Our Newest Catholic!

Peter was baptized on November 13th. We had a great weekend - full of time with family, friends, and God's grace though Peter's first sacrament!

Shortly after he was born, a good friend of ours gave Peter a holy medal that contains a relic from his patron - St. Peter Julain Eymard! I pinned the medal to his shirt and he wore it during his baptism.

May you cling to Our Lord all the days of your life, Peter! Welcome Home!

Fr. Bryan Ochs!

Last Saturday we were able to witness Bryan Ochs' ordination to the priesthood. He is a good friend from the Newman Center at WWU. The ordination Mass was beautiful and we are filled with joy for Fr. Ochs!

 Praise God!

Easter!

Our busy Holy Saturday was followed by an even busier Easter Sunday! We got all spruced up for the 7:30am Mass. It was a wonderful celebration of Christ's Resurrection and Father Lappe's Homily was great!

We came home and told John that there was something special hidden for him. He found his Easter basket in the net of his new basketball hoop! He was very excited about it, even though he is not smiling in the pictures...

We changed clothes and loaded up my parents' car. Then we drove to Edmonds for our annual Launceford family brunch at the Pancake Haus (a tradition that has going for over 15 years!). We forgot John's bib at home, so it was a challenge keeping him clean while eating pancakes smothered in strawberries and whipped cream! Then we all headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house for more visiting and an egg hunt for John. The big kids hid the eggs for him and we all enjoyed watching John's innocent pleasure and excitement in finding the eggs.

After that we headed up to my other Aunt and Uncle's house in Mukilteo (on my dad's side of the family). John fell asleep right as we got there, so we left him in the car to finish his nap (that we were worried would never happen!). We had a nice visit with them and John woke up eventually and got to play with his 2nd cousin, Alice.

The next stop was at my brother's house in Seattle for dinner. On our way down I-5, a couple miles before our exit, I looked over to the car next to us and thought the driver looked familiar. He was looking at me too and I quickly realized that he was Father Qui-Thac - the priest who celebrated our wedding! Andrew called him and invited him to join us for dinner. He was on his way to Lacey for a retreat and accepted our offer! =) So we had a great dinner with our family, Fr. Qui-Thac, and our friend Andrew, who lives with my brother. We are still so amazed that we noticed Father on the freeway, and just in time to invite him for dinner! It was Divinely arranged! And thank you to Aaron for cooking a great meal!

We had such a great visit over dinner that we lost track of time and didn't leave until 9:30pm - which means John had another late night. But other than that, I thought our Easter was perfect!

Truest Demonstration of Faith

 Thy Will Be Done

There was an article that I read a couple of days ago in a newsletter that Samaritan Ministries (our health care) puts out every month. The story is about a man and his family who are part of our health sharing ministry. It was so moving that I had to share it with you! I cried a lot when I read it and John was so confused. I tried to explain to him that the words were sad, but he didn't get it. He kept wiping my tears.

Here is the beginning of the story, I really recommend reading the whole thing:

As I ran up to him, the first thing I noticed was the Bible. It was small, a pocket-sized book, in black leather. It had apparently been knocked out of his clothing when the car hit him, and had landed beside him in the snow, down off the shoulder of the road.

That was yesterday, a few minutes after 7 in the morning. It was frigid and there was accumulation and black ice and two cars had slid off the busy Interstate. He had stopped and gotten out to help. He had been on the way to work, with his son, and he saw the motorists who needed help and he stopped. Countless others of us drove on by. But he stopped... (Read the rest here)

 What really struck me was the description of the wife's prayer for her husband:

Then she knelt and began to pray.

She may have held his hand, she may have leaned in toward his head. As she spoke, I cast my eyes down and reverently listened. She addressed God. Whether she called him “Dear Lord” or “Heavenly Father” or something else, I can’t recall. But she addressed him, and then she thanked him. And she offered him praise. Her words were not words of pleading, they were words of praise and gratitude. And then she said something like, “If today you wish to call him home and take him from us – thy will be done.”

