Happy new year to my readers!

Catholics, don't forget to get to Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!

Readings for Mass can be found here.

Happy First Birthday!

To the Little Banana!

(My girls were so excited that their newest cousin was born on the Feast of the Holy Innocents last year!)

Hubby's Alma Mater in a Bowl Game!

Soccer Dad is a very happy boy this week. This guy is a big part of the reason. To celebrate, we're having a Happy Happy Joy Joy Bowl Day Party on Saturday. (We actually know people who went to UConn and Penn State, who are also playing this Saturday. So it's a huge football day for us.)

We're hoping to see Smith break Sanders' record and get a bit more respect for UCF. (Don't call them Central Florida. It's not the school's name, you know.)

Christmas is Here Now!

My girls are definitely Catholic children. If you had asked them how their Christmas season was going for them during Advent, they would have flatly told you that Christmas hadn't started - it is Advent, you know. If you ask them now about what they think of the radio, they will tell you that they are puzzled about why Sirius Radio - which had been playing Christmas music for more than a month - has suddenly stopped playing it now that Christmas is actually here!

I promised that I'd put on some Christmas tunes for them via our CD collection.

I'm actually quite glad that they are understanding it. Christmas isn't just one day. We can celebrate until Candlemas (the day of Christ's presentation)! 40 days of Christmas! Whoo hoo!

Being Catholic is so cool. :)

[image source with explanation]

My Own Open House for Christmas

Due to my illness, I hadn't been able to put up the decoration pictures, so here are a few that I wanted to share. Explanations are below each picture.

My Nativity, which I hope to replace with a new starter set from Fontanini next year.

Stocking hangers - in bad need of a polish!

A room divider that we put our cards on each year. It's actually two bi-fold door sets that Soccer Dad connected with hinges. I never did put any stain on them, but they are very nice, and give some privacy when we have guests who might stay on our hide-a-bed couches in that area downstairs that is usually for school.

Upstairs in the living room. There are lights on that tree, but I have to find an extension cord for it. The book is Christmas stories, including "A Christmas Carol."

Next to the loveseat, there is the box with the "First Gift of Christmas" (a reference to The Polar Express, one of my favorite Santa stories). The boot was Soccer Dad's from childhood. The garland has multi-colored lights that blink on and off.

The girls arranged their Nativity just so under a small star-shaped ornament.

The whole tree, and (below) the rest of the decorations, as they fell in place.

This tiny Santa and tree sit amongst various fancy drink-glasses from Benihana in Cherry Hill. Looks strange, doesn't it? Kind of like odd snowmen.

I surrounded the school-room clock with a wreath Little Girl made in 2004. Her hands were so tiny then! She loves to put her hand over old prints and cut-outs of her hand from years ago.

This tree was my parents' tree from the time when I was a little girl until I was married, when they got a new tree and I inherited this one. This will likely be our last year with what I lovingly call my Charlie Brown tree, which tends to look very sad and pathetic until it is decorated. I plan on donating it to the Madonna House, and if they cannot use it, I'm sure they'll find someone who can. Santa had already been to our house by this time, and our gifts are under the tree. I have to say, though, that the best gift (aside from Jesus, who turned out to be under the tree, anyway) was that I was home for Christmas. Below are some pictures I took without a flash so we could enjoy the lovely lights.

Finally, I wanted to share this. Big Girl's CCD teacher gave each child a present for Christmas, and they were to open it last on Christmas Day. "It's blessed," she told them. On the tag, she said that this was the best Christmas present. You can see below what Big Girl got from her.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Catholic Carnival: Christmas Edition

A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars hosts the Christmas Day Edition of the Catholic Carnival. I loved her selection of Normal Rockwell pictures accompanying her post.

As always, if you are interested in hosting or participating in the Catholic Carnival, you can see my sidebar for the widget with the links to do so. (Also there are links to previous editions of the carnival.)

May you all have a blessed Christmas season! (Remember that it has just begun!)

Enjoy!

He's Been Here!

Trust

After my hospital stay, I have been VERY skittish about eating and my digestion tract. Besides the fact that, after being so sick, nothing seemed appetizing to me, I was also nervous about every little off-feeling in my stomach or any lack of ... ahem ... movement in the general natural actions of my body. Yesterday, while visiting Madonna House at their annual Christmas open house, I suddenly felt better than I had in a while. I felt GOOD!!!

