Service

This Lent it seems that my desire to find focus is found in various themes.  Today I felt a strong desire to understand service to others.  Did you know the Bible has over 70 verses that relate to a servant's heart?  Check out the link by clicking the words!  My favorite verses are:

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:3-5)

and my all time favorite:

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

So maybe it was fitting that our home school group arranged for us to visit a police station for a tour today.  What better example of providing service, even at the risk of their own lives!  We braved the cold weather (Who are we to complain since it was only a short stint of freezing temperatures and no snow or ice?!) and headed to the station.

We were met by a female officer who has been on the force for almost 20 years.  Officer Beverly looked gruff but she was ready to meet with the children and share her tales.  No question was too absurd as she remained patient with children from 2-18 years old (along with the moms and one dad...thank you Michael for joining us!).  I said later that she did such a great job because she was able to keep it interesting for the older children without getting the younger ones to scared!  She talked about her belt of tools that included taser, pepper spray, ASP baton, flashlight and glock pistol.  She shared stories of being out on patrol and using her tools.  Thankfully, she has never had to use her gun on patrol and has never been shot.  The boys especially enjoyed seeing the demonstration of the taser gun (no one was hurt in this demonstration!).  She also took us on a tour of the police department, which included her patrol vehicle, the booking area, the holding cells and the various offices.

Later in the day, Michael took the children on a different service oriented experience.  I talk about our wonderful library all the time.  These ladies at our library also provide us service without fault each week (well every day!) and we might take for granted all they do for us.  We cannot imagine showing up the library and not having them there for our needs.  They go out of their way to make our experience the best it can be.  They provide us books, of course.  However, they also go to great lengths to provide an atmosphere ripe for learning and enjoyment.  Our library brings us special programs on a regular basis.  We know that if we need to find something to past the time, the library is just a short way away and we are never disappointed!

On this particular visit, the library provided bird houses for the families to paint.  Each month we are given a family book to read and activities related to the book are provided throughout the month.  This month the book was The Year of the Book.   A great read introduced to us by our library!  Zaira and the boys really enjoyed painting their birdhouse together.  Our youth librarian stayed late to ensure everyone had what they needed for this project.  She gave up her own time to make this happen!  She always has a smile on her face and eager to help the children in any way.  We will go back tot he library tomorrow and she will be there again to read to the pre-schoolers and teach them about the letters of the alphabet.  We love our librarians and so thankful for them all!

As I look back on the day, I realize that we are all given opportunity to have a servant's heart.  Do we take the time to find that way that God has placed in our path?

Right now Henry and I are working on creating our saint dolls.  This is a perfect example of being a servant.  I am so thankful that our new friend Jenny has organized this project.  We are able to provide 48 saints to each family participating.  What a wonderful service to others!  We are giving our time and talent to create these dolls.  We will be sharing with all the families (from across the country!) and this will be a gift that will shared with others as well.  I know that our dolls will be used to teach and share about the saints for a long time to come.  Most of all, our little ones will be able to play with these dolls and learn through play.

Believe it or not (I hardly can myself!)...I have completed my little saints today!  I am so excited to have them all in a row together.  I just need to put a clear coat on them to be ready to share with others.  Henry is close behind me and will have his done tomorrow!  We were so motivated by the experience that we created two more dolls for our collection...a Sacred Heart of Jesus and an Immaculate Heart of Mary!  We hope to add others to the collection as well...we need to order more dolls.

Mother Teresa and Maximilian Kolbe are perfect examples of a servant's heart.  Mother Teresa gave all her to the poor and dying of India.  She was willing to care for the "untouchables" in a society that wanted to ignore their existence.  She gathered support and formed a new order of nuns who would also dedicate their lives to this service.  Mother Teresa truly cared for the least of this world.  Maximilian Kolbe had a desire to spread the truth in a world of corruption.  He was willing to risk his life for this truth.  He, in fact, gave up his life and was entered into the worst of prisons under Nazi care...Auschwitz concentration camp.  He then gave up his life to save a man from death.  He gave the ultimate gift of service to save the life of another.  How is this possible to give so much for others?  What gave these saints and others the courage to serve others?  What must we look for in order to have a servant's heart?  We must ask for the grace from God!  We are nothing without HIM!
I also wish to have a servant's heart....to give of myself for others.  Creating in me that desire and the ability to give of myself daily...for family...friends...strangers.  Amen!

