Mass
This article really spoke to me. I have an online friend that drives truck tag-team with her hubby....they get to mass whenever, wherever they can -which means lots of new churches, local customs, etc. Exciting!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A gift ...
Today was a gift. A gift from God. Straight to us. Thanks dear Lord, we loved it!
We got up early to go to a dermatology appt. I had a feeling that something might be amiss, but couldn't put my finger on it. When I got there, I could NOT recall getting the reminder phone call. Um, yeah....because THEY rescheduled it. Argh. Never to fear though - this is our first gift of the day: they squeezed us in within the 1/2 hour! Yes, they did! If you call the Derm. Dept., you won't get an appt for over 3 months or more. However, established patients receive preferential treatment....so we got in. Dr. Smith (yes, her REAL name!) is a honey and Daughter #2 loves her dearly! All turned out fairly well, but with all the pool time, her skin IS getting dried out....she says: use Target's brand 30 SPF sunscreen. It is creamy, moisturizing and stays on the best when in and out of the water. She is so impressed with it that she says that no other moisturizing for the day is necessary!!
Our next gift came in the way of my high school friend. She came over with her kiddo and we went to the beach. Picnic and all. The kids LOVED it and begged to go back. This is the same friend that we got together with on Monday. Love her dearly...she brought some (barely) used clothes over for the girls. We had an awesome time talking, watching the kids play, discussing faith...etc. We even made plans to meet up on Monday next week....depending on the weather, we'll see what we can do! :)
We got up early to go to a dermatology appt. I had a feeling that something might be amiss, but couldn't put my finger on it. When I got there, I could NOT recall getting the reminder phone call. Um, yeah....because THEY rescheduled it. Argh. Never to fear though - this is our first gift of the day: they squeezed us in within the 1/2 hour! Yes, they did! If you call the Derm. Dept., you won't get an appt for over 3 months or more. However, established patients receive preferential treatment....so we got in. Dr. Smith (yes, her REAL name!) is a honey and Daughter #2 loves her dearly! All turned out fairly well, but with all the pool time, her skin IS getting dried out....she says: use Target's brand 30 SPF sunscreen. It is creamy, moisturizing and stays on the best when in and out of the water. She is so impressed with it that she says that no other moisturizing for the day is necessary!!
Our next gift came in the way of my high school friend. She came over with her kiddo and we went to the beach. Picnic and all. The kids LOVED it and begged to go back. This is the same friend that we got together with on Monday. Love her dearly...she brought some (barely) used clothes over for the girls. We had an awesome time talking, watching the kids play, discussing faith...etc. We even made plans to meet up on Monday next week....depending on the weather, we'll see what we can do! :)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Laptop...in the shop!
Well, the laptop is in the shop. Again. But I am so glad that Dell has such a good warranty - when the time comes, we will get another Dell, for sure.
So, back to the desk-top for me!
Last week, hubby had paid vacation. It was nice to have him home. He undertook a large project - making a new deck. This one is twice as big and will have a built in table and bench seat when done.
We took a day and went up to Minoqua. I love that place, as do the children. Jim Peck's is an awesome petting zoo and of course, we must always stop at Paul Bunyan's for breakfast!
The rest of summer should be pretty fun - we are planning many "day trips" - things like going to the beach, the park, a picnic....etc. Tomorrow we'll be getting together with my friend from high school and her two kiddos and taking advantage of the Pizza Hut summer deal (kids eat free with purchase of adult buffet!).
The kids and hubby are throwing in wood....guess we're trying to get ahead of the ballgame!
Finally, making some good progress on the house-cleaning. The basement is now totally done - I think that this fall we will be getting rid of some winter coats though - we seem to have accumulated enough to clothe an entire football team!! ;)
Lots of help from the good Lord lately - nothing bad happening, just the "normal" - hubby seems to work as much as he's laid off lately. Makes for some smaller paychecks, but some fun family time!
We had to empty and refill the pool. It got attacked by algae! This happened a few years ago also, and it just seems better to empty and start all over. "Baby" is loving the pool - it's pretty amazing, but she takes to it like a fish to water!