Eating wasn't a problem for the rest of the day, and drinking wasn't, either. And my gastro-intestinal system seems to be doing just what it's supposed to do.

I have decided that God is helping me learn to trust. Because there is absolutely nothing I can do to prevent my intestines from playing balloon animal again, I must trust in God's infinite mercy that He will protect me. And also trust that, if it is His will, I will be sick again.

It can be scary. But I am becoming more comfortable with it. I'm looking at it differently than I used to, you see. I am going to look at this as an opportunity to offer my suffering with Christ on the Cross, to make a gift to my Father in Heaven! If it is God's will that I suffer like that again, I will look at it as a gift and I will offer it to Him for whatever intentions Christ wishes. I will strive to imitate Saint Paul.

A Letter to Santa

Sarah about made me cry when I read this.

Merry Christmas!




[image source]

An Unexpected Christmas Blessing

As Soccer Dad (or Travel Man, as his signature now reads) mentioned, I was under the weather. (Such an understatement!) Let's start with Tuesday morning.

Soccer Dad was scheduled for a root canal at 9:00. I already had been awakened at around 5:00 or so with stomach pains, but I pushed through them and went with Soccer Dad and the girls to the dentist. I expected to feel better by afternoon, but I couldn't drink my coffee at all, and any time I tried to eat anything, I felt pains in my abdomen. So I waited. We went home and I went back to bed for a while until I finally asked Soccer Dad to look up "appendicitis" on Web MD. We went to the ER when I realized I had a lot of the symptoms. The ER doc wasn't thrilled with the Web MD thing ("If you think you need a doctor, don't wait - just get to one!"). I was given an IV, zophran and phenegran (oooh ... just like the ol' pregnancy days!), and I waited for them to do a sonogram while the hospital ran blood tests. They did not come up with whatever markers show up in your blood when you have problems with your appendix, so they did a sonogram of my gall bladder. In the meantime, friends of ours came and fetched our girls for us, in case I had to be there a long time or was going to be admitted or have surgery. I hadn't even said goodbye!

When all was said and done, they estimated that I had stomach problems - maybe an ulcer or very bad GERD (which I kind of doubted, since I had no problems with heartburn) - and gave me three prescriptions to take home with me, and directions to try clear liquids for a while. We went home, Soccer Dad and I, and he left me snoozing on the couch while he went to McDonald's and ate dinner with the girls and our friends' family before returning. I was still having pains, still didn't desire much to eat or drink, and was generally feeling kind of crappy all over. After a while, everyone went to bed.

About 1:00 a.m., everything got much, much worse. I started vomiting. Every. Twenty. Minutes. Suddenly, that "I-had-a-tubal-I'm-not-pregnant" comment seemed not very certain. God can do anything, including mending that mess in there. By 5:00 a.m., Soccer Dad was on the phone with the ER again, asking if I should go back in.

Upstairs he trooped after ordering me to put clothes on so we could leave, while I dry-heaved every few minutes. I heard him awaken the children and I could hear their sleepy footsteps in and out of the bathroom and hallway. I did. not. care. I wanted it to just stop. I was really, really miserable. I thought about the nearly 20 minute drive to the hospital. I thought about how every bump along the way hurt so badly. I thought about how lights were making my nausea and vomiting worse. I kept hoping I'd wake up and it would all be a bad dream.

Soccer Dad came back, put my sneakers on my feet (I couldn't bend over), and helped me into a coat and into the car. The girls had all sorts of assorted things stuffed into a backpack, and we were off to the ER again.

I was whisked back to a room (my wonderful husband requested private, knowing how awful any extra stimulation is for me when I'm sick like that), and by the time I saw Soccer Dad again, our friends had already been to pick up the girls for the day.

We checked my blood work (once the zophran took effect again) and checked to see if I was pregnant, just in case, because I was about to have my first CT-scan. I managed to get 2/3 of the awful drink down, the nurses (oh! the wonderful nurses!) helped me stave away the nausea long enough to keep it down, and a doctor came in to announce that I had ...

an intestinal blockage?

Seems that my small intestines were kind of sticking and twisting up on themselves in one spot. "How can that happen?" I asked.

