Woodsy the Owl

So...how many people do you know get phone calls asking for one of their family members to volunteer to be a cartoon character?  Well...it does not happen often but that is what happened to us last night.  Did you know that Woodsy the Owl must be a certain height?  Did you know that a person dressing up like Woodsy (or Smokey) is legally bound NOT to speak or make any sound effects?  We are reminded of this every time we are asked to put on these costumes.

This time we were called at the last minute and looking at our crew...Sean got the privilege to play the part.  Now if you know Sean...he is not one to stay quiet for long...and this event was set for three hours!  But he was willing and we were excited for the opportunity to be out in the community.

Each year a local organization (set up to help promote recycling and beautification projects) distributes tree saplings to the public.  We have planted many of these saplings around our property over the years.  We were happy to have opportunity to give back to this organization.

So, from 8am-noon Michael, Amanda, Sean, Henry and Edward helped pass out saplings, flyers and greeted those who came to the event.  Sean loved the event and is now the designated Woodsy for future events...he greeted...took pictures..gave high fives to children and even did the chicken dance with the Chick-fil-a cow.

Just the beginning of our fun-filled adventure that will continue over the next few days.

Break from the Internet

Sometimes it is nice to have a break from the internet....just take a few days and enjoy life without the constant connection with the WORLD WIDE WEB!!!  Well, it really was not by choice... lightning struck a tree in our yard and must have got our DSL line as well...so we have not been doing a lot on the computer.  Although it was frustrating and still not 100%, it was also kind of nice as well.  We got a lot more done around the house...spent time actually talking with each other...and just generally felt better.  Top this with the lack of electricity last night and it gave us a real sense of what it was like a few years back when life was not so fast paced.

One thing we were able to do yesterday was piece together FOUR quilts in one day.  I had already cut the blocks and then the boys helped me sew.  It was great, especially since we had gotten behind after going on retreat last weekend.

This also gave us time to get back into the school routine without distraction.  The boys are doing well but there are some gaps of learning that we will need to review.  I am hoping this will just be a few reminders of lessons....time will tell.

We even got a very late "Christmas" card and letter sent out to family and friends...that means we took some time to take a family picture.  This is always an adventure!  I still would like to have a professional session done but for now we took out the tripod and set our camera to timer to get our shot.  As I looked over the pictures, I noticed that there is a spot for each of us in the group...if one were removed the family is not the same.  We actually have photos of the family without someone and there is a hole in the picture every time.  We just sort of line up in a certain way and it does not work without everyone there.

I am so thankful for my family...I love each one individually for their strengths and quirks...If you look really close at the photo the personality of each of us comes through but together we are the Reynolds clan...I hate not having us together.  I know one day that will change, but for now I am happy to have the family whole.

To go along with that thought, Edward pointed out to me on Sunday that we take up an entire pew at church!  It reminds me of my youth when my parents and siblings filled the pew.  It is such a good feeling to have us worshiping together!  God is good!

One interesting thing that has come up is the thought of a new family vehicle.  We are seriously thinking about taking on a 12-passenger van!  Scary thought but as the boys get bigger, there just seems to be more need for more room.  We would love to hear from people about their experience with a bigger van.

A lot of adventures coming up in the next few days...looking forward to sharing with you.  God bless!

Green (Home) School

Starting out this morning with the moon fully above us in the sky (Brendan said: 'Mom, it's still pitch black!')  We made a spur of the moment trip to Houston today after an invite from our dear friend, Tamberly, from the National Forestry Service.  She was leading a program to install schools into the Green School program (associated to Project Learning Tree).  We were so excited to join her in this newest endeavor offered to bring nature into the classroom.

We had to leave at 5am...packing children barely awake into the car along with their school books (We were supposed to start back to school routine today!).  When they woke up (hungry and then fed!), I read the lessons for history and English/composition.  This got us through most of the school lessons for the day.  The boys would later complete written work on the trip home.

We arrived at a new school designed to be more environmentally effective and accessible.  We learned about creating landscape and outdoor classrooms.  We learned about websites to encourage this type of classroom activities.

We were very thankful for the tips on energy efficiency.  The boys especially enjoyed the use of laser guns (to check the heat emitted from surfaces in the building!), temperature/humidity gauges, and wattage testers.  They went around the classroom testing all areas and machines for energy efficiency.

We also learned how to determine the value of trees on a property.  The information that I was most excited about was the trail guide...this website allows anyone to create a trail path (usually done on public trails but can be used to create a trail on any piece of land) with GPS coordinates and uploaded pictures of plants.  We also learned about different organizations that want to help public and private landowners protect their land.

