A Birthday Present...

Brid celebrates her birthday the day after mine, and it has always been said that she was my birthday present.
Each year Brid is Blessed to have a party to celebrating her Birthday...How indulgent you may say. I look at it differently, it’s an excuse to gather her family and friends around her and celebrate....I love figuring out what theme we should use every year. Its lots of fun planning and creating.  
Brid is Blessed to have a great group of teens to socialise with in her area.
So what did they get up to, you may ask? Well, inspired by a recent Body Shop party we attended, I suggested to Brid that we have a Pamper party.. Yes, that sounds fun.
The guest list was drawn up. The invitation were designed by Brid, The rsvp date  set and then the invites were send out.  A few friends were unable to come, but they were there in spirit.

The girls were gathered together and we began soaking feet, exfoliating and massaging with a gorgeous foot moisturiser. We moved onto hands where we soaked, exfoliated, massaged and then filed and painted their nails. There was lots of chatting and laughing, along with eating of yummy party food.
Brids sister, Louise popped in to join the party, it certainly made Brid’s day.

I thought several hours would be plenty of time for feet, nails, Hair and makeup. I was wrong; we could have another whole party with the activities we missed, buts that ok. Everyone got into the swing of things pampering each other and doing each other’s hair. The straightener, the Curler and the hair accessories were working overtime.

We barely had enough time to open the well thought out presents, sing Happy Birthday to Brid, cut and eat a slice of Cheesecake, before it was time for our guests to go.  
It was such a great afternoon, and a perfect way to spend your 14^th Birthday. It was only topped off by family arriving for a family dinner, just as guests were leaving. Busy busy day, but it was lots of fun.  Phew,,now to recover...!!!!

A movie we just.......

Brid & I love watching girlie movies, particularly when Daddy is out. The last week we have been watching The Princess Diaries.
Yes I know they aren't period dramas, but they have such appeal. So much to talk about. A real feel good movie, and I love Julie Andrews. So does Brid.
There are so many funny things that happen, so many threads running through the movies.
Have a little look at these images...

discovering she is a Princess...

At school before her life changed forever

transforming

A princess waves like this

being presented to her country

A shawl would be nice, but its a lovely shot

She plays any role well

Another monumental moment

enough said

Truly transformed .......

An embarassing moment, and a saved moment all in one

she played a great Queen

Did she get married?

               I hope you enjoyed looking at these images of these movies we really enjoyed

DIVINE MERCY 2012

  

On Sunday, 30th April, 2000, (the canonisation of Saint Faustina and Feast of Divine Mercy), Pope John Paul II announced to the world, "It is important that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter (first Sunday after Easter), which from now on throughout the Church will be called 'Divine Mercy Sunday'." We are looking forward to celebrating this feast day this Sunday.

Marriage: it’s time to clear away the fog

Marriage: it’s time to clear away the fog | CatholicHerald.co.uk
Can a man marry a man? Can a woman marry a woman? Can a man simultaneously marry several women, or a woman several men? Can a man simultaneously marry several men, or a woman several women? Can a man marry his sister or his mother? His brother or his father? Can a woman marry her brother or father? Her sister or mother?
All of these questions are now on the table in our culture. They cannot be properly answered unless we know what marriage is. As Catholics, we have an incredibly rich body of teaching to draw from in order to understand the meaning and purpose of marriage. Let’s begin with a basic definition drawn from Canon Law and the Second Vatican Council. Then we’ll look at each of its parts.
Marriage is the intimate, exclusive, indissoluble communion of life and love entered by man and woman at the design of the Creator for the purpose of their own good and the procreation and education of children; this covenant between baptised persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.
Intimate communion of life and love: Marriage is the closest and most intimate of human friendships. It involves the sharing of the whole of a person’s life with his/her spouse. Marriage calls for a mutual self-surrender so intimate and complete that spouses – without losing their individuality – become “one”, not only in body, but in soul.
Exclusive communion of life and love: As a mutual gift of two persons to each other, this intimate union excludes such union with anyone else. It demands the total fidelity of the spouses. This exclusivity is essential for the good of the couple’s children as well.
Indissoluble communion of life and love: Husband and wife are not joined by passing emotion or mere erotic inclination which, selfishly pursued, fades quickly away. They are joined in authentic conjugal love by the firm and irrevocable act of their own will. Once their mutual consent has been consummated by genital intercourse, an unbreakable bond is established between the spouses. For the baptised, this bond is sealed by the Holy Spirit and becomes absolutely indissoluble. Thus, the Church does not so much teach that divorce is wrong, but that divorce is impossible, regardless of its civil implications.
Entered by man and woman: The complementarity of the sexes is essential to marriage. It’s not that two men (or two women) could marry, but the Church won’t “let them”. If we understand what marriage is, we will see very clearly that it is impossible for members of the same sex to marry.
At the design of the Creator: God is the author of marriage. He inscribed the call to marriage in our very being by creating us as male and female. We, therefore, are not able to change the nature and purposes of marriage.
For the purpose of their own good: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen 2:18). Conversely, it’s for their own good, for their benefit, enrichment, and ultimately their salvation, that a man and woman join their lives in marriage.
Procreation and education of children: Children are not added on to marriage and conjugal love, but spring from the very heart of the spouses mutual self-giving, as its fruit and fulfilment. Intentional exclusion of children, then, contradicts the very nature and purpose of marriage.
Covenant: While marriage involves a legal contract, a covenant goes beyond the minimum rights and responsibilities guaranteed by a contract. A covenant calls the spouses to share in the free total, faithful, and fruitful love of God. For it is God who, in the image of his own Covenant with his people, joins the spouses in a more binding and sacred way than any human contract.
The dignity of a sacrament: Marriage between baptised persons is an efficacious sign of the union between Christ and the Church, and, as such, is a means of grace. That is, marriage – in as much as the union of man and woman truly symbolises Christ’s love for the Church – really communicates Christ’s love to the spouses and, through them, to the whole world.
We must find ways to respond charitably and forthrightly to the challenges posed by the modern move to redefine marriage.
Christopher West is a research fellow and faculty member of the Theology of the Body Institute in Exton, Pennsylvania and founder of the Cor Project. His latest book is called At the Heart of the Gospel: Reclaiming the Body for the New Evangelisation (Image, £9.57). For more information, visit Christopherwest.com