Well, if you've ever had abdominal surgery, sometimes the scar tissue can cause problems like this. It's very possible that your tubal ligation has caused scar tissue that is affecting your intestines, and they are now bunched up.

Oh, sweet. Yet another reason to regret that decision. Penance, I thought - it's a penance.

Now I have to say right here that already, I'd been offering up my pain and suffering. Not too long ago, I finally understood what was meant by "offer it up," and I wanted to do that. I wanted to, but I couldn't seem to remember. So I asked my guardian angel to please remind me, when I was in pain, to offer up my sufferings. Sometimes - most of the time, really - I do it for the poor souls of Purgatory, and especially for those who have no one to pray for them. Sometimes, I'll do it for a family member or friend who is ill or suffering - like my aunt. For the first time, though, I asked to make it for my own offenses. I tell you: I was afraid I was going to die. I told Soccer Dad the first trip to the ER that if I was to have surgery, he was to first call the priest and then call the family. I wanted Anointing of the Sick if I was going under the knife.

So I was lying on the table, asking God to use my suffering to make up for my own sins and faults. And then I found out that it was most likely one of my most-regretted decisions that caused my pain and suffering.

The doctor explained that there were two options, and they wanted to try the least-invasive first. They could operate - laproscopicly - and try to repair the scar tissue and untwist the intestines. But they could also give me an NG tube - through my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach - and relieve the pressure behind the knot in hopes that it would just un-twist itself. (Our friends who watched our girls had their friend - a gastro-intestinal specialist! - talk to me. He said it's like when you make balloon animals. The balloon stays twisted because of the pressure on both sides of the twist, but if you remove the air, the balloon returns to its normal shape by untwisting itself. He seemed a bit shocked when I asked if he thought I had a giraffe or a doggie.) So, anyway ... I opted for the no-surgery route. The doctors said that they'd come back and do that right there, in the room.

Um...no anesthesia?

Nope. Be right back.

Back came the nurse, the intern doctor, and an EMT who had been helping with my IVs and such. And they gave me a cup of water with a straw. "Drink hard - guzzle - when you feel like you must swallow." Okay, I can do that.

The nurse sprayed a numbing agent in my throat to help ease the tube down and slathered the end of the thing in a lidocane gel. I was already a little nervous because the tube had a circumference like a Ticonderoga number 2 pencil. And the end of the tube was hard. The nurse started to stick that giant tube up my nose, and it HURT!!!!!!! I backed up.

"WHOA!" I yelled. "That HURTS! Holy cow!" (Yes, that was about as bad as my language was. Thank God.)

Really, there was nothing we could do about that. Soccer Dad came to hold my hand (I think to keep me from shoving them all away - I was starting to think that surgery sounded very good), and ... well, let's leave it to say they got it in. Soccer Dad was there, and he can tell you: you don't want to know the details.

Soccer Dad, when talking to my mother that night, said to her, "You know how when your spouse suffers, you often pray, 'God, give it to me instead'? Yeah, this is one time I thought, 'Thank God it's not me!'" To which I replied (via notepad), "And for once I thought, 'I wish it was him instead!!'"

Yes, I was able to talk, but it hurt. A lot. It pressed on the inside of my nose when I spoke, rubbed against my vocal chords, and just ... hurt. So I wrote nearly everything down, since no one was fluent enough in sign language to understand me.

And that was when we decided to ask how long the tube needed to stay in. And found out the answer was at least 24 hours.

Yes, indeed, surgery would be nice. Too late now.

Still, I wanted to offer it up. So I did. It was interesting, because I thought of something I'd read about Mother Teresa in Columbia magazine. She was discussing with a bishop her dark night experiences, wondering about them with him, when he suggested that she offer up those sufferings as a gift to God. She was delighted! He said she'd perked right up and was happy to be able to give that back, that she from then on considered all of her crosses as gifts from God that she could offer back to Him. And I held on to that thought and tried very, very hard to do the same.

Mind you, I am no saint. I wasn't always successful at offering it up with love. When my night nurse came on and insisted that I not write things down - "I want you to talk to me" - I wrote angrily after she left the room, "How about we shove a tube through HER vocal chords and see how she likes to talk??!!??" This, only a few hours after receiving the Anointing of the Sick. (We still weren't sure I wouldn't need surgery the next day, so Father came by and gave me the Anointing - sans Communion - on Wednesday afternoon.)

