Uncle Sam has spoken...

...and it's off to God's country for us!!! Yes, that's right...DENVER, COLORADO!!! Purple mountains majesty, the Broncos, my parents...the sun is shining a little brighter in our house these days (even at 10:30 at night). We are VERY excited, to say the least. And since I couldn't get a proper version of "Miracle" to play in the sidebar, we have an extra special edition of Soundtrack Saturday! (Never mind...I found a new way to play music over at A Wink and A Smile! so now you can hear both!)





Oh, and since we are taking the lucky charms with us, maybe the Rockies will win the World Series this year!


.

Soundtrack Saturday

You're my life's one Miracle,
Everything I've done that's good
And you break my heart with tenderness,
And I confess it's true
I never knew a love like this till you....

You're the reason I was born
Now I finally know for sure
And I'm overwhelmed with happiness
So blessed to hold you close
The one that I love most
With all the future has so much for you in store
Who could ever love you more?

The nearest thing to heaven,
You're my angel from above
Only God creates such perfect looooove

When you smile at me, I cry
And to save your life I'll die
With a romance that is pure heart,
You are my dearest part
Whatever it requires,
I live for your desires
Forget my own, needs will come before
Who could ever love you more?

Well there is nothing you could ever do,
To make me stop, loving you
And every breath I take,
Is always for your sake
You sleep inside my dreams and know for sure
Who could ever love you more?

When I was still in my first trimester with Isabel, my mother-in-law sent me Celine Dion's cd called Miracle, the same title as this song. If you haven't heard it, it's a cd of lullabyes. It's beautiful. I used to sit in the new gliding chair we bought for the nursery and hold my belly and listen to it, wondering about the new life inside me. This was definitely the song that touched me the most. Our children certainly are MIRACLES from God.

Freedom Friday

This song touches me right at my very core.



I came across this at Against All Heresies.

Question...

What have you done for your marriage today?



H/T to Kelly.

Before Becoming A Mommy...

...I didn't realize that no matter how many diapers I change, it would ALWAYS be a crappy job!

What Color Sharpie?

What Color Sharpie Are You? (25 Different Colors) Updated Again!

Purple Sharpie
Element: Water
Sense: Sight
Gemstone: Amethyst
Some Qualities: Wisdom, Bravery, Visionary
Fact: Amethyst is considered as an aid to the brave because it was believed to protect soldiers in battle.
Take this quiz!








Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

From Jane, Barb, and Sarah.

Meme

Jane tagged me!

1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)

A - Assignment. We are currently waiting to see where Uncle Sam is sending us next.
N - New Mexico. Where I was born.
N - North Dakota. One of the 5 states I have not been to.
E - Eagle. My high school mascot.

Tagging Kristina, Melissa, Kate, and Abigail.

Soundtrack Saturday

"Music is what feelings sound like." -Unknown

Last summer, we had what is affectionately (or maybe not) remembered as "party weekend." In order to make it easy for all of our out-of-town family, which is everyone, we celebrated Isabel's birthday on Saturday and baptized Alexis on Sunday. (We also celebrated my aunt/godmother's birthday Friday evening and another birthday on Sunday evening.) Inspired by the occasion, I put together a cd of songs that made me think of my girls. (I had actually started a similar cd for Isabel's baptism, but had technical difficulties.) These songs (my husband picked a few as well) make us think of how our girls make us feel, what we want for them, and who we want to be for them. So as a new series here, I am going to post about this list of songs that is so dear to my heart every Saturday. You can also play the song from my sidebar. And after I'm done with this list, I'll move on to another. I love music, although I am no expert, and I just love how there are those perfect songs out there to fit every mood, memory, and occasion. I hope you enjoy!

The first song on the girls' cd is Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World." There is actually much history to this song for my daughter Isabel. We moved to Boston at the beginning of June 04. We busted our rear ends on taking wallpaper down and painting our "new" house (the house is actually very old.) All of a sudden, the 4th of July sneaks up on us and we decided we needed a break and should enjoy the holiday. We were in the home of Paul Revere and the Old North Church, a certain Tea Party, and the Freedom Trail, just to name a few. Surely, they did something to celebrate Independence Day. And boy do they ever. Long story short, we went down to the Charles River to watch their AMAZINGLY SPECTACULAR fireworks show (really, I don't know if anything could top it) and had such a great time.

How does this tie in with the song, you ask? Well, music is synced to the fireworks show and that night they played Mr. Armstrong's song and it brought me to tears (of joy). That's how magical the night was and that was a great "welcoming" memory. We would find out a few months later that I was pregnant with Isabel (we were starting to wonder if she would ever show up, but God's timing is always PERFECT). I listened to this song a lot while I was pregnant. It just matched how I felt. Almost a year later, Isabel was born.