For one day, I wanted to be standing before God and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)

Sacrifice

Many devotionals of Lent discuss the idea of sacrifice.

I know that this is important as Jesus sacrificed all for us on Good Friday.  He showed that the benefit far out reached any pain or suffering that the sacrifice caused when he was resurrected on Easter Sunday!

The same is true of our own sacrifices.  Part of a true sacrifice is not desiring any thin in return and not being prideful in the action.

Today, I placed myself in the shoes of Jesus.  I have sacrificed my time in the effort to help women in difficult crisis pregnancies.  I give one day from my "weekend" to counsel with women who are struggling.  I enjoy this time talking with the women and assisting them in any way I can.

However, sometimes...no matter how much sacrifice...I am not in control (This goes back to that patience and trust in God's plan.)  It is the decision of the woman to choose.  It is hard to see a woman choose to end a pregnancy.  There is a feeling of sadness...regret...wondering if I did all that I could to assist her.

I suppose Jesus feels this way when He has given everything and we avoid his grace.  He is also saddened.  He has to watch us sin and turn away from that sacrifice.

It hurts...I will not forget the face...the hardened heart to my words of encouragement to choose life.

I only have the words..."the situation is taken care of" running through my mind.

I can only beg God to wipe the memory from my mind...tell me what to do for the next time...regroup and be ready for the next time.  AND...most of all pray that the woman finds healing.  I know that she is numbed of this pain at this time.  I pray that she will have someone to turn to when she is in need.

Then I felt a desire to go out in the cold and place myself before the clinic that she probably went to for "help."  I prayed at the Planned Parenthood for two hours...begging God in prayer to turn the women away.  Asking all around to "be silent no more."  I actually began humming a song that was not familiar to me as I prayed and felt a calm over me...then the words came to me that I do not recall fully now that I am home.  But the idea was to save us from the harm of abortion and our sins of all kinds.  I felt the theme of sacrifice of ourselves in order to profess the truth of abortion...to be silent no more when babies and women are hurting.  We must find a way to help them and help them turn away.  I guess it was just meant for that moment because when my time at prayer was complete, I could not remember the words.

May God bless those who are hurting that they may find healing.  May God bless all those who stand in prayer before the abortion clinics so they do not mind the sacrifice, regardless if it comes in the form of bad weather, personal affliction, illness, etc.

As I continue to work on my saint dolls, I cannot forget that Mother Teresa was always prepared to hear God's message.  She was willing to sacrifice...to share love...to be patient.  I pray that I can learn from her example.

Today I finally tried to paint a face...but not on my Mother Teresa dolls.  I created a Immaculate Heart of Mary doll (as I had an extra peg doll).  I think she turned out nice.  Henry is going to match this with a Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Now I am convinced I can finish this project soon.  So exciting to see the transformation of the little wooden pegs into saints!

Be Still

I have struggled with patience most of my life...I just have a hard time gaining this virtue...I pray for it daily and I know that is my own fault that I do not seem to obtain this grace.

Is it because I want to control my surroundings...my future?  Or is it because I have trust issues?  I try to give myself over to God's will...I try to trust in God's plan.  And yet...I struggle.

I do not have patience with myself to change...it is very evident as I try to lose weight...live healthier...be a better person.  I want the change to happen NOW!  Why cannot I not see the effects of my attempts immediately?

I do not have patience with those around me...why can they not do the "right" thing?  I hold this high standard for myself as well as others.

I know this is not a good thing and yet I cannot seem to change.

This Lent...I am trying to give myself over to God in this aspect of my life.  I am trying to BE patient as I seek to BECOME patient!

This Sunday I heard the song that will become my theme as I work through this transformation...

"Be Still"

Be still and know that I'm with you

Be still and know that I am here

Be still and know that I'm with you

Be still, be still, and know

When darkness comes upon you

And covers you with fear and shame

Be still and know that I'm with you

And I will say your name

If terror falls upon your bed

And sleep no longer comes

Remember all the words I said

Be still, be still, and know

And when you go through the valley

And the shadow comes down from the hill

If morning never comes to be

Be still, be still, be still

If you forget the way to go

And lose where you came from

If no one is standing beside you

Be still and know I am

Be still and know that I'm with you

Be still and know I am

I ask that God work through me and transform me into the person He wants me to be.  I will try to be still as he works his miracle in me.