Thy will be done.

The line from the Lord’s Prayer. The hardest part of faith. At a moment when most of us would be begging God to give us what we want – to spare us our loved one – she asked the Lord to do his will, what he wanted. She trusted him, and had faith in him.

Where could there be a truer test or demonstration of faith than in the snow beside the broken and near lifeless body of your sweetheart and spouse? In that situation, there can be no pretense, no show, only the heartfelt honesty of a soul in direct communion with its Creator.

And in her moment of test, in her own Gethsemane, she literally prayed, like her Savior before her, not my will, but thine, be done.

But if it was not his time to die, if the Lord did not want to call him home, she asked for his life, for her and their children, and strength through the weeks of hospitalization and recovery.

After I read that part, I felt silly for crying. Here I am - a stranger - and I was crying as if this were my own husband. While she had the strength and conviction to ask for God's will to be done and that this whole situation add to the glory of God. I really hope and pray that God will give me the grace to act the same way when I face trials in my own life. This made me realize how much I have to learn about real sacrificial love.

When I read this portion of the story to Andrew he commented on how she was acting like Mary, our Blessed Mother, did during Christ's passion and death. Surely it was very heart-wrenching to watch her Son suffer so, but she knew it was for the glory of God and she desired to be submissive to His will.

This wife and mother is such a great example for me and I will always remember her story. If you didn't have a chance to read the whole story, her husband did die - and now she is a widow with eight children to care for. May Our Lord give her the strength and joy she needs to persevere in this life and be reunited with her beloved in Heaven.

Christmas 2010

Christmas morning was pretty magical. It was neat seeing John's excitement, though he definitely was not expecting all the gifts and treats. We got up early and went to the 8:15am Mass. We had to wake John up because he usually sleeps in until 9am (I know, I am one lucky mama!). The first video below is of John after we got him dressed for Mass. He wasn't sure what to make of all the presents under the tree.

After Mass we opened our gifts to each other and then went upstairs to be with my parents, brother, and grandpa. One of the best moments of the day was when we walked into my parent's house. Andrew and I were greeting my brother and mom, but John ran past us. He made a mad dash for the tree and fell half way there, only to quickly rise to his feet to continue his sprint. We thought he was just excited to see more presents, but he had his eye on a gift that was not wrapped. My parents got him a Strider bike! He grabbed the bike and swung his leg over the seat - as if he's known how to ride a bike his whole life. It was the cutest thing! His raw joy and excitement was contagious to all of us.

We all opened gifts to each other, ate yummy food, and played games together. Christmas was very special this year because we had an honored guest with us - my grandpa. He lives in Oregon, so I do not get to see him much. It was quite a treat to celebrate with him. He is known for his ability to recite long poems from memory, so listening to his recitations added to the perfection of our Christmas day this year.  

 

 

 

Train of Thought

Last Sunday at Mass, in the short time between the consecration of the bread and the consecration of the wine, I had this train of thought:

The smell of a woman in front of me reminded me of a lady I took care of when I worked at the Courtyard (dementia care facility) --- which made me think of dementia and I wondered who is the youngest person to ever suffer from dementia --- which made me wonder if I will ever get it --- which made me wonder if you could have symptoms of dementia for being overly tired (because I was feeling tired) --- which reminded me of a movie that Andrew and I watched part of (but turned it off because it was pretty bad) called The Machinist with Christian Bale. (It is a creepy movie about a man who suffers from insomnia and has not slept in over a year) --- and I wondered if it is even possible to go a year without sleeping --- then a gory scene from the movie began replaying in my mind where there is an accident at a factory and a man's arm gets stuck in a machine and is torn off and his severed limb is shown spinning around and around on the machine (Ick!)

