what St. Paul is saying, all I need to feel contentment in my life is food on my table (and we're even more blessed because we have food on the table three times a day, not just once!) and clothing to keep us warm and covered. If I can feel content with just that, then I will have great gains in godliness.

After reading that passage, I almost couldn't go on to finish the chapter as there is so much to meditate on in just those two verses. However, I pushed ahead to see what else I was needing to hear and came up with the following points:

1. "The love of money is the root of all evils" which probably means that I shouldn't spend so much time worrying about it! My focus must be more on the things I read next...

2. "Aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness." Now there is enough to keep one busy for quite sometime.

3. "Be rich in good deeds." If #2 doesn't keep me busy, I can just add in a full measure of good deeds and I shant have to worry about ever having time to worry about anything else.

St. Paul gives us the key to a good life in one chapter: Be content with the simple things like food and clothing, aim at being virtuous and keep yourself occupied with good deeds. While I know that he lived in a world far different than our own, these words are timeless and are good things to strive for.

The Importance of a Clean Bedroom

2011-11-07T17:01:00.000-06:00

Before you run and get your children to read this post, let me just tell you that I am talking to YOU! I am talking about the important reasons of why you should keep YOUR room clean - the first of which is, if you don't keep your room clean, why should your child(ren)?

"Really?", you ask. "There are important reasons why I should keep my room clean? What exactly do you mean by 'clean'?"

Let's tackle the whys first. I will never forget a friend of mine who has 7 daughters tell me that one of her top priorities was to keep her bedroom clean and neat so that her husband had a "haven" (a.k.a. a place of rest and peace) to go to when he needed to escape all of the hormones.

I realized what wisdom there was in that. I started thinking about it, not just in regards to my husband, but myself, too. Quite honestly, my husband walks into the bedroom, changes, lies down, falls instantly asleep, gets up and leaves the room. That is the extent of his time in the bedroom. If he needs to escape, he finds a tree stand.

If you have a husband, however, who enjoys retreating to a room in the house, or can't stand to walk over piles to get to his bed, then maybe you should consider tidying up that bedroom. You don't even need to spend money on it to decorate or change things if you don't want to. Simply having a neat and tidy resting place is all that is necessary.

I believe the rules concerning bedroom neatness should be:

1. No piles of papers, boxes, bins etc. unless they serve a useful purpose (i.e. you have no dresser and your clothing is stored in a bin).

2. No clothing lying around on the floors; dirty or clean. Hang it up, put it away or throw it in the dirty clothes (which, by the way, should be contained somewhere where it doesn't have to be looked at all the time).

3. Bed made every day. It really only takes about 5 minutes and it really makes the room look so much more pleasant. Do it within the first 15 minutes of getting up and you don't have to think about it again!

4. Try to keep the room as clean as possible. There is a difference between neat and clean. Neat is good on a daily basis; clean should be taken care of on a relatively regular schedule.

I have this thing about waking up to a mess. If my room was messy and I had to wake up to that every day, it would surely set the day off on the wrong foot. I suppose there are people who don't notice messes, but I am not one of them. If the last thing I saw before I fell asleep and the first thing I saw when I woke up was a messy room, I would not feel very peaceful and certainly not joyful.

A prayer corner somewhere in your bedroom is a nice idea, too. It can be a simple collection of books on your headboard or nightstand (only if it is a neat collection, though) or it can be a chair and table or kneeler in a corner. I have a friend who has a lot of children who turned a small walk-in closet in her room into a prayer haven. No matter what it looks like, a place where you and/or your husband can retreat to to be with the Lord for some peace and quiet is a good thing.

If you are prone to a messy room, take some time to ponder the positive effect a nice, clean, orderly room might have on the dispositions of you and/or your husband. It is a simple and inexpensive thing to do to bring some added peace to your lives.

7 Quick Takes November 4, 2011

2011-11-04T05:00:00.020-05:00

--- 1 ---

I am probably way behind the times, but we just discovered window crayons. I think it is the best $4 I've spent in a long time! We've been going around decorating all of our windows, glass doors and mirrors. Just think of the possibilities: holiday designs, seasonal designs, scripture verses, inspirational messages, lot's of hearts and I love yous! The creative side in us has been coming out and it's been loads of fun!

--- 2 ---

Here was Mr 11 yo's contribution to the window decorating. He put this on the window by our school table.

--- 3 ---

As I was going over this post checking for typos and awkward wording, I noticed that I had left this quick takes spot empty. Yikes. Instead of trying to rearrange everything, I thought I would just say, "Happy First Friday" and "Have a great weekend" in position #3 instead of #7. Don't stop reading, however! There's still 4 more great quick takes to go!