As I wait, I know that he is already testing me.  I had to patiently await for my dear friend to arrive for a visit on Saturday.  I had to wait longer than I expected but I remained calm...reminding myself...as I told the children...that my friend and her children would arrive at the right time for them.  We could wait without worry or strain on our desires.  She did come and we had a great time.

I also listened to a VERY scientific explanation of the beautifully simple healing qualities of essential oils.  I was so blessed to have such an expert in my home to assure me that these oils can help my family.  I just do not think my brain could fully grasp all that was being said about them.  However, I do love knowing that there are such experts who are assisting me on my new journey into oil therapy and healing.

I also had to wait patiently as the paint dried on my little saints.  Zaira now calls these little dolls her babies.  Imagine her surprise when she finds out that they are not 50 duplicate dolls but a heavenly array of various saints for her to enjoy on Easter morning!  I am coming to the time when the easy part is coming to an end.  I will need to start working on the details tomorrow...faces...hands...rosary.  I can do this!  I have not an artistic bone in my body but with God's grace...and the patience only HE can provide...I will make these little Mother Teresa dolls to be enjoyed by all.

A Close Call

When we journey into Lent, it is not hard to ponder death.  The ultimate end to our Lenten journey is, after all, the death of the Savior.  However, how many of us actually ponder our own end during this time?

This morning I woke up concerned about my family.  The older boys were going to an ice skating event for the local teens.  I just felt this foreboding that one of them was going to be hurt.  However, we made it through the experience without incident.  And I was relieved.

We then rushed home for a quick bite to eat before heading out again.  That awful feeling still in the back of my mind.  I brushed it off as just a tired feeling from the rush of the day.  We were heading to a fun night at the botanical gardens.  We were to run around with our flashlights and learn about plants and animals related to night.  In fact, Sean was meeting up with some of his 4H friends to set up an insect booth.


We arrived early and help SEan get situated.  We were in a prefect spot...an enclosed area for the younger ones to explore within view.  We were even close to the bathrooms!  What a great deal!

Then I heard Brendan crying out, "She fell in the water?"  There was a small lily pond no bigger than a garden tub in the area.  I really had not though much of it because it was not that big.  Even as I ran over to it, I was thinking...what a mess we are going to have!  I can honestly tell you that I was more annoyed than anything else...UNTIL I arrived and saw her just sinking out of sight!

It was all so surreal...it was not real!  All I saw was her little face going deeper into the water.  Then my next thought was...why is she not standing up?  It was not deep but I can only imagine that she was confused.

All of this in just a split second...and then I reached in and pulled her out by the foot!  I literally grabbed her foot and pulled her up in the air before placing her down on the ground.  I am not a strong woman and even though Zaira is not that large...I do not think I could have picked her up the way I did without outward strength.  I just wanted her out of that water!

I was so thankful to hear her choking cough and gasp for air!  I grabbed her into my arms and was so thankful she was OK.  Then I grabbed up Brendan also and thanked him for calling me so quickly.

A close call...just like that it happened!  I am so thankful it was over as quickly.

Life is precious...my reminder of how life can be taken so suddenly.  I thank her guardian angels for protecting her from what could have been.

We did continue with the events of the day...feel free to read about it on Sean's blog later this weekend.  Michael arrived some time after and he took the children around the event as well.  Maybe I can get him to guest blog about this.  I just stayed in a daze the rest of the night.  I helped at the booth as needed and pondered this gift of life that we have been given.  No pictures obviously but as any mother can tell...the picture in my mind will long be remembered.

Also not much done on my little saint doll project, although they do seem to be multiplying around my desk.

Sacrifices On the Journey

I forgot to mention yesterday that one part of Lent is finding something to give up for Lent.  Most people think of the sweets or caffeine...all great efforts in cleansing the body.  However, we like to choose things that we can replace with a better choice.

For instance, Edward gave up electronics...he is going to spend thirty minutes each day reading his Bible to replace the time he would have spent playing games.  I gave up Facebook and every time I think of going to the site, I plan on praying for my family and friends along with a Hail Mary.  Each of us picked a similar sacrifice.

Our saint dolls continue to take form.  We have increased production as we learn to perfect the techniques.  Henry is much better at this than I am...he has completed 18 dolls!  I am pleased with my ability to ALMOST complete 12 of mine.  I have to add details tomorrow.

