Well as I write this Kelly, Martin and the kids are gone. They are still on American soil but they're on east coast soil and that may as well be another country. They'll finish their visit with Martin's family in Virginia and then they'll head back to Germany.

It's way too quiet around here and that's saying something considering I have five kids of my own. It's true though. Last night as Tim and I laid in bed together I missed the chitter chatter of kids up way past their bedtime and asking for just one more drink of water. I missed sitting on the couch and eating junk as we watch late night re-runs of Seinfeld - Kelly, Martin, Tim and I. I miss waking up to all those faces. I miss laughing together and arguing together or should I say with one another. But most of all I miss my 2 favorite "personal baby holders". Need to go to the bathroom? No need to balance baby on your lap - just give him to the "baby holder". Need to slice an apple for a whiny toddler? No need to choose between baby crying or toddler whining. Baby will be very happy on the "holder's" hip. Need to cook a dinner that consists of things that actually require cooking instead of just "warming through" or pouring into a bowl and adding milk? Peel, slice, stir that pot - "baby holder" will keep baby occupied until dinner's on the table! Kelly and Martin thanks for all the baby holding you both did - I'll have to adjust now. Either I adjust or it's back to my bathroom balancing, "just eat the apple whole damn it!!", cereal for dinner days. I think mom's right Chris is gonna have to get used to that playpen like it or not...

On a serious note - Tim and I have few friends. Yes I know that's no real newsflash. But because of this we truly relish our time with kelly and martin. There's nothing better than spending time with people who know just how bad you can look in the morning, just how crabby you can be due to lack of sleep, and still love you anyway! There's no "fake" or even "cleaning up of the act" 'round here when Kel and martin come. It's just plain ol' Kris and Tim and the kids - come to think of it - maybe that's why we have so few friends!! Yikes!!

Tim's already looked into the cost of airfare for next year if we go to Germany to vist. $8400. I wish there was a job which paid me to blab about religion and politics and parenting. I've yet to write the book that Tim tells me will allow him to enter an early retirement. My problem is I have LOTS to say about LOTS of things but NO IDEA how to organize any of my b.s. into a book format!! Kelly suggested I sit down with someone to interview/ask questions of me - such a nice big sister - she thinks better of her little sister than she should! I miss you Kel!

Mom Needs Prayer

Kristine over at The Fire Within is dealing with PPD following the birth of her first child little Avila. She writes about her experience and uses the words of saint Terese of Avila as an encouragement:
"Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God
Finds he lacks nothing;
God alone suffices."
Although I have never been diagnosed with PPD myself I have had times of deep depression which I had to reconcile with my life's duties as wife and mother. That is the hardest part. We can not just turn inward and work on healing the depression as one might who hasn't the responsibilities of motherhood. Yet, I have found that those very responsibilities are what brought me out of the depression. Seeking out the joy in motherhood can be a real task at times. when babies are fussy and sleep is fleeting and older kids are crabby and demanding. At times just the sight of a pile of laundry could move me to tears. But through prayer in those darkest moments I have grown so much closer to Jesus. He has been able to redirect my eyes from the piles of things to be cleaned to the pictures drawn for me and the bouquet of dandelions picked for me. Through prayer I have been able to let go of wanting to control and change those things that bring me down and weigh on me like a led weight around my neck. When I am brought low I have learned not to struggle so much. I just lay there quietly and ask Jesus to keep me company instead. Loneliness is a big part of depression. Feeling trapped in that loneliness is the worst. The great thing is that we are NOT alone. Jesus is right there beside us. This truth has made it possible for me to rise up out of many a depression. The best thing about "rising up and walking" is that you are a changed person. Every time I have fallen into a depression which is more often than I'd like to admit. I have been called by Jesus to "get up and walk" and I have left so much dead weight behind me.
My hope for Kristine is that she will be able to persevere and hold onto to Jesus very tightly in this time. It is so difficult to relax under the weight of many burdens and anxieties. We want to break free and just be "the same ol' girl we've always been" again. But Jesus doesn't want us to be the same ol' girl he wants to make us better, more perfect. I will keep Kristine and Avila and Mike in my prayers. I KNOW that Jesus has BIG plans for them! May Jesus hold Kristine in a tender embrace and may she take great comfort in the sound of His sacred heartbeat.

