Our Lady of Fatima Visions and Message

On May 13-October 13, 1917 the Blessed Mother appeared to three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, six times in Fatima, Portugal.  To read about the Message of Fatima she gave to the children and the world, click on this link to the Vatican website on these apparitions.   

   
Both of my parents and my grandmothers have often prayed the Rosary and turned to Mary, the Mother of God, to ask for her prayers and intercession.  Devotion to the Blessed Mother has been a tradition in our family since long before I was born.  

   
The two prayers that I prayed daily in hopes to bring about Kevin's return to the Catholic faith in which he was raised were the Rosary and "The Prayer to Mary for the Conversion of a Loved One," a prayer which I first came across in this amazing book.

   
Kevin gave me a beautiful pink crystal Rosary even before he returned to the faith, because I’d asked for one.  I once said another Rosary wouldn’t mean as much, though I now have another one that means a great deal to me.  The Rosary case I have is still the one my mom gave me years ago, and the Rosary I keep with me all the time belonged to my dad.  He used it a lot during his life, so I’m very grateful to carry on the tradition of the Catholic faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother by using it regularly to pray for family, friends, and all who are suffering in mind, body, and spirit.
   
Here is the trailer from the original film The 13^th Day: The True Story of Fatima is a beautiful portrayal of the events including and surrounding these apparitions:

      

Yes, God! What Ordinary Families Can learn about Parenting Today's Vocation Stories

     Yes, God!  At long last there’s another book to add to your shelf by award-winning author, Catholic wife and homeschooling mother of seven, Susie Lloyd.  I was feeling a bit deprived after quickly devouring and being very amused by her two humor books: Please Don’t Drink the Holy Water and Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Kids.  Now the wait is over, and the fans rejoiced with a hardy “yes, God!”

     My husband and I met Susie Lloyd back in August 2009 at the Catholic Marketing Network Tradeshow.  She and one of her daughters were at a booth with books.  I could tell from our brief exchange with Susie that she has a great sense of humor.  We ended up buying both of her books after flipping through them, reading a bit and checking out the amusing cartoon drawings included.  

     Our train-ride back home was significantly more enjoyable than the one up, because I shared stories from the first book with Kevin, so we were both laughing much of the way.      

     I was excited to read on Facebook that Susie was coming out with another book, knowing that whatever it was about, I’d want to read it.  Interestingly enough, the topic is one with which Kevin and I have become even more familiar in recent years as two of our best friends/siblings in Christ have taken the next step in discerning religious vocations: one to the priesthood and the other to become a cloistered nun. 

     Yes, God!  What Ordinary Families Can Learn about Parenting from Today’s Vocation Stories takes a look at the families of ten different men and women who have discerned a call to the religious life.  Each chapter focuses on one aspect of saying yes to God that was particularly important in that individual’s family through some in-depth interviews and conversations.  

    The people chosen for this book are those who have learned to say yes to: duty, affection, strength, spiritual poverty, inheritance, the Greatest Commandment, generosity, humility, and patience.  They learned how to carry out these important aspects of their vocations from their families.  Susie explains how each way of saying yes to God has played out in these people’s lives as well as in her own life, faith, and family using her characteristic sense of humor and parenting wisdom, some of which was learned the hard way. 

     Is there an ideal method and/or model for preparing your children for religious vocations?  Not really.  The men and women in this book have come from a variety of circumstances, socioeconomic backgrounds, and even levels of involvement in the Catholic faith.  The common string among these stories is that each person, when it came right down to it answered yes when God called them to a religious vocation. 

     The message is one of hope, that you don’t have to have or be perfect parents to encourage your kids to say yes to the Lord.  By living out Biblical values and being true to whom God made them to be, the families of these five priests and five nuns (two of whom are biological sisters) helped prepare them for a life-long service to the Lord and His people. 

     Whether you come from or are part of a family in which the Catechism was drilled into your brain at an early age and you prayed Hail Mary’s until the cows came home (or in one family, at least settled down) or if you tried to learn something of Catholicism’s draw by actually drinking some holy water or playing a trick on your blind teacher, you’ll get something from these stories that will help you say yes to God in your own life and help others encourage the same submissiveness to the Lord in theirs.

    For more information and/or to order your own download or hard copy of Yes, God! click here.  (If you know a father of young girls who has said he plans on bypassing any vocation issues by telling his two youngest that they can start dating when the oldest is married, after which he will make the oldest enter a convent then you should probably just go ahead and give him a copy of this book.) 

What got you involved in Respect Life ministry?

         

    

The shortest answer to that question for me is: my parents.  

     
The following appeared this weekend on an insert in our church bulletin.  The piece was written by Ann Niermeyer, grandmother, mother, respect life advocate, and local 40 Days for Life leader (aka my mom). It is a very good explanation of some of the biggest reasons why my husband and I are also involved.      

