hear, speak see no evil.......

2004-memory

A victorian gift pouch

We have been reading about Jane Austen and looking into Victorian England. We have a friend who likes to do  art and crafts with us.
This time we thought some crafts from Victorian England might be fun. This site had lots of fun ideas to make.

So we got the girls to make little gift pouches. All hand made. No sewing machines, using my favourite embriodery stitches.

And calling cards. These were an interesting item. Did you know that each corner once folded over meant a particular thing.....There was quite an etiqette to calling upin someone...

We will be making Christmas Crackers as well. Putting inside them, meaniful verses and small gifts for Christmas Day.

Advent & Novenas

I am looking around my Blog lists and other blog and seeing the most amazing posts reminding us pray and get ourselves ready for the coming of Our Lord.
We have gotten our Advent wreath arranged. We are lighting our candles each day at Breakfast.

We have begun our Advent chain. We are opening each Verse from the bible at breakfast as well
And I selected our great variety of books from the shelf.

Just a very small collectiion, the rest are being read by miss Brid

This year as Brid is getting older we are doing a family reflection every day, using Fulton Sheens' Advent & Christmas..
.

We have begun our St Andrews Novena and The Immaculate Conception Novena.

As the greenery is fresh we will replenish it as we need to. Some of our candles are from last year, we will update them as needed as well.

We get our candles from dusk. My favourite candle store.
We have put up our Jesse Tree and are slowly getting our Christmas decorations out.

We are trying to resist the temptations the world offers at Christmas. So how are your plans going???

Younger sisters answer the spiritual call

It was a lovely surprise to read this today, and I just had to share it with you all. We know each of these beautiful women pictured and Courtney as well. A very vibrant order of nuns.

November 19, 2011

Sisterhood ... nuns from the Missionaries of God's Love. From left, Sister Therese Mills, Courtney Chircop, Sister Rosie Drum and Sister Judy Bowe. Photo: Wolter Peeters

SURPRISES are common at school reunions, but Therese Mills offered up a real revelation.
''One of my friends went, 'oh yeah, I brought the nun,'' she said. ''And a fella we went to school with said, 'you brought the what?' ''
' 'Millsy, she's a nun'. And he was like, 'no way!' A lot of them were really spun out.''
Be it a radical life decision or a counter-cultural call from God, a small but significant number of young women are now bucking the usual trifecta of marriage, kids and career for another one - the chastity, poverty and obedience of religious life.
The number of women interested in vocations is up, reports the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, with inquiries coming from a much younger age group.
The growth of the Missionaries of God's Love (MGL) - a charismatic Catholic order founded in Canberra in 1986 - has left Sister Therese, now 37, and her 11 fellow nuns searching for a larger formation house. They have an average age of about 30.
Three new candidates in their early 20s, attracted by the MGL's ''radical'' vow of poverty, its special ministry to youth and its call to a life with God, are set to join them in the order's rented Quakers Hill household next year, helping boost its numbers from three to eight.
Among them will be Courtney Chircop, 22, who says she was attracted to a religious life but trained as a childcare worker before taking heed of some of her peers.
''I had some friends who wanted to join religious life, and one of them was only 17, and I thought that was pretty cool,'' she said.
But Ms Chircop said the prevailing reaction to her decision was shock, particularly her parents, who realised they would never be grandparents.
''They were like, 'can you have a kid and then get into religious life? We'll raise the child,' '' she said. ''It's taken a while for them to get used to it … overall, they just wanted what's best for me and what makes me happy.''
The order's Sister Judy Bowe, 46, said in an increasingly secular Australia, their lifestyle didn't make sense outside of faith. Chastity, in particular, was ''the nose ring of the church''.
''Because it's radical and sex is everything in this culture,'' she said. ''It's kind of a shocking symbol of counter-cultural 'wow'.''
A further nine Australian women, aged 18 to 36, have signed up with the habit-wearing Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia, a Nashville-based order that established its first mission house outside the US in Sydney in 2008. Four of these were in August.
The local superior and vocations director, Sister Mary Rachel Capets, said there was ''definitely'' a renewed global interest in young people dedicating their lives to God. The 150-year-old teaching order, at 280 sisters, is now as big as it has ever been.
Working with youth made an important difference to promoting vocation, she said.
''If you looked at the history of World Youth Day throughout the world, that is a definite fruit,'' she said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/younger-sisters-answer-the-spiritual-call-20111118-1nnex.html#ixzz1eI33GR95

