Consequences Of Entrusting Yourself To Mary

"The easiest and surest way to arrive at falling in love with God is to fall in love with Mary first. When you fall in love with Her, you will want to disappear and to die to yourself like She did. You will desire that the false image of your ego in your heart be replaced by God's image. Likewise, you will then desire to be incapable of your own action, and instead you will desire to fulfill God's will, just as Mary did."

(Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock, pg. 90)

Pray the rosary for the Holy Souls.

Bee Pumpkin Day

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We remember well the days when our 2 oldest were little and we'd take them to this orchard/pumpkin patch. My husband especially has a luv for a set of photos of his "hayheads."

What a fun Fall Friday we had taking our family, especially our 2 "littles" to the same destination for their turn. It was a nippy and windy day and once again they were sitting on the haybales and measuring their heights.

My....how they've grown...

Glorious day.

We came home and carved our pumpkins and ate our cider donuts and roasted our pumpkin seeds.

Tonight we're having a homemade chicken and wild rice soup and a fresh loaf of bread. And the wind is blowing colorful leaves around the property.

Autumn is at it's peak...and once again my favorite time of the year is passing quickly. It's innate in us to want the good and the beautiful .

Thank you, Lord.

To Realize The Value...

To realize the value of a sister/brother,
Ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realize the value of ten years,
Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years,
Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year.
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months,
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of one month,
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week,
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one minute,
Ask a person who has missed the train, a bus or plane.

To realize the value of one-second,
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one,
Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure time even more when
you can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member: LOSE ONE.

Remember.....Hold on tight to the ones you love!

{this moment} Fall Memories

Remembering my dearest Nana on today's first anniversary of her passing

(Bendaroo fashioned SPIDERS stuck to front door windows by 6 year old decorator)

(Don't worry, he did this to himself!)

SOULEMAMA's {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Soundtrack of My Life ~ Constellations

What I can't get enough of...my current favorite song.

Tom Rutkoski ~ The Man Responsible...

in many ways, he was.

He brought us back to our Faith.

Rewind. First, he helped bring my mother back. My mother went to see him speak. Tom is a Catholic Evangelist focusing on lukewarm Catholics. He himself was a fallen away Catholic for 27 years. He speaks about his conversion, how he now lives his faith and is the author of a number of books and tapes on that topic as well. He has a great devotion to Our Lady.

After my mother had seen him, she embraced her faith and the rosary in a new and recommitted way. She asked me to come see him with her the next time he was in town. I had been coming back to my faith and was also touched by his words. But his words really came to live inside me through another source, my husband.

The next time Tom was in town I asked my husband to come with me to see him. He already had a strong enough faith to keep me Catholic when I was shopping other religions and he was taking us to Sunday Mass. In retrospect, he talks of the hour car ride to see Tom as noteworthy. We got lost. What I didn't know is that he felt very close to turning around to go home. Interference! But God had other plans.

We arrived at the Church and I squirmed a little wondering if he was rolling his eyes or if any of it would seem too much for him. Many men might put on a bravado and shake off the emotion of it all. To my surprise he did not and when Tom asked for volunteers my shy husband went forward!!

Tom gives a blessing to each person, “I bless you with the blessing of our blessed Mother and may the power of the Holy Spirit come upon you, Amen. ” He said that some, upon receiving it, feel dizzy and he'd need "catchers." This seemed really odd but who am I to judge another or the way God works? Still, I was surprised that my husband went to help. He said he felt uncomfortable about it, but compelled. But more surprising still was what he felt the few times he needed to "catch" someone.

Something did happen. My husband described it as like an electrical current in his hands. Thinking back on that as I write, it seems reasonable considering that Tom's and Gospa's effect on my husband has been much more intense on my husband than it has been on me. I pray that I can do better...

We went home with a bunch of books and tapes and he read them all, passing them along to me and almost immediately he went to daily Mass...and has never stopped almost a decade later. He went to confession for the first time in years after seeing Tom and still goes at least monthly. About 6 or 7 years ago he contacted Tom and brought him to a circuit of engagements in our Diocese to share with others what had so inspired him. I hope there are other stories out there like my husbands...I bet there are.

My husband's devotion is incredible and challenges me. He makes regular holy hours, reads Catholic books every night, prays all the mysteries of the Rosary daily and more.... Tom Rutkoski is partly responsible!

His path, our path have taken us to the Latin Mass. In checking in on Tom's website I was a tad surprised to read his articles on the Latin Mass and his finding of it. But why wouldn't Our Lady lead him to it's reverent beauty?

http://www.gospa.org/pl/pages/evangelization/catholic_truth/latin_mass/Love_Story.html?hc=1

http://www.gospa.org/pl/pages/evangelization/catholic_truth/latin_mass.html?ra=1 -

Sounds like he was about to embark on a new focus of evangelization, on the Latin Mass! I wonder what converting he would have done here, where it not for his sickness??