Father Dan asked me, “What got you involved in Respect Life ministry?” – specifically working with 40 Days for Life and with pregnancy help centers to support new mothers and fathers.

     
My call to ministry was a gradual process, but I think my involvement stems from my own experience as an expectant mother. I was so happy when I learned I was pregnant, and having a baby was one of the greatest joys of my life. My husband was even more excited. He loved children so much, and he couldn’t wait for us to be parents.

My memories of those years are filled with baby showers and cute little clothes, peaceful nights rocking and nursing, reading and singing to my babies. Each one was such a cherished blessing to our family. So my heart goes out to mothers who do not experience that. I find it so difficult to imagine how it would be to face a pregnancy with so much fear and hopelessness – all alone, scared, and feeling like there was no one there for me, so terrified that I saw no other choice but to have my child aborted. And then the days and the years that follow that painful decision  -  and the hurt.

Finally, when I learned about the sheer numbers of abortions – they overwhelmed me. Over a million each year in our country alone – 5,000 a year in my city of Richmond, Virginia. All I could think of to do was to pray. So I joined with others who pray for an end to abortion. And praying led me to discover that the first person transformed by those prayers – was me! God changed my heart first, and then encouraged me to remain and pray that others would have a change of heart, too.

I invite you to join us in praying these 40 Days for Life – pray for a change of heart, pray for our healing from abortion, and pray for an end to abortion. Thank you.

Imagine!  Anticipating the birth of a child with excitement and joy....  How sad that the attitude conveyed much too often in our society today is negative.  Our society seems to spend more energy in trying to avoid pregnancies than in celebrating them.  Indeed pregnancy is often treated as an “illness” to be avoided and for which the only “cure” is abortion.  This is the attitude surrounding our young people today. 
                                   We owe them better...join in the prayer!  – Fr. Dan

Abortion is the leading cause of death in the United States.   Prayer is the cure.   Save lives.

40 Days for Life is happening NOW around the world.

Find the prayer vigil location nearest you.

Once Upon a Potty Training (My Nanny Diary)

Potty Seats

    
Having children sit on the potty either directly or on a seat that’s a little smaller, perhaps padded, and maybe with some fun fictitious friends on it in primary colors, seems to make the most sense to me.  A potty chair that has to be emptied and cleaned every time which sits next to a real toilet doesn’t seem like a good solution in my book, because the kid’s going to know that the toilet can be flushed and the lid opened, so toys and books, jewelry, pets, etc. would likely end up in there, especially if that’s not where their pee and poop went directly.  Who knows?  I may very well change my mind when it comes to spending several blocks of time each day potty training two or more children at the same time. 

Lockdown

I must emphasize the importance of showing any visitors, nannies, childcare providers, babysitters from up the street how to use any and all toilet cover locks.  I was really in a state of panic one day when both toilets had been fitted with new locks I was having trouble figuring out how to operate, while eyeing the bathtub with dismay.  I did manage eventually to determine how the swing/lever contraption thing worked before I had to resort to desperate measures.

Overflow

At daycare centers and schools, they often have tiny potties which are low to the ground, have smaller seats, and well, smaller everything.  I can’t tell you how much worse it is to clean up an overflowing toddler toilet(s).  There are often two little toilets in one bathroom.  When they both are overflowing, it traditionally means one staff person will have the privilege of spending the next 20+ minutes cleaning up the bathroom (while going through one or more pairs of gloves) after the ridiculously small pipes have been plunged and the ridiculously large poop (for such a little person) is dislodged.    

Flushback

My mom tells me that the first time she brought out a potty chair and tried to explain to me how to use it, that I was a bit young.  She gave me a brief tutorial, then she went into the kitchen.  I came out before long with the bowl from the potty chair (which was still empty and dry) and asked her for “Green beans?” my favorite vegetable at that time.  She wisely discerned I wasn’t quite ready to use the toilet. 

Princess Panties 

The two funniest communications I’ve received recently from a parent regarding misplaced items have come to me via text message.  One was to ask if I knew the whereabouts of a pile of princess underwear and the other one was to inquire where I had last seen the pink kitty.  Don't get me wrong, these were both totally legit questions, I just found it amusing to get texts messages asking me about princess panties and pink kitty whereabouts.  I knew the answer to both questions, but the pile of princess panties took longer to find because someone else had moved it from where I had set it.  The pink kitty was found without my further involvement.  (I knew it had made it up into her bedroom at naptime and hadn’t come back down.) 

    
Across the 20+ years since I first began babysitting, I’ve gotten all sorts of strange urgent calls from parents seeking something essential for their child’s peace of mind (or their own).  Sometimes, a parent might call me later that evening or perhaps over the weekend to inquire about the location of a certain item.  Frantic calls around bedtime to see if I know where they can locate the one and only soft, cuddly thing a child will deign to fall asleep clutching aren’t uncommon.  Missing blankets, books, toys, bottle tops, shoes, socks, hats, Gladware containers…some or all of which have been sources of anxiety for certain mothers (and therefore causes of stress for me) who itemize everything and/or inventory a few things every single day— once in the morning and once at night.  I’m talking about some mothers doing this—not me!    

