She has a tooth!

Just dropping in to say Mary Therese got her first tooth today! It's her great grandma's 91st birthday so that was her present. ;) It's so amazing how exciting it is for everyone, including the older kids. :D Thank you God, for the little things!

Webkinz Nights, The Mass for Kids, and Summer Days

Here's a photo of Owen with his many, many webkinz! (www.webkinz.com) Jesse and I have always been fond of the Webkinz games and have recently taken to going to bed early and playing Webkinz Supermodlz or Rock Paper Scissors on our laptops. Jesse brags that he doesn't actually *own* any webkinz but he has taken online possesion of Jackson's. I do own my own Webkinz. I have the Polor Bear (named North) and the Husky (named Wolf). If I'm going to earn a crown of wonder or kinz cash it's gonna be MINE ;) Anyway - when we were playing the other night I thought how fun it is that we can have it in commen with the kids. I hope they never grow out of it. As I type this Brandon is playing his Webkinz. Colleen has even made a day chapel for her Webkinz. :)

We recently got a mini mass kit for the kids to play with. Jackson and Samuel love playing "church". What a fun way to make mass seem more real to little ones.

Jesse took the kids on a four mile hike the other day. What a great dad he is! It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast!

Well, that's about all I can muster right now. Getting ready for vacation and keeping up with the kids is whipping me. Everyone is doing well and I thank God for that. Even on the days when I threaten to strangle them. ;)

Thanks for reading and God Bless your day!

In love with the laptop (and my husband)

My wonderful husband brought home a laptop and hooked up wireless internet for me last week. I'm so grateful. Now I can lock myself in my room to pay bills, correct schoolwork, and (let's face it) read my boards and shop. I have to load my camera software on here so I can post pictures. It's been weeks since I've blogged. I'm sure you've all missed me ;)

I've been trying to attend daily mass. It hasn't always worked out kid wise but I'm doing alright. It's SO wonderful to begin my day with mass. It really makes or breaks my day. I can feel the Graces that God bestows on me when I attend mass. It's such a gift that we, as Catholics, have to receive Holy Communion on a daily basis. I remember when I realized there was a daily mass (and I was in my 20's then!) I thought it was just for "old people" LOL. Anyway - it surely isn't and I'm getting alot from going. Brandon is kind enough to hold down the fort here so I can go. My only regret is that I miss the first hour of Teresa Tomeo's show but I can catch that on podcast.

So much is going on! Brandon is nearing the end of driver's training. He's done an amazing job and I'm proud of him (he hasn't driven my car or with me yet so I can be all happy from afar). Hannah got her hair cut today to donate to locks of love. She looks cute. I liked it so much that I went and got mine cut just like it. So now we're twins but she's much cuter. Mary chose not to get her hair cut. ;)

I will be starting up a Respect Life Group at our new parish in the fall. I'm enjoying learning lots about it. I feel like I know alot about abortion but not much about euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research. I'm learning about that and read John Paul II's Gospel of Life. It's wonderful and makes things so clear. There really is no question that our society just throws things (and people) away when they are done with them. Or maybe they never wanted them in the first place. It's just so sad that there are those that believe they are liberating women by allowing them to kill their own children. Anyway - many prayers for me as I begin traveling down the path of actually doing something to help (more than prayer which I always do).

I guess that's about it from here right now. Just chugging along trying to enjoy things and get things done at the same time.

Thanks for reading and God Bless!

God Bless America!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you and yours are all well. We began the day at mass with my parents. What a lovely way to start the day. After we went to a parade and got to see the McInnis family. That was nice! Then down to Greektown for lunch with my parents. Now we're home and I'm supposed to be doing chores but I'm sitting here instead. Jesse is face painting the kids. I guess I should get moving.

The pictures are from the fireworks at Greenfield Village from Monday night. If you ever get a chance to attend these fireworks I highly recommend it. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra plays and it's just a great time!

God Bless your day!!

Tears of Joy

Today we had our first mass at Our Lady of Good Council with Fr. John Riccardo. He's such a wonderful man. I remember the first time I went to a mass that he did. I was quite the cafateria Catholic back then but he drew me in. Since that day I can't say I've never looked back but I can say that I've never gone back. The Truth has set me free. As I sat in mass today I began to cry. The tears washed up and overwhelmed me with memories of the poor catechises I received in CCD classes as a child which lead to poor life decisions. I thought of the mainstream lifestyle and how hard it is to go against the grain. As the kids get older I often feel like I'm losing the battle. It's a tragedy when we can't go to our local Catholic Church and be fed. I was drowning in mass abuses, poor teaching of the Truth, moral relativism that doesn't help anyone. So for this short time that I have solid teaching not far from my home I hope to take full advantage. God is always present in the mass, yes, this is true. It's not the priest that makes the mass but Jesus. I know this. Still, in this era of relaxed standards where I feel like I have to read the fine print in every situation (which really wears on a person) to be able to walk into church and not wonder if it will be an abuse is so refreshing. I know it will be fleeting as someone like Fr. John cannot stay in one place for long. Everyone deserves a shot at him, LOL. So I will enjoy it and praise God and grow and change and be ready for whatever is down the road.

Have a blessed day!