Sadly, Tom is sick, dying. Yet he sees it as a gift from God, a share in The Cross. Today I received an email update on his condition.

"Tom’s cancer is a rare form called Multiple Myeloma which lies in the blood’s plasma cells. It attacks the bones, bone marrow and blood of the body. There is no human cure....The experimental drugs and bone marrow transplants, etc. are no longer part of the picture. What Tom and Mary have left is prayer…prayer and perseverance in pain."

Would you, in your mercy, pray for them, for Tom. They are asking for Masses and commitment to their causes. Tom and his wife, Mary and their organization run orphanages in Africa and India. It is a blessing to sponsor these children, perhaps you'll consider doing so too? http://www.abodeforchildren.org/

See http://www.gospa.org/ for more on this man.

Homeschool Ideas to Occupy Preschoolers

The littlest homeschoolers....how to keep them occupied? (Which sometimes means - How to keep them from distracting the older homeschooling siblings!)

A blog friend recently asked me about 3 year olds and it got me remembering when what it was like when I had a 3/4 year old...

Here are some of the activities my 3/4 year olds have enjoyed. When you are homeschooling and a toddler/pre-schooler is in the mix, you need an arsenal of ideas to keep them occupied. Here are some that worked for us....

My daughter watched and liked the Signing Times dvds teaching sign language. http://www.signingtime.com/.

She also LUVed the HOLY BABY series, consider it toddler catechism! http://www.therosaryproject.com/Holy_Baby_DVD_s_C2.cfm

I introduced her to alphabet and number dvds, the ones by Preschool Prep . For us it's a great morning warm up to the day to have the youngest quiet for the first hour of the day as the bigger kids do math. So I used these DVDs specifically when I needed to remove her from the homeschool classroom as 3 year olds often can be disruptive. If I got an hour or so out of those educational dvds that was golden. Sometimes, if I played these before a nap when the little one was getting cranky it could even lead to a nap. From there we'd move on to other activities.

Hands on fun. Come on, who doesn't LUV Playdoh? We even made playdo together and colored separate batches with food dye and, for great smell, made more sensory playdoh by adding different KoolAid powder packs. Purple smelled grape and yellow smelled lemony...etc...Playdoh was luved so much it became a bargaining chip...stay in your bed all night and you can play Playdoh in the morning! Sure, it requires clean up, get them involved. That's what kid size brooms and dust pans are for and it makes them feel so grown-up.

You know those books where a bell chimes when it's time to turn a page? They're making these on handheld kid computers now and must be a help to reading. My daughter had the kind that goes in a tape deck with pages to turn and loved them and they helped at nap time too. Preschoolers seem to luv anything that empowers them.

To this day she luvs to paint. I buy huge art poster size paper so it takes longer to paint. But there are other fun things to paint as well...like wood and rocks . (The Prayer Rock Craft is my most visited post, actually.)

She also liked stamping little stamps, Lite Brite and building with Legos, ALL great for small motor skills.

At some point she always came back into the schoolroom, but she wanted to play school and so she would sit and pretend to write. Leapfrog makes those great alphabet letter magnet games and we also had tracing letters and wipeboards for her to write letters on if she wanted to.

Even sorting was fun for her. I'd give her an empty egg carton and with tongs have her place and sort small colored blocks into the separations....or coins...or dried beans. I remember when my oldest son was little that he used to, like my daughter, like to wash dishes! So I had a set of plastic cups and plates that he could use, added some funnels, a pitcher and that would keep him busy a while, pouring back and forth. I was a montessori kid and that's what I remember from Montessori, getting to wash dishes, make concoctions pouring back and forth using measuring cups.

Sorting by color household scavenger hunt

My boys luved all the videos on jobs. Videos about firemen were huge hits, how to build roads, construction. There was one where a building exploded that they were fascinated by. They liked to watch men working and then go out and imitate it, especially contruction. Every library book then became illustrated ones on jobs. We made perhaps a 4 ft diameter circle of gravel in a corner of the backyard and put shovels and huge tonka trucks out there and it became a work station. Get'em a hardhat and let'em dig.

If a preschooler is interested in any show that has action figures, get them! I'd go to ebay and get lots of Winnie the Pooh characters and Thomas the Tank and all but one of my 4 luved to be quiet and reinact scenes in their imagination. I'd really encourage that, that imagining and building things. Legos, duplo, blocks, Lincoln Logs...We have a set of foam blocks that they use in a myriad of ways still today. http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Foam-Block-Set-pcs/dp/B00000ITKM See them in the link and picture below.

Discovery Toys phonics puzzle, Rainbows, Rabbits and Roses.

At the libraries we had this video series called Preschool Power and it taught skills to little people, like how to put on your own coat and montessori type stuff. Try to rent them and google montessori ideas, they are so creative and have educational, pre-reading value and often can be done with things around the house...cotton balls...salad tongs...

