Practice Run

So today is the first day that I am on my own, sorta. I say sorta, because my mom came and took the boys to lunch and a movie, so I have some time off here with just the baby and Johanna. That sounds so funny to me; just last week Johanna was the baby!!

Anyway, with school being out, it's also only "sort of" a day on my own. There was no morning rush to get dressed, eat breakfast, finish morning chores and get everyone off to the their respective schools. The big time kicks in on Monday. Unfortunately, John just started a new job, so three days was all he could manage to get off. His previous employer gave 2 weeks paternity leave, which was awesome, so this is the first time I've had to jump into the saddle so quickly.

Jacob, who will be 9 in just five days, was a huge help this morning. Let's hope he keeps that up. He is supposed to be Johanna's buddy and help her get ready in the mornings, which he's been doing for awhile, but he attacked it with new gusto today, also taking her downstairs and entertaining her for awhile while I fed the baby. He is awesome!!

Everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. I have high hopes for Monday! It's nice to have this quiet afternoon to kind of relax a little before I have to start thinking about making dinner and all that. I do have a TON of laundry to do, so I might be able to actually get to that too.

I guess that's it. I just have to get into the new schedule and get a groove going.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I know that I am so thankful and grateful to God for blessing me with this beautiful and growing family. May He bless you all abundantly!

She's Here!

Mary Rose was born at 8:20 p.m. last night, Nov. 24th. She weighs 6 lbs. 3 oz. and is 18 1/2 inches long. We got home about 2:00 a.m. and rested really well. She is a great sleeper so far! Her siblings all love her to death and everyone seemed to be adjusting just fine, even little Johanna, who I was worried would immediately try to sock her. I will write more later, but here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Update on Me

Well, the time is finally arriving. They are planning to induce me on Monday, the 24th, assuming I don't go into labor before then. I have so much to do before this baby comes! You think I would have been on top of this stuff, but no, I am just starting to think about what I need. Can you believe I don't have diapers?? And we have to get the bassinet out and get the car seat in... Yeah, I'm a little behind!

I haven't mentioned it lately, but we are still in the process of trying to sell our house too. My realtor just called today to say someone coming in from out of town wants to look at it next week. I told him, please, please, make them come at least after Thanksgiving so I have a few days to get my act together. It's been really tough keeping this house in order with four kids underfoot and a big pregnant belly! I'd be just as happy to drop the whole thing until spring, but if the builders of the new house will keep extending my contingency, and dropping their price (which they've done twice), then I would be stupid to get out of that deal now.

Even without the aforementioned stuff going on, this is a crazy time of year for us. It begins the Big Birthday Slide!! We start with my oldest - who turns nine in just two weeks. Then, in succession, they have birthdays sliding one right into the other: December, January, February, and March. No, it has not escaped me that with a November birthday for this baby, we have only added to the chaos. And of course, tucked away nicely in there are Advent and Christmas.

And, no, I have not started my Christmas shopping. I am an under-pressure kind of shopper. Not a good strategy when you are as busy this time of year as we are. I'm not very bright that way though!

I could go on and on; Christmas pageant practice, Christmas choir practice, Cub Scout service projects, etc., etc., but I'm sure you get the main point: I am going to be BUSY.

So, I am going to try my very best to keep up on this blog, but I'm guessing my posts will be fewer. Don't worry, I'll let you know when the baby is here! And, if I don't post again before then, please have a very, very, Happy Thanksgiving!

My Cup Runneth Over!

Wow! You are all too kind! I have just received the highly coveted Butterfly Award from Jenn D. over at My Musings. Thank you so much Jenn, I am honored!



I've also received, from RD over at Life Matters, another Premio Dardos award! Thanks RD!!! I appreciate it so much.

Each of these awards requires me to pass it on to either 10 or 15 blogs respectively, but since I pretty much exhausted my supply of blogs the other day, I am going to have to decline. Except that I would like to pass the Butterfly Award on to Dawn, Journey of Truth, and Therese, since I wasn't able to award them right back last time! Here you go ladies...you deserve it!

Here are the rules for the Butterfly Award:

1. Pick ten people and pass this award to them.
2. Then contact them and let them know that you have chosen them and their blog for the award.
3. Also link back to the person who gave you the award.