The Green School program is meant for public and private schools but it was good to see the different concepts.  It was also nice to see that we can already consider ourselves a green school...learning about our environment and giving back to the community when we are able.

Oh!  Amanda got the best deal of the day...her very own Red Tailed Boa!  She has always wanted one so she begged to let us bring it home on a trial basis.  All I can say is I have grown more open over the years to these little critters but I never thought we would have one in our home!

A fun way to spend our first day back to school...leave it to us to take a day long field trip and still get a good day of book learning also!  Hopefully, tomorrow is not so exciting!  We are worn out!

The Un-Cook Book Continued

I am heading out on retreat for the next few days...I wanted to send out the second part to my menu planning post before leaving.  I hope this is helpful.  So glad I have my menu set up so I can leave knowing the boys will eat well.  Because...Amanda and Zaira are coming with me!

Now...I know this might seem crazy but I have a two week menu plan and I have an annual meal plan.  These are two separate documents that I have open when I am planning.  This might sound insanely organized (or just insane!), but after the last couple of years having the same activities come up year after year at the same time...it just made sense to me!  Think about it:  Holidays never change...annual banquets are always around the same time...I just got tired of re-inventing the menu all the time!  Besides this also helps with those seasonal foods that taste so much better when they are fresh from the farmer's market instead of grown in a hot house somewhere!  This might not come to you right away but if you save your two week menus over a couple of years than it will become more obvious to you.  And I ALWAYS date my menus...that way I am not confused about what menu should be on the frig, which is where I place our menu once I have gone to the store.

The way my menu is printed out, I have a half page space to write down all the ingredients needed and then check the pantry for things I need to buy.  I write out this shopping list and take the full page with me to the store.  This helps me know if I need a head of lettuce or if I can buy a bagged salad...depending on in store sales...by looking back at the meals needed.

I almost NEVER use coupons...they are meant to get you to spend more money on products you probably do not need to buy.  I do try to write out the shopping list as if I were walking down the aisles of the store...all the produce is written in one area...canned goods in another area...etc.  I can be in and out of the store in less than 30 minutes if I am in a hurry.

I do go to warehouse centers (Sam's where we are now) for bulk items but you have to be careful about buying things to ensure you are indeed getting a good deal.  I avoid Wal-mart and other super stores as much as possible because it is just too tempting to buy other stuff.  There are only a few items that are a good deal anyway.  If I happen to be in Wal-mart for something in the non-food areas, then I stock up on those really good deals so I avoid going here for food items on a regular basis.

Now...once I am home...all food is placed in pantry by the children...everything has a special place so they can put things away...even the youngest helper can do this job.

The menu stays firm for the most part.  I once had someone asking me how I could decide two weeks in advance if I was going to WANT to eat a meal I had planned.  I laughed and said we do not get a choice...if it is on the menu we are eating it.  Well...I am not that much of a stickler but I do try to stick with the menu for the most part.  Besides after doing this for so long, I know what my family likes.  I might try a new recipe every once in a while but I am pretty much past reading the fad magazines and so  I know if our family likes something and will eat it.  I do not think I have ever not fixed a meal because we were not in the mood to eat it, but I suppose it could happen from time to time.

The other big question I have had is:  "What if your child does not like what you are fixing?"  Well...I guess I am a mean mom but I do not really care.  I mean...I care...I really do...BUT I am not going to fret over their desire to eat a meal.  If they are hungry they will at least eat enough to fill their belly.  I am not going to fix a special meal for a picky eater.  Over time, the picky eater usually eats some part of the meal and rarely complains at the dinner table.  I have learned that if you send them away for complaining about the meal tends to keep them from complaining the next time.  The way I look at it...I have some foods that I do not like to eat but I 'suffer' through the meal and eat what I can just as much as they do....it is a give and take kind of thing...not everyone is going to be sitting down to their favorite meal every night.  I do not have a problem with some one not liking a part of the meal...I just do not want to hear the complaints.

I am not sure if this helps with planning a meal.  I am sure there are more things that we do that I am not mentioning.  Feel free to ask questions about the meal planning or shopping that I have not mentioned or need to clarify.

