The Feast of The Annunciation

"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." -Luke 1:38

Divine Mercy Sunday

Thank you all who participated in the Divine Mercy Novena. I took Margaret's
advice yesterday and celebrated the day at her parish. It was wonderful. I floated home after praying (in a full church) the rosary, stations of the cross, the Chaplet of Mercy, Confession and hearing a wonderful talk on Divine Mercy by her wonderful priest, all in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I was not able to stay for Mass, as the afternoon away by myself was all I could afford away from my little ones. (I will go at my own parish, of course) Blessings to you all, have a wonderful day!

Day 9 of Divine Mercy Novena (Saturday, final day)

Ninth Day

Today bring to Me

SOULS WHO HAVE BECOME LUKEWARM,

and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: "Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will." For them the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love let these tepid souls, who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.

Recitation of Divine Mercy Chaplet....

Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday!! My favorite day of the year!!! This is why:

...tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My Mercy.

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.

My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity.

The Feast of mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the firs Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.

The Second Sunday of Easter was changed when Pope John Paul II made the surprise announcement of this change in his homily at the canonization of Sr Faustina on April 30, 2000. There, he declared: "It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called 'Divine Mercy Sunday.'"

On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow.

Wow, that is powerful, like being re-baptised, That means all possible graces are given to us on this very special day.

Many blessings to you all, have very grace-filled weekend!!

Day 8 of Divine Mercy (Friday)

Eighth Day

Today bring to Me

THE SOULS WHO ARE DETAINED IN PURGATORY,

and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in you power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire Mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering In Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded; Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion.

Amen.

The ABC's of Mercy

Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.

Be Merciful to Others. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.

Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

-Taken from my Divine Mercy Message and Devotion booklet. This is what I contemplated in my holy almost 2 holy hours tonight, along with praying for all of you. I think I spent a whole 1/2 hour on just these 3 things, the ABC's of Mercy, crying and begging for God's Mercy. This week I think the only opportunity I had for giving mercy to others was Tuesday evening, my husband, after working late and after I cleaned the kitchen, came home and fried sausage. I did not say a word, although I wanted to, but remembered Mercy and Love, that I do it for love. And you know that 5 extra minutes that it took to clean the kitchen again was really nothing in the scope of my whole day. "Everything is Grace" -St Therese, that prayer card is just above my kitchen sink reminding me to take those moments of mercy. Those moments of mercy we mothers have all throughout our day with all the little things that come up. Moments of Mercy. Moments of Mercy.

Thank You God for all the moments of Mercy in my life, every day.

**PS Nerm, the image yesterday of St Faustina was found by googling under "images" and then her name. I, too, love her and this devotion!

I just noticed that the image I picked for today, fits perfectly for my favorite day of the novena, for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. I actually picked a bunch of images and loaded them and have just been picking different ones each day!

Great Movie!!!

My husband and I watched this movie last night and I loved it!! I was pleasantly surprised there was nothing too offensive, no sex, except I guess it was insinuated a little. (in a guy teasing kind of way) Hilarious, I laughed so hard, I was tearing up!

Let me know what you thought, if you have seen this!

I borrowed this great cartoon from Amy .

I found it true on the homeschooling part and hilarious!

Please don't take offense, it's just a joke!

Day 7 of Divine Mercy and Petition Thursday

Seventh Day (Thursday)

Today bring to Me

THE SOULS WHO ESPECIALLY VENERATE AND GLORIFY MY MERCY,

and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God: Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory.

Amen.

Recitation of Divine Mercy Chaplet...

Petition Thursday

Tonight is my Holy Hour with Our Precious Lord. Please let me know your petitions in the comment box, by clicking on "comments". I will pray for you even if you don't leave a comment, but it is nice to pray specifics, I feel your pain. I really enjoyed praying for all of you last week. I only ask that you pray too.

First Robin!

We saw our first robin today!! Although our picture on the top was not as clear as the one on the bottom,(taken off the internet) and the background was snow in our picture, we still saw one!! Spring is here! The kids were SO excited! We are off to the backyard now to find more signs of Spring!

