Great deal!

My good friend Sarah, alerted me to this great deal!

I love the idea of getting to know each composer and his music.

We have lots of Classical music, but it is almost all in mixed CD's.

(except the baby Mozart ones we get free with every baby)

45% off, we bought it!

Thankful Thursday

 Thankful for blooming flowers of summer...

.trying to get a picture of my front flowers....

I see something blue....

 There's my little blue flower!!

 Thankful for Black Eyed Susans starting to open up just in time for August

 Thankful along with my blooms come Monarch Butterflies galore!

 Thankful for old books I've had forever and never finished,

 only to pick up again and find just what I need for right now.

(for those of you who have the book, pg 215 is my inspiration for this week)

She talks about being friends with your children.

  To treat them no matter how young, as if they were your best friend.

My husband didn't get it.

Being the heart of the home, I get it.

She (Elizabeth Foss) is reminding us mothers we don't always need to nag our children,

or yell at them or snap at them or always think the negative when they are doing something 

that is bothering us.

At least that is what I got out of it.

To look at them as if they were your closest friend standing there.

How would you treat them?

Even through discipline, can't we do it with a little more love?

I know I can.

I know I'm much more patient with my friends than my children sometimes.

Reading it has helped me to remember to watch my tone with my kiddos and to just be more loving.

 Thankful I've got my order just about ready for our school year...

I might even make the free shipping this  year
(the deadline is July 31, I usually order mid August)

I'm not going to list everything we use and read, 

But as you can see here, we mostly use CHC, Seton and I order Voyages in English, 

and the Timberdoodle stuff is for fun stuff!

The reason I use Voyages in English is because it is hard.

It has a teacher's manual with daily lessons to go through with the kids,

and monthly papers are written, each month a theme.

I have a hard time just giving them a workbook page with one line of instructions on how to do it.

I need concrete teaching stuff.

(If anyone orders Saxon Math, you should know that Seton sells it for about $25 less than anywhere else)

 Thankful I happened to be in Wal-mart for their back to school sale on supplies!!

Last year, I missed it!

Markers- 74 cents

Crayons-25 cents

Tablets-20 cents

Glue-40 cents

Stock up time!!

 Thankful for leftover cereal bowls.

(Hey, I'm trying to be positive here, at least they ate the bananas that I sliced on top)

 Thankful for peanut butter cookies!!  

Well, the kiddos are thankful for these!!

 Thankful for cute, chubby, little, milky white, soft, baby cousins!!!!

We have seen 3 baby boys this past week and the kids all think it is a "sign".

 Thankful for messy, little cherry mouths

(Sam's Club has the best fruit, I tell you!)

Thankful for the beautiful deer that visit our yard....even though they ate my tomato plants!

Thankful Thursdays

A time to remember to be thankful

A pause in the week for praise,

thanksgiving and thinking positively

in addition to the normal daily praise

we need to give God.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Anne!

On the Feast of St Anne, Happy Birthday Anne!!

(My Mother in law)

God bless you, we all love you very much!

Thought you'd all like this cute video

of a cute baby, baby talking very cutely!

Good Movie/Bad Movie

First, the good movie!

The Adjustment Bureau was really a good movie, it was a very interesting concept.

Although, I'll warn you the concept is a very goofy idea of what God is and how free will works.   

I just found it interesting to see such imagination.

Both Tom and I said the same thing afterward, "Interesting"

There was action and romance, the perfect couple movie!

This was not a good movie.  It was bad.  In fact, we should have shut it off.

I realized, I never post bad movies, not sure why, maybe I don't want to waste any more of my time.

I had a hard time shutting it off, I kept thinking, "It will get better"  

It didn't.

It was predictable

It had bad, raunchy, gross jokes.

It had some laugh out loud funnies, but most of those you've already seen in the previews.

Has Jennifer Aniston really been in any good movies?  

She's just so pretty and fun to watch, because, she's so pretty, I guess.

Adam Sandler, I had higher expectations for you, 

This movie could have been so much better.

I'd say don't waste your time.

Chicken Pox Visiting Today!

Off to catch some Chicken Pox!!
**Coming back to explain:
We want chicken pox!
We went to play with a family who has the chicken pox, along with another family who also wants to get them.
To explain more, we don't immunize for a childhood disease that is fine for the littles to get.
The only ones who need to get the chicken pox are the 2 little ones.
Are people afraid of a little suffering these days?
Anyone want to come play in about a week or two?
Come on Christine, why wouldn't you want to?

Fun In the Heat

 Shaving cream and hose play....

 Lots of tea parties...

 (with minimal spills)

 Lots of ice cream and orange dreamsicles...

 Sprinkler fun...

 Hmmmm.....what are they doing?

 There she goes!!

 Lots of water...

 Lots of Mr. Freezies...

