The blessing of Good Holy Priests

I had the greatest confession yesterday. It was an unexpected gift really. I was at my homeshooling co-op, and there was a visiting priest offering Mass. That is not abnormal, as there are several different priests who offer Mass from week to week, it is always changing. However, every few weeks, the priests are kind enough to offer confession to both the moms and children who are of age. This weeks was one of those weeks. One of the moms who was coordinating the confession schedule came to the nursery to see who wanted to go. I figured, I would, seeing as Lent starts next Wed. and it had been a few weeks since I had been able to go. So I took advantage of the Sacrament. When I have gone to confession recently, I have not had the privilege of getting good advice, or spiritual counseling. Oftentimes, the priest, while giving some needed advice on how to better live out your vocation, or avoid sin or the like, is unable to really spend a lot of time giving deep spiritual advice. I am sure there are many reasons, one being that there is usually a long line of people waiting, so unless one makes a special appointment, there isnt that kind of time. ANYWAY--back to my experience. So, this seemed a rare gift when the priest sort of "saw to the heart of the matter." He really led me to see where and how I could make changes in my day to day living. i think for a mom, it is hard sometimes to "find" time for the most important things. He really encouraged me and gave me concrete ways to do this in my life. I am grateful. I am so grateful that he didn't just absolve my sins, although, that is of UTMOST importance, I was glad that Christ was able to use him to help me see where he was calling me. I think the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so misunderstood. It is truly a gift, a merciful and wonderful gift. I only wish more people would take the gift to heart. What a beautiful Church we have. What a blessing to be able to meet God in His Sacraments.
One thing that is so simple to do, but I have often forgot, is to pray the Angelus at noon(see copy of it here):

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .


Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

So, today, I am grateful for good holy priests. Priests who take the time to HEAR what you are saying, and also HEAR what Christ would have them say to us! Let us not forget to pray for our priests!

My eyes are bwoken...

I dont know what it is, unless I do and it is the computer, but my eyes have been killing me since yesterday. Especially my left eye. I have either 1)been on the computer WAYYY too much *check*, 2)had a SEVERE lack of sleep *check*, 3)have some major eyelash in the eye issues, or 4) all of the above. Seriously though, my eyes huuuts...as Maddie would say. Anyway, I could probably remedy that by not using the computer tonight, but really I havent been on all day, and it has hurt, or get more sleep, but lets be honest, that is not going to happen for at least a few more months.
So, the Thai Curry Chicken did not turn out as good as I had hoped. My husband pretty much hated it...It went something like this:
Me: what do you think?
Brian: I am not real hungry (moving the food around the plate) I dont think this all would fit into a mug(referring to smaller portion eating)
Me: Whatever, you hate it dont you?
Brian: No, no, it is just a lot, you gave me a lot.
Me: you are rude(this was wrong, I admit, as I have told my husband to tell me when he doesnt like something or I will make it 100 more times, where he will have to stuff it down somehow)
Maybe if I added more of this and that you would like it more...
Brian: Yeah, maybe if you totally changed the recipe, like added taste, I would like it.
Me: again...you are RUDE
Brian: laughs and knows I am not all that mad at him...after all, he can't help it if he didnt like it!!

Now, I admit, the recipe suggested cooking on HIGH for 5 hours, which I thought would be too much, but apparently, her dish came out fine, and delicious--not so with mine. It should have been more like High for 3 hours or something...DEF. not 5. Veggies were way too soft, and the dish needed more spice/curry paste, and more soy sauce, and heck more Brown sugar too. I think If I did all these things it would be good. So here's the question, do I try again? or do I let it die. Maybe I will try it again, and tell him it is something different. That is the only way I will pull it off I think.
Anyway, I will wait awhile to try it again.

Living the Dream

I just was searching around, and pretty much addicting myself to blogging once again, and I found myself at a blog for crockpotting. If that is a word. It is here. I am trying the Thai Coconut Chicken. I am not so sure Brian will be up for it, although he really loves authentic thai food, so if it is tasty at all, maybe he'll go for it. Anna loves coconut soup, and so hopefully she'll like this too. At least I know the kids will eat the rice. I am also searching around trying to find interesting blogs to read. I started at the most natural spot, reading friends blogs, and clicking through to ones they like, which is where I found the crockpot one...From there, I found some other interesting reads. I am looking fwd to finding some great blogs. I dont know if anyone will ever "follow" my blog, quite frankly, I am not sure how long I will be able to keep the blogging up...although I DOOO love it. It seems like it could sort of take over my life. Sort of like Facebook and the like. I guess really it is a need to stay connected, an outlet into the world...a way to know you are being heard. For a SAHM, I guess it can really be a release. Anyway. My mom, suggested I photo all the stages of selling the house, and the building of the new one. I have yet to take pictures of the "selection sessions" but I did finally take this one...