Click on the top picture, you can see her a little better!

WoW: Weigh on Wednesdays

I found a new blog where you can check out this Weigh on Wednesday thing, it is This and That She has the original post linked on her sidebar.

Since I have 30 lbs to lose before hopefully getting pregnant again, this might be great motivation, I'm going for it, will you join me? (I actually need to lose 50, but will settle for 30)

Not that YOU need to lose any weight, I have not seen any overweight bloggers yet. Just sayin' check it out!

Review: Crest Whitestrips

Before Crest Whitestrips, go ahead, click the pictures for close ups!

After 2 weeks of Crest Whitestrips!

They work!! Well, after seeing how yellow my teeth were compared to Christine's. I decided something had to be done! I guess the Diet Coke, Crystal Light tea flavors and my French Vanilla International Foods coffee had taken a toll on my teeth, my now yellow-ish teeth. So, I tried Crest Whitestrips. Today is the last day of the 2 weeks they reccommend to use their product. I did get a little sensitivity, but not much. Crest says if a person experiences sensitivity, it is only temporary. I would have to say it was well worth the splurge of $19.98 at Wal-Mart on myself. Has anyone tried this? I have to reccommend it. Tell me what you think, have you tried anything like this before? The package says it works up to 12 months, but is it still 12 months if you go back to drinking those bad teeth staining drinks?

Day 6 of Divine Mercy Novena (Wednesday)

Sixth Day

Today bring to Me

THE MEEK AND HUMBLE SOULS AND

THE SOULS OF LITTLE CHILDREN,

and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is capable of receiving My grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages.

Amen.

Recitation of Divine Mercy Chaplet...

Day 5 of Divine Mercy Novena (Tuesday)

Fifth Day

Today bring to Me

THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO HAVE SEPARATED THEMSELVES FROM MY CHURCH,

and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion.

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Recitation of Divine Mercy Chaplet...

Empty Tomb Rolls

Ingredients: Large marshmallows, melted butter, cinnamon & sugar mix, crescent rolls.

Dip marshmallows in melted butter and roll in cinnamon & sugar mix, (notice the diet coke?)

place marshmallow in crescent roll triangle, and wrap up tightly. Top with cinnamon & sugar, and bake 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Yes, the marshmallows will melt all over, even if you seal those edges, but the aluminum foil helps.

Can you tell the top one is an opened, empty tomb? (for a marshmallow) But you get the symbolic idea, right? The kids loved making these and they were easy enough to make Easter morning before Mass. They re-heated them Easter Monday for breakfast too.

For more newly posted recipes go to http://jamieskitchenblessings.blogspot.com/

Day 4 of Divine Mercy

Fourth Day

Today bring to Me

THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD AND THOSE WHO DO NOT YET KNOW ME.

I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.

Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Easter Sunday-Day 3 of Divine Mercy Novena

Third Day

Today bring to Me

ALL DEVOUT AND FAITHFUL SOULS,

and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.

Most Merciful Jesus from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most compassionate Heart and never let us escape from it. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Continue with the Divine Mercy Chaplet...

I pray that you all have a blessed Easter filled with blessings of family, colored eggs, jelly beans, egg hunts, Easter dinners, chocolate, diet coke, coffee and whatever you gave up for lent!

Day 2 of Divine Mercy

Second Day

Today bring to Me

THE SOULS OF PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS,

and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind.

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of the chosen ones in Your vineyard-upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

Next pray the Chaplet, if no rosary available, try it online at www.praydivinemercy.com/

Jessica, at http://showerofroses.blogspot.com/ has a wonderful Good Friday homily posted at her blog. She is one of my new favorites. At the end of the homily, the priest quotes St Alphonsus Liguori: "My despised Jesus, nail my heart to the cross that it may always remain there to love you and never leave You again."

Good Friday, Start of Divine Mercy Novena of Chaplets

It is greatly recommended that the following novena intentions and prayers be said together with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

First Day

Today bring to Me

ALL MANKIND, ESPECIALLY ALL SINNERS,

and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges me.