It is nice to take time to pray as I paint.  I love thinking about Mother Teresa and all the good that she did in her life.  However, it is also nice to look at her struggles and know that she had faith and trust in God.

Mother Teresa fact:

She did not begin her ministry with the poor until she was 38 years old.  She saw a poor man begging for assistance and she could not help but believe that he was God calling out to her to help the poor and dying.  She worked alone for almost twenty years!

Fact about Maximilian Kolbe:

By the time he was 28 years old, he was printing a monthly review (The Knight of Immaculate) with a circulation of over 5000.  He wanted to "illuminate the truth and show the true way to happiness."  Within five years its circulation reached over 750,000!

I am also helping to organize a gathering of the participants for a Pretzel Party.  At this party we will either collect the finished dolls or distribute the final sets.  We are working out the details.

Also, our family began a special Lenten Adventure that we have enjoyed the last couple of years.  A family produces videos and shares prayers and activities for each day of Lent via the internet.  This can be found by looking up Holy Heroes...a great way to incorporate the fullness of Lent as a family!

Our Lenten Journey Begins

Ash Wednesday is a special day in our family of faith.  We attended Mass this morning and the music really hit home for me.  One song that we sung was Hosea...

"Long have I waited for your coming
Home to me and living deeply
Our new LIFE"

I can imagine that Jesus is saying this to us.  We start out wanting to follow Him in our Christian journey and then we stumble.  Often times,we give up thinking we have failed.  However, He is there waiting for us to join Him again.  This Lent I hope that I can meet Him on the path and live more deeply devoted to His ways!

The other song that follows the same idea is Refiner's Fire...

"Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold
Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within"

Lent is penitential season aimed at sacrificing oneself for the greater good found in God.  I pray for my heart to be purified and cleansed of the sin deep within.  I want to be free of all that holds me back from God.

We started a new Lenten project this year....a wonderful home school mom asked our group if we would be interested in a saint doll exchange.  Much like a cookie exchange, we each create one type of saint doll in duplicate (it turns out that our group is 48 strong so we will be making 48 saint dolls) to exchange with the rest of the group.  Our family decided to make two different saints (before we knew how many we were making!) so we are making 96 dolls.

Our family chose St. Teresa of Calcutta because she is one of my favorite saints.  Henry (our second artist of the family) chose to paint Maximilian Kolbe.  This is the saint he chose when he was confirmed.

We consider this project much like you would think of an icon painter.  It is supposed to be a very prayerful experience.  We are to pray for assistance and also pray for those we are painting these dolls to receive blessings.  I hope we can also meditate on the lives that the saints lived to bring us closer to God during this Lenten season.

We started out with an blank canvas.  We had to choose paint colors and practice with a steady hand.  It was a slow start with a lot of redo...but we progress and learn along the way.  Much like life!


We have three weeks to complete the project, so hopefully we will be able to finish this project!

Valentines are for the Birds!

I know...Valentine's Day is the national holiday for LOVE!  But really...we just like to spend the day together.  We might share in the fun of valentines and a little candy, but it is really about showing love every day!

I did wake up and make a yummy breakfast of tacos and left a special valentine for everyone.  My mother also sent the children valentines along with some delicious cupcakes!

But the nice things we did for each other was more about the little things than the expensive flowers and chocolates!  For example:

Michael decided to remove the soap scum from the glass shower stall!  True Love!!!!  It is amazing what a little vinegar and a lemon half can do for a glass wall!

The boys were extra nice to each other and NO FIGHTING!!!!  True LOVE!!!

Then we enjoyed a nice lasagna dinner because it was an easy meal ( I freeze extras for this kind of day!) as Michael had to go to work!

We decided to spend the afternoon with our favorite love...the LIBRARY!  What better way to spend the afternoon than having fun with Ranger Craig.  He was doing a talk about birds which is another one of our LOVES!

Ranger Craig always has a fun way to learn about nature.  Today he shared about his adventures at the park with birds.  He talked about eggs and nests.  Then about beaks and feathers.  He had birds set out that played their call.  He also had real beaks and feathers for the children to observe under microscopes.

