The Definition of Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, and as my husband and children attended Mass this morning I was reminded of what the word "Eucharist" literally means.  I remember reading in Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts that the Greek word "eucharisteo" means "thanksgiving."  Ann isn't a Catholic, but some of her insights strike me as being profoundly Catholic, especially the way she loves the concept of "eucharisteo" and giving thanks in all things.  I was wishing Ann could be at Mass today and heard the priest's prayer right before we received the Eucharist.  He said: 

"It is indeed right and just,

our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

 holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

I was wishing Ann could experience receiving the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  How thankful she would be to have God within her in that special way!  I believe the Eucharist is the greatest gift God has given us on this earth, and I am more thankful for it (I mean Him) than anything else.  He is my Bread of Life that sustains me.  He is all we really need, and yet He blesses us with so much more!  I have so much to be thankful for.  Even though we didn't celebrate with any family or friends this year, our Thanksgiving was full of blessings:  sleeping in, not having to clean our house for company, hot waffles for breakfast, playing at the park in the afternoon, my husband cooking us steaks for our Thanksgiving meal (which meant I didn't have to cook!), and best of all, receiving Jesus at Mass.  Today was truly a day of "eucharisteo", a day of Thanksgiving!

In case you want to read some great quotes from various saints about the treasure we have in the Eucharist, simply click on the link below and it will guide you to 15 pages(!!!) worth of beautiful quotes.  I wish I could memorize them all!!!

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/tes/a7.html

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Trinity Taco Tuesday

For the past few months our family has started a new tradition that we all love and look forward to each week. We call it "Trinity Taco Tuesday." As soon as Paul gets home from work, we all pile into the car and drive just a few blocks down the road to Trinity Chapel to visit Jesus. Yes, He is really there. We can see Him.  We can feel Him. How the kids love to rush into the chapel and be the first one to open the wooden doors of the tabernacle, as if they are opening God's arms to receive a loving embrace. Embraced we are. What a gift we have as Catholics to know that our God is waiting for us to visit Him anytime in any tabernacle in the world, waiting to pour graces into our hearts as we sit in His Real Presence. This chapel is extra special because Jesus is not just hidden inside the tabernacle, He is visible in a golden monstrance that we are blessed to adore behind a thin piece of glass. We get to gaze right at our God who wants to be with us so much that he humbles Himself to be inside a simple piece of bread!

 

 

It has been beautiful watching our children experience the awe and wonder of spending time with Jesus in this way. Each week we pray a little bit differently. Some days we pray the rosary, some days the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  Some days we recite the Divine Praises, and some days we just talk to Him from our hearts.  Some days we just sit with Him in silence (well, as silent as it can be with a baby babbling and a 3-year-old playing with the kneeler). The main reason for starting this tradition was to impart to our children the truth that Jesus is really with us in the Eucharist like He said at the Last Supper, and also for our kids to learn to be comfortable talking to God like a friend who is really there. Talking to Him while looking at Him in the monstrance seems to make my kids truly aware of His Presence unlike just praying at home around the dinner table or in the living room or laying in bed.

 

 

I was a little bit shocked when I asked our boys to pray out loud from their hearts while looking at Jesus in the monstrance for the first time. One of the boys became visibly embarrassed and simply couldn't find any words to say. He honestly didn't know how to talk to God without a memorized form of prayer to recite. Yikes! I was convicted at that moment that our family needs to practice praying impromptu more often so that we all become comfortable talking to Jesus like the best friend He wants to be to each of us. I think that is one thing many Catholics are weak at doing:  having a personal relationship with Christ that allows us to pray to Him like a friend or a brother. Watching my boys struggle with finding words to talk to Jesus reminded me that every relationship takes work and practice. Marriage takes a whole lot of practice in learning to listen and communicate well if it's going to last. Best friends only stay best friends if they keep talking and sharing their joys and struggles with each other on a regular basis. The same is true with our relationship with The Lord...it takes practice and spending a lot of time with Him so that we can grow closer to His heart and listen to the loving guidance He so desperately wants to give us to help us find true joy in this life and in the next.

Anyway, it has been beautiful spending time as a family in the Presence of Jesus at Trinity chapel. It's something that I've wanted to do for years and we finally made a commitment to make it happen.  I hope we continue this tradition for a long time so that even after our boys are grown they will always remember how important it is to spend time with Jesus---especially when they are struggling and in need of some extra grace.  I want them to know and live these words of Blessed Mother Teresa:

 

 "The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth." 

 

 

To make our Tuesdays even sweeter, we decided to go our for tacos after our visit with Jesus! The kids love it because they get tacos and soda, Paul loves it because of the potato oles, and I love it because I don't have to cook! It's a win, win, win situation!

 

 

Happy Trinity Taco Tuesday!

