All Saints Day Weekend

Have a Blessed All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day everyone!!

This Moment

If I could freeze this moment I would.  Two sisters, 16 months apart, one blue eyed, one brown.  They share a room, clothes and love for blueberry pie.  Thank you, God, for this moment.

All Together Again

Brandon is back for the weekend.  I can sleep well for the first time in nearly 3 months.  At least for a few days :)  I might add that the washing machine is already going strong.  Brandon came home with a big bag of laundry.  Off to enjoy my kids now.  God bless!

What is Truth?

It's hard in our society to define truth.  There are many who would like us to believe there isn't any truth or that we make our own truth.  Moral relativism has taken a hold of our culture and many of us have run with it.  As we go through our lives we compare ourselves to other people and as long as they are "worse" than we are then we feel pretty good about ourselves.  The fact is that it's not hard to be better than someone else in this culture.  The Pharisees were always comparing themselves to others and usually came to the conclusion that the others were not as good as they were.  Jesus frequently rebuked them for this and they didn't care for that.  So they helped condemn and kill Him. 

I am currently reading a book called Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer.  In it the author describes the kind of laziness in moral actions that I am often guilty of.  I tend to confess the same venial sins over and over again with little plan of how to not commit them again.  In all honesty I go into confession thinking I don't have the power to not commit these sins again.  What I have learned in this book (and kind of already knew) is that I do have the power to repent and truly turn away from these sins.  That "power" is called Grace.  God's Grace can turn someone like St. Paul away from a sinful life and into someone that gave his life to (and eventually for) Jesus.  In recent days I've tried to remember to tap into God's Grace when I'm about to say something nasty about the person that cut me off on the freeway or snap at one my children (who will remain nameless) when they ask me for the five hundredth time if they can have a snack.  I'm also working on the fact that,  while venial sins seem harmless enough, they are enough to keep me out of heaven for a good long time.  Also, if I can conquer my natural tendency towards committing venial sins then it will become easier to not commit mortal sins as well. 

That brings me back to the truth.  What is truth?  I'd say it's not a question of "what" but a question of "Who".  Jesus is the way, the TRUTH, and the life.  If we follow Him and try to be more than just "above average" then we cannot go wrong.  We are all called to sainthood.      Do not let society sell you short.  There is Truth out there.  Real truth.  There is a real difference between right and wrong.  Pray for me as I continue on this journey.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

While raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens are certainly some of my favorite things nothing tops these things in my everday life. The Starbuck's cup speaks for itself, I think. My Maya Wrap baby sling frees up my arms so I can fold laundry and still be close to my baby. Nothing beats a freshly washed cloth diaper. I'm so glad I used cloth for all of my babies. My favorite thing to play with Jesse (and the older kids) is Bananagrams. Easy and quick I can play it at the end of a long day or in the middle of the afternoon. Jesse and I have taken to praying the Rosary on our evening walks together. It's a lovely way to spend our time together. Also, some of my favorite moments is when we do our family Rosaries. This Rosary was made for baby Clare by a friend of mine. It's very special to me. I love my Burt's Bees lip shimmer. It doesn't have any nasty chemicals in it and the color is just right for me. I have them stashed all over the house and in the van. Speaking of the van, who can live without their car keys? But what I love about my keys is the lanyard that I picked up when we took Brandon to Franciscan University in August. Everytime I use them I think of Brandon and the beautiful university he is attending. Inspiration from other Catholic Mom's has always been a necessity for me. I recently read this book, The Handbook for Catholic Moms, where I was reminded of some important virtues involved in being an authentically Catholic wife and mother. I learned a few new things as well. That brings us to my ipod. What can I say except that I initially resisted such an expensive gift. I refused it, actually, but Brandon talked me into it. Thanks be to God! It houses APPS for me like the irosary, Magnificat, Prayer Requests, iconfess, kindle books, and my google calander. In addition to that I have my favorite Christian Rock music and Catholic Radio podcasts all in one location. Wherever I am I can pray a decade of the rosary, read inspiring stories, take in the Mass readings for the day, and listen to a song or two. Certainly not an essential but it is something that I have grown quite fond of. Not pictured (because Clare was napping in my room where this book was located) is Small Steps for Catholic Moms. This book has short daily reflections that I can read while I'm nursing the baby or if I can get away for 5 minutes sometime during the day. I can't sing it's praises enough.  Another book that I'm reading right now (it shares the nightstand with Small Steps for Catholic Moms) is Our Jewish Roots.  It also brings great reminders of where I came from and is another inspirational read.

