WARNING - the ugliness and offensiveness that is a part of the "pro-choice" marches

I've intentionally kept these photos small. If they are hard to see and read then just click on the image and you can see it larger. I hesitated to post these before because they may offend some people. But I think that they are important to see. Although they are a fraction of the marchers at these rallies I freely ADMIT, notice that they are NOT compelled by the less hostile marchers to get rid of these offensive signs or to leave the march all together. Shouldn't our "Catholic" politicians who vote "pro-choice" see these photos and know that they are helping to forward the agenda of people like this? I doubt they care... But I care and I hope that these people's hearts will be softened and their eyes opened...

12 Weeks - 10 Little Toes

Our Lady of Guadalupe help us to embrace each little one that is sent to us no matter what the circumstances. When life is difficult - help us. When we are afraid - comfort us. When we begin to despair - show us your Son - Jesus - for He is Mercy itself. Mother of all Mothers help all women to see motherhood as an awesome mystery and miracle. Amen

Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe

Soldiers

Want to see a moving photo? Go to http://mydomesticchuch.blogspot.com and scroll down until you find a photo of a soldier holding a small girl against him in a chair. The attached story is touching. Personally I feel that our military men are some of the last good men we've got left in this country! I get very defensive of all the criticism they seem to unfairly be subjected to. Whatever your position may be on the Iraq situation - our soldier ARE doing more GOOD than bad. They are honorable men in a less than honorable world to say the LEAST!

These three pics are from some of the anti-war rallies that take place. Notice the hatred of Jews, the self-loathing, and the real agenda which is not to negotiate but to conquer us - the Infidels! The spineless socialists and psuedo - commies that attend these rallies are signing their own death warrants by joining the ranks of those who at the first opportunity would sooner cut off their heads than "TOLERATE" their hedonism and self indulgence.

Morgan's B-day - With Mom and Dad

Can anyone guess what's going on in this photo?

Collin is gleefully trying to blow out Morgan's candles.

Mom, is holding up her hand and saying "No, Collin"

Morgan is NOT happy about having to share her candle blowing!

Monica - just a great photo

just had polished the table...that shine didn't last long...but what a great picture eh?

Collin

Although he can drive me batty at times I'd like to share a little story. Collin often wakes in the middle of the night and wanders into Tim and my room and says "daddy, can I sweep wif you?"

Of course we say yes and then he cuddles up next to Tim and all is well again. Tim and I often go to bed with 2 in the bed and wake up with 4 in the bed. (Monica often climbs in too)

Anyway, the other morning I woke and got Monica and myself ready, Tim had already left for work, and headed downstairs. I left Collin behind, sleeping peacefully in our bed under a piles of covers. After a few minutes I heard his little voice calling out to me. "mommy, c' mere" "mommy, I need you" Seeing as I was getting bowls of cereal poured for the rest of the gang I felt a little irritated by his request. I trudged up the stairs and with a look of annoyance on my face I entered our room and huffed out a snippy "What Collin?" He wasn't phased. He just said "c'mere and lay down wif me mommy" I said ok and I cuddled up in the spot next to him on the bed. ( See I NEVER turn down an opportunity to lay down you know) He reached out his warm little hands and took my face in them. He looked right into my eyes with his nose almost touching mine and said "Mommy I wuv you. You're so beautiful and you're my best friend." I just told him I loved him too and marveled at how sweet he can be for no apparent reason. I TRY to remember this moment when he's doing less sweet things to his sisters or sneaking in the cabinets to search for hidden candy. But I must say - all in all he's a loving, sweet boy and I am so glad that God gave me my son!

Monica - Making January Better

Everybody knows I hate winter.

This was another cold January day.

But the girls put Monica in a little dress up dress

and suddenly I forgot how crappy January can

be. All I could do was smile and run for the

camera!!

Morgan's Birthday - Just Us

Tim got a cake FULL of frosting and red dye - Yikes! and we celebrated Morgan's B-day just the 6 of us...Can't believe she's 9. It really has flown by!

Barb, Alex, and Nate

These are older pics I just now got around to downloading ...

Old friends from St. Liborius in Steger came out for a visit. Collin LOVED having another boy to pal around with. Can you tell?

No Cross - No Crown

Reviewing my most recent blog posts I am reminded of a saying of Father John Corapi's. "No cross - No crown" Of course Jesus is the King of Kings and He surely did NOT require a cross in order to wear His crown! But this statement is rather directed at us. You and me. I am reminded that my laundry, my nausea, my "stress" are all little crosses I am to carry. They are, in fact gifts to me if I choose to use them in the proper fashion. They can help me be a better, holier person, who persists on the path towards The Kingdom and longs to wear the humblest of crowns as a little princess and servant of the King!