So there I was grimacing to myself, when I was drawn out of my mind by the words, "Do this in memory of me." (and then the bells rang) Then I began internally reprimanding myself for thinking about such a horrible scene during the consecration! Not being aware of the path that led me to this thought, I wondered - why was I even thinking about that movie? And then I traced back my thoughts to see how I got from listening to the consecration of the bread to replaying that gory scene from The Machinist. And it all began with a smell... It's amazing how something as simple as a smell can trigger such a quick chain reaction in our minds! I say "our" because I hope I'm not the only one who has this problem! =)

I think that Satan really manipulates and tempts us with these little distractions. This might be a great failing for a lot of the "good" people out in the world. Outwardly, a person could look very good and holy, while internally they let their minds trail off. It is so easy to be distracted and turned away from Our Lord in our minds. And this is a problem that no one has to know about. We can hide this disconnect from everyone, even those closest to us. There is no one to hold us accountable because this is a problem people don't really talk about much, other than saying "I get distracted."

I don't think people realize how dangerous distractions are. The vessel for our prayers is our thoughts, for even the vocal prayers we say originate from our minds. So if our minds are easily distracted, then prayer probably comes as a difficulty (at least, I know this is true for me!). I'm not sure how I can concretely work on controlling my train of thought; I welcome any advice! I hope that eventually I can keep my thoughts centered on God and on good things. I hope that someday I will be united to God throughout the whole day, by being vigilant regarding what thoughts I allow myself to dwell on, making sure that they are always pleasing to Him.

Video of John's Baptism Party

Happy Baptism Day, John!

On Monday, July 26th, we celebrated the day John was baptized! We had a small party, which included eating barbecued burgers, lighting John's baptismal candle and (of course) eating cake! It was a special day. I hope to make it a tradition in our family to celebrate the days of our baptisms.

John, may the Lord bless you abundantly during this next year of your life 

and may you grow closer to Him each day! We love you!

The cake

Singing - ♫ ♪ Happy baptismal day to you...♪ ♫

He sure enjoyed himself!

e5 Men

I'm blogging for the parish today:

I went to college at Western Washington University from 2003-2005. I followed my older brother there and from him I learned about the "Shalom Center" - which is now called the Newman Center - it was the Catholic Campus Ministry for the university. It was a vibrant community of young Catholics who were passionate about their rich faith.

During my first year, I went with a group of Catholics to see Fr. Corapi in Vancouver. Ironically enough, we happened to stay the night in the youth center of Fr. Lappe's old parish in Camas. On this weekend I learned a lot. Fr. Corapi was amazing - but what resonated with me the most was getting to know the fellow Catholics I traveled with - particularly the men. On the first night, before we went to bed, the men decided they wanted to pray for all the women in our group. So they formed a circle and faced outward, while the women made a larger circle around them and faced inward. The women rotated around and each man prayed for us individually. Each man poured out his heart in whispered prayers for our purity and our holiness.

Read more...

Toddler Mass Kit

I'm blogging over at our Parish today:

My son just turned one in May. He has been pretty good in Mass, but since he learned to crawl and now walk, my husband and I have had to spend a lot of time with him in the vestibule. Sometimes we wonder if we should even sit down in a pew at the beginning of Mass!

One of the gifts we gave him for his birthday was a bag for Mass. I found the items at various Catholic stores over the last few months. I wanted to make it really special and personalized, so I bought a denim bag at JoAnne Fabrics, and used this method to paint a Marian cross on it. I also embroydered his name on the front of the bag.

Read More...

7 Ways to Celebrate Mary's Month with Your Family

I'm blogging over at our parish today:

It's almost May, which means it's almost time to celebrate Our Blessed Mother in a special way!

1. Pray the Rosary together: Here is an idea for praying the Rosary with your children.

2. Read a book about Mary, as a family. There are SO many great books out there, here is a sampling. Be sure to check our parish library for more books about Mary.

• Picture book: Our Blessed Mother by George Brundage
  
• Easy Reader: Mary My Mother by Father Lovaski, S.V.D
  
• Intermediate Reader: Bernadette, Our Lady's Little Servant by Hertha Pauli or Our Lady Came to Fatima by Ruth Fox Hume
  
• Teens and adults: Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn or True Devotion to Mary by Louis de Monfort

Read more...

