Wednesday, December 19, 2018
2018 March JOYS
A beautiful wedding for my sweet nephew and his now beautiful wife!! Such a blessed day!!!
Gorgeous temps = break out of hibernation and get outside/go on family walks!!!
The cutest toothless smile!!
A March birthday in the family
Sweet Lady finally walking at 17 months of age
A first day of spring snowfall and air soft wars
++Thank you, God, for these March JOYS!!++
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For a continuation of this "year in review" and the JOYS that God has sent to our family, click here to go to the original post.
Monday, December 17, 2018
2018 February JOYS
All things Seuss!!!! Our three oldest were in Seussical Junior - Fone was Horton (we didn't even know he could sing til this year!!!), Melody was in ensemble and Ariel was in crew.
Two birthdays and a Minecraft birthday party
Our new driver (Mario got his permit!!)
Mickey waffles
SNOW much fun!!
My sisters and I threw a camping/outdoors theme bridal shower (for the sweet girl my nephew married in March). My nephew is the first to get married on both sides of our family! Such a fun stage in life to be in and make a big deal of these celebrations!!
(Yoda wasn't in it, he just loved the Cat in the Hat so much and "plays" him quite often!!)
Two birthdays and a Minecraft birthday party
Our new driver (Mario got his permit!!)
Mickey waffles
SNOW much fun!!
My sisters and I threw a camping/outdoors theme bridal shower (for the sweet girl my nephew married in March). My nephew is the first to get married on both sides of our family! Such a fun stage in life to be in and make a big deal of these celebrations!!
++Thank you, God, for these February JOYS!!++
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For a continuation of this "year in review" and the JOYS that God has sent to our family, click here to go to the original post.
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For a continuation of this "year in review" and the JOYS that God has sent to our family, click here to go to the original post.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
2018 January JOYS
Early on in January, we had to take a trip to a university hospital for Lady to have scans done of her brain. She had increasing head size growth for her last few appointments and her doctor wanted her checked out. Everything ended up being ok - she was on the upper end of normal and still is today and is on watch. But how thankful we are that she IS ok and how grateful we are for good doctors and health insurance.
Epiphany celebration - it's been so much fun every year celebrating this feast and even more so since we've had a baby or toddler to "play" baby Jesus. Here's our youngest three as Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Pookey turned 8 last December, but with a nasty stomach bug that made its way through our house, we had to schedule and reschedule his friend birthday party a few times. We finally had it near the end of January - when it was almost Max's birthay! It was a puzzle theme party and so much fun!!
March for Life for Neil and our two oldest!!!
Salad in a jar making night with friends!!! (a great reminder that I need to do this again soon!!)
Epiphany celebration - it's been so much fun every year celebrating this feast and even more so since we've had a baby or toddler to "play" baby Jesus. Here's our youngest three as Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Pookey turned 8 last December, but with a nasty stomach bug that made its way through our house, we had to schedule and reschedule his friend birthday party a few times. We finally had it near the end of January - when it was almost Max's birthay! It was a puzzle theme party and so much fun!!
March for Life for Neil and our two oldest!!!
Salad in a jar making night with friends!!! (a great reminder that I need to do this again soon!!)
++Thank you, God, for these January JOYS!!++
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For a continuation of this "year in review" and the JOYS that God has sent to our family, click here to go to the original post.
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For a continuation of this "year in review" and the JOYS that God has sent to our family, click here to go to the original post.
Finding and focusing on the JOYS of life
I know one of my last posts probably seemed somewhat like a downer. I try to focus on the positives and good here and on social media, but sometimes real life and pain do need to be shown and heard, and that's what that post was all about.
And amidst the pain and messiness of life, grace and goodness and God's presence are still felt and seen. With it being the end of the year, it's a great time to look back and thank our Good God for sending JOYS our way too.
So, here is a month by month view of of the goodness God has sent our way this year. Click on each month below to see what JOYS God brought our way that month. (and please be patient with me as this may take a while for me to complete - lol!)
And amidst the pain and messiness of life, grace and goodness and God's presence are still felt and seen. With it being the end of the year, it's a great time to look back and thank our Good God for sending JOYS our way too.
So, here is a month by month view of of the goodness God has sent our way this year. Click on each month below to see what JOYS God brought our way that month. (and please be patient with me as this may take a while for me to complete - lol!)
April 2018 JOYS
May 2018 JOYS
June 2018 JOYS
July 2018 JOYS
August 2018 JOYS
September 2018 JOYS
October 2018 JOYS
November 2018 JOYS
December 2018 JOYS
++Thank you God for your love, presence, and grace throughout our life! Please help us to always stay close to you and never forget that you are near to us.++
Working and living together in a big family
Chaos.
Noise.
Messes.
Those are three words that probably come to mind when you think of living life in a big family. And, yes, all three do happen from time time. Okay, okay - daily! But, and this is the kicker, they are minor in comparison to the love and sharing and caring that happen in the walls of our home. There is GRACE that God sends us to not only survive but thrive as we plow through the messes and chaos and noise of large family living. And while we do that, we grow closer to each other and also to Him.
Yesterday was one of those days where I wish I could just pause time. Ya can't do that though, so just like our Blessed Mother, I will hold them in my heart and cherish those memories...
**We are a puzzling family. Last year, we even set up a permanent small card table in our living room as a puzzle table (because we were finding that a puzzle was constantly taking up our eating and school space on our kitchen island or dining room table). It's so nice to have almost a continuous puzzle being put together there. But sometimes, a puzzle is too big for that small square table. And, St Nicholas sent one such puzzle our way on his feast day this year. So it took over our big kitchen table for the last week and a half. And yesterday, it finally was completed. These three - 17 years old, 8 years old, and 4 years old - put the final pieces on (other than the one lost piece - lol!). A 13 year age difference between the oldest and youngest puzzlers!! Isn't that the sweetest?!