Have fun! Thanks again everyone! I am so grateful that you have found something worthy here on my little blog!

Precious Feet - on their way to you!

Well, good news! Everyone who wanted a pin can have one. So Dawn, Therese, Crystal and Heather, look for an e-mail soon to get your addresses and these little feet will be on their way!

I still have a couple left for anyone who comes across this later and wants them. Feel free to leave a comment or send an e-mail!

Precious Feet lapel pin - Want one?

I helped out manning the table for our Right to Life Committee at our ministry fair today. We had several little give away items, but the one I loved the most were these Precious Feet lapel pins.

The pin was created in 1974 by Mrs. Virginia Evers. She was inspired by photos taken by Dr. Russell Sacco, who documented the highly developed human characteristics of pre-born infants. His most "famous" photo was of the "perfectly formed feet of a 10 week old unborn child." Inspired by the photo, Mrs. Evers created this beautiful, gold pin, identical in size and shape to an unborn baby's feet just 10 weeks after conception. Since then, they have been used by "millions of people worldwide to demonstrate the humanity of the unborn."

I was given a whole bunch of these to hand out and I am left with 6. If you would like one, please leave a note in the comments. Please include your e-mail address if its not already in the profile of your blog. I will e-mail you to get your snail mail address. On the off chance that more than 6 people want them, I guess I will have a drawing. Maybe Tuesday morning?

Here's a picture of them next to a quarter so you can see how tiny they are. Oh, and they are not real gold. Just gold colored.



I have to tell you - I just Googled the pin so I could get a picture for the top of this post and found this site that has some really great testimonies regarding the pin. Here's one for example:

From Kathy in Phoenix, AZ
"I am so overjoyed to have learned of the 'Precious Feet'. I am 16 years old. One day I was in the library and saw a girl that had the cutest little lapel pin of baby feet that I was curious and asked her about them. She told me what they stood for....it touched me so dearly and this girl was so sweet. I was even thinking about getting an abortion but now I will not. I will have the baby and give it up for adoption. Too bad I can't keep it....but I know this will be the best for the child. I feel it was inspiration for me to be at the library that night."

Wow, that's amazing! Think of the people you can touch by wearing one of these pins. Please let me know if you'd like to have one!

You like me. You really really like me!

Okay, is everyone who reads this old enough to remember that Sally Field Oscar acceptance speech, or are you all there just shaking your heads?

Anyway, I have been honored to receive this lovely award from three of my newest bloggy friends: Dawn at A Helping Hand, Journey of Truth at Ora et Labora, and Therese at The Musings of a Mom. You are all so kind! I saw your other honorees and you have put me in some fantastic company. I appreciate it so very much.

This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.

The rules to follow are :
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to other 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Well, I don't even think I read 15 blogs, but I will do my best. If it were at all possible Dawn, JOT, and Therese would be getting it right back, but since I can't do that, here are my picks:

Cathy at From the Field of Blue Children

Larry D at Acts of the Apostasy

Lerin at Beautiful Chaos

Jennifer F. at Conversion Diary: Musings of a Former Atheist

Kay at He Gently Calls Us

Kathy at The Daily Grotto

Joel at On the Other Foot, who probably doesn't even know I read his blog. I don't think I've ever commented!

And last but not least, Sardonic Catholic Dad and his lovely wife Sam, who are such an inspiration to me with their openness to life and great senses of humor.

Thanks to all of the great bloggers out there. You give me a great way to waste hours of my day! Ha ha!

We need to stay awake

I've been thinking about this for awhile. I haven't really been political on this blog, but I'm sure it's no surprise to you all that I did not vote for Obama. I'd like to think I'm not a single issue voter, but truthfully, his pro-death stance was enough for me to know I could not cast my vote that way. But another big reason for me are his very socialist views. Like many of you, I find them quite scary.

Now, I have only the most rudimentary understanding of Catholic Social Teaching, but I do know that socialism is unacceptable. It reduces man to being merely a cog in the wheel, which robs him of his innate human dignity. So, not only is it just a bad idea, that never works, but as Catholics we really cannot support it.

In the last few days I have received several random items in my Inbox, but they all add up to me as a warning that we need to be very vigilant in the next four years. There was a time when I was very into political activism. Not so much lately; but I think the time has come to get to know my representatives again, and to pay attention to legislature, both on the state and federal level. This country does have a lot of checks and balances in place to protect us, but only if we make sure that our elected officials are indeed protecting us.

