"Artists"

What does the Church have to say?

In His 'Letter to Artists (1999) JPII makes an important distinction that God alone is the true Creator. He alone creates out of nothing, while we are all craftsmen. We take items and make them take form. Everyone of us does this in some way. It's our hearkening call to God, how we are made in him image. Is not our deepest longing for Truth and Beauty?

1999 Letter to Artists

Ash Wednesday

I love our priests and how they are so much *real shepherds*.
I'm thankful for how they acknowledge that people may present on Christmas and Ash Wednesday who are not in full communion with the Church and they so sincerely welcome them to come back.

I have really great memories of Ash Wednesday as a child and how privileged it felt to get to miss part of the school day for mass. I'm grateful to my mother for making sure we went.

Laundry Piles

So, my washer broke last week and there was just no way to survive that. I THINK we have a lot a clothes..until the washer breaks and the child who is potty training has just donned his 4th pair of undies and pants and it is only 11am.
So..off to my mother's! She so kindly let me totally take over her laundry room.

We had a great week there that was really made possible by the new van. I just stashed my whole laundry (3 bag) sorter right in the back, brimming with laundry and then another whole washbasket of mine besides. 2 large suitcases and each child had their own small suitcase...a portable potty...one basket full of snacks...one for drinks...cups..and plenty of room!!

We visited with my grandparents just about every day. Max and Nathan both amaze me with how friendly they can be now. They will both chatter with all the family and Max even asked if he could go to Gran's when we were out at walmart getting more chocolate milk.

I hunted down a $10 for 100 token coupon for chuck e cheese and took them there one morning! What an experience. We lost a cup, won balloons and cotton candy. Max cried when I took him out of another family's picture in the photo booth.

We went to the beach and I found some great deals on clothes. Who can beat a shirt for $1.97 and a $4.97 pair of GAP prarie boots???

I also got to see my cousin and take some maternity pictures for her. I am so grateful that she was willing to play along with me. It was unbelievably cold!

random stuff

This week the dishwasher broke and we had that repaired. Now the washing machine 'lock' is broken and it needs to be fixed. This is actually semi-convenient as I was already planning on visiting my mom. So, now I will just take her a lot of laundry.

This morning we made last minute valentines for co-op. I took my dirty cloth diapers over to Ginny's. THANK YOU THANK YOU! I will come pick those up tomorrow? When we were there I heard Max tell Seth "I am Maximilian Kolbe...". That's the first time I have heard him say his name and then we got home he was also telling Xander his whole name as they played. --back to the wash-- Max is down to three pairs of pants. I am just trying to save one pair for mass. At the moment he is pantsless.

I went to target and got a little stand for the bathroom to put the shampoo and some towels on. Seventyfive % off.

I came home and ordered the envelopes that I THINK I need because I THINK I get to photograph first holy communion? That was a 2 hour ordeal because the design template I downloaded from the site did not seem to work.. but I designed the heck out of that thing anyway.

I also updated E-Z pass with the new van plates. We are E-Z pass DE members. NO FEES

Now I just have to clean house, make pies and dinner. I am going to go watch my soaps and see if Mrs. C's DNA test has come back!!

Van test

We gave the van a big test today! It's about as windy as it can get and we did not in fact blow over because it is so tall. I know that was a concern for people. I actually didn't even 'feel' the wind. In the minivan I could "feel" being pushed a little.

We also loaded the kids bikes in the back and headed to the park! I am SO happy that this works! It's just impossibly unflat here at the house and I want the kids to be able to ride bikes SAFELY!

The bad news was that the park was closed. Very strange but we went to another park and the kids rode bikes, played in the mulch, played on all the playground stuff, AND we flew kites. Pretty cool. I love homeschooling so much! It's really great to do this stuff when no one else is around! It's like we have the whole town to ourselves during the week =) Who knew that Molly can already tell time? That chapter was done pretty quickly! ;)

Molly's interview

Last week Molly was really saying some good stuff about Coraline that I wanted to tape, so I interviewed her to see if I could get anything cute =)

Beyond Sadness

In case you are not an apologetics groupie, Michael Dubruiel unexpectedly passed away on Tuesday. His name might sound familiar from OSV or if you've picked up any of his books. I send out his "How-to Book of the Mass" quite often to people. You might know his wife, Amy Welborn from her books and pieces that show up in the diocesan newspaper...
I won't go into any specifics.. you can read Amy's original post here.