Here is a sample menu:

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Breakfast	Bakery	Pancakes Or Waffles	Cereal	Yogurt/ Pineapple/ Toast	Sausage Biscuit/ Breakfast Tacos	Oatmeal	Eggs and Toast
Lunch	Cheese and Crackers	Tuna Chips	Hamburger or Hot dogs Chips	Mac ‘n’ Cheese	Meat Chips	PB & J Banana	Chili Pie or Tomato Soup Fruit
Dinner	January 20 Shoestring Ole Salad Trifle	Split Pea Soup Crackers	Leftovers	Spaghetti Salad Bread	Artichoke Chicken Green Beans	Tuna Noodle Veggies	Creamy Meat Patties and Potatoes Green Beans
Dinner	January 27 Stuffed Bread Cottage Ch Salad	Beans and Rice Cornbread	Leftovers	Breakfast Meal	Ham Dinner Sweet Pot. Rolls Veggies	Alfredo Fish Fillets Veggie	Meatloaf Potatoes Green Beans

Preview to My New Book

Just joking but you never know...maybe one day I will get around to doing it.  I actually do have a goal for 2013 to write my first children's book.  And I am sure you will be the first to hear about it if I do make that goal.

However, today's post is about another kind of book...a cook book...or in my case The UN-Cook Book.

Over the last few years, I have often been asked how I am able to feed a large family...organize meals...and shop...along with all the other things we do throughout the day.  It is very simple... I organize!  If you have not figured me out yet...I LOVE to organize!

So, I was asked to give an idea of how I plan meals and shop for food.  Now...this is why I would call my book The UN-Cook Book.  I would never put a recipe in the book...my book would be more about taking what you like in recipes and helping you set it up to help you plan and shop for food.  This is a brief explanation of how I make it work.  Feel free to ask if you want more explanation.  This has been in the works for about 30 years but I have never put any of this in writing.

Take the recipes that you like and organize them in a way that works for you.  Personally, I do not like to have the same meal more than once a month, but there some people who like to have Taco Tuesdays or Pizza Fridays...do what works for your family in this regard.  In actuality we have come to this ourselves due to a ministry we are a part of at the local university...we serve spaghetti every Wednesday so it has become a part of our meal planning.

If you are like us, you probably have certain activities that happen on a regular basis, and since food is often attached to these activities, we plan meals around these activities as well.  For instance, we have a monthly meeting for our 4H club...it is a busy day and goes into the night so we have made this our Subway night...I never have to wonder what we are eating that night...just a quick run into the store to pick them up...It is so regular I don't know why our Subway does not have them ready for us when I walk into the door!  Oh...how nice that would be, right!?!

I also have a leftovers nigh at our house...once a week we look into the frig and take our chances on what is left over from past meals to eat.  Sometimes we do conversion meals but often it is first come first serve starting with the youngest and working our way up the line.  If by some chance, we do not have any leftovers, I have a few back up meals in the freezer (I will talk about that in a bit.) on stand by for such an occasion.  IF those don't exist, we eat a breakfast dinner or go hungry (just joking but it is not a bad idea to fast occasionally!)

Now for the planning...I have done this in many ways over the years but the best plan is usually a two week menu...sometimes I stretch it to three weeks if I am really busy and I know I will not have the time to go to the store (Have I mentioned that I HATE going to the store?).  I have a menu planner already created in a Word document and I fill in my dinner meals.  Our breakfast and lunch menus have not changed in over ten years (although sometimes a little manipulated if need be)!  My children know what they are waking up to each morning and we could do it in our sleep...and probably have over the years!  Lunch is too busy of a transition time in our house to fuss over what we are going to have and we are often rushing out the door for afternoon activities to have to think about what is going into our bodies...it is quick and easy.

I think I will stop here for the day...a long post is hard to understand and I don't want to be so overwhelming that it does not help those who are interested.  So, I will finish up with a second blog tomorrow.  I will also try to give an example of a two week menu in tomorrow's post.

Where Have All the Babies Gone?

Almost 56 million babies lost to abortion in the last 40 years.  It reminds me of a song that played many years ago..."Where have all the Flowers Gone?"...the mournful tune of wondering on the demise of youth due to war.  Over the last 40 years, we have battled within our own land against our own citizens...some call a war on reproductive rights...I like to think of it more about the human rights...innocent lives lost so many that you can hardly grasp the number.  I read that if you were to combine the population in states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia you would have the number of babies lost to abortion over the last 40 years!

I think that most people when asked if killing of a baby is wrong, they would say yes.  Unfortunately, we come to a point in this situation that abortion has become "normal."  We have not one but two generations (and working on a third!) that have lived in a world where abortion is considered legal.  A sad state of living indeed when we lose sight of the dignity of life.  I told someone recently that is hard to believe that we live in a world where the most amazing blessing of a baby can be thrown away for trash, yet trash is being held up in esteem as art!  We live in a mixed up world indeed!

I am a part of the first generation...born just days after the Roe vs Wade decision by the Supreme Court that allowed abortion to be legal.  I have lived my life...happily within a loving home...I know that my parents would never have considered abortion.  However, I consider myself a 'survivor' to this horrific atrocity of abortion.  Where have all my friends gone?  The ones who left us...every one...When will they ever learn?  When will they ever learn?  Unfortunately, statistics state that one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they are 45 years old!  That just hurts thinking about it!

