Tuesday, June 30, 2009

TOY REVIEW TUESDAY

Playmobil has been one of our all time favorite toys. For fourteen years they have been scattered on my floor...stepped on...and most of all loved. We own over a 100 sets and over 10 thousand pieces. You name it we have it...it is crazy!!!

What I like about PLAYMOBIL:
*good for any age
*good for boys and girls
*can mix and match with each piece
*great company to work with, they replace pieces right away and usually for free
*any hobby or theme you enjoy-they have it...princess, pirates, civil war, vikings, Santa, fairies, Noah's Ark, Nativity, community helpers, (you name it!!!) etc...

What I don't like about PLAYMOBIL:
*too many pieces
*very hard to store
*small pieces easily lost
*pretty addictive

Even my one and three year old can play with them

ALWAYS LOOKING FOR STORAGE IDEAS
I took the matchbox cars out of this display and put in some of our guys...If you have any ideas about storing these toys...let me know.
THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+


BUMPER STICKERS!!!

Do bumper stickers tell our story or not?

BUMPER STICKERS are a way for people to express their feelings, beliefs, and accomplishments.

My very charitable husband has been searching for years for the bumper sticker that say's, "my homeschooler beat up your honor student !!!"

I practically get in accidents trying to read or understand half the bumper stickers on cars today.

I laugh when my really cute 16 year old son pulls out of the driveway to drive our 9 passenger suburban to work...he probably gets some pretty funny looks driving a car with bumper stickers that say, "MY BABY WAS BORN AT HOME" and "HOMESCHOOL".

Today I took my husband's small car. We call it our "sports car" it really is just a Chevy prism. (When you usually drive a fifteen passenger van or a suburban...than the small Chevy is a "sports car") Well, as I was driving down the beltway with my husband's running stickers that say: 26.2, 70.3, 140.6, I was getting some pretty funny looks. I have never really look liked a marathoner, more or less an IRON MAN. If they only new I was 7 months pregnant!!!

So what does your bumper stickers say about you??? OR NOT...

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Teen Media:

Tips for Parents on Teen Media Management (Fr. Michael Sliney, LC)

The following are first and foremost guidelines. My concern here is to protect the purity and integrity of teens, as well as to improve their personal interaction while promoting accountability for the content they are absorbing on a day-to-day basis. Ideally, these guidelines would be worked up to over time, starting with tighter restrictions while young and gradually giving them more freedom. After consulting with parents, both high-school and college students (a special thanks to Matt Williams), and based on my own experience with youth, I would like to offer the following tips on media management:

1. Cell Phones

- Given the generally informal, impersonal and at times vulgar nature of text messages, texting should be used more for business than pleasure: use it to send quick info or scheduling but not as a substitute for personal conversation with friends and family. Virtual contact should not overshadow personal relationships.

- Turn in or disengage cell phone to parents before they go to sleep. Use of landline is preferable for many reasons.

- Hierarchy of Communication: 1)Face-to-Face, 2) Phone, 3) Internet or Texting

2. TV/Movies/Video Games

- Less is better: limit usage to not more than 1 hour per day; always watch with other family members

- Check out movies and games for family using websites such as: Common Sense Media, Screen-It, Kids-in-Mind, Plugged-In, Christian Spotlight (MPAA Ratings are not always accurate)

- Try to open the kids’ eyes to the world that the movie is coming from and to what it’s negative message will do to their soul

- No channel surfing, know what you want to watch before starting (have a goal)

3. Internet/Computer Use

- Install strong internet filters that prevent inappropriate content (Net Nanny, CyberSITTER, Familink, Safe Eyes, BSafe Online, CyberPatrol)

- Ratings for these and other sites: http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/

- If possible, place family computer in public area with large monitor for accountability (for grade-schoolers, this should be the only computer they use)

- Limit non-academic internet time to less than an hour per day

- No internet in bedrooms, if possible

4. Facebook

- “Friends” should be people you know and trust: Facebook is for connecting with friends not for making new ones. A mother of a teen-age daughter recently sent me the following comment as a tip: “And her "Facebook" page is checked all the time by myself and my husband (and so are her friends- that was the deal we made when we let her sign up.)”