Presentation of Our Lady at the Temple

Today is a beautiful Feast day.
The Presentation of Holy Mary is the “Birthday of the Congregation”. This day celebrates the day that the parents of Our Lady brought her to the Temple at the age of three and handed her over to live there, denying any worldly temptation to distract her prayers to God. Blessed Mary Mother of our saviour Jesus Christ being part of Gods great plan and concieved without original sin prepared for her sacred mission here

A wonderful message..movie review

Recently, we had the opportunity to see a wonderful Christian movie at the cinemas -COURAGEOUS.  The same directors as Fireproof.

We heard it advertised on our local Christian radion station and we wanted to support it. It was M rated, this concerned us as we wanted to take Brid. I suggested to Dermot we  check the dove foundation for a review.  We decided after reading there take on it, that it was OK for Brid to view.

After Piano lessons Dermot drove us into the city. It is usually rather busy on the roads in the late afternoon. This concerned me, bumper to bumper on the bridge into town. Oh Joy!!- not. It was a concern, because I had no idea as to how to get into the cinemas, as they were new-ish. The roads were completely clear and we arrived at the cinema 10 minutes before the movie started. This gave us plenty of time to buy an icecream and choose a seat.

The movie theate was fairly full. It looked like the patrons were from  various church groups with a smattering of others. How could I tell, you say. Well they are sat in rows together and they appeared to know each other.
There was no advertising before the movie, no previews. I wondered why? A projector failure. Surely they don’t use projectors.  A computer failure, or just an agreement between the cinema and  the movie company?? I don’t know, but it was very pleasant.
The movie was about a group of warrant officers in a state in USA. Their stories, where they came from and there walk with God. It showed good Christian morals and how each of these men wanted the best for their families. There was even a family who homeschooled. The movie centred around a Resolution that these men made in front of their families and each other to be the very best Father they could be, using the principles set out by Our Lord in the Bible.  
It asked men to be men of God and stand for up for their believes in God to their family and the world. It showed their struggles afterward and the way The Lord worked in their lives.  It stated that the problems we have today with gangs and young people would not be, if Fathers actually took there role seriously as fathers.
It ended with a scene in a church, with one of the men speaking of his experience to the congregation. People actually stood up at the end of the movie and made this resolution as well. It was a very powerful scene and a wonderful movie.

There was a point in the movie were the little girl asked her Daddy to dance with her, in  public place. He didn’t.  He regretted it. Would you Dance with your son or daughter?  I know Dermot would, He has. I would too?

Take a box of tissues and go see this movie.  Brid and I sat close, holding hands and sharing tissues. There were a couple of scenes that were 'physical fighting' scenes, which she needed me to talk her through, and scenes where she wanted to hold her Dads' hand- umm for 20mins. His arm stretched over me. He did it because she needed his hand.

May God bless you, May he empower us to build up strong men and women to bring the world to know Jesus.

Padre Pio

The Padre Pio dvd

Recently  I  have watched a great dvd of a Miracle worker Saint. St Pio of Pietrelcrina.  He is a remarkable modern day saint.
I purchased the dvd late last year at a homeschool camp, and left it on the shelf. Umm.. Why..? I wonder now. I was a fairly real portrayal of his life.
Recently I gave a small Pauline book to my Mum about St Padre' Pio, as she hasn't kept up with some of these 'modern day saint'. I will be passing this dvd on as well.
He was chosen by God for some amazing work and his Stigmata is well talked and queried.
I first learnt of him through the Disciples of Jesus, and have enjoyed  discussing his life with Dermot & our children.

We are all watching this dvd in small portions throught this week as part of our Religion, Geography, History etc..
 Pietrelicina is a small town in Italy, 2 hours drive from Sorrento. He was named Francesco after St Francis of Assisi. He received his gifts as a small child and announced at a young age that he wished to be a Friar.
He lived as a persecuted Priest due to his Stigmata,The gift of bilocation, wonderful confessor and the ability to have exactly thr right word of counsel. The church was sceptical about this, and it needed to be. He understood this, and offered his suffering through the crucified Lord.
Blessed John Paul II met with Padre' Pio and asked for prayers before he was even a Bishop.

