The journey

Lately I have been feeling very inadequate in so many ways. Around the house, in the school room, as a wife. Now in all fairness life has been very full and stressful, but that stress has left us now and I still feel like I'm so far behind in everything. I feel that my spiritual life needs to be so much more. I feel like I'm searching and searching trying to find inner peace. Then at Mass on Saturday night, it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. We always need to be searching because once the search is over, we have reached our destination. Once we reach the end of the journey, we're home. I want my home to be in Heaven with our Lord. I need Him to be complete. We are all on our own journeys, but they will all lead us home if we choose the right road to follow. I guess what I realized is that I should never feel adequate. If I did, then where would I have left to go? I always need to improve myself, I always need to grow. It is when we stop growing that we die and I really don't want to die. I want to live eternally with My Father in Heaven. My creator who calls me to Him every day. I just need to live in the moment and follow the journey He leads me on. Do the best that I can do and realize that I need to search, and I need to be more than who I am now. It is only through Christ that I find strength and peace. I need to see myself through His eyes. It is for Him that I live, serve and love.

Enjoy your journey and find peace along the way.

Are you ready?

Everywhere I turn these days, I hear this question. Are you ready for Christmas? If that means do I have all the gifts bought and wrapped, then no, but I will be. But if it means are my heart, soul and home ready for the coming of the Christ child, then I have to stop and think. Did I do everything I set out to do this Advent season? NO. Did I prepare in the best possible way? NO. I am here on the last Sunday of Advent wondering what happened. Where did all the time go and what about all my really great ideas for me and the kids? How did I get to this place and how far do I have to go to be ready for Christmas? I would love to say that my heart is prepared everyday to receive Jesus, but I'm not. I'm not worthy at all. These days have been such a challenge and I have become quite overwhelmed with it all. I usually wake each morning and begin my day with prayer, but this Advent it seems that there is too much to do and so I pray while I work. So I jump out of bed and start running before my feet hit the ground. I have to look back and realize that we did have a very fruitful Advent, filled with sacrifices, alms giving, visiting the home-bound, feeding the hungry. But what about my plan? Did God have a different plan for my Advent and did I truly grow closer to Him? YES. He knew what I needed this year. He knew how I would get there. I do truly feel at peace with Him and I do feel ready for Him. Our house is full of His love and we are excited to celebrate His birth. We started a tradition several years ago that is one of our most treasured. We do not put any presents under our Christmas tree until Christmas Eve. Instead we have a nativity, that the children can play with, and we have a gold wrapped box that baby Jesus is in. This is the first gift we open on Christmas morning. We sing Happy Birthday and we all take time to think about the gift that He is in our life. After that the rest just doesn't seem as important and we can really understand the true meaning of Christmas.

I hope you find that this Advent you have been able to prepare for Christ's coming in the way that He has planned for you. I hope that you too, are able to find peace in this journey and that you will continue His path for your life.

Merry Christmas!

I haven't written anything for quite some time for many different reasons. Mainly though, it is because life has gotten so busy. There doesn't seem to be enough time to stop and put my thoughts down into words.
We've started a new school year and everything is flowing smoothly with our academics, however we have taken two vacations since August and so now it is time to get the house all organized as well.
It's easy to let things get piled up, but it's impossible for us to live well amongst the clutter. How wonderful life is when we detach ourselves from the material possessions of this world. Some of us are called to this more than others. Right now I have two dear friends that are faced with the biggest detachment of all and that is their lives in this world. How scary and hard it must be to be faced with having to say goodbye to your loved ones, especially your children. Our faith in God has to be strong to be able to trust in His will. Our human minds can't begin to fathom this love He has for us. It is through our suffering that we are able to join our Lord and Savior on the cross. Our crosses are so small compared to others and yet they seem so heavy. It is when we are able to offer our sufferings up in prayer that we truly feel the presence of God amidst the pain. My mind is constantly with my dear friends in prayer and in deeds. How I pray for their strength and that of their families because as hard as it must be for them, they are close to joining our Lord in Heaven. Their families however, will still be here mourning the loss and feeling the pain. I pray that they may find comfort with our Lord on the cross and join their sufferings with His. This is the way to Heaven for no one comes to the Father except through the Son.

Our Lord is an awesome Lord and will love us always.

Please pray for Kelly and Linda during these next few weeks. Thank you and may God bless you all.

Daybook

~The Simple Woman's Daybook~: Taking Part In The Simple Woman's Daybook:
FOR TODAY August 3rd...
Outside my window...is the silent of the night.
I am thinking...of how blessed I am.
I am thankful for...the amazing day I had with my children.
From the learning rooms...we started our American History lessons today and loved it!
From the kitchen...I am preparing a feast for our Lady's Assumption. (mentally!)
I am wearing...brown shirt and denim shorts
I am creating...a daybook for the very first time.
I am going...on a retreat this weekend and leaving my baby overnight.
I am reading...A Continual Feast and A Book of Feasts and Seasons
I am hoping...the world will find peace in Our Lord.
I am hearing...the air conditioning humming and the baby breathing.
Around the house...are the leftovers of a happy, joy filled day!
One of my favorite things...is having friends stop by, and listening to my children laugh!
A few plans for the rest of the week:prepare myself and my husband for the weekend.
A picture thought I'm sharing:
See Peggy's site to create your own daybook: ~The Simple Woman's Daybook~: Taking Part In The Simple Woman's Daybook:

What a SUMMER!