Probably too many cartoons, too much popcorn 

lots of playing inside this week too.  

Now, hopefully we are back to normal...humidity is normal for today at least!

Popcorn Anyone?

I saw on the news the other day that everywhere in the U.S. it's HOT!

My kids said "Even in Alaska?"

Guess they didn't show Alaska.

Are your dew points 81 like in MN?

I didn't think so.

That means instant sweat just stepping outside.

More later on how we are staying cool....

(my good friend Sarah, in Fargo, sent this cartoon to me in an email)

A Fine Line

One of my cousins got married this past weekend.  In Chicago.

My Grandma had 10 kids, 42 grandchildren, and I am having her 62nd great grandchild.
Large family.

My parents made it their thing to not go to any weddings where the couple lives together before the wedding.
Over the years, this has caused lots of anger between my dad and his sisters and probably the nieces and nephews too.  So, all the aunts and uncles went to the wedding this past weekend, except my parents.
I only mention this so you know my background, how I was raised, it is in no way to point fingers at them or judge them for being judgemental.


(not that they would go anyway, because they are SSPX-ers and would not go to a Roman Catholic Church wedding or Baptism or First Holy Communion--they joined about 5 years ago)

I'm sure my aunts find it ironic that my youngest brother lives with his girlfriend and has been for a long time now.

My grandma with Mary Hannah and Colette on her 89th birthday

At my grandma's birthday party, I was talking with one of my aunt and uncles and my uncle was upset at my parents and they feel we should just support and love these kids, not "judge" them. He went on to say that Christians of any religion, always think sex is the ultimate worst sin there is. 

I think what he was trying to say was that sin is sin.  Who are we to judge which sin we are going to pick and "judge" people for, especially kids these days who live together before marriage.  

If the couple is Catholic, and they choose to not marry in the Catholic Church, we, as Catholics are not supposed to go support their "wedding" that is not recognized by the Church.  We can go to the celebration and share in their joy.  

There's a fine line there and it's hard to do.  And any priest will tell you to go, if it would cause too much division and pain in the family.

I think when the couple lives together before marriage, maybe the sin is different because it's laid out there, like the scarlet letter.  They are kind of flaunting their sin, because, well, they don't believe it's sin. 

(which is the devil's biggest accomplishment, making people think sin is not sin)

I figure, if the couple is Catholic, and they get married in the Catholic Church, the night before the wedding, they might have a change of heart and they might be given that chance to go to Confession.  How would we know that?  We don't.  

Therefore, I've come to the conclusion, that it is judging because, God gives grace right up to that last moment.

Getting married is a big decision and we don't know if the couple has decided to take it a little more serious and try to get all the graces they can possibly get by feeling that sorrow for the things they've done wrong and make it right by going to Confession, and start fresh and new on their wedding day.

I think this is one of those gray areas of life and tough things.

No one invites kids anymore to weddings, at least not any of my cousins, so we rarely go to weddings.  

But it sure gets me thinking and praying.

Sin is sin and we ought to call it sin.  But how do we also love?  Do we have to call it anything?  Can we just love and worry about ourselves?  Or should we call it what it is and tell the sinner?  

I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone telling me what my sins are, except God, through prayer and self examination.

Thank God for the Sacrament of Confession, where we can start fresh and new as often as we need to.

What do you think?

Thank You

Thank you for all your prayers, I have no doubt it is why this was finally settled.
Read here.

Ballerina Rosie is 9!

 Happy birthday my sweet girl!

9 is going to be great!

Yesterday was her birthday and she decided to have a movie themed party.

(click on picture for a better view of the cake!)

 Sister love

 Flowers in a popcorn cup

 Gifts for party girls

(the popcorn in bags is white chocolate covered popcorn w/M&M's candies--it's also what is on the cake)

 Ballerina Rosie made up "Pin the popcorn in my mouth" 

The girls had fun with this one.

(in order to not get lice again we used different bandannas and each girl got to take theirs home)

 Another game, was to try to get a pretzel M&M in the cup,
 here's Sweetie Pie getting the misses!

 Movie Director Says....(like Simon Says)

Each girl had a chance to be the Movie Director

 Snacks were popcorn and raspberry lemonade (sugar free) in movie theatre cups 

(I got 7 cups w/lids from Super America for 79 cents)

 The girls watched the movie Megamind in a darkened living room and

had cake and ice cream before going home!

It was a fun day, and this mama is pooped!

(she had 2 good friends and 2 neighbor girls over, plus our girls)

Ballerina Rosie kept saying what a good birthday it was all evening, 

which made it all worth it, I know she will remember this day as she grows up!

Which is what birthdays are all about, right?

God bless you my sweet 9 year old!

Total Consecration!!

Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary 

starts today!!

Consecration is on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15th.

Will you join me?

(I think this is my 16th year!)