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a rich and powerful prayer, able to be offered in a short time, but beautiful in its simplicity. It is prayed on ordinary Rosary beads as follows:

-Begin with one Our Father, One Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed.

-On each of the large (the "Our Father") beads, pray:

"Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."

-On each of the small ("Hail Mary") beads, pray:

"For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy onus and on the whole world."

-At the end of the five decades of these prayers, pray three times:

"Holy God, Holy mighty One, Holy immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

For more information regarding Divine Mercy, please go to www.divinemercysunday.com

*Again, remember the hour of Mercy is 3:00pm, if at all possible, try to pray this chaplet and novena during that time each day.

Yesterday, I really enjoyed praying for all your petitions, I may need another holy hour though! Thank you so much for allowing me to pray for you on such a personal level. Because it was Holy Thursday, Jesus was exposed in the church and taken away at 10:30. (I was there at 9pm) It is always so sad when they take away Jesus at the end of Holy Thursday. There is such an empty space in my heart, such a longing, such a yearning. We are really truly blessed to have the fullness of the Catholic faith, to have Christ right in every Catholic church, right there in the tabernacle. Oh, how we take this for granted, as He waits for us. How empty we are when He is no longer there. Which is the way we are supposed to feel on Good Friday.

Petition Thursday

This week, I am going to try something different. Instead of "Thankful Thursday" I am going to try "Petition Thursday". I am very thankful for so many things, but I find them boring to read myself, it's kind of between me and God...I am not funny like Christine http://christine-thesimplelife.blogspot.com/ (Ok, still having problems linking, I just can't get it!! I want to link a name, not the whole website name) Anyway, I thought since I have a holy hour with our Precious Lord on Thursday evenings 10-11pm, I would ask you, the reader, for any petitions, and I will pray for you. I will bring them to our Lord. I only ask you to pray also.

So please leave your petitions in my comment section and I will pray for you, I will even pray for you if you don't leave a comment!

Thursday plans:

• feet washing with the kids
• make homemade pretzels with the kids
• color some Last Supper pictures (with the kids)
• Stations of the Cross with the kids
• Start watching Jesus of Nazareth and hopefully get to the Agony in the Garden, so we can finish it tomorrow. (with the kids)
• Pick up white shoes for Ballerina Rosie along with tights for her...she's growing!

*Remember: The Divine Mercy Novena/Chaplet begin Friday. Get yours ready or come here, I will have it posted every day of the Novena.

I posted another recipe on my kitchen blog http://jamieskitchenblessings.blogspot.com/

Thank You Lord, for all my readers. I ask You to bless them in a special way. Please pour Your Graces and Mercy upon them. Amen.

Minnesota March

As much as we want Spring to come, we have to admit, it is beautiful when it snows in March in Minnesota. It is the perfect snowman making snow!! It looks as if God painted our world with marshmallow cream. How can anyone look at that picture and not think of God and how Big He is?

Meet Frosty and Snowflake. Not very original I'm afraid! But you can see even they are excited for Spring to come, which is why Snowflake is holding his watering can! Since the temps are around 40 today, within 20 minutes of coming inside, poor Snowflake started looking down and then he lost his eye and nose. When we got back from dance this afternoon, he lost his head and tummy. (those are birdseeds on their heads!)
This is our Irish Brown Bread we made yesterday. It was delicious. It had a crunchy outer layer and dense inside. It was also very easy to make! You can get the recipe on my kitchen blog http://jamieskitchenblessings.blogspot.com/ I also posted my green bread recipe there today.

Our green meal for St Patrick's day. Green bread (pistachio sweet bread), broccoli w/dip, green parmesan noodles, kiwi, cheese sticks and key-lime pie yogurt, eaten on green plates, in our green kitchen wearing our green clothes!