For littles especially, get them outside too. My guys always needed to wrestle and exhaust themselves to sleep well. When the leaves are turning like they are now I remember many big wheel rides around the neighborhood. (Wish they made one my size.) They still need a sweat a day or they're ornery! Nothing like hard work too that they'll feel proud of, moving things, pulling weeds, busy labor.

Write down a bunch of ideas for yourself to go to. A good school day always meant that they cycled through a few of the above ideas, had fun with me and their siblings and had quiet time too.

Share your ideas!

Educational Websites

http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/artrecipes.html

http://www.learningpage.com/free_pages/gallery.html

http://www.teachingheart.net/

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/preschool_age_3.html

http://funschool.kaboose.com/preschool/games/

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/preschool_games.html

http://www.time4learning.com/preschool-games.shtml

and this listening tape for car rides taught my littles soooo much http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?PURCHASE_STATE=STANDARD&product_id=1951 and see my previous post on DVD recommendations.

Birthday and Freak Show

Happy 77th birthday, Pops!

We went out to dinner with my folks Saturday night. Our destination, the yummy Cheesecake Factory at our Mall. Great meal, great company!

Having not been to the mall in years, perhaps a Saturday night was not the night to reassert ourselves back into "society."

FREAK SHOW.

It's a week away from Halloween so I don't think we were seeing costumes...

Am I correct that this is what is in style now?

* the highest heels
* skirts like tutus so short you can see a person's butt
* fish net stockings
* lots of piercings and tatoos
* spandex accentuating those "livin' large" (why, dear God, why?)

Thankfully, on this occasion, we were not treated to the ever-present plunging necklines and those who hoist/serve up their breasts like fleshy hors doevres!

Wow, I feel old.

When I was young and stupider, we got attention by wearing loudly colorful clothing and lots of cheap, plastic jewelry.

Times have changed...

See this related link - http://www.colleenhammond.com/dressing-with-dignity/college-man-dignity-has-its-place-on-halloween/ where the author asserts that a women with a good personality could dress like the Stay Puff marshmallow man and still get the attention she craves....and that prostitutes are business women who understand advertising and what sells. Ladies, is it for sale?

~ this moment ~

playing chess with Pooh

this photo taken by my eldest son

{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

This is my first time joining Soulemama in {this moment} but I don't think it will be my last as part of why I blog is to capture moments to remember...

Educational DVDs in Homeschooling ~ Our List

A list for us, as a record.

A list for you, recommendations.

It's a topic that I've posted about before, http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/2009/03/homeschooling-with-dvds-and-netflix.html . Besides the Math-U-See and Saxon Teacher and Teaching Textbooks media we watch to learn, we make other DVDs a part of our homeschooling. What I haven't captured in the lists below are all the shorter "films" we watch and use from YouTube and educational websites. I am going to post those in the future.

On Fridays, our lighter days, we watch a movie relating to current studies. Sometimes, the 2 youngest watch a movie while I am working with the older boys.

Watching documentaries can be like a lecture, homeschool students can practice taking notes and narrate back what they've learned.

The following are movies we use in our homeschooling. (comprises 5 years)

From NETFLIX:

Othello / Macbeth / King Lear -8th grade MODG
Rocketbook: The Odyssey - 10th grade MODG
Biology - 10th grade
Geometry: Vol. 1: The Standard Deviants - 10 grade
The Vikings: Nova - 4th grade MODG
Kaboom!: Disc 2: Fireworks! (and disc 1) science, interest of #2 son
Inspiring Animated Heroes: Helen Keller after reading her biography
Secondhand Lions - recommended family movie, masculinity
Greeks: Crucible of Civilization - 7th and 10th grade MODG
The Maldonado Miracle - family film, Catholic tones
Uncle Nino - recommended family film
The Solar System: A New Look -interest of my 4th grader
Eyewitness: The Pacific War: Road to War interest of my 8th grader
Winnie the Pooh: Wonderful Word Adventure - K/1st grader
Getting Ahead: U.S. History: Disc 1 - 4th grader
Ewe Know: Who Do Ewe Follow? - 1st grader
From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima -8th grader's interest
Learn to Read with Phonics: Vol. 3 -k/1st
Getting Ahead: Primary Science: Disc 4 (and earlier) 1st and 4th graders
To Hell and Back -true story of Audie Murphy, kids luved this!
Rock 'n Learn: Phonics -K/1st
Getting Ahead: Primary Science: Disc 3 (and earlier) 1st and 4th grades
Learn to Read with Phonics: Vol. 1 -1st grader
Between the Lions: Season 1: Disc 5 (and earlier) 1st grader
Julius Caesar 7th grade MODG
Astronomy Adventure: Vol. 2 (and earlier) 4th grader interest
Look and Learn: It's a Plus: Learn to Add 1st grader
The Children's Bible: Old Testament -1st and 4th grader
Adventures in Honesty 1st and 4th grader
The Magic School Bus: Human Body 1st and 4th grader
Adventures in Faith 1st and 4th grader
My House -spanish words, 1st grader
Little People: Good Manners 1st grader
The Return of Don Camillo HUGE favorite, Catholic for the whole family
Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 and More -1st grader
Don Camillo - highly recommend this!
This Is America, Charlie Brown: Disc 1 (+2) 4th and 1st grader
Barney's Best Manners K
America's Explorers and Pioneers 3rd grader
Look Mom: I Have Good Manners K
Tell Me Why: Americana & Beginnings 3rd grader
The American Revolution: Disc 5 and earlier - those studying that period
Liberty! The American Revolution: Disc 3
Ocean - all
Captain Jon Explores the Ocean - all
Leif Ericson - 4th grader
Physical Geography: Volcanoes of the US 9th grade MODG and younger
Physical Geography: Earthquakes 9th grade MODG and younger
SDS: Geology: Program 4: Rocks 9th grade MODG
SDS: Geology: Program 2: Minerals
SDS: Geology: Program 1: The Basics
SDS: Geology: 3: Volcanoes and Erosion
LeapFrog: Letter Factory k
Rome: Power & Glory: Disc 1 -those studying time period
Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire: Disc 1 -those studying time period
Pre-Algebra: Program 4: Basic Algebra
They Might Be Giants: Here Come the ABCs K
Thomas Jefferson those studying time period
Becket 8th grade MODG
The Roman Empire in the First Century -those studying time period
Pre-Algebra: Program 2: Vital Concepts
Hooked on Phonics: FUNdamentals K
Tinkerbell: Learn Ballet Step-by-Step K
Drive Thru History: Greece and the Word great for this time period!
Pre-Algebra: Program 1: The Basics
Roving Mars - based on interests
Mystery of the Nile: IMAX 7th grade MODG
The Mysteries of Egypt: The Pharaohs 7th grade MODG
National Geographic: Egypt: Pharaohs 7th grade MODG
Shakespeare Tragedies: Macbeth -8th grade MODG
Paul: Contending for Faith - all
Amazing Grace -9th grade MODG
Akeelah and the Bee - great family film
The Father Damien Story - all
The Song of Bernadette -all
Where the Red Fern Grows after reading book
National Geographic: Jamestown - those studying time period
The Ultimate Gift - study of virtues
Swiss Family Robinson - after reading the book
Saint Anthony - all
Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love -all
The Miracle of Our Lady Fatima -all
The Bells of St. Mary's -all
Lord Stanley's Cup: Hockey's Ultimate - relating to PE
Oliver Twist classic
Prehistoric Planet those interested
NHL History of the Philadelphia Flyers relating to PE
Facing the Giants family film
The Best of The Electric Company: Disc 1 1st grade
Young People's Concerts: Disc 1 all
The Railway Children after reading book
Camelot 8th grade MODG
I Am David - interested in Holocaust
Tom Sawyer - after reading the best book ever
Henry V 8th grade MODG
Saint Therese of the Child Jesus all
Cosmic Voyage: IMAX those interested
Mother Teresa all
100 Greatest Discoveries: Disc 5 EXCELLENT FOR SCIENCE, Bill Nye hosts
Egypt's Golden Empire - 7th grade MODG
The Best of Beakman's World - Science
Lewis and Clark: The Journey: Disc 2 - those studying time period
His Holiness Pope John Paul II: Mass all
Jesus and the Shroud of Turin all
Quest for the True Cross all
Pope John Paul II: Celebration of Jubilee all
Wide Awake self biographical of M. Night Shaymylan and Catholic
Jesus Christ Superstar: 2000 all
Joshua all

I have a huge Netflix Queue we are hoping to watch through this year, Netflix is an unending source of films, documentaries and tutorials that can truly be an added feature to home educating media.

Other rental sources we've liked...

PiusMedia - Catholic

Faith and Family Flix - wholesome and family friendly, Christian

The above both have excellent libraries, wish we had more money and more time! We take advantage of the free library systems in 2 states, as we are on a border. We've always looked up videos/DVDs for free library rental and the Eyewitness and Schlessinger series come to mind. When I see them at yard sales I snatch them up!

