Divine Mercy Novena

The Divine Mercy Novena begins today and is prayed daily (ideally at 3:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Divine Mercy Chaplet) until Easter Saturday.

We got started after our family Stations of the Cross this afternoon. In years past, we haven't always remembered to complete every day of the novena, but we try every year. It's a little like being a baseball fan: "Maybe this will be the year..." ;-) I put the prayer booklet and chaplet (thank you, Patty!) out on the altar in the hope that it will remind us each day.

The prayers are available online at EWTN's website http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm.

Good Friday

I baked Mom's Brown Sugar Pound Cake this morning to torment everyone as we fasted start the Easter baking. We always serve this at Easter Sunday brunch. It's yummy, but not the same as Mom's, even though she wrote out the recipe.


John always takes Good Friday off work, and it was a blessing to have him home today.

At 3:00, we prayed the Stations of the Cross, moving around the house and taking turns leading the prayers and reading the meditations. John had placed our Way of the Cross pictures at various places around the house, and we followed them, ending up at our home altar for the final station and concluding prayers.

A few years ago, I made Katie a set of small items in a basket. There is one thing for each station of the cross. Matthew follows the pictures in Children's Way of the Cross and takes out each item as we go. This helps him stay focused and quiet when we do the stations at church. Today, he carried the basket and walked around the house with us.

Last night before I went to bed, I put up our new Easter Story set in the living room. It's sort of like a nativity set for the Easter season. This is the Good Friday arrangement. It changes for Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. I have been wanting to have something like this for several years now, so it was fun to finally be able to find one I liked and display it.


Matthew went to bed singing, "Tomorrow is Holy Saturday, hooray, hooray..." I'm happy he is starting to understand and feel the anticipation of the feast.

Holy Thursday

Here's what we've been up to today:

Baking Hot Cross Buns,

enjoying the spring weather,


and coloring Easter eggs.

The camouflage egg is a family tradition started by Tommy. Joseph continued it today.

Meghan got stuck under the table...poor baby.

Calm after the storm

While I was cooking dinner, I noticed the sun coming through the window onto our home altar. I had to take a few pictures to share with you.




We went to Mass after dinner. John, Patrick, and Joseph got their feet washed. Pange Lingua was sung in English. Wish it had been Latin, but I'll take what I can get. Adoration time after Mass gave me the quiet prayer time I had been trying for since I woke up this morning. Thank you, Jesus.

I only wish Tommy could be home to celebrate the Triduum with us. We love you and miss you, Tommy!

May your preparations for Easter bring your hearts closer to Him.

Worth the wait

When we were in China, we swam in the hotel pool, but Joseph was very uncomfortable in the water, not wanting to venture much out of reach of the wall. This was not the "comfortable in the water Joseph" who was swimming around in the deep end two summers ago.

So when the time came for swim lesson sign-ups two weeks ago, I waited 3 hours in line to sign him up for three months of lessons. At the time it seemed like a huge pain for such a little thing, and I was pretty annoyed about the whole process. (Although the presence of a friend in line was fun.)

Yesterday was his first class.

When we got home he said, "As I was getting into the pool, I was thinking, 'Well, I hope I don't drown.' And when the lesson was over I was thinking, 'Awww, do we have to get out already?'"

If he doesn't learn another thing in the next three months, it will still have been worth that wait in line.

Drawing in the dirt

A friend and her family have been suffering a crisis this year, and their tragedy has been very much on my heart these last weeks of Lent. It is never easy to raise a family, especially in the modern world. Even when we try our best to protect our children from the evils of the world, they creep in, and we may not always recognize the signs until it is too late.

To add to the suffering, some around this family withdraw just when they are most needed for support and comfort. As I consider my own reaction and the reactions of others, I cannot help thinking of the readings we hear at this time of year. Even within Christ's own family of apostles, there were those who betrayed and denied Him. Those among his closest companions who ate and drank and lived with him in the closest communion for three years, yet turned away, falling prey to the temptations and evils of the world. Judas, who betrayed Him. Peter, who denied Him.