So, I could sit here all day thinking about the tragedy of the situation.  However, I choose not to do this...instead I will go out and do what I can to prevent a woman from making this mistake or possibly be there to let one know that God forgives and heals...I go out and pray at a clinic that provides abortions...in our community the abortions are given via a pill but the clinic often refers women to a larger facility for surgical abortions.  I have promised others that if they wish to pray with me, then I will be in front of the clinic all day.

I hope to come back this evening and update this post with thoughts that come to mind throughout the day of prayer.  I hope that you will take some time in reflection today as well.

So....I am home after praying at our local Planned Parenthood all day.  As I re-read my post above, I realize I was a little negative in the early morning hours of reflection.  That was not my intent...I must say that there have been many changes and Pro-life activities over the years that have risen up because...I believe...the common man (AND woman) know that abortion is evil and want to find the truth...even those who approve of abortion.  I see it all the time....women who are set in their ways stop and scream at me that I am wasting my time and that I hate women.  However, those who actually stop and talk to me usually calm down and realize that in the end they are seeking something more...relief from the agony they are feeling inside....forgiveness.

This happened today...a young woman stepped out of her car...with an attitude but not angry..."What does your sign mean?"...pointing to my 40 Days for Life sign...I politely told her about our efforts to pray for the end to abortion.  She told me that I was right to pray in front of the clinic...abortion is wrong and they [Planned Parenthood] should not do it.  I told her to be careful when going into the clinic and she went inside.  I sat on edge for the next two and half hours waiting for her to come back out.  I had Henry take a brochure to her about Planned Parenthood...I pray she will read it.

It was a slow day for the clinic (Praise God!) with less than 10 clients throughout the day.  Surprisingly, there were several sheriff from different counties that passed by our vigil...they all waved.  It made me realize that these men of service must see enough violence to know that life is already wasted enough.

I also enjoyed the company of other prayer partners throughout the day...we sang, we prayed, we spoke about the importance of life.  It may seem odd to say that the time was enjoyed but it was a lovely day for praising God and praying for conversion.

We also left the vigil in time to go to Mass as noon.  Our bishop asked us to all unite in praying 40 Hail Mary's for each year since Roe vs Wade...we gladly accepted the ability to join in this unified effort of prayer.

We finished praying just in time to have Michael take over for me...covering the last two hours with prayer...while I taught a class for 4H.  Then we met up back at home to have a party for our birthday boy, Brendan...It was so nice to celebrate as a family.  Brendan was quite pleased to be the center of attention for the day.  He loved his new treasure trove of Legos and his 'pocket watch' from Gramma.  We all gave him a special blessing before tucking him into bed after a full day.

Brendan is our special little sign of hope for our Pro-life family.  Brendan Vincent...The Prince who will Conquer...we know that God has an amazing plan for the future of our nation.  I pray that we see a conversion of heart in my life time.  God bless!

Ending with Olivia...

I spoke yesterday about God's plan....we all have a part in this plan...kind of like the quilts we are making...we are each a piece that must be sewn together to form the big Design.  When I imagine the quilt that God makes, I am guessing that it takes on a free form...like a crazy quilt.  I am sure you have seen these quilts...with the pieces all thrown together in what seems like a haphazard fashion until the finished product is complete...then it is a beautiful masterpiece!

Well, even though our quilt making will continue for the next few days (we started quilts 11 and 12 today for Rachel and Nancy), we come to the end of our blog tributes for those lost at Sandy Hook.  And I cannot help but think that God had a plan in this also.  If you have been reading along with my blog through these tributes, then you know that I tried to connect the memorial each day with something that was happening in our lives.  I really did not have a plan in choosing...just picked the person that most represented the theme of the day.  So, I had no idea who the last person would be when I started these posts.

A couple of days ago, I looked at the last names on the list and realized that I would be ending with Olivia.  It immediately struck me that God's plan is amazing!  You see...seven years ago I was pregnant with a beautiful blessing...we were all so excited to welcome a new baby into our family...however, God in His great design, decided this little blessing would go home to Him a little earlier than we planned...I had a miscarriage.  I was already in my second trimester at the time...we had names picked out and when this happened we all mourned as if we had already seen the face of this precious child.  In fact, we still remember this baby each September.

Now, if you know our family, we never have found out the gender of our babies in utero...we choose names that are similar and wait for the birth.  The doctors never told me if we had a little son or daughter, but all of our family were convinced we were having a little girl...maybe wishful thinking in a home already filled with little boys (and we added another boy after that!).  Her name was to be Olivia Quinn.  She would have been the same age as the children lost at Sandy Hook.

