News: Law to Commit Suicide

https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/opinion/columns/4748568-Shaw-Choosing-death-with-dignity?fbclid=IwAR2-7KXae0vfbsLenp4ossl9hjSWfuoNTMxsoUa0Ik6BfALBJ-i35QMtfP0

Ugh. MN is just disappointing by me over and over again. Now trying to play God by taking a pill to end their life, comparing a human to the life of a dying cat. They call it dying with dignity, not even physician assisted suicide anymore. Who are they kidding?! God help us.

Words from Bishop Robert Barron

Friends, in today’s Gospel we meet a prudent steward who serves his master wisely. I would like to say something about prudence and wisdom. In the Middle Ages, prudence was called "the queen of the virtues," because it was the virtue that enabled one to do the right thing in a particular situation.  Prudence is a feel for the moral situation, something like the feel that a quarterback has for the playing field. Justice is a wonderful virtue, but without prudence, it is blind and finally useless. One can be as just as possible, but without a feel for the present situation, his justice will do him no good. Wisdom, unlike prudence, is a sense of the big picture. It is the view from the hilltop. Most of us look at our lives from the standpoint of our own self-interest. But wisdom is the capacity to survey reality from the vantage point of God. Without wisdom, even the most prudent judgment will be erroneous, short-sighted, inadequate. The combination, therefore, of prudence and wisdom is especially powerful. Someone who is both wise and prudent will have both a sense of the bigger picture and a feel for the particular situation

Children of God

Children are exhausting to me, but I get them. For some reason I can connect to them. In Felicity’s class there is a boy named Logan. He’s always happy and smiley. He doesn’t take life seriously, and I like that about him.  He’ll have plenty of time to be serious. He was my field trip partner one year. We held hands for 5 blocks as we walked to the firehouse with the whole class. Since he’s become my buddy-always giving me high 5’s or a squeeze in the hallway. And always flashes me a smile!

Yesterday was school picture day. Eva is 4 and someone mentioned they knew her mom. She was just about to have her picture taken and immediately started crying due to missing her mommy. She was red-faced and inconsolable...not a good pic to hang on the wall. The helper apologized since she didn’t know how sensitive Eva was about missing her mom. I’ve seen Eva cry everyday her mom drops her off. I get it. I gave Eva a hug and reminded her that she’ll have her picture taken (smile nice so Mommy has a beautiful picture on her wall!), she’ll go have snack, play, have recess, eat lunch, have quiet time and then go home and she’ll have 6 days off until she has to go back to school (MEA wk). I told her I’m nearly 40 and I still miss my mommy, and that’s ok.  She quit fiddling with her necklace, dried her tears, and took a beautiful picture.

Sadey wanted to play on the monkey bars, but couldn’t reach. Her parents were present and I asked if I could help her. With a “go ahead” I lifted her and she monkeyed all the way across. Ever since she gives me a wave and a smile each time we pass.

VBS kids are always sad to leave their moms. But with a kind word, reassurance, a hug (always visible to the crowds so you aren’t violating any rules), and usually a snack, kids feel the reassurance they needed at that moment. They don’t quickly forget it. I find it weird my kids’ friends like me to have lunch with them. They have the funniest conversations and I always get dragged into them. I don’t just visit my child, I visit the whole lunch table, and they love it. Weirdos! 😆

Who was that person when you were a child?  Who listened to you when you needed to be taken seriously, who reassured you when you were down, who gave you a squeeze when you felt empty? Be that person you needed as a child.  It takes a village to raise a child, not just to teach or discipline, but to make them feel loved and special.  I appreciate it when my children express admiration for other adults.

These kids don’t know my name. I’m either Felicity’s mom or Elizabeth’s mom. That’s ok. As long as they see the love of Jesus through me I need no title.

F Lost Her 1st Tooth!

While the rest of her cousins & classmates her age are looking like jack-o-lanterns, my baby kept wiggling her loose tooth. I finally gave it a tug while distracting her with the story how I met her daddy and out it popped. She cried because of all the stress & emotion. I cried because my baby is growing up. She no longer that little squishy thing that likes to cuddle with me. She’s a skinny, leggy thing that runs away from my hand to the school doors or to gymnastics with a “see ya mommy!” Ugh, times like these are tough; sad for me, but so happy for her.

