Wordless Wednesday - The Sick Children (2 Weeks Ago) Edition

Honesty is the Best Policy

Ooooohh! I'm so excited! Judy at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings has given me a blog award! I've never been given one before. All I have to do is list 7 Honest things about myself & then award 7 of my dear blogger buddies. So, without further ado, here are the 7 Honest Things About Me:

1) I twisted & broke my ankle in 8th grade gym class & didn't know it until about 10 years later. Later, in high school, I sprained it again. Both times it was X-rayed & determined to be just a sprain. Still bothering me in college, I went to a podiatrist during my senior year who found that I had actually broken a small bone chip from my ankle bone. It was wedged between my ankle & heel bone, causing the pain. I had surgery to remove the bone chip. It is much better now, but still bothers me at times.

2) Also in 8th grade, I decided to try contacts. The eye doctor put gas permeable ones in my eyes to see how I would do w/ them. He told me to not look up. Of course I did & they brushed against the inside of my upper eyelid. I didn't fare so well after that...I passed out, right in his chair!

3) I studied music in Kecskemet, Hungary for four months during college. During one of the our trips to the local market, my friend & I were accused of shoplifting. After we had paid for our items, an employee ushered us to the backroom & questioned. We kept saying, "Nem ertem." (I don't understand, in Hungarian.) The employee finally showed us an item they thought we had taken, I think a man's deodorant. We started emptying our pockets & bags to show we didn't have it. They finally believed us & let us go, but we had to use the back door of the store instead of the front. What a scary experience for us! It would be scary enough here in the US, but in a foreign country...Oy!

4) I would love to do the voice over, singing for a Disney cartoon. Casinodad thinks I do a pretty good version of Snow White!

5) Speaking of Casinodad, did you know that I could have reported him for harassment on Christmas Eve 13 years ago when he (the bank teller) asked if he could call me (the customer) sometime ? It's a good thing I liked his smile & thought he was cute.

6) I LOVE baby feet! They're so chubby & soft, untouched & unscratched. I could kiss them all day long. One of my favorite things to do w/ The Saint is to puff out my cheeks & pop them w/ his tootsies! Which, in turn, brings on another of my favorite things...a baby's laugh!

7) I LOVE reading to the munchkins & thankfully they all LOVE me reading to them. I just finished reading The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander to The Prophet for school. He loved the different voices I did for the characters, especially Gurgi (who loves his "crunchings & munchings!" - for those of you familiar w/ the book.)

Now for those I'm giving this award to...DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

1) Momto5Boys

2) ViolinMama

3) Colleen

4) Young Mom

5) Lawgirl

6) SAHMinIL

7) Christy at Family at Work

Thanks Judy! This was so fun!

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) I have two sick munchkins right now w/ a tummy bug. Yesterday starting at 4am, The Princess started. Every 15 minutes for the next three hours, she was getting sick. Then it was every 1/2 hour until about 3pm. The Saint joined in about 6am. Neither could keep anything down, even water. He is still not doing well so I'm taking him to the doctor later this morning.

My success in this is how patient I've been & that I'm not stressing over getting things done (or the fact that our living room carpet is going to need some serious cleaning when this is all over!) I'm focusing on keeping them comfortable. Thankfully the two older boys have been getting along well & have been helpful & loving toward their sick siblings.

2) Did four loads of laundry (including folding & putting away) yesterday due to the little sickies. Granted, they were small loads mostly of towels, sheeys, & kids clothes, but they still got done in between clean-up patrols!

3) Thankfully most of our Christmas shopping is done. Not sure if we'll get cards out in time, but, Christmas STARTS on the 25th & goes for 12 days. We've got plenty of time to send those greetings!

Well, that's my week! How about yours? Share & see others at Faith & Family Live.

Future Leaders

Well, the munchkins have been full of interesting conversations lately. Take today, for instance...

The Princess: "Hey guys! I know what you can do. When you're adults, you can both be presidents. (The Saint) can be the king of the presidents."

The Prophet: "If I were president, I'd erase the economy."

The Archangel: "If I were president, I'd erase school."

The Prophet: "No one would vote for you because Moms & Dads want kids to be in school."

A Logical Question...

Heard in the van on the way to the doctor this morning:

The Princess - "Are we on the highway?"

Me - "Nope."

