From our house to yours!!

I just wanted to take this time to wish all of you a healthy and happy new year! May 2009 bring you nearer to Our Lord and His Mother!!

See you next year!!!!

***Incidentally, Dan took this picture of the kids last night! They were having a "camp out" in the backyard. By the time the temperature reached 46 degrees....my little native Floridian children were too cold...and they came running back in!!!!*****

What to do with Christmas cards???

Do you keep your Christmas cards? I almost always keep mine. I used to just put them away with my other Christmas decorations. A few years ago, I bought something called a Christmas card tree....it's just a metal stand that has lots of metal rings where you can tuck them and sure enough, after about 20 or so cards...it does begin to look a little like a colorful tree! This stays on my mantle all year long so I can admire them. It's just a reminder of the joy that comes from hearing from friends and family during the holiday season.

Today, I found a great article on Catholicmom.com with some ideas about what you can do with your old Christmas cards....in case you don't keep yours. Enjoy.

Just ok.

I took my kids plus my nephew to the movies this afternoon. I didn't really want to go....feeling a little tired and sluggish. I'm also still avoiding the mess in my house! I figured if I could get out of the house for a few hours, maybe when I got home, I will have found that the gnomes and fairies had taken down all of the lovely Christmas decorations and neatly put them away! No such luck!

Anyway...I took them to see this movie. It was cute and nicely animated. Sometimes I wonder, though, why they bother with such deep plots for movies that are rated G. Nathan and Jesse (who are 8 and 11) I'm sure had no problem getting the point of the movie, however, I know for a fact that it flew right past the girls heads. They could not have cared any less about the emotional issues and the "longing" that befuddled each of the characters. Frankly, it was too serious for me. This was evident when I promptly fell asleep about 30 minutes into it.

Overall, I think it was good but, I wouldn't go see it again and I'm not going to rush out to get the DVD when it's available. I think I'd rather just watch Cars or The Incredibles over and over and over and over!

Our Family Christmas!

I thought I would post a couple of pictures from Christmas morning! Before I do, I want to thank two groups of people....First is the St. Francis Circle from Assumption Catholic Church and the Faculty and Staff of Holy Family Catholic School. Both of these groups helped Dan and I to make this Christmas very special for our children. Knowing that it would be a challenge for me to do even the little things to get ready...they selflessly helped our family this year by shopping, buying and wrapping gifts for all of us! This has been a very humbling and overwhelming experience for me!

Needless to say, the kids have been very spoiled this Christmas! To see their eyes when they walked into the living room on Christmas morning was very special for Dan and I. Anyway, I wanted you to know that if it wasn't for these two groups of people...Dan and I could never have been able to pull this Christmas off....AT ALL (at least the gift part)!!

This was our living room on Christmas morning! Each of the kids had their own pile. Under the tree were gifts for Dan and I as well as our gifts to other people. Can you believe this???

This is Amelia's pile! She got lots of wonderful things...clothes, games, books and toys.

This is Nathan's pile! There are two baskets of Christmas books there under the t.v. that are not part of his pile...I just didn't move them out of the way!

This is Olivia's pile!

This is just as the opening began...by the way...did I tell you that our morning began at 5 am!!!

Amelia and Olivia!

Could this little girl be any cuter????

Nathan tackling his stocking!

What a mess!! Guess who gets to clean it up??? Incidentally, the reason we have the "yule log" on t.v. is because it was 70 degrees outside at 7am and it was too hot to start a fire in our own fireplace......sigh.

Here's more mess. By the way.....I'm still trying to clean this up.....almost 3 days after Christmas!!!

The Day After.....

It's been a wonderful few days for us! I don't think there is anything better than spending time with family! On Christmas Eve we went to the 2:30pm children's mass and then spent the evening at Dan's parent's house. Nathan was up on Christmas morning....BEFORE 4AM....I had to put the child gate up so he would stay out of the living room until everybody else was up! Finally, at 5am....Amelia was up too and there was no holding them back! They woke up Olivia and the fun started. We haven't downloaded any pictures yet but I will post some later.

Several times during the last few days, I've thought about how very blessed we are to be able to spend another Christmas together. Illness, death, poverty and godlessness are all around us and when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we acknowledge that He conquered it all!! This truly is the Good News! None of us know what life will hold for us during this upcoming year, but, we can be assured that whatever it is....God will be right there with us.

