In case I forgot to mention (and I know I have), I am taking a few classes on line to prepare for a degree completion program, woohoo. One of the classes I am taking requires that I go to see a production of some sort from a list provided. Yea! Well, not so yea! I made plans to go to see a play in Columbus with a friend of mine and shortly after the plans were set, I saw the weather forecast for 14 inches of snow.

For those who do not know, four inches of snow will shut down central Ohio for at least 12 hours.

After trying to figure out what would work the best and checking road conditions, I decided to make the drive down. Surprisingly, the roads were not too bad and the drivers, pretty good. (Except for the ones who didn’t brush off their headlights or bother turning them on.) Sure, it took a bit longer, but I also hit Cols in the middle of rush hour. The roads were plowed or treated, the people were driving both reasonably and prudently. It was great! I made it to Patty’s, picked her up, headed for dinner and the play. The side roads by her were somewhat plowed but passable. No slipping, no sliding.

After the play, I took her home and headed back. I had originally planned on spending the night, but saw that we were supposed to get six more inches of snow overnight. I decided it would be best to head home before that fell to make sure I would make it home. (We were supposed to present at a Pre-Cana Class this morning, but because of the weather, it was cancelled.)

Franklin County roads and Delaware County roads were just fine. Marion County? Marion County must be the red headed step child of the Ohio Department of Transportation. Most of my route home is along US 23 where it is limited access, so mostly freeway like, with a few “at grade” crossings. When I crossed in to Marion County, the road that has been mostly clear a few miles before, became completely snow covered. Not the blowing and drifting kind, just simply, snow  packed down by traffic. Lanes? There are lanes? Huh? I didn’t see pavement at all. Not one bit!

SR 95 was the same way, hardly any plowing. Interesting. I made it home though in one piece and am thankful for that!

A few things I saw, though, that did irk me:

1. Person driving 25 on the freeway, in Franklin County where the roads were mostly wet, and the traffic speed was about 40 – 45. And said person was driving a LAND ROVER! Aren’t those made for snow?

2. Person tried to pass me on US23 where it was totally snow covered and we weren’t actually driving in lanes. When he got next to me, we must have been 4 inches apart. I admit, I yelled at him. Don’t endanger my life because you want to be the leader of the 40 mph line.

3. Multiple jacked up trucks that passed me and moved in front of me, not allowing an assured clear distance and shot slush/ice/snow/salt up at my windshield, blinding me for 10 seconds.

Those with the aforementioned lack of proper snow removal, not to shabby.

Since I am also at the end stages of a cold, I opted to stay inside with C, who is also at the end stages of a cold, while Joshua took the other two outside. I think I will go check on them now and see what sort of fun they are having. (From the comfort of a window of course!)

Well, I can tell you that today was anything but ordinary for the Facefamily. We started the day out early and headed to the south side of Columbus, to a town called Grove-tuky, I mean, Grove City. There my friend Patty fed us some yummy chili and even more yummy cookie bars. (Complete with spelling time, so the kids wouldn’t understand. Pretty sure the first words they will spell will be cookies, ice cream, treat and candy.) Joshua helped Patty with things around the house while I kept the kids occupied. It was actually pretty easy since Patty has this awesome second floor with nothing to keep the kids from running, rolling, crab walking and playing “ring around the rosary”.

After we left Patty’s house, we went to the Vigil Mass at Holy Family in Columbus. Mass was wonderful, except I have a one year old who screams and screams and screams. Not unhappy per se, just does not want to sit in the pews. Any tips?

Since we knew it was going to be a late night, we decided to stop for dinner. Where to stop? Where to stop? Joshua suggested BigBoys and I was all like “HECK YEAH!” and may have actually clapped. I love Big Boy, I really do. On our sllloooow drive up High Street, through The Short North, Campus (which, I have to admit is pretty darn nice looking these days) and North Campus, I decided to text our favorite seminarian to invite him to dinner. After some hilarity, the type seen from time to time on Three’s Company, we arranged a meet up point to pick him up.  (Note to self and others don’t assume someone has your phone number saved in their phone, even if you know they have in the past ;))

Dinner was fun, Karol was THRILLED to learn about the invention known as the Salad Bar. Lettuce and hard boiled eggs? The kid was in heaven.

I was elected to drive home. So, we dropped our favorite seminarian off at the PCJ (one of my favorite places on this earth) and headed home.