Then he had three tables set up with real cardinal nests.  He asked the groups to deconstruct the nests to see what the birds used to make their little homes.  We were so surprised to find dried up plants that we knew to be frog fruit (Yep!  We learned that from Ranger Craig last fall!) as well as dried out roots.  All of this was attached to a live oak branch.  Other groups found tape and spiders, grass and bark and other items as well.  (No pictures as I forgot all forms of camera!)

The final activity was to make an edible nest out of rice crispy treats and jelly beans for the eggs.  It was a great time!

Just as we were leaving, the librarian came to us with a special valentine and thanked us for being patrons...if only we could tell them how much we appreciate them!  I have a plan in the works!

The next day we decided to keep the LOVE going!  We made little valentines to look like bibles to give to the children at Sunday school.  After spending the morning learning about the LOVE of God at Sunday school and Mass, we enjoyed the rest of the day as a family. (Father gave a wonderful homily about staying positive even during negative situations because we need to remember and trust that God LOVES us!)

We normally have a traditional linguine dinner for Valentine's Day...Michael and I have had this meal together (or I have made it for the children when he was away) for almost 20 years!

The first time we made our Valentine Linguine was in 1996.  I kidnapped him after leaving his college class and had dinner ready for him.  Little did I know that he had already invited a couple over for dinner that night!  What?!?  On Valentine's Day!  YES...because he had heard they would not be doing anything special for the day.  So sweet!  They turned out to be good friends throughout the rest of our time at Sam Houston University.  Unfortunately, we did not stay in touch.  However, the meal continues on and we always love the way we change it up just a little to make it special.

We also celebrated Michael's official notice of graduation.  He now has a Masters of Art in Military History.  We LOVE learning!

We decided to celebrate with family board games throughout the day.  We ended with home-made brownies and ice cream!

An awesome weekend full of LOVE!

Growing Up

There are some points in life when you realize you can never go back.  My sweet baby boy, Brendan had one of those moments this week!

Brendan lost his first two baby teeth!

He came to me two weeks ago and said he had a lost tooth.  I examined his mouth and wiggled the little white nugget and assured him that he did have a lose tooth.  But he told me...NO!  Not that one!  SO...I took a closer look and sure enough he had two lose teeth!

You can still see the tears in his eyes!

After spending a week wiggling the teeth with his tongue, he decided I needed to be a little more aggressive with the loss of his tooth.  I think one of the older boys must have told him about the little fairy that brings money!  So, I gave another wiggle and out popped his first tooth!

I am always amazed at the reaction of a child to this once in a life time experience!

We were in the parking lot of our favorite place away from home...our local library!  Brendan was sitting there with my finger in his mouth (as he asked me to wiggle it AGAIN!) and out pops his tooth...no bigger than the tip of a pencil...and then the blood flow!  He did not like that one bit!  It did not help when he saw the big hole that little tooth left!  But we got him settled down and he remembered that he was going to have a special visitor!

I am not one to make a big deal about fantasy figures.  I am not against the idea, but it usually just is not something that comes to mind.  However, the tooth fairy has always been a big deal to my children.  Even though they know it is just mom coming into their room in the middle of the night.  I am sure it has something to do with the money that they find the next morning, but all the same it is a big deal to them.

Four children have now had the experience of a lost tooth and begged to leave their tooth under their pillow for the Tooth Fairy.  But not Brendan...

Brendan assured me that the Tooth FAIRY does not come for his teeth!  His teeth can only be picked up by the Tooth PRINCE!  So...with a little adjustment to my letter introducing him to our tradition...he was visited by the Tooth Prince and was happy to have his first dollar for his tooth.

Then just three days later, he comes running to show me that his second tooth was out!  I guess having the experience of the first one was enough...he had no problem with the second one...so under the pillow it went!

HOWEVER, this time we gave him a lesson in letter writing. We told him that the Tooth Prince does not like finding a tooth without a letter!  This has always been my way of introducing the youngest of students to the idea of letter writing.  Especially since we do not write letters to Santa each year...this is my way to get them to spend some time in thought about their teeth.  The child sends a letter thanking the tooth "fairy" and maybe telling about how they lost their tooth.  The Tooth "fairy" sends a note back.  I love this swapping of letters...again I am always amazed at the stories they tell.  It makes me get more creative with my letters also.  It is a lot of fun!

Brendan's first letter was very simple:  Thank you for the money!  But he got frustrated because he could not spell money and wanted to stop.  A certain parent said it was his chose so Brendan went to bed without a letter.  BUT...this would not be the end of it!