It is kind of sad, our first home is being sold. I had 3 of the 4 of my children in this house...well, not LITERALLY, but you know what I mean. This place holds about 5 years of memories. That is a lot of memories for a growing family. I will always have fond memories of this home!

I was talking to brian last night about how he was literally making one of my dreams come true, by us building this house. I mean, it wasn't like I didnt think life would be complete without doing so, but it really is a dream of mine to build. It was one of those rare moments that you realize you are actually living out one of your dreams. It was a bit surreal. But I am deeply grateful!

Options Options Options

We had our official design appointment today. It is really a lot of fun, but my goodness, there are SOOO many decisions!! I tell ya,  I would NEVER be able to pick if it werent for Brian being there. However, I will say, I am not sure how it will all turn out. I hope it doesnt look like a weird mismatched kitchen and a weird colored house. Oh well, I guess. It is hard to see in my head. I am not a particularly design oriented person. If only my SIL Kathy could have gone, my decisions would have probably all been different, but at least it would have had a cohesive look! The design lady said she thinks it will all look nice together, I guess we'll see.

But, here is the thing, why do they have to show you what is NOT standard before they show you what is standard. It not only makes the decisions hard, but it obviously makes you want the nicer things. And by the way, some of the standard stuff is just plain unattractive. Not to sound ungrateful, b/c I really am soooo grateful for this opportunity, and know we are very blessed, but some of this stuff looks like it should have been left in the 60s. 

Anyway, so most of our decisions are finished. We just need to pick our flooring at the next appointment, and then the basement will be poured in the beginning of March. My mom says I should be taking pictures of all this, I guess I should. I will start by taking a shot of our house for sale. With the for Sale sign. We never got one of our 1st house with the SOLD sign, so this will have to be a start.

SELL THIS HOUSE!

Well, we made it through our first day of showings yesterday. I sure do hope this process goes quickly. I dont know if that is a pipe dream, but our kids not getting naps all day and living under a microscope are not the greatest things. We have 2 more booked showings today, with the possibility of more. Brian is pretty convinced we'll get offers this weekend, me, not so much. I just can't imagine it in this market. Maybe I am the eternal pessimist. I dont know. Oh well.

Yesterday, Brian and I picked our cabinetry and countertops for the kitchen and all the bathrooms. I am second guessing some of my choices, surprise, surprise! I think I like the bathroom selections, and I like the kitchen cabinets, but the granite, I may go and change. I dont know. I have to go pick alot of other options for the house tomorrow. Like the exterior colors, lighting, faucets, floors. All of these decisions are sooo much easier when a 2nd opinion is there. I really do make the choice, but the person, Brian in this case, just says he likes that one, and I feel good. It is probably something about me not having to take full responsibility for a bad choice. Pathetic! 

Anyway, Valentine's Day was also yesterday. This has never been a big deal to Brian. In fact, I think there were a few years there where he refused to acknowledge it totally for principal's sake. I, however, like most women, have always loved Valentine's Day. Although, I have to admit, being married to Brian, I have somewhat subdued my "celebration" of it. Like yesterday, I got the kids valentines, and Brian, and each got some treat. That was pretty much it. I made a dinner everyone likes, nothing special though, just Spaghetti and meatballs. The kids went to bed early, due to the fact that they had had no naps or quiet time, and Brian went to rent a movie. That is where the night took a turn for the worse! We Pre-Rented Nights in Rodanthe, but when he went to pick it up, the Redbox was broken. So, he headed to the other location only to find a big fat NOTHING. In order, not to return home empty handed, Brian allowed his better judgement FLY out the window. He came home with Step Brothers with Will Farrell. BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC mistake. I mean, how he even walked in with that movie, on Valentine's day, nonetheless, is beyond me. But after about 15 seconds, we turned it off. We then watched Madagascar 2. Yes, I know, how romantic. But as I said, Valentine's day has been somewhat subdued. haha

So now, here we are, Sunday morning, enjoying eggs and toast, and coffee OF COURSE, until we have to leave for Mass. At which time, we will be banned from the house for hours, while realtors bring by perspective buyers. Oh the joy. At least we have an activity planned.

The Donut Man is having a concert nearby, and we are going to that. I think the kids will enjoy it. So, that is that. 

