Six Children!

Here is the first picture ever of our six children! 

How BLESSED we are!

Virtue Flowers

     The girls and I spent the afternoon updating their virtue flowers.  Each petal glued to the center has a virtue written on it that that child has acquired.  I LOVED hearing each child affirm what her sisters have already attained in virtue!  So supportive of each other!
    Then, feeling good about themselves, we each identified one thing that each girl is working on.  We wrote that on a petal that we then taped to the stem.  Once that virtue is attained, we'll glue it on with the others!

   To see them up close, double click on the image.

So darn cute!!

How do you spell butter?

Perfect Circumstances

God's purpose is not to perfect our circumstances.
His purpose is to perfect our souls.  Sometimes our imperfect circumstances--ones that weigh heavily, ones that sting, ones that dig deep--are loving given by God to make us saints.  We are perfected only through lots and lots of grace, and it is never our own merit.  But the Sermon on the Mount makes it abundantly clear that God wants our perfection!  And that comes at the price of a life that suits us, a life that goes the way we want.
    As soon as life detours and becomes not at all what we imagined, it is so wise to think: "Oh!  I get it!  God is trying to re-shape my heart in some way!  What is He trying to build up in me?"
   

So funny

     I laughed all afternoon!  I was in church and this very old lady who had lost most of her mind was talking at passersby as she was able.  Much of what she said made no sense.  She was so adorable and I felt great affection for her.
    Well, she plopped down on a bench and declared to the air in front of her, "I will now begin my rosary!"  And she began with the sign of the cross.  Usually we say, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen."  
    But she said, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost--and I assure you that He is NOT a ghost!"
    Whom was she assuring?  I am not sure!  But it was really cute!  

John Paul II

   Today is the first feast day ever of our new saint, St. Joh Paul II.
    I was just watching a show on the Catholic TV station, EWTN, with these two adorable, humble, rotund little British ladies presenting the life of this man.
   What is so beautiful to me is not only his undying love for family as the primary way that Christ's love is manifest in this present world, and motherhood in particular, but also his theological idea premise that only in the light of Christ do people know themselves at all.
     Today I have several people in my life who find the idea of people being sinful and in need of conversion repulsive.  To them, it is like self-hatred and self-denegration to call oneself a sinner.  They think of Christianity's message that we are in need of conversion because we are sinners as warped.
    But here is St. John Paul II saying that we can only know ourselves properly in light of Christ's message, that we need God, rather desperately, and are only at peace when we have become His child.  Yes, conversion is a part of this message.
    I think John Paul II wins the day.  I think in the end, it is only right to see that we are inclined toward brokenness--we are broken, and are hurt by other broken people--and need God to help us transcend, become like royalty, so that we can forgive others, and stop hurting others, and become the  little children, safe in the arms of God, that we are meant to be.

Being at Peace

     When the baby is up all night, we can be at peace that at least we have this precious baby in the first place.
     When the kids do something wrong, we can be at peace that at least we have them in our lives at all.
      When the house falls apart, we can be at peace that at least we have a roof over out heads.
      When others do not like what we say, at least we have people in our lives to love, and to learn to love well even when they present challenges to us.
      When we feel overwhelmed, we can be at peace that God made us out of absolutely nothing, and that everything God makes is wonderfully and fearfully made.  Praise be to God for life!

praying

     For family prayers last night, several kids asked if we could do a guided meditation.  So I prayed aloud, asking each of us to envision ourselves in the lap of "Abba," Father.  Then I reflected on the universe He created, enumerating many aspects of it.  Finally I said, "And the same God that made all of that, made you."  I asked each one to think about who they are, what their talents and hits are, what is special about them.  I said that God made that, very intentionally.  "You are fearfully and wonderfully made," says the Psalmist.
     Then each one had the chance to ask God to fill them up with one thing they are lacking: patience, kind words, reverence for God, obedience, etc.  They kept that part silent.   Then we silently asked for forgiveness for something we have done wrong.  We closed with thanksgiving for His love for us.
    Most of the kids were in tears by the end of it.  I was not really sure why.  Then little Leigh was truly shaken up, saying through her tears that it was so awful to imagine Jesus dying on the cross for us.  I was touched.  Clearly the Holy Spirit said far more to her than anything I had uttered!
    What I learned last night was how, whatever our efforts are, God is the one who works on our hearts, and if we give Him just a little bit, He can do far more than we imagined!

Happy Birthday, Sebastian!

Two Months Old!