More at the Lake

While up in Michigan we attended mass. The priest gave a great homily. I took away a lot from that mass and I decided to summarize it simply in my mind as this: "Only God knows what is necessary for my own salvation." I've decided that this is the BEST possible response I can and will ever give to the often heard "So are you done yet? " and "You're not having any more are you?" I've often struggled to put my thoughts on those questions into a very simple succinct and KIND sentence or two. I think saying "Well Bob, only God knows what's necessary for my salvation." Is just about the most perfect answer ever. That statement also is a great one for me to use as a mantra for my own contemplation. When things seem difficult and or painful and I am so confused as to how this or that could possibly be of use or benefit to my life I will try to speak those words right into my own heart. They will give me peace knowing that God has a plan and I don't have to know all its details I just have to know that it will used some how for my own good...

Family Trip to Sister Lakes MI

Dad rented us all a big (it had to be to sleep 14) house on Round Lake in Michigan. We were right on the beach and there was plenty of clean sand (as clean as sand can be) and the water was warm. The first 2 days were overcast but then the weather was perfect. Sunny but NOT too hot. The kids swam and slid down the slide and played in the sand. We were the hot spot for the duck to come for a free meal (hot dog buns and such) and everybody fished a little too off the end of the pier. The only thing Tim and I wished for was a paddle boat so we could cruise around the lake and be nosy about the other homes there. That would have been a nice little escape for us. Although I would have liked a few quiet moments alone with Tim, it was so great to see him be able to play with our kiddos. He works so hard and so much that he often gets only the chance to be "bad cop" when he walks in the door, trying to back me up and get all our ducks in a row for the night. The kids love to play with dad cause dad is ALWAYS more fun than mom - especially when there's water involved.
We all ate very well. Every meal was an event in itself. One night Tim and dad made ribs and once again they were great! You mustn't tell them how good they are though because they've already got big heads over their rib success. They oo and ah with delight as they eat and congratulate one another during the meal. Geez guys we said they were good - enough already!
We're back home now and it's back to reality. Laundry for me. Work for Tim. It stinks!! I love having Tim with me 24 - 7. We like to pal around together and it seems that the more we do the funnier we think we are. We get to giggling at eachother's comments so much that we start to annoy my family. Kelly at one point told us to be quiet so she could hear the program we were gleefully mocking together! Ah to be married to your best friend - that's a joy! Thank you Jesus.

Kelly and Martin Are Here!

Kelly and Martin and the kids of course are all here. Well actually they've been here a while now...with all the fun (and a lot of meal making) I haven't been online at all.

It is so nice to have them here. When we get together which is only once a year it's as if no time has passed. We all fall into our relaxed operating modes and just tease, laugh, argue, make -up as if we're together all the time. Sure we're a "dysfunctional family" as they like to call it. But whose isn't?! At the end of the day we love each other and I can always count on my big sis Kelly to be the kind and thoughtful woman I love! She can always count on me to be the loud-mouthed lil' sis she's learned to tolerate!! (Hee hee hee)

Our kids love each other too and that makes me feel so good. They really enjoy being together and it'll be sad to see them go.

FedEx Kinkos: The Office Meeting Commercial

"Et tu?" - The diary of a former atheist

"Et tu?" - The diary of a former atheist: "Prayer is always an act of humility, and even more so in a situation like ours yesterday. Praying together forced us to unite as Christians and daughters of God, and to share in our mutual need of his mercy. It made us remember that that situation was so much bigger than our different views on diapers or reward systems or the origin of that brown stain in front of the couch. Amidst our differences, it reminded us of something on which we were in agreement: that this situation was nothing more or less than an opportunity to love and serve God; and that the best way to do that would be to love and serve one another."