Update on Katie-Sad news

My friend T (that is her real nickname) met with Katie on Saturday. The Holy Spirit was working, T said some amazing things. Katie is 17 wks along, she is having a girl, named Clara. Her first baby that died was about 3 years ago, he was a boy, Slade. She has a little girl, around 1 1/2 yrs old now and she is healthy. This Katie is so confused and scared and sad. Their visit was interupted by her husband and he was not happy about the meeting. She called T's sister in law today and she scheduled her abortion next Monday, Easter Monday. I've cried off and on today, fasted on things, prayed for her constantly, as have the kids. We are asking for people to if at all possible make holy hours, pray rosaries, chaplets, whatever you can for Katie, Clara and her husband. There is still time, in this holiest of weeks, in this time of Divine Mercy. Thank you for any prayers for this situation. I will try to keep you updated as I find out anything.

Please Lord, soften Katie and her husbands hearts, help them to see what they are doing. Help them to see the grace and beauty of this precious gift You have given them.

Power Outage

Tonight our power went out right in the middle of our supper. Yes, we were eating late, really late. (mama hasn't changed to daylight savings yet) It was just starting to get dark outside. The kids have never experienced this before so it was actually pretty fun! (after we calmed Mary and Babycakes down, they were a little scared at first.) I realized we have lots of batteries but have no clue where we have a working flashlight! I DO have candles though. 8 votives and a few big, chunky, solid ones. Our house was smelling pretty good after a few minutes!

We live in a neighborhood that is the highest part of our city, so our view at the top of our stairs is beautiful! We can see almost all of our city from there. We looked out and 1/2 of our city was blacked out.

This opened so many fun questions for the kids! I'd say Ballerina Rosie had the most questions. "Are candles electric?" "I wonder if the lights work upstairs?" "Does the bathroom light work?" "I guess we'll just have to watch a movie tonight instead of reading stories!" "Oh, no what will we do in the morning? How will I see my clothes to get dressed?" With Jedi, it was more about which clocks we'd have to reset and about batteries vs electricity, water and water heater questions. They both had questions about cooking, freezers, refrigeraters and stoves.

After about half an hour the power came back on, I admit I was a little disappointed. It was kind of exciting and fun to see and hear their questions. I felt like a child again. We talked about how things would be different if there were no power. Everything from washing clothes to the food we would eat, like milk straight from the cow and no ice or ice cubes. No tv's, radios, computers. I was proud of Jedi when he said "We really don't NEED those things anyway." so matter of factly. Our bedtime prayers were full of thanksgiving for living in our times, in our modern world.

During this short time, different things went through MY head. I couldn't help but think about it being Palm Sunday. Such an important day. Such an important week. "The Week That Changed Everything!" I thought about God and our world. I thought about all the visionaries and warnings. I thought about Fatima and Medjugorje. I thought about how in an instant our world as we know it, could change. It could stop. I even caught myself looking out the window a second time to see if the other half of the city was still on.

Am I ready for something like that to happen? Is my soul where I want it to be? God gives me a choice, to choose Him, or the world. Every day.

I choose You, Lord, I choose You. But I still need help doing this. I am weak. Lord make me strong. Help me to be always ready. Lord, help me. Lord, make me a saint.

It's not too late!

I love that saying "The Week That Changed the World"!! Today, Passion Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week. My thoughts about this are it's not too late. It's not too late to make any sacrifices no matter how small. It's not too late to give up tv. (not that we watch that much, but we do watch Little House a few times a week and we do watch American Idol) It's not too late to say extra prayers, to read more, to get up early, to go to bed early, to be more patient. It's not too late to spend less time on the computer. It's not too late to put myself right at Calvary, every day. It's not too late to make this my best lent ever!

Lord, help me to do what You want me to do this Holy week, help me to make it as Holy as I can for me and my family.


PS for great Holy Week activities go to http://prayingforgrace.blogspot.com/ Barb has something for everyone there!

Also for palm crosses go to www.fisheaters.com/customslent11.html
Scroll down and there are easy instructions!

Emergency Prayer Request!