***Incidentally, I went for my first Lupron injection this morning. I'm told the side effects are hot flashes, pain in the injection site (this one was in the hip!), irritability and fatigue! Oh joy!
I don't have another MD appt for 3 weeks!!! I think that is the most time between doctor's appts I've had since July!

I hope Santa was good to all of you! I look forward to reading about your celebrations!

Signing off.

I'm signing off for a few days.....I have lots of last minute things do...baking and wrapping, etc....

May the anticipation of our Savior's birth be replaced with pure "JOY TO THE WORLD" in our hearts, minds and souls!!!

This is just NOT right!!

This is Jacksonville's forecast for the rest of the week! To me, it is just wrong to be 80 degrees on Christmas Day!!! Just plain wrong!!! Especially when it was relatively cold today...(currently 43 degrees). I guess we'll have to turn on the air conditioning just to put a log on the fire!

Out of the mouths of babes!

We are watching The Polar Express right now. Our whole family enjoys this movie. Olivia loves the part where the train first pulls into the North Pole. Tonight, when the conductor (of course, voice and likeness is Tom Hanks) takes off his hat...he has no hair....to which Olivia looks at me and says...."Hey mommy, he looks just like you"! Um, excuse me but I do have some hair growing....just so you know!!

***Can I just say that while we love this movie....the elves are very creepy****

Note to self...

Note to self:

When doing the laundry, don't forget to check the pockets of all pants and jackets....including your own because you won't always remember that you have left a bunch of kleenex in there...otherwise, you will have a huge mess to clean up!!!! Sigh....

Elmo and Diego

So many of my fellow bloggers are terrific writers! Monica at Small Things is no exception. I asked her permission to link to this post...but...just in case you would hesitate (because of time) and not click the link....I've just done a copy and paste for you. The post is called "Christmas saved me". This is excellent!!!!! Enjoy!!!

A couple weeks ago Simeon came home with a DVD bought by grandma called "Diego saves Christmas" a few days later i found another video at the library called "Elmo saves Christmas" at the time i was also reading the book many friends have raved about Eat, Pray, Love which, to sum it up, is the journey of one woman's healing and self-actualization while traveling the world. These things coming together caused me to think again about what the Incarnation means for us. Not to break many little hearts out there, but Diego and Elmo can't save Christmas because it isn't in peril of being lost. Christmas means God becoming man, the Infinite becoming finite and the Word becoming flesh. The reason this happened is because we humans are in danger and Christ comes for us. While i really enjoyed reading Eat, Pray, Love, and I know it has inspired many people, i think the authors starting point, the center of all she did was ultimately herself. This doesn't distinguish her from most of my generation. We (and i am definitely in this "we") put ourselves first in most of our decisions. And all her ascetic practices and transcendental meditation really served to help her find her true self and revolve all her decisions around that. I do believe it is important to live in the truth of who we really are. But where the author and i differ is that i see each humans true identity as intimately dependent on Christ. Many people can say see our connection with God or an ultimate being or higher power. But when we pull out the tinsel and candles and nativity scenes, we are recognizing the historical and eternal event that makes true life possible for us. Christ, the son of God, came to live as one of us. Its really a line drawn in the sand and changes forever the way we live. In Him, we live, move and have our being. He was not an abstract deity or life force, he came as a flesh and blood baby boy, cooing and crying in a Bethlehem stable.So sorry to Elizabeth Gilbert, Elmo and Diego. We cannot save Christmas, we cannot even save ourselves. We are the ones in need of a savior. And we have one. He came. He is here. He is Emmanuel.

It is an honor to serve!!!

I belong to a ministry at our parish called the Altar Rosary Society. I think in some circles it is also called the Altar Rosary Guild. This is a ministry dedicated to prayer, service, education and social activities. We pray the Rosary every day and we serve our our Lord, our parish and our pastor by cleaning and maintaining the sanctuary (and other areas) on a weekly basis. Our pastor commissioned this ministry specifically because he did not really want a "cleaning service" dusting the Tabernacle. I couldn't agree more. To me, it is a privilege to clean our church and take care of decorating as well as the maintaining the altar linens. I clean on the 3rd Saturday of the month....today was my day. Along with the regular cleaning, today we did the BIG cleaning for Christmas. We do two BIG cleanings a year...Christmas and Easter. I wanted to share with you some pictures of our girls at work...

This is Terry working hard to dust the candlesticks on the back altar. What an honor it is to be this close to the Blessed Sacrament! We all feel a peacefulness when working near the Tabernacle. It can be a time of quiet reflection while you work.