Someones Birthday....

Today was the day our sweet young Louise entered the world and our lives were changed forever. We recently watched Videos of her as a baby. (We have been putting all our videos to DVD. )
She was the most well mannered child. She certainly was the boss with her siblings. I suppose this comes with being the eldest. We hope you enjoy a small snapshot of our gorgeous Louise.

Today she turns 24 and I still can't believe how time has flown. She has lit up our life and she continued to light up others lives.

Happy Birthday our sweet young lady. We love you so very much.

St Joseph

This month is the month dedicated to S Joseph.
There are some saints who just surround you, without realising it. Until you become aware of them.
St Joseph is one of these saints.
He has been quite a helper in our family recently. He helped us buy our  home we live in now. He led us to our new church and often I see him on the stain glass windows of a church and have a little giggle. He surrounds us everywhere.
Our new church, is St Josephs. He sits high above the alter. When we were discerning a new parish, we didn't realise that the church, we had attended several times, was named St Josephs'. We were just drawn there.
Recently Dermot bought me a St Joseph statue after many many hints. My last hint was a little like a sledge hammer. I send him an email with my wishlist on it. So our gorgeous statue arrived from Italy a few weeks ago. He sits on our family alter. I was hoping for one smaller than the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but it is not, and I will not complain.

You see when we walked into our new home, it has everything that we asked for and more. We prayed and said novenas for the right home.
I promised I would honour St Joseph and tell of this story to everyone, because there were two quite significant sticking points that were ironed out without a problem, during the buying process.
I know God is in control, but St Joseph certainly partitioned for us.
He is a good friend like many saints can be to us.
Brid has her favourite saint that chose her. The Queen of All Saints- Mother Mary, has lead me to her Son from a very young age. What saint has been significant in your life?
 
St Joseph is the patron of many things. A Happy death, the Universal Church, Fathers, Social Justice and of course Carpenters. He certainly had a big impact on Jesus in his formative years. He lead him and his mother to safety in there time of need and listened to God for direction.
I thank St Joseph everyday for guiding and partitioning for us. St Joseph Pray for us.

Dreams and Passions

Have you ever had a dream?
I have?
My hearts desire was to be a Nurse, to be married and be a Mum. After I registered as a Nurse-RN. I went overseas met my husband and we return home here to be married. I was fortunate enough to gain a full time position   on my arrival home.
It dawned on me one day, is this all there is to nursing....What have I done, this is not what I wanted. .   After our eldest was born, I knew my next desire. Be a full time Mum. No.. Its was to train and be a Midwife... when she was 10 months old I was accepted to the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Waratah, NSW. I was so excited but also apprehensive. Dermot was also completing his studies. Dermot had a full time student load and as Midwifery was a paid hospital based position in those days - before the system spoilt it!!, I was bringing in the income. I had the best babysitters my Mum and a good friend, and of course Daddy. You see I had a full student load and a full time rotating roster. BUT I loved it.
I had found my dream job.
In the back of my mind I thought I would like to be home with Louise and her siblings as they arrived, but I loved and thrived on this life too.
The children did not miss out, shift work and working part time meant I could create a roster around my family. So with a Nanny by this stage, and my Mum and of course Daddy, we lived this life.
Eventually though I desired to be home with the children more and more.

So when Brid tells me her desires of the heart with such passion, I can totally relate to her. I lived my passion, I loved my job. I couldn't call it a career because I didn't strive to go up the career ladder. I was best, one on one, in Delivery Suite birthing women, or being with them in a crisis time. I loved the Tiny babies in Neonatal care, that were so delicate and fragile, being able to support there parents and tend to there tiny child.
Now its my time to give guidance to Brid to live her passion. Her passion is dance. Actually Ballet. She lives for it and has moved Ballet schools to pursue these dreams.
So our homeschool day is weaved around various lessons and in the future I am sure there will be more interweaving.