Big brothers rock

During our zoo trip recently, it was so precious as a momma to see the love Fone has for his little sister, Rose.  He held her hand, walked with her, carried her, gave her drinks, lifted her up to see the animals, and more.  It's so beautiful to see the love between siblings.  Here's some pictures I took of these two sweeties...

++Thank you, God, for living so clearly in my children as shown by the way they treat each other with love and are so helpful like Fone was to Rose at our zoo trip!++

A special visitor

We have been blessed with the presence of a traveling statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the next few weeks.  What a great honor and privilege it has been!!  We love our Mother's continual presence and prayers!!  

Hail Mary, full of grace,

The Lord is with you.

Blessed art thou among women,

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

Now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.  

Wordless Wednesday - Father's Day fun

A zoo trip

We went to our local zoo for the first time this summer at the end of last week.  (checking off items from our summer bucket list, remember?)  It was so much fun, and this momma heart bubbles over with joy seeing her kids delight in great experiences like this.  Rose was especially adorable and has asked at least three-hundred-twenty-seven more times to go back.  She canNOT wait!  And, to be honest, I can't either.  The work to get there and keeping track of 8 little bodies is so worth it!!  And, I am so proud of them too, to see how sweet and helpful and well-behaved they are when out and about.

++Thank you, God!!!++

Here are some pictures of our wonderful day with the ducks, turtles, snakes, lizards, giraffes, wolves, zebras. leopards, camels, and more....

**The GANG**

**SPLISH SPLASH**

(Rose is so stinkin' cute when she jumps in puddles, I just love it!)

**The Lorakeets**

(Mario and Melody are SO brave!!)

**Yoda's first trip to the zoo**

(I think he liked it!!)

**"Hanitizer"**

(for after the petting zoo, of course!)

Is is strange that I take more pictures of my kids than the animals??  Hmmmm.....  

I just realized that!  ;)

Two cats better than one??

A few weeks ago, we brought home the cutest little kitty.  Our first cat!  How about that?!  Our girls named her Elsa.  Any guesses on where they got that name from?  Hee hee!  

My sister and I both wanted to get cats to be mousers (I am WAY too practical!) and we found a sweet family who were giving away their cats.  So, my sister got one of the boys and we got one of the girls.  So, us two sisters got a brother/sister pair of kitties for our families.  

Melody and Ariel have been especially helpful with our new pet.  They are the ones who feed and water her every day and clean up her house and litter box when needed.  I haven't had to once!!  (NOTE: having bigger kids, although I have 8 kids, is so much easier than when I had 3 or 4 littles who were dependent on me - seriously!)  We have multiple allergies, so we had to create a little house for her in our garage for the nighttime.

We have been working on training her to be outdoors all day (because she was an indoor cat when we got her and never even stepped outdoors until we brought her here) and then she goes back in the garage at night or when we are gone during the day.  She's really doing well outside and starting to get used to our dogs (one BIG labradoodle and one miniature poodle).  And, she loves when the kids bring her in the basement to love on and play with her too. This has been such a fun experience for us all.  And, I'm hoping it'll pay off with no more mice in the fall and winters.

We were told by multiple people that you "have to have two cats" and "two are better than one", so my sister and I have been keeping a look out for more cats being given away. We found some this week, so they took home a boy and we took home a girl kitty.  And, I bet you can't guess what we named this new girl cat???....

.....Anna, of course!!!
Now our Frozen kitty pair is complete!!  Yippeeeee!!!

 But, Elsa is not warming up to Anna and is being a little icy!!  She hisses and growls and pounces and bites and did this from the first instant we put them together.  So, we got another small cage (from another one of my sisters) for Anna to be in because we need a safe place for them to be overnight in our garage.  (Again, this is just a temporary home since we are training them to be outdoors 100%).  But, goodness, we were not expecting the territorial Elsa personality to come out.  So, the big question is, "did we mess up?"

Are "two cats better than one?"

Help!!!!  

Stuck in the Middle

Huh?  Stuck in the middle of what, you may ask.  Stuck in the middle of two groups that we love to pieces but do not feel like we belong in either.  You see, I very much dislike "names" and "classifications" and "cliques" of subgroups that take away from the larger group to begin with, and end up hurting the main goal and vision of the larger group.  

I am a Catholic, born and raised that way, although mostly Catholic by name since we went to Mass when convenience allowed.  As a kid, I was very proud to share which faith I belonged to but never really had it in my heart.  Sure we prayed every now and then, but I never had a consistent prayer life and dependance on God.  My maternal grandparents took their five kids to church, and my mom did a beautiful job continuing this tradition on passing down the faith.  She did her very best to bring her own crew of kids to church all on her own, while my dad work 50/60/70+ hours a week to support us, although he was not the church-goer and kept his religious views to himself since it was a "personal matter".  They both planted the seeds of faith and watered them with a home of love and virtue.  To this day, all four of us girls are very active in our faith communities and strive to put God, virtue and love first daily.

Looking around and seeing the active members in my church where I grew up, I saw a common denominator.  Most of them had been on a renewal experience called Cursillo.  I wanted "that" - their joy, their confidence, their love of God that shone so brightly.  So I went as soon as I could!  When I made my Cursillo at the young age of 21, I was able to take all the intellectual learning (that I stuffed away after my Confirmation) to heart.  It helped bring it all to life and lit a fire of faith that has never been extinguished.  I now felt and understood the deep love Our Lord had for me in a whole new way, but I also understood the responsibility part.  