--- 4 ---

The other day in this post I mentioned about our tradition for praying for deceased family and friends. I was looking for a fresh way to do it and came up with this:

I know it is hard to read, but I combined our old tradition of praying for one person a day with the window crayons. I wrote the eternal rest prayer and each day we will add the piece of paper with the name of the person we are praying for. If you look very carefully, you can kind of see the words and the little rectangular dark spot. Okay, so not every picture turns out the way you want it to :)

--- 5 ---

We have a very busy weekend around here. If you are reading this and you live near (or even kind of near) Batavia, IL, we will be at Holy Cross church for a craft fair. We'll be at the table with the great smelling, all natural, goat milk soap. Stop by and visit us! Mention this Quick Takes post and you can choose a free bar of soap :)

--- 6 ---

Also going on this weekend is a great community event. A number of years ago, a friend and I began a Free For All event where people dropped off all of their clean clothing or children's items and then people could come and take whatever they wanted...for free, of course! Well, it worked okay on the dropping off part, unfortunately not enough people picked up and we would end up hauling A LOT of extra clothing to the nearest donation place. Friends of ours have revived this event and now it is huge and serves over 300 people twice a year. It is an awesome thing to behold.

--- 7 ---

On the "A Plan for Joy in the Home" front, the talented young lady who has been working on the layout of my book has been besieged by computer problems, which actually excites me because maybe all the difficulties means that this book is going to be help a lot of people! Please pray for this endeavor so that we can get it to print soon!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A B See - R is for...

2011-11-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

Reflections of the fall foliage.

Join the ABSee Meme by clicking on the image below!

Happy All Souls Day!

2011-11-02T00:01:00.004-05:00

November is truly one of my most favorite liturgical months. I love the Holy Souls and I love the idea of having an entire month dedicated to praying for them. Usually we take the names of family and friends who have died, including the most recent ones first and then choosing others to fill up the entire month. Every day we pray for the soul of a different person.

I would usually just print out a calendar page for the month and write people's names on each day, but this year I think we'll "spice" it up a bit and just write out names on pieces of paper and pick one from a container every day. I'm trying to come up with an idea for a container that would represent a soul but so far I haven't had much luck :) Any ideas would be appreciated!

Especially during this month don't forget the prayer of St. Gertrude. Our Lord dictated the following prayer to her to release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is said.

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

Have a holy day!

Happy All Saints Day!

2011-11-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, my husband and I took St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Juan Diego and St. Methodius to the All Saint's Day party that our parish was putting on. This was the brain child of one of our priests, who below, is telling a "Holy Ghost" .

We had the privilege of seeing the most beautiful lady in the world while we were there.

In addition to Father's Holy Ghost story, there were five other little skits that were going on throughout the afternoon. They included:

Saints Alive - where we got to meet St. Patrick and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frasati
The Happy Death of St. Monica
The Tragic Stories of Dr. Frankenstein, the Wolfman and Count Dracula - this was a good one where the narrator told us why these three bad guys went bad when, if they had stayed with the sacraments, their lives would have turned out differently.
Attack of the Grim Reaper
The Epic Battle

In addition, they had eight different crosses carved into eight different pumpkins. We walked from pumpkin to pumpkin learning about the crosses and getting candy.

The last part was playing games in the gym. Games like:

Pin the Sacred Heart on Jesus
Pin the Immaculate Heart on Mary
St. Martha's Cake Walk
Find the Crosses with St. Helena
Building the Tower of Babel
Toss the Ring Around Mary

And many others. It was a fun-filled afternoon with a variety of different activities to keep everyone interested. The kids had an enjoyable time and so did we!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T14:19:00.000-05:00

I had dreams this month of taking my youngest children to the pumpkin farm where I would always take my older children. Well, time went by, the beautiful weather passed and we were left with yesterday...and then it rained the entire day.

"Today," I thought. "Today is beautiful and sunny. Today we will go on a field trip to the pumpkin farm and buy our pumpkins for Halloween!" Until I looked at the pumpkin farm's website and found out that their season ended yesterday.

Oh well, maybe next year! We did, however, manage to find a smaller pumpkin farm that was still open so we were able to buy and paint our pumpkins before Halloween is over!

7 Quick Takes October 28, 2011

2011-10-28T05:00:00.007-05:00

--- 1 ---

I'm not exactly a fan of loose teeth. I can't stand to look at them dangling from even my children's mouths! So last week when Mr 6 yo lost his first top front tooth, I was glad he kept all of the details to himself. He worked it and worked it for a good day before his dad relieved him of his burden.

Luckily for both of us, this second front tooth came out without any work at all. He and his brother were jousting and all of a sudden he came to me and said, "Look, my tooth is gone." "Where is it?" I asked. "I don't know", came the reply. We eventually found it on the floor. Seems the jousting did the trick.

--- 2 ---

While we are on the topic of Mr 6 yo, we've spent this week backtracking and trying to motivate him to actually learn his letters and the sounds they make. When trying to come up with a reward system, my first thought was an M & M for every letter/phono combo learned. After a request from my hubby for something a bit healthier, I came up with coffee beans. Once Mr 6 yo has enough (decaf) beans, he can have a cup of coffee. Mr 6 yo thought this was a pretty cool idea and I'm happy to say it has been working :)

--- 3 ---

I read this great article from "Catholic Culture" called: Catholics Give the Best Parties. It discussed the art of hosting a successful party. The gist of throwing a great party is to have a theme (or a unifying event), good food (the kind you have to sit down and eat, not just snack on), a limited number of great drink choices (not just water), good, upbeat but not overbearing music, and a dress code (nothing too casual - encourage people to dress up). The author even gives Biblical reasons for throwing a good party!

