Why nothing is getting done around here...

Song for a Fifth Child



 Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

My little fifth child is just out of the hospital after getting aspiration pneumonia following surgery.  We're just hangin' and I'm good with that.

2nd Annual John Brunstad Memorial Run

On April 6, 2011, my dear brother-in-law, John died in his sleep from complications of Type-1 Diabetes.  He was an avid runner, having many marathons under his belt.  To remember John, and to help support Diabetes research, my sister has organized the 2nd Annual John Brunstad Memorial Run on July 20, 2013 at the beautiful Red Cedar River Trail in Menomonie, WI (just about an hour away).

If you are a runner, a walker, or know someone with Type-1 Diabetes, please consider participating.  There is a 10K and a 2K option (which is what my family will be doing). If you can't make it, please pray for good weather and a great turn out.

On Suffering

Record my misery;   
  list my tears on your scroll
   are they not in your record?
      -Psalm 56:8



For those suffering, Peter Kreeft has some beautiful words here.  But here's a snippet:

Thus God's answer to the problem of suffering not only really happened 2,000 years ago, but it is still happening in our own lives. The solution to our suffering is our suffering! All our suffering can become part of his work, the greatest work ever done, the work of salvation, of helping to win for those we love eternal joy.
How? This can be done on one condition: that we believe. For faith is not just a mental choice within us; it is a transaction with him. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone... opens the door, I will come in and eat with him" (Rev 3:20). To believe, according to John's Gospel, is to receive (Jn 1:12), to receive what God has already done. His part is finished ("It is finished," he said on the cross). Our part is to receive that work and let it work itself out in and through our lives, including our tears. We offer it up to him, and he really takes it and uses it in ways so powerful that we would be flattened with wonder if we knew them now. 

The more we love, the more we suffer.  There can be no love without suffering.  If God is love, we cannot know God without suffering.

How He Loves Us

Here's me missing my beloved brother-in-law today, on the first birthday since he passed away a little more than two months ago.  This song is another that makes me think of him because he loved us all so well, much like our Lord does.  I know he's up in heaven today, celebrating his birthday, eating blueberry pie with the Big Guy.



John B.
June 17, 1965 - April 6, 2011

Poor Wayfaring Stranger

My brother-in-law passed away 51 days ago and I still cry about it.  He was a beautiful man, father and husband.   I met John in concert choir.  He was my dance partner in several songs in Swing Choir.   He was a Senior when I was a Sophomore and he made the transition from middle school to high school easier by befriending me.  I introduced him to my older sister.  They hit it off, got married and had five beautiful kids.

John was humble and giving.  When asked how he was, he often replied, "Better than I deserve."  We could all learn a little something from his humility.  John's life wasn't about calling attention to himself or his accomplishments.  It was about quietly doing what needed to be done, often secretly and humbly serving God, by serving others.  Sometimes I just need a reminder of what life is REALLY about.  It's not about what you have here, but your journey to heaven.  I love this video.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

I will not allow anything to dominate me

I was struck with how God sends me messages. 

I was a glutton yesterday.  My dearest friend, with whom I co-school, sent cookies to our daughter's book club, which I host at my home.  She made some date sandwich cookies which contained no eggs.  As many of my readers know, I am allergic to eggs, so most baked goods are off limits to me.  So, a whole platter FULL of delicious cookies that I COULD eat broke me.  I splurged.  I don't know how many I ate, but it was probably more than 10.  I didn't eat them all at once.  One or two here and three before bed with a glass of milk.  Ugh!

Then, I opened up by Divine Intimacy book by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. to #305:

Lord grant me self-control and gentleness, fruits of the Spirit. - Gal. 5:22

BAM.  Right in the forehead.  So, I figured I better keep reading:

"All things are lawful for me'; but not all things are helpful!  All things are lawful for me'; but I will not be enslaved by anything" (1 Cor 6:12).  Here St. Paul is rebutting the claims of those who, under the pretext of freedom, want to enjoy everything and to experience everything.  The liberation for the  prescription of an oppressive law brought about by Christ and confirmed by the Apostle cannot be synonymous with licentiousness.   "Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom 13:13-14).  "All things are lawful" to the Christians "to the pure all things are pure" (Tit 1:15), but on condition that this benefits his own and others' welfare and does not make a slave of anyone.  The freedom of the children of God is in quite another sphere than that of immodesty, greed or anger.  "I will not allow anything to dominate me" is the program to be followed by anyone who wants to become master of himself, in order to submit himself to the one rule, the liberating dominion of God. 

So, that is my motto..."I will not allow anything to dominate me", especially food.

I wish I could say I held my weight loss, but I didn't.  I have gained back the last 2.5 lbs.  Still down 2.5 lbs.

I will be writing next about my struggle with thyroid disease, which is also been a problem lately.

Our Lady of the Rosary

This, my friends, is my favorite feast day.  It is also my husband's and my 15th anniversary today.

“The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at a heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel messge in its entirety. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb...It can be said that the rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter that discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church" (Pope John Paul II, apostolic letter The Rosary of the Virgin Mary).

If you say a rosary today, could you offer at least one decade for my husband and my special intention?
Thank you in advance.  I will remember all my readers and their intentions in all of my rosary today.

Prayer Request?

If you have the time today, could you say this prayer, found in my great grandmother's 1952 St. Joseph's Missal for a special intention? Thank you in advance!

