Merry Christmas from my family to yours...

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas! I'll be back after the holidays!

Getting Ready

Wow! The time is just flying by! I cannot believe that Christmas will be here in less than a week. Is everyone ready? I am totally not. Oh man, it was a bad, bad, BAD idea to leave all of my Christmas shopping to the last minute. What was I thinking? With a newborn it is just near impossible to get out and do it. To complicate things my husband has injured his knee and will be requiring arthroscopic surgery soon. He is managing to get around on it, but several hours walking around a mall is just not happening for him, so that is making it all a little more challenging.

Advent is usually one of my favorite times. It's one of the few times a year where I can be assured that my family will spend time praying together, at least once a day, as we light our Advent wreath each night. And Jesus is daily on our minds as the children open the little doors on the Advent calendar, eager to get to baby Jesus, and as we put straw in the little manger I made to prepare it for the babe. That's one of my favorite traditions. The children each earn the little straws by doing acts of kindness for each other, or others, and each one they earn they lay in the manger to make ready baby Jesus' bed.

Well, all that said, this Advent is not going the way I had hoped. We are just so discombobulated around here - running on very little sleep, trying to get used to new schedules and fitting another person into the old one, juggling feedings, and plain old crying, with chores, etc. - well, it's been a bit tough. Our candles have hardly ever been lit and very little praying s going on, or at least the kind that prepares the heart for Christmas. There's a whole lot of the "dear Lord, please make this baby sleep" kind of prayers though. I know I can't beat myself up over it, but it's hard, because I want to be a good and holy person, and a good mom who is always pointing her children towards Jesus. It's rough getting used to a new little one though. It just really is.

Today, as I was fretting that it wouldn't all get done - the presents, the food, etc., - I suddenly zeroed in on the voices on the radio. It was children reading the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. And this is the line that jumped out at me:

"And the angel said to them, 'Be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of a great joy...'"

And I really felt, at that moment, that the message was for me. Do not be afraid of not accomplishing all the material trappings of the season, but look for the good news. That's what Christmas is really about. And even though I already know that, well, it's good to be reminded. So I felt more at peace and I'm not worrying about it anymore. Either it will get done or it won't, but ether way, my family and I will spend the rest of the time preparing our hearts for the Lord.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Advent season!

By the way, and this has nothing to do with anything, but I have to tell you all that while I am typing this I am watching a MercyMe Christmas special on the Gospel Music Channel and I am just enjoying the heck out of it. I really love this band and they do some great versions of classic Christmas songs. Just thought I'd share!

Just For Fun...

Heather sent this to me on our Yahoo group and I just thought it was so fun! How do these guys remember their lines and not get tripped up? Amazing. Enjoy! (Don't forget to pause the music on my sidebar so you can hear it).

STOP Abortion from being declared a "Universal Human Right" by the UN

On December 10, 2008 (Human Rights Day) the UN will gather to consider the proposal of pro-choice groups to add "Abortion" to the list of "Universal Human Rights".

The UN will begin "Human Rights Day" with a signing ceremony opening the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Protocol would legally bind countries to uphold all aspects of CEDAW. This includes upholding the "reproductive rights of women" (including abortion). It would also target any "culture and tradition" which stands in the way of this agenda.

There is an international organization that is gathering signatures to stop this proposal that will put laws permitting abortion on a global level.

You can join this effort by SIGNING THE PETITION at the link below (available in various languages). You can also send this link to friends so they can sign too:

http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.95/default.asp

Planned Parenthood of IN Covers Up Sexual Abuse of 13 year-old girl

My guess is this happens all the time and the more people that know about it the better. Live Action Films is encouraging everyone to post this or pass it on. To learn more about this video, and Live Action Films, click here. Don't forget to go to my sidebar and press pause on the music so you can hear the video.




Indiana Planned Parenthood Covers Up Sexual Abuse of 13-year Old - video powered by Metacafe

Merry Christmas - go kill a baby!

This is the most crass thing I have ever seen. Planned Parenthood is offering gift cards this year for their services. Unbelievable. Head over to The Curt Jester to check out this story. I love the morbidly humorous empty manger "poster." I'd laugh if it weren't so very very sad.

Catching Up

Wow! Thanks for all the comments, well wishes and prayers. You guys are so wonderful, so encouraging. I just really appreciate it so much.

Things are going pretty good here. I have somehow managed to get everyone out the door to school on time; dressed, fed, homework done and lunches packed. I've even manged to take my own shower and do hair and make-up each day as well! Maybe I'm over-achieving, but it's helping me with my general feeling of well being, so that is good. I have suffered from post-partum depression in the past, after the births of two of my children, so I am always watching out for that.

I did have a bit of a problem with nursing, which has been a total shock to me, and did get me down in the dumps for a few days. I have nursed all of my children successfully, and am a big advocate of breast-feeding, so it sort of came as a shock that I would have trouble. I mean, I had a difficult time with my first-born, but I always chalked that up to inexperience and felt like I was a real pro at this point, so it was quite a blow to find myself struggling with nursing issues again. Oh, that sin of pride that comes up time and time again. I guess I needed to be humbled a bit in that area. At any rate, things are going much more smoothly now and I am feeling a lot better.

I've really missed blogging, and keeping up with the blogs, but I have to admit, I haven't had much brain power to think of anything to post. So I was very grateful to find that both Kathy, from The Daily Grotto, and Jenn D., from My Musings, passed along the latest meme to me. Gives me something to write about. According to the rules, I have to post six things that make me really happy. Then pass it on to give six more people a reason to be thankful.

Here are six things that make me happy, in no particular order:

1. New babies! That newborn smell on the tops of their heads, their little newborn cries, the way my husband swoons over her, watching my older children cuddle and love her up...it's bliss!!!

2. Getting a good night's sleep (you don't really appreciate that one until it's gone!)

3. Going to Mass, Adoration, receiving Holy Communion, all the sacraments actually, and Holy Mother Church guiding us; the saints and angels interceding for us, and all things Roman Catholic!

4. Lighting the Advent wreath and doing our various Advent calendars and activities with my children - the Jesse tree, our little manger that we fill with straw for each good deed or loving action, getting it ready for baby Jesus to come on Christmas eve...

5. My Book Club, a wonderful group of ladies that meets each month. I'm not sure which makes me happier, the fantastic books I might otherwise not have read, or the great conversation and sharing a pot of tea with the girls!

6. Blogging and getting to know so many wonderful, faithful women, and men, out there in the blogosphere. Thinking that I might be an instrument of God's love, to touch or inspire or teach someone, the way that I have been inspired and learned so much from all of them!

Since I haven't been keeping up with everyone's blogs lately, I'm not entirely sure who this has gone around to. So I will just say that if you haven't done this one, give it a try and let me know in the comments, because I would love to hear what makes each of you happy.

God bless and thanks again for all the prayers and love!