Sede Vacante

Karol asked if we could go to Mass again today. I couldn’t come up with a good reason to tell him no and my heart was telling me to go as well, so we went to the 1210 Mass in Valdosta. Joshua met us there as well, which made it nice.

On the way to town, Karol was upset about the retirement of our Holy Father and kept asking why. I reassured him that everything was going to be just fine and that God will not abandon us, Pope Benedict, nor the Church. That calmed him down a bit and seemed to accept my answers.

After Mass, we headed home, had lunch, then sat down for some quiet time. At 2pm, I told the kids it was time to say a prayer for our former Holy Father and for our Church.  I didn’t make it through the first Ave before I started bawling my eyes out. Saying goodbye is hard!

Now we wait for the announcement of the Conclave and the election of our new Pope. I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited to see what the Holy Spirit has in store for the Church!

Filed under: Catholic

Papa Bene and Mass this Morning

This morning, I woke up early, threw my hair in a ponytail, got the kids dressed (with Joshua’s help) and headed off to Mass (with the kids, but without Joshua). Our pastor was offering the Mass today in Thanksgiving for Pope Benedict XVI and I wanted to be there, as it would be the last Mass where we would hear “Benedict our pope.”

I made it there, with a minute to spare, got in the pew with the kids. I made it through the Mass with a few children who thought silence was an option. I made it through with my temper in check. I ignored a fit being thrown by a cute four year old (she missed the Holy Water font on the way in and wasn’t happy about). Her fit involved her laying on the floor and being very quiet. I was okay with that for today.

Benedict (the two year old, not the Holy Father) brought a stuffed toy in with him. Yikes, normally not permitted and I was reminded why. Flamingo started snoring during the homily. No it wasn’t a toy that made noise, Benedict decided that it was sleepy.

Margaret and Karol had their little skirmishes but were mostly okay, I think. Maybe not. All I know is that at 37+ weeks along, I took my four kids to Mass on my own. There was a time where I was scared to just take the older two out in public on my own.

I am so very thankful for the Mass that Father offered this morning. Our pastor has a special connection to our Holy Father. He was studying in Roma when Blessed John Paul II died and was there in the Square when Pope Benedict was announced our pope. He was also selected to read during the Holy Father’s Inaugural Mass.

Let us keep our Holy Father in our prayers as he finishes out the final day of his Pontificate, and let us offer our prayers for the College of Cardinals, that they be guided by the Holy Spirit as they prepare for, then enter the Conclave, in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Catholic

End Times

“But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,- but the Father alone.”
Matthew 24:36

I’ve seen a lot of discussion around the interwebs these past few weeks, about the end times. It seems that many people are buying in to prophesies about the end of the world and tying them into the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Many of these people, good and faithful Catholics, those who would scoff at a Mayan Calendar or someone predicting that the end of the world would happen at 6pm this Saturday, are taking to heart that Pope Benedict is the second to last pope and that the end of the world is upon us.

I don’t know if this is the case, because I’m not God (see scripture above), but even if it were, if I’m living my life as I should (trying to be faithful, receiving the sacraments as often as possible) why should I be afraid? Shouldn’t I trust in the Lord to deliver me from evil? We pray that every time we pray the Our Father, shouldn’t we believe that He will?

 

Filed under: Catholic

Adopt A Cardinal

Have you seen this? It’s a pretty cool thing to do, adopting a Cardinal to pray for leading up to and including (and I’m sure after) the upcoming Conclave.

I am praying for Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, O.P. from Austria. Who are you praying for?

Filed under: Catholic

Build Me an Ark

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Flooded side yard.

 

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The lake that used to be our front yard.
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Backyard, overlooking the pecan grove. No we don’t have a pond back there either. A bit further back, there is a pond though, you can see it off to the left. That is getting higher as well.
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This is supposed to be a goldfish pond thing off our back patio. We don’t actually have it full of water on our own, so this is all mother nature’s gift to us. I’d say there is at least 12 inches if not more.

 

We are where the "peg" is. I don't think there will be an end to this anytime soon.
We are where the “peg” is. I don’t think there will be an end to this anytime soon.