What we own and find helpful in homeschooling:

Rembrandt - other artists and composers are at the library

Maxillian Kolbe

various Magic Schoolbus

13th Day

The Little Prince

Richard Scary Learning Videos

Veggie Tales

Adventures in the Book of Virtues

Treasure Island

Max Lucados

Demographic Winter

Robinson Crusoe

Davy Crocket

Bible Cartoons

Prince of Egypt

Daniel

Man For All Seasons

St. Joseph, man closest to Christ

Signing Times videos

Pro Multis DVDs

Planet Earth

SchoolHouseRock

Rock n Learns

Saints CCC videos

Holy Babys

PreSchool Preps

States and Capitals

The Fr. Corapi Catechism series

LHLA EWTN shows on Chastity, Contraception, Guadalupe, Spiritual Battle

Oceans of Mercy

Therese

Donald Calloway's Conversion

Jesus Living in Mary

Jesus of Nazareth

Shoes of the Fisherman

Joan of Arc

John Paul II movies

Francis of Assissi

PLEASE fill up the com box with your homeschool dvd recommendations, as you can see we'll probably watch them!

Urgent ! Please Pray Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm today for Marc Berquist

Marc Berquist, Laura Berquist's husband has been sick with cancer and an uncontrollable fungus in his lungs. This is a family who has given so much to Catholic education via Mother of Divine Grace and Thomas Aquinas College. My heart breaks for the suffering they are going through.

Today's reports have been sad, suggesting just hours...

In your mercy, would you and your children join us in praying at the hour of mercy?

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is powerful!

How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the dying

The Divine Mercy Chaplet was given to a young Polish nun, Sr. Maria Faustina Kowalska, now known as St. Faustina, by Jesus Christ. He taught her how to pray this for the forgiveness of sins. Many people pray this chaplet daily for themselves but are unaware that it can also be applied to the dying. Jesus has promised that when it is prayed for sinners at the point of death, He will grant His Divine Mercy to those souls being interceded for in this way.

You'll need a Rosary.

1. When you are aware of someone being near death, you can interced for them via the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Trust in Jesus' promises to St. Faustina to pour out His ocean of mercy on souls entrusted to Him in this way.

2. Begin by holding the Rosary devoutly in one hand (many people kiss the Crucifix as well). Reverently make the Sign of the Cross with your Rosary: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

3. Next, pray the Our Father on the first bead, followed by the Hail Mary and Apostles' Creed. It's good to meditate on Jesus' desire to grant His forgiveness to the person who is dying.

4. On the large bead at the beginning of each decade, pray "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Thy Dearly Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."On the small beads (10 per decade) pray "For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

5. All throughout the chaplet keep the dying person in mind and offer him/her to the Lord. At the end of the final (5th) decade, say, 3 times: "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world."Release the dying person to Christ and His Divine Mercy, in trust.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Proud Speller

Sweet Blog Award and ? Meme

The adorable blog, A Slice of Smith Life tagged me for the The Sweet Blog Award. (<---see directions here)

Tracy, considering how much you've put into your blog for you to say mine is sweet makes my day, thanks!

She also tagged me in a Questions Meme.

1. Why do you blog? What's the number one reason you keep on blogging?

Good question! I do have a reason. In the beginning, and as we started homeschooling, a blog was like a photo-journal, an online scrapbook. It was the easiest way I had found to chronicle our daily happenings, our spiritual journey, the events of our times and what makes us who we are as a family. Every year I print my blog into a hardbound book to preserve those captured memories. So it was for us, to read and remember....that's number one.

Today, going on year 4, blogging has added dimensions. It's still an outlet of self expression but also a community to me. Friends. Like minded friends have been made and I treasure our conversations between blogs. They engage me in their faith life and ideas on parenting and educating. The outreach to others has been an unpredicted blessing.

2. What's your favorite holiday? Why?

I do luv thanksgiving. Why? Truthfully, some of the reasons are lazy ones. There isn't as much decorating craziness and no present shopping to break the bank. It's about thanks and gratitude and family. Hey, who can ignore all the good food? It's a recipe legacy from each family member, a gastronomical history of a family!

But how can it compare to Christmas, the incarnation? The Holiness and magnitude of that event brings me to tears. The music and all that leads up to it through Epiphany is all wonderful....despite the machine that tries to rob it of it's focus.

3. Have you ever met any of your blog followers in "real" life that you didn't know prior to blogging?

Yes! First I met my dearest Amy from Five Monkeys, A Princess and A Pea. Around the same time I met Michelle, whose blog I followed but Family Centered Press doesn't blog anymore. :(

This summer I met beautiful Ruth .

I believe in my heart that someday I will meet a few other kindred spirits, Renee , Kimberly, Jenny, Sarah, Jamie and Christine...please Lord?

(And by the way girls mentioned above, you are now all tagged in this meme and my sweetest bloggers awards go to you!)

4. Where is your favorite place to be with your family?

Mass. Watching my sons on the altar, holding my girl kissing her mantilla head, that's peace!

....Other than together laughing in our home....

Great questions, Tracy.

I must use some of yours and here are the other questions I send out to the gals above....

1. What does blogging mean to you?

2. What bloggers have you met in real life?

3. Now, a loaded one...What lessons do you think God is bringing to you this year?

4. Saint Junkie that I am...What Saint would you have liked to have known and learned beside?

Can't wait to read you answers!