He spend most of his days at a town known as San Giovanni Rotonda. It is the second visited pilgrim sight after Our Lady of Guadalupe.
We celebrate Padre Pios' feast day September 23rd.  He dies in 1968 and was canonised in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.

St Pio of Pietrelcina Pray for us.

All Hallows Eve

We are preparing to celebrate the month of November. On our Church calendar, November is dedicated to the Holy Souls.

In Australia, tomorrow is the Melbourne cup- a famous horse race, everything is geared around it, but its also All Saints Day.

Many families have their doubts about celebrating Halloween. For example, the practice of trick-or-treating is something that has only recently been celebrated on a large scale here in Australia. The association with pagan ritual is viewed as inappropriate and even considerd dangerous for children. In fact, Halloween has deep Christian roots, dating back to the eigth century, when Pope Gregory III established  All Hallows( known to us as All Saints Day on November 1st. This was to be the day to honour all the saints whi died with or wothout Church recognition. All Souls Day follows on 2nd November and is a time in which we pray for all the dead, including our own special frinds and family.
Light, long a symbol of life in Jesus, was used on 'Halloween'(meaning 'All Hallows Eve) to welcome good spirits and ward of evil ones. Candles were lit and placed inside hollowed out pumpkins, squash etc. Children,wearing masks. would go 'souling' from door to door, begging for soul cakes for those in purgatory.
Unfortunately, Halloween also coincides with a pagan festival honouring the God of the dead where customs intended to appease evil spirits, avoid haunting and foretell the future are common.

This Halloween, we celebrate Our Heavenly Family- by praying the Litany of the Saints.
                            we celebrate our deceased family members by praying for them during this month of November, visiting there grave sight and remembering them.

ME a Stylish Blogger...... award

Yesterday, I switched my computer on and to my surprise and delight into my mailbox was waiting a lovely little email, giving me a Stylisher Blog Award.
Me a Stylish Blogger.
As I had never received a blog award before, I was taken aback. What would I have to do to receive this award. What would I have to live up to.... nothing.  I look at other blogs and see these awards on there sidebars and think 'oh wouldn't that be nice to have someone think my blog is worthy of that.'
So my friend Sue selected me. You are too sweet Sue. I love our online chats. It brings a smile to my face when we get to have little chats.
Sue has been an inspiration to me and has helped me ,without realising it through a very hard time in our family through her honesty and unique writing style. Thank you.

So now I need to tell you 7 things about myself that you may not know about me.!!

1. I love coffee. As a nurse, I consumed tooo many cups a day. Now I  limit myself to 2.
2. I have the most adorable teenager as a daughter. I am so Blessed. But I think you all know that.
3.  I am actually rather shy..when I was  at school, I would go beetroot red if I was spoken to.
4.  Caving and Abseiling and rockclimbing where my hobbies before I was married.  Could I do them again. Yep in a flash.
5. My favourite subject is Human Anatomy and Geography.
6. We have lived in 5 houses in our married life.
7. Italy is my favourite country, but I would holiday any day in the Sunshine coast QLD.

And now for my awards. I love all my blogs I read but would like to
nominate
Anne from Under her Starry Mantle. I love her creations and she has been a treasure to find
Elizabeth from In the Heart of my home. Elizabeth has been a great inspiration to me with her many honest blog posts and her published books.
Lacy from Catholic Icing. I love Laceys craft. It was very helpful at Homeschool camp. Thanks.
Erin From Seven little Australians and counting. another inspiring blogger. We share many similar styles.
Faith from Strewing: Unschooling resources. I love her tuesday strewday.
I would like to nominate 2 teen bloggers, who both try very hard to keep interesting and fun blogs.
Sara. who tries hard to keep her blog fun and keeps close to her friends. I enjoy reading her blog posts.
Beth Who loves 50's fashion and Narnia, and has a great writing style.

Well I think I have written everything I need to. Hope these bloggers enjoy there award as much as I have.

What an Adventure

Wow what a month....  We had a homeschool camp, a week away as a family, and two weeks official school holidays between terms 3 and 4.
We had such a busy time, I ended up needing a few days to recover. And in truth so did Brid.