Let me share with you a couple of things as food for thought:

“We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism.”

- Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, 1959


“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.”

– Norman Thomas, American socialist


And last of all, an article from One News Now that sent shudders up my spine:


Young Obama supporters 'don't have a clue'
by Chad Groening

A best-selling author and investigative journalist says no one should be surprised that young Obama supporters would wave Soviet flags during election celebrations.

Dr. Jerome Corsi is the author of The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality. He spent the campaign warning voters of the extreme left-wing policies of the man who will become the nation's 44th president. But he says apparently a substantial number of young voters remain clueless.

"I watched the people in Grant Park waving communist flags, having a dancing party [in celebration of Obama's victory]," Corsi notes. "These are kids who haven't lived through [economic troubles and] don't even remember Jimmy Carter. They don't have a clue about high gasoline prices or an economy where we're saying that we've got economic malaise."

The author says young people like those in Grant Park have been indoctrinated by the left-wing education establishment.

"They've been taught socialism; they've been taught communism," he says. "[Schools] don't teach the economics that say that the Soviet Union is out of business because it was bankrupt. They don't teach the politics that say that Stalin killed...35 or 50 million of his own people."


Waving Communist flags and dancing?? Stay awake, my friends, stay awake.

An unbelievably moving post...

No, not by me. I wish I wrote this well. Put on your choir robes; it's time to preach again. I do always worry that with this whole blog thing we really are only preaching to the choir, but if just one person comes along and their eyes are opened by following this link, then it's worth putting out here. Read Conversion Diary: Abortion and Holocaust Comparisons. I know that for me, my pro-choice eyes were opened with my first pregnancy too. I wish we could get the media to actually show this stuff. Well, I could sit here and type all day, but you should go read it instead.

When you don't have enough stress... create some!

I do not know how the rest of you do it. I just cannot find the time, or sometimes the energy, to get out here and post. I'll have all these ideas all day long, but when I finally sit down either children interrupt me 20 times, and I cannot work that way, or it is after they've gone to bed and I am just to doggone tired to do it. Eventually I have to pick and choose from several ideas and some just get tossed. Like my Purgatory series there. I was planning to keep going with that, because there is some really interesting stuff in that interview, but I feel like I've lost my momentum.

Part of my latest time problem is that I have discovered Facebook. Yikes! I am totally addicted. Like Mandy said in her post on it, Cassie has discovered that she cannot get enough of talking about herself in the third person. I have caught up with old friends and am staying in better touch with current friends too. It's so easy to stay in touch when you're just doing it in sound bites! But, with limited computer time, this new diversion is really keeping me from my regular task list. It's like how I had to stop using Seasons Pass on the Tivo because my task list got too long there too. It got so that I was stressed out about all the shows I had to watch! I really know how to make stress up when life doesn't give me any real stress don't I?

Well, I'll leave you with this. I've never published pictures of my kids before, but I am so proud to say that Johanna is really learning stress management early on:




Always carry a Thermos full of Martinis and an unbreakable glass.

A Grave Mistake and an Abiding Hope

Lerin at Beautiful Chaos has shared a message from Father Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life, with us this morning. It's the pep talk I know I needed after such a blow for the Pro-Life movement. Maybe you need it too. Click here to read it.

The Amazing Secrets of the Souls in Purgatory - Part 2

More excerpts from an interview with Maria Simma, author of The Amazing Secrets of the Souls in Purgatory, written by Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje. For the full text visit Holy Souls Crusade. I did forget to mention yesterday, but think it's important to add, that I have no idea if the Church approves of Maria's visions, therefore rules for acceptance or rejection of private revelation are in place.

Now I am going to ask Maria to clarify a fundamental point: Maria, do the souls in Purgatory have, nevertheless, joy and hope in the midst of their suffering?

Yes. No soul would want to come back from Purgatory to the earth. They have knowledge which is infinitely beyond ours. They just could not decide to return to the darkness of the earth. Here we see the difference from the suffering that we know on earth. In Purgatory, even if the pain of the soul is terrible, there is the certitude of living forever with God. It's an unshakable certitude. The joy is greater than the pain. There is nothing on earth which could make them want to live here again, where one is never sure of anything.