I've Been Meaning to Share This...May Crowning

Mary got to wear her first communion dress for the school's May Crowning mass. She saw us - Collin, Monica, and Chris and me and worried that Collin would do something...and so he did!! He ran to hug her and I struggled to reign him in while holding Chris on my hip...Ah - little brothers...

Just some pics of the kiddos

Big Brother - Little Brother

Collin loves Chris. Chris loves Collin. There has not been a single second of jealousy or nastiness from Collin (or any of my other kids for that matter) The two boys laugh at each other and Collin is always up for "wrestling" with Chris. Thank goodness Chris is so flexible!!! Chris is lovin' life right now and he seems to be the happiest little boy - he loves to watch and listen to his brother and his sisters. It helps that mom totes him around on her hip everywhere and he get to "snack" on mom's milk on demand too I bet.

Homefirst Health Services - Vaccine Choice and Awareness

Homefirst Health Services - Vaccine Choice and Awareness

Women: Key to Cultural Renewal

Women: Key to Cultural Renewal: "Bishop Sheen had great insight when he said that the level of civilization of any society is always determined by the women. If women refuse to give in to premarital sex, and insist that men treat them well before and in marriage, they will raise up the level of the whole culture.


Some women are afraid to insist that their man treat them right, or to refuse to sleep with him, for fear of losing him. In fact, a woman has nothing to lose. If she stands firm, either the man will straighten out and treat her with respect, or he will refuse to treat her right and leave. Either way she wins. If she gives in and takes the trash behavior she loses both ways. Either she keeps a man who will treat her badly for life, or he ends up having so little respect for her that she loses him anyway. Bad news either way!
The man who disrespects or denigrates his wife ruins things for two people: himself and his wife. She may come to have little self-respect and confidence, and become a real mouse. He then, will be turned off by his mouse of a wife, whom he helped to create, and be miserable himself. Happy the man who treats his wife like a queen without becoming a marshmallow himself. His wife will make him feel like a king."

Men: A Break from Sex

Men: A Break from Sex: "Any young man who hopes to be saved should realize that chastity is an integral part of the Christian life, no matter what the culture, the media, or the hypocrites might say. There is simply no way around this.
Some say, either implicitly or explicitly, “Well, when I get married I’ll live chastely, but it’s too difficult now. Nobody lives this teaching.” Satan jumps for joy when he hears this.
What’s wrong with it? First, it’s wimpish. Basically they are saying, “I can’t handle gospel morality. I’m too weak. I have to compromise with the world.” If they lived in early Rome, they’d have said, “I can’t deal with these lions. Let me worship the false gods until the persecution is over, and then I’ll be a great Catholic.” But everyone knows that the only real Christians are those who go right to the Cross with Christ. “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me...” (Mt. 10:38) They are saying they want Christ without the Cross. Wimps!"

Love and Responsibility and Hormones

Ann Hanincik - Theology of The Body Is Not All About Sex

Matthew Kelly, International Speaker and Author

Finally!!! Someone Got It Right!! _ Commentary on the Gloucester pregnancies...- The ideology of teen pregnancy

Christopher Caldwell says it very well in this article I found. An excerpt follows..."It may flatter our self-regard to believe that the modern, western pattern of child-bearing arises from superior knowledge and sophistication, but it does not. It arises from our priorities. The Gloucester pregnancies are not about information the girls don’t have. They are about an argument the girls don’t buy. It is a fool’s errand to try to convince a girl that bearing a child is “sad” (a word used with appalling frequency in press accounts) or to argue that last year’s hit movie Juno leads girls astray by glamorising pregnancy. (Apparently glamorising sex is all right, especially if it serves some transcendent purpose such as selling shampoo, but glamorising motherhood crosses the line.)"

Townhall.com::Talk Radio Online::Radio Show

Townhall.com::Talk Radio Online::Radio Show Check out Dennis Prager's Male/Female Hour - Why are women so unhappy?

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