Can you spare a square?

Since things are generally pretty hectic keeping up with the twins, the times are few and far between when I can spend an extended period of time with their older sister in the bathroom without one of them getting into trouble.  They make a beeline for the bathroom whenever the door is open.  They want to crawl on the stool their sister uses, hang on her, etc.    

    
I have only had a limited number of toilet paper tutorials with her thus far, and at this point, my main goal is to get her to pee in the potty instead of on the carpet in the living room, the bathroom floor…so I’m not quite as concerned about her toilet paper consumption provided the toilet flushes without a problem.

When I’ve been present for when she’s ready to wipe off, she’s often taken a single square of toilet paper.  I’m not sure what has led her to believe that this will be sufficient; it could be that when she has used flushable wipes, we have her use one, but I’m not sure.  Naturally, I’m led to think of the Seinfeld episode where a woman is asked if she can “spare a square?”

    
I don’t want her to use half a roll or just one square.  I figure four squares are about how many would be reasonable for a little person still learning proper top-to-bottom wiping technique.  Lately, when I’ve come in to turn the water on so she can wash her hands (she’s not quite tall enough yet with her present plastic stool to reach the handles herself), I’ve noticed a trail of toilet paper on the floor.  It’s unused, which is good, I suppose, but I’m not sure if she uses the one square then pulls out some more to dump on the floor or what.  Maybe when the girls are both napping, and I’m not cleaning up from one of our three to four meals during the day, I’ll witness the whole process and provide helpful insight into the number of squares of TP to use. 

Tricks of the Trade That Have Worked for a Time:

Telling the toddler: “It’s your turn!” to use the potty right after I’ve gone can sometimes make it a smoother transition.

    
For a while during the earlier stages of potty training, she could be persuaded and encouraged that I would put a smiley face sticker on her chart for each time she sat on the potty without having a knock-down/drag-out fit.  Sitting on potty post knock-down/drag-out made me frown, and depending on the level and decibel of the drama might also cause her sisters to fuss, so there would be no sticker.

    
I once would resort to singing what can very easily become an annoying song to the tune of the of the Peanut Butter Jelly Time song, but we’ve veered out of that level of desperation at least in terms of songs to sing incessantly while on the toilet or in the bathroom. 

    
I flip on the light on in the bathroom and let her know it’s her turn and close the door so her sisters aren’t in there taking a header into the toilet, playing with the trash, etc. 

    
Tune in again to read more about potty training and other adventures in the wonderful world of nannying. 

My Grandma's Hands

This morning

I held your worn red rosary

to pray the joyful mysteries

just before your funeral began.

You cared for so many

and prayed for so much.

This mourning

I must do alone.

I sift through your prayer books,

Miraculous Medals, Mass cards,

special intentions, and charitable deeds.

I’m not sure where

I fit in them now

you’ve passed from this life

into the next.

You’d cut up fresh fruit,

slice raw vegetables,

knit slippers for your grandchildren,

work in your garden,

play cards with your friends,

receive the Body and Blood

of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

You’d roll your hair in curlers,

put homemade cold cream on your face,

ponder for periods forming the longest words

when you played Scrabble.

 

You saved a pile of newspaper clippings,

stories from magazines, and articles

to pass on to a family member or friend

you thought might find them of interest.

I still have some of the garage sale

finds that you’d give us each holiday

along with a savings bond receipt,

put aside for our higher education. 

A passion for learning, current events,

international travel, new foods, and

exotic places kept you moving, tasting,

experimenting long after others

had slowed down, given up

or thrown in the towel.

You longed to be useful and needed

always wanting to know

what you could do to help.

You came to Mom’s rescue

when Dad was away

traveling for business,

or not available in some way.

Making meals, cleaning up,

decorating the church for holy days,

being one in the Legion of Mary

who interceded daily for many petitions.

Recycling pieces of foil,

scraps of paper, collecting

packages of salad dressing,

and reusing paper towels,

you didn’t waste or trash things

before their usefulness had run out.

Your eyes filled easily with tears

after all you’d been through—

the loss of your sister so young,

your mother, your daughter,

your long-suffering husband,

your health, your independence,

your memories—

quite a bit over the years. 

Ever-appreciative of a visit,

time spent outdoors,

bouquets of flowers,

spicy beef with broccoli,

chocolate candy,

a hearty laugh, a good book,

an old movie, a familiar song.

Now forever

won’t be long.