--- 4 ---

Having been at Catholic events where the music could have been a bit livelier, I truly appreciated this quote from the above mentioned article:

Catholic liturgical music is great, but it should be reserved for Mass and Vespers, not parties. Always remember Pope St. Clement’s dictum from the first century: no pagan music at liturgy and no liturgical music at minstrel shows or other non-sacred occasions.

There's just certain music and certain times when good, upbeat and loud is the order of the day :)

--- 5 ---

All Saints Day is just around the corner. If you aren't sure what to do or you want to have a party and need ideas, check out my webpage on what we've done in the past. (Now there's a great theme for a party!)

--- 6 ---

We're trying to get back into an exercise routine again (ugh) and I just discovered that Wii has Zumba! I've been wanting to try Zumba for awhile, but haven't ever bothered to sign up anywhere. Now I think I'll rent it first and see how it goes; I need to see if this body can keep up with the beat before I go and buy it! I hope it is good because I LOVE dancing as a form of exercise.

--- 7 ---

I guess I must have M & Ms on the brain this week. This picture was on a Reliv facebook page, along with an article that states that this is what 100 calories of candy looks like. I found this to be a very depressing picture! On that note, have a great All Hallow's Eve!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A B See - Q is for...

2011-10-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Quiet. The peace and quiet of a nice walk down a quiet country road on a beautiful fall day!

Want to share in the fun? Click on the image below.

Fall Mailboxes

2011-10-23T09:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday was a lovely day around here so we took advantage of the wonderful autumn air and sunshine and went for a walk down the neighboring country road.

As we were walking, I noticed that some of our neighbors had taken to decorating their mailboxes for the season. Inspired by Jamie and her love of mailboxes, I thought I would take some pictures and share the beauty of the season with everyone.

Have a great day!

7 Quick Takes October 21 2011

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

--- 1 ---

This past week, through my website, we published our first video! We did this in response to the fact that my son still does not know his letters, but yet can tell me minute details about anything "Star Wars". I'm sure you all have kids like that...don't you? It was a fun time and we are trying to think of other ideas for fun videos that would be helpful to people!

--- 2 ---

So what do you think?

--- 3 ---

My upcoming organizational workbook, "A Plan for Joy in the Home" is still in production. I've seen the sketches for the chapters and they are awesome. I'm hoping to have this done in time for the new year, when everyone vows to have an organized life and needs a great tool to ensure their success!

--- 4 ---

I was asked to promote this upcoming movie. I have read some good reviews and a few questionable ones. I haven't seen it yet, so I can't put my two cents in.

On Friday, October 21, THE MIGHTY MACS is an inspiring true story coming to theaters nationwide. As the story unfolds, the characters display positive traits such as faith, honesty, teamwork, perseverance and trust – things that all parents, teachers and coaches all try to instill in children. Best of all, it’s a movie that the entire family will enjoy!

--- 5 ---

We've been tossing around words like "apocryphal" and "deuterocanonical" this week. Let me tell you, understanding them has been enough to make my head spin. To think my high schoolers are trying to figure this stuff out! When I was that age, I can guarantee you I'd never even heard words like that, let alone tried to understand them.

--- 6 ---

This week in the land of other businesses...we're starting to plan for our goat milk soap Christmas specials. We've got some great fall scents right now and we're working on getting them up on the website. Hopefully soon we will have our ordering capabilities available :) I also had a chance to edit a family photo taken by someone else. That was load's of fun! In the world of Reliv, we've been talking about setting up business networking luncheon's. Right up my alley of organizing events, so I can't wait to get into it! Do any of you have businesses that you try to run while homeschooling?

--- 7 ---

Have a great weekend. We've got college football and a High Mass planned...some good fall weather stuff and some "good for the soul" stuff.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

The Up and Coming Revisions

2011-10-17T20:13:00.000-05:00

November 27th is fast approaching and with it a very exciting time in our Church's history. How monumental will this actually be? I don't think we will fully know the answer to that until we meet the Lord, but from this side I think it will be pretty big. Not since the changes of Vatican II has there been such a change in the Church.

Being a wee little one when the changes from Vatican II were taking place, I was obviously not aware of anything. I've grown up with the Novus Ordo Mass, though in recent years I have been introduced to the Tridentine Mass and have grown to appreciate its beauty and depth.

Therefore, I am very excited about the changes that will be taking place next month. One of my favorite changes is in regards to the Confiteor, or Penitential Act. I always have liked the way it sounds in Latin - mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa - so to be saying that in English at least will add, imo, a lot more depth of feeling to the prayer.

I am also excited to see that the Church is going to such lengths to inform the people. We have read articles, received mailings and pamphlets and are aware of many instruction groups going on that are there to help everyone become familiar with the new words before they happen. I really hope that people will take advantage of these opportunities to learn so that they won't resist or complain when the changes take place.

What an awesome time to be alive! Let's pray that these new changes will usher in a more reverent attitude and a new appreciation for the Mass and all that it means. God is trying to help us in these tough times, all we need to do is cooperate!

Thoughts on Prudence

2011-10-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

Our formation group talk this week was on the virtue of prudence. Prudence used to hold a great place in society. We used to follow the old saying, "let your conscience by your guide". Looking around, I'd say that old saying has pretty much gone by the wayside.