Even in the best of families, bad things happen. All of us have failed our own families in one way or another. All of us have failed as parents in some way. If we are honest enough, we all admit there are or have been situations of sin and worldliness within our immediate or extended families. The world is too much with us. It is even so with solid, faithful families. If we have been spared of falling so far in our lives, we must be grateful only to God. For it is no achievement of our own. Only by His grace and through His protection have we been spared.

Whether or not we have been spared has no bearing on Christ's call to us to love our sister in Christ and her family. We must find some way to try to understand, to reach out, to help bring healing. We must not abandon those who need their Christian community now more than ever.

"...Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone..." John 8:7

Please pray for this very good family, that they may find comfort and healing, that their deep faith will give them strength, that as for Peter, there will be forgiveness in God's good time, and that when all seems too overwhelming our dear Mother in heaven will wrap them in her mantle and carry them to rest within the Sacred Heart of her dearest, only Son.

St. Nicholas, patron of children, pray for us! St. Joseph, patron of families, pray for us!

In Memoriam

Today is the 6th anniversary of John's dad's death. We remember him in our prayers today. I'm planning to do some reminiscing with the kids: telling a few stories and looking at old photos. We don't have a Mass on base today, but there are stations of the cross tonight, so we'll offer them for the repose of his soul.

We still miss you, Dad! Please pray for us!

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

Here's the last one in our week of feasts: The Solemnity of St. Joseph. This is a big day at our house. Joseph's name day and a break from Lent. (It says so in Canon Law. Who am I to argue?) Happy name day, Joseph!

We read two stories of St. Joseph today. One of which is a favorite book of Joseph's: Good Saint Joseph from the Catholic Book Publishing Co. Then we sang some St. Joseph songs. The old favorite "St. Joseph was a Carpenter" is still a big hit with the preschooler. And we have recently learned a song that goes, "St. Joseph, St. Joseph, teach us how to obey. St. Joseph, St. Joseph, protect us on our way..." It includes verses about each time angels came to St. Joseph and told him what God wanted, emphasizing his obedience and protection of the holy family. Matthew then made a card for John, since St. Joseph is the patron saint of fathers. And I had a little card ready for Joseph, too, since it's his name day. Fun stuff!


Joseph chose the dinner menu: hot dogs, mac & cheese, corn, and strawberries. I made cream puffs for dessert, as I traditionally do. I read about the Italian tradition in The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland (now back in print from Sophia Institute Press). That was one of the first books I read when we started thinking of home schooling, and it has become one of my favorite books about living the liturgical year. Over the years, we have incorporated quite a few of her ideas into our family celebrations.

After dinner, John gave Joseph a Name Day Blessing from the Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers book (USCCB).

Enjoying every bite!

Deliziosa!

Patrick took a couple of cream puffs with him when he left this evening. He's on his way to Tokyo with the soccer team again, this time, for games against Kinnick High School. He'll be back in the wee hours of Sunday morning, take a nap, go to Mass with us, and sleep again for awhile in the afternoon. These trips involve 12-hour bus rides each way, a day on the base where they're playing, and playing at least 2 soccer games, sometimes 3 during the visit. Thankfully, when our snow melts, he'll have some weekends off when the other teams travel up here.

St. Joseph, protect him on his way!

To You O Blessed Joseph (Ad Te, Beate Ioseph)

To you, O blessed Joseph,
do we come in our tribulation,
and having implored the help of your most holy spouse,
we confidently invoke your patronage also.
Through that charity which bound you
to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God
and through the paternal love
with which you embraced the Child Jesus,
we humbly beg you graciously to regard
the inheritance which Jesus Christ
has purchased by his Blood,
and with your power and strength
to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family,
defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ;
O most loving father,
ward off from us
every contagion of error and corrupting influence;
O our most mighty protector,
be propitious to us and from heaven assist us
in our struggle with the power of darkness;
and, as once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril,
so now protect God's Holy Church
from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity;
shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection,
so that, supported by your example and your aid,
we may be able to live piously, to die holily,
and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
New St. Joseph People's Prayer Book

What did he just say?