- Avoid posting anything that you wouldn’t want to be seen by your college admissions director, your future employer, or your future spouse

- We recommend that Facebook (or other social networking sites) should not be used before high school

5. I-Pods (Music)

- Be very much aware of the underlying message in the music your kids listen to, both in the lyrics and in the music itself (rhythm, sound, etc.). If your kids are attracted to music that promotes immoral/sexual behavior (ie, hip-hop) or that has dark or Satanic undertones, analyze it with them so that they understand why they are not allowed to listen to it. Plugged-In may be used to screen music also.

- Don’t allow Music to become an obstacle to healthy communication with family and friends

Thank you Father Mike for letting me share this. May God bless and protect our children all the days to come!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Saturday, June 27, 2009

YEAR FOR PRIEST:

CHECK OUT THIS BLOG DESIGNED FOR PRAYING FOR VOCATIONS!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Creative Discipline Ideas:

When people compliment me on "some" of my kids behavior, I usually just say that I am mean...the truth to that is I don't take slack and I am not afraid to say no. I could give you a hundred different discipline ideas but I can't give you the perseverance to follow through. Having a large family is crazy enough without wild children running amuck!!!

Discipline in love not frustration. Try to use positive reinforcement as much as possible. (a real hard one for me) I find limiting activities and "favors"(getting stuff) makes children less stressed out and appreciative. Of course a tired and hungry child is a grouchy child!!! Being at home with your kids provides an atmosphere of security and consistent rules.

I found this article by Lisa Whelchel useful because it breaks down different discipline problems like:

Messiness
Bedtimes and Mealtimes
Controlling the Tongue
Forgetfulness and Lying
Rowdiness
Tantrums and Whining

I also love the advice from Dr. Ray Guarendi not to mention the great laugh he provides our family.

Happy (UGH) disciplining...

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Friday, June 26, 2009

Persevering through BEDTIME routines...

I am trying to persevere through this...I didn't realize how out of schedule the 5 and 3 year old have been.

Last night they loved reading the rules and doing them one by one...but when we got to #10-wow, be more specific mom!!!

1. GO POTTY
2. SHOWER/ BATH/WASH UP
3. BRUSH TEETH
4. PUT ON PJ'S
5. SAY PRAYERS (especially guardian angel prayer for no bad dreams)
6. READ BEDTIME STORY
7. GET IN BED
8. PUT ON TAPE OR LISTEN TO ODDESSY ON THE RADIO
9. READ QUIETLY
10 STAY IN BED!!!


"What happens if we come out?" "You will get in trouble and I will turn off the radio." "But, what if there is an emergency???" "The only reason you can come down stairs is if you are bleeding and the house on fire. If you have to go to the bathroom you may go. Now go to sleep."

So at 12:30 am I was awoken to two little girls sitting on the top of the stairs crying that it wasn't an emergency but the 3 year old couldn't sleep!!! I trudged my big fat pregnant self back down stairs into bed and tried to fall back asleep...just as I started to sleep I heard the 3 year old cry again...so I stomped in her room and told her I was going to take her toys out of her crib if she did not go to sleep!!! That seemed to do the trick, till around 3am when the 5 year old "said" she had a bad dream and hopped in bed with me...(hmmm, I forgot the bad dream scam) so we will try again, and again, and again!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

BEDTIME RULES:

Bedtime around here is getting out of control. We have always hated bedtime, especially in our early days when putting five kids under five to bed was so hectic!!! When I was expecting baby #5 our kids went up to bed about 8:30pm and it was 9:15pm before we were done!!! Being pregnant and chasing four kids around all day was so exhausting that I was falling asleep around 7pm and wasn't much help to my husband. So after consulting with friends with large families, we decided to start putting the kids to bed at 7pm. It was such a blessing, (and we just happen to start it during the October time change when the kids bodies really thought it was 8pm anyway).