Today we are a society that says, "Just do it" and "Do whatever feels good". We shouldn't have to let ourselves be "tormented by the dictates of reason", should we?

Well, yes, we should. And in that vein, John Paul II left us with some great questions to ask ourselves regarding this virtue. He suggested an examination of conscience that would allow us to really look at how we are living our life. Is our life dictated by feelings and sentiments, or, after weighing the consequences, are we making rational, informed decisions?

After all, prudence is nothing more than the "habit of acting according to the principles of right reason illumined by faith". The natural virtue of prudence comes in the "right reason" part while the supernatural virtue of prudence is the part that is "illumined by faith".

John Paul II posed the following questions:

Am I prudent? Do I live consistently and responsibly? Is my daily schedule wisely organized? Does it work toward the salvation that Christ and the Church want for us? Am I moving ahead to obtain the supernatural end, holiness, for which the Lord has called me? Do I set aside what obstructs my path? Am I in the habit of asking for advice as regards my soul? Do I correct myself when I am wrong?

I have to admit that when I first read that list of questions, I was pleasantly surprised to see the question "Is my daily schedule wisely organized?". Even the late Pope thought that it was a good idea to have a daily schedule and went so far as to say that it should be "wisely organized"! I might just have to use this as an endorsement for my workbook on organizing your day :)

Let us turn to Mary and ask her to help us to go against the grain and regain the virtue of prudence in this modern day do-whatever-you-want-to society.

Two Thumbs up for "Courageous"

2011-10-10T18:25:00.000-05:00

My husband and I went to see the movie "Courageous" Sunday evening. WOW! What a great movie. As one friend of ours described it, it was "an emotional rollercoaster!" There was one moment when I was still wiping away the tears and laughing hard at the same moment. It is so impressive to see what this one church has done with these movies. Is it your top-quality Hollywood movie...no. But what it lacks in some areas, it makes up for in the message that it portrays.

The whole story centers around fatherhood; how this country needs to have strong fathers who will stand up and take responsibility for their actions and their families. Fathers who will form their children, especially their sons, to be the God-centered, loving, and morally responsible human beings they were created to be.

My husband wondered how many wives out there would let there husbands be the kind of husbands portrayed in the movies. The whole man-as-the-head-of-the-household thing has gotten so skewed in our society, that how many women are willing to take those "pants" off and give them back to their husband? The movie did a great job at portraying the wives as supportive, loving women who did not dominate their husbands. It was very refreshing to see a wife portrayed that way. It was a very subtle sub-plot and I wonder how many people will pick up on it.

I'm not sure how long this movie will be in the theaters, but if you get a chance to go see it, we would highly recommend it!

A B See - P is for...

2011-10-07T00:01:00.006-05:00

Pine cones! A sure sign that fall is here.

To join in the fun, click on the image below.

Is That Free?

2011-10-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

"I am a photographer and since people are always looking for free shoots I assume that they must also do their job or provide their services for free.

I am looking to hire all types of people to do all sorts of jobs for me, as long as I do not have to pay anything. Just think you will gain more experience and I will put the word out for you and let everyone know what wonderful work you do. This will bring you a ton of unpaid work, but everyone will love you. So if you have a job or service you provide and will do it for free, please let me know, because I am sure I have work for you and will hire you in a second.

Feel free to email me with the service you can provide, when you can start and please include references.

I look forward to your free service."

When I first read this post (which came via facebook, via twitter, via craig's list - how's that for siting your source :), I laughed. The more I thought about it, however, the more I could relate to it.

Being a Catholic (*read* "one who has guilt any time she has to charge someone for something") mom who is trying to help put food on the table in this very frustrating economy, I can relate to this person's struggle. As a photographer, a unit study writer, a soap seller and a soon-to-be published author, I find it very difficult to charge the people I know for the things I do.

What makes it even harder is that I've gotten some subtle flack for doing it. You know, the old "trust in God and He will provide" line of thinking. Well, I do trust in God, but that doesn't mean that I can use that logic with the people to whom I owe money.

I have tried to put my talents to work so that I can make some extra money for our basic needs so that I don't have to leave the house to take a part-time job. In a perfect world, I would give away everything I write and do all the photo shoots I want for free! That would be Heaven! Unfortunately we aren't in Heaven yet; we're here, where we have to struggle to provide for our families in the best way we know how. In my case, that means charging for the things that I do.

So I can relate to the above ad taken out on Craig's list. I know that many people are in the same boat as we are in and are just looking to get things for as little as they can. I understand that and that is what makes me feel bad for having to charge for my services and products. If someone can come up with a better way, then I'm all ears! But the next time you're tempted to ask someone to give away their product or service or to give you a bigger discount, please think twice...that person might be struggling along just like you are!

My Great Aunt

2011-10-03T19:47:00.000-05:00

I have a 91 year old great-aunt who has seen a lot in her days.She's a tough, old, Polish lady who told us the story recently of when she met her husband. They met at a wedding right before he was to go off to another state for training for the army. While he was at training, she wrote him a letter and asked him if he wanted to get married. She said she would come down to the base and they could get married. He agreed, so she went down there, they got married, she stayed for the week and then went home.