Edward felt sorry for Brendan and helped him write a letter for the Tooth Prince.

Dear Tooth Prince,

Thank you for the money.
I want to buy LEGO mini-figures!

Your fan,

Brendan

The hardest part for the Tooth Prince...getting the children to go to sleep in time before crashing at the end of one of our crazy days and NOT having a letter in return and swapping tooth for cash!

And so the Tooth Prince adventure begins!

A Week Without Henry

At Christmas, Henry came up with this amazing plan!  He would spend a week of his break with Gramma!  We did not have school and he was bored...it sounded like a great idea to him.  But, I held back because we had our traditional way of celebrating and I wanted to hold on to him through the season.  However, I promised that we would look at the school year and pick a better time for him to have his week away!

The opportune time came about two weeks ago when we were at the end of our second quarter of school.  He had completed his assignments a week early and off he went without a look back!

Why does it feel like my little bird has flown the nest?  LOL!

Really, it is just so hard to let our children go sometimes.  I often tell people that I am a jealous mom...I want to be there for all their life events.  I guess I have a hard time sharing even with my own mother.  But, it is also a good feeling to know that they have the confidence to head out "on their own," even if it is only to see Gramma.

I might have been a little tight with the apron strings because Henry is my worker bee.  He is always there to get his chores done and assist me with the little ones.  After giving it a lot of thought, I think I have come to appreciate his ability to get the job done.  His absence brought that to full fruition.  I need to tell him how much I appreciate him for this.

As for his trip to Gramma's...it sounds like he really enjoyed staying up late...sleeping in later...and eating at any time day or night!

He also was given an opportunity to visit a ranch for a photo op.  I am not sure how many pictures he took but I will try to share a few.

Then he spent a lot of his awake time playing cards with Gramma and her friends.

Most of all, I think he just liked the quiet and the lack of chaos on the home front!

I am glad he had the opportunity.  We survived and lived to tell about our adventures in chaos and he came home with a surprise!

His Uncle Root Beer is cleaning out his garage and wants to know if we can fit a LARGE lathe (the size of a dining room table!) and a table saw into the back of my minivan!  Henry thinks he hit the jackpot!  I just laugh and tell Henry that we will just have to figure it out!

Oh the joy!

The Perfect Age

So I had a birthday this week and it was a nice day.  I am thankful to all the family and friends who sent well wishes throughout the day.  It is hard to believe I am 42 this year; however, I have been informed that it is the perfect age.  I am going to take that thought and run with this as I continue through this year.  I know that God has special plans for me and I am open to His will and will try to die to self a little more.  I think it will be my goal for the coming year, in fact!  I read a reflection for the Mass readings of the day and it really hit home.  I encourage you to read the reflection for yourself...follow this link...Die and Shine.  This is important to me as I continue on my journey to seek God in all that I do so that one day I will meet the great judge and hear those blessed words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

As for my special day, I stared the morning with a nice breakfast in bed.  Michael and all the children woke up to tell me happy birthday and present my tray of delicious eggs and hash browns.  It was nice to be waited on in the morning.

Then everyone prepared to go to Mass, which is always one of my birthday wishes...family worship at church!  We arrived and Edward awarded me an extra bonus gift of choosing to altar serve (makes this momma proud!).  Father made the Mass even more special by having the traditional procession into the church with candles.  My birthday happens to fall on the feast of the Presentation.  It is also known as Candlemas as the reading from the Gospel is from Luke 2: 22-40 in which Simeon announces that he is free to go in peace because he has seen the promised Messiah who will be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel."  It is also traditional the day that people bring their candles to be blessed for the year.  At one time the Christmas trees that were decorated on Christmas Eve would not be taken down until this day.  Then a large bonfire would take place with all the trees that were removed to one location.  A true festival of light to celebrate Simeon's prophesy.

After leaving Mass, we had loaded the van with all of the collected school supplies.  Nothing like waiting until the last possible link to Christmas to finally deliver our special gift of the year.  However, I always say God's timing is better than ours.  We arrived at the school (We had called ahead to make sure they would be receptive to the gift.) and the principal was waiting for us with open arms.  She and her office staff were so excited to see that we really did have enough school supplies for over 150 students.  She told me that they teachers had just had a staff meeting and were asking how they would be able to provide for the remainder of the year.  They had worried that they would need to send out notes to parents to send these needed items!  The principal was so pleased that she started asking what she could do for us in return.  We just told her to feel blessed and that we were happy to be a part of the blessing.