Maria, why does one go to Purgatory? What are the sins which most lead to Purgatory?

Sins against charity, against the love of one's neighbor, hardness of heart, hostility, slandering, calumny -- all these things.

Here, Maria gives us an example which really struck her which I would like to share with you. She had been asked to find out if a woman and a man were in Purgatory. To the great astonishment of those who had asked, the woman was already in Heaven and the man was in Purgatory. In fact, this woman had died while undergoing an abortion, whereas the man often went to church and apparently lead a worthy, devout life. So Maria searched for more information, thinking she'd been mistaken -- but no, it was true. They had died at practically the same moment, but the woman had experience deep repentance, and was very humble, whereas the man criticized everyone; he was always complaining and saying bad things about others. This is why his Purgatory lasted so long. And Maria concluded: "We mustn't judge on appearances."

Other sins against charity are all our rejection of certain people we do not like, our refusals to make peace, our refusals to forgive, and all the bitterness we store inside. Maria also illustrated this point with another example which gave us food for thought. It's the story of a woman she knew very well. This lady died and was in Purgatory, in the most terrible Purgatory, with the most atrocious sufferings. And when she came to Maria, she explained why: She had had a female friend; between them arose a great enmity, caused by herself. She had maintained this enmity for years and years, even though her friend had many times asked for peace, for reconciliation, but each time she refused. When she fell gravely ill, she continued to close her heart, to refuse the reconciliation offered by her friend, right up to her deathbed. I believe that this example has great significance concerning rancor which is maintained. And our words, too, can be destructive; we can never emphasize enough how much a critical or bitter word can truly kill -- but also, on the contrary, how much a word can heal.

Maria, please tell us: who are those who have the greatest chance of going straight to Heaven?

Those who have a good heart towards everyone. Love covers a multitude of sins.

Yes, Saint Paul himself tells us this! What are the means which we can take on earth to avoid Purgatory and to straight to Heaven?

We must do a great deal for the souls in Purgatory, for they help us in their turn. We must have much humility; this is the greatest weapon against evil, against the Evil One. Humility drives evil away.I can't resist telling you a very lovely testimony of Father Berlioux (who wrote a wonderful book on the souls in Purgatory), concerning the help offered by these souls to those who relieve them by their prayer and suffrages. He tells the story of a person particularly devoted to the poor souls who had consecrated her life to their relief."At the hour of her death, she was attacked with fury by the demon who saw her at the point of escaping from him. It seemed that the entire abyss was united against her, surrounding her with its infernal troops. "The dying woman struggled excruciatingly for some time when suddenly she saw entering her apartment, a crowd of unknown people of dazzling beauty, who put the demon to flight and, approaching her bed, spoke to her with the most heavenly encouragement and consolations. With her last breath, in great joy, she cried; 'Who are you? Who are you, please, you should do so much good to me?""The benevolent visitors replied: 'We are inhabitants of Heaven, whom your help has led to Beatitude. And we in our turn come in gratitude to help you cross the threshold of eternity and rescue you from this place of anguish to bring you into the joy of the Holy City.' "At these words, a smile lit up the face of the dying woman, her eyes closed and she fell asleep in the peace of the Lord. Her soul, pure as a dove, presented to the Lord of lords, found as many protectors and advocates as souls she had delivered, and recognized worthy of glory, she entered in triumph, among the applause and blessings of all those she had rescued from Purgatory. May we, one day, have the same happiness."The souls delivered by our prayer are extremely grateful: they help us in our lives; it's most perceptible. I strongly recommend that you experience this yourself! They do help us; they know our needs and obtain many graces for us.

The Amazing Secrets of the Souls in Purgatory

(UPDATE: I forgot to add that I have no idea if the Church approves these visions, therefore rules for acceptance or rejection of private revelation are in place)

This morning my husband confessed to me that he didn't really know very much about Purgatory or the Holy Souls suffering there. I don't think he is alone in this. Purgatory is not talked about very often anymore and I don't think it's taught as part of Catechism classes much either. I myself didn't know much until a few years ago when a friend sent me a fascinating interview with a woman named Maria Simma who wrote a book called The Amazing Secrets of the Souls in Purgatory. Maria Simma is a woman who possesses the very special charism of being visited by the souls in Purgatory. The interview is done by Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje who tracked Miss Simma down after reading her book.