"From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required."

~Luke 12: 48

I was now expected to live this faith, be obedient, share it and bring others to Christ, and continue on this journey daily to a Life in Christ through Piety, Study, and Action.  

As we have grown in our faith, we have found that Cursillo isn't everything and *the* final answer.  Cursillo grounded us well and was that starting point to learn and grow in our marriage and living faithful lives to the teachings of the church.  We became active in our parish and another group, similar to Cursillo, called TEC (Teens Encounter Christ).  We noticed a difference as God kept sending us baby after baby as many people in our these communities would share that "they were done" and would tease us with "don't you know what causes that?".  We were confused and felt as if we didn't belong any more, even though we had been faithful to God and trusted Him with every part of our lives.  We just "stood out" now in this group and were now "too Catholic" to many in this community, but many shared how they wish they had our faith when they were our age.  It seems as many of them have become comfortable in their lives and "lukewarm" in their faith  And now we were standing out as the odd ducks.  Huh?  What?!!  

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

~John 14: 15

Thankfully with the consistent study of our faith, we felt called to homeschool our growing brood.  We were introduced to those who hold a more traditional view of the Catholic faith.  Many of these families are large in number, just like us. So we finally felt a new sense of belonging.  Well, kind of..... As we came to know many of them, we saw and felt a negativity.  They were "too good" for others and seemed all too often to look for the wrong and sin in the world around them.  They knew their faith so well and lived it to a "T", but have built up walls around them so that those on the other side cannot approach them.  Many lack that love, virtue and humility because they are so consumed in the Law. Sadly, they remind me of the Pharisees.  

"If I speak in tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

~1 Corinthians 13: 1

Neil and I love both of these groups but our heart breaks in seeing these differences.  Cursillo brought us to where we are today and we want to continue to the journey with these amazing people who struggle daily to live and find and love the truth, all at different steps along the way.  We also love our more traditional friends who challenge us and understand how hard it is to live up to the teachings of the faith in a world that is so "go with the flow".  But there is that gap of needing to keep going and needing to love and live virtue.  We need to find that middle ground where Law and Love are both expected and lived.  We need to be that bridge of Love without bending and breaking to the "winds of the world".

“As long as you live, you will be subject to change, whether you will it or not - now glad, now sorrowful; now pleased, now displeased; now devout, now undevout; now vigorous, now slothful; now gloomy, now merry. But a wise man who is well taught in spiritual labor stands unshaken in all such things, and heeds little what he feels, or from what side the wind of instability blows.” 

~Thomas Kempis

We have tried inviting and bringing some of our more traditional friends into the Cursillo and TEC communities because we need their example of *how* to live the faith.  And we have shared our love with the faith and our example of obedience with our Cursillo/TEC communities and our parish family and encourage them that it can be done.  Although we feel "stuck in the middle" of these groups whom we love so dearly, we will continue to be that bridge as we all walk towards our ultimate goal of heaven together.  

"Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

~2 Timothy 6: 12

++Lord, please help us always keep our focus on You and find that balance between Law and Love.++

x

30 Ways To Keep Summer From Slipping Away

Summer goes WAY too fast and it's so easy to look back on it as a blur once it's said and done.  To make the most of it this year, we are hoping to check off all these items from our bucket list and look back at all the fun and memories we created along the way....

1.  A weekly golf lesson for our big kids to learn the sport their grandparents love, so they can play with them someday.  (Dr. Taylor Marshall convinced me in a podcast the benefits of golfing)

2.  One-on-one time with Mark and daddy/mommy for his FHC trip 

3. At least one-on-one dates with each kid with each parent at least once this summer

4.  Continue creativity with peg doll swaps - one per month

5.  Sit down and eat dinner together (try for every night)

6.  Open up our house and hearts and table at least once a week to friends and/or family and/or kids' friends 

7.  Big kids to adoration with either Neil or I once a week

8.  Get back to TKD once a week

9.  VBS #1

10.  Read to the little kids every day

11.  At least one day during the week with no activities or plans - our sacred HOME day

12.  Weekly acting class for the 5 big kids

13.  Dinner outside around the fire ring once a week

14.  Read to the big kids every day

15.  Weekly evening walk as a family

16.  VBS #2

17.  30 minutes of quiet reading daily for everyone in the afternoon 

18.  Weekly trip to the library

19.  Weekly zoo trip 

20.  Kick Neil out of the house once a week for a night of fishing with Fulton Sheen

21.   Take part in some of the Family of Mary activities

22.  Kids outside to play daily 

23.  Weekly picnic park date 

24.  Totus Tuus camp!!  

25.  Date with my man every week

26.  Daily teaching time on virtues or manners at either breakfast time or lunchtime

27.  Sundaes on Sunday

28. Go swimming once a week

29.  CSJ boys camp for Neil and the big boys

30.  Fresh flowers on the island and table

There ya have it!!  And just to be honest and clear.... this list serves as a goal and more than likely, the "weekly" and "daily" items will be forgotten from time to time.  Take this week, week #1, for example, no family walk, no fishing yet, and I know I didn't read to the little kids daily and complete our daily virtue lesson.  And that's okay!  I can't be tied down to the list, but it can serve as our goal!!  

++May God bless you abundantly this summer with sunshine, love, and a renewal of all things great and beautiful around you!!!++