There was someone straightening up the Advent Wreath, but, she ducked out before I took the picture....camera shy.

The statue of Our Lady is up too high to do any real cleaning, although I should have gotten a picture of Anne up there with the vacuum! I think Fr. Fred would have had a heart attack! Isn't she lovely? She watches over us as we do our cleaning!

This is the statue on the opposite side. Our Lord watches over us as well. Sometimes, when praying during mass, I imagine Him speaking directly to me. Silly, I know, but He has such a loving expression on His face.

One of the things that I helped work on today was removing all of the cushions from the pews and dusting them. I hit "pay dirt" today...look what was under one cushion!!! Brand spanking new crayons and tons of Cheerios! Mommy's and Daddy's, if you're going to bring food into church for your young ones....please remember to look around a little before you leave to make sure you haven't forgotten anything!!!!!

This is Maryann patiently changing the belt on the vacuum! Our vacuum's take a lickin but they keep on tickin!!
This is Diane, one of my very best friends in the world! As I cleaned the pews, she vacuumed the cushions. This is a hard and sweaty job, but as you can see, we work with a smile on our faces!

Our cleaning supplies

Here's Terry, cleaning under the cushions on the altar rail. You know, when I was a kid, there were no cushions on the altar rail...you had to kneel on the hard marble!!!

Trying to scrape off the wax from the bottom of the Easter candle.

These are our lists that we work from. Each sheet has a different area of the church (main vestibule, adoration chapel, choir loft, etc...) with a list of each job that needs to be done in that area. When you decide what you want to do...you initial it so a job doesn't get done twice. We had a lot of work to do today!!

Maryann vacuuming the pew cushions....notice the smile!!!

We sweep all the dirt and garbage (yes, we find garbage in the pews....among other very gross things) out to the center aisle and then vacuum it all up.

Although this picture does NOT do it justice, this wood carving on the front of the main altar is gorgeous! It is three dimensional and is very striking when the lighting is just right.

Very simple decorations for Advent.

This is one of two beautiful (but subtle) guardian angels that adorn each side of the tabernacle. It's like they are silently keeping watch over us.

When I got home from church today...there was a small package waiting for me! It was from a wonderful online friend! She sent me the cutest Rudolph bell ornament! I know it's hard to see but he's right in the middle of the picture with the bright red nose! He has gold, sparkling antlers! I absolutely love him! Thank you Therese!!

Well, I know this was a long post but I wanted to share with you this ministry that I love so very much. Since chemo started in September, I have not been doing any cleaning because my wonderful friend Jane said she would take my week while I'm recovering. As a matter of fact, today was my first day back....and I must say....it kicked my behind! Thank you Jane for taking my cleaning day. I love and appreciate you!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thank you!!

Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement and your prayers on my last post! You all mean so very much to me. The rollercoaster of life is so much more tolerable with people who share the love of God and intercede for one another! I know that this is what He intends for this Body of Christ! Please know that you and your families are also being remembered in my prayers!

Other than deep gratitude to my blog friends...I'm not feeling very inspired today. I guess it's just one of those days where words don't come easily. Tonight, I'm just going to snuggle in my chair with my girls and watch a movie with my family.....and we're going to try to pretend it isn't almost 80 degrees outside!!

Oh....one more thing...I'd like to refer you over to Inside Catholic for Danielle Bean's new column called A Simple Little Christmas! It's a great way to close this 19th day of December!!

Health Update

I saw the oncologist yesterday. He confirmed what I already knew....I need a diuretic to get rid of all this excess water. My feet and lower legs have been swelling for over two weeks now. It isn't related to blood pressure at all. It's partly due to the steroids and partly due to the chemotherapy drug Taxotere. Anyway, I guess I'll be making multiple trips to the bathroom for the next few days until we get this minor issue under control.

On the day after Christmas, I'm scheduled to have an injection of Lupron. Since my surgery will not be scheduled until sometime at the end of January, the oncologist is not comfortable with me going that long without beginning the hormone therapy (Arimidex). The Lupron will help to shrink my ovaries (or, in other words, render them useless)...until the surgery. One week after the injection (Jan 2)I can begin to take the Arimidex. Happy New Year to me! Apparently, this drug throws you right into menopause...yippy! I can hardly wait for the hot flashes (I already have these but they are relatively mild) and the night sweats! I hear the mood swings are pretty bad......please pray for Dan!