But Soccer Dad had brought our prayer book to me, and I opened it up and prayed and prayed. I made my Morning Offerings. I prayed the Angelus. I even prayed Evening Prayers. And, in a moment that I know God helped me with, I prayed the following prayers.

PRAYER OF RESIGNATION IN SUFFERING

Merciful Lord of life, I lift up my heart to You in my suffering and ask for Your comforting help. I know that You would withhold the thorns of this life if I could attain eternal life without them. So I throw myself on Your mercy, resigning myself to this suffering. Grant me the grace to bear it and to offer it in union with Your sufferings. No matter what suffering may come my way, let me trust in You.

PRAYER FOR THE RESTORATION OF HEALTH

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I come to ask You for the gift of restored health that I may serve You more faithfully and love You more sincerely. I want to be well if it is You will and redounds to Your glory.

If on the other hand it is You will that my sickness continue, I want to bear it with patience. If in Your divine wisdom I am to be restored to health and strength, I will strive to show my gratitude by a constant and faithful service rendered to You, my loving Savior and Redeemer, and my God.

And, as I got to the "If on the other hand..." part, I paused only a moment. Then I prayed it. And, even more miraculous, I meant it. And that alone was a huge blessing.

Thursday morning, Soccer Dad came back - still without the girls. We didn't want them to see me with that NG tube because it was scary. What came out was yucky and that was scary enough that even I didn't want to see it. I wouldn't even look at myself in the mirror when I washed my hands in my room. So our friends offered to keep them overnight. I thank God for them. When I think of what a huge help they were to us, it makes me cry with joy. I don't know what we would have done without them. After spending the morning with me, Soccer Dad went to have lunch at our friends' house with the girls.

While he was gone, the doctor came in and pulled the tube! I thanked him profusely and reveled in the simple pleasure of being able to turn my head and body without gagging on a tube in my throat. I called Soccer Dad and told him to come back with the girls after lunch - I had pretty much not seen them since Tuesday morning, when I mostly ignored them because of the pain in my abdomen. And I had the best-tasting Popsicle I'd ever had! Yummy, red, double Popsicle. mmmmmmm...

Then, lying in that bed with my door closed, I praised and thanked God for His blessing. I asked Him to please let this be healing, but I was also ready for the doctor to tell me I needed surgery. I just thanked Him again and again. I asked for Him to bless the doctors and nurses. I mostly rambled on and on to Him about how happy I was and how thankful I was. And then I heard a choir roaming the hallways singing Christmas hymns.

O, come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!

O, come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem!

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels!

I cried for sheer joy.

The doctor wanted me to stay one more night to be sure the plumbing was all working properly, and I was still limited to sips of clear liquids for the time being, but I was free of the horrible tube! When my family arrived, we called our parents and our friends to update them on what was happening. And I went easy on the liquids and waited for good news from the doctor the next day.

Yes, Friday morning I was released. And I had eggs and toast for lunch and fish sticks for dinner. (I have no diet restrictions, but I'll be on the lookout for symptoms this time.) I have about a 25% chance of this happening again, but there is nothing I can do to prevent it. Not a thing. Talk about having to learn to trust God! I just will continue to pray and ask for His mercy with this, that I am able to stay healthy.

And you know what? The whole experience has been a very big blessing. All of it. I was able to pray more and read more of my Bible. (I finally finished 1 Samuel!) I was able to be still. I had to listen instead of talk. When I was going to talk, I had to be sure that I was really sure I wanted those words to come out of my mouth, because it sure was going to hurt to say them. I had to be sure that when I wrote something down, I wanted those words read.

Blessings. All of them.

Thank God for His blessings.

Another thing, though. As I was leaving, I looked around at the Christmas decorations. I wished everyone merry Christmas and thanked my nurses. And I watched as people streamed in through the doors with Christmas presents in hand. And I realized something.

I was going home for Christmas. Others were not.

If you can't visit the people in the hospital on Christmas, please remember them in your prayers. Because that room can be a cold and scary place when you're alone in it. And some of those people don't know that they've got angels with them, that God is with them. They just feel - alone. Pray for those people, especially, that they will feel the joy of Christmas.

O, come let us adore Him!

O, come let us adore Him!

O, come let us adore Him - Christ the Lord!

[ps: Thank you all who prayed for me!]

Whew!