I wanted to share with you about our holiday.
We decided as we were so close to the Boarder of NSW & Queensland, that we would take a holiday up that way.
As Dermot works from home, its harder for him to switch off if we have holidays at home, so we try to get away at least once a year.

Coolangatta Beach

So back to our holiday...We left camp...stopped in the village of Lennox Head, had a lovely morning coffee and milkshake, and drove the hour or so to Coolangatta.
We needed to waste a little time as we were unable to check in to our accomodation before 1pm, so we drove through Byron Bay and had the car washed. It was very very dusty.
The Gps got us to our accomodation and we checked in, unpacked and were taken aback by the gorgeous views. We would see Dermot  later that afternoon. Meanwhile, we got used to our surroundings and relaxed. Had a late lunch on the beach and sent txtx back to family.
We got lost getting to the airport- the gps took us on back streets that didn't exist anymore. All I wanted to do was see my Darling.
So finally with Dermot arriving safely on the scheduled flight from our home town, we started our holiday, But not before one young lady got the bug that everyone else got after camp. No fun for her or us getting up most of the night. By the next evening she was beginning to feel better. So We had a fairly chilled out quite day.

Anne & myself

Our first big day was meeting up with another Homeschooling family and a Lady who always inspires me. We had a lovely day at Marian Valley- once we found it. After Mass, it didn't take long to spot Anne. That was a special meeting. It was lunch time so we shared what we had prepared. Anne and Phil and there children walked us around the valley and we looked at each of the statues and the grottos.
The Children explored and made friends. At the end of the day, the children were making a bridge close to where we were picnicing.
The piety shop was worth the visit. There was a talk being presented on Padre Pio, but we were happy to just chat. The day came to a close much to quickly, but we have lovely memories.

just getting to know the Dolphin

Us at Sea World

Sea World was next on the list. I love Sea World and although it was Brid who chose the place we would go, I secretly hoped she would choose Sea World. We asked  for a homeschool discount and we received one. Wow.. great saving. We have been to this park before when our older children were little- Brid was a baby, and it has grown each time. This time we wanted Brid to have an adventure with the Dolphins. It was a great experience, and apart from the DVD and photo we received, in a package,  we have some very cool photos of her with the Dolphins.

At the boarder

Our all day long excursions to these difference parks we explored, were offset by days of just chilling by the surf, on the beach, or a lovely beach walk during the day or at sunset.

What the Zoo is famous for- its crocs

Africa section- Steve Irwin dreamed of this  

We visited the Wildlife warriors intensive care for wounded annimals- attached to the zoo.

We have been to Australia Zoo as well-again when Brid was very young, but as we particularly like it, we drove the 2 hours north, past Brisbane and into the sunshine coast. We knew it was a long drive making it a big day but it was definitely worthwhile.
We have seen Australia Zoo grow from a very small zoo to its size today. Its message has always been conservation, preservation. It was a great learning day. The wildlife warriors hospital was an interesting experience seeing the animals hurt by human misadventure and the extend of the hospital

So after a week, sunning ourselves, long beach walks, theme parks and catching up with friends it was time to travel south. We dropped in to see Erin on our way home. Thanks for lunch Erin.
And then the long drive South. We were rather surprised at the journey only taking 8 and half hours, once we took our stops out.

A little addit, Brid took most of these photos, thanks to her wonderful photography course she took with some other hunter homeschooling teens

The liturgical year

At Homeschool camp recently we were asked to reflect and talk about how we celebrate the liturgical year.

I have been thinking on this a lot since then.

