Hi Again!


I have been using Doug's laptop recently and it will not let me access my blog for some reason so...no new posts for a week. But that is ok because we had some very special guests in town...Tita and Jaja. We have all been enjoying having them here. They spoil all of us.

Camryn got paid ridiculous amounts for footrubs
Cade got paid for doing nothing...yet (he has a room to organize tomorrow)
Ana got stroller rides and constant laps to sit on.
Monica got arms...her favotite place to be.
I got a new wallet, their cooler (which is perfect for beach picnics) and absolutly no laundry or cooking for four days
and Doug got footrubs and constant nudging which benefits me in the long run...clean the garage, get your gate clicker fixed, etc....
Nothing beats Tita and Jaja let me tell you they really know how to live and we miss them already.

My Spirit Rejoices

1 Samuel 1:24-28; Luke 1:46-56

My soul at present is in perfect peace and joy.-MT


I don't know about you but I can't see into the future. Nor do I have any desire or want to. It always amazes me that people are so infatuated with the future...making plans for, looking ahead to, as if the present was just insignificant.

Have you heard that really beautiful song Mary did you know? It is so beautiful I remember when I first heard it, a couple years ago I was driving and the song came on a Christian radio station I was listening to. I actually had to pull over because I was crying so hard. As a mother, it hit me so close, the song asks again and again if Mary really understood what her baby boy would do for the salvation of humanity.
And you have to realize how big her faith was to be able to say "let it be done unto me according to your will"?

What I love, love, love about this song is that it also made all Mary's present moments with her baby relate to the big moments she would be witness to in her future.

The present is preparation for our future. It is where our Lord reveals all the details of his will for our lives. I remember when I first felt the presence of Jesus with me. It was peace and joy just like Mother Teresa said in the above quote. For the first time in my life my wandering, restless soul was at total peace exactly where I was. For me, it doesn't last unless I feed it with a good dose of prayer and a whole lot of trust. But it is a peace and joy that can only be found in the present. Right now.

The future is not ours to worry or fret over. It will unfold just as it has since the beginning of time. All we need to pray for is for the grace and faith to be as willing as Mary.

Lord of your Life

Isaiah 4:6-8, 18, 21-25
Luke 7:18-23

Now I really rejoice when something does not go as I wish- because I see that He wants our trust--that is why we should praise God as if we have got everything.-MT

I had a total Celine Dion moment. Have you had one yet this season? You know what I am talking about I hope...you are in your car and listening to the station that has been playing only Christmas carols since Thanksgiving, and suddenly a carol comes on that you just can't resist belting out as if you are Celine Dion. Well mine was O Holy Night and you would've thought I was singing it for the actual Baby Jesus. It was one of those moments that everything is as it should be (even if it is not). That to me is rejoicing as if we have everything. And you know what?! Most of the time I feel like I do.

Sorry my east coast family and friends...I am sure this is NOT what you want to hear...

But I am HOT! I've had the oven going almost all day. Saving all my holiday baking for 1 day as is my way. And I have been sweating as if I am running on a treadmill. I wish I could go stand outside and have a wave of cold rush over my entire body. Oh how nice that sounds! For tonite a cold shower will have to do the trick.

Today, Camryn and I made:

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Biscochitos
Pecan Tarts
Sugar Cutouts
Biscotti
and
Peppermint Bark

She is such a big help. Let me tell you, every year my job gets easier and easier because of her. Pretty soon she will be handling all the baking for us.

You did not Mourn
Isaiah 48:17-19; Matthew 11:16-19

If you only knew what goes on in my heart-sometimes the pain is so great that I feel as if everything will break. The smile is a big cloak which covers a multitude of pains.-MT


The Christmas season can be quite difficult. Just yesterday there was a man standing on an Interstate overpass threatening to jump, but thankfully he was wrestled down by a police officer who had spent a great deal of time talking with him. The worst of it for most was the traffic and lengthier commute. As I watched the footage I wondered what suffering was this man enduring that would make him want to end his life in such an outward display.
The truth is most of us are suffering on a daily basis quietly in our own hearts just like Mother Teresa said in the above quote. Whether it be from loneliness, worry, hurt or loss. The Christmas season just seems to amplify this pain in some. The strain of the expectation of having to do so much more than normal while maintaining a smile can be overwhelming.