Reading and watching the video here.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Breastplate of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today through the strength of Heaven
the rays of the sun,
the radiance of the moon,
the splendor of fire,
the speed of lightening,
the swiftness of the wind,
the depth of the sea,
the stability of the earth
the firmness of rock.

I arise today through the power of God:
God's might to comfort me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to lead me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's Heavenly Host to save me
from the snares of the devil,
from temptations to sin,
from all who wish me ill,
from near and afar,
alone and with others.
May Christ shield me today
against poison and fire,
against drowning and wounding,
so that I may fulfill my mission
and bear fruit in abundance.

Christ behind and before me,
Christ behind and above me,
Christ with me and in me,
Christ around and about me,
Christ on my right and on my left,
Christ when I lie down at night,
Christ when I rise in the morning,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone that speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

The Breastplate of St. Patrick has been translated in many versions from the original Irish and Latin. I like the version above, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Today is Patrick's name day, so we will take a small break from our Lenten sacrifices and enjoy corned beef, parsley-boiled potatoes, green beans, green salad, and a mint-chocolate chip ice cream pie for dessert. We also usually play Irish music all day. The younger kids often watch this video, and hopefully will help me decorate the table with shamrocks, a green tablecloth, and a statue of St. Patrick. We will pray the Breastplate prayer together after dinner along with night prayer. This is one of our favorite Saint's days, and coming in the midst of Lent, it makes a nice reminder for everyone of the reason why we are working so hard to come closer to Christ.

Happy name day, Patrick (and John Patrick, too)!

This morning

John and I were in our room playing with Meghan when the sounds of an argument rumbled in from Joseph and Matthew's room. We couldn't hear what they were saying until Matthew yelled at the top of his lungs, "NO! Your ideas are not GOOD ideas! Only mine are!"

American political discourse in a nutshell, I commented to John.

"At least he knows what's important," John responded.

Hakkoda

A friend posted this YouTube video on his Facebook page. It was the winning video in a Nature Valley Granola bars contest. It shows a lot of the really fun parts of living in northern Japan. Enjoy!
And please consider a visit. We miss you all!

Nine months

Believe it or not, Meghan is nine months old. With each baby, the first year seems to fly faster and faster, even though I want to cling to each moment and hold them all in my heart.

We went to Meghan's well-child check-up on Friday and the doctor told us, "Developmentally, she's a rock star." You have to love a doctor who confirms your suspicions that your child is simply amazing.

Meghan weighs 18 lbs, 1 oz. and is 27 inches long. She dropped to the 50th percentile for weight but remains in the 97th percentile for height. I failed to write down her head circumference again. I'll have to call and check on that, but it was in the correct range on the growth chart. All in all, she's growing fine.

One nice thing about her being child number six is that I don't worry so much about weight numbers anymore. When Patrick was a baby, he took a similar plunge from 75th to 50th percentile in weight at this same time (between 6 and 9 months). At the time, the doctor had me worried that he was losing too much weight. Now, knowing that he's fine, I'm not worried about Meghan at all. She's following a family pattern. Thankfully, this doctor did not tell me to feed Meghan cookies, which was the helpful advice of the doc who saw Patrick at his 9-month check-up. This doctor said, "She looks great. She is developing well. Her height increase tells me that she's well-nourished. I'm not worried at all about this weight change."

Hooray for Meghan!!

And she's up!

In celebration of her 9-month birthday, Meghan did this on Wednesday:

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The gate is now up at the bottom of the stairs.

*Photo credits: John

When the four-year-old parents

"So, Meghan," says Matthew as he plops himself down on the floor next to his 8-month-old sister, "let's talk about college."