I remembered the year I really began taking notice of the liturgical calendar.
It was Advent and I was involved in a mothers group helping organise Children’s Masses in our church. Our children were all very small and attending school.
In the bulletin each week was a prayer and a reflection for each week of Advent. With a little bit of resistance we began saying the prayers. I realised change needed to be implemented slowly.
A little while later I realised that the colours in the church changed according to the season. Oh I was fascinated. I was so very green. I think I am trying to say here is that its ok to be where you are, and build upon these ideas as you go along.
I discovered that Mary had a month dedicated to her and the Rosary had a month as well. I didn’t quite know what to do but I had Mary as a central figure in our home at this time. As I said I was just learning.
Its very different to how I discovered the world of other Homeschooling Catholic families once we began homeschooling and looking at the blogging world. I had so much to learn. There were so many beautiful ways to celebrate the liturgical year and I was totally overwhelmed. I began with dolly steps.
I remember discussing this with a friend. We both purchased several pieces of cloth in liturgical colours and began following the liturgical year more closely.
I realised that each month has its dedication. March- St Joseph, May- Our Lady,etc.
So my reflection included looking at the progression of this. We now have a Family Alter, we are comfortable in the liturgical colours and how and when to use them. Candles and statues or prayer cards are happily added as we celebrate the Saints and their feast days. A cake and an image of the Saint is the best way we celebrate them. A litany is a favourite in our home. November is a favourite because we say the litany of the Saints and pray for the Souls in purgatory. Last year we placed every Saint on red cardboard and asked there intercession each day. We will do this again.
What a journey we have had. The calendar is now second nature.

So be comfortable where you are, and allow God to teach you. Don’t be stressed, just enjoy.    

Feast Of St Therese of Liseux or the Little Flower

She is the Saint of the little ways. I have learnt through parenting and particularly its the little ways that we see grace and Gods love.

We had grand plans for this feast day. Brid had been given a St Therese statue by her Grandma last Christmas- they share the same Patron Saint. This all came unstuck once we realised that a retreat for teen girls was on this weekend.

So before we left for our journey to join this retreat, we hurriedly place St Therese on the family dining table were flowers were waiting for her.

As St Therese is also celebrated in the old calendar on 3rd October, we will be enjoying her feast day then. .....

I first heard of her through a friend many years ago. I read her book ‘The story of a Soul’, and the story really didn’t capture my attention.  Some time later, Brid chose her as her confirmation Saint. She had many saints chosen so she prayed and asked the Saint wanting to be her Confirmation Saint to make it known to her. Brid decided to do a novena to St Therese, and nearly everyday she received a flower or a rose. On the last day, a person in a shop handed her a bunch of roses. Brid knew St Therese was the Saint for her.

So happily she added this name to her given names on her confirmation day.

Recently I read a lovely inspiring book. A little way of homeschooling – Suzie Andres. St Therese again.
Is she trying to tell me something, is this a message for me. Everywhere I go, she is there, present, waiting for me. I feel totally surrounded by her.
So today on her feast day, I took myself to Mass and I found myself attending Adoration and Benediction afterward. It was a very peaceful and calming experience. 

All day I was thinking,  “I wonder how Brid is celebrating this feast day? What is Mum doing? How are the girls and the Sisters getting on? Are they enjoying each others company.

Brid dressed up as St Therese at a Saints Party, aged 9

How did you celebrate St Therese of Liseux’ feast day.?

Every now and again...

What music did you enjoy when you were younger?

Whilst I was a teen and younger I was like any teeny bopper of my age, I loved Pop music and countdown- Australian popular music show. I was raised in a fairly secular home.
When I was a preteen, I saw Suzi Quatro on the TV and I fell in love with her music and wanted to research her every song and move, everything she liked. Obsessed. Maybe....
I grew up with her music and posters all over my walls and remember every tour she did of Australia, every song to every album. I was hooked. I had scrapbooks and collected everything Suzi. I liked that she was a Catholic.  I identified with us both being Catholic. This was yet another piece in the puzzle  in my discovery of God.
As my relationship with Jesus grew I tried to weigh this all up. I know that I needed to renounce this music, but it’s not that bad. Its just good fun.
You see I have personally met Suzi, so I knew she was a really normal cool person. She is like a friend to my whole family.  I have watched as a fan as she branched out into theatre, stage acting, as she became a mum, as she hurt when her Mum died, joined her on facebook, and as wrote her autobiography, and remarked at each new song she wrote.  All our children know who she is and have been raised with her music. Some have even seen her concerts.
So my little secret is now out there, I am a huge Suzi Quatro fan. ( Not that I am ashamed of it, its just I don't discuss it regularly.) I have seen her around the world and even got to spend time with her on one aussie tour in particular. I was friends with the road crew and her band. We have a friendship forged with Bev in the UK.
So how does this fit into my life as a committed Catholic. ?
How do I weigh it all up?  I don’t. I leave it up to God. Every couple of years I see her play a few gigs in Australia. I am Leanne- little rocker for a few hours a night and then I return to normality..
Suzi is back in Australia for the next few weeks. Dermot took me to see her in Queensland and last night in Sydney.  We have one more show to go and that will be a family affair.

a few years ago...