The fall after she was born was a sad one. Tom's grandfather was sick with cancer and was in and out of the hospital. We had visited once while I was pregnant and there just this feeling that he was going to see his first great-grandbaby. The October after Isabel was born, we went back to celebrate Tom's parents anniversary and Isabel got to meet her great-grandfather! He was in the hospital at the time. In his room, he had a stuffed frog that Tom's mom had given her dad. It played "What a Wonderful World" and had been making him smile even when he couldn't talk. He played it over and over. We returned to Texas a few weeks later to attend his funeral and there on the table with pictures and other mementos was the frog.

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow

They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world

Flashback Friday

Who couldn't use an extra smile on a day like today? (I LOVE this picture!)

Looking on the Bright Side

The Benefits of Rejection

~I can have more than 1 glass of wine
~I can wear a real bra
~The hubby can feed the child in the middle of the night
~PEANUT BUTTER
~I can have more than 1 glass of wine
~No more biting
~Lowers the cost per use of the "just in case" bottles
~End of strategic planning involved with wardrobe choices
~Can hang up the cow bell
~I can have more than 1 glass of wine!

This Says It All...

Thanks Sarah!

From My Journal

My daughter found an old journal of mine from college and I'm going to throw it away. I'm not a great journaler to begin with and it's only half full and that covers 4 years! There is a lot of depressing stuff in there and who needs to be reminded of the bad stuff. But before I do trash it, I wanted to share some of the quotes and positive things I collected, so these will be posted here sporadically over time. I love this first one, although I didn't write down where I got it.

Who's Job Is It?
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Things are not all flowers and candy around here today. It's been kind of a rough week. Tom is super busy with work and his master's class, the girls and I have been fighting these darn colds, we've started potty training (not MY idea of a good time), and we're having some feeding issues with Alexis which is difficult by itself, but it also has brought with it some sleep shortages. So basically I'm just trying to survive the lack of sleep, the gloomy weather, and the neverending "Why?" from a 2 year old. So I apologize for not having something cute and love-inspired posted today. I especially feel bad that I have not put something wonderful to my husband here like so many of you have. I would like to say thank you to those women though, for reminding us how important it is to show our men that we appreciate them.

To end on a higher note, I will mention a couple of rays of light that have broken through my cloudy week. Yesterday afternoon, as I was about to hit my limit, I started to put a cd on for Isabel and she asked with a smile, "Jesus?" I said yes and she then sang along (better than I expected) with "Jesus Loves Me." It touched my soul. I didn't know she knew the song that well. And last week, when I was not-so-happy about waking up in the wee hours to nurse Alexis, halfway through the feeding she said "MA-MA." Needless to say, all of my annoyance was gone and my heart was smiling!

Oh, and Tom, I LOVE YOU!

Wordless Wednesday

Midnight Gratitude

*I started writing this Friday and am just getting around to finishing this now, but this refers to events on Thursday night.*

Like everyone else it seems, our house is full of sickies. I went to bed at 7 last night (Thursday) and woke up about 9 to feed Alexis, which was expected. Isabel was refusing to sleep in her bed, which means screaming, so she went into our room to sleep and Alexis, after eating of course, decided that she should continue her sister's screaming efforts. Basically, Alexis decided she was not going to sleep until after midnight. But that's not really what this post is about.

During my several attempts to go back to bed, I was annoyed with the lack of space left for me by my darling daughter. (She prefers to sleep any direction that is different than the way her father and I choose to sleep.) On my final attempt to go back to bed, the baby was finally asleep, I was lying there, awake with my own misery from being sick, still annoyed at my cramped sleeping space, when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Here I am being annoyed with a quarter of this...

(Yes, it's a king)

when I could be here...

or here...

or even here...

Shame on me.

On My Mind

"What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?"

~Luke 9:25

Global Fast

My friend just sent me this email about a charity helping you figure out how to do more with your fasting on Ash Wednesday.



Making a Global Difference
Food For The Poor has partnered with Global Fast to encourage our donors to fast and pray on behalf of the poorest of the poor this Ash Wednesday, February 6th. Global Fast is a public challenge to unite 10 million people for one day of fasting and prayer in order to feed the hungry.
By fasting for one day and donating what would have been spent on food, we can make a tremendous difference in the lives of starving children. Food For The Poor will use the funds to build fishing villages in Haiti -- the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
A Lenten Sacrifice
Food For The Poor fishing villages equip poor fishermen with everything needed to catch deep-sea fish that they currently cannot reach through the use of their rickety boats with no engines. Each Food For The Poor fishing village receives boats with engines, fishing and storage equipment and navigational tools.
For hungry villages in Haiti, a self-sustainable food source is considered a godsend. With such bountiful Caribbean waters surrounding them, we must offer starving Haitian families the tools necessary to feed their children.
Please take this opportunity to join with millions of others by fasting and praying on the first day of Lent -- Ash Wednesday, February 6th. And give to the poor what you would have spent on food for that day.

