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Showing posts from December, 2009

Saying Goodbye to 2009

Today we say goodbye to this year, 2009, and tonight my Hero Hubbie has got great plans in mind. Rarely do we have the chance to 'paint the town' and so we have begun a yearly tradition of a fantastic meal to end the year, and begin a new one. Past years had involved a seafood feast with all of our favorites, including King Crab legs, shrimp and the like, but finances being what they are, this year we opted for a more subtle, still delicious choice: Cornish hens. It's a great tradition, one we hope we can continue, a kind of date night, complete with candles, sweet tunes and my guy. What else could I ask for? In retrospect we review the year. Our oldest had her First Communion, our son his First Confession, our little girl entered kindergarten, the next youngest assuming her role as older sister and mom's helper,....and our baby, almost 2 years old, mastering communication, walking and eating with a spoon. How our years become defined by the milestones of our children!

Birthday Party with Our Lady

My little girl celebrated her 6th birthday yesterday....and God love her, she asked for a Blessed Mother party. "Mom, can I have a Mary puzzle? Mom can I have a Mary blanket? Mom can I have a Mary cake? Mom can I have a Mary poster, a Mary church book, a Mary dolly?" Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find all these Blessed Mother gifts? Impossible. They just don't make a Blessed Mother comforter. They don't make Blessed Mother puzzles. But I was so touched that my little girl even asked for such a party, for such sweet gifts, that I made every effort to make some of these wishes come true. Puzzle: Walgreens to the rescue! They can make a puzzle out of any uploaded photo....yippie! We uploaded a beautiful scene of Our Lady holding the child Jesus, and even were able to write a Happy Birthday message on the puzzle. It came the day before her birthday, and she absolutely loved it. Our local Catholic book store had a few Mary church books for children to choose

Christmas Shopping 2009

So I was out this weekend shopping for Christmas. The traffic was crazy. The stores were packed. The lines were long. The shoppers were in a hurry. The cashiers, well, the cashiers were beaten down like I had never seen before. I was at a Toy R Us, and after waiting a bit for an open cashier, I stepped up with my cart, looked up at my cashier. She said in a meek, defeated voice, "Hello". Her eyes were searching mine, looking for any sign of Christmas cheer. I stopped unloading, and met her eyes with mine. I said, "Hi. Merry Christmas!" Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, no joke. I asked, "How are things going, REALLY?" Her face dropped again, "Oh, gosh, not well. People are so unhappy this year. I don't know why, but customers are not happy." "Oh, geez, sorry to hear it. It's the wrong season for that," I replied to her. Her answer was interesting, "Yes, I know, isn't that ironic? The time of year to truly be happy,

Tiger Woods: Does Money Corrupt?

"Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24 My HH got into an interesting discussion last night in regards to the recent scandal surrounding Tiger Woods. Unfortunately Tiger has joined the many other famous, wealthy individuals whose image conflicts with reality, and his lack of moral values has corrupted him, his wife, and children. As my HH and I discuss the news worthy topics of the day while making dinner, I made the comment, "Well, goes to show, money corrupts." My hubbie disagreed. And to a certain point, I understand why. I am sure there are just as many loyal, moral, extremely wealthy individuals out there, as I am sure there are just as many scandalous Tiger Woods out there, just with out the fortune. I guess I can see how extreme wealth CAN corrupt more easily than with out it. How easy was it for Tiger to have access to multiple women? How many assis

Immaculate Conception

Today is a Holy Day, The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, the Blessed Mother, Mary. People often confuse this Holy Day, as they assume The Immaculate Conception refers to Christ's conception. Not so. Our Lady was conceived in St. Anne's womb with a perfectly clean soul, no original sin, immaculate so that even from her conception, God had prepared her to welcome Christ within her. Isn't that beautiful? God prepared her soul, layed the groundwork, gave her the grace to ultimately bring our Lord into the world. Now, that's planning ahead! Thirteen or fourteen years later, He then came to her by way of an angel to present her with a plan. I once heard a priest describe that moment where she is contemplating her fiat....and he describes all of heaven, angels and all, on the edge of their seat, biting their nails, eagerly anticipating her response. And of course as we all know, and celebrate in the Christmas season, she, having been prepared for this from the moment

Advent Preparations: Kids Good Deed List

Advent Yesterday, I committed to cutting what seemed like a thousand strips of little paper to look like hay for our manager....and on each slip of paper, a good deed is listed. And I thought if anyone out there is looking for a similar list - here you go.... Not only is this project meant to give the baby Jesus a soft place to lay in the wooden manger, it helps to prepare a delicate heart to welcome our Lord this Christmas. And so without further ado....stop racking your brain to think of a good deed list...Here's one for you, and with small modifications could be perfect for your little ones!...You'll see some duplicates in there... I am getting ready to welcome Baby Jesus into my heart….. I love you Baby Jesus and this is how I show you! I love you Baby Jesus: Say “thank you to a teacher at school who helps you. I love you Baby Jesus: Tell your mom what you like best about her. I love you Baby Jesus: Be nice to someone who is hard to get along with. I love you Baby Jesus: St