On the ride home, I couldn’t wait to get home and in to bed. The kids mostly agreed at two of them fell asleep in the car and one, well, one she serenaded us with music from Advent “O Come Divine Messiah”, Star Trek – TNG (she hummed the opening song), Storytime “Put your finger on your head on your head…” and many more. If I could bottle this type of entertainment and sell it, we’d be rich. Alas,  we finally got home, the kids snug in bed, me, resting in comfy pajama pants, and now I can’t sleep.  Off to read something. Have  a great night.

I do not know how many of you are on Facebook. If you are, though, you may have noticed lots of women have a color as their status update. This supposed to be their bra color. The premise behind this is to help make more awareness for Breast Cancer. I will go on record as saying, there was a huge sadness in my heart to see so many woman participate in this “meme”. First, I will state my reason then I will post the comments of two very wonderful, striving to be holy, men and their takes on the subject.

My bra color is only to be known to my husband. Other men do not need to know what color bra I am wearing, nor for that fact, do other women. I know, just reading colors, I pictured what sort of a bra that my woman friends are wearing. Not in a sexual way, just in a “hmmm, wonder what that looks like?”. However, for some men who are reading this status update, this is a slippery slope. We cannot know what is in other’s hearts and where their struggles lie. If they are trying to live a chaste life, knowing the colors of the bras that their female friends may send them down that slope to unchastity.

Now from the two wonderful, striving to be holy men:

Consider this: By telling people the color of your own undergarments, you are effectively saying to them, “it’s okay for you to think of me in a way that only my spouse or someone in my same-sex locker room should see.” Effectively, you set yourself up to be objectified.

In addition, I see it as an offense against many men who, in this day and age are struggling horribly to maintain a chaste lifestyle. As a priest, I can tell you the number of men whose confessions I’ve heard who are struggling with sex addictions. It is hell. What this whole deal has done is spurred their curiosity: “What’s the color thing about?” The whole secrecy thing makes it worse. Then the guy knows. And then he starts to think and imagine…and about people he never would have thought of otherwise.

The man quoted above, is a priest, as stated in his comments. He hears the confessions of the men struggling with purity. He knows how a simple trip to the grocery store to pick up milk can turn in to an assault on a man and his struggle for that purity. He also hears the confessions of the woman affected by the man’s struggle for purity. He knows how much one little slip can cause damage that can take time to heal.

If you don’t realize the trouble that mentioning undergarment color can cause for perfectly healthy and normal men (not to mention the majority who are less than perfectly healthy and normal), you’ve got a bit of studying up to do.

It is *not* just a color – it’s a reference to a very personal and sacred part of humanity that shouldn’t be opened up to the general public. Otherwise, why do we wear clothes at all?

The above quote is the response of another man (not a priest) to those who might say “It is just a bra color, it is not a big deal”.

Breasts themselves are not bad, in fact, they are very good. They are an important part both the feeding of a children and the intimate relationship of a husband and a wife. It is that desire for an intimate relationship between man and woman that can lead to curiosity about a woman’s breasts.  Curiosity, if not mastered, can lead to unchaste acts, be it the viewing of pornography or inappropriate actions with a woman.

Women, in particular, need to be aware of how their actions can and do affect men. The simple act of sharing your bra color with your 187 friends on Facebook may seem like just a way to support breast cancer awareness, but it can also open up that curiosity and lead to unchaste acts.

Visit Peggy at The Simple Woman for more Daybook entries!

Outside my Window….Snow! Each day we wake up to another inch or so. It is so wonderful and pretty. If only it weren’t so very cold, we could go out and enjoy the lovely snow.

Thinking…lots of things, mainly trekking back down to Columbus tonight…and wondering if I can get to Holy Family for Mass.

Thankful for…a roof over my head, a wonderful husband who loves me even when I am a shrew. Also for little 4 year old boys who talk with their hands.

From the kitchen…leftovers tonight! Turing the leftover pot roast in to Italian Beef Sandwiches, yum. Think about lunch right now and thinking that the kids will have cheese, pickles, crackers and carrots, their favorite.

Faith and learning… planning on starting back with the kids and schooling next week. We were given lots of books for Christmas/Epiphany, so it will be fun to make up more lesson plans.

Creating…I put my sewing machine away right before Christmas and plan on leaving it there for a while!

Wearing…Paris pajama pants, Mystery Spot long sleeve tee shirt.

Reading…The Faith Explained, still. 

Praying…for Mary, that she have her baby before Friday! (Please join me in this intention, if the baby comes before Friday, she is free to have him/her naturally, if the baby doesn’t come on his/her own, she is scheduled for a C-section).

Hearing…Monster’s Inc. and C making lots of fun noises.

