Message from a Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss Support Group:

As 2016 comes to an end, many of you may find this time very difficult, as though you're leaving a part of you behind...
Your babies will always be part of you, they will always be remembered & they will always be loved.
I'd like to wish you all a gentle New Year & hope that 2017 brings love & smiles to each & every one of you ♡
Mel xo

Ballet Lessons

Jump! She actually got some air!

Pointing her toe

The class she joined has jazz, tap, and ballet classes all rolled into one.

Natural Treatment for Plantar Warts

My 3 yo had a plantar wart on her foot.  Instead of treating it at the dr's (oh the drama, I could only imagine!) I researched natural alternatives.  What worked?  Banana peel, placed inside towards the skin, held on with a bandade.  We did this every night for a week.  3 wks later it turned black, died, and disappeared.  She has a tiny scar in its place, barely visible to the eye.

My Child Did Exist

Being "Religous" is OK

I love my religion.  There has been a few digs against the Catholic religion and, if appropriate, I defend it.  I shouldn't have to, but I do.  Why is it ok to talk down about one religion or "being religious"?  Religion is just the path you take to God, and everyone's path is different.  I respect that. I   found that I LOVE that in the 8 1/2 years I've been Catholic that I've never heard a priest, or any lay person, talk down ANY other belief or religion.  Rant over...can you tell that an old friend of mine posted an anti-pope article on fb recently? However she tore him up one side and down the other without reading the article.  He said he believes in evolution, but that in the sense that bodies, animals, and plants change in order to accommodate their environment--not that we came from monkeys. He also considers the Big Bang to have occurred, but that God did it.  Of course I cannot share this on fb, so I spew this on my own on-line journal, because I can without sarcastic comments. I figure if you love God, pray, help others, follow the 10 commandments, and treat your neighbor with kindness and don't look down your nose at anyone, you are to be appreciated & respected.

Myrrh EO

Here's my top 8 Ways to Use Myrrh Essential Oil:

1. Rub 1 drop over the thyroid daily for thyroid support. 
2. Rub 1 drop along with a bit of fractionated coconut oil over cracked or chapped skin. 
3. Place 20 drops of myrrh in a 10ml glass roller ball and top with fractionated coconut oil. Rub over stretch marks 2x daily to reduce their appearance. 
4. Place 20 drops of Myrrh, 20 drops of Frankincense and 20 drops of Sandalwood in a 10ml glass roller ball and top with fractionated coconut oil. Rub a few swipes on the feet 2x daily for healthy cell support. 
5. Diffuse 2 drops Myrrh and 2 drops Lavender to help reduce stress. 
6. Rub 1 drop Myrrh and 1 drop Breath over the chest for occasional congestion.
7. Add a few drops to a cold compress and apply it directly to any infected or inflamed area for relief. It can help reduce swelling and inflammation.
8. Add one or two drops of the oil to your daily lotion or moisturizer. This mixture can help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, particularly when used daily. 

Trusting God's Will

Psalm 139:13-16

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

First reading: Rev 11-12

RV 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB

God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth. 
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.”

Today: our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe!  On this day back in 1531, our Blessed Mother appeared in Mexico to a 57-year old peasant named Juan Diego.

According to the earliest reliable account of the story, Juan Diego was walking near what is now Mexico City (Tepeyac Hill) when he came upon an apparition of a “maiden” whom he soon came to recognize as the Virgin Mary. Mary appeared to be wearing the dress of an Aztec princess. The sash tied around her waist was a symbol of pregnancy, indicating that she was with child. 

When he told the archbishop, he asked for a sign to prove what he had seen.

Upon returning, Mary instructed Juan Diego to climb to the top of the hill to gather flowers to bring back to the bishop. Reaching the crest of the hill, Juan Diego found Castilian roses, which were neither in season nor native to the region.The Blessed Mother arranged the flowers herself in Juan’s tilma (a burlap-type cloak) and instructed him in his native language to open the cloak only upon return to the bishop.

When Juan Diego arrived back at the bishop’s residence, he opened his cloak and the flowers fell to the floor. Left on the surface of his tilma was the image that’s come to be known as “Our Lady of Guadalupe."  Several million Aztecs were converted to the Catholic faith by the power of this image in just under seven years.

A shrine that was subsequently built on the spot where the original tilma can still be seen is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world today.

As Patroness of the Americas, may she watch over our country & us all.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. 

Prayer of the Day

Dance Lessons

Elizabeth has been begging me for months to take dance lessons. Even for her birthday I bought her ballet slippers and a leotard. It wasn't until we stopped at a dance studio to buy Nutcracker tickets for her and I that I realize they had dancing for little girls. The owner recommended a 45 minute weekly class that taught all different types of dance.  Come to find out her co-teacher was also be her last-year's (8th grader) prayer partner from school.   So we signed her up, and of course like she does with everything she gets nervous the day before, can't sleep at night, and hangs on to me when we get there. She's an outgoing little girl, and I know she'll do just fine.  I end up feeling like the bad mom that while she's crying into my sleeve I'm pushing her into the dance studio.  There's 9 other little girls there. They invite her to sit down. She refuses. Her co-teacher she loves & adores is late. "Come on, God.  Help Ali to get here safe."  After 15 minutes Elizabeth is bending, prancing, and galloping with the rest of them.  She knows "Rose" a first grader from school.  They come out when they're done and she ALL smiles and pink-cheeked.  "Mom, can I come again next week?!"  

Sometimes God presses us to do uncomfortable things.  "Should I tell that person I'm here for them?" "Should I start a new job, volunteer more?"  "Should I move, should I stay?" This was a good reminder for me that when He presses us, he'll be with us the entire way, His face pressed against the glass and his heart filled with pride saying, "YOU CAN DO THIS!"  

Phil 4:13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.