But-- one of the reasons I wanted to blog about this was because of her post last night. Amy just received the last column that Michael wrote which will be published this weekend... I am at a loss for a words. What a twist of pain wrapped in joy? I don't know if you can read what he wrote and NOT believe that God had moved his hand to do so... I am struck by how God takes such gentle care of us even when we are facing enormous suffering... Please remember Michael, Amy, their children, and parents in your prayers.

The Last Column

While in Washington, D.C. several weeks ago, I ran into an old friend, Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, with whom I have collaborated on several books. We met after a Mass for pro-life leaders at Trinity College. It was exactly five years and 10 days from that night in Orlando, FL when Father Benedict nearly lost his life in a tragic accident, and almost four years to the day that I spent a week with him in New York, assisting him in putting the finishing touches on a book that he co-authored with Bishop Baker.

Working with a very frail Father Benedict at the time, I was reminded of an interview that he had given some years earlier at EWTN with Doug Keck on Booknotes. During that interview, when Father Benedict’s book Arise From Darkness was first published, Doug asked Father Benedict to elaborate on something that Father had called the “big lie” in his book. The “big lie,” Father Benedict said, (and I’m paraphrasing him at this point), is to think that if we say all the right prayers and live correctly, then nothing bad will ever happen to us. Sadly, there are many good people who have lost their faith by believing such a lie, and that makes it a big one indeed!

One only has to think of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, and how much He suffered on the cross, to correct one’s view on this matter. In our own day, there are many whom we know have lived saintly lives, many who have prayed much, and yet have suffered too.

This brings me to another incident that I learned from Father Benedict while working with him four years ago in New York. I was waiting for him to make some corrections on a text when I noticed what looked like a wedding program. I asked him if it was for a relative or a couple he had married. He replied that it was neither, but told me the story of the person behind it.

Diana was a young Puerto Rican woman who grew up in a very faith filled home. Even though they were poor, her mother taught her at an early age to trust God above everything. By the time she was old enough to go to college, Diana found a way to pursue her education - again something that she credited to her strong faith - and became the first member of her large family to graduate from college. She then married and was hired by a large investment firm in New York.

Even though her job kept her busy, she found time to attend Mass everyday. When her friends threw parties, Diana made up goodie bags for them that included candy and make-up, but also a prayer book and holy water. When a member of her family couldn’t pay their bills, Diana secretly paid them. When someone in the family got into trouble she bailed them out of jail.

One night Diana had a strange dream. In the dream Jesus appeared to her, dressed in a white robe, standing on a cloud of smoke. He was beckoning her to come to him, telling her not to worry, that he was going to take her with him. Then it seemed to her that the whole world disappeared from beneath her and she awoke. She told her husband about the dream the next morning, but he didn’t want to hear about it—it scared him.

The next few nights, the dream repeated itself. She told her mother, who wondered what it could mean.

A month later on September 11, 2001, Diana was at work at her investment firm in the World Trade Center on one of the top floors. She phoned her husband and mother on her cell phone after the second plane struck the tower below her. She reminded them of the dream, just before the tower crumbled.

What is the opposite of the “big lie”? Trust.

When questioned by an English journalist about the future of the Religious Order that he co-founded, Father Benedict gave a simple reply, “We have no plans, except to be led by God.”

None of us knows what the future holds, but hopefully we can embrace what is inscribed in our coinage, “In God we Trust.”

Modest Clothes

I have a few off beat places that I get clothes from.

I wear layering stuff from Modbe Clothing a whole lot. Got a dress with an annoying deep V? Think someone might be able to look down your front? Will holding a baby leave you disheveled and exposed? You might need some of these layering pieces! they wash up great and are all long and don't roll up. If you are in doubt go a size larger. Some pieces are meant to give a 'skin fit' so you will be ok especially if there's any shrink factor in the wash.

There's also Shade Clothing . I haven't ordered from them but it seems really similar.

When they have sales you can get very good deals!

They also have maternity, tween, child!