Thankful . . .

This Thanksgiving I am very thankful for so much in my life.  I am most thankful for my hubby and our 10 beautiful children on earth and our two in heaven.

I hope you have as much to be thankful for in your life.

Pickle is 11

My precious Pickle had a birthday on Saturday.  He had a countdown going for weeks and couldn't wait.  His dad had the flu on his big day so he felt let down.  Dad was going to take him to Bass Pro and it just didn't happen, dad was too sick.  Maybe next weekend. 

The hardest part was that we waited until Sunday to eat his Cheesecake.  He had picked that and we all were longing for a piece.  It was worth the wait, YUMMY!

Pickle is a kind soul that is usually very happy.  I can count on him for a hug when I most need one.  He is a sensitive heart and his mind is always thinking.  Just yesterday he expressed how disappointed he was in himself for only being able to recall 3 Christmas songs.  He thinks that at 11 you should have a larger collection to pull from.  He thinks about things differently that most people.  The world is a much better place with this precious young man in it.  Dad and I are so proud of him and we thank God for sending him to us.  God Bless Pickle and Happy Birthday!

Crazy world still has a bright future!

I wake early and jump into the shower.  My mind races from all the news from the past week.  Economies collapsing, enemy armies building weapons, angry protesters blocking businesses and creating a mess on public property, all while national known figures are talking about various forms of sexual abuse.  Some times it is just too much to take.  What is the world coming to?  What is wrong with you people?  What will our world look like in a few years?

I know people that are stocking up on medical supplies and alternative medicines.  I know some that are stocking up on food.  I know others that have stocked up on weapons and learned to shoot a gun.  These are not solutions that I can partake in.  We don't have tons of extra cash to invest in food, weapons or meds.  I watched some do this for Y2K and nothing happened.  The food is still sitting in bins and I am sure getting yummier as the years go by.  I just can't plan for the unknown.

That adds to the stress.  I don't trust politicians to fix our mess, I don't trust scientist to even understand our mess.  Unfortunately both groups are now too self serving.  What to do, who to trust, where to turn.

Prayer is where I try to start.
Then I look at history.  The world is no worse now than in the past and the US is much better than we were during the civil war.  We can make it.
I look at my room full of little ones watching the Voyage of the Dawn Treader before the big kids wake up for school in the morning.  They cuddle each other, they laugh and they remember sharing the story together.  I listen to them plan their play time and then agree to turn off the movie to go outside to pretend instead. 

This scenario will continue to repeat until my thick head learns to trust in God.  I have seen the future in the interactions of my own children and those of their peers.  They will make the world a better place.  They are that special.

Changes to the Mass are coming!

The Mass will look a little different starting the end of this month.  I have run into a few different thoughts on these changes the past few weeks that have surprised me.  I listened to a woman in her late 60's last week talk about the changes with such anger.  I still can not understand where that anger was coming from.  Maybe they changed the Mass drastically when she was a teenager before and she was raised not to be upset with the church.  Now she has a voice and we encourage your thoughts so she is expressing them.  The main issue to her was the cost of changing all the books.  She felt that was taking a huge chunk of money that our church just doesn't have right now.  "There are poor people in the world why we wasting money on these little changes?"  My only response was to keep quiet.

I love my church, I obey when I need to.  I didn't really have an opinion about the changes.  I will except them and try to learn the new wording as quickly as possible.  Not much thought was going into the big changes until I heard that complaint.  My answer to that complaint and to all doubt fell away this past weekend.  We have been attending Mass at a smaller parish than the one the kids have gone through sacrament prep for.  The pastor is older and sick, and honestly not really participating much.  The associate is working double time without the authority, he is a humble man with a great love of the Eucharist.  His words at the end of Mass this past week summed up the changes beautifully. 