He Has Risen!

"And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Behold, I have told you. '"
~ Matthew 28: 2-7

He has risen! Alleluia!

Happy Easter to you all!

7 Quick Takes ~ Vol. 16

Hosted at Conversion Diary

1. Night weening (This may be a "long" quick take): I haven't slept through the night for over ten months now... John still wakes up two, sometimes three or four, times each night to nurse. Each nursing session wouldn't really end. John would just fall asleep while suckling for who knows how long (I would fall asleep too). Needless to say, John has still been sleeping in our bed during the night. As of late, it has been getting a little crowded in our bed and John is becoming a wiggler. So Andrew and I decided it was time for John to be weened to his own bed to stop all this night nursing. We have a twin mattress on the floor next to my side of the bed and that's where John has been taking his naps. Now our goal is to have him spend his nights there as well! Boy has it been a long week! I think we just completed night #4 of the weening process (it's all a hazy, sleepy blur...). Two nights ago, I got close to no sleep. Even when John was asleep, I was up worrying about him (hey, give me a break, I have been sleeping right next to him his whole life!) or thinking about silly random things.

On to the good news: Last night John went to bed at 8pm and he did not nurse until 6am. That's ten hours!!! This is a huge FIRST for him! He did wake up for his regular nursing times but he is learning to go back to sleep with just some snuggles from Mommy. He still wasn't in his bed the whole night, but I see this as a step in the right direction! I am determined, no matter how much sleep I lose, that John will be in his own bed, and he won't need to be pacifying himself on me the whole night.

2. Fun with a box: Yesterday, my mom came in to watch John while I did some clean up around the house (Thank you, Mom!!) We received some hand-me-downs in this diaper box - which turned in the perfect car for John! He and Grandma had fun driving it all around the house:



3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! Andrew's dad's birthday is today (and it is the feast day of his namesake - St. Joseph)! My New Years resolution was to send birthday cards to our close family members, but I have already failed on a couple. We missed sending out Jenna's card in January (sorry!), and now I have no time left to send Dad's card; though, I have been thinking about it all week (see #1 as my excuse for being absent minded!).

Dad, we love you and we hope you have a wonderful day! I will be praying for you this weekend (see # 7) and we can't wait to see you next weekend!

4. Fun with friends: John and I have been going on play dates with a mommy/son pair, Emily and James. John and James are only three months apart (James is older), so it is pretty fun to get the boys together. We are planning on going to the city pool every other week and the library on the alternate weeks. It's been great getting out and doing fun stuff with John and our friends! Last week we went to the pool. James had a blast - he was splashing all over the place! John had his legs wrapped around me like a koala bear and was shivering the whole time... maybe I shouldn't make his nighttime bath so jacuzzi-like!

5. Soup supper and conversion story: John and I helped host the soup supper at our church on Wednesday night. While we were there a couple from our parish gave their "witness talk" (testimony) to everyone there, as part of the Catholics Come Home campaign. They are both recent converts to the Catholic faith from Protestantism. The wife spoke about how they embraced the Church's teaching against contraception. She said that she was impressed to learn that before the 1930s, all Christian churches were against the use of contraception and that the Catholic Church is the sole remaining Church who has stayed firm in this teaching. At the time of their conversion, they already had four children and she felt like she couldn't handle any more. She prayed to Our Lord, telling Him that she couldn't handle more children - emotionally and physically. She felt God answer her prayer by saying "I know, but I can." She cried... I cried. It was beautiful! How true it is that in our humanity we can feel so overwhelmed and burdened, but if we place all our hope and trust in God, He will help us through any challenge we may face. Today, they have been blessed with six children and they are open to God's will in planning their family.