For a woman named Katie. She is pregnant with her 2nd child. She is about to abort her baby. My good friend T's sister in law, is friends with Katie. Her sister in law asked T to talk to her this weekend, and this Katie is willing to talk to my friend T. Her first baby was born and shortly after died, the reason is unclear, except many birth defects, webbed feet and hands. Her first baby was a boy. Now she is pregnant with another baby, with the same birth defects, but this time she's a girl. She is around 22 weeks along. Not much else known, except she wants to end the pregnancy and have a funeral, and I guess her state of mind is to get it done sooner and not to prolong it. She is not looking at it as an abortion. Any prayers for her would be much appreciated, this baby's life depends on it. Prayers for T that the Holy Spirit guides her and gives her the right words for this woman. Our Lord is asking her to be a vessel carrying these little Saints.

Lord have mercy on Katie. Guide her, lead her. Pour Your graces upon her. Help her to see the gift she has. Help her to see the good in this hard, hard situation.

Thank you all for any prayers for T and Katie.
I hope to get an update as soon as T meets her.

What We're Listening to

Crystal Gayle!! Whatever happened to her? Did she cut her hair? Growing up, my dad had all, literally all, her albums. He still does. Although, I don't think he listens to her anymore. But I do! The kids have been dancing this morning to her songs. This is the CD that I have. Really, my dad had all her albums and us kids knew her songs all by heart!! It's amazing how even though it's been years since listening to these, I still know all the words. I used to hold something and pretend it was my microphone and sing and dance to these.

To be fair, we will listen to my mom's favorite tomorrow...can you guess?

Thankful Thursday

This beautiful plant (it's actually 3 plants in one) is from my neighbor Jeanne. I am still in awe that she did such a nice thing for me!! She was thanking me for our friendship, me! She doesn't know that I prayed for her before I even met her. Last Summer when we were waiting to move I prayed every day for our new neighbors! I actually forgot until today when she gave me this with a beautiful card. And so, today I am thankful for Jeanne and our friendship that is growing and blossoming, just as this plant is. Thank You, God for our wonderful neighbors, especially Jeanne! (We are still praying for the house to sell next door, we pray every night for a Holy Catholic homeschooling family! Do you know anyone who wants to move to MN?)

This is Thursday, well...I think it is actually Friday now, I am posting very, very late, I had my holy hour with our Lord and I am so very thankful to have this time with Him. He gives me so much. I am so blessed and I am so thankful.

*Just another reminder that the Divine Mercy Novena starts next Friday, Good Friday. I will be posting the novena here every day. The Chaplet of Mercy is prayed along with the novena.Or check out www.thedivinemercy.org/ for more information.

The hour of great mercy is three o'clock in the afternoon. If at all possible, try to pray the chaplet and novena during the three o'clock hour.

In our lord's revelations to St Faustina, Our Lord asked for special prayer and meditation on His Passion each afternoon at the three o'clock hour, the hour that recalls His death on the cross.

At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. ...In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion. (diary, 1320)

Friday, we have a field trip to a maple syrup festival and then we are part of the women and children of the living Stations of the Cross at our church!! It should be fun!! But busy! Saturday we have a first Communion retreat to go to, should be fun. So everyone have a wonderful weekend!! May God pour His graces onto you as you prepare for Holy Week!!

New Curtains!

Picture these new curtains with white paint instead of the blue...yes, more painting to come! Ballerina Rosie was very excited for me to sew these curtains today...Don't look too close, I'm not a super sewer like Nerm http://nermandkitty.blogspot.com/ but they look ok and the kids were pretty excited! I love light, and bright windows, but not at the front door. I did not like that people could come to the door and look right in. The old curtains actually look pretty good in the pictures, but they were old and stained. These are bright and colorful. My husband did not like this fabric, nor did Jedi, but us girls out number the boys and we liked it!!

Before and after

Old House/New House -part 1

This will be part one of three parts. Many years ago, I was at a retreat and the priest was a priest who was in Guatamala for many years and had actually adopted boys from there and he had lived in the states in between sometimes and at this time was put back in the states. I asked him where he likes it best, the states or working missions. He looked at me and said, very thoughtful "I like it best wherever I am." Wow, what a humble priest! This is not the answer I expected. So wherever I am, I try to "like it best."