F - 1-handed Cartwheel

Sunday, Oct 13th Updates

I love my blog. Sadly I’ve mostly ignored it since it became more difficult to get pictures from my phone onto the website without having to download them onto the computer first. Plus there’s no blog app any longer, so that’s an inconvenience. BUT I think google did an upgrade because I can now post pics from my phone directly to the blogger website ... so here’s hoping. I like being able to look up some of my favorite recipes or when we changed something or watch the kids grow through my blog. FB just isn’t the same.

Anyhow this pic represents our first snow of the year (thanks to “global warming”), our new motion night lights on the attached garage I’ve been wanting for a while, and the gone garage. David took this summer to take down the garage and break apart the concrete in order to lay down 12” of sand to prep for the new building. We were hoping to have the slab in place by this time, but EVERYTHING in life seems to take longer than expected.

Women’s Beaver Hockey

Giving High 5’s to the players as they came out 

Fizz loved the hockey game! 💚 Asked a LOT of questions though! 😁

Verne Treyton Parks baptized

Jen & Jr asked us to be God parents to baby Trey. We are also his big sister, Ady’s, God parents as well and is a huge honor. We’ve been praying for the little one for months preceding his birth and for good health for his mommy. Pregnancy and labor is never easy, but is well worth it. This little fella is such a good baby. Welcome to the church, little one!

Suffering

I threw my back out this wk. Ever since my second pregnancy my SI joint can slip out of place and I’m in agony for weeks-even with chiropractic care and self stretching. Last time this year was when I caught a falling patient. 

One thing I’ve learned as a Catholic is to “offer it up”. You can pray for healing, but while you’re in the midst of suffering you more deeply understand the suffering of the Passion of Christ. 

“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus – a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.” -Mother Teresa

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church (Colossians 1:24).

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace."

— St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Bye Bye Baby

My babies are growing up.  I celebrate the little milestones with them, but mourn the loss of their youth at the same time, especially with the youngest.  We have been giving away a lot of “stuff” to our church’s ‘store’ who give all proceeds back to the community.

*When we moved here we had two stools in front of the bathroom sinks. Now there is none to trip over as both girls can reach their tooth brushes and sink. 

* No more training wheels or baby bike seat. Those went to a friend of mine last month as Felicity is now 40# and that’s the limit. She took one more ride with me and looked HUGE compared to last year.
* No more barrettes.  The girls don't want the colorful, cute barrettes they once loved.

I’ll finish later. Someone needs morning snuggles and breakfast. 💖

MOLD!!!

Window frame after spraying with bleach mix, before scrubbing . 

Bleach, scrubbed, air dried over night. 

Elizabeth has been coming upstairs every morning with the sniffles. She insists on an allergy pill. Last summer she was tested for allergies and found one of her allergies was mold/fungus, mild, but still present.

The last ppl who owned our home didn’t take good care of it or know how to use the air exchanger in the wintertime apparently. The basement bedrooms get a build up of condensation in the corners in the winter. Every morning we turn on the exchanger, open the drapes, and it goes away. I truly believe the previous owners didn’t do this.

Anyhow, I checked her sleep number bed for mold (common per the internet) and didn’t find any. Shampooed her mattress and carpets. Vacuumed like crazy. Still - sneezes and scratchy throat in the morning.

I opened the windowsill and this is what I found. It became darker once I sprayed it with a water/bleach mix. I scrubbed all 4 windows, ledges, hinges, etc like crazy with a toothbrush and rinsed with clear water. I’ll let dry fully today and repoly everything. I’m hoping this helps her sniffles. I didn’t tell her what I did so as to assess her allergies w/o her knowing. But already this morning she sounded better, less blowing of the nose and watery eyes.  I’ll also wash her drapes as well to rinse away any lose spores, but I pray that we found the source. I know I needed to get this done before winter so I could work inside and outside the window and allow it to open and air dry before doing the polyurethane. Now to check Felicity’s today. I may just end up putting plastic on their windows this winter to avoid the humidity all together!

Glad we caught it now, but totally feel like a MomFail that I didn't think of this before now!

Saint Monica-Pray for Us

Saint Monica (c.331/2−387)^[1] (AD 322–387)^[2], also known as Monica of Hippo, was an early Christian saint and the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering caused by her husband's adultery, and her prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions. Popular Christian legends recall Saint Monica weeping every night for her son Augustine.