So, you see ending with Olivia today seemed fitting to me because it is one more connection I can feel with this tragedy.  Olivia was a six-year-old little girl who loved purple and bringing joy to the world. She loved telling jokes and sailing with her dad.  She loved animals and dancing with her younger brother.  According to her obituary: "She loved school, and was very good at math and reading. She was creative, loved craft projects and art class, and loved participating in as many sports from tennis to swimming, ballet to soccer, Daisy Girl Scouts to musical theater, and her church’s CCD [religion] program, nothing was off limits for the little girl.”

Sounds like she would have been a lot like our Olivia had she lived in this world and in our family.  I cannot help but weep at the thought that another Olivia is lost to this world too soon.  God's plan...we do not always understand, but we must accept...there must be some good that comes from this...we must fight back the evil with good in spite of our sorrow.  God can lead us down the right path if we turn to Him.

I add a small tribute here to a man who fought hate in our society...Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."  That love can only come from God...and we are asked to spread that love to others.

As I was re-reading articles this morning about Olivia, I realized that unlike the other victims of Sandy Hook, Olivia was found alive at the scene.  She might have been the last of the victims to die on that morning in December.  A police officer held her in his arms and told her that he loved her...the last words she would hear in this world were the words of compassion from a complete stranger.  The words that God speaks to us in the aftermath of tragedy...whether these events come to us in grand scale or more personal...God loves us!   We must persevere...with this thought...knowing that God loves us is sometimes the only thing that can help us through.  So when you are going through your own tragedy in life...no matter how big or small...hear these words whispered in your ear...going deep into your soul...God loves YOU!!!!

Learning from Lauren

Lauren was a dedicated teacher who got a late start to her dream of being in the classroom.  However, she was determined and persevered through school and then a bad economy...knowing she should be in a classroom.  In fact, she died in a classroom that was not her own as she had taken a job as a 'building sub' while she waited for a full time opening.

If you never worked as a full time substitute teacher or know how it works...it is a pretty daunting position.  You never know from one day to next where you will be placed and the students never get used to you or vice versa.  There is no routine...which is pretty much a necessity in a school setting.    On top of that she was not being paid a full salary so she worked two other part time jobs to make ends meet...living with her family...again in the hopes that she would be able to keep herself available for that dream job in a classroom of her own.  So, Lauren must have really wanted to be in a classroom to place herself in this position.

SO, going to that morning in December...imagine that Lauren was settling herself into a classroom of children who were not used to her methods...trying to settle a group of fifteen six-year-olds who were excited by all the talk of holidays and gingerbread houses that they were to make that morning.  I can only imagine as a teacher how challenging that must have been for her and then she finds herself facing the unthinkable!

Lauren died protecting a classroom full of children...only one would survive.  As I think about this as I blog...I stop...and pray for the teacher Lauren was substituting for...the difficulty of learning about this tragedy from afar...there are missing details...ones we will probably never know.  How the regular teacher must have felt when she heard the news!

Once again, I think about the question that is often on people's minds when something like this happens...Where was God in this?  HE knew...in His master plan that this was going to happen....Yet. He gives humanity free will...He gives us paths and we choose...How are we to know that the decisions we make (or don't make) will be the ones that keep us safe from harm?  What life decisions have we made and will not know how those decisions played a part in how we lived?  Or how we will die?

I ventured off too far..I am trying to remember Lauren for her life and not her death.  Lauren was loved by so many...said to be a miracle from the start...as her mother wanted a child so much and had such difficulty in motherhood.  She loved music, dance, and theater.  Lauren was known for her exuberance, her love of family and of children, her friendliness, kindness and loyalty, and her ever-present smile.

An interesting thing happened while making her quilt.  We designed the quilts weeks ago...one of the first...and we cut out the blocks last night to be sewn together today.  We had been trying to modify the quilt designs to our new method but when we saw Lauren's design we decided we wanted to stay with it as much as possible.  For this technique to work there needs to be seven rows of five blocks; however this design only had six rows, so I decided we cold just quilt it in the traditional way.  Then we sewed the strips to the batting and backing...even though the strips were cut to fit according to design (or so we thought!), when we were done...the quilt top was too small for the backing...by one strip!  I don't know if I am making sense to you as you read...but let me say that this was a big surprise!

To make it even more surprising...I looked to see if we would have enough scraps (as I had already used most of the material for the design we created) and there were just enough pieces to add the seventh row and the correct pieces to make it look like it was supposed to be a part of the design.  I am posting a picture of the completed quilt...the top row is the add on...I suppose a quilter would say that it is off balance but I think it still works.  And, we cannot help but think it needed to be this way.

