If You Had ONE Chance...

...to help a person understand that the Catholic faith is NOT a cult and that person was open to reading A book suggested by you...which one would you choose? Please help a friend of mine by praying for her and suggesting a book that you believe may open her mother's heart to her daughter's faith and to better understand where her daughter is coming from. My new, beautiful friend is having a very tough time with her mother and needs the healing that only the Lord can provide. She (my friend) told me tonight that her mother was "ashamed" of her and that our faith was a "cult". I know her mother must be a very good person (because of her daughter's great faith, and how she blessed her mother by becoming a wonderful mother herself!) so she just needs a little "boost" in the department of understanding.

Please pray for my friend's mother for the grace of understanding and wisdom.
Please pray for my friend for perseverance in loving her mother despite the lack of understanding (we could all probably use help in this area!).


*Faith Of Our Fathers was given as a suggestion by another friend, do you have any input about it?

Thank you!

COVER YER EYES!!!!

...okay, so it's not THAT bad, I guess. This one was too funny to resist, check it out...



It gave me this rating based on the fact that the words below were mentioned on my blog:
Punch
Abortion

So, basically it's about violence. Good, I was worried I'd have a few other swear words mixed in there so I guess I've been keeping it cleaner than I thought!

Totally Awesome

This is so funny, you have to watch the whole thing for the full effect. These guys ROCK!





If you go to the link below, you will find a link to their website, it's really cute.

Super Flashy Hand Gesture Hat Tip: The Curt Jester

Good News!

I was visiting one of my favorite local blogs when I came across info about the Total Life Care Centers moving into a building next to the Planned Parenthood in Highland Park. YAY! What joyous news! Maybe all those dedicated marchers/prayers can now direct those women right down the street to a true, moral, virtuous, and beautiful CHOICE... Life for their precious babies!

Freecycle Rocks

I put out a request on our local "Freecycle" (yahoo group) for a molded sandbox and I got a response immediately. I picked it up on Sunday and filled it with playsand from Walmart and Mari went to town! She just loves sand and could spend hours in it flicking sand around and digging with the shovel. She gets totally filthy and she gets sand in her hair, but she LOVES it! If you click on the second photo, you can see the sand on her face close up.

More Beautiful Women In Pictures

Fun with photos!

Beautiful Women In Art

How did the earlier artists capture the beauty of those women with just some paint? How did the modern artists miss the beauty so thoroughly?
This is such a super cool video, Anna, I thought you would really like it!


Grabbed from Fr. Z's website

Girl Scouts: God is Okay, If You Are In To That Sort of Thing...I Guess

I'm sorry, but you don't asterisk GOD*. You worship God, thank God, pray to God, praise God, ask God for forgiveness, talk to God, cry to God, wonder about God, laugh with God. But you do NOT asterisk God. This organization is going down the tubes and fast, with extra greasy, super overpriced cookie cream facilitating the slide downward. I would never allow my girls to be a part of this thing that the girl scouts has become, but this flyer really cemented it for me.
When we (my sis and I) were little, we were in the brownies for a little while and I think I even made it into girl scouts for a year or so until it became so much pressure to just earn badges and money for the troop so the more rich girls could go to horse camp while I just got a lame certificate or something. I liked being with my friends and learning the songs and pledges like: On my honor, I will try, to do my duty, serve God, my country, and mankind, and to live by the Girl Scout law. Perfectly reasonable...almost sounds like a religious "rule" lived by monks and nuns, doesn't it? Their other rules sound nice and Earth friendly but seriously, do they think we are not going to notice the star in that first sentence and pause to wonder what the heck else we need to put in place of the word "God"? Duty, honor, God, law...all can be asterisked away if you feel like it, apparently, in these enlightened times where everyone is just plain okeydokeynomatterwhat and God is a lousy footnote.

Wouldn't it be funny if the girls said the pledge and replaced the word "Jello" or something for "God"? What the heck? Why not? No one can stop them, they have the right to believe whatever the heck they want to believe and you can't stop them. It's all relative and for that matter, why sell cookies or learn any stupid pledges, or sing any stupid songs? They don't have to wear those ugly beanies and uniforms either, do they? They don't really have to do anything anyone tells them because eventually, there are no rules because every body is okeydokeynomatterwhat and we wouldn't want to be non-inclusive, and rigid, and close-minded for goodness sakes...I mean, for jellosakes.