The Company Men

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie.

For some reason, I was expecting an action-suspense type movie.

This was a serious movie.

Great actors

Tommy Lee Jones's character, was a man who was having an affair, which bothered me, but then, 

after thinking some more about the movie, I realized it just showed how 

unhappy he actually was.

Kind of a slow going movie, but, as I said, great actors.

Overall, I think it was a pretty good movie.

Governor Dayton's Shutdown

We received this flyer today:

It's Governor Dayton's shutdown.

And it's totally unnecessary.

Governor Dayton could have signed the Legislature's "lights on" bill, which would have continued state government funding at previous budget levels.

Instead, Governor Dayton chose to shut down state government and put more than 20,000 Minnesotans out of work.

If only Governor Dayton would call lawmakers back into session, we could put Minnesota back to work.

Call Governor Dayton Today at

1-800-657-3717

Tell him to sign the Legislature's "lights on" bill.

Tell him to put thousands of Minnesotans back to work.

(This was prepared and paid for by Senate District 15 Republicans)

Please call and please pray!

7 Quick Takes Friday (OK Not So Quick)

 Joining Jen on my not so  7 Quick Takes!

-1-

Minnesota State Shutdown

I haven't heard any MN bloggers talking about this.

It's a big deal.

It effects a lot of people.

23,000 newly unemployed people, as of Friday, July 1.

Thanks to our Governor.

I prayed for him yesterday in my rosary, and I have to admit, I had a hard time

feeling love towards him.  But, I did it anyway.

He closed down all money making things, like our State Parks and our Lottery. 

These are things that bring lots, like millions of dollars to our state.

He also closed down many things that will really hurt people.

My husband runs a Halfway House for men in recovery.  It's a 90 program to get these guys (who have already gone through treatment) jobs and a plan to live in recovery.

They are all there on state contracts.

So

My husband is working for free now.

He took out a loan from his father for this next pay period, 

and they got a loan for the next 2 

Which gives them about 5 weeks

Then, I don't know what.

I'm asking for prayers.

My husband is really good about this whole thing

(besides being pretty mad at our Governor)

He knows God will take care of us no matter what.

I know that too, I just worry a little more.

Like, will we be living in the halfway house next month?

Personally, I think this Governor of ours wants to be known for shutting down the state.

His career is already shot from this happening, why would he try to compromise?

Yes, we live in a very liberal state.

We had an ex wrestler as a governor.

We now have as our State Senator, a man who wrote a book called 

Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot

Bill O'Reilly has stated he now has no reason to ever come to Minnesota.

This state shutdown effects us.

It effects 23,000 newly unemployed

It effects all the businesses that will not get any business because of road construction left uncompleted.

It effects all our State parks and people who vacation there, not to mention the vandalism that has already happened since last Friday.

It effects all the people who need services who will no longer get them

No more licenses.

I'm sure it effects many more.

Please pray with me for a end to this craziness.

-2-

(finally, huh?)

We made a great father's day tee for daddy!!!
(pictured above)

The kiddos thought up the quote by Darth Vader.

 It was not an easy job to do, but it sure was fun!

Daddy left for fishing in Canada with his dad for almost a week.

(it felt like a month)

 Boy did we miss daddy!!  

I think I missed him the most, but it was pretty close.

He is the patriarch of our family, the head of our family.

I just love and need this man so much.

 When he came home, we celebrated the day by going to the park and just enjoying him home

 He brought me a French Diete Coke

 There's nothing better than fresh Walleye!!!!  MMMMMMmmmmmmmm......with 7 people now, 

His allowed catch to bring home was not enough and we had to go buy fresh Cod....which was also very very good, we might have to splurge sometimes and get some of that.

The Walleye though, divine.  It was sooooooo gooood.

 -3-

Butterfly painting 

I can't give credit to the right craft blog as I lost the paper I'd saved for a month....

darn it.
I found it!!
HERE!

Anyway, you paint Artist canvas like this....

 then water paint paper to punch out butterflies...

 and then stick them on with sticky thingy's

Didn't they turn out beautiful?

 -4-

This is me with one of my many coconut oil treatments for lice.

This is how bad it smells.

At least for this pregnant mama.

We think the lice is gone....but keep doing the treatments every weekend, 

just in case.

We are pretty sure we got it from baseball.

We now have our own baseball helmet.

I am still dealing with lots of nausea

And I have no energy.

I'm hoping to start feeling better in about 6 weeks.

 -5-

Lite strawberry drinks!

(I've made these since I was about 18 --it's a Jamie original recipe)

Frozen Strawberries

Diet 7-up

mix in the blender

(may want to add a sweetener or two)

 -6-

Our mailbox

I love mailboxes.....but you know that don't you?

-7-

I'm done....

We're off to swim and enjoy this beautiful, warm, sunny day!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!