Memorare to St. Joseph

Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession were left unassisted.
 Full of confidence in your power I fly unto you and beg your protection.
 Despise not O Guardian of the Redeemer my humble supplication, but in your bounty, hear and answer me. Amen. 

Mother of the Word Incarnate

We always do night time prayers. Many times we have tried a Rosary at night and things fall apart. So, we've opted for a Litany of Prayers before the kids go to bed.

We started out with "God's Top 3," as my husband likes to call it. That would be the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary and Glory Be. We kept adding. Here is our current list:

Lord's Prayer
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Guardian Angel
Act of Contrition
Hail Holy Queen
St. Michael the Archangel
Apostle's Creed

And most recently we added the Memorare.

Two days after we added Memorare, we got home late, got jammies on late and Daddy decided that we would only do "God's Top 3" so we could get the kids to bed. In all reality, it only takes about 9 1/2 minutes to say all our prayers, but the kids really needed to go to bed.

When we finished and told the kids it was time to go upstairs, my 4 year old protested LOUDLY.

Him: Mom! We forgot some of the prayers!
Me: I know, honey, but it's late we are going to bed now.
Him: Mom! We didn't do "Mother of the Word Incarnate."
Me: What?!
Him: We didn't do "Mother of the Word Incarnate." I want to do "Mother of the Word Incarnate."

Now, I was tired and I wasn't tracking. I couldn't figure out what it was he was talking about and my husband looked at me and said, "Memorare." Then he took some of the kids upstairs. Still not tracking, our conversation continued:

Him: Mom, can we please do "Mother of the Word Incarnate." We didn't do "Mother of the Word Incarnate."
Me: Okay.

He and I finished the prayer together and he was happy and I was stunned. The kid surprises me regularly with the words he picks up in conversation or just from rote prayers, but this just took the cake.

So, if you wouldn't mind humoring me. I have a special intention and if you could take the minute to say the Memorarae for my special intention, I would really appreciate it!

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

Power of Prayer

The power of prayer is amazing. But, it is not what you think. I must admit my prayer life did not start until I was over 30 years old. Now, this is very sad as I grew up Catholic. I went to Catholic school and Catechism. I prayed in church.

I must set the record straight. The Mass is something for me like no other. It is prayer. So, to say my prayer life started after 30 would be incorrect. Mass has always spoke to me like no other thing. Even when I would dabble in attending other denominations, I would literally cry when I would return to Mass. And, depending on the church, I may cry just because it is so beautiful.

My personal prayer life started after 30. Sometime after Little Princess was born in 2003, I picked up my rosary. Well, it's not exactly my rosary. It was my great grandma's rosary. I have two that were hers. She passed away in 1990. She died at the age of 99. She told my grandma not to bury her with a rosary in her hand because she couldn't stand to sit down and pray. She prayed while she worked. That rosary has meant more to me than you can imagine. So, I've been using it pretty steady now for almost seven years. Talk about some powerful stuff. When the Lord talks to me, it is usually in pictures and not in words. I don't know if that is normal. Perhaps it is because I ask Him to show me things. Perhaps He knows it is too loud here for me to hear His voice.

But the power of prayer for me is not the answering. It is the peace I feel when I pray. I know the Protestants can't understand the use of repetitive rote prayer, but you would be surprised how well you can meditate with those rote prayers. I've learned that, not only is sitting down to say the Rosary a beautiful thing from the prayer perspective, but it calms me down...me who can not sit during the day to do anything other than to check email or nurse a baby.

When praying the Rosary, we reflect on the life of Jesus as we ask Mary, His most Blessed Mother, to intercede on our behalf. Now, again, why should I go to Mary instead of Jesus directly? Well, Jesus is my Savior, there is no question of that. But Mary I can go to as a friend, a Mom, a Sister...I can talk to her like a most confident friend and I know she will take my petitions to her son. And, like at Cana, He will listen. Mary is very persuasive. This I know.

I am on day 51 of a 54 day Rosary Novena. For those unfamiliar with Catholicism, I will explain. A Novena is a nine day prayer. Think about the time the Apostles spent in prayer with Mary at their side after the Ascension of Jesus. They were afraid. They were lost without Christ to lead them. They prayed fervently. Nine days later, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. He removed their fear. They knew what to do. So we Catholics often pray for things in multiples of nines and we call it a novena.

This Rosary Novena has me making six novenas. Three novenas are asking for intercession and three are offered in thanksgiving. During the time you pray, each day you meditate upon ONE of the four sets of mysteries in the order in which they happened: Joyful (Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity of Our Lord, Presentation of Our Lord, Finding Jesus in the Temple), Luminous (Baptism of Our Lord, Miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom (Sermon on the Mount), Transfiguration and the Last Supper), Sorrowful (Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with thorns, Carrying the cross and Crucifixion), and Glorious (Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, Coronation of Mary). Sometimes I will use something called "Picture Beads", which is a power point presentation showing images that help me meditate. Other times, I will read passages from the Bible (because the Rosary is based on Scripture) or other books related to the life of Christ. And sometimes I just sit and nurse the baby.

This has been a wonderful journey for me because it has forced me to Stop. Pray. Sit. Meditate on our Lord's life and ask for help. I'm not usually very good at any of those things alone.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!