At first it was hard adjusting to everyone, early bed meant earlier awake(good thing I am a morning person), earlier lunch, and earlier dinner, but soon we saw the huge benefits in getting them to bed earlier. The time we finally got to spend together was a new world for us, as well as getting to go out for date night without having my mother in love or sitter have to put the kids to bed, or hearing the kids whine about us leaving!!! We also got to spend special time with the big kids one on one, I got to start participating in women's groups, and go to social gatherings with friends!!!

As with all advice I give, DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR FAMILY!!! (I have had friends try to do my schedule...and it only works for some) This is what works for us...not everyone. Many dads don't get home till late, so obviously it wouldn't be best for dad not to see the kids!!! Also we are very flexible...so don't think we never deviate from this time.

With summer here and my daughter from college sharing a room with the five and three year old, it has thrown off our night time schedule. She will lay in bed taking her summer on line class, emailing friends, or facebook stalking...so the girls don't go down as simply. I have also been blessed to have the big kids put the girls to bed for me but it gets so confusing if we don't all stick to a schedule...(So back to schedule-see bottom)

The baby is easily in bed at 7pm...mostly because at 7months pregnant, he tires me out!!! (who am I kidding...he tired me out before I was pregnant!!!) Then the three middle boys 7,9,11 are great about getting in their room around 7pm, they are usually good at playing legos, playmobile, cards, and games. Some times we need to remind them to quiet things down. They pretty much know that if they fight or tattle, the lights will go off and no more fun to be had.

The teenagers know if we can't hear them and they are behaving in their room...(computer locked, tv off, and cell phones in our room) than they are on their own. So far --- So good...not that we don't worry and pray for the best.

How could I forget...mom and dad to bed!!! 9 is great, 10 is becoming normal...11 is crazy!!!

We had to reestablish the rules especially for the little girls:

1. GO POTTY
2. SHOWER/ BATH/WASH UP
3. BRUSH TEETH
4. PUT ON PJ'S
5. SAY PRAYERS (especially guardian angel prayer for no bad dreams)
6. READ BEDTIME STORY
7. GET IN BED
8. PUT ON TAPE OR LISTEN TO ODDESSY ON THE RADIO
9. READ QUIETLY
10 STAY IN BED!!!

I know I list no brainer things...but I didn't write go potty and my 14 year old said tonight...add that mom, C just wet her pants in her crib...can never be too detailed!!! C also advised me tonight that she just wanted to cuddle, when I handed her a stuffed animal, she said, no with my family!!! I said we wouldn't fit in her crib!!!

Sometimes our schedule works and sometimes it doesn't...we just keep trying to maintain a schedule, especially before the baby comes.

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+
The Forty-Ninth Chapter
The Desire of Eternal Life; the Great Rewards Promised to Those Who Struggle
(part one)

The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, when you feel the desire for everlasting happiness poured out upon you from above, and when you long to depart out of the tabernacle of the body that you may contemplate My glory without threat of change, open wide your heart and receive this holy inspiration with all eagerness. Give deepest thanks to the heavenly Goodness which deals with you so understandingly, visits you so mercifully, stirs you so fervently, and sustains you so powerfully lest under your own weight you sink down to earthly things. For you obtain this not by your own thought or effort, but simply by the condescension of heavenly grace and divine regard. And the purpose of it is that you may advance in virtue and in greater humility, that you may prepare yourself for future trials, that you may strive to cling to Me with all the affection of your heart, and may serve Me with a fervent will.

My child, often, when the fire is burning the flame does not ascend without smoke. Likewise, the desires of some burn toward heavenly things, and yet they are not free from temptations of carnal affection. Therefore, it is not altogether for the pure honor of God that they act when they petition Him so earnestly. Such, too, is often your desire which you profess to be so strong. For that which is alloyed with self-interest is not pure and perfect.

Ask, therefore, not for what is pleasing and convenient to yourself, but for what is acceptable to Me and is for My honor, because if you judge rightly, you ought to prefer and follow My will, not your own desire or whatever things you wish.