6. Pizza cutter (multi-use): Our pizza cutter has become my new best friend. When cutting up bite sized finger foods for John, using the pizza cutter is so quick and effortless! Right now he enjoys eating pieces of cheese, bread, carrots, and pancakes. I love not having to spend money on those expensive, made-for-baby finger foods!

7. Silent retreat: Today at 1:30pm, John and I will be heading down to Beaverton, OR for a silent retreat. It will be at Our Lady of Peace retreat center. I have been there several times and I am really looking forward to a weekend of contemplation. The last time we went, John was only about an inch big and he was nestled inside me, so he may be more of a distraction this time. Let's be honest... I'll be lucky if I get any contemplation or silence in this weekend!! But I am sure God will bless me for my effort to have some exclusive time with Him.

Come Home

Last week, I took John to the library for the first time. It was pretty fun. He got some board books and I picked up a few cook books (my weakness).

One of the books John got was Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. I remembered reading this book when I was a little girl. The basic plot of the book is that the little bunny is trying to find ways of leaving his mother, but she always seeks him out. For example, he says he will be a rock on a mountain, and she says that she will be a mountain climber and climb to where he is.


As a child, I never understood why the little bunny would ever want to leave his mom. Now I understand that this book is about the childhood quest for autonomy and the consistency of a mother's love through that process. When I was reading it to John before his nap today, I also found the content in this book could a metaphor for our relationship with God.

I think we all "run away" from God in our lives - some farther than others. But just like the mother in this book, Our Lord is always seeking to have a relationship with us. We are never very far from Him, even though it may feel that way.

"I will be a bird and fly away from you," said the little bunny.

The Seattle Archdiocese has taken on the Catholics Come Home campaign during Lent this year. The aim of the campaign is to reach out to Catholics, primarily via commercials on TV, who are not coming to Church anymore (who have "run away") and to invite them to take another look at the Church. Whatever the reason is for leaving, the Catholic Church wants everyone to know that they are always welcome to come back home.

"I will be a tree that you come home to," said his mother.

The Catholics Come Home website has a lot of answers to common questions that people have concerning what the Church teaches and how to "come home."

The following is my favorite one of the commercials that will be aired on major TV stations in the Seattle area:

Giving my Life to God

I have been wanting to share something that has been on my heart and mind, but I have been struggling to find the words to express it. Here goes nothing:

St. Lorenzo Ruiz is quoted as saying "If I had one thousand lives, I would give them all to God." He said this to his executioner right before he was hung by his feet for two days until he died a martyr's death in the year 1637.

I read recently in Hallowed Be this House by Thomas Howard that "going to sleep is a small metaphor for death." I had never thought of it that way. This led me to meditate on how waking up in the morning is a "small metaphor" for being born. Which then led me to consider how each day can be regarded as a metaphor for one life.

Sometimes in my day-in and day-out routines, I get caught up in mediocrity. The days roll by and I seem to live as though each day does not matter. But now I feel challenged to treat each day as though I am living my life out in one day. From the time I wake up (birth) to the moment my head hits the pillow (death), I want to live for God. I want to give all my days to God in this way; which leads me to view the quote from St. Lorenzo Ruiz in a different light. When I first heard that quote, I thought "I hope I would have the courage to say that (and mean it) if I was about to be martyred." In reality, I know the answer, which lies in this question: How could I possibly have the strength to say that with sincerity if I don't even live every day of the one life that I do have for God? Don't get me wrong, I live some days for God, but not most.

Lord, please help me value each day that you give to me and live my life dedicated to you.

7 Quick Takes ~ Vol. 11

Hosted at Conversion Diary

1. John likes cereal: We started feeding John rice cereal this week. He seems to be enjoying it. I mix it with breast milk so that it tastes familiar. I have him eating cereal only once a day. Last Saturday, we experimented and gave him some cheesy grits. We were eating them and thought he might like them too... not so much!