**Lady was treated to make up as her big sissy, Ariel (12), was getting ready for the day. Instead of shooing away the interruption and distraction of her baby sister (2), she decided to scoop up little Lady and put some make-up on her. Lady came running out with the mirror in her hands and just couldn't stop looking at herself in her hand-held mirror. You could just see the joy she felt and that came from the love from her big sissy.
**We had a special family party to go to last night, and all our kids were excited and getting ready for it. Melody (14) decided to use her new flat iron from St. Nicholas on her little sister, Rose (6), to curl her hair. It took well over an hour, but Melody patiently and lovingly continued and made little Rose feel just like a princess. And the beauty of these two just shone so brightly that night!!
Noise.
Messes.
Those are three words that probably come to mind when you think of living life in a big family. And, yes, all three do happen from time time. Okay, okay - daily! But, and this is the kicker, they are minor in comparison to the love and sharing and caring that happen in the walls of our home. There is GRACE that God sends us to not only survive but thrive as we plow through the messes and chaos and noise of large family living. And while we do that, we grow closer to each other and also to Him.
Yesterday was one of those days where I wish I could just pause time. Ya can't do that though, so just like our Blessed Mother, I will hold them in my heart and cherish those memories...
**We are a puzzling family. Last year, we even set up a permanent small card table in our living room as a puzzle table (because we were finding that a puzzle was constantly taking up our eating and school space on our kitchen island or dining room table). It's so nice to have almost a continuous puzzle being put together there. But sometimes, a puzzle is too big for that small square table. And, St Nicholas sent one such puzzle our way on his feast day this year. So it took over our big kitchen table for the last week and a half. And yesterday, it finally was completed. These three - 17 years old, 8 years old, and 4 years old - put the final pieces on (other than the one lost piece - lol!). A 13 year age difference between the oldest and youngest puzzlers!! Isn't that the sweetest?!
**Lady was treated to make up as her big sissy, Ariel (12), was getting ready for the day. Instead of shooing away the interruption and distraction of her baby sister (2), she decided to scoop up little Lady and put some make-up on her. Lady came running out with the mirror in her hands and just couldn't stop looking at herself in her hand-held mirror. You could just see the joy she felt and that came from the love from her big sissy.
**We had a special family party to go to last night, and all our kids were excited and getting ready for it. Melody (14) decided to use her new flat iron from St. Nicholas on her little sister, Rose (6), to curl her hair. It took well over an hour, but Melody patiently and lovingly continued and made little Rose feel just like a princess. And the beauty of these two just shone so brightly that night!!
++Thank you, God, for shining your light and love in our family as we do our best to lead them to You among the messes, chaos, and noise that come with large family living!++
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Better days are yet to come
I turned the BIG 4-0 in April this year, and much that followed has proven true to be the typical events joked about when becoming "over the hill"...
*extreme womanly bleeding month after month (started in January)
*crown to help deteriorating fillings from youth, turned into a double root canal
(might I add that this was the first crown and first root canal for me)
*first car accident for our first teenage driver
*more extreme bleeding, followed by intense pain, almost passing out, which led to 911 call and ER trip
*tube removal surgery for one of our daughters
*pulling out the "big guns" (hormone replacement therapy), to help keep me alive, which I've been so utterly against as a practicing Catholic and open to life throughout our whole marriage
*hysterectomy next, and saying "goodbye" to my womb that has held and nourished and was the first home to my nine beautiful Young ones
*pain in side and ovarian blood clot 2 months later
*blood thinners to dissolve such clot (to keep me alive, once again)
*not being able to hold my LAST baby for 12 weeks to allow myself to heal from my hysterectomy
*needing to "play it safe" and try to avoid a head injury (to stay alive) these next 3 months (not that I'm the crazy adventurous types, but the clumsy type that can get hurt with the most stupid things)
And those are just the physical sufferings.
The emotional sufferings have been just as present - rejection, loneliness, gossiped about, being judged, forgotten, left out.
So one may ask... how can a loving God do all this? I'm a good person, right? Why must I, one who loves and follows Christ, be continually knocked down both emotionally and physically and allowed to suffer like this?
A good friend reminded me through this all, that I am bearing the wounds of Christ and serving as a suffering soul for Him.
So, although I'm feeling weak and tired and fragile and broken and a big MESS,....
I know that Christ loves me.
I know He's with me.
I know He will give me the grace to take one day, one step at a time.
I know He knows the bigger picture and why all of these things are necessary.
I know He will take my sufferings and help ME bear and carry them.
I know He knows.
I know He sees.
I know He loves.
And, I love Him back. I trust Him with all this. I pray for all those who has sent intentions and offer these sufferings up as prayer for them. I have faith that better days are yet to come. And until then, I will choose to smile and do my best to find JOY in these days of suffering.
++Jesus, I trust in You++
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**I wanted to share this post, not to be a downer, but to show the reality of suffering and pain. With social media, people can fall into the trap of only showing the fun, celebrations, joy and fluff, but we all know that life isn't all that. There are definitely "lows" in life. And this is just a look at my sufferings and lows and my take on them. Life could be much much worse. I am alive and breathing and walking right now, and so are my hubby and kids. God has been so very good to us, so stay tuned to the 1000 Gifts he has continually sent our way this year too...**
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