Wow, I can't believe it has been since May since I last blogged. I have had several ideas, just no time. It seems that a relaxing summer does not exist with 4 kids. I miss the routine of school days. We have already started back because it was time to get back to normal. Our summer seemed to be busier than the rest of the year by far. It is nice to get back into the familiar swing of things and it brings a peace to our house. We all seem to be ready for the normalcy of life.

Tonight while we were offering up our petitions, my almost 7 year old began her prayers and I was utterly amazed at how beautiful her prayers were. Don't get me wrong, she has always been a prayerful child (even during the most unusual times), but tonight she was noticeably different. It's almost as if the graces she will receive this sacramental year have started flowing early. Normally her prayers are centered around normal 6 year old things. But tonight, they were all about asking God to take control of her life and guide her decisions. Such powerful ideas coming from this child who still has a few days left as a 6 year old.

When God tells us to we need to become as little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, I think this was exactly what He meant. How many of us take the time to stop each day and ask God to guide our thoughts, words and actions. We may offer them up in our daily offering, but do we ask for help to make them positive thoughts, words and actions. Simplicity is a thought that comes to me over and over lately and I think it's pertinent in our prayer life. We do not need fancy things to offer to God, just our time. How much more peaceful are we when we allow Him to take the lead and we follow. Just as children follow their earthly parents, we must follow our Heavenly Father.

I am constantly blown away by the roses that are shown to me through my children. I pray that I can learn from each of them and not let an instant of this pass me by. I hope I don't let another day pass without asking God for help in seeing all that I am to learn through my children. Sometimes I wonder who the better teacher is, me or them.

Please continue to pray for us as we are praying for you all! Peace in Christ!

Baby Snuggles

Is there anything better? It can bring a 6 year old to tears (of joy!) It can make my 9 year old stop whatever she is doing and just be. It can melt a father's heart. How must our Father in Heaven feel whenever we stop wandering this world, to just stop and snuggle Him? I have been praying the 15 prayers of St. Bridget and sometimes it's hard to fit them in, with our busy life. But each day, I stop and spend those 20 (or so) minutes and just snuggle with Jesus. If this love we feel on earth is even just a glimpse of the love we'll feel for each other in Heaven, then lets work more towards sharing those snuggles with each other, now. I don't mean go hug everyone you meet on the street, but bring that love in a small way to each person. See Christ in EACH person. Especially the guy that honks at you, or cuts you off while you are driving. Especially that person that speeds out of the parking lot after Mass. Especially your own family all snuggled up in your loving home! God bless, and I am off for more snuggles now! It should smell a lot better now that I've changed the diaper. ;)

Random Thoughts On Motherhood

It's been awhile since I have been able to sit down to post, but it seems that I am always writing in my mind as life goes on. The end of the spring is always such a busy time with soccer ending, swim team starting and then Mom spending every last minute planning school and ordering all the goodies for next year's lessons.
A few weeks ago I visited a blog post that was playing the greatest song. I enjoyed the song them, but didn't pay much attention to it. Then, when I would go back to this blog, I thought that it was a beautiful song, but again, I still didn't really listen to the song. Then finally the blogger had so many people ask about it that I finally listened, really listened. Well, that was it. I was online buying the entire CD, which I never do anymore. The song is a gift from Taylor Swift to her parents. I can't stop listening to it. It is called The Best Day. It is a girl remembering all the times her mom was there for her, and all the best days they had together.
What I want more than anything in this world, is for my children to always stay faithful to God's will. While doing that though, I would love for them to have wonderful days that they remember. I want each one of their days, however hard, to be their best day. I want to just get down on their level and see what is important to each one, each day. I want them to tell me their dreams and then I want to help them reach those dreams each day. Every day I wake up and think of how blessed I am to be able to go with them on all the explorations through whatever it is for us to learn that day.
One of the things I remember most as a child, is how my mom was ALWAYS there for me. Even when I dissapointed her, she was there. When I was hurt, she was there. It was in those times when she supported me, even when I was wrong. She taught me the love of Christ through her unconditional gift of herself to my sister and I.
Our vocation of motherhood is not a JOB. It is a gift that we selflessly give every day of our lives. We don't get days off, and our pay can never be measured in a monetary way. Instead we have the honor of knowing that we have helped to grow the Kingdom of God the way no one else can. A very dear friend of mine just suffered a miscarriage. This was a child who was given to them later in life. She only talks of the gifts that came from their sufferings. She truly sees God's will and is then able to be a living example for her children who are then an example right back to her. It's in times like these that we are truly closest to Heaven and all the love that shines down from there.
May you have a blessed Mother's Day and may it be your BEST DAY, today!!

PS Check out the song, it really is inspirational. I cry every time!