"This, rather, is the fasting that I wish... Sharing your bread with the hungry" (Isaiah 58:6a-7a)

Please, consider joining us for a day of fasting in order to share our abundance with those with nothing. May God bless you for your compassion.
Donate Now
Read More

Ministry Watch has given FFP five stars, its highest rating.

BBB Wise Giving AllianceFFP meets the Standards for Charity Accountability.

Charity Navigator has given FFP four stars, its highest rating.
Fundraising and other administrative costs comprise less than 4%; more than 96% of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor.
Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road Dept. 57778, Coconut Creek, FL 33073, 1-954-427-2222http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=drKOI5OMLkIQK9J&s=gqKRK1PILfJLI1OGIqG&m=eoJOLXPzEgKSH&af=yPrivacy Policy

Excellence Award

Kate was so kind to send this award my way last month. I've been holding on to it so that I could take the time to properly acknowledge the blogs I appreciate so much. Hopefully, I can do them a little bit of justice in these descriptions.

The rules: Recipients of the Excellent Blog Award must award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find "Excellent Award" worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want-even those that have received it already, but please award at least 10 people.

In no particular order...

Kristina's Soapbox - She has a soapbox and she knows how to use it. Maybe one day, she'll teach me and I can borrow it. Kristina has been with me since I started and I could not appreciate her more!

Catholic Matriarch in my Domestic Church - Denise describes herself as having worn many labels, most of which I share. (I'm not a doctor and I didn't stay in long enough to make Major.) She writes wonderful posts and is inspiring in her efforts to promote adult religious education.

Danielle Bean - What can I say? Who doesn't love Danielle's work? Her blog brings a smile to my face and she is always so full of wisdom.

June Cleaver After a Six-Pack - My introduction into this blogging world. Cris makes me laugh and who couldn't use more laughter in a day? She is so real and has a wonderful way of looking at things and tells a great story.

Minnesota Mom - I originally clicked on Margaret's blog because of the name as I am a bit nostalgic for all things MinneSNOWtan. She is a faith-filled woman who teaches me a lot and brightens my day often.

Building the Ark - I intended to kind of keep Jane's blog in my back pocket, so to speak, as Tom and I would like to adopt eventually, but I love her blog and read it every day. She is fun and full of great ideas.

Rosetta Stone - I love this blog. I love it's name, I love the pictures, I love the writing. Michelle is an inspiration to me and a great encourager! I also love her hubby's blog, Quaffs and Quibbles!

A Third Way - Melissa's "about me" description says it all. "Cradle Catholic who's trying to learn (and live) everything about the faith I should already know (and live)." I swear she has a direct link to my brain and is downloading everything I want to write about. This is a good thing because she says it soooo much better than I ever would.

Kate Wicker - Kate and I are "in the trenches of motherhood" together. She is a wonderful writer and I love how she writes to her daughters. Check out her latest letter.

The Willcox Family - Kat is the only one of these ladies that I actually know. She is a beautiful woman, inside and out, and full of faith. Her blog is filled with her wonderful photography and it always makes my heart smile.

Praying For Grace - Barbara is a lovely woman who always has tons of great ideas to share on how to live our faith everyday. Her post on The Clothesline sums up quite well why I venture out into the blogosphere.

Abigail's Alcove - While we are leading very different lives, we have a few common threads in our lives that just give me this special connection to Abigail's posts. I love how she writes about her conversion.

Et Tu - Another much beloved blogger, Jen just has a way with words. There's something about a cradle Catholic seeing the faith through a new converts eyes. Great writing!

GO PATS!!!

Praying for the Unborn

If you haven't noticed, I've added a 40 Days for Life banner to my sidebar again. There is another 40 Days for Life going on during Lent. I think this is soooo appropriate. Please check out the website. Even if you can't attend any of the activities, or there aren't any activities in a town near you, you can sign up for email updates. This was all I had for the last 40 Days (I was late to the game) and you get great emails with prayers and reflections. Please check it out.

PLEASE pray for this baby.

And here are some more links I've been saving to pass on.

Abortion and Contraception at Jogger Mom

Ending Abortion at This That and the Other Thing

"Mile High Club" at Catholic Fire

28 Reasons Abortion Insults Women at Jogger Mom

Straight from the Mouth of Our Lord at The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.

I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son.

I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself Never to be silent, Never to be passive, Never to be forgetful of the unborn.

I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, And never to stop defending life Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justice Not just for some, but for all.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

From Priests for Life website