As a child, growing up, our family moved 5 times to California and back to MN. (one of those times I was a baby, so I guess that does not count) One of those moves was also from Northern CA to Southern CA and then back to MN. I spent every year of my high school in a different school. (we always went to public schools) My Kindergarden year and my 5th grade year were in Anaheim and Santa Rosa, CA. My mom is from CA and my dad is from MN. I guess we moved when she got homesick.

Now, as a 10th grader living in MN, yes, I did want to move. (who wouldn't want to live in sunny CA?) But I grew up (mostly) in a small town, everyone knew everyone. For the last 5 years I had the same friends and was almost allowed to date!! (I had to be 16) Boys were waiting.

Well, we moved to Santa Rosa, in northern CA, we had an aunt and uncle there and 2 cousins so that was nice. However, there were so many kids in the schools that no one knew I was new. I was used to our small town, where everyone flocks to the new kid (especially me) to get to know them. My junior year was my hardest of all. I was in drama, but that still did not help. Kids already had their friends. I ended up getting a job (at good old Burger King) and worked there every day almost and went to school. I literally had NO friends.

On a side note, my mom had a baby in February of that year, so that was a highlight. I loved helping my mom with the little ones. (he just turned 22 now!)

My dad ended up finding a job in Long Beach (Southern CA) and would drive down there every week and stay with my Grandma. I think it was like 12 hours, not sure on that though. So when school got out, we moved down to Riverside, in Southern CA. Now we were closer to more aunts and uncles and my grandma. This time I decided to be the one to make friends. I did not get a job and I made friends and fell in love with my Algebra teacher. I loved school that year. There were gangs everywhere, but I learned to stay away. There were the Crips and the Cholos and Cholas. The Cholos and Cholas were the mexican gangs, male and female. The males wore really, really white tennis shoes, black pants and a really, really white t-shirt under a really, really white dress shirt only buttoned at the top and they wore hair nets. Well, we rode home on the bus with these kids and one time I sat behind one of the Cholos, he was a 9th or 10th grader, younger than me, his cholas friends looked at me, glared at me really, as if I was going to steal him away or something. I asked him "Why do you wear a hair net?" They all looked at me like how dare me talk to them and ask them such a question. I then said "I'm from MN, people don't dress like that there, I was just wondering why you do it?" The girls still glaring at me, I saw him almost in a sigh of relief, he just answered me. "I wear it so when I get out of the shower, my hair will stay exactly the same." "Oh, ok, thanks!" We never spoke again, but I always wondered why, still, since no one would see his hair being exactly the same because the hair net was on....

We had grad night at Disneyland, 11pm until 6am! It was a blast! I remember Wang Chung was there and my husband still teases me about them being my favorite group, which they were not, they were just there! Also Glass Tiger and some other singer I cannot remember who! It was a great way to end our time in CA, because my family had the moving van there when I got home. I remember laying on a pile of blankets trying to sleep while everyone moved things into the truck. That was the last move. My parents have been here for 20 years now. (almost 21)

I did not have a great high school life, but that's ok, I can talk to anyone at anytime, anywhere. I am not shy. Having to make my own friends, and having to always meet new people, has, I hope helped me somehow.

Lord, help me to be thankful for past experiences good and bad, because I know You only bring good out of those if I let You.

Christine!

Isn't Christine beautiful? http:/Christine-thesimplelife.blogspot.com/ She is just as beautiful on the inside as the outside! She and her beautiful children were at Jedi's bithday party (spelled wrong intentally just for Christine!) and we snapped these photos for her blog! Remind me not to stand next to a beautiful blonde for pictures. ever. Just kidding! We had a good time yesterday and the kids had a blast! More on the birthday party coming up!

This is the one for her blog, isn't it nice? I had to show the color ones though, to show her beautiful blue eyes!

This picture shows her true personality, fun loving! Thanks for a wonderful visit yesterday Christine.

Novena to The Divine Mercy

This Novena to The Divine Mercy starts on Good Friday (only 2 weeks) and goes until Divine Mercy Sunday. (the Sunday after Easter) Won't you please do it with me this year? I have been praying this novena for 14 years and the graces are so abundant. On Divine Mercy Sunday, after receiving Jesus, I feel as if I could float home. I cannot even put it into words to do the feeling justice. So much grace. Starting on Good Friday, I will be posting the novena here so if you do not have the novena, you can still do it. If you want the novena either go to a Catholic book store, where they would have pamphlets, or your church might have them in the back, where prayer cards are or go to http://www.thedivinemercy.org/ and check it out! Or, just come here and do it with me!!