So do you have any secrets in your closets.???

Dads day

Last Sunday, We celebrated Fathers' day.
Dermot received a few gifts first thing in the morning. Brid could hardly wait. She took hours, the day before wrapping her treasures and making them just so. I eventually needed to hurry her along. It was nearly time for Vigil Mass.
So after a simple breakfast we made ourselves ready for our visitors, making sure to spoil Dermot along the way.
We had planned to gather together early afternoon for a BBQ lunch and catch up.

The evening before our visiting Priest had asked the Dads to stand for a Blessing and several Dads including Dermot were asked to read the Prayers of the Faithful. It was a lovely touch to his weekend as he called it.
Anyway, We chose a fairly simple menu for lunch, so I wasn't in the house cooking.
I wanted the Men-my Dad and Dermot, to enjoy there day.
They opened there carefully chosen Gifts from there family. Lots of lovely smiles and gratitude as there gifts were warmly received.
It was a gorgeous afternoon, no wind, mild sunny weather. We chatted til after 5 o'clock outside without needing to be chased inside with the cold air.

My Dad, Brid Louise & myself

the two happy Dads

Daddy & Brid

Grandad & Brid

Here are a few shots of our day. We are so Blessed to have such loving Dads in our lifes.

24 years ago...

We celebrated our 24th Wedding Anniversary earlier this week. We were married in my local parish.
We met 25 years ago in London. I was working in a pub, as most Aussies did when they took up a working Visa in the UK. Dermot was a London resident.
We met the first week I arrived. My heart skipped a beat.
We eventually spent more and more time together. We would take long walk in the park, enjoy Covent gardens, all those things couples do. I would leave work and he was there at the back, with his wink waiting to drop me home.
Fairly quickly we realised that we were meant to be together.
Within three weeks we were talking Marriage, the name of our children, how many children do you think we would be Blessed with?
Then the big decision were to live? I could get UK residency. That was not an issue, but was this the right place to start our life together?
Dermot decided that he would emigrate to Australia. This process took quite some time.
The Australian Embassy was quite slow at processing Dermot's forms.
We had a couple of hiccups. The Australian Government was only interested in Legal and people with 3 A levels. Dermot had neither. So we chose to apply for a fiance' visa.
This still took many months but at least if I stayed in the UK, He was more assured of being successful in his application. So we kept busy working and enjoying life together. By this stage I was a live out Nanny.
In the mean time, We needed to tell Dermots parents. They were not amused at all, and I was not the most popular person.
Eventually they knew it was inevitable and we would be leaving the shores of the UK with a destination of Australia.
The go ahead was given, and we needed to choose a date, it was governed by our marriage date, so the 5th June was our exit date. If you have a Fiance' visa, a 90 day period is givenfor you to Marry. So with my Parents assistance and the documents supplied by the Parish Priest we were to be married some 90 days later.
So our day arrived. I was late arriving at the church. The photographer held us up.
I looked at the invited guests. I said to my Dad, "There aren't many people". He said, "don't worry about that". It was a big arc shaped church, so it does hold a large congregation....The rest for another day.
So 24 years ago Dermot & I were married. I feel like the most Blessed women in the world. He is so adorable and he tries so hard to love me like I would like to be loved.

So Little Brid put a lovely request on the radio. "walking her home". Its all about the journey of a married couples life. I hope and pray we are able to walk each other home, even to our Lord. What a Blessed life we have loving each other. That is the  witness our world needs. Married couples loving each other through every good and difficult time.

I love you my Love, my best friend.  

Daddy time- ......This is what I am Thankful for

Brid and Dermot have been reading every night. They have finally finished Pippy Longstockings.

I am not sure what they will read next but here they are laughing and enjoying there reading time together

wordless wednesday

..........The life of a homeschooler.....

wordless wednesday

The day the Passha Bulcker came to town

Meme: Patron Saint of What?

Sue at Sue Elvis Writes, tagged me for this Saintly meme.