"We have started saying the Mass the new way a few weeks early.  We don't need to upset anyone by talking about it and other parishes that are not using the new words are not doing anything wrong.  We will continue to use the words and I must tell you that I really like the changes.  I really like the new wording."  Here he paused as if searching for the perfect way to say it.  J and I looked at each other across our row of kids a little curious as to what he would say next.  "The words, the new words remind me, as the priest, to be humble.  The words remind me of my place before God!" 

Ummm, OK. That little revelation was enough for me.  I get the changes now and I will embrace them.  My old brain might take awhile to learn the new responses but now my heart is in the right place. 

For those that would like more information check out the video above. 

Home at last!

 . . . And NOW the fun begins!!!!!!

Day Thirteen - Visit with Daniel

Pooker's friend from her confirmation class just happens to attend University of North Texas. We planed a visit with him as we miss his company around the house. Denton, TX just happens to be on the way home.

We all loved seeing Daniel.

He gave us a tour of the entire campus. We saw where he studies and where he works.

We were so blessed to have this time with Daniel.

We are so proud of this young man. Daniel is a remarkable young man.

We love you Daniel, thank you for the wonderful day!

Day Twelve - Goodbyes and starting home

Time to head south again. Goodbyes are never fun!

Every trip from St. Louis to home begins with the breakfast trip to McDonalds with Mimi before heading home. 

Our last moments of bonding, hugging and saying Thank you.  Then we were off.

The adventure home would be full of color.  I will miss this so much.  We all shed a few tears as we thanked God for such a wonderful visit with all of our family and friends.  We prayed for a save adventure home and the peace for mom (me) to enjoy the last few miles of color before getting too far south.  Yep, I know God painted each of those trees just for me, because He loves me!

Day Eleven - Friends, Zoo, GodFather

The day started with meeting Miss Connie for Breakfast.

She is my dear friends and it was wonderful to have the time to chat.

From there we met a BIC coworker and his family. They drove in from IL and we started with Lunch at Rigazzi's on the Hill.  YUM!

After a delicious lunch and a meeting of the two families we headed to the zoo.  This was a special day for Jumba because Mr. S is his God Father.  They had never met, he was God Father by proxy. 

Mr. S and Mrs. S also have two kiddos.  We had a blast getting to know them.

And seeing the sights of the zoo.

(I know that the tree doesn't make the zoo special but I love the colors so much!)

My pretty girls.

This bird cage was built for the 1904 Worlds Fair.  We still get to walk through it today.  That is just way cool.

A great day with great people.

Jumba was in awe of his wonderful God Father.  Mr. S and his Family were wonderful.  It was a great day.  This was a perfect way to end our trip.  So much fun.

Day Ten - Shrine to St. Rose Philippe Duchesne and Fr. Tom's

Our Friday plans were still in the air. We thought we would take Goobers to check out a few colleges, but I was concerned about what we would do with the little ones.  Then Fr. Tom called to invite us to First Friday Home School Mass that he helps with.  It was at the Old St. Ferdinand Church which is now a historic shrine dedicated to St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. 

Fr. sits on the board that helps with the preservation of  this very precious place.  We got the tour and I was in heaven.  I love my faith and I love history. 

 There was a little closest under those stairs that were particularly special.  St. Rose Philippine Duchesne would spend her nights on a small pillow type bed under those stairs.  They say that she rarely slept but prayed all the time.  Father told us that the Indian children would put leaves on her skirt when she was before the Blessed Sacrament and then come back the next day to find that she had not moved enough to move one single leaf.  She was a teacher and Lover of children and her faith.  A woman I can relate to.

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne . . . Pray For Us. 

 After that wonderful morning treat we headed to Fr. Tom's place again where he passed out gifts for the kiddos. 

 Then to the parking lot to make messes and get rolling. 

Fr. Tom did everything he could to make this a perfect visit for the kiddos.  Thank you sir, we love you so much.  Now is the hardest part for us and our family and friends.  The visit is winding down so now we much start the good byes.  My heart is aching already.  I love this town and these people.  One more day to make the most of it and then we travel to Houston.  God be with us!