2. New High Chair: A few weeks ago we bought a great high chair off of Craigslist. It was listed in North Seattle and that's where my brother lives. So I emailed him about it to see if he could pick it up for us. Later that day, I got a call from my dad. He said they were looking at a high chair and began describing it to me. It sounded exactly like the one I saw on Craigslist. "Where are you?" I asked my dad. "North Seattle," he replied. I was amazed... how did they know about that high chair?? Then my brother got on my dad's phone and explained that they were together and decided to go look at the chair. I had no clue my parents were going to see my brother. I was so confused. But it worked out well because my parents were able to get the chair and bring it home that night! So in just one day, we went from not having a high chair to having a beautiful one!

3. Mom and Dad St.Hilaire just got back from a trip to Italy with Lou, Jenna, and some friends. They have been gone for over a week now. Mom called Andrew today to announce their return. They will be coming down to visit next weekend. We are so excited to hear their stories and see lots of pictures (I hear they took over one-thousand!!).

4. Mother's Group: I am helping out with a mother's support group at Star of the Sea. We had an informational meeting on Thursday, but we won't begin meeting regularly until January. We had a good turn out at the meeting! I am so excited! We will be using the "Women of Grace" program. It looks great!

5. PYC: I also began helping with another group this week. I will be co-leading a group called Pro-life Youth Committee (PYC). I hope that a lot of my former students will get involved with it so I can see them more often! There is so much potential for this group. There are not many members at this point, so please keep this group in your prayers! We will be doing a kick-off party in December.

6. ACP: Andrew's has been tirelessly working with our friend, Tom, in their group called the Anti-Choice Project (ACP). This group began in February and has really sparked a lot of controversy and conversion in Bremerton. They have been covered in our local news paper several times since February. This Winter, Andrew and Tom will be focusing more on the organizational aspect of the group, so next year they can have an even greater presence in Kitsap County and other areas in Washington. I am proud of Andrew's dedication to defending the unborn in our society.

7. Milestone for John: During the last week, I have been hearing about how babies should be falling asleep on their own around the age of 6 months. I know there are different ways of parenting, and I try not worry if I'm not doing everything like everyone else. That being said, I felt that John was far from falling asleep on his own - when going down for a nap or to bed at night, I would typically nurse him until he was sound asleep. Then I would carefully get up and leave him on the bed. This has worked for us so far, but it was cumbersome at times because when I got up to leave he would often wake up. I felt like I was stuck in bed with him until he was in a deep sleep. This took a lot of time out of my days and nights. So last night we did our night routine and I nursed him, but instead of staying with him, I got up and left after he was done nursing. He cried. We decided that we would let him cry for about 10 minutes and then go in to comfort him. He cried for about 9 minutes and then it got awfully quite in the bedroom. Andrew went to go check on him and found our precious little boy sound asleep! We were both amazed! That seemed pretty easy! Today I have done the same thing for both of his naps. He did not cry at all today, he just went to sleep after I got up. Who knows, maybe he is just being good now and it will take a turn for the worse. I sure hope not!

Irena Sendler ~ Life in a Jar

For those of you who don't know, I have been part of a group called Regnum Christi for the last seven years. Each week (most of the time) I have met with a group of ladies for what we call "Encounter," where we encounter Christ through a group Gospel meditation, prayer, and a case study of someone in the world living a virtuous life. At the end of Encounter, we make a resolution based on the case.

Irena Sendler's story was our case study last night at encounter. Our resolution was to share her story. So please, watch this short but very inspirational video about Irena:

My Week Off

Last week I took a break from the computer. I have found that I spend WAY too much time on the computer and it has become unhealthy. I took a week off in order to clear my mind so I could be more objective about my obsessions.

During my years growing up, I always had access to the computer, video games, and TV. Screen time has taken up a lot of my life. I would hate to know how much time I have wasted doing mindless things in front of a screen during my life. But it stops here!