 

Our Zoo

I haven't been doing very well at giving monthly updates on our little Isaiah...  Nor have done well at taking pictures of his adorable face...  My excuse:  BUSY-NESS.  Wow, I never imagined how busy I would be with 5 boys!  Our house is like a ZOO, but thankfully I always loved going to zoos and I also am an animal lover, so I guess being a zookeeper is the perfect job for me!  :) 

So even though this is long overdue, here is an update on the sweetest member of our crazy zoo.  Isaiah continues to be a joy and a delight to everyone in the house.  He is mellow and happy 99.9% of the time.  He just got his first two teeth a couple days apart from each other--the two bottom ones.  This means he just loves chewing on everything right now!  He loves to roll onto his side or tummy to reach things, but then prefers to roll right back onto his back to start chewing on whatever he found.  I'm starting to wonder if this kid will ever crawl because he has no desire at all to be on his tummy.  Oh well, I'm in no hurry for him to crawl...  I like the fact that I can leave the room and know that he can't get into too much trouble!  :)  He also learned how to sit up unaided this past week, which he loves because he now has a better view of the zoo in which he lives! :)  He is completely weaned and loves his bottle.  And I'm very happy to report that he is now sleeping beautifully (only waking up once during the night for a bottle, then going right back to bed).  This makes the zookeeper much more patient with all the members of the zoo, which makes everyone happier.  :o)

Well, I think that is a recap of all of his new tricks.  I'll try to be better at my monthly updates, but no promises.  After all, it's more important that I keep this zoo under control!  Pray for me!!!

Message from Medjugorje

During my senior year in high school I was blessed to go on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia where the Blessed Virgin Mary has allegedly been appearing to 6 young visionaries since 1981.  Although the Catholic Church has not yet made an official ruling as to whether or not the apparitions are authentically from God, I have no doubt in my heart that Our Lady is appearing there to give the world very important messages of peace, love, and repentance in order to draw the world closer to her Son.  During Mary's last apparition with the visionary named Mirjana on November 2nd, this was the message she wanted to share with the world, and I felt it was worth sharing too:



"Dear children! Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor. This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father. Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children – of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father. My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."

Black and White

One of the most difficult parts of marriage for me has been learning how to handle our differences.  Some days I feel like Paul and I are as different as black and white.  Had he and I taken a compatibility test before we met, we probably would have never gone on a first date.  God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?   Perhaps he wanted to use our marriage to prove that, sure enough, ALL things are possible with His grace!  :)

So the other day I was interiorly making a litany of all the things Paul and I don't have in common.  I was getting quite depressed about my list, and then as if put there to prove my point about how irreconcilably different we are, I noticed our two coffee cups sitting side by side... 

His:  ink black
Mine:  creamy white

So I pointed this out to him and said, "Look, even our coffee shows how different we are!  How are we going to make our marriage work!?"

He immediately grabbed both cups of coffee and calmly dumped some of his into my cup, and some of mine into his cup, making a bit of a mess in the process, and then he set them down and said, "That's how." 

Darn it.  He was right again.  I guess I had assumed that when we became sacramentally "one" on our wedding day, that we would become like the same person and live "happily ever after" from that day forward.   Ha!  Little did I know that being "one" is a lifetime process of sacrificing for one another, patiently putting up with our differences, and forgiving the spills and sinful messes that happen along the way.   Maybe our marriage is not as "happily ever after" as I had hoped it would be, but it's a whole lot "holier ever after," and that's all that matters in the end.

Lessons from the Leaves

The season of Fall reminds me that I can either lament the fading colors of the falling leaves and the impending cold winter, or I can dive into the leaves with childlike joy and just live in the moment. 

It's always a matter of perspective and focusing on what really matters.

I'm learning that joy is a choice, not a feeling.  There are a million things surrounding me that I can choose to be joyful about...like Nathanael's sweet face!  :)

I'm so thankful for my children (and the leaves) for teaching me these profound truths!

 

Have a Joy-Filled Fall!

called to prayer AND action

After learning about the tragedy in the Philippines, I have felt helpless.  Sure, our family has been sending many prayers that direction, but it hit me today that perhaps we are called to do more than just pray.  The Catholic convert and blogger Jennifer Fulwiler (www.conversiondiary.com) posted this a few days ago, and it inspired me to pray and act, so I'm sharing it for others who feel called to do the same.  I'd also love to hear any other ideas of ways we can help the people in the Philippines...so please leave your ideas in the comment box if you have any!

For those who would like to help the relief effort, you can donate to Catholic Relief Services, which has a strong presence in the Philippines. They note that the recent earthquake has strained their resources, and they’re in dire need of financial support.

A prayer from the CRS website:

God who quiets great winds and stills rough seas
We ask your protection for the people of the Philippines.
Comfort them in their fear.
Stay close to them in their danger.
And we ask the intercession of Your Blessed Mother
That together with her and with all your holy saints
We may stand in solidarity with our Filipino brothers and sisters
through their darkest hour, through their longest night.
Give us the courage to remain steadfast
To reach out to them in their need
To comfort them in their sorrow
To hold them as closely as You hold them
To see them through to morning. Amen.

THREE!!!

My oh my, how time flies when you're having fun!  Our fun-loving Nathanael turned THREE today.  Since the day he was born, he has blessed our home with a JOY that we didn't even know was missing.  Nathanael makes everyone in our home smile and laugh with his antics, his innocence, his dimpled chin, his funny faces, and his munchkin voice.