I'm not sure what happens after the surgery. I guess I just play the game of cancer roulette...you know...have scan...worry, worry, worry.....scans ok...breathe a sigh of relief and then do it again in another 3 months. I know that this is better than the alternative.

I'm still extremely tired. I have times when I feel almost normal and on those days, I tend to overdo it...and then I'm even more tired later. The oncologist stated that he thought I should begin to have more energy in around 6 weeks. I'll be waiting......and I'll let you know when it arrives.

Dignitas Personae

If you have not read the new document (September 2008) from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, you are really missing out! This is basically an expansion or updated version of JPII's Donum Vitae released in 1988 which includes some newer issues like stem cell research and other infertility procedures.

This has got to be one of the best things I've ever read! Truly, this is one of the reasons why I am so proud to be Catholic!

Please take a few minutes to read it. There are some hard things to consider...especially if you are struggling with infertility so you'll need to read it with a prayerful heart.

Is anyone else....

.....having trouble with Blogger tonight?? For some reason, it deleted everything in my side bars....I spent an hour trying to re-do it all and then it only saved half of it. I'm still trying to rebuild my "Blogs I Love" section. Sigh...I don't have time for this!!

What is this world coming to?????

Did you read the news about the changes made to the Oxford University Press Junior Dictionary? Strangely enough, I'm not surprised. I certainly hope that Webster is not planning on making similar changes! I'm really trying to understand what point they're trying to make. I mean....in order to be "multicultural" Britain can't define "cheetah" or "lobster"???? This makes no sense. What is even more curious is their purging of religious words! So, if the word "sin" isn't in the dictionary....does that mean that there really is no "true" meaning of the word....that it's totally subjective???? Anyway...here are the words they removed AND the ones they added.


Words taken out:

Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe, Dwarf, elf, goblin,Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar, Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire,monarch,decade, adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.
Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

Words put in:

Blog, broadband, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, analogue
Celebrity, tolerant, vandalism, negotiate, interdependent, creep, citizenship, childhood, conflict, common sense, debate, EU, drought, brainy, boisterous, cautionary tale, bilingual, bungee jumping, committee, compulsory, cope, democratic, allergic, biodegradable, emotion, dyslexic, donate, endangered, Euro
Apparatus, food chain, incisor, square number, trapezium, alliteration, colloquial, idiom, curriculum, classify, chronological, block graph

Now, I believe myself to be a reasonable person.....but.....they take out a word like "monarchy" and add something like "bungee jumping"???? This is BRITAIN for Pete's sake!!!! How can you take out a word like "monarchy". Frankly, I think their reasoning is just plain nonsense and comes straight from the devil....which by the way...has been removed!!!

Guess What?

This morning, Nathan was up bright and early getting ready for mass! He was excited because our priests hear confessions directly before each mass and it's been a whole WEEK since his last confession! Believe it or not, he had a list with him...apparently of all the sins he's committed this week since his first confession last Saturday. As a mother, it is hard not to jump up and down with excitement at my son's enthusiasm for partaking of the sacraments. However, I'm also aware that the honeymoon period will probably wear off one of these days and it will turn into a chore to get him to go. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy it.

The girls were awful at mass today! This was just one of those days where whining and sassing were part of their personalities. First, Olivia lost her right to a donut after mass...and then...Amelia soon followed. I don't often have to resort to bribery, but sometimes it's is necessary. I hate to open up a can of worms here, but, what do you all think is appropriate punishment or discipline when it comes to behavior at mass? Do any of you use donuts after mass or some other food item as an incentive? We do have a "cry room" but it is often filled to capacity (hot, stuffy and smelly) and some parents don't think any of the same rules from inside the church apply to this particular room. Besides, I really want my kids with me at mass...I want us to be a family unit and to worship together.

Anyway, we took them out to lunch and really enjoyed each other's company. We had a very relaxing day of rest...which is a good thing because the next week will be very busy!
What are your plans for this week?

Over the hump...

I think I might finally be over the hump with the side effects of my last chemo. Today is the first day that I've felt somewhat "normal" in weeks. Although I woke up with a splitting headache...I'm feeling pretty good right now. I feel almost human with a fair amount of energy. The trick is going to be making sure I don't over do it because, if I do, I will regret it tomorrow!
I've still got some major swelling going on and because of this, shoes are optional right now!

Once my headache was in check...I was able to clean the kitchen, make some cranberry bread and boil some eggs for breakfast. Although, my kids don't like the "okes"!! Nathan has a basketball game at 11am and he is adamant about making it to confession today which begins at 3:45pm!