Her husband died about 25 years ago. Since then, she has seen all of her siblings die, as well as most of, if not all of, her close friends. Today, her only son died of a heart attack while he was waiting for the bus.

She has always been very active in the church and her community. She has suffered and survived so much, but I fear this latest blow will be the last she will have to suffer. Her son had never married and had lived with her all these years. Now that he is gone, I fear she feels she has nothing left to worry about. Please, if you will, pray for the repose of her son's soul, as well as for her, that she may live out her remaining time here on earth (whether it be one day or a few more years) in peace, health and safety.

7 Quick Takes September 30 2011

2011-09-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

--- 1 ---

I had the opportunity to chaperone my youngest daughter on her first "date" this past week. A certain young man, to whom she has been "betrothed" since she was 2, won a gift card for Olive Garden and asked her to go with him to use it. Of course us moms got to go along, too. It was a fun time and a great meal.

--- 2 ---

We've been moving along rather nicely in our school work, which is a great improvement over the last half of last year. The biggest change seems to be in math. The middle two kids are now doing Life of Fred Fractions and, other than their test today, are enjoying it much more than the math they were doing last year. It seems that if math goes well, the whole day goes a lot better. I pray it lasts :)

--- 3 ---

I'm currently working on converting an organizing workshop that I had put together into a workbook called "A Plan for Joy in the Home: A Workbook on Organizing Your Day". Right now the book is in the layout stage. I'm getting so excited about seeing it in its finished format. I've seen some mockups and it is so awesome to see something you've done in an "official" looking format. I'll keep y'all updated on the status as we move along.

--- 4 ---

I enjoy a shameless plug once in awhile, so if you don't mind, I'd like to plug Andrew Schmiedicke, the wonderful man who edited my book. You might recognize him better by the name that occurs in his email address :) andrew@reginadoman.com (yes, he's Regina's husband). He was very helpful and gave me some great advice, so if you are looking for an editor, feel free to email him!

--- 5 ---

Which reminds me of a quote I read this week that Andrew and Regina shared at this year's Fairy Tale Novels Fan Get-together. They were giving a talk to the young people present about marriage. Regina said that marriage is a mutual crucifixion. At that point, Andrew gave Regina a big hug and said, "Embrace your cross daily". I love it!

--- 6 ---

Ms 17 yo and Ms 15 yo are involved in an apologetic club this year. The kids are researching and writing up 4 to 6 minute speeches on various Catholic teachings. The month of September focused on the Pope and the major topics that are in dispute between Protestants and Catholics. They spend the week preparing their topic and then they present them at the meetings. It has been a great experience so far. Religion and Speech credit all in one "class". I love multi-tasking :)

--- 7 ---

Thanks to Jen at Conversion Diary for putting together this new 7QT template. She's right, even though there isn't much to it, it did make the whole post go a lot faster! Click on the link below to join the fun.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A B See - O is for...

2011-09-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

Omelet! Baby Omelet to be exact, which is why I took this picture to begin with. The kids were thrilled with their "kid sized" omelets!

Come join the fun! Click on the image above.

A Touch of Fall

2011-09-24T20:53:00.000-05:00

Now that Fall is officially here, some of us thought it might be nice to add that fall touch to the house. Last week I had won a very cool basket full of kitchen goodies. We were all so excited to see new measuring spoons (you can actually read the size markings on them :) and cups, the fall colored towels and wash cloths, the new wooden spoons and a great fall cook book.

The basket that it all came in is very cute, but I didn't quite know what to do with it. Since it had a pretty, fall placemat lining it, we got inspired and decided to put some fall-like decorations in it and put it on the hall tree in our entry hall (right next to the ugly white board, you know, to kind of dress it up :)

Our plan is to change the contents of the basket to match the seasons of both the year and the church. For now, our fall items will grace the entry way until it is time for Advent.

We then moved over to the kitchen table, which is another area we like to decorate. Since we have been blessed with a relic of St. Therese and her feast day is next Saturday, we decided to give her this place of honor until then. After that, maybe a Marian statue with a rosary will take her place.

Fall is one of my more favorite seasons. I like the coolness that enters the air and I love to watch the trees change color. Hopefully we will have a very colorful one this year. While I don't mind the evenings getting shorter, I don't enjoy the mornings being so dark! I hope that you are enjoying this change in season, too.

The Ugly but Frustration Alleviating White Board

2011-09-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

Does this sound familiar?

~ I tell my son that he cannot play Wii unless he cleans up his room. I say this in the morning. About 3:00 I tell him that, yes, he can play Wii without ever checking his room because....I FORGOT!

~ My husband tells me that the girls should cut the grass the next day. When he arrives home the next day he asks why the grass hasn't been cut. Ummm....I FORGOT!

~ My children are not allowed to go on the computer until all their chores for the day are done. I notice that one of my daughters has been on the computer for the past hour and then I realize that I never checked that all her chores had been done. Heck, I don't even remember what all her chores were!

I know that my brain is overloaded. I know that I am trying to keep too much information sorted in an organized fashion up there. What with all of the things that we try to accomplish on a daily basis, not to mention just the sheer amount of chaos created by seven - nine people being in the house, and the fact that I am getting older and have even more accumulated memories that I try to house up there, it is no wonder that I can't remember much.