Assuming you are a saint, and your cause has been executed, your miracles confirmed, your date on the calendar established, all that is required is select that of which Holy Mother Church will name you Patron(ess).

For this meme, you must name your patronage and then tag 5 other people who would like to play along. Link your answer to your nominator's post.

Well firstly I must say, I am humbled to be tagged for this meme.
I have been pondering this question for some days. Patron Saint of what. Me. I am not a Saint, but what would I be Patron Saint of?

There could be a few areas.
Modern Family Issues. This one is close to my heart with brokenness even in my own childrens lives. I understand the affects society has on our families.
Justice for the falsely accused. Again close to our heart. We have spend years asking why were we accused of and judged by our own families. We read recently a book called Sarahs last wish- a story about our local Docs, local teaching hospital and thee manipulation of the legal system and its affects on the health of sarah and her family. My heart connected with this family, and how it was turned upside down,  and I understood there pain. I have a friend at the moment undergoing terrible allination and it upsets me and I pray for her and her family.
 Marriage; the upholding of the traditional marriage and family values. For our society to see A Married couple -Male and Female, Husband and wife, as a witness as to how Christ  loves his Church. This is a very scary situation in our world at present.
These three causes, I feel very strongly about and would be quite humbled to pray for and be Patron saint of any of these issues.
But I feel the most important of all these is the sanctity of the family and a traditional marriage. This is the cause, as such, that I would loved to be Blessed as Patron Saint of.

So I hope the following 5 bloggers will accept the invitation to continue this thought prevoking fun meme.
Corrine at Embracing hats
Therese at Aussie coffee shop
Gae at Cherished Hearts at home
Tricia at Do Whatever he Tells you
Leonie at Living without School

Oh and one last one.Gods Girl.
God Bless.

The Assumption.

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.

On Saturday Vigil Mass, I opened the parish bulletin to see when the Mass for this Feast would be celebrated. I was so disappointed when I read 7am. This was for 3 Mass centres. 
So Sunday I began to ring a few Parishes to find a much more friendly time for us.
Our former Parish had Mass being celebrated 3 times that day.

We decided to attend the Cathedral at 12md.
We knew we would need to be there early as the parking in the streets is tight.
Brid & I met Dermot there.
There was much hussle & bussle around us, but we focused on the alter and the beautiful statue of Our Lady.
Mass began and we were delighted to hear the lovely organ and the old traditional music playing.
It was a beautiful Mass and Fathers' homily was touching to say the least.

He said those who draw close to Mary, she in turn draws them to her Son. So true isn't it.

Such a Memory WYD -Sydney

I pray our Youth will Receive the Power.

2 years later..

Two years ago we moved to this our new home. I have previously blogged about this here. We loved our last home very much. We found the land, we found the design plan, we interviewed the builder, each of the children got to decide which room they would have. We were not locked out as they build our home. We were included and our input was valued by our builder. We grew our home and we planted and moved every piece of soil where we needed it. Brid was born in this home. It was our family home.
So when it came to making the decision to move,  it was hard, very hard. God made that decision, and it took us a while to follow that lead.
He moved us to an area that we never would have considered, but now we see why.
We have been planted among friends, we are being nurtured, and we are in turn nurturing. We were pretty broken when we arrived, but you know no one would have known from the outside. We took refuge here and God has given us new life, in the form of our own resurrection from death.
We have a very comfortable home on around half an acre. We have build and added several features that make us comfortable in our bricks and mortar. These are wonderful and we thank God for providing for us, but only part of our family is here with us.
This is our new family home and one day each of our children will see and love it, like we do. Until then we pray and look after each other.
We keep ourselves nurtured in Gods love.
Since we have been here, we have opened our home to Marriage gatherings monthly. It is growing every month and it inspires and challenges us all.
We have had may types of others gatherings, all Church related and we love opening our home to these types of get togethers.
God has Blessed us abundantly and we are forever indebted to him.
I must also say that St Joseph played a large part in our moving. He saw that our house was sold and we exchanged houses on the same day. We were told we had sold our home on a Marian Feast day. We moved in on the Feast of Transfiguration. So I have no doubt that we had divine intervention with all of this.
We are in the process of Building a Mary Garden and St Joseph is an image you see as you enter our home.

We have been here 2 years thak you Lord.