I wrote the above poem in honor of my maternal grandmother Marilyn Lohwater, on the day of her funeral & burial, February 9, 2013.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 88)

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Grounded-Winter Storm Nemo We can’t be there with snow. Before 9:30pm Thursday evening, they had already cancelled our flight from Philly into Rochester, New York, due to the latest blizzard that has caused it to "just keep snowing, snowing, snowing." This last part would, of course, be said in the tone of voice used by Dory (played by Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo).  

     Fortunately, my mom left a day early, so at least she’s made it up to her mother’s funeral even though Kevin and I won’t be able to get there.  I have written a number of posts in honor of my grandmother and intend to write something for the memorial service we'll have for her here at a date still to be determined.  Here is the link to Marilyn Lohwater's obituary.  Thank you, everyone, for your many prayers, cards, phone calls, and love!        

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In a Sunburned Country I don’t want anyone to worry that I have ceased to be a voracious reader.  I still am.  I just haven’t been reading as many books that I have committed to write book reviews of for my blog.  For example, I finished a hilarious and quite educational travel book by Bill Bryson, author of A Walk in the Woods. 

     After reading that wonderful look about wading through the wilderness, I subsequently checked out Bill Bryson’s other books from our local library.  Because my mom went to Australia this past fall, she had gotten In a Sunburned Country and liked it so much that when I asked to borrow her copy she said she would get me my own.  As often happens when I’m fond of a passage in a book or exceedingly amused, I ended up reading several sections of it to my husband as well as sharing excerpts with some of my close friends.           

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Going Outback: My mom came back from her trip with a renewed appreciation for our family and the United States, which can hardly be considered a bad thing.  She’s shared some quite hilarious stories with us about her time there, ones that are even funnier knowing more after having read about the historical background of Australia’s flora, fauna, and people.  When we were out to dinner at the restaurant Outback nearby, my mom saw a large map of Australia, and made the comment: “Been there, done that, and I couldn’t afford the T-shirt, so I got the potholders.”            

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DONE Kevin and I are quite smitten with our new potholders, not just because our old ones had many scorch spots and had snowflakes on them though we used them year-round, but also because they are quite beautiful.  The images on them are copies from paintings by an artist with a very cool last name: DONE.  This is often how I feel at the end of a long project, draining crisis, and/or difficult day, that I am for all intents and purposes DONE. 

     We are presently praying for our friends Chris and Catherine, who are moving to Australia this week, that they make it there safely, and that they are brought closer to the Lord and one another in this next chapter of their lives as a married couple.   

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Boom Chicka Boom After a prolonged period of time working extra hours at work and as a volunteer for a variety of different ministry endeavors, I found myself dragging earlier in the day than is good for someone responsible for the care of three small children.  I remembered some of the songs that we used to dance to when I would lead indoor group dance/exercise at school on days when it was too rainy, cold, or scorching hot to go outside to play.  I couldn’t get the CD player to work, so I looked up some of our favorites on Youtube.  Vivi, Livie, and Sophie were thoroughly amused to watch me singing and dancing to such songs as: “Boom Chicka Boom,” “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” and “Bop ‘Til You Drop.”  It’s amazing how quickly I forget how much singing, dancing, and moving around brightens everyone’s mood, including mine.
     This particular picture was taken during another one of the activities that generally makes everyone smile and laugh--a visit from my husband:   

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The Lord of the Rings At the end of last year, I asked for prayers for a writing piece audition that I was working on in order to become part of a team that’s writing a Catholic Young Adult series that’s really impressed me. 

     The one “downfall” part of my informal interview was having arrived at the editor/author’s house without ever having read The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.  I had a sense this was a grave mistake when another member of the John Paul 2 High team in attendance asked me where I would rank the series in terms of the Harry Potter series and The Lord of the Rings.  I told her with considerable embarrassment that I hadn’t read The Lord of the Rings trilogy.      

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Just Do It! To make matters worse, when I went upstairs to help set up the room in which we would be meeting to discuss the John Paul 2 High series and what my involvement in future books might be, I saw that the top part of the walls of the homeschool classroom was painted to look like Middle-Earth (minus Mordor, of course). 

     My immediate thought was: “Oh, sh*t!  There is no way someone with Middle-Earth painted on her walls is ever going to want someone who hasn’t read The Lord of the Rings on her team.  It was a little late to panic, so I meekly admitted I hadn’t yet read the masterpiece(s), and the woman in charge, kindly let me off the hook. 

     The minute I told this story to our dearly beloved brother in Christ, John immediately ran upstairs and got me the 1137+ page volume of The Lord of the Rings he had so I could begin reading it right away.

     I dove in and absolutely loved it!  (This is another explanation of why I haven’t been devouring as many books and writing as many book reviews lately as I usually do.  I was taking time to do the unofficial mandatory reading for working with the editor and authors at Chesterton Press.)     

     Check out Jennifer Fulwiler's awesome tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday hosted weekly at her blog Conversion Diary.