This is where I was at a few weeks ago. Frustrated because I was always forgetting important things. Frustrated because my children tend to take advantage of my lack of memory. Frustrated because I was feeling completely overwhelmed by my duties. Something had to change. Thank God for my mother.

My mother is my sounding board. She is the one who will listen to me go on about all of my woes. I know that if I call her and need to talk about something, she will listen and offer whatever suggestions she can. I am truly blessed to have her! During this time, then, I called and spouted my frustrations to her. We spent a few phone calls like that, actually, and by the end of the week we came up with this:

An ugly white board that is sitting in my entry way because I have nowhere else to put it! But, boy, does it do the job I need it to do. We started by putting all the kid's names on the board and listing all of the things that they need to do on a daily basis. Things like:

Morning offering
make bed
pick up their rooms
brush their hair and teeth (yes, I still have to remind some of them :)
drink their Reliv shakes
do their meal chores
School work

As soon as each task is completed they put a check mark next to it. Each evening I add extra things they have to do the next day. Things like:

cut the grass
cook dinner
fold laundry

If there is something that either needs to be done by multiple children or is not assigned to a particular person, I might just write that in a blank space so that I remember it needs to be done.

Now when they ask me if they can watch a movie, go on the computer, go to their club or play Wii, all I have to do is walk over to the white board and see what their status is. Sometimes I take their word that the items have actually been done, while other times I will double check, or I will occasionally just take a tour of the house to see if everything is up to date.

We've been doing this for about a month now and it has been wonderful. There is no more guessing and no more frustration for anyone! It is either done, or it isn't and I just have to look at the board to tell. I don't have to remember all those tiny but important things every day.

I've tried variations of this before. Things like writing a list every day, writing items down on my calendar or sticky notes, but the fact that I had to write these things down every day got too tedious and I would forget about it :) The white board, even though it is unattractive and cumbersome, really makes a big difference. I don't know if you struggle with any of this, but in case you do, I thought I would offer this as a possible solution to the problem. It might be just the thing you need to alleviate a little stress from your daily life!

A View of Our Day

2011-09-19T14:46:00.000-05:00

A B See - N is for...

2011-09-15T14:15:00.001-05:00

Nail! The nail that held Our Lord to the cross out of Love for all of us! I have been stuck on "N" for so long and one day *poof* nail popped into my head. I knew I had a couple of good Jesus nail pictures, so here is one of them.

If you'd like to join, just click on the picture below!

Blue Knights and their tents

2011-09-12T19:15:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was the annual Blue Knights Camp-out that we host at our house. It is such a fun event for the dads and their sons.

Our local Blue Knights group meets once a month and each year they study a different facet of the church. One year it was the virtues, another year the Beatitudes in addition to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

In addition to their study, they take some time for physical exercise and fun by playing dodge ball, basketball and such. During another part of the evening they also study something academic. Last year it was physics in the form of different ways to move objects such as rockets and cars and such.

I love having this opportunity available to my husband and sons. The boys, who are usually being carted around to girl-type activities, look forward to this night every month.

The highlight of their year, though, is this camp out.

They start around 3:00 on a Saturday, put up their tents and break into groups: dads in one group and boys in another. The boys run amok while the dads socialize and prepare dinner. The boys are reigned in for dinner, after which they begin to run amok again until rosary time. Then they break out the campfire and roast the obligatory marshmallows. Sometime close to the next day, the dads realize it is getting late and call the boys in to sleep. By sun-up the next morning, the boys are up and running while breakfast gets prepared. Everything is cleaned up and dads and boys are on their way to church by 9:00 in the morning. A great time has been had by all!

This year, Mr 6 yo was so exhausted he made it until about 5:00 on Sunday when he promptly passed out on the couch, woke up long enough to make it to bed and then slept until 7:00 this morning. Exhausted boys: truly the mark of a good time!

God Be With Us!

2011-09-10T17:22:00.000-05:00

Let the School Year Begin!

2011-09-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

We began school today, and can I admit that I wasn't the driving force behind that? I didn't want to start school until next week after we dropped Ms 19 yo off at college and then we would all start on the same day. It was actually the four youngest students who were begging me to start today. Can you believe they all wanted to start because they were enthused about starting math??? This year they would all be doing Life of Fred math, and at least for now, they are all very excited about it.

How could I ignore all of that enthusiasm??? I decided I better take it while I can get it, so yesterday I sat down with their planners and wrote down their first week. Ms 12 yo and Mr 11 yo got started by 8:00 and were essentially done with the work I had planned by 9:30. Ms 8 yo and Mr 6 yo were as equally enthusiastic, however it took them a bit longer since they had to do all of their subjects with me.

If I can just interject a thought about schedules for a moment...I realized again today that a schedule doesn't just keep me on track and on task, it helps in one other area. As I explained to Ms 12 yo and Mr 11 yo, I have a schedule set out so that I can help everyone that needs my help. That's great that they got all their work done in record time, however, because they were working ahead of schedule, they expected me to be available to them. While it would be nice if I could teach them all different subjects at once, I can't, so they kept interrupting my work with the youngest two. I tried to explain this to them and I hope that as we progress we will all fall into a nice schedule that works for everyone.