It's Been a Very Bad Week

this sums up my week...

I MISS MY SISTER !!!

This is a picture of Kelly and I at ages 4 and 8. Kelly is my one and only sister, my one and only sibling. She lives across the Atlantic! She is living there PERMANENTLY! This makes it impossible to stop by for lunch or to invite her over for coffee, or to help one another with mounds of laundry!

Kelly and I are different in many ways, yet we have similar lives filled with children, noise, and at times, chaos! I guess it goes without saying that the noise and chaos come along with the children part. We both love our families and love our vocations - motherhood. We both tend to be "yellers" and eat junk when depressed or stressed (preferably something chocolate) We try to carry our little "crosses" with quiet humilty, but we've been known to have a "total meltdown" complete with cursing and crying from time to time as well!

This is why I miss my sister so much. She is one of the few (very few) people in my life that I can be totally REAL with. I don't have to pretend I've got it so together. I don't have to shine my kid's imaginary homeschool halos, or pretend that I'm a Martha Stewart meets Mother Teresa. I can just be me - Kris - imperfect, unorganized, emotional, hot-tempered, yet lovable - Kris.

This has been an excruciatingly BAD week! It's the kind of week that makes me long to have my sister (within driving distance) to call on for a big S.O.S. !! Ah, where do I begin? Let me set the stage by describing my physical conditions. I am in a constant state of nausea (due to the pregnancy for those of you who missed that post...I'm about 9 weeks...) Always drooling, occasionally heaving and gagging, but alas, never going all the way. No puking here, just a lot of drooling into the kitchen sink, and choking back a gag while browning ground beef for taco meat.

Currently these foods induce a gag reflex - ground beef, chicken, salad, any fresh vegetable, cooked broccoli or cauliflower, and any luch meat or cheese. This leaves the "going right to my butt" foods like bread, potatoes, rice, any kind of sweets and fruits. There goes the "I'm not gonna gain any weight 'til the second trimester" resolution I make with every pregnancy!!!

Then there's the sudden drowsiness. A math lesson on the couch with Mary Grace turns into a spontaneous nap for mom and an excuse for the kids to sneak off and avoid school "until she wakes up..." I am SOOOOOO tired.

Then there's the mental issues. These tend to "run in my family" as Tim likes to joke. I'm stressed to put it simply. It's cold, it's dark, it's winter. I hate winter. Even if I did bundle the kids up and kick them outside for a ten minute "burn off" period, I'd have to remove the approxiamately 50 piles of dog poop which cover the entire front half of our backyard as of now!! Why do I have a dog again? Sigh.

Then there's the laundry. There's the usual - stained shirts and and stinky towels etc. But on top of that this week we had an unusual number of nightime accidents and a lot of rotating sleeping arrangements which ended up in 4 beds having to be stripped down and ALL of that bedding to be washed as well! This led to a giant log jam of sorts in our small 8 x 8 laundry room which could move me to tears just looking at it!

Of course all of this mess is compounded by heaps of homeschool books, papers, math manipulatives, crayons, pencils, spilt glue all over the table, glitter on the floor, legos stuck in couch cushions, sippy cups left here and there, and a general dusting of crumbs, dried up rice from dinners past, and black dog hair to boot!

Now, on the to education of my beautiful children, created in the image and likeness of God. "Do we have to do school today?" "Mom, she's looking at me with an ugly face." "I hate math...crying wimpering etc. ...I can't do it mom" "I hate my brother...Collin runs off with the pencil bag, the girls are in hot pursuit, Collin is shoved from behind, the bag goes flying, the pencils cover the entire kitchen/family room floor...why did God give us him?" his sisters ask me. All of this and more with spelling, phonics, science, religion, math and reading sandwiched in between.

School's out on to clean up and then start dinner. Still haven't stepped foot outside and most likely I'm still in my pajama bottoms. Did I shower in the last 3 days? Better do that tonight. 6pm dinner time. No dad. He's at work. Workin' late. Tax season. I hate tax season!

Four kids around the table spilling half their food and complaining about the other half. The sight of it all makes me heave and gag and feeling woosy I sit on the swivel chair at the island and sip tea and eat another black licorice whip. (black licorice seems to curb my nausea, too bad it's enhancing my hips as well) Dinner's over. Time for cleanup - again.

6:30 to 7:30 pm - I've had it! No more Mrs. Nice Mom. Things always seem to get ugly at about this time and this is when I'm most suceptable to meltdowns. Everybody gets their p.j.'s on and brushes their teeth. (or so they say) and I start watching the clock and counting down the minutes 'til Tim will be getting home...

around 8pm I hear the glorious rumbling of the garage door as it moves up its track. My heart leaps for joy - Ah, sweet relief! I can finally tag my partner and exit the ring.