I am back home, and plan on writing a bit about my hospital stay this week, as well as what a blessing it was (really!), but right now, I'm going to print off Christmas letter labels and pay the few bills that must go out this weekend. Then I'm going to relax with my family. Maybe go to the store, since I need more eggs and butter for baking purposes.

Thank you, everyone who prayed for me. Sorry I didn't do the Jesse Tree readings, but I'm sure you'll understand. :)

God bless, and have a Merry Christmas!



[image source]

Lucky Seven Meme - Travel Man style

Rules of this meme:

Directions:
1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself that you think most people don't know.
3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I don't know 7 people who blog. I read a lot of blogs but don't know any of the authors well enough to tag them with something. So I can do steps 1 and 2.

1. I like the movie Moulin Rouge. I can't explain why (it doesn't fit with the Star Wars, Matrix, Lord of the Rings epics that I like). Maybe I'm a big softie inside.
2. College football needs a playoff system for the FBS (old Divsion 1). ESPN has a cool simulator that shows how the seeding might work using the current BCS model. The simulator uses algorithms to determine a winner for each match up - and the really cool part is that it allows for upsets. Have fun!
3. I worry constantly that I am not being Catholic enough - too many sinful thoughts and actions on an almost constant basis, very infrequent daily Mass, very infrequent Adoration. Thank God for confession!
4. I hate being tagged for memes. You will never see a meme on "The Adventures of Travel Man" blog.
5. I think that Chevy should bring back the El Camino. That's right... the half car/half truck from the 60s - 80s. Makes a lot of sense in this crossover / utility phase that the automakers are going through right now. Heaven forbid they build a minivan or station wagon - it has to be a "sport activity vehicle" or "crossover" or "I'm not a family car (even though I seat six)". Admittedly, an El Camino doesn't seat six, but having an open bed for garage saling, picking up gardening supplies, etc. makes sense.
6. I could very easily become a video game junkie, but I need my job to pay for the house, food, clothes and other unglamorous things.
7. I used to think blogging was dorky (don't tell Soccer Mom), but now I see the attraction of posting random thoughts.
   
   
   
   
   

Soccer Mom on the mend

Hi there, loyal readers. Soccer Mom is having some health difficulties, so you may not see many posts prior to Christmas.

Please keep her in your prayers. Thanks, and Merry Christmas!


Soccer Dad

Jesse Tree Reading: Third Tuesday

Today we read 2 Kings 5:1-27, and hear of Naaman's cure, which was not done the way he expected. Notice that even though he's not happy about what he is told to do, he does it. And, despite his anger over the whole thing, God shows His mercy towards him anyway.



[Jesse Tree resource]

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Jesse Tree Bleg

I am wondering how wrapping up the Jesse Tree works when you have such a short fourth week of Advent. If your family does the Jesse Tree, could you let me know how to handle this last week, which has one Sunday reading and then just Christmas Eve? Do I just skip those readings and do them in the years when they are naturally a part of the calendar, or do we read them ALL on Sunday and Monday?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Jesse Tree Reading: Third Monday

Today we continue learning about Solomon in 1Kings 7:1-16.

[Jesse Tree resource]

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Light Blogging

This week, aside from the Jesse Tree readings, I will likely be very light in the blogging department. I've got to get my Christmas letters out, decorations up, cookies baked. (I am supplying Soccer Dad's office with a large tray of cookies on Thursday, as well as his Bible study class that night, and our family is running low because I keep giving cookies away.) I also am VERY behind on laundry and the floors are ... ick.




Strange how a bout of depression can really take a toll on everything you are supposed to be doing.



Oh, I've also been remiss in posting the Catholic Carnivals recently. Please stop by the blog if you haven't read them lately and check the widget on the sidebar for the proper links. I think I might have even deleted those emails from Jay in that bout. (Sorry, Jay!)









I do want to post pictures of our Christmas decorations, though, when I'm finished. I don't decorate for all the holidays (I know some people who do), but at Christmas, I go all-out. I like the homey feel of our house at that time of year. It's part of what has inspired me to start doing other small things - like using candles and little splashes of color here and there - all year long.

(Updated)

I thought I'd add that when I say "I go all-out" I mean that I do so with lights, garlands, trees, candles, etc. No giant blow-up Santas, no plastic light-up Nativities, not even an angel on the roof. I will admit to being very tempted to get a small outdoor tree to light and place on our deck, in an empty and kind of useless space near our front door.