Overheard

Joseph was in the entry hall taking off his snow clothes when the doorbell rang.
"Matthew!" Joseph said in an annoyed voice, "Just come in!"
The doorbell rang again.
Joseph opened the door and in his best Jeeves voice said, "Yes, Sir."
"Hello, I'm fire. I've come to burn down the house," said Matthew.
Joseph, continuing in his Jeeves voice. "As you see, we have a large supply of water for putting out fires and also we have twelve fire extinguishers right over here."
"Well, then, I want to flood your house," tried Matthew.
"Sorry, sir. To keep away floods, we have a large supply of fire, and if there is a flood, we simply put the fire in the water and turn all the water into steam. And then we open the door and let all the steam out."

Operation Rice Bowl

It's become a family tradition to participate in Catholic Relief Service's Operation Rice Bowl. CRS provides a calendar we can use during Lent with suggested offerings and sacrifices.

One of the more talked about aspects of Operation Rice Bowl in this household is the suggested menus for each Friday. They are meatless dishes from different countries around the world and some are quite unusual. You can find them on the calendar. Our children still talk about a certain dish we tried years ago from one of the African countries (I think) that had peas and bananas as the primary ingredients!

The ORB site has some other items like a World Awareness Quiz that might prove educational. Check it out.

Time for a new bed

Meghan has outgrown her bassinette.


Last week when I went to get her up from her nap, I found her trying to sit up in it.


I wish I had abs that strong!

So we re-arranged our room again to replace the bassinette with the Pack and Play. We had to move the bed over another couple of inches so it would fit, but it's the best option we have to allow me some sleep along with the convenience of being near for nighttime nursing. Sometimes Meghan gets scared when she wakes up and can't see us (day or night). From the Pack and Play, she can still at least see my arm, and often my face, if I'm facing the right direction while sleeping, so she feels secure and peaceful in there.

No more crunches, though. It's a shame. They were pretty cute.

7 quick takes

1. I have succumbed to the pressure from my local and college friends to join Facebook. Maybe I'll be more successful at keeping up on Facebook than on Twitter. The whole thing seems a little high-school to me. Maybe because I only have 4 friends. Or maybe because I am suddenly keeping count of my friends. Very high school. In a Napoleon Dynamite sort of way. Or a Judy Gibbons sort of way. Or something.

2. On to things that matter: Meghan now has 8 teeth!

3. Patrick went to a high school basketball game today. I think it's the first time ever. Then he and his friends were planning to watch Jeeves and Wooster episode 1. I can't wait to hear what they think of it. We love them. (thanks to Dan and t for introducing us to them :-))

4. Matthew still calls his cousin Claire "Claire-y Dairy Strawberry" when he talks about her. That was a silly thing the kids called her for one day 2 years ago (the last time we saw the cousins). I'm not sure how to gently change his habit before we see the cousins again this summer. She definitely won't get it.

5. Dinner tonight is at the club. It's a holiday. And I'm still resting on my laurels from the delicious (if I do say so myself) cherry pie I baked yesterday. :-)

6. I finally emptied 2 months worth of photos and videos off my camera today. Let's see how long it takes me to do something with them on the blog.

7. Katie has been asking for a dollhouse, but we haven't gotten her one. So she and Joseph have taken matters into their own hands. They are building a doll house out of kleenex boxes. It's pretty amazing. Curtains, rugs, pictures on the walls cut from old calendars.

Instructions

We always wished our babies came with instructions.


Meghan did. :-)




Happy St. Valentine's Day with love from all of us.

:-)

Good out of bad

Catholic author Amy Welborn's husband, Michael Dubriel, passed away suddenly last week. He worked for Our Sunday Visitor publishing, and for the rest of the month, they will contribute double the amount of what would have been the proceeds of his books to the children's college funds.

Go buy a book!
https://catalog.osv.com/lp.aspx?code=F92BBH63#