We then spent the rest of the day running errands.  I decided I should make a list of all the things I needed done as there was no better incentive then making momma happy on her birthday!  It truly was amazing to see how much we could accomplish in a short afternoon.

We ended the celebration at our favorite local restaurant at our special round table.  We always request this spot because it fits all of us without being cramped, but also because it makes fora fun way to play games while waiting for our meal to arrive.  We usually play some game that requires thought without needing any supplies.  For instance we played the game, we like to call "Going to the Moon," in which we try to think of things that relate to each other (sometimes in obscure ways) that we would take on a trip to the moon.  We also played a similar game that uses the alphabet to aid our choice of items.  The idea is to think of things that begin with the letters of the alphabet that you might take on a road trip.  Once an item is picked you have to remember the items that precede yours.  For instance, this round of the game included the following items:

Apples
Balls
Cantaloupe
Dad
Electronics
Fingers
Games
Hibachi Grill
Icicles
Jigsaw Puzzle
Keys
Lollipops
My Stuff
Nuts
Octopus
Potty
Quail
Rooster
Songs
Thousand Dollars
Unicorn
Victrola
Watch
X-ray Machine
Yodel
Zoo

What a list!  But it is a fun memory game and I still remember the items after several days so it is helpful to know I have a good memory after 42 years!

I had to wait a couple of days for my birthday cake but I did have one.  It was even homemade and was a nice finish to a a great birthday.

The main reason for the delay in the cake was an odd situation.  Edward and Sean got sick...Sean did not even finish his meal and Edward broke out in a rash from head to toe!  It was crazy but the only answer we came up with was peanuts.  We do not have a history of peanut allergy but that was the only common item between the two of them.  Also, they ate A LOT of peanuts while we waited for our food.  As a precaution, we are having Edward tested for the allergy and possibly Sean as well.  It was kind of scary for a short time and I thought I was going to take Edward to the ER that night...but he responded to antihistamine so hoping it was just an odd coincidence.

Oh, I also was so pleased with my gifts.  I have always wanted a set of essential oils for the family and Michael got that for me.  Also, Henry got a water bottle that infuses fruit flavor naturally into the water.  Sean bought me an apron because I am always making a mess in the kitchen and was asking for one.  Brendan and Edward made little LEGO gifts for me as well.

I am blessed beyond measure!  Thank you God for giving me these years surrounded by your creation and love!  The final blessing of the day came when I arrived home to see this one little rose bud on my rose in the front bed.  It truly was a gift of God's creation for my birthday!

Update on January

I am always amazed when I look back in see such a big gap in my blog posts.  When I look at the time it does not seem like we were that busy but once I start deciding what to tell about it is hard to narrow it down to just a couple of highlights.  So here is my A-Z list of our month:

Altar Serving-The boys have really stepped it up at church and become "black robes" who serve as advanced servers at Mass.  I am so glad to know that they have a servants heart.  They are wearing red in this picture because all the altar servers were asked to process into the church for a special celebration!

Blue Bonnet Bunch-This was a group just for Edward's age and he loved going to the library each week to hear a book from the Bluebonnet List and have fun doing activities with other children his age.  He went to a big party to celebrate reading this month, and is already looking forward to next year.

We also had Brendan's birthday!  He is such a joy and was just happy to have his new LEGOS and stay at home!  He really did not want to go anywhere!  He loved his homemade ice cream cake and playing with his new toys.  Which was nice because it turned out to be a rainy cold day!

Consumer Decision Making:  All the older boys surprised me by wanting to join this 4H project.  They must look at a group of products to determine the best value and then present their findings.  A great life skill and it is fun also!

Dolls-I can hardly believe it but I am a great-aunt to 16 beautiful blessings!  I only live close to two of these precious children but thanks to the internet I can see them in pictures.  I decide to send a special gift to each child this month.  My mother makes Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for all the grandchildren in our family.  I asked her to make these special dolls for me.  I then stitched their names to personalize.  One day I will be the one making these dolls for the family but I am thankful for her ability to do this special doll.

Exodus-Henry has the most amazing religious education instructors!  They do a great job of keeping a room full of teenagers engaged in learning about their faith.  This month they took the group to the movies to see "Exodus."  Then they compared the movie to the Bible story.