Other than that (and the normal goings-on in a 7 person household) nothing much else to report. Is it bad that I am in such a cleaning mode that I'd like to package everything up and just burn it and start over?? Ok, extreme, yes, but we ARE getting rid of LOTS of stuff!
So, back to the desk-top for me!
Last week, hubby had paid vacation. It was nice to have him home. He undertook a large project - making a new deck. This one is twice as big and will have a built in table and bench seat when done.
We took a day and went up to Minoqua. I love that place, as do the children. Jim Peck's is an awesome petting zoo and of course, we must always stop at Paul Bunyan's for breakfast!
The rest of summer should be pretty fun - we are planning many "day trips" - things like going to the beach, the park, a picnic....etc. Tomorrow we'll be getting together with my friend from high school and her two kiddos and taking advantage of the Pizza Hut summer deal (kids eat free with purchase of adult buffet!).
The kids and hubby are throwing in wood....guess we're trying to get ahead of the ballgame!
Finally, making some good progress on the house-cleaning. The basement is now totally done - I think that this fall we will be getting rid of some winter coats though - we seem to have accumulated enough to clothe an entire football team!! ;)
Lots of help from the good Lord lately - nothing bad happening, just the "normal" - hubby seems to work as much as he's laid off lately. Makes for some smaller paychecks, but some fun family time!
We had to empty and refill the pool. It got attacked by algae! This happened a few years ago also, and it just seems better to empty and start all over. "Baby" is loving the pool - it's pretty amazing, but she takes to it like a fish to water!
Other than that (and the normal goings-on in a 7 person household) nothing much else to report. Is it bad that I am in such a cleaning mode that I'd like to package everything up and just burn it and start over?? Ok, extreme, yes, but we ARE getting rid of LOTS of stuff!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A Week Later: The Fourth of July
Yep, been another busy week - but that'll be another post! ;)
Today: the Fourth of July.
Our priest (from India, mind you!) had the wonderful idea to have only one Mass on Sunday, the fourth of July. He had much help from the Men's Society and other helpers in pulling it off - but it was the most AWESOME recognition of Independence Day that I have ever seen.
The local American Legion came, presented colors at the beginning. During the Mass, all vets were honored - they were called up by "units" - the Army, the Navy, etc. - and as they came forward, the pianist played their "theme song." (alright, there HAS to be an official name for it, but that's all I can I think of right now!) They were then presented with a mug, candle and poem (which Father had read during his sermon and I will type at the bottom of this post). After all living vets were honored, our two families who have lost their husband/dad/brother (both lost in Iraq) were also called forward to receive a special gift. I guarantee you, there was NOT a dry eye in the entire church. After this, "roll" was taken - all deceased vets' names in our parish were read. This was then followed by the American Legion again presenting colors and the entire congregation singing our national anthem. Then we followed the colors out and they had a gun salute outside.
After the Mass and ceremony were over, there was a luncheon following (presented by the Men's Society) and games for the kiddos....what a fun and unique way to celebrate!
One kink in the whole day though: Son and oldest daughter were both servers. Daughter did an awesome job with some extra blessing with the incense and on her reading. Son, however, got overheated. During the consecration of the host, he fell. Over. Hit his head. Yep, just passed right out, on the altar. Poor kiddo. Since we always sit within the first 5 pews, hubby saw Son starting to sway and we thing he made it up there before Son's head hit the floor! They took him into the back and then hubby brought him home to rest. Much later that afternoon, he finally felt well. We have since decided that the children will wear t-shirts and shorts when they serve, as their robes cover them anyways. Another server was also feeling faint, so she went outside to get some air as well.
Today: the Fourth of July.
Our priest (from India, mind you!) had the wonderful idea to have only one Mass on Sunday, the fourth of July. He had much help from the Men's Society and other helpers in pulling it off - but it was the most AWESOME recognition of Independence Day that I have ever seen.