 

Filed under: General Stuff

Beautiful Words

God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Christ of Saint John of the Cross - Dali (1951)
Christ of Saint John of the Cross – Dali (1951)
Filed under: General Stuff

7 Quick Takes – III

7 quick takes sm1 7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 206)

 

  1. The time of the baby is drawing near! We have settled on baby names as well and have godparents! The baby naming took a bit of time, and since we are convinced we are having a girl, I figured we needed a solid boys name as well, because I just know if we don’t we will have a boy. If found out in the discussion of names that Joshua wasn’t sold completely on the middle name for a girl, so we discussed that and changed it. They are solid names, I promise and no, we don’t share before the birth.
  2. I’ve had hives since Wednesday. There isn’t much I can do for them, except monitor them and take allergy medication if they get annoying. They aren’t too bad this morning, but if I stand for too long, they flare up on my legs. I imagine that is because of blood moving there? Who knows. All I know is that I want them to go away and I’m not very good at offering up all over pain. 🙁
  3. The items I ordered from Target and Amazon are either here or on their way. I also ordered a few more supplies for the birth, mostly post birth things we will need.
  4. I had an appointment with my midwife on Monday and all is well. The baby’s heart rate is around 130, my blood pressure is good, and everything else looks wonderful! Now if these hives would just go away.
  5. I’ve posted before about my nursing issues, that I don’t produce milk, and I have to supplement. I joined an online support group, mainly for help in using the Lact-Aid I bought, but I’ve found the women to be very helpful. I long ago moved on from the sorrow of not being able to fully nurse my babies, but sometimes it is nice to hear from other women who have had this problem. We are 99.9% sure I have this. It is rare, thankfully, but something that even lactation consultants aren’t really aware of.
  6. Is anyone else having sticker shock at the gas pump? Between loss of the Social Security tax holiday and the increase in gas prices, our budget is pretty tight. I am thankful for Joshua’s job and for the side work I do for his company as well. I am also thankful for Impressus Art, because even if it doesn’t make us rich, it provides when we need it. (And shameless plug, if you know a seminarian who is being ordained this year, or know a couple who is getting married, we do holy cards, invitation, and programs.)
  7. In less than a week, we will be saying our final goodbyes to Pope Benedict XVI. Today, on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, let us pray for our Holy Father and for the yet unknown, future Pope.

Long live the Pope! His praises sound again and yet again:
His rule is over space and time; His throne the hearts of men:
All hail! The Shepherd King of Rome, The theme of loving song:
Let all the earth his glory sing, And heav’n the strain prolong.
Let all the earth his glory sing, And heav’n the strain prolong.

Beleaguered by the foes of earth,  Beset by hosts of hell,
He guards the loyal flock of Christ, A watchful sentinel:
And yet, amid the din and strife, The clash of mace and sword,
He bears alone the shepherds staff, This champion of the Lord,
He bears alone the shepherds staff, This champion of the Lord.

His signet is the Fisherman’s; No sceptre does he bear;
In meek and lowly majesty He rules from Peter’s Chair:
And yet from ev’ry tribe and tongue, From clime and zone,
Three hundred million voices sing, The glory of his throne,
Three hundred million voices sing, The glory of his throne,

Then raise the chant, with heart and voice, in church and school and home:
“Long live the Shepherd of the Flock! Long live the Pope of Rome!”
Almighty Father, bless his work, Protect him in his ways,
Receive his pray’rs, fulfil his hopes and grant him “length of days,”
Receive his pray’rs, fulfil his hopes and grant him “length of days.”

 

For more 7 Quick Takes, check out Jennifer’s blog.

Filed under: 7 quick takes

Wow, the Hives, they Itch!

This morning, right before I got out of bed, I was hit with a case of the hives. This is not too uncommon for me and usually they go away when I start making breakfast.

Not today.

Today I had them on my face, on my legs, on my belly, on my scalp, on my neck, and on my arms. I’ve never had them that bad before, ever. They stuck around all day too, until I took allergy medicine, then after an hour, they subsided. Of course, Joshua, who got to hear from me all day about how bad they were, didn’t get to see them when he got home.

Has anyone out there ever gotten bad hives while pregnant? What did you do?

Filed under: General Stuff

And the Punishments

Last night, after the rest of the kids went to bed, we sat down with Margaret to ask her why she decided to take a walk. She didn’t give a reason, so we talked to her about what could have happened and why she must never go adventuring again.

In the end her punishment is that she cannot leave the back patio for a week and when that time is up, she is only able to play in the backyard where I can see her from a window. Caecilia received a one day detention to the back patio, and then will have to follow the same restrictions as Margaret.

This morning, we were getting ready to leave on an errand when Margaret told me that she would not play with the armor we brought home from the birthday party for 4 days and 9 nights. When I asked why, she said that it was because she really likes playing with it and it would be good to not play with it, so she can remember to be good.

Personally, I think she decided on it because she was wearing it on her adventure.

One thing about Margaret is that she knows when she has done something pretty bad and really thinks about what she’s done.

Filed under: General Stuff