The Night's Magic Seemed to Whisper and Hush

Some families from our Homeschool group joined us for a Saturday night hayride and bonfire.

It was a perfect night, not too cold, no wind and a clear, starry sky.

The hay was soft and the bumpy ride had it's thrills.

Around the warmth of the bonfire we roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. Ate s'mores and drank cider and hot chocolate. One of the moms told a scary story and the kids played flashlight tag and Ghost, Ghost, Midnight Ghost in the apple orchard.

A memorable Fall night.

On the hayride back to our cars, when it was really dark, one of the Dad's pointed out many constellations and stars. I think no one wanted to get off the tractor at that point.

"A fantabulous night... 'neath the cover of October skies," as Van Morrison would put it. "The night's magic seemed to whisper and hush."

Girl's Night

My husband and the boys went to a college ice hockey game.

Giddy and bouncing my daughter says to me, knowingly, "Girl's Night!"

She makes the list.

So we snuggle up to read Hercules and then it's off to the library.

On the way home we stop for dinner at Friendlys and color menus together. After dinner we go shopping for Boo baskets. All the while she chirps and chats, an adorable companion.

I anticipate so many more fun outings with her, my daughter.

Some of her plans have to wait for Saturday, it's late and we want to snuggle some more and make the fun last for another day. Tomorrow we'll paint nails and drink lemonade with sugar cubes, making it a tea party of sorts.

Saturday is also beauty day. She luxuriates in the jacuzzi tub in bubbles. She calls it her mermaid bath. After her soak I lather her in lotion, beauty shop her hair and spray her with perfume.

Ahhh, the estrogen!

Cheers!

Enjoy your weekend.

Ignore My Rant on Homeschool Bias...Is It?

Final round of yearly pediatric appointments today...what interesting questions they ask!

Do Doctors and their nurses ask these questions of public or private schoolers?

* Do you get to play with kids your own age?

* Do you have any enemies?

* Do you trust your children?

...even a laughing comment from the nurse about keeping them in a bubble!

Huh??

My Doc even brought up evolution and "young earth" like he was baiting me. I didn't bite. Does the world think all homeschoolers are creationists?

Early in the conversation they heard that my children played on ice hockey sports teams and having known them since birth always remark on how "really nice" they are and yet....do they get to play...daily...with other kids their own age??? That just seems so biased to me.

Can they really be unaware, as doctors and nurses OF CHILDREN that studies on homeschool children show them to be emotionally and socially stronger than their counterparts?

"...several studies have been done to measure homeschoolers' "self-concept," which is the key objective indicator for establishing a child's self-esteem. A child's degree of self-esteem is one of the best measurements of his ability to successfully interact on a social level. One such study was conducted by John Wesley Taylor, using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale to evaluate 224 home-schooled children. They study found that 50 percent of the children scored above the 90th percentile, and only 10.3 percent scored below the national average.

Another researcher compared private school nine-year-olds with homeschool nine-year-olds and found no significant differences in the groups in virtually all psycho-social areas. However, in the area of social adjustment, a significant difference was discovered: "private-school subjects appeared to be more concerned with peers than the home-educated group."This is certainly an advantage for home-schooled children who can avoid negative peer influence.

In 2004, Dr. Susan McDowell wrote “But What About Socialization? Answering the Perpetual Home Schooling Question: A Review of the Literature” following a challenge to document the common idea that homeschoolers are not socialized in comparison to those students in public schools. McDowell, whose PhD from Vanderbilt University is in educational leadership, claims: “It’s a non-issue today. All the research shows children are doing well.”

See HERE for more from above.

Is socialization at "schools" really that great, that desirable?

These quotes from studies would lead me to say no. "The mass socialization conducted within schools has brought about a proliferation of delinquent behavior within this nation's youth, reports education researcher, Dr. Michael Slavinski. He notes that student bodies are increasingly riddled with violence, drugs, promiscuity, emotional disorders, crime, contempt for authority, desperate behavior, illiteracy and peer dependency - just to name a few.

When the Direct Observation Form of the Child Behavior Checklist was administered by education researcher Dr. Larry Shyers to identify 97 problematic behaviors in two groups of children, traditionally schooled students exuded eight times as many antisocial traits than their homeschooled counterparts. This lies in direct contrast to claims by public school advocates that exposure to campus life leads to proper socialization."

Studies...studies...studies.... and yet people still have the misconception...but what about socialization?

Indeed! What about it?

Is what we mostly see in "schools" really the definition of the word socialization? No...it is social-izing and it's not all that good for children's self-esteem or their learning focus or for their virtue many times.

What's a more closed and unrealistic environment? Couldn't it be the one where you are closed in with 30+ other kids all your same age? Does that ever happen in the real world? Or are you more likely to need to relate to others of all age ranges...in real life? Not to even mention or delve further into the epidemic of those children only relating to the values and peer pressure of those peers, and not the values and best interests of their parents.....