Where is God in this tragedy?  I think He is here guiding us as we make these memorial quilts and with all the others who send their love and support for the families of those lost.  And I think He was there with Lauren and the others on that morning in December.  Praise God!

In Memory of Madeleine

Madeleine is described as a quiet, shy little six-year-old.  She loved flowers, dogs, and like most children her age, she loved running around and dancing!  She was full of life and loved to help others.

When designing the quilt for Madeleine, we knew we wanted to capture the love for bright flowers.  We had read that her love for flowers matched her personality...bright, cheerful and bringing joy to others.   I have not learned to sew curves ... my only option is to applique the pieces that make the curve of the flower onto a larger piece of material.  We have not made her quilt so I am open to ideas to make this happen.

We have a slow day today, so we are hoping to get a lot of quilting done today.  So, I leave my post short today with that hope.

Remembering Jack

I have a late post today because it has been a full day out and about for our family today.  However, Jack was not far from our minds as we knew he was to be remembered today on my blog post.

I started the day early...putting together another quilt before most of the house was awake.  Edward came down just as I had the fabric blocks set up to sew and he helped with the straight stitches.  I enjoyed this quilt because I think I am finally getting into a rhythm of sewing again and it turned out nice.  I did use a different material for the backing and realized too late that it is not quite big enough to use a technique I have for easy binding, but it was worth the switch to make this quilt unique for the family of the little girl it will be sent to in Newtown.

I got this quilt completed just before I was to head out the door to meet a prayer group in front of Planned Parenthood.  This group meets weekly to pray for the end to abortion in our nation and throughout the world.  I had been a part of this group until I had too many wild boys and not enough hands.  Now that Michael is back in town, I felt like I could spend some time in prayer with them.  I often go out sporadically on my own but it is nice to have a group (where two of three are gathered in His name!)

After praying with the group, they told me some disturbing news...a doctor has been regularly coming to the clinic on Friday afternoons.  Until this time their nurse practitioner has taken care of all the medical paperwork...our clinic does not perform surgical abortions...we pray that it never starts...this appearance of a doctor does not look good.  One of the women knows the doctor by sight and asks what we should do about it...I volunteer to talk with his pastor in hopes he will talk to the doctor.  Please pray with me that we are wrong and that his pastor will explain why connection with Planned Parenthood often leads to abortion.

I then met up with the rest of the family.  We were going to a stage presentation of Huck Finn.  I thought of Jack and his love for adventure and all things related to boyhood...I am thinking he would have enjoyed the telling of this adventurous boy, Huck.  I also thought Huck, had he 'lived' in our time would have enjoyed a nice game of soccer or football with Jack.

The way the play was presented...we saw a grown up Huck remembering when he was young...it had a more subdued mood with the audience captured into the emotions of the scene.  The theme was that of regret...Huck choosing to change the story to avoid the reality of his consequences.  It made me think about how the family of the children must relive that morning trying to decide if there was a way to avoid reality.  It is not uncommon to use this coping mechanism within our mind to avoid an emotional event.  I stop and pray that Jack's family finds a way to grieve in a healthy way.

We have been cooped up in our house for so many days (due to illness and weather)...I decided to send the boys out to play when we got home.  It is so nice to hear them running around outside playing together.  I can not imagine hearing their play without one of them present.  They each bring something to the mix...making the interplay so fun to hear.  I stop and enjoy this...appreciating the moment...knowing they are growing up and these days are so short in the scheme of things.  It reminds me of a song..."Let Them Be Little" that I heard today.  I like to play this song on the days when I am thinking they need to grow up or wish they were quieter...maybe I should listen to it more often...LOL!

I am now listening to the boys prepare dinner as I type this post.  They really are a good group of boys when they want to be {WINK}....so it has been a good day...maybe we will even get a head start on another quilt after the meal.  Hoping we can enjoy this last week of our school break.  Have I said this yet?  I love having my family all back together...I love  them all so much and proud to be a wife and mom...even on those hard days when I wonder how I got here...LOL...life is good....Praise God!

Dylan Delivers a Powerful Message

Dylan was a young six-year-old known for his smile and his kindness to others.  He played computer games, loved the color purple, seeing the moon and chocolate.

Dylan and his favorite teacher, Anne Marie, deliver a powerful message of unconditional love.  Dylan was a special needs child who loved people.  He especially loved Anne Marie, having a picture of her on the frig at home that he would point at often.  He was learning to read and so proud of this new skill, and his favorite teacher was right there helping to make this happen.  I suppose it is no surprise that Dylan was with Anne Marie on the morning of the tragedy.  They were just going about their day like any other.  And it should not be any surprise that a teacher, loved so much by her student, would risk her own life in the effort to save Dylan.  Unconditional love was abound on that fateful morning.  Dylan died wrapped in the arms of his beloved teacher, Anne.