Déjà-Vu All Over Again

There We Go, Again

We received a notification from the airline we’re taking to get to my grandmother’s funeral that there's a winter storm advisory for Boston, MA (where we were originally scheduled to get our connecting flight) that might make it a good idea for us to change flights.  Kevin said in response to this: "If I have to, I'll just take a whole day. It's bereavement; they'll get over it!" That is my dearly beloved husband and one of the reasons I find him so hilarious and endearing.

     
Thankfully, after speaking to a number of not-so-helpful customer service people, Kevin was able to get our flights changed so that we are less likely to get stuck in Boston, MA on Friday.

Flashback ‘92

There are some things that I don't think need to be repeated, but they are anyway. Nana (my dad's mom) passed away when I was 11 years old.  She lived in Florida, but she was visiting us for the holidays.  My nana, dad, and I stayed up late on Christmas Eve watching the movie Home Alone and laughing hysterically.  My nana had the sort of laugh that was like a cartoon character, and her laugh made my dad crack up even harder.  The next morning Nana went into the hospital near us, where my youngest sister had been born less than three months before, and that is where my paternal grandmother passed away.  Her funeral had been planned for quite some time, so, of course, we all made the trek to upstate New York in the middle of a blizzard at the beginning of February to go to the Mass. 

Back to 2006

Seven years ago in January, Kevin had just had foot surgery and we got a call that his mother’s health was failing.  She’d been in a nursing home for years with Alzheimer’s, so getting worse for her meant she wouldn’t likely live very long.  Kevin was able to speak to her on the phone to tell her he loved her and that it was okay to let go.  As soon as the 48 hours was up that he had to be off of his foot, we were able to fly to upstate New York (thanks to the help of one of the families for whom I nannied at the time letting us use their frequent flyer miles) for the burial of Kevin’s mother (Joyce) and father (Harry Potter).  His father had passed away the year before and per his request had been cremated and was to be placed in his wife’s coffin.   

Then and Now

My maternal grandmother miraculously lived through a number of brushes with death.  Doctors told us numerous times she only had a matter of months, if not days, to live.  They were wrong for sixteen years about that.  Despite having an advanced stage of cancer and having a pacemaker put in, she returned home and was able to live on her own for several more years. 

     
In 2009 when my dad was also in hospice care, we admitted my grandma as well.  My grandma, however, had the blessed experience of getting well enough that she got kicked out of hospice.  The nurse figured she probably didn’t need their care anymore when they kept trying to come see her, and she wasn’t in her room.  She was off playing bridge or at Mass (in the building), but she was clearly doing significantly better. 

     
The prayer that if this was my grandmother’s time to go to the Lord that it would be quick and painless for her was granted.  Kevin and I went and visited her last Wednesday evening and saw that she was on oxygen and exhibiting many of the symptoms that Kevin and I have come to recognize in those whose death was going to happen very soon.  I thought she would at least make it until the weekend, but that wasn’t to be. 

     
I was at the family’s house where I nanny when I received the call from my mom about how Grandma had passed away during the night.  My mom and some of the nuns had been with her praying at the time.  Because I’d had my initial cry and mourning period a couple weeks earlier, I was able to take the news in stride.  (I was cheerleading at a St. Mary’s basketball game held at Benedictine High School when my dad and uncles came in to tell us that Nana had passed away.)

     
Interestingly enough, a couple weeks before my grandmother’s sharp decline, I walked into Mass at Little Sisters of the Poor, saw her asleep in her wheelchair and having difficulty breathing, and I just knew she wouldn’t be with us in body as well as spirit for much longer.  I cried throughout the Mass, much the same as I did the evening a couple weeks before my nana’s death when it sank it that she wouldn’t be getting better this time like she had the other times doctors told us she wouldn’t make it. 

  

Funeral Arrangements & Prayers Requests  

This Saturday, February 9, 2013, my grandmother, Marilyn Lohwater’s funeral will be held at 10:30am at St. Charles Borromeo Church.  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

     
Please also pray that all of us will make it safely to and from yet another female family member’s funeral in upstate NY at the beginning of February during a snowstorm.  They’re saying that the storm could end up dumping 2 feet of snow in the Northeast.

Note to reader: we weren't able to make it up for the funeral, but at least my mom got there before the worst of the weather descended.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 87) Grandma Edition

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May She Rest in Peace: My maternal grandmother (and last living grandparent) Marilyn Lohwater passed into eternal life January 31, 2013 early in the morning.  Fortunately, Kevin and I had gone to visit her the night before.  I’d held her hand, prayed for her, told her I loved her, and kissed her goodnight, thinking she’d at least make it to the weekend.  Instead, she passed away peacefully that very night with my mom at her side and the Little Sisters of the Poor nearby lifting her up in prayer. 