I also dream of having one of those big Nativities that Sam's has - the resin ones - to have outdoors with spotlights on it and a home-made creche. Lovely. :)

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Oops!

My sincere apologies for not posting the Sunday Jesse Tree readings on time. Our day consisted of Mass, lunch, wrapping presents for children of county prisoners, going to Wal Mart so we had milk and bread, and cleaning the house to get the last of the Christmas decorations up.

Oh, and Soccer Dad spent quite some time getting the minivan ready ... to sell.

So...anyone want a terrific minivan with all kinds of cool features? :)

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Jesse Tree Reading: Third Sunday

Gaudette Sunday! Joy and hope!

For the Jesse Tree, though, we continue to follow David's lineage.

Today's reading is from the 1 Kings 3:3-28. (Again, in the D.R. Bible, it's 3 Kings, as explained here.)


[our Jesse Tree resource]

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Jesse Tree Reading: Second Saturday

Our reading today is quite familiar. Psalm 23. (Note: There is a slight difference in the numbering of the Psalms in the Douay-Rheims Bible, which can be explained here.)

[Our Jesse Tree Resource]

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Jesse Tree Reading: Second Friday

We move on today to another type of Christ. We heard about how God chose him on the very first day of Advent, but today, in 1 Samuel 16:14-23, we hear more about David, the future king of Israel, who has already been annointed (messiah).

[Our Jesse Tree resource]

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Lucky Seven Meme

I've been tagged!




Rules of this meme:



Directions:

1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

2) Share 7 facts about yourself that you think most people don't know.

3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



Hmmm...I've done similar memes, so let's try to come up with something new here. :)

1. I am terribly insecure. I beat myself up for past mistakes, even small ones that make no difference to me or anyone else (and that I am sure no one else remembers) for years. Literally. For example, I have a clear recollection of doing something outrageously idiotic (okay, it's probably not that idiotic, but go with me here) when working part-time in a department store. In Florida. Part time. In 1995. When I remember it, even now, I cringe and feel sick. Two people whom I've never seen again were the only witnesses - oh, gosh, I just thought of security cameras! - and I still get an upset stomach when I remember it.
2. Well, that last one was cheery, no? How about something lighter than that? I have been to every state on the East Coast of the US except Maine. I'm pretty sure I've been to New Hampshire, that is. If not, make it two states on the East Coast. All by car, too.
3. In 1987, I attended a Summer Session at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was great, I met lots of interesting people, and learned that Top Gun is a completely different movie when viewed in the presence of about 150 midshipmen.
4. I have always known that I wanted to be a mother. I considered becoming a nun once, but it was short-lived, and I thought that maybe if I became a widow, that would be when I entered a convent. (I also wanted 45 children until I found out how they were born! LOL! Oh, and I told my mother I would be her maid - or so she says. I didn't sign anything. I'm going to get my kids to sign something if they say that.)
5. I have mailed Christmas cards to my entire family - aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins - since I was 16 years old. I would by the cards myself, buy the stamps, and write a personal note inside each one of the cards. I'd lick those envelopes and stamps, too. Every year. It's only been in about the last five years or so that I think I started getting cards from them even before I mailed their cards (or, in recent years, letters).
6. I am woefully slow when it comes to certain ... ahem ... innuendos. For example, Soccer Dad and I watched the video for David Lee Roth's "California Girls" when researching his Halloween costume. (Oh...I should so post pictures of him as Diamond Dave!) We got to the "...midwest farmers' daughters..." part - you know, with the girl peeling the ear of corn with the "come hither" look on her face - and I didn't say anything. I'd seen it a million times. Then, about two hours later, it hit me what that was all about. I kid you not. I am 37 years old, and I am just getting that. Soccer Dad thinks that is hysterical.
7. Okay, this is sort of scary to admit to people who, in all possibilities, could be actual writers who get paid. I am in the process of writing a children's book about a girl who is in a homeschooling family with 17 children. I am testing it out on my nine year old, who is the same age as the narrator, to be sure vocabulary is about where it should be. And I'm having fun with it, and my girls love the story so far. And I hope one day it will be good enough to see about getting it published. And that's something I haven't told but about three people outside of Soccer Dad and the girls. (See how priviledged you all are?)