Feast of St Mary of the Cross

Our first Australian Saint, We celebrate her Feast Day today.

Mary overcame many obstacles to follow her dream, but she never lost hope. Mary’s motto was ‘never see a need without trying to do something about it.’ Her life reveals to us a compassionate God, a God of love. Her actions acknowledged the human dignity of each person. Her life speaks to Australians, in a unique way, of the message of God’s love for all, especially for the ‘underdog’ and the ‘battler.’ She embodies all that is best in our Australian nation and its people

Saints are the heroes of the Church. Mary MacKillop may not have considered herself a saint but those around her saw her heroic qualities and began to see her as a saintly person.

Receiving Jesus on our knees

I was reading through Cathnews today and I saw this article.
I immediately opened it as its area of discussion with another friend. I am in favour of this, but in our modern Catholic world I can see resistance.

The Vatican cardinal in charge of the Mass wants to the faithful to go back to the practice of receiving communion on the tongue while kneeling, reports the Australian.

The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, said such a "sign of adoration needs to be recovered".
"I think the entire church needs to receive communion while kneeling," said the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
"It is to simply know that we are before God himself and that he came to us and that we are undeserving," he told the Catholic News Agency during a visit to Peru last week.
"If we trivialise communion, we trivialise everything, and we cannot lose a moment as important as that of receiving communion, of recognising the real presence of Christ."
The cardinal said Catholics who received communion while standing should make "a genuflection or profound bow".

Burn-out Encouragement night topic

Here where we live, we are fortunate to have a large homeschooling community. Every month,  mothers are invited to get together to discuss an area of homeschooling.
This month was burn out. I can identify with burn out in others areas of my life. My job as a Midwife was wonderful, but very stressful. I worked Delivery Suite. You never knew what the shify would entail.
I had every symptom of burnout, but my time to move out of the unit for a 6 week break was 12 months away. WHAT!! I was desperate, so I organised with another midwife of exactly the same experience to work my 6 week roster, and I would do her roster in post natal.
The Lord had other plans, because I was sick before I could take my break. I had the Flu twice, and then Pertussis. I was very weak when I returned to work months later, but nurses soldier on, don't we. I looked at my Roster. Night duty, and 2 solid weeks. Argh. I welled up. In that moment, I knew I had to leave. The Midwife looking across at me, when I read my roster, could see how upset I was. I was struggling getting to work for reduced hours and getting out of bed on time. I was exhausted getting from the carpark to the unit. So how was I going to do 10 and half hour nights. And look after my family.
So what were my symptoms of burnout. It is a little embarrassing but... I dreaded every labouring women walking in the door. "If I hear another....". I didn't want to spend time getting to know the couple and the Mum to be. Totally unlike me, I couldn't see my way clear, everything was fussy regarding work. My clarity had gone. I knew this was not the best way to present myself in my area of work. This is why I knew it was the best thing for me, to have a break.
It never happened.
I left the next day. I didn't give my mandatory 4 weeks’ notice. I took extended sick leave. All my colleagues were totally shocked.
When I had recovered sufficiently,  I worked casual at the local Private Maternity Hospital.

So Burn out, I do know the signs. I may find myself stressed from time to time, but it is me creating the stress. Placing unfair expectations on Brid. So how do I deal with the stress. It might sound simple, but I take it The Lord.
I re-evaluated our school day. What was necessary and what was not.
A word used last night was 'slashing' curricula. I do that often. I felt guilty in the past, at times. Do others do this? And the answer is Yes they do. So if things aren't working we try a new direction, all the while learning.
At present we are using a resource. Stories of the Saints - CatholicHeritage Curriculum. Great resource, but we slash as we go. Brid is still learning. The resource covers all the key learning areas, and more. Therefore, if Brid is not happy doing a question, I access. "Is this worth it". More than not,  its better to have  harmony, enjoy the topic than drudge through it. Often we reap much more this way.
I wake up every morning wondering what God has install for us this day. I love homeschooling Brid, I love our lifestyle, I love the fact that my darling hubbie works from home, I love my family and I thank God for every opportunity, he places in my path.
This post did not follow the path I expected it would but it followed its own journey....
Two of my homeschooling friends, from the hunter, have written great posts on last night’s topic. Pop over and have a read.