I know your longings and I have heard your frequent sighs. Already you wish to be in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. Already you desire the delights of the eternal home, the heavenly land that is full of joy. But that hour is not yet come. There remains yet another hour, a time of war, of labor, and of trial. You long to be filled with the highest good, but you cannot attain it now. I am that sovereign Good. Await Me, until the kingdom of God shall come.

You must still be tried on earth, and exercised in many things. Consolation will sometimes be given you, but the complete fullness of it is not granted. Take courage, therefore, and be strong both to do and to suffer what is contrary to nature.

Most of the people I come in contact with do not undergo deep suffering. What most of us do encounter is the daily trials and inconveniences that annoy us. It is through persevering through these small sufferings that we can one day endure trials that we feel would be impossible to deal with...(ex. the lose of a loved one, sickness, etc...) Then we are given the opportunity to practice our faith and grow closer to Christ.

May those who undergo suffering find peace with our Lord and the rest of us support and pray for them. That we too one day will have the strength to endure the unimaginable.

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

TOY REVIEW TUESDAY:

I am going to try to review my favorite toys that we have used over the years. I am not getting paid or getting free product. (well, not yet) I just love sharing good products with good people!!!



We have had this toy for over ten years!!! We love the CLASSIC WOODKINS. The girls (even the boys-when no one is looking)love this from ages 2-13!!! It is so much fun and they add new material, ribbon, and love to layer. They have many to choose from and they make great birthday gifts.
THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Monday, June 22, 2009

My week with Tennis and Swimming:

I am the kinda mom who doesn't believe in signing your kids up for lots of activities...but when they are free and allow multiple groups of my kids to participate, than we are in!!! This is the time of year when we rake it in at our pool family fee!!! We get free tennis, swim team, and swim lessons!!! It does require some scheduling on my part...so as I prepare for this week of tennis lessons from 8-11:15 with swim team in the middle...I got seven kids in four different sessions!!!

Tennis lessons schedule:
5-6 years from 8-8:30 = M
7-8 years from 8:30-9 = D&R
SWIM TEAM 9-10 = D&R
9-11 years from 9-9:30 = J
12 and UP 9:45-10:15-= B&L
TENNIS TEAM 10:15 – 11:15 = J, B, L


THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Five Myths on Fathers and Family:

(Be on the lookout this week for stories with these bogus memes.)

By W. Bradford Wilcox

With Father’s Day almost upon us, expect a host of media stories on men and family life. Some will do a good job of capturing the changes and continuities associated with fatherhood in contemporary America. But other reporters and writers will generalize from their own unrepresentative networks of friends and family members, try to baptize the latest family trend, or assume that our society is heading ceaselessly in a progressive direction. So be on the lookout this week for stories, op-eds, and essays that include these five myths on contemporary fatherhood and family life.

1. THE ‘MR. MOM’ SURGE
Open a newspaper or turn on a TV in the week heading up to Father’s Day and you are bound to confront a story on stay-at-home dads. I have nothing against stay-at-home dads, but they make up a minuscule share of American fathers.

For instance, less than 1 percent (140,000) of America’s 22.5 million married families with children under 15 had a stay-at-home dad in 2008, according to the U.S. Census. By contrast, about 24 percent (5,327,000) of those families had a stay-at-home mom. This means that the vast majority — more than 97 percent — of all stay-at-home parents are moms, not dads.

The focus on Mr. Mom obscures another important reality. In most American families today, fathers still take the lead when it comes to breadwinning: In 2008, the Census estimated that fathers were the main provider in almost three-quarters of American married families with children under 18. Providership is important to protect children from poverty, raise their odds of educational success, and increase the likelihood that they will succeed later in life. Thus, the very real material contribution that the average American dad makes to his family is obscured by stories that focus on that exotic breed, the stay-at-home dad.