*Don't worry, I'm not asterisking God, just this sentence which I am noting here is a direct quote from my sister at the parade when we passed this accursed thing around. My daughter, Katrina even raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes at that thing. A TWELVE year old can see that God is God to everyone who believes in God and if you don't, why would you want to be in Girl Scouts anyway?

Please pray for the Girl Scouts organization and their (some chapters) funding of abortion clinics and other things I can't mention because my daughter reads this blog. They need LOTS of prayers!

What Kind Of Wine Are You?

You Are Chardonnay

Fresh, spirited, and classic - you have many facets to your personality. You can be sweet and light. Or deep and complex. You have a little bit of something to offer everyone... no wonder you're so popular. Approachable and never smug, you are easy to get to know (and love!). Deep down you are: Dependable and modest Your partying style: Understated and polite Your company is enjoyed best with: Cold or wild meat

What Kind of Wine Are You?

Grabbed from here

I Like Albertville In June, How About Youuuuuuu...

Matty had his karate graduation (blue belt) on Friday. Here is some video of the little demonstration that they do. The taller, blond boy in front of Matty and the shorter, blonder boy behind Matty are our neighbors and friends, Brenden and Brady. They do such a good job and really encourage each other in this karate thing. I never thought Matty would do so well and like it so much! He is just not the aggressive type. He's come a long way since he started karate and I'm really proud of his accomplishments.




We had our big, Albertville Friendly City Days parade on Sunday. Trine and I went with all the kids minus the two littlest (Mari and Polly) and they did amazingly well for a THREE HOUR parade! Every year, no matter how nice the preceding days' weather, the parade day will be a scorcher, without fail...and this year did not disappoint! I almost killed the lady sitting in front of us with the umbrella that kept tipping in the wind. Niklaus was really whiny because it was naptime and hot and he didn't quite grasp the whole "you gotta go GET the candy, not wait for it to just COME to you!" thing.




I like Gabby showing her American pride!
The float (didn't they all do such a good job!) is filled and surrounded by mostly people from our homeschool group and I just love them all so much!


My Version of "How About You"
LAURA:
When a girl meets boy,
life can be a joy,
but the note they end on
will depend on little pleasures they will share;
so let us compare.

I like Albertville in June,
how about you?
I like a Gosdin tune,
how about you?
I love a fireside
when a storm is due.
I like potato chips,
moonlight and motor trips,
how about you?

I'm mad about good books,
can't get my fill,
and Matthew Mcconaughey's looks
give me a thrill.

Holding hands at the movie show,
when all the lights are low
may not be new,
but I like it,
how about you?

I like Carlos Mencia's jokes.
BUTCH: To a degree.
LAURA: I love the common folks.
BUTCH: that includes me
LAURA: I like to window shop at the Outlets at Albertville.
BUTCH: I like banana splits, late soup with lots of Ritz, how about you?
LAURA: I love to dream of fame, maybe I'll shine.
BUTCH: I'd love to see your name right beside mine.
LAURA: I can see we're in harmony
BUTCH: Looks like we both agree on what to do
BOTH: And I like it, how about you?
BUTCH:
I'm so delighted I've ignited the spark within you.
Let me continue to make it burn.
LAURA:
With you I will be like a Trilby,
so let's not dally.
Come on Svengali, I've lots to learn.
BUTCH: When you're arisin', start exercisin' daily.
LAURA: For example, just a sample?
BUTCH: Bend and touch the floor fifty times or more.
LAURA: Ha! A fine start to be a Bernhardt!
BUTCH:
A dictionary's necessary but not for talking,
it's used for walking the Ziegfeld way.
LAURA: Is this OK?
BUTCH: That's the trick, you're catching on quickly.
LAURA: Should I take a bow?
BUTCH: A-ho! Let me show you how!
LAURA: Just like partners on the stage.
BUTCH: If you can use a partner, I'm the right age.