It was good to see how fast they could get through the seat work that I had planned for them since it gives me hope that we will indeed have ample time for our geography and unit study! I'm planning out a unit study based on the book about Fr. Marquette to go along with our study of the geography of the United States. I hope to have that done and available soon :)

This week begins some of our clubs and it is also the Sandwich Fair (the biggest county fair in the State of Illinois, btw). Many of us have projects entered so it is always fun to go and see if any of us won ribbons.

Hope your school year is off to a good start!

A Plan For Joy in the Home

2011-09-01T10:24:00.002-05:00

Helping people organize their day is one of my favorite things to do. That's why I just had to join Lacy at Catholic Icing today. In fact, I like it so much that I currently have a workbook in process called "A Plan for Joy in the Home" to help people work through the various components of their day and get them more organized.

I got started with scheduling my day a number of years ago when I had too many kids that I was trying to homeschool at once. My schedules have evolved over those years to the point where now I can pretty much make one up in my head without too much trouble. I get into trouble, however, when I think that I am following that schedule in my head and I realize that I really am not following any schedule and just trying to wing it. When we wing it, we don't get as much done in a day and life just seems more stressful.

So, over these years I have come to realize how important it is to know what your priorities are for your days and then to organize them into a workable schedule. I've recently read a few blog posts about how schedules can be restrictive and cumbersome. For example, "what if I don't want to fold the laundry at 3:00?" I look at my schedule as a guideline for my day. I realize ahead of time that most days won't go exactly as I had planned, but my schedule gives me that lifeline to grab back onto when I feel as if everything is out of control.

Let's say we are all set to start school and someone comes to the door and ends up staying for an hour. Well, there goes my plan for the morning. At that point I have a few options:

1. I can get all worked up about it and throw off the rest of my day.

OR

2. I can look to my schedule and decide one of two things: I will pick up where I left off and just make up the stuff that we missed the next day or I can go back to where we were interrupted and skip something later on in the day.

In this way I've just used my schedule as the tool it was meant to be. If there is a day that I have something scheduled that I don't feel like doing (and it isn't crucial that I do it :) then by all means I skip it. No one says that just because it is in a certain time slot that you are forced by pain of death to do it that day. HOWEVER, don't make a schedule and then just ignore everything you put on it! That would be pointless.

To that end, I have a basic schedule that I follow all the time, while only portions of it change depending on the time of year. Here is my skeleton:

* Get up before the children and say my prayers!! This is the absolute cornerstone of my day - a non-negotiable if you will. Without this quiet time of prayer, the rest of my day definitely does not go well!

* Everyone up, breakfast, morning chores, Mass

* Back home to do school work - if school is in session

* Lunch

* Afternoon school work, free time, my time to do phone calls and paperwork, errands, etc.

* Dinner prep, dinner, clean up

* Free time, rosary, bed for kids

* Time with hubby, prayers, bed for me :)

If you are looking for help with these areas of your life, might I suggest that you click on the facebook link on my side bar so that you can "like" my website page. This way you will find out when my book "A Plan for Joy in the Home" will be available to purchase. This plan has helped many moms already to lead a more organized and joyful homeschooling life, so I hope you'll join us!

Fun with Butterflies

2011-08-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

A friend gave my son a chrysalis last week for a monarch butterfly. As the week progressed and nothing changed, we kind of forgot about it. Today, however, we noticed that the chrysalis looked a bit different. Unfortunately we looked at it about 15 minutes later and there was the butterfly. I was very disappointed to have missed the transformation, but the resulting butterfly was beautiful. We gave it awhile to dry off before we let it go into the wild. The bottom picture is the chrysalis after the butterfly had left.

Is something interfering in your homeschooling journey?

2011-08-22T15:01:00.002-05:00

My husband and I just spent the past weekend with a couple thousand wonderful people. I'm sure that sounds a bit odd, but we were at a convention where there were people who were joyful and full of hope and gratitude. While it was not a convention of a religious nature, it was full of people who love God and are very faith-filled.

We heard stories of hope, many from homeschooling families, whose health had been preventing them in some way from caring for their family. Stories from people whose children were suffering immensely or on the brink of death. Stories of families who were able to work hard and earn enough for dad to quit his job and come home to be with the family full time. It was enough to give anyone hope.

So I got to thinking about things that interfere with our homeschooling journey. Many times it is simple things, like not being organized or being short on patience or just having a schedule that is way too full. Granted, these things can be challenging and difficult to overcome. Some of them can plague us for our entire homeschooling careers if we don't fight constantly to overcome them.

Other things that get in our way, however, are completely out of our control...a serious, sudden illness, the loss of a spouse, the loss of a job or income. These things can devastate us and really put a halt to our ability to homeschool. When that happens, we become desperate to find answers and pray for a miracle.

If you happen to fall into this last category of people, I can offer you hope. After spending time with so many hopeful, faith-filled people, I'd love to share some of their hope and joy with you. If your family is searching for an answer to an illness or financial problem that is getting in the way of your ability to homeschool your family the way you would like, just email me at Laura@catholic-homeschooling-resources.com and I'd be happy to share with you the hope that my husband and I have found this past weekend.