Kelly "gets" this scenario and she knows just what to say and NOT to say when I call her to vent about it. It is good to say things like "That sucks" or "I hate it when that happens" or "me too"

Things NOT to say are "you know what you should do..." or "I just read a book on household organization and it says..." or especially NOT "well, that's not so bad..."

My sister always, and I mean ALWAYS says how much she'd love to be here with me so she could help me out. And 'cause it's Kelly, that's not just hot air. She really MEANS it. Too bad she's an ocean away. I MISS MY SISTER !!!

My thoughts on the LIE that is abortion...

This is a sensitive issue I know. I don't pretend to have ALL the answers to all the questions that arrise when this issue - abortion - comes up. What I DO know is that it is a very deceptive "choice".



I understand the deception very well for two reasons. One, because I myself am a woman who had an unplanned pregnancy at a time in my life when everything was already turbulent and confusing. Two, because I have met women who have had an abortion and I have seen their lives become filled with pain, not a solution....



This issue is one close to my heart. I love babies, yes. But I also love womanhood. Both are killed in an abortion. The big LIE is that this one choice will make all the shame and humiliation of this pregnancy go away. The shame is really what I think, personally is hardest to bear. I remember being in church with a round belly and NO RING on my hand and just weeping in the pew. I was not a "good girl". I was impulsive and irresponsible and trashy. I felt all eyes looking at me when most likely they really weren't.


But, this is how Satan works. He take our God-given sense of sin and turns it on us like a weapon. It is GOOD to feel a sense of shame when we have truly gone against God's laws. That is what beckons us to seek redemption!! Good shame is a call to seek out Jesus not a knife to be turned on oneself.


The deception lies in the promise of the removal of this shame, this burden. "If you simply rid yourself of "the evidence" your shame will disappear with it." This is the LIE he tells women. Sadly, in fear and despair many women make this choice because they feel there is no other answer. There is - Jesus. Whatever judgement or ridicule this world may put upon a woman who carries a child that is damaged, or inconvenient, or a sign of her own sinfullness. Jesus loving MERCY is so much greater!

I thank God for giving me the grace I needed at that time to persevere and push through the shame in order to break out into the other side which was all love and light! No matter what the circumstance we find ourselves in during pregnancy, at the end of it all we are left with God's greatest miracle - a newborn baby.

The twisted thing about Satan's ugly LIE is that in the end women actually don't shed their shame when they leave the clinic. They instead increase it! The scars they carry run deep and Satan loves to twist the knife in them all through their lives. They'll never remove the knife of shame he's stuck in them until they go to the Healer of Healers and ask Him to take it from them. Satan tells them that they deserve to feel the pain and shame every day and that they can never be rid of it. But, that is just another of his LIES!

Women need to know that they are victims too. Just as their baby was destroyed, so too was a part of them destroyed. Their very womanhood was taken from them along with their baby. What makes a woman special? What sets her apart from men? Our ability to carry a child and cooperate with God in establishing a new home for another SOUL is the defining characteristic of woman. Even those who never have children still carry the place within them which is considered sacred by God. For He Himself chose to enclose Himself there, rather than to descend to earth on a cloud or other grand manner. Jesus Himself made his very first home in the womb of His Mother. THAT is what makes being a woman so grand and mysterious!

Satan of course wants to deny the power of womanhood. He hates womanhood more than he hate man. His pride and vanity makes him loathe the awesome power given to woman to cooperate intimately with God in CREATION. This is something even the angels themselves cannot do! So, he sets out to destroy that which is filled with mystery and that which draws women closer and closer to God Himself - Motherhood.

I love babies, yes. I morn the loss of over 40 million babies since Roe v Wade. I get VERY ANGRY with radical feminists that talk about women's rights and "empowering" women!!! What a LIE! Abortion doesn't empower women. It doesn't give them more control over their lives. It ENSLAVES them to a life of sorrow and shame!! There is no freedom in deception only in the Truth are we free. I feel passionately that we as pro lifers must do two things in order to change this situation. First we must let people know what abortion REALLY does to the little babies. It is NOT a pleasant thing!! Secondly, we must embrace our wounded sisters and show them that there IS redemption and healing!!

The annual March for Life was held again in D.C. this past Jan. 22nd. I watched it on tv. I am hopeful that the tide is turning. Let us all pray for the women of the nation to EMBRACE the mystery of their own bodies and not see their bodies as an ENEMY any longer!!

Oldies But Goodies

I just HAD to put these old photos up! They are all old by now, but they're some of my favorites. God has blessed me and blessed me abundantly!