I think having John has spurred my sudden disgust for screens - and when I say "screens" I mean anything on the TV, computer, phone...). Sometimes while I am on the computer I will look down and see my precious baby looking at me while I sit in staring at the screen. This made me wonder what kind of things he is already learning from me. I bet he is learning that the computer is very important (insert sarcasm!). Whenever the TV is on, John will stare at it - so I know he already has the inclination to watch screens. For example, my mom was holding John at Mass last Sunday. Fr. Lappe showed a video for the "Catholics Come Home" campaign. The second the video began, John twisted his head around to watch!

I want John to grow up wanting to play outside and go places. I want him to have real experiences instead of vicariously watching characters on a screen living fake lives. In a way, this really relates to being pro-life (in the general sense of the phrase) because I want him to be out in the world living, as opposed to sitting on a couch and wasting his time.

Lately, I have been craving real human contact - not the superficial contact that I get on the computer on by watching TV. While I was driving in the car the other day, I was looking at the people around me in their cars. There we were on the same road, feet away from each other, going in the same direction, and I will likely never speak to them. How sad it is that we live our lives in close proximity to other people but we are very far away in our minds and hearts.

In my generation, we feel the need to "veg" by doing something mindless. I am tired of vegging. I want to use my mind. I want to be productive. Most importantly, I want John to use his mind, be productive, and have an active and full life - lived for God.

Turing my disgust into action:

So what now? My life is very interwoven with my time on the computer. I plan my meals, get recipes, get emails, read, stay up to date with friends, blog, shop...

Last night, Andrew and I were talking about all of this. We know that the computer and internet can be used for very good things. But Satan can turn these good things into vices. So, I will still use the computer, but only in moderation. I think moderation is the key.

I will do this by only spending a half an hour each day on the computer (yes, I am actually going to time myself!). I will still do all the good things I have done on the computer, but just less frequently. In this way, I hope to be a good example for John and spend more time doing my motherly duties.

Wisdom from the Cure d'Ars

Today I read about St. Jean Vianney's goals as he began his position as pastor of the church in Ars. The biographer said, " every pastor who has at heart the welfare of souls" should have the same resolutions:

"... to get in touch with the people as early as possible; to make sure of the concurrence of those families who enjoyed general respect; to make the good yet more perfect; to bring back the indifferent; to convert open and public evil-doers; above all, to persevere in prayer to God from whom all blessings flow; to sanctify himself so as to be able to sanctify others, and to offer expiation for the sins of those who refused to do penance for themselves."

In this year of the priests, let us be every thankful for our priests who live out similar goals. We are so blessed to have priests who embody their role as "Father" and tend to our spiritual needs.

St. Jean Vianney ~ Pray for us!

Promoted by God

I am writing to share a difficult decision that we just made: I will not be continuing with my practicum and student teaching. It is hard to explain exactly why, but we have put a lot of thought and, most of all, prayer into our decision.

We highly value me being a stay-at-home mom. We will make whatever sacrifice we need to live on one income so that I can stay home with John. We believe that having a parent at home full time is the best gift we can give to John and any future children.

Also, right now our priorities are to get out of debt and save money to buy a house. With the possibility of me teaching in the future being such a huge variable, we would rather put our money to things that we know we will need.

It is likely that I will be able to walk away with a bachelor's degree in Education because I have all of my course work done, which would be great! Either way, I do not regret all the hard work I put into teaching at Star of the Sea and my teaching program. The last two years have been a great experience and I know it has given me tools to be a better mother.

Now that we have made this decision, I feel a lot of peace in my heart. I chime in with Susan, a caller who recently proclaimed on the Rush Limbaugh show, "I was promoted by God to be a mother!" I can't find the words to express how much I love every minute of being John's mother (yes, even at 2am...)! I gladly accept this promotion! =)

The hardest part of this decision is thinking that people are going to be disappointed in me for not finishing. But as my friend, Caitlin, told me today, God won't be disappointing in me for choosing to be at home to raise John. In fact, I think He is pleased.

Disclaimer: I must note that by writing this, I do not mean to condemn mothers who choose to work. I know that everyone needs to do what is best for their family.