2. WOMEN WANT EVERYTHING 50-50
Another prevailing media myth is that contemporary women are looking for fathers who will split their time evenly between work and family life. It may be true for the average journalist or academic, but it is not true for the average American married mom.

Most married mothers nowadays do want their husbands to do their fair share of housework and childcare. But they do not define fairness in terms of a 50-50 balancing act where fathers and mothers do the same thing at home and work. Instead, contemporary mothers take into account their husbands’ work outside the home when they assess the fairness of the division of labor inside the home.

Moreover, most women who are married with children are happy to have their husbands take the lead when it comes to providing and do not wish to work full-time. For instance, a 2007 Pew Research Center study found that only 20 percent of mothers with children under 18 wanted to work full-time, compared with 72 percent of fathers with children under 18. My own research has shown that married mothers are happiest in their marriages when their husbands take the lead when it comes to bread winning — largely because his success as a provider gives her more opportunities to focus on the children, or balance childcare with part-time work (the most popular work arrangement for married mothers). So, on this Father’s Day, dads who are fortunate enough to hold down a good job and make a major contribution to their families’ financial welfare should take some comfort from the fact that they are likely to be boosting not only their families’ bottom line but also their wives’ happiness.

3. MARRIAGE IS JUST A PIECE OF PAPER
With the rise of cohabitation over the last 40 years, a large minority of American children will spend some time in a household headed by a cohabiting couple. Experts now estimate that about 40 percent of American children will spend some time in a cohabiting household, either because they are born into such a household or because one of their parents cohabits after a breakup. Faced with this reality, many journalists, scholars, and advocates are tempted to minimize the differences between married and cohabiting fathers and families.

But the reality is that, on average, cohabiting fathers do not compare with married fathers. As Sandra Hofferth of the University of Maryland and Kermyt Anderson of the University of Oklahoma found in a recent study, married fathers are significantly more involved and affectionate with their children than are cohabiting fathers. In fact, from their research, they conclude “that marriage per se confers advantage in terms of father involvement above and beyond the characteristics of the fathers themselves.”

Married fathers are also much more likely than their cohabiting peers to stick around. One recent study by Wendy Manning at Bowling Green State and Pamela Smock at the University of Michigan found that 50 percent of children born to cohabiting parents saw their parents break up by age five; by comparison, only 15 percent of children born to married parents saw their parents’ divorce by age five. Dad is much more likely to stick around if he has a wedding ring on his finger.

This is because, for men, marriage and fatherhood are a “package deal,” as sociologists Frank Frustenberg and Andrew Cherlin observed a number of years ago. By force of law and custom, marriage binds men to their families and gives them a recognizable role to play in the lives of their children. Try as they might, unmarried men typically find it difficult to be a consistent and positive force in the lives of their children.

4. THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Every couple of years, some journalist seeks to revive the myth of the good divorce — often to excuse his or her own bad behavior. Sandra Tsing Loh is Exhibit A this week. In the most recent issue of The Atlantic, she spends several thousand words trying to justify her divorce from her husband of 20 years — a man she admits is a “good man” and “loving father” — under the cover of a sprawling, incoherent, and frankly disturbing review of five books on marriage and family life. (Among other things, the reader is regaled with all too much information about Loh’s private life; we learn, for instance, that one reason she ended up divorced is that she could not replace the “romantic memory of my fellow [adulterous] transgressor with the more suitable image of my husband.”)

Loh claims that her children appear to be doing just fine. Her two school-age girls — aged 7 and 9 — appear to be “unfazed” and “relatively content” in the midst of their parents’ divorce. Who knew divorce could be so easy on the kids?

In reality, Loh is probably deluding herself. The best social science presents a rather different picture than the rosy one Loh is trying to paint. According to research by Sara McLanahan of Princeton University and Paul Amato of Penn State, girls whose parents divorce are about twice as likely to drop out of high school, to become pregnant as teenagers, and to suffer from psychological problems such as depression and thoughts of suicide. Girls whose parents divorce are also much more likely to divorce later in life.

