No Matter How "Ugly" a Caterpillar...

...we can all become beautiful butterflies!

Please, if you have the time today, check out "The Butterfly Circus." It will touch you and show you what real HOPE is all about.


Thanks to Catholic Media Review for sharing this.

For Bill

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Isabel

Alexis

A toast to you and to all of our troops for your honorable service to our country. God bless you and keep you safe!

Bring Me Men

Bring me men to match my mountains,
Bring me men to match my plains;
Men with empires in their purpose
And new eras in their brains.
Bring me men to match my mountains,
Bring me men to match my plains;
Men to chart a starry empire,
Men to make celestial claims.
Bring me men to match my prairies,
Men to match my inland seas;
Men to sail beyond my oceans,
Reaching for the galaxies.
These are men to build a nation,
Join the mountains to the sky;
Men of faith and inspiration,
Bring me men, bring me men, bring me men!
Bring me men to match my forests,
Bring me men to match my shore;
Men to guard the mighty ramparts,
Men to stand at freedom's door.
Bring me men to match my mountains,
Men to match their majesty;
Men to climb beyond their summits,
Searching for their destiny.

I wore my long-sleeve Air Force Academy t-shirt that says "Bring Me Men" on it to practice, today. One of the girls I coach asked me if that's what it really said and when I confirmed it, she asked "Isn't that sexist?" I tried to answer her as best I could quickly because this is a topic sure to get me fired up. I came home tonight and looked up the poem so I could print a copy and show my volleyball girls tomorrow and I came across this article. Not only was it a great article, representing my thoughts exactly, but the author is a classmate of mine that I also played rugby with. Such a great find!

You Won't Catch Me at a Nudist Colony

I don't "do" naked.

Never been skinny dipping.

Don't walk around the house in my underwear.

And I'm the same with my daughters. I try to keep them fully dressed at all times. My girls wouldn't be great for diaper commercials. Very rarely will you see a child of mine without their pants on and just in their diaper. If you do, you know just how bad a day it's been. Of course, if you were seeing this and weren't one of a very select few, I would be completely mortified!

I say all of this, but in reality know that if you are surrounded by children under a certain age (I'm not quite sure what that age is, yet), you are going to see some nakedness. The other night, as I was sitting in a chair nursing the baby, Isabel entered the room after her bath. She had dropped her towel somewhere along the way. My initial reaction was to tell her to hurry up and get dressed. Then I had a slight change in perspective. While holding a cheerfully chubby baby, I was able to see how my older daughter's body has changed over the few years since her birth. Isabel is tall and thin for her age, so it made the differences even more obvious. At that moment, I was in full appreciation of God's work.

In all of its naked glory.

Amazing!

Read this story! Skin-to-Skin Goodbye Saves Baby

H/T In the Heart of my Home

Rosary for Children

Does anyone have a preferred version of the Rosary on cd that would be good for young children? Isabel starts preschool soon, and the morning drive would be a great time to pray the Rosary with the girls.

On Being Early

Sunday, we actually got out of the house 5 minutes earlier than we needed to for Mass. Of course, half-way around the block, I realized that we didn't have the diaper bag. After circling around the block, getting the bag, and getting on the road again, I said, "So much for being early."

Tom's reply: "We don't want to be early. If you drop bombs early, you kill your own people."

Uh...yeah.

You Know You Are in the Military When...

...your child randomly blocks your path and instead of asking for the password, they ask to see your I.D.

Laughing and Crying

Making me laugh: Isabel fell down and scraped her knees pretty badly yesterday (not the funny part). Today she was complaining that her knees hurt (again, not funny), but the various ways she was trying to "limp" were so complicated, and with the wrong leg sometimes, that it made me laugh.

Making me cry: Potty traing. We are still having major setbacks and the longer it goes on, the angrier I get. And I do mean ANGRY. And I know it's wrong. That's what is making me cry. I'm at a complete loss.

Check It Out

A new site powered by The Catholic Company

Rosary.com

Must Haves For Baby

My dear friend is pregnant with her first baby, a boy, and is asking moms what they think are the most important things to have when baby arrives. So, I figured I would pose the question here. What were the things you could not survive without when you had a newborn? What did you use most often? Remember, this is her first baby. Another friend and I were discussing how there were some things we used all of the time with our first babies, but not as much with later additions. I think I'm just as curious to read all of your thoughts! Thanks for your help!

Trying to Forget My Fantasies

"Forget fantasies of 'accomplishing something.' Perhaps somewhere in the world there were people who measured their days by how much they got done-at work, in class, wherever. I measured my days by whether, at the end of them, the members of the household had been dressed and fed and bathed and put to bed. If we had been, then that was a good day. I had done what mattered most. Everything else was gravy."
~Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life

Oops!

If you have had trouble posting a comment here, I apologize. I have fixed the settings.

On the Memorial of St. Clare

I would like to honor Maire Clare with a name change. She will no longer be known as my sweet, precious, Princess Maire, but now shall be dubbed as Maire of the Poopy Pants!

Do NOT let the cuteness fool you!

Her First Cold

All three girls have been sick the last couple of days. There seems to be much improvement today, but now I'm starting to feel less than great. Maybe chicken soup for lunch...

The Last 6 Months

Blogging has been a little light the last few months because we have had a few things going on...

MARCHWelcome, Maire!

APRIL
Happy Birthday, Alexis!

MAY
Maire's Baptism

JUNE
Happy Birthday, Isabel!

JULY
Isabel and Alexis at Dance Camp for the 4th of July Parade

AUGUSTOur Luau

Magnificat

As my first review for The Catholic Company's Review Program, I chose the June edition of Magnificat Magazine. I had read about the magazine on several blogs over the past couple of years and was interested, but did not want to commit to a full year subscription. Fortunately, the opportunity came up to review a single issue, so I jumped at the chance.

I always love the art on the cover. The issue I received had a beautiful painting of the chalice and host. I'm definitely not an art guru, but I appreciate when beautiful pieces of art show up in every day life. Then there are the great resources within the magazine, the liturgical calendar for the month, articles, prayers and blessings, and of course, the order of the Mass and the daily readings. The thing I liked the most, however, was the convenient size. The magazine fit very nicely in my purse. This turned out to be very helpful when we were in Texas and a question came up that I was able to help answer by pulling my issue out of my purse. Overall, I think this is a great resource and would recommend it to anyone who asked.

WELCOME!

If you have traveled from my old place, I hope you had a nice trip! If you are visiting for the first time, I hope you enjoy your stay!