Simple Living in the Suburbs

I've had my milk delivered by Calder's Dairy for the last three (ish) years.  I love it.  It makes me feel like I live in the 1950's.   Sometimes I order eggs, sour cream, butter and half and half from them as well.  Every Sunday night we put out our empty milk bottles and every Monday morning I bring in the milk for the week.  A while back I also got my produce delivered by Door to Door Organics.  I stopped that for a while but have started it up again.  Through our local Farmer's Market we found a meat delivery service that has local, grass fed, and organic meats and cheeses (that are very reasonably priced).  We get flour and sugars in bulk through a food co op.  I order our supplements, natural cleaning products, and natural bath products from Vitacost.  Our cloth diapers, wooden toys, board games, and gifts come from our favorite store, Baby Bliss ,(which frequently delivers to me as well!) I hardly have to leave the house anymore to go to the store :)  I must say it feels very good to support local businesses while having people bring food and other products to me (the meat and produce are delivered for free!!). 

On this crisp, fall day we have a brisket in the crock pot, artisan bread rising, and freshly made ice cream in the freezer.  I love the simplicity of it all.  Time to cuddle up with my homeschooled kids and take in a new adventure.  I'm not sure which book we'll read this afternoon but I'm grateful for the time to do it.  God bless your day!

Looking For My Mom and Dad - Oh Yeah I Am

She's a cute girl.  I hope she found them ;)

Painting Pumpkins

Our neighborhood was giving away these little pumpkins so it was free craft time for the Ekblad kids :)  I only heard "when are we painting the pumpkins?" about 500 times this morning.  Now they are painted.  I love seeing the creativity that each child brings to the table.  Jackson's tye dye pumpkin is really cool and Katie was determined to make her pumpkin "pro life".  :)

10 Months Old!!!

It's very hard to believe that our little Clare is 10 months old already!!  Yesterday a good friend of ours was over with her almost 3 wk old and Sam and Mary were plotting to send Clare home with her and keep the new baby.  According to them Clare is "too old".  Well, at least they love babies, right?  But I wouldn't trade my little Clare for anything in the world.  She brings so much joy to my heart (even though she rarely sleeps and doesn't nap....).  Thank you, God, for sending us Clare!

If You Come to My House and it's a Mess

This is why.  I'm constantly mobbed by my "fan club" if I dare to sit.  In this instance I was taking a call from my dear friend (who saves my sanity daily and reminds me why I do what I do).  I sat down and the alarms went off.  They all sat on me.  I don't mind.  It's my job.  It's my calling.  And someday I will miss it.  I know that. 

Learning to Bake - A Recipe From Olivia and the Little Way

Katie just finished the book Olivia and the Little Way.  It's a story about a little girl named Olivia who is moving from Texas to Michigan and she is in a new school.  Olivia is trying to make friends at her new school and two girls befriend her but it turns out that they are not very nice to other kids in the school.  Olivia tries to get them to be nice.  Instead the girls are a bad influence on Olivia.   She makes alot of mistakes that the other girls make (like getting her ears pierced when her parents said no).  Olivia's grandmother is teaching her about St. Therese so Olivia decides to make friends with two girls and a boy that the other girls make fun of.  If you want to know the ending you'll have to read the book :)  Katie and Hannah highly recommend it!  There is a sequel coming out in November that we have already pre ordered!!

There is a recipe for cinnamon chip scones in the book and Katie decided to try it out tonight.  Hannah generously offered her time to help and the scones turned out fantastic!!  VERY yummy!!  I love watching my children work together to learn new things.  It's such a blessing for them to have so much time to spend learning from eachother!!

Congratulations Hannah and Owen!

Hannah and Owen (and the rest of the Our Lady of Good Counsel Cross Country team) won the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) Championship today!  It was a beautiful day for a run.  Especially since I didn't have to run ;)  I wish I had pictures from last night at the Grotto.  The coaches led the athletes and their families in prayer for about 20 minutes and talked about how we need to be good sports and always put God first in our lives.  It was really beautiful.

Friday Funny

Cecilia came up to me a minute ago and said "look at me.  it's dark".  Gosh I love toddlers.  They make my day brighter!