Should my Pediatrician and his nurse ask those students about how much time they are spending with their peers and what they are learning from them? What kind of bullying and enemy making may they be engaging in on the school bus and cafeteria and internet?

Hmmmmm.....

My husband says put your head down and pray. You can't boil the ocean. Let them see it in your smile and your kids.

I do like my Pediatrician. I've know him so long he's like an old friend. I have no doubt he means well and is very bright.

Committed as I am to home educating I am perhaps over sensitive to misconceptions about it. Yet, I am so grateful to be home! And while I know many nice kids and families who go to "school" I think our "bubble" is making for some happy kids who are learning and living with less of the vices I see out there.

And I am reminded of the metaphor that we don't build battleships out in the open, rough seas...we build them in safe harbours.

That way they are ready...for the battle.

related post - http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/2007/11/socializing-my-homeschoolers.html

Homeschool Sibling Bonds

My 6 year old daughter and her 15 year old brother...

THIS is one of the beauties of homeschooling. They get to spend time together that they wouldn't have had otherwise. They are building sibling bonds.

They have a sibling bond that is precious and devoted. A cursory look might indicate that they are sounding out a word starting with the letter "B" together.

What I see deeper in this image is a young man who helps teach his sister because he loves her...

...because serving his family is common to him

....because he is excited to see her excitement in learning, as learning is valued

....because spending time together is valued too




They'll remember this...and my heart swells with the goodness of a moment like this.

Just 2% of a Day

Our Lady of The Rosary ~ Praying the Life of Christ

"Returning continually in her memory to everything that was important in her Son's life and in her own, it was as though Mary prayed her rosary, but without moving from one bead to another."

(The Gift of Faith, pg. 202)

While I have always had a love for the rosary, I am not always successful at praying it everyday. Considering that I am awake for 16 hours a day, I have 960 minutes in my "day." The rosary may take 17 minutes to pray, meditating on the life of Christ. If I work that out mathematically, 17 minutes would be less than 2% of my day!

If I were to tithe to God and give Him just 10% of my day, the minimum in gratitude, I should spend 96 minutes or at least an hour and a half in prayer each day....sobering.....

I do offer up my day in my morning offering prayer...

I do pray throughout the day in many ways...but I could do more.

He deserves more.

And Our Lady is waiting, with graces...

Besides the Indulgences attached to the Rosary, Our Lady revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche additional benefits for those who devoutly pray the Rosary. Our Lady's promise is shown in darker blue text. Additional explanation on and doctrinal connections to each promise is shown following in the smaller normal text font and color. Note that the Rosary is the prayer (non-Liturgical) with the most published Magisterial / Papal documents expounding on its excellence. Vatican II's summary on Our Lady is contained in Lumen Gentium chapter VIII.

1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.
Signal Graces are those special and unique Graces to help sanctify us in our state in life. See the remaining promises for an explanation for which these will consist. St. Louis de Montfort states emphatically that the best and fastest way to union with Our Lord is via Our Lady [True Devotion to Mary, chapter four].

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
Our Lady is our Advocate and the channel of all God's Grace to us. Our Lady is simply highlighting that She will watch especially over us who pray the Rosary. (see Lumen Gentium chapter VIII - Our Lady #62) [a great more detail is available on this topic in True Devotion to Mary, chapter four, by St. Louis de Montfort]

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.
This promise, along with the next, is simply the reminder on how fervent prayer will help us all grow in holiness by avoiding sin, especially a prayer with the excellence of the Rosary. An increase in holiness necessarily requires a reduction in sin, vice, and doctrinal errors (heresies). If only the Modernists could be convinced to pray the Rosary! (see Lumen Gentium chapter V - The Call to Holiness #42) St. Louis de Montfort states "Since Mary alone crushed all heresies, as we are told by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary)..." [True Devotion to Mary #167]

4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
This promise, along with the previous, is the positive part, that being to live in virtue. Becoming holy is not only avoiding sin, but also growing in virtue. (see Lumen Gentium chapter V - The Call to Holiness #42)

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.
Since Our Lady is our Mother and Advocate, She always assists those who call on Her implicitly by praying the Rosary. The Church reminds us of this in the Memorare prayer, "... never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided ..."