Preparing

2011-08-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Time is winding down...the clock is ticking...school will be starting soon in our house. Maybe in your house it has already begun? If so, good for you. We used to always start by the 15th of August. Not so, anymore, not so.

We still have many things to do here before the new school year starts:

- Finish the high school transcripts from last year
- clean out and re-arrange the school room
- order our new books
- finish (or should I say, start) writing the next unit study
- go on a short vacation :)
- get Ms 19 yo ready and off to her sophomore year

I think that's it. My plan is to get it all done in the next three weeks. Sounds a bit impossible to me, but if grace prevails, it might actually get done.

In addition to the above list, some of us are undertaking some extra prayer and study to prepare our minds and spirits for the upcoming year. For some reason, I think we are going to need it!

What things are on your to-do list? Are you ready for the coming year? Is your mind set and your heart at peace? I sure hope so. If not, there is still a bit of time left :)

A Matter of Perspective

2011-08-11T20:16:00.000-05:00

I have run into this word "perspective" a lot in the past week or so. More than just perspective, though, I've been thinking a lot about how a change in perspective can mean the difference between anger and peace, defiance and acceptance.

I have been having discussions with friends about this change in perspective, too. They've told some interesting stories about how a change in their perspective completely changed their ability to carry out a task or carry a load.

One friend told me about a time when eight of her twelve children came down with the stomach flu at the same time. She said that for hours someone was throwing up and she was swamped with loads of laundry. At one point she found herself standing in front of her dryer, as she put it, having a "mental temper tantrum", essentially yelling at God for letting this happen.

At that moment, however, she had the grace to say to God that as much as she hated this, as much as it was messing up her agenda for that day and the next, if this was His will, then she would do it. A change in perspective. From that point on she was able to carry out all of her motherly duties without a problem.

She could have begged God to take away the illness and make everyone healthy so that she could continue on with what she had planned. Instead, she changed the way she was looking at the situation and found peace in what was ahead of her.

Another friend was telling me about a much more serious situation in which their family had to make a very important decision. They kept looking for a way to change the situation when a priest told my friend that maybe what they needed was a change in perspective. Another priest recommended praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet novena (the one prayed beginning on Good Friday) and so they did. During the nine days, my friend had a very big change in perspective about the situation that ended up changing the entire situation and, at least for now, eliminating the problem.

I've been thinking about that in my own life. There are a few issues I've been struggling with lately that I have been praying to change. Of course they haven't changed (yet) so I am wondering if praying for a change in perspective about these situations will alleviate the problem.

I know that my first inclination is to pray to have the situation changed and not the way that I am looking at it. If we could just change the way we look at things and begin to look at situations and people the way God wants us to look at them, would that not bring peace to our soul, even if the problem or person remained?

School is about to begin and I know that this year I definitely need a change in perspective about certain aspects of it. I asked God to change the situation and He was quick to answer in the negative, so I'm pretty confident that if I can change the way I'm looking at these situations we will have a much more positive experience. Well, that's a tall order so I better get to prayin' :)

Are You Called to Homeschooling?

2011-08-09T22:11:00.000-05:00

I ask this question because I truly believe that homeschooling is a calling. It is a calling because it isn't something you do for a few hours a day, it pretty much encompasses your entire life. I don't say that to scare anyone away, but I think veteran homeschoolers would agree that you really don't ever get away from it until all your "students" are grown and gone.

When we made the decision to homeschool, we first looked at all of our other options. I only knew one person who homeschooled, a good friend of mine that I grew up with and loved dearly. Despite all of that, I pretty much thought she was crazy.

My husband grew up in the Catholic school system and I grew up in the public school system so we had a perspective on each option. We decided right off the bat that the public school wasn't really an option we wanted to take, so we looked into the Catholic school option. The nearest Catholic school at that time was a 20 minute car ride one way, which was something I didn't relish doing twice a day. Besides the car ride, we had to factor in the cost of the schooling.

Once we really started to consider our options, I began to think that maybe my friend wasn't so crazy after all. Well God took that little opening and ran with it because it wasn't long before we found a homeschooling group, rearranged our family room and bought our materials.

We've been homeschooling now going on our 14th year. While it hasn't always been easy (actually, I don't think it has EVER been easy :) I am so grateful that this option was available to us and we took it. I can't even begin to count the blessings that have graced our family over the past 13 years because we have homeschooled.

If you are contemplating this call to homeschool, my advice to you is this:

1. Pray with your spouse. Consider doing a novena together
2. Talk to veteran homeschoolers
3. Find a support group in your area
4. Start out slowly! If your children are young, don't dive into the hard core subjects and load them down with workbooks! Get them to enjoy learning at an early age and your job later on will be much easier.
5. #4 also applies to families who are pulling older kids out of school. Give yourself and your child(ren) time to adjust to this change.

Homeschooling can be a very rewarding experience. Take your time in discerning whether this is the right step for your family and each year reevaluate this decision. Things change in families all the time so understand that this might not be a life-long path for your family. As long as you keep prayer at the center of your life, you will be able to discern God's will for your family as it pertains to homeschooling!