Tags...for seven. Let's see... How about:

1. Regular Guy Paul
2. Former Old Dominion Resident Jay
3. One of my favorite converts, Jennifer
4. My amazing husband, TravelMan (yes, he's Soccer Dad here, but he's got a new blog ready to go for next year)
5. Tony of Catholic Pillow Fight
6. Busy-With-School Sunny
7. Lovely British Mom of 10, Jackie

Hope this isn't a second tag for some of you. I'll try to get around to drop notes in your com boxes tomorrow. (Let's see how many of those people read my ramblings on a regular basis.) For now, it's MAGIC TIME! (ESPN, basketball Friday, Orlando vs. Charlotte)

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Jesse Tree Reading: Second Thursday

Today's reading comes from 1 Samuel, which is 1 Kings in the Douay-Rheims Bible.

Turn to 1 Samuel 3:1-21.


[Our Jesse Tree Resource]

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Hey Homeschoolers: Just Listed!

I just put up a couple of collections of educational CD-ROMs, including one that is an ASL Dictionary - very helpful if you are trying to learn American Sign Language because you get to see videos of the signs instead of just a flat picture. But I've also got elementary and preschool programs like Reader Rabbit listed, too.

Have a peek, if you please!

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Just Watched It Today!

Hat tip to Esther:

Your Christmas is Most Like: Miracle on 34th Street

Sweet and caring, Christmas is about helping for you. While Santa may not exist, you try to share his spirit.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I think I'm wearing out my video copy of it. Maybe Santa will bring me a new one of this and the original "Grinch" on DVD. And Charlie Brown. All on DVD. Maybe.

Hey, THAT'S what I want for Christmas. Even more than the food processor. Really. (Plus, they're easier to store than the processor.)

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Dog-Tired

This week's Wordless Wednesday is a two-fer for me. I can't post one without the other. This is what I found one day when I left my girls watching Veggie Tales while I showered. (This is ages ago - they are 9 and 6 now.)

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Mark Lowry Fan?

I just listed a VHS copy of his "Mouth in Motion." It's even signed. The video is full of kid-friendly humor and silly parodies of Christian artists like Michael W. Smith and Sandi Patti.

He's seriously funny. (See how I did that? Aren't I funny, too?)

Of course, you could also just tell me if I'm crazy for the price I put on these two cuties. I honestly don't know enough if I was on target with it, even though I researched it. So if you know anything about Beanie Babies, please help me out with your ideas! Thanks!

(NOTE: I can't get my links to paste here, and I can't type those long things in, so please just click the link at the bottom of the post to see what I mean about these bunnies. Thanks!)

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Jesse Tree Reading: Second Wednesday

Today's reading is Numbers 6:22-27.

I have to tell you that this is, by far, one of my favorite blessings in the entire Bible. When I was in high school, our choir used to finish our concerts with it, a capella, and any alumni who were present were always welcome to join us. (And I went to a public school.)


[Our Jesse Tree Resource]

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Things I Never Thought I'd Want To Know

Big Girl and Little Girl are watching "Angel Force" on the DVR, and Big Girl - out of nowhere - just said, "This thing [holding up the remote] has 43 buttons on it."

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Jesse Tree Reading: Second Tuesday

Yesterday, we read what seemed to be a sad story about Joseph being sold by his brothers. Yet his story ends well for the children of Israel, because it is by his being sold into slavery that he is able to save his family from starvation. And so it is with God. Many times, we don't see His ultimate plan, and so the trials we undergo seem to be nothing but bad. But all things work for the good of those who love and serve the Lord.

Today's reading brings us to Moses and the Israelites, now freed from bondage. Turn to Exodus 20:1-17.

[Our Jesse Tree Resource]

[image source]

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Google Picture Meme

Correction: Seen at Coucoumellisms, snagged without being invited to do so, cuz it looks neat.

THE UNCREDITED GOOGLE IMAGE MEME

(How to play: Type the answer to the following questions into Google Image, then pick from the first page.)

1. Age at my next birthday:

2.Place I'd like to travel:

3. Place I've been:

4.Favorite food:

5.Place I was born:

6. Place I live:

7. Name of past pet:

8.Best friends' nickname:

9. My first name:

10. First job:

Want to play? Leave a comment in the box and go for it!

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