This Moment

I've seen several bloggers doing a "this moment" type blog post.  A moment captured on film (or memory card) that you wish could be savored for a really long time.  Today's moment for me is not one of my children (although I frequently have those) but of myself at about 3? years old.  Blowing bubbles in the sun.

Remembering Our Past

These are old slides from my mom and dad's honeymoon and the earlier years of their marriage.  The cute little girl is usually me ;)  And the cute little boy is my brother.  Converting these slides to digital pictures took some time but it was really fun (and easy). 

A Special Tribute

It's not Veteren's Day but the kids, Jesse, and I have been working on converting my dad's old Vietnam slides to digital pictures for a month or so.  Tomorrow is my dad's birthday so this was part of his gift. 

:) Shining Moments, Lasting Memories

Katie's soccer team played in a tournament this weekend and were victorious.  I hate to admit it but I really got into the games and even cried when she scored a goal.  Darn it.  This might be addicting. (The Dairy Queen after the final victory was very addicting).

They *Are* My Friends

Jesse and I take a walk every night with the two little girls on our backs. I will tell him about my day and about prayer requests or things that my friends may be going through. He will ask me "who are you talking about?" and I will answer "my friends, you know, on Facebook. They *are* my friends. Even though I've never met them." That's the joke in our house now. Friends that we've never met. Now there's a concept.


Facebook is a place I never thought I'd be.  I am even quoted in a magazine article for Faith and Family Magazine saying that I wouldn't let my kids on there and that *I* wouldn't go there.  I was humbled only a few days after I was interviewed for that article.  Brandon's Lifeteen Group relayed most of their information via Facebook so he asked if he could join.  At the time he was 17 and a Junior in High School.  I agreed that he could join ONLY if I joined and was his friend.  We worked out an acceptable plan and I reluctantly joined the online social networking scene.  OH.MY.GOODNESS! I was shocked at what was out there.  I had no idea these things were going on in cyber space.  Sure, I'd frequented discussion boards and amazon.com since getting online in 1998 but this was totally different.  I immediately "liked" every Catholic News Media page that I could find.  Finally, a way to get my Catholic fill (besides my beloved Catholic Radio) in the two seconds that I had to sit every few hours.  I could interact with so many people at once without talking on the phone (if you know me you know I cannot stand talking on the phone, for the most part).  I was able to see what my sister in law was up to and see pictures of my best friend's kids doing fun things at their house.  As a stay at home, homeschooling mom I can get very lonely.  Having this access to the "oustide" world has proven invaluable for my state of mind.   I could get a feel for what my son's friends were REALLY like because for some reason teens write every single thing that they do or think on their pages no matter how vulgar or inappropriate.  I reconnected with friends from high school and college.  I saw some of them in ways that I never had when I was a stupid teenager.  I saw their beauty and was impressed with what many of them had become.  Some were a disappointment and after being hidden for posting things that, in my opinion, were in bad taste, were later unfriended.  Lately I've been *friending* those Catholic Media stars that I so look up to.  Authors, bloggers, mothers of many children and homeschooling moms and dads.  They are a constant inspiration to me.  A simple request for prayers as my status and I literally have close to a hundred people promising prayers.  It's a powerful thing, prayer, and these men and women have carried me through some pretty hard times in the last couple of years.  After a short stay in Farmville and Farmtown I quickly realized I couldn't commit to growing an online farm at the expense of feeding my real kids in my real house so I had to quit that, although it was a fun thing to do when I was on bedrest last summer.  Pope John Paul II called for a "new evangelization" and I believe that social networking via things like Facebook and Twitter could help bring that about.  I've had more than one person message me asking about the Catholic Faith or Pro Life issues.  I'm sure I have many people "hiding" or "unfriending" me due to these issues as well and I'm OK with that.  I am who I am and I believe very strongly in my Catholic Faith and a baby's right to life.  I won't hide that.  On Facebook I don't have to.  It's *my* status and *my* page.   I can keep in touch via chat and wall posts with Brandon now that he is away at college.  My favorite part of chat is going on up in my room and asking Hannah and Jesse to do things for me.  Yes, Facebook helps me to be lazy.  Now, kids, remember that school, reading, and sports should be your top priorities.  It's OK to Log Out for most of the day.  Your friends will be there when you return.  Mine are.

Happy Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi

Artwork by Katie.