The local American Legion came, presented colors at the beginning. During the Mass, all vets were honored - they were called up by "units" - the Army, the Navy, etc. - and as they came forward, the pianist played their "theme song." (alright, there HAS to be an official name for it, but that's all I can I think of right now!) They were then presented with a mug, candle and poem (which Father had read during his sermon and I will type at the bottom of this post). After all living vets were honored, our two families who have lost their husband/dad/brother (both lost in Iraq) were also called forward to receive a special gift. I guarantee you, there was NOT a dry eye in the entire church. After this, "roll" was taken - all deceased vets' names in our parish were read. This was then followed by the American Legion again presenting colors and the entire congregation singing our national anthem. Then we followed the colors out and they had a gun salute outside.
After the Mass and ceremony were over, there was a luncheon following (presented by the Men's Society) and games for the kiddos....what a fun and unique way to celebrate!
One kink in the whole day though: Son and oldest daughter were both servers. Daughter did an awesome job with some extra blessing with the incense and on her reading. Son, however, got overheated. During the consecration of the host, he fell. Over. Hit his head. Yep, just passed right out, on the altar. Poor kiddo. Since we always sit within the first 5 pews, hubby saw Son starting to sway and we thing he made it up there before Son's head hit the floor! They took him into the back and then hubby brought him home to rest. Much later that afternoon, he finally felt well. We have since decided that the children will wear t-shirts and shorts when they serve, as their robes cover them anyways. Another server was also feeling faint, so she went outside to get some air as well.
The Soldier
(author unknown)
It's the soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to fair trial.
It's the soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us the freedom of press.
It's the soldier, not the poet
Who has given us the freedom of speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It's the soldier, who serves beneath the flag,
Who solutes the flag,
Whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
It's the soldier, not the politician,
Who has given his blood, his body, his life,
Who has given us these freedoms!
It's the soldier who gives up their freedom
For our freedom.
It's the soldier who we must pray for.
Monday, July 5, 2010
The weekend of the 4th of July - Saturday
So here we go....with the weekend of the 4th.
Let's start at the beginning, this being Saturday!
Saturday morning we woke up. (ha, see, wonderful stuff, huh?!) We did the usual cleaning/picking up - Saturday mornings at our house are dedicated to picking up the floors, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping and getting the main level of the house cleaned and organized. Hubby did most of this for me, although the kids and I had worked on some of it on Friday. I was left to do costumes. For the play. The King and I. argh. I think that next time, I will have to lay some hard-set ground rules - like NO last-minute stuff! I don't mind helping and sewing costumes, but this last minute stuff really must end. So, 8 pairs of pants got finished and 10 dresses left to go! (those got finished today - Monday).
During baby's nap, hubby took the kids outside and made some awesome tin-can luminaries. They were all pretty excited to do them and even Son decided to do one - although that could be, in part, due to the fact that he got to use a drill!!
After baby got up from her nap, we went to my brother's house for potluck and fireworks. We brought along another craft (check Moneyless Momma's later this week or early next) - Fourth of July Flip Flops! The girls had a great time making these and even wore them to church on Sunday. I had been to Hancock Fabrics early in the week and had obtained their "bags of ribbon" for only 49 cents each - normally $1.99 (each bag has approximately 30 yards of ribbon, cut into 2 yard sections - all colors and widths)!! We used the ribbon for the flip flops, but I expect to see many, many more uses of ribbon come out of this house in the next few months.....the creative juices are flowing!
We had a wonderful spread of things - including a bean salsa that I'll post on Moneyless Momma's sometime this week or next. Hubby and I like it so well that we could eat it plain, but it tastes great on crackers and tortilla chips too.
By the time 7:30 rolled around, Daughter #3 was done. She STILL dislikes loud noises and was NOT looking forward to being there when Uncle lit the fireworks. So, we brought her, baby and Molly-girl home with us.
Father came over for a chat....he had a WONDERFUL service planned for the Fourth - we knew some of what he had planned and he let us in on some more - he also wanted our oldest daughter to learn how to incense for special occasions - so even though they didn't get back until after 9:30 p.m., Hubby and her went to Father's house and practiced. (oh, and she brought home the incense holder home to practice too - which was the talk of EVERYONE - why it was at OUR house and not church!)