Moreover, studies indicate that children experience the most harm when their parents’ divorce after living together in a low-conflict marriage for many years (as Loh appears to have done). Why? These divorces come as the most surprising ones to children who thought that their parents had a good-enough marriage.

Though Loh manages to find for her Atlantic piece a bunch of well-educated friends who are also entertaining thoughts of divorce, she is (fortunately) in increasingly rare company. The work of sociologist Steven Martin indicates that since 1980, college-educated Americans have grown less tolerant of divorce, and the divorce rate among this cohort has fallen off sharply. Thus, well-educated readers of The Atlantic are unlikely to take Loh’s misleading and self-serving essay to heart.

5. DADS ARE DISPENSABLE
The final myth propagated by journalists in connection with fatherhood these days is the myth of the dispensable father. Often conjured up in glowing profiles of women who have become single mothers by choice, this myth holds that fathers do not play a central role in children’s lives.

This myth fails to take into account the now-vast social scientific literature (discussed above) showing that children typically do better in an intact, married families with their fathers than they do in families headed by single mothers.

It also overlooks the growing body of research indicating that fathers bring distinctive talents to the parenting enterprise. The work of psychologist Ross Parke, for instance, indicates that fathers are more likely than mothers to engage their children in vigorous physical play (e.g., roughhousing), to challenge their children — including their daughters — to embrace life’s challenges, and to be firm disciplinarians.

Not surprisingly, children benefit from being exposed to the distinctive paternal style. Sociologist David Eggebeen has shown, for instance, that teenagers are significantly less likely to suffer from depression and delinquency when they have involved and affectionate fathers, even after controlling for the quality of their relationship with their mother. In his words, “What these analyses clearly show is that mothers and fathers both make vital contributions to adolescent well-being.”

This is not to say that all journalists get it wrong when it comes to making sense of contemporary fatherhood and family life. This week, for instance, Sue Shellenberger at the Wall Street Journal had a great piece discussing the ways in which mothers serve as gatekeepers for fathers to their children; she also encourages mothers to allow fathers to engage children with their own distinctive style of parenting. Likewise, Linda Carroll at MSNBC has written an incisive story showing that involved and affectionate fathers play a crucial role in steering their daughters away from early sexual activity; in fact, it turns out that dads are more important than moms in protecting their teenage daughters from early sex.

In the coming years, we will need more tough-minded and honest journalism like the kind offered by Shellenberger and Carroll. This is particularly true because the cultural and economic storms of late — e.g., the individualistic turn of contemporary life and the recession — have been eroding the marital foundations of family life in America. Given the social scientific record on fatherhood, marriage, and family life, the United States could use more journalists who are willing to confront hard truths about the roles that fathers and marriage play in advancing the welfare of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, our children, and the cultural, economic, and legal forces that are now undercutting marriage and fatherhood in America.

— W. Bradford Wilcox is a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at the Institute for American Values.

I know some great guys who have been stay at home dads...they are wonderful, but in the long run I see how it is a struggle for the mom when the kids get older. I guess each family has to do what is best for them. I am having a hard enough time taking care of my own.

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

I just joined...

This sounds like a neat idea...now if I could only figure out the twitter thing...

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Friday, June 19, 2009

PRAYING FOR MOM AND TWINS...

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS FAMILY...

Best thing you can do for your family this year...

Today is the FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS...it is the time of year when I entrust my family to Christ. For those who are not catholic just take time to ask Christ to bless and protect your family...the more we ask the better!!!

I love this prayer:

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE
MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS AND IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, I CONSECRATE myself and my whole family to you. We consecrate to you: our very being and all our life. All that we are. All that we have. and all that we love. To you we give our bodies, our hearts and our souls. To you we dedicate our home and our country. Mindful of this CONSECRATION, we now promise you to live the Christian way by the practice of Christian virtues, without regard for human respect. O most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, accept our humble confidence and this ACT OF CONSECRATION by which we entrust ourselves and all our family to you. In you, we put all our hope and we shall never be confounded.
THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Thursday, June 18, 2009

DO IT ANYWAY...