Valentine's day party

Well, my 6 year old, since I can remember, has ALWAYS loved planning and "setting  up" parties. Whether it is an impromptu tea party, a "daddy is home party" or pretend birthday party. Anna loves it. So when the two preschool kids (mine of course) were preparing their valentines for their preschool V-day parties, Anna was sad, and wanted to do one of her own. I realized, that with all the craziness of the last few weeks, she has felt a little bored and kind of left out. So to try and remedy that, we went so she could pick out some valentines, Barbie was the choice, she decorated, "addressed" them, and taped dum dums to them. She originally wanted to hand them out at the two homeschool co-ops we attend, but decided to stick with her cousins and siblings and parents. I told her yesterday we would have a "family" vday party today. So, I made heart shaped cupcakes, and when we came home from co-op today, we had a "party". Each invited person came...that would be me, Anna, Aidan, Madeline, Caitlin, and daddy. Everyone iced and decorated their cakes, and we had orange slices, and "pink" milk. Then, everyone told why they loved everyone else. It satisfied her need for a party, and I felt like a good mom today :)

I was pleased to find out yesterday that we get to have a parents night out tonight. The 3 older kids are going to their pizza party fun night at the preschool, and me, brian and the baby are going on a date. Believe it or not, it is a date even with the baby. (Which of course, I may not have thought so when I had fewer or no children!) So in about an hour, we are off to our night out. We may go to the Melting Pot, or Cheesecake Factory or maybe somewhere else. Still not sure. Anyway, hopefully little Cait is sleepy!!

I got a call today from the "appointment setter" and we have our first showing booked!! Yay!  It is exciting. Hopefully this will not be all that long of a process. I started my St. Joseph Novena today, without the superstitious burying of the statue though. Couldnt bring myself to do that part. But I do believe in the power of prayer, so I know God is taking care of it, with St. Joseph's intercession!!  It is our first time selling a house. I am praying for wisdom with all steps, from showings, accepting or denying offers, counter offering, buying, new house decisions, packing, sorting, tossing, etc. It is quite a process. Anyway, I am quite proud of how our house turned out. I dont know how it would have turned out without my "down to business" husband, and my fantastic SIL who staged our entire house, and her husband who did an awesome paint job for us! God knows when I need help, and I have seen him deliver!! Praise God in his good wisdom!!!!!

BTW, if I could, I would post links to other things here, blogs, interesting things I find, etc, let me know how to do it!!!

So I guess I will continue to get on here apprx. every 6 months and update my life. To all my zero readers. hehe. I dont know why i dont blog more, I like it, i like reading blogs, hmmm...it is a mystery. Oh wait, maybe because i have 4 children now. and I am homeschooling, and I am trying to sell my house, and I am building a new one. Okay, now I feel better. 

Life seems to come at me fast. One minute, we are slowing down, and waiting things out with housing and moving etc, the next, I am packing my life away, "staging" my house, and constantly telling my kids to stop touching things and getting things out. I feel bad for them, I am too stressed to be creative, to tired to go places. Oh man. hopefully, they will remember their childhood with fondness, and not that they had a crazy yelling mommy all the time. Oh well. I do feel God has opened up so many doors. We will see where they lead. I have to remind myself to "be here now" as a favorite priest once said. I need to live in the moment more often. To stop and reflect if the "major" thing I am dealing with right now is important or not. We are in the process of building a house. It has always been a dream of mine, I need to remember that when I get stressed that there are 500 appointments to keep and countless decisions to make. I am so indecisive, so it is no easy task for me. God bless my husband for dealing with me during these appointments. :o) It is exciting though. We are moving next to my SIL and her family. It is really such an awesome opportunity. We were doubtful at times if it would happen, and still, we need to both sell our houses, so we will see what happens. 

One of my college friends started a blog with a friend of hers. It is a blog about all things Catholic. It is funny, my SIL and I have talked often about doing something very similar. Why is it, that there are some people who have good ideas, and then some people who bring ideas to fruition. I am proud of her though. Hopefully it can become a real help to moms out there. I know It is nice for me, a SAHM, a homeschooling mom, a CATHOLIC mom, to find others out there that are going through the same thing  as me. It is encouraging. 

My 6 year old, just lost her first tooth. She has been awaiting this day for a loooong time. She was very timid about wiggling it though. It was funny. When it finally did fall out, she was so anxious to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy(dont ask me where she heard about that??) that she dropped it somewhere, and we could not find it even after 30 minutes of detailed searching and prayers to dear St. Anthony. She wailed for about an hour before dropping into a crying induced sleep. Poor thing. Anyway, I wrote her a letter from the Tooth Fairy and gave her a lollipop and a dollar. She was very happy the next day! 

Okay, so this post has been pretty all over the place. I guess that is all I will write today. Maybe I will be back before another 6 months has lapsed.

PS...I did have the baby!!! Little Caitlin Marie turned 3 months on the fifth. She is a joy!