Father and I also were able to discuss some school things and he threw a few ideas past me. I am throughly convinced that God has his hand on this man. He is unafraid to push forward, try new things, pull in the reins and return to all of the church traditions....yes, we feel blessed to have him here, in our parish AND to consider him a friend as well.
Hubby chatted with him about tattoos (he had been at our first party) and he said that there are things that the church basically doesn't comment on either way - and as long as the tattoos that we get are in no way damaging ourselves (morally, money-wise or spiritually) there really is no harm in it.
So. I think that was our day. More or less....probably more....cuz I just can't document it all! ;)
Let's start at the beginning, this being Saturday!
Saturday morning we woke up. (ha, see, wonderful stuff, huh?!) We did the usual cleaning/picking up - Saturday mornings at our house are dedicated to picking up the floors, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping and getting the main level of the house cleaned and organized. Hubby did most of this for me, although the kids and I had worked on some of it on Friday. I was left to do costumes. For the play. The King and I. argh. I think that next time, I will have to lay some hard-set ground rules - like NO last-minute stuff! I don't mind helping and sewing costumes, but this last minute stuff really must end. So, 8 pairs of pants got finished and 10 dresses left to go! (those got finished today - Monday).
During baby's nap, hubby took the kids outside and made some awesome tin-can luminaries. They were all pretty excited to do them and even Son decided to do one - although that could be, in part, due to the fact that he got to use a drill!!
After baby got up from her nap, we went to my brother's house for potluck and fireworks. We brought along another craft (check Moneyless Momma's later this week or early next) - Fourth of July Flip Flops! The girls had a great time making these and even wore them to church on Sunday. I had been to Hancock Fabrics early in the week and had obtained their "bags of ribbon" for only 49 cents each - normally $1.99 (each bag has approximately 30 yards of ribbon, cut into 2 yard sections - all colors and widths)!! We used the ribbon for the flip flops, but I expect to see many, many more uses of ribbon come out of this house in the next few months.....the creative juices are flowing!
We had a wonderful spread of things - including a bean salsa that I'll post on Moneyless Momma's sometime this week or next. Hubby and I like it so well that we could eat it plain, but it tastes great on crackers and tortilla chips too.
By the time 7:30 rolled around, Daughter #3 was done. She STILL dislikes loud noises and was NOT looking forward to being there when Uncle lit the fireworks. So, we brought her, baby and Molly-girl home with us.
Father came over for a chat....he had a WONDERFUL service planned for the Fourth - we knew some of what he had planned and he let us in on some more - he also wanted our oldest daughter to learn how to incense for special occasions - so even though they didn't get back until after 9:30 p.m., Hubby and her went to Father's house and practiced. (oh, and she brought home the incense holder home to practice too - which was the talk of EVERYONE - why it was at OUR house and not church!)
Father and I also were able to discuss some school things and he threw a few ideas past me. I am throughly convinced that God has his hand on this man. He is unafraid to push forward, try new things, pull in the reins and return to all of the church traditions....yes, we feel blessed to have him here, in our parish AND to consider him a friend as well.
Hubby chatted with him about tattoos (he had been at our first party) and he said that there are things that the church basically doesn't comment on either way - and as long as the tattoos that we get are in no way damaging ourselves (morally, money-wise or spiritually) there really is no harm in it.
So. I think that was our day. More or less....probably more....cuz I just can't document it all! ;)
The week before the 4th....
We had a great 4th of July weekend....but first off:
the week before:
It was quite a busy week in our household leading up to the 4th. Finally, this was the last week of swim lessons and summer school - YAY!! The kids love it, but we are ready for "just summer" (read: sleeping in, little to no schedule, daycations, etc!).
The two older girls were signed up for day-camp for girls scouts for two days. I went with them - what a blast! They did arts and crafts, learned new songs, made new friends, etc. It brought back a lot of memories, as I was a girl scout back in the day! Make sure to check out Washing Wilma....what fun! :) The two little girls stayed with Daddy both evenings (camp was from 4-8:30 - and was a half hour drive away!). They were fine, but were happy when mom came home!
