New Me/Old Me:

On Feb 15th 2011 my momma died of kidney failure at age 86. For three weeks me and my seven siblings prepared her and ourselves for her passing.

Being the youngest I sat and waited and prayed...not to mention EAT. My four brothers dealt with my mom dying by cooking everything in sight. My three sisters took turns making my mom comfortable and giving her medications. I just sat and watched, prayed, and ate all kinds of comfort food. Then after she died I ate some more. This was just to add to the years of post baby pounds that crept up year after year...So on March 27th I declared that it was time to get fit. My girlfriend down the street had lost weight and she looked terrific. So I inquired what she did and she said The 17 Day Diet. So I ordered the book and got to work.

On March 27th I weighed 163 lbs and wore a size 16. My daughter is getting married in August and I wasn't pregnant so I got motivated and started exercising from 30 to 60 minutes a day.

Three months later I weigh about 130 lbs (lost about 33 lbs) and wear an size 8. I feel great and for the first time I am eating well.

You can read more here and here.

My kids are thrilled too to have a frig full of great fruits and veggies (thanks to ALDI's great prices) and my husband hasn't seen me this thin since we first got married.

Hope you are happy with yourself...God is Good!!!

Thy Will Be Done!!! +JMJ+

Switchfoot - Dare You To Move (Alt. Version)

One of the songs that help me to run...DARE YOU TO MOVE...it helps get me going...



THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Best Carmel Apple Ever:

We have been making these for a couple of years. My daughter even got a proposal after a young man at our home tasted them.

We make them for gifts and teacher presents.

HINT: cut in small bite size pieces...

APPLE PIE APPLES:

we use the following recipe:
5 Granny Smith Apples (or what ever you have)
2 bags of caramel melts (follow directions)
sticks
1 bag white candy melts (or white, chocolate, or butterscotch chips)
2 cups brown sugar mixed with 2tsp cinnamon

Enjoy!

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

God Helps those who love Him:

"Be strong. therefore, and let not your hands be weak and slack, for your work shall be rewarded." 2 Chronicles 15:7

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and the needy" Proverbs 31:8-9

"Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her." Proverbs 8

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Offer it all up for your family and for Priest:

I got to hear two speakers this week speak on the importance of mom's taking their daily sufferings and uniting them to Christ for the salvation of our families and for Priest.

Here are some notes I took. Make sure to check out their website here.

Fr Jordi Rivero

Through suffering we share deeper into our relationship with Christ.

Our faith has to be contagious!

Don’t be embarrassed to be catholic (Catechism:#853)

The narrow way of the cross is hard.

Early Christians believed in the power of the cross…so do we!

We must proclaim the truth and bring other closer to Christ.

At times when we are so wounded we need to embrace suffering not just walk away.

Jesus faces His cross and embraces it; we need to unite our sufferings to His cross.

He is empowering us to embrace our cross and the Love of God.

Suffering is our greatest tool to love.

It sounds strange but rejoice in suffering.

Say to the Lord, “I know you are with me”.

We are set free when we give ourselves to Christ in suffering. It is a terrible injustice by not trying to change our ways.

Let the Holy Spirit burn in our hearts and we can change others.

Luke 12:49

"I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze!

Let our fire consume others to fall in love with Christ.

We must learn to DISCIPLINE ourselves.

Become victims of love in our everyday life.

Nothing can stop us and our love for Jesus.

Our entire life belongs to Christ. Are we really ready to say yes and offer up our spirit to him?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs.Lourdes Pinto (spoke on Spiritual Motherhood)

We must embrace our calling in life as women and mothers…this is our vocation.

Our most ordinary daily life actions…the tedious things that annoy us, we must united them with Christ.

Our prayers and sacrifices can help others, especially priest. The priest that God put in our lives as well as the priest we don’t even know.

St Terese the little flower at age 15 offered up many sacrifices for priest all over the world.

We live in a Domestic Monastery; this is where our lives can be transmitted by just hugging our children and doing our daily, mundane tasks for Christ.

A mother’s hands…there is infinite power in a mother’s hands. We must use our hands to bless our Children. Just as a priest’s hands are sacred so to a mother must transmit the love of Christ to her children with her hands.

As mothers we must make our life pure.

Turn everything into a prayer. Then we are in constant prayer turning everything to God for the purity of our family and for priests.

Try to make time for prayer. The sacraments, especially communion, also try to get to holy hour.

Satan wants to destroy motherhood and disregard our small tasks of love for our family.

Our mission field is our family and home…it is our Domestic Monastery.

Motherhood of the cross: Behold the handmade of the Lord

At the cross Mary is called Women…Christ gives her womanhood to all mankind. She becomes our mother and we become her children.

Mothers have so much to offer the world through their daily trials and struggles…we must use it to bear fruit.

Venerable Concepción (Conchita) Cabrera de Armida
archangelsfamily.org/heroes/conchita.html

She found joy in the cross, asked for souls, and had pure love.

John 15: How does Jesus love us?

We must be at the foot of the cross so our maternal heart can expand with love!

When we enter our spiritual mothering we can have room to add our intentions for priest. Priests are chosen instruments of God. They need our prayers and sacrifices; they are being attacked by Satan. They are our shepherds who lead us to heaven. We need priest to transform us to be holy and become saints!

God is choosing ordinary women like us to become warriors of love for our family, priests, and the world!

Mary crushed the head of Satan, we must be her heel!!!

To become prayer warriors, we must desire to become saints and live heroic lives in our HOME.

We will obtain a crown of glory in place of our suffering, provided we remember to offer up our suffering for Christ.

WE all have interiors suffering in our souls, even just offering up our hurt feelings is redemptive, when we unite our pain with Christ and offer it all up for our family and Christ’s beloved priests.

When we enter into Jesus’ heart we will find our pearl of great treasure.

When our children are complaining and we don’t have anything left to offer them ask Christ to turn our hearts of stone into soft loving hearts.

When a child refuses to eat or complains about food, don’t be bitter. Offer it up for those who don’t believe in the true presence of our Lord in the Eucharist.

Simple actions like these will turn our days into fruit for our family, priest, and the world.

THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+

Mean and Ugly:

Look who is calling me mean and ugly...
look in the mirror lately cutie pie?

Good thing I don't have any esteem issues:

My 3 year old told me I was mean and ugly this morning...

my husband has assured me...

I am not ugly...

hmmm...

Thy will be done!!! +JMJ+

Graduation 2011

Mount Oak Graduation 2011, a photo by Beechwood Photography on Flickr.

Friday was a busy day...in the morning we had college master degree this is the afternoon highschool umbrella graduation...