Dan and I have a Christmas party to attend tonight and we have reserved one of our favorite babysitters for the kids!!! It's been a while since we've been able to go out...mainly because I just haven't felt well enough. We're supposed to bring an appetizer of some sort and I'm not sure if I'll actually make something, or, go with already prepared frozen stuff. We'll see how I'm feeling after the basketball game.

All in all...this seems like a typical, normal day for our family "before" cancer. I look forward to a day when I don't think about it at all and where my physical health is not something that I dwell on in a negative way. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel and I have a good feeling about it!

Our Lady....pray for us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, who blessed Mexico and all the Americas by your appearance to Juan Diego, intercede for the holy Church, protect the pope, and help everyone who invokes you in their necessities.
O mystical rose, hear our prayers and our petitions, especially for the particular one we are praying for at this moment (mention your request).
Since you are the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us from your most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life, burning charity, and the precious gift of final perseverance.
Amen.

This is what happens.....

....when you're too lazy to put away the clean placemats and decide to just throw them on the table to put away later! Sigh....

Christmas Books

There has been much sharing and posting in the blogosphere lately about books and I've decided that I want to get into the action! We have a love of books here in our house. For one thing, I've always loved to read. I have read to the kids since they were born (and I read to Nathan before he was born). I used to read to them even when they were only a few weeks/months old. I would just read aloud any book that I happened to be reading at the time. They really liked it and I think it's paid off. I thought I'd share some of the books that are in our Christmas baskets.

One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham

This has to be one of our all time favorites! This was written by Billy Graham's wife, Ruth. The illustrations are magnificent! Dan is usually the bedtime story reader. He just spent the last 3 or 4 nights reading this and they are asking for him to read it again! If you haven't read it, I encourage you to look for it!Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner? by Tomie dePaola

I must tell you right from the start that Tomie de Paola is my very favorite author in the entire world! His stories touch my heart and the illustrations are awesome. This book is a crazy story of a crazy family! The characters are funny and in some ways, reminds me of my own family.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston

This book made me cry. It is such a heartfelt story of the love of a family separated by war. If any of you have a husband deployed....you'll love this story.

It's a Wonderful Life for Kids! by Jimmy Hawkins

This is a great book that is told from the perspective of Tommy Bailey, the youngest son of George and Mary Bailey. This story also takes place in Bedford Falls and Tommy gets his own angel. It was a cute story and makes much more sense if you read it after watching the movie.

Once a year, our parish school does one week of book collecting and then one week of book selling as a fundraiser for the school. I must tell you, I look so forward to this event in the spring! It's a great way to get rid of old books or books that are no longer in the appropriate age levels for my kids. And a great way to pick up gently used books that are new to us for about 25 cents per book!

I enjoy seeing what's in your Christmas baskets!! Keep sharing!!

Can you say "relapse"???

So, I was minding my own business at 3:09am this morning...doing what most, a lot, some people do at that hour...sleeping, when I was awakened by a small child with a tummy ache. However, this time I was armed and ready. Before we passed go or collected $200...we headed straight for the cupboard where Mr. Bucket lives. Thankfully, we were just in time!

Dear husband woke up to all the commotion, apparently surveyed the situation and felt all was in competent hands and then....promptly turned over!

So, here I sit at 3:58am, with two buckets...two washcloths, my computer and an "on-demand" episode of Dragon Tales for my poor relapsed Amelia.

As I sit and contemplate what kind of week this will most likely be....I will pray a rosary for my sweet little girl, for all those that have asked me to pray for them, for all my blogging friends...and...for all those that will find out they have breast cancer today.

First Confession!

Yesterday was a great day! Nathan woke up very excited about making his First Confession. He didn't seem nervous or anxious at all (he left that to his mother who was nervous enough for all of us)! He picked out dress slacks and a white shirt......and insisted that he wear a tie. He looked very "smart" all dressed up. Here is a picture of Nathan and his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Bradley, right before the program started.

The parents met in the church for an hour with Fr. Fred before it started. He gave a terrific talk about the what confession was like in the early church and the reasons for some of the changes over the years. He also talked a great deal about how we (as parents) behave and react to confession will have a direct correlation to how they behave and react. Dan and I have always tried to be positive about the need for confession and how important it is for our spiritual growth....but, up until now, the kids have really been too young to even understand what it means. We are also lacking in our enthusiasm for going on a more regular basis. I'm sure that Nathan will be instrumental in changing this as soon as he can! He's already asked me at least 100 times...."when was the last time you went mom?"