On Wednesday, Son got his final activity in his "Sleeping With The Sharks" class: going to Mall Of America and sleeping with the sharks at the Underwater Aquarium! He and our neighbor boy (his bff - do boys have bff's??? lol) went together and they had a blast. Playing at the Nickelodeon center in the middle of the Mall - having a pizza party, making a Sleeping With The Shark pillowcase, etc. We are very proud of him - he came home with all but $5 of the money he went up there with. He is really getting the concept of saving for the big things that you want. He would like to save the $50 that he came home with for his and daddy's trip to the Oshkosh air show later this month. I expect them to come home and tell me that they took a helicopter ride - they have been drooling over them for the last year!
There is so much that I want to share about the 4th of July weekend, that I will do so in another post - hopefully today or tomorrow.
God Bless!
the week before:
It was quite a busy week in our household leading up to the 4th. Finally, this was the last week of swim lessons and summer school - YAY!! The kids love it, but we are ready for "just summer" (read: sleeping in, little to no schedule, daycations, etc!).
The two older girls were signed up for day-camp for girls scouts for two days. I went with them - what a blast! They did arts and crafts, learned new songs, made new friends, etc. It brought back a lot of memories, as I was a girl scout back in the day! Make sure to check out Washing Wilma....what fun! :) The two little girls stayed with Daddy both evenings (camp was from 4-8:30 - and was a half hour drive away!). They were fine, but were happy when mom came home!
On Wednesday, Son got his final activity in his "Sleeping With The Sharks" class: going to Mall Of America and sleeping with the sharks at the Underwater Aquarium! He and our neighbor boy (his bff - do boys have bff's??? lol) went together and they had a blast. Playing at the Nickelodeon center in the middle of the Mall - having a pizza party, making a Sleeping With The Shark pillowcase, etc. We are very proud of him - he came home with all but $5 of the money he went up there with. He is really getting the concept of saving for the big things that you want. He would like to save the $50 that he came home with for his and daddy's trip to the Oshkosh air show later this month. I expect them to come home and tell me that they took a helicopter ride - they have been drooling over them for the last year!
There is so much that I want to share about the 4th of July weekend, that I will do so in another post - hopefully today or tomorrow.
God Bless!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
2 years
It has been two years since my mother-in-law died. Some days it feels like forever, others: just yesterday and still other days feel like she is still here.
I miss her dearly. I see her in the children's faces, I feel her looking over my shoulder as I am making an outfit for the children from "her" material. I feel her in my heart - I hear her soft words of wisdom echoing in my mind.
I miss her. I look at how the children and see how they have grown in the past 2 years - and it is glaringly apparent what she has missed.
I miss her. When I am in school, I frequent her gravesite -checking up on it, telling her about my day, praying for her.
The first year was all about "firsts." Missing her on the first fourth of July - missing her when we gave birth to our youngest (glad that she knew they would share the same middle name) - on the first time her birthday came, our birthday, our anniversary, Christmas....etc.
The next year has been consumed with missing her not being here for many events....as the children grow, she is missed at each of these events. We know that "us kids" and "grandkids" were her life - it's what she lived for. She would go without - because she loved everyone so much.
Hubby has taken to using the last quilt she made for us as "his alone." It's a memory - loved sewed into every stitch is not an exaggeration.
We love you Mom!
I miss her dearly. I see her in the children's faces, I feel her looking over my shoulder as I am making an outfit for the children from "her" material. I feel her in my heart - I hear her soft words of wisdom echoing in my mind.
I miss her. I look at how the children and see how they have grown in the past 2 years - and it is glaringly apparent what she has missed.
I miss her. When I am in school, I frequent her gravesite -checking up on it, telling her about my day, praying for her.
The first year was all about "firsts." Missing her on the first fourth of July - missing her when we gave birth to our youngest (glad that she knew they would share the same middle name) - on the first time her birthday came, our birthday, our anniversary, Christmas....etc.
The next year has been consumed with missing her not being here for many events....as the children grow, she is missed at each of these events. We know that "us kids" and "grandkids" were her life - it's what she lived for. She would go without - because she loved everyone so much.
Hubby has taken to using the last quilt she made for us as "his alone." It's a memory - loved sewed into every stitch is not an exaggeration.
We love you Mom!
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