Sarcasm: Does It Run In Families?

I'm thinking of doing a study on the subject of extreme sarcasm and it's hereditary tendencies. Since I have oodles and buckets of time on my hands, I figure it will be pretty easy and I'm sure to be published and make at least 7 billion dollars in profits.

I have so many great ideas, it must be so hard for my siblings to constantly live in my shadow.


Happy anniversary Matt and Trine!

Tasty Tuesday

To tell you the truth. When I saw this post , I couldn't think of anything to eat because it's SO DANG HOT today! Anyway, it got me thinking that pretty much anything you throw in your body today could be considered a "recipe" because we don't tend to eat much on hot days like this so here goes:
Mama's Kiddie Cocktail

Make up a pitcher of your favorite flavored sugarless drink (I chose raspberry today, but peach ice tea works really good too)
don't bother with stinky ice cubes, just grab some frozen strawberries and plop them in there and a straw and your kids will think you are some kind of culinary genius or something.
If you REALLY want to impress them, add some selzer (club soda) and there you have it, a refreshing "treat" (don't tell them it's practically sugarless) for a hot summer day.
Ahhhhhhhhh, *burp* I just finished mine now!

Washington D.C. or Bust!

In July, from the 10th to the 14th, my sister (Katrina), her baby (Paulina), my daughters (Katrina and Mari), and I are all going to Washington D.C. area! My sister has a conference-type thingie related to work and she asked if I could go along to watch Polly as she is still nursing and it would be too long to be away. I'm still nursing Mari and Trina (daughter) is going along for the experience and to help me while Trine (sis) is in class. It's a chance of a lifetime for me because it's really hard to get any kind of "vacation" with Butch's work and all these kiddos. If any of you blogmamas live in the area and would like to meet up with us sometime during our stay, I would be SO HAPPY! Just email me with any questions about where we are staying or where you'd like to meet and when. Sorry, all you creepy stalkers out there, I will only visit with old blog friends that I know really well, so no psychos allowed, 'kay?

Anna's Alaskan Adventure

I know the REAL stories will be exciting enough, but I couldn't help posting this story from my very best favorite romance author (taken without permission from my combox). I hope she's inspired to write more. She's quite talented!

Installation number 1 of Anna's Alaskan Adventure:

I can picture it all now. She is standing there, a bear ready to pounce, her feet are stuck in the snow. An eagle calls out across the azure sky just as the bear growls and takes a step forward. She shouldn't have taken his salmon...
The wind shifted and on the air there was a hint of bay rum.
Out of the trees jumps Mountain Mike.
"Stay back, Anna," he speaks calmly, his voice deep and rough from lack of conversation.
The bear stares at Anna with hunger and anger, than at Mike.
A long moment passes as Anna reaches forward and grabs a hold of the back of Mike's red flannel shirt.
The woods are silent waiting for the moment that was to come. Mike clicked the bullet into place on his rifle, the sound echoing off the trees and mountains around them.
The bear lifts its paw and then with a huff turns and walks back to the river for another salmon. It wasn’t worth it.
Anna takes a deep breath and lets go of Mike's shirt.
He turned with a smile and pushed back the rim of his John Deere hat. She looked down at the salmon she had dropped and asked his softly, "Are you hungry?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered. She saw the sunlight glint of the crucifix around his neck and knew her sister would approve right before he took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.

Bored and Windy Wednesday (Stupid Human Tricks)

Niklaus has been chasing me around the house all morning WHINING about EVERYTHING. I think he had a bad night and woke up on the wrong side of his new, big boy bed. Also, I promised I would post a video of me doing my amazing trick, so here you go. (P.S. In the future, I will NOT be letting Trina video from below. I do not like that upward angle that makes me look like I have a double chin...shoot, I probably really do have a double chin. I'm just in denial.)



Now, what cool stuff can YOU do?

A New Day Dawns

I was reflecting on how good it feels to be alive when you have been stuck in the house for ages with sick kids and you finally leave the house with well ones! I even left a CLEAN house and came home to a CLEAN house. No more vomit. No more sick kids. No more worry. Not everyone is so lucky as I am. There are so many moms out there right now with VERY ill children. I can't imagine, nor do I want to, what it must be like to face every day knowing my child will suffer every minute of that day.