This amazing poem is very transforming...The version found written on the wall in Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa


For the original by Kent Keith look here...

It reminds me of my all time favorite (well-life changing) prayer:

+Litany of Humility+

His Emience Cardinal Merry delVal was accustomed to recite daily after he celebrated the Holy Mass

O Jesus meek and humble of heart, hear me

From the desire of being esteemed.........Deliver Me Jesus

From the desire of being loved.............Deliver me Jesus

From the desire of being extolled ..........Deliver me Jesus

From the desire of being honored..............Deliver me Jesus

From the desire of being praised......... Deliver me Jesus

From the desire of being preferred.........Deliver me Jesus

From the desire of being consulted...........Deliver me Jesus

From the desire of being approved.............Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being humiliated.........Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being despised............Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of suffering rebukes..............Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being calumniated...........Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being forgotten................ Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being ridiculed..............Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being wronged............Deliver me Jesus

From the fear of being suspected...........Deliver me Jesus

That others may be loved more than I..........Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it

That others may be esteemed more than I ................Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it

That in the opinion of the world others may increase and I may decrease..............Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it

That others may be chosen and I set aside............Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it

That others may be praised and I unnoticed............Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may became as holy as I should.......................Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.


+amen and amen

Imprimatur James A McNulty Bishop of Paterson NJ


THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Advice for new moms...

Just read a great article here for moms dealing with newborn blues...?(there is great advice in the comments section...)

My advice:
Just hold on tight and pray in your state in life...like when your nursing or doing laundry. Beg for the desire to love infancy!!! I love the fact that we can use the internet so positively...There is so much support here!!! I am expecting my 12th and have always wanted a big crazy family. I do have to confess...I love infancy and I am a morning person...although come 7pm I am out of it. I have a friends who don't like infancy and the good news is that many will have a stage that they will love and be good at. That is why we need to support each other and help out IN ANY WAY we can...who knows you may be the world's best mom of teenagers...then I will send mine over to you!!!

Keep up the great work!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

God loves a cheerful giver...

From today's first reading at mass:

Reading 1
2 Cor 9:6-11

Brothers and sisters, consider this:
whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written:

He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.

The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed
and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

You are being enriched in every way for all generosity,
which through us produces thanksgiving to God.

I don't suffer...God has given me so much!!! The tiny inconveniences and detachments God has asked of me are so minimal. This helps me realize that God will give me the grace to get through them and bless me for any sacrifices!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Monday, June 15, 2009

OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF...

The movie Dumb and Dumber is one of the most ridiculous movies I have ever seen...but, throw in a sardonic husband and two teenage boys and they will roll on the ground with laughter!!!

Whenever (and it is often) things fall apart around here my husband and I just laugh and say, "Our pets heads are falling off!!!" and it seems to lighten things up.

The recent string of things gone wrong have been the car-$890 (monthly problem), the washing machine-$900 (big ouch), computer-$300, stove top to be fixed-$225,and when I came home from the pool I found the hot water heater had broken and drained in the classroom which had piles of books and stuff that I was organizing for fall-$1000 (another big pain and expense)...loving my husband and my kids=PRICELESS!!!

...somehow God provides for us and we just try to keep our sense of humor in it all!!!

I hope your pets heads aren't falling off!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Sunday, June 14, 2009

MY MOUTHY FIVE YEAR OLD...


Today at the pool...

My mouthy five year old daughter and I were in the "big pool" together...she was so excited that I finally wore my bathing suit to the pool and got to have some one on one time with just her. As we were playing in the pool she commented that she knew I was fat because I am pregnant, but why was I fat when I am not pregnant?

Then to add insult to injury...she added, when are you going to look like the other ladies? (let me add that about an hour earlier I reprimanded a mom in the baby pool for looking so amazing and skinny in her bikini...doesn't she know that hot mom's in bikini's are unwanted in the baby pool???)

I quickly mentioned that I would "hopefully" look like other ladies when I was done having babies. She looked sad and said, "that makes me sad,... I wanted you to have a hundred babies!!!"