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Miracles and Cause for Celebration My grandmother led a remarkable life for many reasons, not the least of which, she had very strong will to live, a deep faith in God, a devout Catholic prayer life, a special devotion to the Blessed Mother, and she lived through a number of serious illnesses and complications during her 89 years on this planet.  Here are just some of the miracles and causes for celebration. 

           

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Choose Life: My grandmother was a strong pro-life advocate in all senses of the word.  For years, she took care of sick and elderly family members and joyfully welcomed each new baby and grandbaby. 

     She also was very proactive about her own health.  She ate nutritious foods, took vitamins, exercised (even when it meant taking an hour long walk around her neighborhood using two canes), kept up an active social life, engaged in some fun hobbies, developed an attitude of gratitude, prayed fervently, enjoyed a good laugh, and never gave up. 

     When doctors told her that she wouldn’t live less than a year, she was determined to do whatever she could to get better and keep on going.  When her oncologist basically told us it was pointless to keep treating her, we fired him and promptly got a physician who would respect the fact that she was still coherent and was not going to give up hope that she would recover. 

     She would join us at the 40 Days for Life vigils when she was still able to leave the nursing home without too much trouble, but once that became too difficult she’d pray in the Chapel or in her room for the international campaign. 

    

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Very Thrifty Since my grandmother lived through the Great Depression and World Wars I and II, she had a special knack for being frugal, reusing, and recycling things.  I can remember her re-wetting a paper towel and laying it out to dry.  She would reuse aluminum foil.  She laughed at expiration dates: those on food and those doctors gave her.  She saved little scraps of paper to use for lists, bridge scorecards, or phone numbers.  She would pick up things off of her carpet and put them in the trash for the exercise value and to keep from having to vacuum as often once she was getting up there in age.    

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Her True Colors Grandma loved the color turquoise.  She was also a fan of deep brown and dark orange.  For a number of years, the one house we returned to no matter where we moved because of my dad’s job was my grandma and grandpa’s split-level in upstate New York.  We were always excited to pull into the driveway of the dark brown house with orange trim. 

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Well-Read My grandmother was one of the first women in our family to go to college at a time when that wasn’t something most women did.  She was an active member of the Rochester chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).  She absolutely loved to read books, magazines, newspapers, letters…which I’m sure greatly influenced my mom as well as me.  Another thing my grandmother and I had in common was our rather atrocious handwriting.  I’m not sure exactly what chicken scratch looks like, but one of us probably comes close. 

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Hope in the Lord Of all of the gifts my grandmother has given us over the years, her faith and hope in the Lord is the one I value the most.  She clung to God throughout her life, and though she had a number of life-altering challenges to face, losses to mourn, and illnesses to overcome, she stayed strong in Him. 

     Lord, thank You for the gift of my grandmother.  Help those of us whose lives were touched by hers honor her legacy by drawing ever-closer to You.  Amen.

  Check out Producer and Reality TV star Jennifer Fulwiler's blog Conversion Diary for this weeks dose of her tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 79)

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Catholic, Reluctantly is the intriguing first book in the John Paul 2 High Series.  Of the John Paul 2 High characters, some actually try to live out their Catholic faith while others are Catholic in name only.  The different personalities and varying levels of understanding the Catholic faith intellectually and spiritually create a considerable amount of tension and challenge those involved to figure out where they stand and why.  The highly controversial struggle over whether it’s most important to keep the letter of the law and/or to live by the spirit of the law comes out in a slew of tricky circumstances…Read full review.

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Prayers Please There are a number of people who have been on my heart and therefore in my prayers this week.  I ask that you would join me in praying for (Emeritus) Bishop Walter Sullivan who has been diagnosed with cancer and has gone into hospice care, a single mom with no family in this country who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, a friend who lost her husband last year and in a couple weeks will be helping to put on a Rachel's Vineyard retreat for the first time without her beloved spouse.  I'ts also been on my mind and in prayer often that God will be close to those who are mourning the loss of loved ones, especially around the holidays.  

           

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Captian Vivi to the Rescue!  Thursday, Vivi informed me that we needed to “go rescue Princess Mommy in Trisha's car." I let Jess know, and she didn't seem to be in harm's way. I love when kids use their imaginations (as long as Vivi doesn't actually head out the door without adult supervision while wearing only a short sleeve shirt, a pull-up, shoes on the wrong feet and carrying her purse with the little monkeys on it.)

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For Faith & My Babe  This week I'm grateful for faith that remains no matter how down things get or hopeless they feel, and for a husband who manages to love me despite how selfish and gloomy I can be at times. I pray for all who don't know God is always with them and loves them unconditionally no matter what.