The Princess - "Are we on the low-way?"

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) This morning, I (by myself) took all four munchkins to get flu shots & they all did great! The Archangel volunteered to go first. Now, this is the child who jerked his leg a few years ago & snapped the needle off of the syringe. His comment afterwards today was, "That was so fast, I didn't even have time to say OUCH!"

2) I decided to not try to control something & leave the decision in God's hands. What a tough thing to do!

3) Since putting up the Christmas decorations, I've been doing pretty well to keep the house somewhat uncluttered & clean (the downstairs at least...the upstairs I think needs a demolition crew!!)

Your turn. Go to Faith & Family Live to share & check out other Small Successes.

Faith & Family Live Drawings

Danielle Bean is hosting Faith & Family Days this week at Faith & Family Live. Each day there are various items to be won in a drawing. There are lots of great items to be won - books, jewelry, statues, rosaries, etc. Be sure to check it out! While you're there, sign up for a subscription to Faith & Family Magazine...a great family resource packed full of wonderful ideas & articles!

Wordless Wednesday - "No Copying" Edition!

The Saint Recognizes Jesus

The Saint was sitting on my lap during Mass on Sunday & was playing w/my crucifix necklace. I looked down & told him that was Jesus. He looked at it again, then turned & pointed to the crucifixion scene painted on the wall behind the altar. A future priest, perhaps?

Munchkin-Speak

Heard around our house this afternoon...

The Archangel (while vacuuming the living room): "I know why I had to mow the living room a lot..."

***************

The Princess (while coloring & the color wouldn't show up): "C'mon! Show your pinkness!"

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) I finally finished & posted my newest book review for The Catholic Company.

2) I decided to go simple for our Christmas decorations this year. I'm not getting out everything, even some of the things I always get out. Judy at BENMAKESTEN ran some Advent suggestions recently & I decided to do the Christmas tree one. So, this week we are reflecting on Life w/ just the tree up. Next week, we reflect on Christ being our Light & add the Christmas lights. The 3rd week of Advent, the ornaments will go up - special touches in joyful anticipation of Christ's birth. The 4th week of Advent we'll top it off. In the past we've used a beautiful Latin American angel (DH is 1/2 Mexican & this angel was much prettier than the Caucasian one) I bought when I was an Avon rep. But, we downsized our tree a couple years ago & she's way too big. Until I can find a smaller angel or star that I like, I put some pretty, velvety bows around the top. Thank you Judy, for this great suggestion!

3) I did not get frustrated when checking the outdoor Christmas lights. You know how aggravating those lights can get!!! Today I check the lights for the tree.

So now it's your turn! Check out Faith & Family Live to add your successes or just share in the successes of others.

Catholic Company Book Review - The Essential Catholic Survival Guide

“Being Catholic isn’t easy.” (from the back cover)

Many people don’t understand our Catholic faith – including many Catholics (I’ll admit to being one of them at times). Some people, in an effort to learn & understand Catholics better, will question various aspects of our faith. Others will flat out attack Catholics for their beliefs & customs. How does one respond when faced with these questions or attacks?

The staff of Catholic Answers have written many tracts over the years. They have taken seventy of their best ones and put them into one book – The Essential Catholic Survival Guide. These tracts cover many of the questions & misconceptions about our Catholic faith, including the Church & the Papacy, Mary & the Saints, Sacraments…just to name a few.

I like the way this book is organized. Each tract is clearly stated in the Table of Contents, so you can go right to the tract you need. They address the common questions that one not familiar with the Catholic Church may ask, responses to those questions, & have scriptural references to back up the answers. One of the tracts towards the back is a list of books great for enhancing your Catholic faith or for someone who wants to know more. It is broken down by topic (apologetics, scripture, church documents, Jesus, church history, etc.) They also include sections of common Catholic prayers and scripture references for the various topics.

I am not a confrontational person, partially due to the fact that I usually don’t have a quick response or information to back up what I might say. (Also, because I just don’t like to debate or argue.) Therefore, I think The Essential Catholic Survival Guide is a good reference for my family to have on hand. We don’t get questioned often, but if & when we do, I know right where to go for a response. Each tract goes into great depth, more than most of our encounters would call for. I found that I could pick out the simplest response, then if needed, have this reference to go to for more detail.

(This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Essential Catholic Survival Guide.)