So I guess she redeemed herself for being so cute and sincere.

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Serving the Poor:

“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry;

the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked;

the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot;

the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor;

the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”

St. Basil the Great

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

UPDATE ON BABY E...


As you can see things aren't improving!!! The little monster got into my purse and got my lipstick!!!
My husband is pretty upset...that is about the fact that he knew that it went on his lips!!!


Yes he will be in bed promptly at 7pm!!!
THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

MY crazy HUMBLE husband...

CHECK HERE TO SEE WHAT HE IS UP TO...

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

FEELING GUILTY???!!!


Should I feel guilty that the past month I count down till 7 pm when I can put down my 22month old???!!!

He used to be so sweet and cute...now he is rough, mean, and a big bully!!!
Even the big kids...who BTW have made him such a spoiled monster, count down...

WE LOVE YOU BABY E, and can't wait till you become sweet again!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Monday, June 8, 2009

Today's Gospel...

Who doesn't love the Beatitudes???

Gospel
Mt 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (I don't think I am poor in spirit...)


Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted. (Thank God I don't have to mourn...)

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land. (I am far from meek...)

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied. (I totally hunger & thirst for righteousness!!!)

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. (Totally not compassionate...)

Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God. (I wish I were cleaner!!!)

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. (Not really a good peacemaker...)

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Not really persecuted...not understood!!!)

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (I think people are afraid to mess with me...I have mean eyes!!!)

THY WILL BE DONE +JMJ+!!!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

IMITATION OF CHRIST: Meditation of the day...for those who are suffering:

IMITATION OF CHRIST: Meditation of the day...for those who are suffering:
The Forty-Eighth Chapter The Day of Eternity and the Distresses of This Life (part two)

I am left poor and exiled in a hostile land, where every day sees wars and very great misfortunes. Console my banishment, assuage my sorrow. My whole desire is for You. Whatever solace this world offers is a burden to me. I desire to enjoy You intimately, but I cannot attain to it. I wish to cling fast to heavenly things, but temporal affairs and unmortified passions bear me down. I wish in mind to be above all things, but I am forced by the flesh to be unwillingly subject to them. Thus, I fight with myself, unhappy that I am, and am become a burden to myself, while my spirit seeks to rise upward and my flesh to sink downward. Oh, what inward suffering I undergo when I consider heavenly things; when I pray, a multitude of carnal thoughts rush upon me!

O my God, do not remove Yourself far from me, and depart not in anger from Your servant. Dart forth Your lightning and disperse them; send forth Your arrows and let the phantoms of the enemy be put to flight. Draw my senses toward You and make me forget all worldly things. Grant me the grace to cast away quickly all vicious imaginings and to scorn them. Aid me, O heavenly Truth, that no vanity may move me. Come, heavenly Sweetness, and let all impurity fly from before Your face.

Pardon me also, and deal mercifully with me, as often as I think of anything besides You in prayer. For I confess truly that I am accustomed to be very much distracted. Very often I am not where bodily I stand or sit; rather, I am where my thoughts carry me. Where my thoughts are, there am I; and frequently my thoughts are where my love is. That which naturally delights, or is by habit pleasing, comes to me quickly. Hence You Who are Truth itself, have plainly said: “For where your treasure is, there is your heart also.” If I love heaven, I think willingly of heavenly things. If I love the world, I rejoice at the happiness of the world and grieve at its troubles. If I love the flesh, I often imagine things that are carnal. If I love the spirit, I delight in thinking of spiritual matters. For whatever I love, I am willing to speak and hear about.

Blessed is the man who for Your sake, O Lord, dismisses all creatures, does violence to nature, crucifies the desires of the flesh in fervor of spirit, so that with serene conscience he can offer You a pure prayer and, having excluded all earthly things inwardly and outwardly, becomes worthy to enter into the heavenly choirs.

Lord, help my treasure be You and my mind and my heart stay focused on Your holy will!!!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+