Around the house…need to clean up for a gathering this weekend. The main floor seems to be pretty clean, just need to scrub bathrooms and floors.

One of my favorite things…when C sees food and claps her hands for some.

December 31, 1999, the eve of Y2K. I was at a party in Columbus, Ohio having the time of my life (or so I thought). The clock struck midnight, champaign was opened, hugs and kisses were exchanged and  the Y2K scare was found to be, well,  unfounded. Our checking accounts were safe, our electricity was still on, gas pumps still worked, all was right with the world.

I thought I had the world by the tail. I had a great job, a nice car, a wonderful  boyfriend and no rent because I still lived at home. Little did I know, most of that would be  gone by the end of the year.  My heart was broken first. From that heartbreak came a desire to just start a new, so I quit my job and moved to Columbus.  I still had my nice car though and I loaded it up with my few things and drove south. I found a job and lived with a friend and her husband for the first few months. By the time January 2001 rolling in, I had tried out 4 other jobs and moved in to a cute two bedroom apartment with a roommate in a great little area in Columbus.

The biggest event of 2000 has not been mentioned yet. That would be the opening of my heart to the callings of our dear Father in Heaven. Shortly after I moved to Columbus, I found my way back to the Church through the grace of God and have been back ever since. Praise God!

December 31, 2000, the ringing in of another new year. This was also celebrated with friends and  drinks in the same location as the prior year. While I was going to church, I thought it was still okay to get stupid drunk and totally crazy. I had so much more to learn back then. Continuing on, 2001 brought a more steady job for me and a deeper growth in my faith. I was also blessed with meeting other young Catholics who were trying to live their faith. I am able to call most of the people I met then, friends and am truly thankful for that.

December 31, 2001, would it be odd if I don’t remember that day? I either babysat or was kissed at midnight by someone who made me want to barf.  2002 was a year that I continued growing in my faith. That fall I started attending RCIA classes (A wonderful CCC based class by Fr. Stephen-Dominic Hayes) to prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation. It was over all a good year, I don’t think I could complain a lick!

December 31, 2002, either was babysitting or was kissed by a someone who made me want to barf. Leaning towards babysitting. 2003 was a year that ended in a way that I would have never guessed. February was amazing as I began to truly discern my vocation. I told the “wonderful boyfriend” whom I had been on and off with this entire time to take a hike. While it was very hard to do then, it was the opening of a beautiful new chapter in my life, and the letting go totally of the previous life. In February, I also became acquainted with Brother Joshua of the Fathers of Mercy.

The spring time found me contacting and visiting various religious orders. I also took a trip out west with my friend Jon. (Friends only!) We went to Arizona and rented a car, drove to San Diego then crossed the boarder to Mexico on a bus for 3 hours. The next day we drove up the coast of California to Los Angeles, then back to Phoenix. What a great time and a great memory.

The summer found me working and wondering what my calling in life was! I took a visit to an order of sisters in New England and there I heard the answer I was seeking. I wasn’t called to be a religious sister, I was to be a wife and mother. God blessed with the answer to “who” with Joshua just a few weeks later. Deo Gratias. So by the end of 2003, I was living in Indiana and planning a wedding!

December 31, 2003, celebrated with Joshua at the house on Beaumont.  We were supposed to go to something at the Church but I had a bit of breakdown and just couldn’t handle being around other people. I have since sorted that out and kick myself for getting so freaked out that day! 2004 found us planning our wedding and planning our life together. I found a nice job and we were blessed with a nice place to live after we were married. On October 4, we were united before God in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

December 31, 2004, Mass at St. Boniface at Midnight with a little party after. We celebrated by singing songs and serenading Fr. Tim from the sidewalk below his window at the rectory. One of the nicest New Year’s I have ever had. 2005 brought us sorrows and joy. We lost our first child through miscarriage. Our sorrow gave way to joy when we found out I was expecting again! We spent most of the year preparing for our little one. Of course, he gave us a few extra days to prepare for him, not arriving until after the first of the year….

December 31, 2005, I just wanted to go in to labor. I can’t even recall what we did, I just know I was huge and pregnant and ready to go! Come out baby!! 2006 came in with me still pregnant and we were blessed with a healthy and happy homebirth on January 3. We spent a good part of 2006 watching our son grow while I grew another little baby. This was also the year of the 7 weddings. SEVEN! It was a great time to visit with family and friends though and to show off our little guy.