And PERFECT!  

Our Dumb Dog

Our dumb dog got out of our fence and was running through the nearby construction site.  It was sad but hilarious watching construction workers sprinting around with our girls, trying to catch her!  This is kids in the car post-chase.

God Speaks the Language of Mothers

   God knows how to speak to me.  When He really wants to communicate an important message, He often speaks in my "Mom" language.
    A year ago, I was seeking spiritual direction.  My pleading with God was to help me overcome my own pride, my own will.  I was ready to make a "self-oblation," to make a sacrifice--like Abraham placing his son Isaac on the altar--of my self.  I no longer wanted to be in charge of my life.  I wanted to give myself entirely over to God.  But I kept finding myself taking the driver's seat.  I patronizingly "let" God support me, help me, and answer my prayers.  (So disgusting!)  
     Then God snuck a baby into my life.  It was practically impossible for little Sebastian to be conceived.  I protested and said to God, "How could you?  I am too weak!  Too tired!  Too discombobulated!  No, no no!"  For nine months of pregnancy, I protested in my heart.
    Do you see?  God was being in charge--and I was no longer in charge.  I did NOT see.  I did not see that this was exactly what I had been praying for.  I was no longer in charge.  God was being in charge, just like I had asked.
    Now that Sebastian is with us, I am infatuated with him.  Right now as I type, he is in my lap smiling at me.  I cannot express my motherly infatuation with him!  He is precious, and I have never enjoyed a baby so much.  I swoon when I look at him; I coo and gurgle at him; I well up with delight every time I say eyes on him.
    My determination--my controlling spirit--of having no more children is gone.  God healed me of my will, of my stubborn pride.  Sure, anyone can set her eyes on a goal and work toward it.  But I had been worse than that: I had not left room for God to think differently.  I had certainly not left room for Him to over-ride my decision.
    Now I am healed.  I have a preference (not to have more children) but I can say honestly that it is in God's hands.  I can finally say, "Let it be done to me according to Your will."  Finally!  I was a hard nut to crack.  It took a year.
    And look!  Sebastian is the minister of God's message. He is indeed an angel!
    God taught me, through pregnancy, and through my baby's adorable chubby cheeks and tiny frame.  Holding and rocking this baby, gazing at him, is how God said to me, "Okay, I will let you make a total oblation of your self.  I will be in charge of you.  Trust me.  I know what is good for you."  And it is through my being a mother to this sixth child that I have happily consented and submitted my will to our good God.

King Tut

Leigh (age 7) has a GREAT impersonation of Steve Martin's "King Tut!"
Here's Steve Martin's:
         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgTPH5y1-ZI
It's really worth watching if you need to brighten your day!

Image of the Image

   Ron and I were talking tonight, and he told me that the Early Church Fathers often spoke of Christ as the "Image" of God, and of the faithful as the "Image of the Image."
    Then Ron said that St. Gregory of Nyssa only spoke of the corporate group of us as the "Image of the Image."  No one of us is the Image, but that only collectively can we be like Jesus.  That was a powerful thought to me!  We have to work together!

Tirimisu for Mothers

   Did you know that Tirimisu is a mother's food?  It was invented (according to legend, anyway) by an Italian grandmother, whose daughter had just had a baby.  The daughter was exhausted from pregnancy, labor, and newborn life.  The grandmother thought, "My daughter needs a pick me up!"  So she invented Tirimisu--which means "Pick me up" in Italian--throwing a little coffee, a little rum, and a little sugar together as a light and fluffy treat.
    I just made some from scratch and THIS mother of a newborn--exhausted from pregnancy, labor, and newborn life--was more than refreshed!
    "Pick me up," anytime!

Sacred Heart

    The girls and I began our day on Friday with Mass.  First Friday Masses are often thought of as in celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
    In the car ride home, I told that to the girls.  They asked, "What is the point of that?"  I said, "At one time in Europe, Christians had become very legalistic.  They were trying to earn their way to heaven.  Jesus appeared to a little, unimportant nun named Margaret Mary Alacoque, and revealed to her that His heart was full of love--reminding them of what the Gospel really shows.  He said that He is not interested in people's perfection (in the legalistic sense), but in loving and forgiving them when they are not.  He said He just loves it when we know we have failed, and ask for forgiveness.  This is how to enter into a relationship with Him--not to try to impress Him from afar."  It was a fun and refreshing conversation.  We all now want to attend all First Friday Masses, just to remind ourselves of this loving declaration from Jesus.