6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.
This promise highlights the magnitude of Graces that the Rosary brings to whomever prays it. One will draw down God's Mercy rather than His Justice and will have a final chance to repent (see promise #7). One will not be conquered by misfortune means that Our Lady will obtain for the person sufficient Graces to handle said misfortune (i.e. carry the Crosses allowed by God) without falling into despair. As Sacred Scripture tells us, "For my yoke is sweet and my burden light." (Matthew 11:30)

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
This promise highlights the benefits of obtaining the most possible Graces at the hour of death via the Sacraments of Confession, Eucharist, and Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick). Being properly disposed while receiving these Sacraments near death ensures one's salvation (although perhaps with a detour through Purgatory) since a final repentance is possible.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.
Our Lady highlights the great quantity of Graces obtain through praying the Rosary, which assist us during life and at the moment of death. The merits of the Saints are the gift of God's rewards to those persons who responded to His Grace that they obtained during life, and so Our Lady indicates that She will provide a share of that to us at death. With this promise and #7 above, Our Lady is providing the means for the person to have a very holy death.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
Should one require Purgatorial cleansing after death, Our Lady will make a special effort to obtain our release from Purgatory through Her intercession as Advocate.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.
This promise is a logical consequence of promises #3 and #4 since anyone who truly lives a holier life on earth will obtain a higher place in Heaven. The closer one is to God while living on earth, the close that person is to Him also in Heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states "Spiritual progress tends toward ever more union with Christ." (Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2014)

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.
This promise emphasizes Our Lady's role as our Advocate and Mediatrix of all Graces. Of course, all requests are subject to God's Most Perfect Will. God will always grant our request if it is beneficial for our soul, and Our Lady will only intercede for us when our request is good for our salvation. (see Lumen Gentium chapter VIII - Our Lady #62)

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
If one promotes the praying of the Rosary, Our Lady emphasizes Her Maternal care for us by obtaining many Graces (i.e. spiritual necessities) and also material necessities (neither excess nor luxury), all subject to the Will of God of course.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.
Since Our Lady is our Advocate, She brings us additional assistance during our life and at our death from all the saints in Heaven (the Communion of Saints). See paragraphs 954 through 959 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ.
Since the Rosary is a most excellent prayer focused on Jesus and His Life and activities in salvation history, it brings us closer to Our Lord and Our Lady. Doctrinally, Our Lady is our Mother and Jesus is our Eldest Brother, besides being our God. (see Lumen Gentium chapter VIII - Our Lady #62)

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
Predestination in this context means that, by the sign which is present to a person from the action of devoutly praying the Rosary, God has pre-ordained your salvation. Absolute certainty of salvation can only be truly known if God reveals it to a person because, although we are given sufficient Grace during life, our salvation depends upon our response to said Grace. (See Summa Theologica, Question 23 for a detailed theological explanation). Said another way, if God has guaranteed a person's salvation but has not revealed it to Him, God would want that person to pray the Rosary because of all the benefits and Graces obtained. Therefore the person gets a hint by devotion to the Rosary. This is not to say that praying the Rosary guarantees salvation - by no means. In looking at promises #3 and #4 above, praying the Rosary helps one to live a holy life, which is itself a great sign that a soul is on the road to salvation. (See also paragraphs 381, 488, 600, 2782 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.) In fact, St. Louis de Montfort says even more strongly that "an infallible and unmistakable sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God's true friends is that the hardened sinner and heretic show nothing but contempt and indifference to Our Lady..." [True Devotion to Mary, #30]


Reminder: these promises mean that, by faithfully and devoutly praying the Rosary, Our Lady will obtain for us the necessary Graces to obtain said promises. It is still up to each individual soul to respond to those Graces in order to obtain salvation. http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/prayer/15promise.htm

Get A Life!

Today, after Mass, we participated in LIFE CHAIN and stood with our signs on a busy road.

(taken a few years ago)

The boys become Warriors for Life holding those signs. That hour is always a springboard for conversation.

This year we were flipped off less and had a dozen waves of support. Now, I can't say that I know what is in the hearts of all that pass by, I do not. One could be tempted to wonder and make generalizations....

There's a small percentage that who show you their disapproval and those that show you their approval and perhaps the rest are just not the type to respond if they approve or disapprove? I'd like to think that rather than succumb to my real fear ... the fear that many don't care, don't have an opinion or think they need to have one on Life.

Please Lord, get us thinking about protecting Life....seeing it as valuable, standing up for it. It will be our legacy that this is our holocaust. This is our equal rights ignorance. It was sanctioned by the Nazi government to kill Jews, elderly, and handicapped for not being +worthy+ of life. It was our past laws that permitted slavery, calling some humans chattel.

Each of us were once the "size" of an unborn baby. A fetus IS a baby person, a human with the right to life. Abortion stops a beating heart of the most defenseless human.

I pray Lord, that the man who drove by and in anger yelled out his window, "Get a life!!" that he may he come to realize the ironic nature of that comment.

GET.

SAVE.

a LIFE.

....EXACTLY!

‎"We record fetal heartbeats at 14 days post-conception.

We record fetal brainwaves at 39 days post-conception

. .. We have this schizophrenic rule of the law where we have defined death as the absence of those, but we refuse to define life as the presence of those."

- Sen. Coburn to Supreme Court nominee Judge Sotomayor July 15 2009