December 31, 2006, my my my, my memory is kinda wonky. Where was I? What did we do? We were awaiting word to see if we would be moving for a job in Illinois. 2007 was the year of the big move. We did get that job in Illinois and headed north on February with a one year old and a six week old baby girl. We spent the year working with at risk teens and pretty much enjoyed our jobs. We also watched our little ones grow and learn new things. We bravely took them on an airplane to Reno for a conference and survived.

December 31, 2007 was celebrated in Illinois, probably watching a movie or something in our quarters. 2008 was a year  of lots of changes for us. We found out that we were expecting a new little Facekid and were thrilled to death! We also decided that it was our time to move on from our job Illinois. We prayed and searched and prayed and searched and tada, we ended up back in Ohio. In December, we welcomed our next little girl!

December 31, 2008 was celebrated in front of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Mary Parish with friends. My inlaws were in town and had the older two kids and we had the baby. After our Holy Hour, we went back to our tiny apartment and celebrated with a bit of wine and food. 2009 brought another change, a change of address.  We bought a house just a block over from our apartment and set to work on fixing things up. We put a new roof on, got a new hot water tank, new windows, new doors, new locks, the list seems endless! It was a good year indeed!

December 31, 2009, sitting here watching X-Files with my wonderful husband. I am thankful for all that God had allowed us to have in spite of our wretchedness. Looking back on the decade, I have realized how far I have come by the Grace of God and I am looking forward to seeing where he leads us in the future!

Happy New Year’s and Happy Feast of the Mother of God!

As our tradition, we don’t decorate the tree until Christmas Eve. Yesterday afternoon, we ate an early dinner then started decorating the tree. Karol had so much fun, he was such a joy to watch. This is the first year that he really gets what is going on.  When we were done, we let the kids lay on the floor in the dining room and take naps there, looking at the lights.

After naps were over, we got ready for Mass at Holy Family in Columbus.  I was very thankful we decided to go there this year for a few reasons but I will only share one here. They use the St. Michael Hymnal. When we sang to opening hymn, I thought at St. Boniface, right now, they are probably singing the same hymns. I am very thankful for those wonderful people who put together the hymnal! Thank you Fr. Lutz for purchasing it for your parish!

The wee ones were pretty well behaved at the Mass and while I stood in the back with our baby chatterbox, I cannot complain. The Mass offered last night was the Extraordinary Form and wonderful. We headed back home after mass, around 145 am. When we got home, we ate cookies and drank milk. C seemed confused about what was going on. Of course she didn’t complain, she just stuffed cookies in her mouth. She was so tired, she would burst in to tears, then would see a cookie in her hand and away the tears went, until she forgot about the cookie in her hand again. We laughed at her for a few minutes then realized we were mean, so we all headed up to bed at 330.

The kids slept until 9 this morning. Joshua was up before all of us and put breakfast in the oven then let me sleep until almost 10. I am sure you wonder, what about presents. Well, we wait until the Epiphany for gifts to be given and opened. Today is spent eating and playing together as a family and eating some more. I see that the two older kids just cleared off a plate of cookies. Now they are in their sugar comas and watching a movie.

Merry Christmas to you all!

This was on Wednesday. C started crawling in to a cubbyhole so we stuck the rest of them in for a nice picture. Of course, this was the day after we ordered the pictures for our Christmas cards.

Karol was so very excited about putting decorations on the tree.

Karol holding an ornament. He loved this picture, so I had to put it in!

The finished tree. I was playing with camera settings and came up with this!

Before we left for Midnight Mass we had the kids pose in front of the tree. This was probably the best of the five I took, C just looks like she would rather be anywhere but here.

K and M begged to sing this song. I had to post it for you all. Yes, chaos reigns at our house and this video is just more proof of that.

Happy Advent

Edited to add more:

From the CNA:

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2009 / 12:12 pm (CNA).- In a recent round of authorizations by Benedict XVI on Saturday, Pope Pius XII was proclaimed as having displayed exemplary and “heroic virtue” in his life. The Holy Father’s decision to move ahead with the declaration rebuffs claims that Pius XII did nothing to help the Jews during World War II.  He now needs two miracles to be officially attributed to him to become a saint.

Pope Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, is most remembered for being the Pontiff during World War II.  While some say he did little to protest the deportation of Jews and the Holocaust, written records and witnesses tell another story.  They testify to his actions in defense of the Jews.  Accounts of his intervention to save 4,000 Jews from a ghetto in Rome and place them in convents and Catholic schools refute claims of his passiveness.