I wanted to reproduce the entire thing here, but it is quite long. I have it saved as a 21 page Word Document. Then I discovered, while checking around online, that you can read the entire thing here at Holy Souls Crusade. So what I think I'll do instead, is post some of the highlights here, and this may end up running into several posts because I find this stuff just completely fascinating. For more background information on both Maria Simma and Sister Emmanuel, you'll want to go to the link at Holy Souls Crusade.

The interview with Maria Simma:

Maria, Can you tell us how you were visited for the first time by a soul in Purgatory?

Yes, it was in 1940. One night, around 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, I heard someone coming into my bedroom. This woke me up; I looked to see who on earth could have walked into my bedroom.

Were you afraid?

No, I'm not at all the fearful. Even when I was a little child, my mother said I was a special child because I was never afraid.

So, that night...tell us!

Well, I saw a complete stranger. He walked back and forth slowly. I said to him severely: "How did you get in here? Go away!" But he continued to walk impatiently around the bedroom, as if he hadn't heard. So I asked him again; "What are you doing?" but as he still didn't answer, I jumped out of the bed and tried to grab him, but I grasped only air. There was nothing there, So I went back to bed, but again I heard him pacing back and forth.I wondered how I could see this man, but I couldn't grab him. I rose again to hold onto him and stop him walking around; again, I grasped only emptiness. Puzzled, I went back to bed. He didn't come back, but I couldn't get back to sleep. The next day, after Mass, I went to see my spiritual director and told him everything. He told me that if this should happen, I shouldn't ask, "Who are you?: but "What do you want from me?" The following night, the man returned, definitely the same man. I asked him, "What do you want from me?" He replied: "Have three Masses celebrated for me and I will be delivered."So I understood that it was a soul in Purgatory. My spiritual father confirmed this.He also advised me never to turn away the poor souls, but to accept with generosity whatever they asked of me.

And afterwards, the visits continued?

Yes. For several years, there were only three or four souls, above all in November. Afterwards, there were more.

What do these souls ask of you?

In most cases, they ask to have Masses celebrated and that one be present at these Masses; they ask to have the rosary said and also that one make the Stations of the Cross. At this point, the major question is raised: What exactly is Purgatory? I'd say that it's a marvelous invention of God. Let me give you an image which is my own. Suppose that one day a door opens, and a splendid being appears, extremely beautiful, of a beauty that has never been seen on earth. You are fascinated, overwhelmed by this being of light and beauty, even more so that this being shows that he is madly in love with you -- you have never dreamed of being loved so much. You sense too that he has a great desire to draw you to him, to be one with you. And the fire of love which burns in your heart impels you to throw yourself into his arms. But wait -- you realize at this moment that you haven't washed for months and months, that you smell bad; you nose is running, your hair is greasy and matted, there are big dirty stains on your clothes, etc. So you say to yourself, "No, I just can't present myself in this state. First I must go and wash: a good shower, then straight away I'll come back."

But the love which has been born in your heart is so intense, so burning, so strong, that this delay for the shower is absolutely unbearable. And the pain of the absence, even if it only lasts for a couple of minutes, is an atrocious wound in the heart, proportional to the intensity of the revelation of the love -- it is a "love-wound".

Purgatory is exactly this. It's a delay imposed by our impurity, a delay before God's embrace, a wound of love which causes intense suffering, a waiting, if you like, a nostalgia for love. It is precisely this burning, this longing which cleanses us of whatever is still impure in us. Purgatory is a place of desire, a made desire for God, desire for this God whom we already know, for we have seen him, but with whom we are not yet united.

The Hour of Decision

We are now four (or probably three by the time you read this) days away from electing the next President of the United States of America. As Mark Mallett so succinctly puts it - it will be the hour of decision. Will we elect the most radically pro-death Presidential candidate ever in the history of our country? I pray not.

I've blogged about Mark before. He is an amazing Catholic singer/songwriter and also a powerful prophetic writer. He released this video just today to address Americans and it is extremely moving and, well, powerful. Please take the time to view this and pass to your friends - especially Catholics who think they can vote for a pro-choice candidate or those who are undecided. You can read Mark's blog here.


The Hour of Decision from Mark Mallett on Vimeo.