Falconry-This 4H project continues and the boys learned about how to care for the birds, especially to avoid illness and to care for a sick bird.  We also watched as the falconer demonstrated how to call your bird from a perch.

Giving-I think we live a comedy of errors at times.  As most know we had the plan to give school supplies as a Christmas gift to a local school.  We ordered enough supplies to fill pencil pouches for over 150 students!  When we placed the order with HEB, I was told to pay when the order arrived.  Michael picked up the order and walked right out of the store with the supplies (with help from a store employee) without paying!  I was horrified and immediately called the manager.  I do not know if he was more surprised that this happened or that I would call back to tell him!  Then I went back to pay and every one who I spoke to was just as surprised!  After several attempts to resolve the matter, the supplies were paid for and we began sorting.  We then found out we did not receive the full order.  When we went back to the store the "extras" were already placed on the shelves.  We had to hunt down our supplies.  We finally got all the supplies and we got the job done!  It was a crazy adventure that demonstrated perseverance.

Hank-Our poor neglected dog!  We had not taken him to the vet in over a year.  The last visit he had he only weighed a measly 14 pounds.  Now he is over 50 pounds!  He is a healthy dog and now up-to-date on all his health requirements.  He is a great dog who just needs a place to run.  While on an evening walk, Michael was introduced to a therapy dog trainer.  She wants to work with Hank and I am so excited as this is what I always thought would be fun to do.  We will see where this takes us in the coming weeks.

Insects-Yes, Sean continues to love his entomology.  We hope this leads to advanced studies for him as he gets closer to college.  But we also had new carpet installed in the upstairs rooms.

Jumping Jacks-along with other exercises...I have joined a group at the library to learn healthy lifestyle techniques.  It was time for me to make a change and I am trying hard to do this with a positive attitude.  Let's just say...I have a long way to go, baby!

Killing-well, not really!  Sean and Henry were invited to a murder mystery with our local teen group.  They had a blast acting out their parts to the story and solving the case!  Sean thought it was funny that he was the victim.  We love our teen group and glad they have such creative ways to get the youth together to share.  The theme was HO-HO-HOmicide so the boys had to dress up like elves.

LEGOS and Library-How could I possibly choose between the two?  The boys and I love having fun with both of these activities.  Although I do not build with LEGOS myself, I love watching the boys creative minds at work.  And the library is always a fun place to read and be involved with the community.

Mystery-We have a little secret and we are not going to tell until the time is right!  No...I am not having another baby but there will be some changes around here!  More on this later!

Nature-One of those great events at the library once again brought Ranger Craig into the mix.  He came to help with a Nature Story Hour for the younger bunch...Edward and Brendan.  They learned about animal tracks and camouflage.  Ranger Craig cannot have an event without talking about astronomy, and so it was this time.  Edward had just completed his astronomy course and told him about it.  So, Edward was invited to assist Ranger Craig at an astronomy event at the state park!  He got to see the comet Love Joy as it passed by earth!  A great way to end his course!

Of course, I could go on and on about the month of January but this post is going long so I will have to save the rest of the alphabet for another time.  But I will say that I made a trip to an olive grove and some wineries in the Hill Country with my mom and two of my brothers for a special gift to my mom from her children.  We also participated in a service project to sort baby items at a maternity home.  We had a family portrait taken by a professional but we were missing a couple of kiddos so it was not ideal.  However, it was memorable because it was the first time for Zaira and she did not like the experience.  And all those little things that go with everyday continued around us, along with school with lots of quizzes and tests to finish up our second quarter!  We did not get outside as much as we like because we were blessed with a lot of rain, but we did make a visit to a new state park (Lost Maples SP) without using an umbrella.

Oh!  ANd I have to tell about the undeniable reaction to the boys first taste of sardines and anchovies!  It was too funny!  They insisted that they wanted to try this fishy snack even though I told them they would not like them!  It was great getting their first taste on camera!

Zaira also enjoyed a trip to our favorite hairdresser to have her hair cut.  Betty has been cutting our hair for over 20 years!  It is amazing that she started cutting my hair when Amanda was a little girl and now is cutting Zaira's hair twenty years later!  But the best part about her hair this month is that we were able to put it in a small braid for the first time!
A busy month full of adventures!