  

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Visits with Grandma Kevin and I went to visit Grandma and take her outside on such a beautiful Tuesday. Since I still have the scar from my last adventure with Gram when Mom was out-of-town, I wisely waited for my husband to help me with the ridiculously heavy, strangely-rigged wheelchair this time.  For the record, if I ever live long enough to be in a nursing home, I hope that I’m as appreciative as my grandmother is for visitors.  I know she misses my mom, who’s been in Australia for the past couple weeks, but she thanked me every single day for coming to spend time with her in between asking me when I thought Mom might be coming back.       

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Don’t Dump Grandma! When I attempted to take Gram outside on my own and we hit a pothole of sorts on the pathway out the main entrance, she slipped out of her wheelchair.  I was horrified then and for the rest of the evening, even though she had so much padding on her heavy recliner-like wheelchair that the extra padding slid down to the ground before she reached it.  She wasn’t hurt (not even a scratch on her) or even alarmed.  She just told me matter-of-factly that she thought she’d need help getting back up.  When Mother Paul came out to check on things, Gram also calmly told her she thought she would need help getting back up.  I loved Mother Paul’s response: “Ya think?!”  I felt awful and was a wreck from the time I left Gram pretty much for the rest of that night, but fortunately Gram was perfectly fine.

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Advent: What are we waiting for? Here is a great short video on the true meaning of Advent set to a cool beat along with seven solutions for a successful Advent. 

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

How Do You Tuck in a Superhero? And Other Delightful Mysteries of Raising Boys

You tuck in a superhero with cleverness and creativity, loads of love, heaping helpings of humor, and gobs of grace.  After babysitting, teaching, tutoring, and nannying boys, I knew I would totally appreciate and find great hilarity in the antics recorded by a mother of five wild and crazy boys (and since the book was published one sweet little girl).  I laughed hysterically at Rachel Balducci’s pithy writing, straight-up observations, and comical quotes.  If you have taken care of boys or spent any length of time around them, you will likely identify with this book and find it highly amusing as much as insanely accurate in describing the temperament of many young boys. 

     
How Do You Tuck in a Superhero? is a wonderful collection of true short stories, funny bullet-point lists, and some absolutely priceless quotes directly out of the mouths of her own testosterone-driven brood.  Rachel Balducci would love to have a nice yard, a clean house, a tidy garage, but the adventurous nature of her boys has instead left her with bald patches of dirt, a lived-in looking house, and a garage without room for any adult-size vehicles, and yet, she wouldn’t trade her time hectic life for anything. 
     
This wife, mother, and Christian includes one of the most beautiful descriptions of the vocation of parents I’ve ever read.  “The journey of motherhood centers on being the person God has chosen out of all humanity and space and time to care for these souls, these beings who will exist for all eternity” (pg. 88).  It’s important that parents and caregivers are reminded of the incredible task that taking care of, loving, and nurturing children is in the grand scheme of things, so we can remain thankful and God-focused in times of child-prone accidents, seeming chaos, and the nitty-gritty, day-to-day details of childrearing. 
     
I highly recommend this book and also suggest checking out Rachel Balducci’s widely read website www.testosterhome.net where she writes regularly about her ongoing family adventures with five wild boys and one precious little girl.  For more information about How Do You Tuck in a Superhero? or to purchase your own copy of the book, click here. 
    
I wrote this review of How Do You Tuck In A Superhero? for the free Catholic book review program, Tiber River.  I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.
   
This post is linked to the Catholic Bloggers Monthly Round-up.

Grandma Turns 89: A Miracle & Cause for Celebration

Spending time with my grandma, who turned 89 on October 5, 2012, is a blessing for many reasons.  It has now been over sixteen years since my grandmother was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer (specifically multiple myeloma) and given under a year to live.  This faithful prayer warrior, lover of books, volunteer, caregiver…has proven doctors wrong over and over again.  Each time they would give her a gloomy prediction, she would be that much more diligent about eating healthy, getting exercise, and enjoying life. 

     
For years after she’d moved down here from Rochester, New York, she lived in her own apartment, drove, would walk an hour a day using two canes to make sure she got exercise, and had a busier social life than most people a third of her age. 
     
Hopefully, the doctors she’s had who predicted she didn’t have long on this earth have taken note that they were wrong by a long shot.  Not only did my grandmother far outlive any estimates they made when she was first diagnosed with cancer, but she also showed them that she wasn’t going to give up even when they suggested that’s what we do. 
     
Yesterday in the evening we gathered where my grandmother lives at St. Joseph’s Little Sisters of the Poor to celebrate her 89^th birthday with her.  My mom brought Chinese food from one of Gram’s favorite restaurants, my sister and her husband, and family friends joined us in the social room for a fun birthday celebration. 
     
I could tell after being there only a few minutes that my grandma was having a very limited memory day.  When we dished the food out, she asked what everything was, though we used to get food from that restaurant all the time.  My mom patiently told her what was on her plate each time she inquired.  Gram was delighted and kept saying how delicious it was. 
     