In fact, all the teachers who worked with Dylan at Sandy Hook were killed on that day trying to protect him and the other children in the school.  This did not go unnoticed by Dylan's family as they spoke of them at his funeral as well, stating: "Though our hearts break for Dylan, they are filled with love for these beautiful women [Dawn, Anne Marie, Vicki, Mary, and Rachel] who all selflessly died trying to save our children."

So, although it is easy to be cynical in a world that allows the death of such innocent children and women willing to show unconditional love, we cannot allow ourselves to be discouraged.  We need to work together to find peace.  In my Bible readings this morning, this was drilled home, "Encourage yourselves daily while it is still 'today,' so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin." (Hebrews 3:7-14)

May we also learn from their lives lost and find ways to show love to others.  Unconditional love...the kind that is spoken of by Jesus, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Starting Anew with the Help of Charlotte

Yesterday I had a "BAD" day!  I cannot explain it but it seemed like everything I touched turned out wrong.  The quilt we were working on needed to be picked out a dozen times...even then it did not turn out as well as we had hoped.  This child's quilt had a fish outline that we were quilting on to one corner.  I am convinced that this fish must have a big significance to the family, and Satan did not want that fish there.  Call me crazy but I battled with my machine the entire time I worked on that fish outline...A LONG TIME and I almost gave up....BUT as soon as it was completed all the problems I was having with my machine and thread stopped!  So glad I persevered and was able to make that happen.

Then I took Amanda to an orientation, but decided to take a side trip to let Henry take a picture of a tree (photography project he is working on).  When I pulled off to the side of the road to let him take his pictures (took less than two minutes) the car would not budge....we were STUCK!!!  No matter how hard I tried to get out...the tire went in deeper.  I had to call Michael...who had to call a tow service to pull us out!  Thankfully, we were able to take the second car...Michael stayed with the stuck car...but we barely got Amanda to her orientation.  We all got home around the same time and had a late dinner, which meant a late night before getting everyone settled in bed.

By the end of the day, I was a basket case...my family wanted nothing to do with me...I was mad at myself and taking it out on everyone else.  Not a good way to spend a leisurely day in January after just getting my husband back and getting over illness.  I do not know why the day turned out this way, but I woke up this morning and was reading about little Charlotte (the child we will remember today) and I am more determined than ever to start anew that there is no excuse to waste a day not knowing when the last will come.

Charlotte was a six-year-old who had a love for animals...ALL animals...and dreamed of being a veterinarian one day.  Her last request...actually insistent begging...was to wear her new pink dress and boots to school...which her mother finally relented and allowed Charlotte to do.  As you can imagine any little girl doing, I am sure she was strutting around showing off her new outfit to her friends that morning.  She did not have a care in the world and was happy in the moment.  Those who knew her said she was an outgoing, mischievousness little girl who loved life.  I thought it was interesting that in the reports about her, I came across a story about a song she loved to hear...'Home' by Phillip Phillips.  I am not saying this is the most profound song in the world but it did make me realize (again!) that I am not alone on this journey.

You know...looking back at yesterday...it really was not that bad...I had no reason to get upset.  I let the errors of the day get the best of me.  In the end, the quilt was completed....the car got out of the mud...Amanda got to her meeting...and we are all together as a family and well again.  Looking at the positive and learning to appreciate the good...being patient with life...I need to learn these lessons....oh how I wish I did not have to repeat the course over and over again!  Reading from Hebrews this morning helped me realize that even in my errors I would be OK.  You see..."[Jesus] had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way,...Because he himself was tested through what he suffered,
he is able to help those who are being tested." (2:14-18)

So, when I am being tested, I am going to try to remember that Jesus is there with me...and place his name upon my lips in prayer instead of trying to ride the roller coaster of life alone and knocking everyone else aside along the way.  Please, Lord, help me to remember this promise!  Amen.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor and Jesse

After the last few days of illness, I have talked about the desire to rid our home of these demons in a some what jovial manner.  However,  I have to admit that it seems there is a force working against us.  Brendan continues to have a rash from the medicine reaction however he seems to be feeling better....the doctor called late in the evening to tell us that his white blood cell count is severely elevated and we were told to return to the doctor's office for further testing this morning if he was not well.  We are hoping that we are past the worst of it.  We have all become quite weary from the experience and will be glad for the day when Brendan is completely well again.