In May of 2009, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, a seminarian during the War, said that he couldn’t remember anyone saying anything but good things about the Pope during that time.  No one, he said, would have described the Pope’s reaction as “silent,” as would be said of him later.

In an article published in L’Osservatore Romano on May 28, 2008, Cardinal Ruini wrote, “it was obvious, in the atmosphere and ecclesial praxis of the time,” that if many “priests and religious communities, and the Vatican itself, had taken in and saved many persecuted Jews  … it could not have been done without the encouragement and consent of the Pope.”

Ruini called the claims of inaction nothing more than a “black legend.”

Today’s declaration on Pius XII was not the only news-making announcement.

Pope Benedict XVI also declared Pope John Paul II and eight others as having lived lives of “heroic virtue.” With the signature of the Pope and the support of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, they have all taken another step towards sainthood.

My mom made it back last night safe and sound. When she got home, she found me on the couch with K and M by me. K was running a fever and M was just laying there. My mom sent me to bed and said she would wake me up if one of the kids needed me. About an hour later, she woke me up to tell me K was running a fever. Bah!  She stripped him and put a teeshirt on him and gave him son medicine and put him in bed with me. He slept there very nicely after that. When I woke up in the morning, she said M didn’t go to bed until 230! Ah, crazy travel and crazy things it does to the body clock. M ended up sleeping on grandpa’s chair until about 9 this morning. Grandpa’s chair is in the living room, the room everyone has to go through multiple times while getting ready for school and work. M slept through all of that!

The car was ready at 834 this morning. I got the kids ready and packed our stuff then my dad drove me up to the repair shop and I picked up the car. By 1115, I was gassed up and heading home, with the kids, of course.

The drive home was pretty uneventful. I planned on stopping to get lunch for us and the BK Lounge sounded pretty good. I have a rule that we either stop before getting on to 696 or we stop in Monroe. No stops in between. I ended up taking a detoured way to find one, but we did!  I probably should have waited, BK in MI is more expensive than it is south of the border. AND my Whopper Jr was pitiful, really pitiful. It was not filling either. Blah. Oh well, we are supposed to be meatless during Advent, so I shouldn’t complain.

The traffic wasn’t too bad on the way back, just lots of wind. In Ohio, there were lots of trucks, so I decided to take a back road home and found the drive quite pleasant.It was during that part that Karol insisted that we go camping. He even went so far as to tell me “I will talk to Papa about this when we get home”. Cute kid.

We got home, put things away, did some laundry, started bread for tomorrow then started getting achy. Urg. I am probably getting sick and not thrilled about it. After dinner, I showered and smeared on the Vicks Vapo-rub. I smell great

Now we are probably going to watch a show and I will hopefully fall in to peaceful slumber here on the couch.

I am writing from the back room at the Martin Homestead. I have a quiet house with just the sound of at Nickelodeon show in the back ground. The kids are watching a lame-o show that Karol is protesting. I just put on NCIS and that is being met with tremendous revolt. So now, Cartoon Network is on.

My kids have NO idea how to watch regular TV. At home, the few shows they watch are “on demand”. That means, they demand and I put on. K doesn’t realize that he isn’t able to just watch “George” anytime he wants. I rather like it that way.

Of course, you are probably wondering, why are they still there? Weren’t they supposed to take a quick trip for the family party and be back on Sunday? Well, that was the plan, until the trusty car died. So we have been camping out at the Martin Homestead since Friday night. We didn’t even get to go to the Kress party because we were the last to head out that morning and everyone had left hours before us. Sad face.

So we had the car towed up to a shop in the town north of here. Fortunately they were open until 4 pm. Sadly, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the car. So, we did laundry and dug in. We were able to go to Mass on Saturday evening, using my Dad’s car. We spent yesterday hanging out. I made dinner for the family, meatloaf and baked potatoes. I made a sponge cake with egg white icing, a new thing for me. We then anxiously awaited a phone call from the shop today.

They called early and said it is blah blah blah and they would have it fixed this afternoon. Nope. At 430 we were informed that wasn’t going to happen. We had to come up with a B plan and that included renting a car to get back to Ohio so J could work. When we suggested that to the Martin Parental Units, that was met with, another suggestion.

So now, my mom is driving J down to Ohio (doing a round trip tonight, so say a prayer for her) and I am home with the kids. (I would have done the trip with J but Mom’s car is a stick and someone failed somewhere and I have never been taught how to drive a stick.)

Now I get to be in Michigan, enjoying cable tv until the car is fixed.  I hope it is fixed tomorrow, tv is pretty lame-o. Plus,  I miss J already.