May Day 2017

This year's May Day was a "grin and bear it" kind, as I was in between surgery #1 and surgery #2 and had the 24/7 uncomfortableness of the stent.  Oy!  The things you do for those you love, even when you are not feeling 100%.  Thank God for His grace and strength.  The kids did 99% of the prep!  They needed a little help with set up  and the idea, but they carried it all out after that.  Ariel rocked the prep this year, since Melody and Fone were busy with their play.  And, for the actual carrying it out, I got to play chauffeur, which was doable for me too.  

(You probably wonder HOW DO YOU DO May Day with a crew of kids and the busyness of a large family living and homeschooling PLUS dealing with health issues.  Come check out my write up over at Cuppa Catholic....  it's "Easy as 1, 2, 3"!)

**the prep**

**ding and dash day**

++Thank you, Lord, for your grace and strength and traditions like this that bond our family together in love and generosity!++

Longing for Lent

"Longing For Lent"

Yeah, I know what you are thinking.  No way, Jose!

But, yeah, I mean it.  Our oldest is 15 years old, I mean 15 years "young".  ;)  So we have been doing this Lenting thing as a family for quite some time.  That doesn't mean I'm getting old, does it?  Nah - I'm forever young.  We have many traditions that we have carried through many years.  These traditions bond us and shape us as a family.  They help form our faith and plans for different seasons of the Liturgical year.  And for some reason, I'm always "longing for Lent".  So ready to begin.  Not that I'm 100% ready and set up and prepared to begin.  But my heart and soul is ready to jump in.  Same with my kids.  They can't wait.  Even with the giving up of things - tv time, electronics, sweets, coffee, pop, etc... and doing/giving more, they are ready to jump right in and surprise me with their sacrifices each year.  These sweet kids have a heart to give.  A heart to love.  And a heart to sacrifice.  The Holy Spirit dwells so beautifully and shines during Lent - in the love, sacrifice, and family bonding.

So, what do we do?  Let me share a "few"...

CROWN OF THORNS
**pictures and tutorial found here of how to make a table top display and tool for keeping track of our Lenten sacrifices

LENT SONG
**Lent song for kids (and review of Dogma Dogs cd) found here

REPENT CROSS WITH HANDPRINTS AND LENTEN CALENDAR
**We make the large cross out of brown constructions paper and tape it to a door or wall.  Each family member traces their hand on construction paper, cuts it out, writes their Lenten promises on it, and  tapes it to the cross.  We also hang up some printable Lenten calendars, where the kids color a square each day of Lent, counting down the days to Easter.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS
**Multiple times a week, we march around the house with flashlights and pray the Stations.  The Stations we use are these posters and they are hung up throughout the house, so we can march from room to room as we pray them.

LENTEN DEVOTIONALS
**See my post over at Cuppa Catholic on our favorite Lenten devotionals

JESUS TREE
**You can buy a kit here to make this beautiful Jesus Tree felt tree and ornaments, which ends up being a Family Lenten Bible Study - starts at Genesis and leads up to the Death and Ressurection of Our Lord

LENTEN LEGOS
**Let your kids build away!!  Here's a look at some of our Lenten Legos.

CATHOLIC WEIGHT LOSS
**A look at my fasting from last year

HOLY THURSDAY TEA
**food and scripture to teach the meanting of this day

GOOD FRIDAY TEA
**food and scripture to teach the meaning of this day

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Linking this post up with Siena Sisters, which will have a Lenten Blog Hop

Click on the image below to get more ideas for Lent this year!

Catholic Weight Loss??

***This post was originally shared here.  Click on over or read here...***

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Bear with me on this one as I attempt to explain a Catholic Weight Loss observance I am doing for Lent this year...

Dieting for Lent?  Hmmm, can that be done?  Can that be a sacrifice to offer up to Him and grow closer to Him in doing so?  We already fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, so why not incorporate some extra fasting by choice throughout the week....

(Quick side note:  I'm not a fan of skinny jeans, nor do I wear them, nor do I allow my girls to wear them)    But....  I do like the chocolate reference here, especially tied to the possibility of losing weight.  Yes, many people give up chocolate.  So much so that Matthew Kelly is encouraging people to try something new than the same ole same ole of giving up chocolate this year.  But if chocolate is a vice for you and a way to unite that suffering to His, then by all means, continue to give it up!!

My fasting this year has been many years coming.  For 14 years now, I've either been pregnant or nursing, so I haven't been able to do much with fasting.  (other than the giving up chocolate or coffee or Mountain Dew or sweets).  But only one full meal on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday have more or less been out for me.  Not this year though!  Not pregnant.  Not nursing - my little guy weaned himself a month ago (waaaaaah!).  But it was God's perfect timing and just in time for Lent!! 

Two Lents ago I was really inspired by one of my closest friends.  She fasted three days a week for both breakfast and lunch, but did allow herself one helping of food at dinner time (so they still ate dinner as a family - we all know how important family meal time is!!).  To get through the day, she allowed herself to eat bread when her body needed it.  As her belly grumbled and rumbled throughout the day, it was that constant reminder of that sacrifice she was making for Him and to rely on Him to get through the day.  And, get this - by the end of Lent, she had lost 10 pounds!!  (she got me there!!)  After 8 babies, I have some extra weight to lose.  You calculate those last few pounds that are so hard to shed times my 8 babies, well, yeah, you know what than comes to!  ....around 25 pounds!  Oy!!  Is losing this amount of weight my goal for Lent?  Nah, I'll be happy to lose even 10.  Even losing 5, I'd be thrilled!!