Nathan seemed to do fine right before he went in....never mind the girl right before him who came out, knelt down (I guess to begin her penance) and promptly threw up on the pew in front of her! Poor girl! I thought Nathan's eyes were going to pop out of his head when he saw her. Luckily, his teacher motioned him into the confessional before he could proceed with any "sympathy vomiting".

He was grinning ear to ear when he came out! Later, he said he felt like skipping out of there! It was very exciting! I didn't get any "all graced up" pictures of him right after confession, but, here is one from his basketball game which started about 20 minutes later.

Here are some other random shots of our weekend! We decorated our tree and put together a pre-made gingerbread house. I, on the other hand, have spent a lot of time on the couch with horrible bone pain (hips and pelvis mostly). Hopefully, I'll be feeling a little better this week and can get to the rest of the things on my list.

Prayer to St. Nicholas

O good St. Nicholas, you who are

the joy of the children, put in my

heart the spirit of childhood, which

the gospel speaks, and teach me to

seed happiness around me. You,

whose feast prepares us for Christmas,

open my faith

to the mystery of Godmade man.

You, good bishop and shepherd, help

me to find my place in the Church and

inspire the church to be faithful

to the gospel.

O good Saint Nicholas,

patron of children,

sailors and the helpless,

watch over those who pray to Jesus,

your Lord and theirs,

as well as over those who humble

themselves before you.

Bring us all in reverence

to the Holy Child of Bethelehem,

when true joy and peace are found.

Amen.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

This was certainly not the week I had planned. Although I knew that I would be out of commission because of the chemo, I hadn't anticipated Amelia getting the stomach flu or Nathan ending up with a pretty serious cold. There are extra MD appts during chemo weeks and just more time management involved. There was just no way to get everything done and in some ways, I think this has been a good thing. For one thing, instead of the St. Nicholas Party that we had planned, we have focused more on Nathan's First Confession that happens tomorrow morning. I can tell that he is slightly anxious (weren't we all) about it and so the extra time talking about it has helped him.

Still, tonight as a family, we watched the St. Nicholas movie and talked about who he was and what his mission was. Once everyone was in bed (and asleep), I crawled out of my fetal position and got their treats ready. All three of them set out their shoes in front of the fireplace tonight.

Their St. Nicholas treats are usually very simple....new Christmas pj's and some chocolate coins. This year, I added some St. Nicholas Holy Cards and a Children's Brown Scapular.

Let me just take a moment to mention the "fake" log (duraflame box) over there on the right. First of all....this is FLORIDA! It might be December 5th and wintry to some of you out there in blogging land, however, it is currently 60 degrees here at this very moment!!! In order to start the fire, Dan had to lower the air conditioner so that we all didn't sweat to death! Here are some other photos:
Olivia got the snowman pajamas. She'll be so excited when she sees them!

Amelia got penguins (***I stand corrected...these apparently are "MONKEYS" and I must be blind!) this year...and unfortunately, Nathan got the short end of the stick!! It appears at this one particular large supermarket...they don't really carry "Christmas" PJ's for boys by the time they reach size 8. I knew I should have tried Target, but, Walmart is closer. So, he ended up with blue and green plaid pj bottoms and I just bought him a matching shirt.

It wasn't until I was getting the pictures ready for this post that I noticed a white piece of paper to the upper left of their shoes on the hearth. When I pulled it closer, I saw this drawing. Nathan has drawn the Nativity. When I opened the card....I saw this note:

It's probably a little hard to read, but his note says, "St. Nicolis, give this moeny to people who need it. love Nathan." To the right of the photo, there is about $2.00 in change that he had obviously taken out of his wallet and put inside the card. Dan and I just sat in amazement that he had done this. It seems that sometimes, he can be very self-centered and spoiled...so much so that I wonder what it is that I am doing wrong to have such a selfish child. And then, he can do things like this that totally blow my mind!

I think the day really wasn't a bust after all! Even through the routine of a typical post chemo day for me, God still brings blessings to our family. Tonight he brought it in the form of a special 8 year old boy who really does have a heart for God and others, even if it stays hidden a lot of the time.

Tomorrow we have Nathan's First Confession and his first basketball game.....it will be busy and I will be doing my best to keep up...but, I will be one proud mom!!