The thought that this illness somehow relates to the feast of the day and the making of the memorial quilts might seem like a stretch; however, I cannot help but feel a sense of gratitude for the grace God gives to us through intercessory prayer (a prayer or petition to God in behalf of another).  We have been thankful for all the prayers from family and friends.  There are many times throughout history when faced with the impossible, the prayers of the faithful brought about miracles.  And there is no better person on earth or in heaven to ask for assistance in prayer than Mary, Mother of God.  

The continuous action of Jesus' mother through her intercession to her Son, as seen in the events leading up to the presentation of Mary as Our Lady of Prompt Succor.  Maybe you have heard of some of these historical events but not the 'rest of the story,' so here is a quick account.

It all started with a group of French nuns (Ursuline nuns to be exact) in 1802.  The nuns were trying to find a way to continue their order in New Orleans with the plea for more nuns from France.  Their request was granted and they placed a statue of Mary in their little chapel with the name of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in honor of their prayers being answered (succor means "to give aid or assistance during difficult times").  In 1812, a fire was taking over the city of New Orleans and on quickly on the path to destroy the Ursuline convent.  The nuns once again prayed to Our Lady asking for her intercession, and the winds began to blow from the opposite direction sending the flames away from the buildings!  And, in 1815...during the Battle of New Orleans...the British were sure to have a victory over the dwindling American Army led by Andrew Jackson.  The Ursuline nuns again began their fervent prayers asking for peace.  As Mass began the battle raged around the city but before the Mass was ended the news came that Jackson had defeated the British in an amazing and surprising victory!  So awesome!!!!

So today we are asking Our Lady of Prompt Succor to ask God's continuing graces to come to the families of Newtown.  

Today we remember Jesse...known as 'the little soldier' and 'the cowboy,' he had been hidden away in a closet but chose to leave in order to try to save his teacher and fellow classmates.  Can you believe the bravery of this sweet six-year-old?  A little boy who loved horses and being on the farm as well as learning about numbers...he was brave and courageous to the end.  We decided to create a barn from all of his interests, including a panel with super heroes to show that we know he was a hero also.  May his soul rest in peace!

Focusing on Caroline

Today we will be meeting for our 4H Photography meeting (see other blog later in the day).  This made me think of Caroline...six-year-old...full of life and charitable acts...and she loved taking pictures.  It has been said that she carried a camera everywhere she went.  She also loved to draw and dance...she must have been a very artistic child.  She loved the color pink like most little girls but then showed her uniqueness with her love of the NY Yankees and soccer.  She will always be remembered for her friendly smile.

We chose to design her quilt as a camera...using her interests to create the camera design.  We hope to begin work...sewing her quilt pieces together early this week.  We learned a new method to sew quilts that will speed up the process.  I will try to show some of our finished quilts by the end of the week.

However, first we need to get home and be well.  We did finally get Michael back to my mother's house yesterday afternoon...so good to have all of us back together (not looking forward to the ride home in the full Expedition...LOL!).  We are so blessed to have him home safe.

However, Brendan refuses to give up this awful virus!  It has now been a week since he started feeling sick.  He tries so hard to be well...wanting to eat and play...but by 1am each night (morning) he makes his run to the toilet...not fun I assure you!  His last bout came after we were sure we were past the worst...he had not thrown up since Wednesday (Thursday morning) then Saturday morning he woke up and could not walk....very scary!...he was dehydrated and seemed to have inflammation in his hips...we started trying to get him to drink more fluids and giving him ibuprofen...he was doing better by mid-afternoon.  Then the troubles began again in the evening...full force!  This morning we woke everyone and found Brendan with a severe rash that looked like welts all over his body!   We called our doctor and were told to give him Benadryl and bring him as soon as we got back.  We rushed back and made the trek in record time.  The doctor confirmed what we believed...viral infection that spread to his hips...however he is convinced that the rash was a side effect (called 5th disease) that sometimes comes with severe case of virus...we thought it was possibly a reaction to the ibuprofen which he has never taken.  The Benadryl seemed to cause the rash to disappear quickly...I guess we just remain weary if ever he needs to take this in the future.  We had labs done and the results were...well...we don't know...we will find out tomorrow.

So after a full day in the car for most of the family.  We are home.  Hoping for a good night sleep in our own beds.  I ask you again to pray for him...sweet little guy...I hate to see the little ones sick (well any one but especially the little ones!).  He has not been able to keep food down for several days.  He ate today...we will see how the next 24 hours goes.

BTW, we did NOT make it to the photography meeting.  So sad but that is the way it goes.  So glad I had some one else to teach the class this month.  Hoping it all went well and the others learned a lot.