On my right hand I wear a simple gold band my husband bought for me. 2 years ago I was able to see a relic of St. Monica.  Her constant dedication to her abusive husband and wayward son inspired me as she prayed for them and thy both came to love Christ. It gives me hope that if she can do it in her situation, I can become the wife and mother God wants me to be. I rarely take this ring off as a constant reminder of my devotion to God and my family and hope that St. Monica prays for us wives and mothers in our very important jobs here in earth. Thank God for a woman like St. Monica. 

Prayer

"A soul which does not practice the exercise of prayer is very like a paralyzed body which, though possessing feet and hands, makes no use of them."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori

Quote

“He who does not count on God, does not know how to count.”

Quote by Elizabeth Ann Seton

“The accidents of life separate us from our dearest friends, but let us not despair. God is like a looking glass in which souls see each other. The more we are united to Him by love, the nearer we are to those who belong to Him."
— St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Goodbye Father Don

Last night we went to a prayer service (wake) for our friend, Father Don Braukmann.  He was diagnosed with ALS December 2017 and (thankfully) died of a heart attack July 17, 2019. He told us he watched a friend/parishioner die of ALS and prayed that, of all things he would die from, that God would spare him from this disease. Well, he got it. BUT he was spared that last leg of ALS that is the worst; mentally cognizant but physically trapped in your own body. He was in a power wheelchair, able to type on his weekly caring bridge post, in a nursing home due to his level of cares needed. We brought him lilacs (his favorite) and chocolate milkshakes. He blessed Elizabeth’s first communion crucifix. He loved dogs, but was also fond of our chickens. :) Last night singing “I’ll fly away” and closing prayer, we did a group rosary with the knights of Columbus. Felicity finally saw his body in the casket and it hit her hard—this was her friend.  During the rosary I had a vision of Fr Don in heaven, Mary’s hand on his shoulder and Jesus’ scarred hand holding Fr Don’s. Fr Don always had a quick remark for everything and I heard him say, “wow, that sounds great up here,” referring to the acoustics of our rosary heard up in heaven.  Fr Don went to seminary with Bishop Robert Barron. Here’s the bishop’s email I received today: “Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Our Gospel says that Mary came to the Lord’s tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week. Let’s place ourselves there: it is still dark—just the way it was at the beginning of time, before God said, "Let there be light." But a light is about to shine, and a new creation is about to appear.  The stone had been rolled away. The stone, blocking entrance to the tomb of Jesus, stands for the finality of death. When someone that we love dies, it is as though a great stone is rolled across them, permanently blocking our access to them. And this is why we weep at death—not just in grief but in a kind of existential frustration. Undoubtedly, Mary Magdalene thought that a grave robber had been at work. The wonderful Johannine irony is that the greatest of grave robbers had indeed been at work. In the book of prophet Ezekiel, we hear this: "I will open your graves and have you rise from them." What was dreamed about, what endured as a hope against hope, has become a reality. God has opened the grave of his Son.”

New Fav: COLD BREW COFFEE

3 Key Steps to Better Cold Brew at Home

• Get the grind right. Cold brew requires a specific grind. A larger grind — something closer to the coarseness of raw sugar — keeps the brew from getting bitter overnight. If you’ve got a small home grinder, it’s best to grind the beans in batches.
• Use a higher ratio of coffee to water. This recipe uses a ratio of 1 ounce of ground coffee to 1 cups of water — making it easier to scale this recipe up or down. Drip coffee uses about 1/2 ounce of coffee per cup.
• Strain slowly. The Toddy System that Starbucks uses to brew and strain their coffee relies on gravity to gently remove the cold brew from the grounds. To replicate that at home, you’ll need to strain the cold brew gently through cheesecloth and a strainer. Avoid pressing or squeezing the coffee grounds, as that extracts bitter flavors. Work in batches to strain as gently as possible. You might be asking yourself, Can’t I just strain the coffee with a coffee filter? You could, but it slows the straining process and occasionally the paper filters tear, creating more of a mess than anyone should have to deal with before coffee.
  
  Beyond the fact that this method makes for a longer-lasting brew that can be prepared in big batches, cold brew coffee also tastes downright incredible. The cold steeping process makes a smooth, mellow cup of coffee that has very little acidity or bitterness.
  
  I make mine in small quantities often - 2 cups @ a time - so I use my French press.