This week Doug is home alot earlier and has been able to lighten my load a bit with the kids. The first thing I decided to do was go to Adoration for an hour. It slowed me down and stilled me. It felt like a long and much needed exhale. It brought me back to the One who is always waiting for me with his arms outstreched. In our sufferings we have to find the strength to seek, and then knock on the door where peace resides. The door opened for me and I received a great grace from it. This is the season for peace don't let it elude you.

We Won.We Won.We Won.

Once upon a time, there was a kicker who never kicked a single field goal all season. He didn't have to and well, he couldn't. But then one special day at the 1A State Championship game with 5 seconds left during a tie game, the coaches called a fake. The Center cancelled that call, told the kicker to kick it for real. He did, from 40 yards that kicker kicked the ball and it soared right through the uprights. And the Stallions won the game and lived happily every after.

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There is not much more to say. It was a fairy tale ending and it was the most wonderful experience to be apart of. Every emotion imaginable was conjured up and I have to admit I am still trying to recover from all the adrenaline. But we did it. Our team finished and it was awesome!

The path to Heaven is paved with good intentions...

So my path must be paved in gold because I have so many good intentions these days. I intended to blog the Mother Teresa Advent journey I am on. In intended to post pictures of our Orlando adventure, I intend so many things.

But life is my only excuse...and if I am living it and enjoying it rather than talking about it well then I must be doing something right.

Although, I am going to post the intention for today it is just too good not to share. And because I am trying so hard despite all that is going on around me to stay focused on the aspect that makes this season Holy.

Isaiah 29:17-24 Matthew 9:27-31

Let us trust Him blindly. He will see to it that our faith in Him will not be lost.--MT

Our faith demands we believe without seeing, to trust even in the face of great hardship. I think of all the days that I was sure I wouldn't make it through doing all I had to do, and Thank God he carried me through. Today in itself is a big day. We are playing in the 1A State Championship Game. Regardless of the outcome God will carry us through, he always does.

Ways in which my blog works for me...


My Brother in law emailed me this link for a goodwholesomefunforthewholefamily movie. I was going to forward it on to all the people in my life who I thought would enjoy it. If you can believe it, there were just too many of you. So it got blogged. DO pass it on to who you would like.

If it is anything like the other movies we have seen from this studio it will be well worth it.

Advent with Mother Teresa

I am doing this Day by Day through Advent with Mother Teresa that I got from our Church. I am always inspired by what a calm and joyful center she was in a hurricane of activity. Kind of the opposite of me during the holiday season. Everyday I read the reflection, I think I wish I could share this with this person or that one. So I think I am just going to post the reflection for each day through Advent. If anything it will help me keep centered on it by posting, as oppossed to just the 10 minutes it takes in the morning.
So even though we are a little behind...I started it on Sunday we will just jump right in ok?!

Wednesday: Isaiah 25:6-10; Matthew 15:29-37

Today God loves the world so much that he gives you, he gives me, to love the world to be his love, his compassion. It is such a beautiful thought for us-and a conviction-that you and I can be that love and compassion. -MT

As a wife and mother, fufilling the needs of others is a full time job with built in overtime. Most nights, I no sooner put the kids to bed, clean up from dinner and finally sit down when Doug will put his feet in my lap and ask for a foot rub. It can feel like a real chore instead of a sign of affection. This holy season, I will try to focus on all the needs of my family with a great affection for them.

The Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe begins today until her feast day on December 12.

We are praying this novena as a family, though we have our own private petitions.

We have a priest at our parish who has a very special connection to Mary and tonight I told the kids a story he told me and some others who had gathered to pray a Rosary for peace. I won't go into the story here but it made an impression on the kids. It reminded me too that there is no thing too big or little that our Heavenly Mother can't help us with.

We are going to Orlando!!

We won last night 28-7 and that means only one. more. big. game

next Friday night in Orlando.