Throughout the course of the evening, our family, friends, and some of the Little Sisters sang Gram “Happy Birthday.”  In the lobby, we sang it once in English, then in French, our friends sang it to her in Arabic, and later the eight year old among us serenaded Gram with a most amusing rendition of the song, which it’s certainly just as well she couldn’t understand. 
     
After taking out the delicious raspberry chocolate cake with candles our friend brought and singing one more traditional “Happy Birthday,” we all shared the decadent dessert.  (My husband said that the two of us would split a piece which is why the leftover cake in the fridge belongs to meJ.)  The eight-year-old girl asked to sing another birthday song, so everyone quieted down and let her have the floor.  Many of you who have children, work with them, or can remember being one yourself, probably are familiar with the lyrics to this less mainstream except with children version of birthday greetings.
     
Once she had everyone’s attention, the eight year old began: 

“Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you! 

You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!
Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you! 
You look like a zebra, and you smell like one, too!”

We were all laughing hysterically that the cute little girl was so eager to share this song that she didn’t see anything wrong with.  Gram fortunately hadn’t been able to hear the words and might not have understood their implications if she had.  The girl’s poor mother put her face in her hands and shook her head, not quite sure what to say.  My mom assured her it was okay.  Clearly it wasn’t done maliciously or to hurt anyone’s feelings, which made it really funny and completely innocent. 

     
It was wonderful to see my grandmother so smitten with everything: her company, the food she thought she’d never eaten before in her life, the delicious dessert, the fresh flowers…all of it.  Yet again, she proved to be a wonderful example of contentment and appreciation, even if she couldn’t quite recognize or recall the foods on her plate or the names of all of the people gathered around her for the party.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 70)

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My Grandma Celebrates her 89th birthday: Here's one of the people through whom God has shown me that miracles really do happen.  Read more here.

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What did that say?! Kevin and I have become a pretty good team when it comes to copy editing or just reading and laughing about poorly written already published pieces.  We have a favorite publication which often provides us with plenty of comic relief, though nothing in it is really meant to be humorous. 
     Not only do we each find ways to help others improve their essays, articles, proposals, etc., but we also have lots of fun doing it.  Among the most amusing tidbits we helped refine this week involved someone claiming to have “spearheaded a blood drive.”  Kevin was doubled over laughing.  I simply made the comment that they must have gotten much higher donations than usual.  Another gem was that someone claimed they had experience “working sexual minorities.”  This must be rather confusing to employers minus the preposition “with” included.  
 

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Big Sis Removes Stumbling Blocks Vivi kindly removed the building blocks from her sisters’ rolling, creeping, wishing-to-crawl path today after being asked only once when I explained that we don’t want either of her sisters to roll onto one of her wooden blocks and get hurt.  An explanation, stated calmly, along with the suggestion of a nearby place to put them seemed to be the right combination for cooperation.  (Good reminder for future use.)    

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The Water Buffalo Song You know you must have done something right if you have children requesting books they want you to read them and songs they’d like you to sing with them.  One of my personal favorite requests is Veggie Tales Silly Songs.  “The Water Buffalo Song” has been quite high on the top 10 request list this week. 
 

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My first home Mass This past Monday, we had a lovely treat.  My Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) sister Nora invited us over for a meaningful evening of prayer, breaking bread, and fun.  Nora had us out to her place (which isn’t exactly over the river, but you do have to go through lots of woods to get there) for an in-home Mass that our pastor Fr. Dan Brady came to do.  It was really neat that it was the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, one of my favorite saints, and certainly someone I had in mind when suggesting names for my youngest sister.  We sang hymns, broke open the Word, shared the Most Holy Eucharist, and powerful prayer.  Afterwards, we caught up with each other over a delicious homemade chili dinner with all the fixings. 
  
 

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Stapleton Style Hospitality Kevin and I were invited over for dinner with our good friends Laura and Jeff.  Their place is so warm and inviting, decorated beautifully.  The food they make is absolutely delicious.  We feel really comfortable chatting, relaxing, laughing, praying, and sharing together.  It’s truly a glorious gift to have this Catholic couple in our lives who are also active in our parish, Cursillistas, Christ Renews His Parish alum, and who are also committed to loving the children God puts in their lives.

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Make New Friends, But Keep the Old This week I’ve been reminded again of how wonderful it is to have people in my life now who have known me for a long time.  My best friend from high school Holly and I have kept in touch through the years, and we’re still there to listen and support each other in good times and bad.  Laura, who I met in fifth grade at St. Mary’s School, and I have reconnected after being out of touch for a number of years, and it’s been such a delightful rekindling of an old friendship.  Kevin and I are grateful we have many old friends mixed in with the new friends we’ve made, and we also thank God for the new friends that very quickly feel like they’re old friends.  Thanks God for our bloodlines family and our lovelines family (people of our choosing who aren’t necessarily related by blood or law).     
 
Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.