I am very blessed.

I'm sure those moms feel just as blessed as I do, just differently.

Okay, enough reflecting for a while, I'm getting all verklempt.
My sister, Anna, is leaving in a couple of days for Alaska. She will be working at a bed and breakfasty/resortish type place for the summer and we sure will miss her. Please pray that she is safe, and finds her way back home to us in one piece (no missing chunks due to bear attacks or anything), and finds a great job that she will love when she gets back. Oh yeah, if you have a little extra time, maybe you could pray that she's swept off her feet by the perfect man who will love her dearly, and appreciate, and respect her as much as she deserves!
Thanks fer doing that.
You are so good to me.

Just When I Was Ready To Throw In The Towel

I know Trine had just gone through the same thing last week , but nothing compares to witnessing the trifecta first hand! I am sooo glad I bought all those 4 dollar beach towels two weeks ago at Target, I tell you! Weazy was yesterday and both Niklaus and Mari are today. I'm glad they're getting it done in one day, but I've gotta go back to Target now for some more carpet cleaner and sanitizer. I would just like to say these words(usually considered profanity, but stay with me here)...God damn it, I mean it! God, PLEASE damn this horrendous, nasty virus back to the pits of hades from whence it must SURELY have originated! It is such a cruel virus to attack the little ones and not allow one, single drink of water for at least 20 hours. Even if they swallow their SPIT, they throw it up 2 seconds later! Niklaus probably prolonged his illness by a few hours by sneaking some water even after I told him it would just make him puke again 15 minutes later. I've lost count of how many times they've all let it go. We did have it twice this winter also, it's a very weird thing. I've heard of people all over getting it and I think this one is the one that once you've had it, you can't get it again or I would have been sick last week! I've just been ACTUALLY puked on all over my shirt and even some in my (gross alert) MOUTH! Nothing, not even a dry heave for me! Oh well, we'll get through this and come out on the other side of it barely remembering how horrible it was but in the mean time...IT SUCKS BAD.
Butch told me to get out of the house and go for a run but on my way around the block, I saw my new neighbor putting out his trash. The kids and I were so excited to hear that they had two 13 year old girls and an 8 year old boy (Analise is disappointed there's no one to match her) and it turns out they are Catholic and a REALLY nice family! We are going to have a great summer around here, I can tell already! OH...her name is Laura, too! So now we have 3 Laura's and 1 Lori all on the same street (that I know of). We'll definately have to have a block party this year. We keep threatening to do it but I think I have the energy this year to see it through.

First Friday (On An ACTUAL Friday This Time!)

Refer to this post for more info.

I hate that abortion was considered a good option by doctors who believed that cancer will re-occur if the pregnancy was carried out. "We need to terminate." is how my friend announced it to me. It's like a punch in the face of the joy that a new child brings. Pray for the soul of my friend and her baby. Pray for the souls of the doctors who can't see past their own pride to consider LIFE before fear.

Matthew P. Foot Update

I just got this email from Matthew's mom this morning. I'm sure the family thanks you all for your prayers!:

"Hello, All!
Wanted you to know that Matthew received his prosthesis on
May 24th! (the guy put in extra effort to have it done for Memorial
weekend, as we went away for it) Everything is going really well.
He's been biking, playing ball, and almost running all out....after
having to restrengthen his leg from not having used it for 3 1/2 mos.
So, for 1 week using it, he's doing great! so nice to see him on his
own 2 feet again!
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!"

Matthew had gotten REALLY good at getting around on one foot so I'll bet it will be hard to get used to being on two again! He ditched the wheelchair as soon as he could and had a crutch for a while. It was so funny how one day the kids had a "balancing contest" and, of course, Matthew won! It will be so nice to see him get used to his new foot and feeling more "normal". We should continue to pray that the cancer doesn't come back and they don't have too much hassle getting him back and forth to doctor visits. I think it's awful hard on the family (9 other kids at home) to arrange.
I hope he gets so used to the prosthesis that he loses the next balancing contest!