I've made it through 5 days so far - Ash Wednesday and the Friday after, and then the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the first full week of Lent.  And today I start my second week of fasting on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  I am tweaking my friend's fast a bit and not doing the bread throughout the day.  My hubby has done some fasting over the years and said the bread/water allowed sometimes makes it harder and makes you more hungry, so he suggested I go cold turkey.  Cold turkey, it is!!  Thankfully, I keep pretty busy from the time I wake up til that dinner time hits, so truly it has been doable to do this.  I am very reliant on prayer throughout the day, for sure. 

Here's a peek at my fasting days.... 

My belly rumbles and grumbles constantly at me all.  day.  long.  From the time I get up and my feet his the floor.  When I'm showering and getting ready for the day.  Feeding my 8 kids their own breakfast.   Grumble.  ++Lord, be with me+  Teaching them school.  Giving the baby snacks.  Rumble.  ++I need You++  Teaching more school.  Giving baths.  Grumble.  Rumble.  ++Help me do this!!++  Running to activities/classes.  Reading books.  Rumble.   ++All for You++  Making lunch.  Grumble.  Serving lunch.  More school.  More running to and from.  Rumble.  Grumble.  Phew - time to make dinner.  ++Thank you, almost there...++  It's getting closer!!  Rumble.  Grumble.  Family dinner time!  I get to eat with my husband and eight great kiddos!!  Yippeee!!  

++thank you, God!!++

So, there's my take on a Catholic Weight Loss program for Lent.  And because I highly doubt I'll lose the full 25 pounds that my body could lose, I may continue with a plan similar to this after Lent., if even for one day a week.  It can be such a blessing to sacrifice and fast from food like this and lift up your heart and rumbly grumbly belly to Our Lord to help you get through it. 

And before I send you all off, I couldn't help but share a little wisdom from some holy ones who have gone before us and paved the way on true beauty.  Because truly, it is not about how much we weigh, or skinny or squishy we are, etc... it's about the beauty of our soul and the JOY of our Lord living in and shining through us...

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."
~Saint Augustine

 “The only ones who are truly beautiful are those who look beautiful when they come in out of the rain. That kind of beauty comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. It is the product of virtue, not rouge; it is not skin-deep, but soul-deep.”
~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
~Mother Teresa

7 Quick Takes - Newness All Around

As we walk through life, the only true constant is change.  But I'd like to add to that - and God!  He is always there for us.  Always knocking on the doors of our hearts.  Always waiting.  Always loving.  And, if we are striving daily to love Him....to please Him... to grow closer to Him..., then we need to be open to change and the newness of our daily routine and lives.  A change of heart.  A change of life.  A change of pace.  Whatever it may be, He is constantly molding and shaping us into the persons we are meant to be.  Change is going to and should happen.  We might as well accept it.  

Many new things have happened this week and last week and here's a peek at what God has been doing in our lives - the newness that He has created and allowed for us....

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#1

We are now in Ordinary Time in our faith.  Green, it is!!  Green is for growing, right?  But how can anything grown when it's January?  And cold?  And snowy?  Everything is dead outside, but we can let things become dead inside of us.  We must continue with Piety, Study, Action and lean on the Sacraments to get us through daily and continue with the spiritual growth.  

#2

My sweet kids have begged to use a pottery wheel or take an art class where they could.  One of my daughters even wanted to buy one of the little chintzy kits sold at Hobby Lobby.  You know, the like kits that they do once and then are stashed away and forever forgotten about?  Yeah, you know you KNOW!  ;)  Anyways, this momma said "yes" to this experience, because a sweet friends let me know that a local museum (that we already belong to!) has drop in classes multiple times each week where the pottery wheel is available.  Win!!!  I offered to take anyone buy little Yoda, since he's a little too little to work the wheel and play with clay.  He'd only want to eat the clay.  No thanks, sweet baby!  Melody, Ariel, Max, Pookey, and Rose all said "yes" to going.  (I think Fone and Mario thought they wouldn't like it, but I might be able to convince them to go next time!).  What an awesome experience it was!!  Can't wait to take these kiddos back!!

#3

Already blogged on this one, but had to share that this was the first of I'm sure many witnessing experiences for our Fone.  So proud of him for saying "yes" for making it his.  He did a great job sharing on this topic and using his gifts/talents in making it new and fun and enjoyable for all!!  So, if you haven't seen what he did, go NOW and take a look for yourself.  

#4

I'll let this picture of newness speak for itself...   Be sure to let me know what you think. This cutie (and all my cuties are the biggest fan of the blog here!)  

#5

Newness in this little guy's medical history.  Yoda now has a new piece of hardware in his body, although you can't tell by the picture.  He had TUBES surgery this week from reoccuring ear infections (7 last year!).  I'm sure he's bound to start feeling better and be an even happier baby.  

#6

Newness in school!!  February Funk and the dryness and deadness of this time of year can get everyone down, including my kids.  So, I added a couple new fun things to our school routine...

*Prodigy (math games app - the kids have really been loving it!!)

*new Draw Write Now journal books for the kids who didn't have them

*a kit for some Geography studies

*some cute dot coloring books and markers for Miss Rose

#7

And, last, but not least of all, I'm part of a fun and exciting new adventure...  I'm one of the blogging momma's at Cuppa Catholic!!  Go, now, and join me (and some other great moms and friends) for some fun chattin' about family, life and our faith!!  

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Please click the image below to head on over to This Ain't The Lyceum for more 7 Quick Takes....