From St Faustina Kowalska's Diary Divine Mercy in My Soul: (Jesus' words to her)

I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fount of My mercy, that they may draw there from strength and refreshment and whatever graces they need in the hardships of life and, especially, at the hour of death.

On each day you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. You will do this in this life and in the next. I will deny nothing to any soul whom you will bring to the fount of My mercy. On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My bitter Passion, for graces for these souls.

First day: Pray for all mankind, especially all sinners.

Second day: Pray for souls of priests and religious.

Third day: Pray for all devout and faithful souls.

Fourth day: Pray for those who do not believe in God and do not yet know God.

Fifth day: Pray for the souls of separated brethren

Sixth day: Pray for the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children.

Seventh day: Pray for souls who especially venerate and glorify God's mercy.

Eighth day: Pray for the souls who are detained in Purgatory.

Ninth day: Souls who have become lukewarm.

Pg. 286 of St Faustina's Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul : (Jesus' words to her concerning the graces available to all on this great Feast of Mercy)

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout all eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

Powerful, huh? All sins and punishment, it is like being re-baptised!!! It is my favorite day of the year!

I will be busy these next couple days with birthday doings so I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! God bless you all!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that my own beautiful tulips will be coming up in about 2 months!! (OK, yes, I have spring fever!!)

• I am thankful for my husband and all he does so we can stay home and do all we do!
• I am thankful for new friends I have met through this blog, Nerm, Paula, Jill, Tracy and anyone else who is reading. I pray for all of you! (ok, I'm still not good at linking, but you know who you are!)
• I am thankful for my neighbor Jeanne, God knew I'd love a neighbor I could pray the rosary with!!
• I am thankful for theme birthday parties, I am planning Jedi's lego party for Saturday, it is SO MUCH FUN!
• I am thankful for Jedi. I can't believe he's already almost 8! How did he grow up so fast? Thank You God for all things BOY, he brings a little balance to our home!
• I am thankful for ALL my children, all the chaos, screaming (the girls), laughter, playing and loving in our home.
• I am thankful for my Holy Hour tonite, I can't wait to see Jesus again!
• I am thankful for this long, long winter, because I know it will help me to appreciate Spring that much more, and Summer and Fall!
• I am thankful for my friend Christine, who I love more and more each day! (she will be at my son's birthday party this weekend, maybe she will let me take her picture? To show?)

Happy Thankful Thursday everyone!

March Craft Wall

This is our March craft wall, in our school room. Isn't it beautiful? So cheery and green!! Please keep reading, there are 4 more craft posts. Next time I will try to do it better and put them all on the same post, I'm still new at this blogging thing, be patient with me, please!!

Lent Craft

This craft was actually done at Ballerina Rosie's Little Crown meeting, so it is not my original idea, but I'm going to steal it and do it every year!! It is a tin can, filled with sand, 2 sticks hot glued together and then tied together with string, the can is decorated with a purple piece of paper and cross draped with a purple ribbon. The girls had so much fun making these and they are very pretty, as far as children's crafts go that is!

There are so many symbols to discuss with this craft too, the sand, Jesus in the desert, the purple color, pennance, sacrificing, almsgiving and royal purple, the color of kings, Jesus being the greatest King of all. The cross itself too, of course.

March Crafts

Put marbles in paint, put paper to be painted in bottom of box, drop marbles in and gently shake. Gently is the word often used during this paint project. We only lost our marbles (haha) 2 times, and yes there was purple paint everywhere!

We chose to marble paint cross and shamrock shapes and taped them to a 1/2 sheet of paper and removed the shape and then had 2 marble paintings in one.

Aren't Mary's happy people the greatest? We also made homemade green, since we were out, so it was a learning lesson in mixing colors, which turned out to be great!