We had a very simple celebration for him today, but I'm pretty certain he didn't mind.  Nathanael is our home-body.  He just loves playing with his toys and being with his family.  So after Mass, I stopped by the grocery store to get him some red, white, and blue cupcakes with sprinkles on top---he loves sprinkles.  Then we came home, sang "Happy Birthday," ate some cupcakes, and opened a few little presents.  He entertained himself the rest of the day with his new toys.

How I wish I could keep this little guy little and bottle up the joy he brings. But I know that's not possible and that joy is not meant to be hoarded, but rather to be shared.  I know that Nathanael will continue to fill our home and our hearts with joy, and I pray that each year that he understands even more deeply how much he is loved--both by God and by his family.  

Thank you, God, for blessing us with Nathanael. 

He is sweeter than a cupcake with sprinkles on top!

A Litany of Praise and Thanks

Wow, the past 2 weeks have simply been overflowing with blessings, and I can't help but think that much of that is due to the prayers of my readers, friends, and family.  So THANK YOU, again!!!

Here is a litany of things that I am praising God for this week:

Isaiah is finally sleeping through the night and the "sleep training" process was miraculously easy with him.  We started laying him in his crib awake when it was time for him to nap, and he only fussed for about 5 minutes the first couple of times, and now when we lay him down, he doesn't fuss a bit.  He just rolls onto his side to snuggle with is blanket and happily goes to sleep---all...night...long!  I can hardly believe it.  I am so thankful for my husband who not only insisted that we do the sleep training, but he also did most of the work (especially in the middle of the night those first few days).

Isaiah also has become fully weaned this past week.  This was a bit earlier than I had intended to wean, but in my heart I knew it was the right time for my own personal health--physically and emotionally I was exhausted from waking up every hour at night to feed him.  I am so thankful that the weaning process was a breeze.  This little guy just loves his bottle and loves being held for feedings by his daddy and his adoring brothers.  I think he is getting way more milk from the bottle than he was getting from me, which is probably part of the reason he is now sleeping through the night. 

I can already feel the difference in my hormones and moods now that I am getting adequate sleep and not nursing anymore.  My cycle this month is also showing a good change...my ovulation occurred a week earlier than the previous 3 months, which is closer to my normal cycles again, and my luteal phase lengthened considerably!  Translation:  I am starting to feel more like my happy self again!!!

I also started making notes in my "thankful journal" again, so here are some more little things that I am praising and thanking God for lately...

1. being asked to sponsor a beautiful young lady named Nichole for a Cursillo retreat (please pray for her November 14-17...she has a deep wound in her heart that needs healing)
2. the Eucharist, the Lover of my soul, always there...always
3. "Trinity-Taco-Tuesdays":  our new tradition of going to pray at the Trinity chapel after school and then going out for tacos afterwards
4. my new (even shorter!!!) hairstyle
5. Isaiah's peach-fuzzy hair
6. Michael's contagious smile when he caught a rainbow trout
7. date night at home with Chile's chips and salsa
8. Isaiah's gummy grins and pointy chin
9. wearing warm fall clothes again
10. girl time with friends
11. pretty scarves and hats
12. my always-happy-2-year-old, my sunshine in the rain
13. hearing Joseph tell stories of his 6th grade teacher, the former Army "drill-sergeant"
14. watching Michael run and catch balls in the back yard all by himself
15. taking pictures
16. phone calls from my sensitive brother
17. family rosary time with a candle burning
18. quiet time
19. watching the World Series with my boys while sipping a wine cooler
20. catching up on my photo albums
21. my husband surprising me with lattes that I don't deserve
22. a date by myself at a crepe shop
23. hugs from Dominic, my big boy who still loves to hug his mommy
24. a glimpse of sunshine and hope peeking through the clouds in my soul

 

 

"We should not accept in silence the benefactions of God,

but return thanks for them."

St. Basil

 

"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted

or take them with gratitude."

G.K. Chesterton

I Love Padre Pio...BOTH of them!

Last week at our boys' school, the Kindergarten through 3rd grade classes were given the assignment of dressing up as a favorite saint and giving a report about their holy saint to a large group of proud parents and grandparents.  The kids were adorable.  Some of them were so nervous and quiet that you couldn't hear a word that they said into the microphone...but they were still darn cute!  Over 75% of the girls chose St. Therese the Little Flower, which I'm sure made sweet Therese smile from heaven and shower extra graces upon our little Catholic school.  :o)

Our Dominic chose St. Padre Pio, who is a favorite in our household.  Dominic did an amazing job--he is such a carefree, pure, and confident kid that he had no problem sharing his report to a gym full of people.  He shared some very interesting facts about St. Pio, and I thought some of you might enjoy reading it...  But mostly, I just wanted to share these adorable pictures of our little Pio; complete with the beard, the robe, and even the stigmata! 

 

 

All the little saints singing a praise and worship song

and doing the sign language with the words

(Dominic is right in the middle of the group looking at the camera) :o)

St. Pio was a holy man who was born in 1887.  He was born as Francesco Forgione, and was given the name Pio, which means “pious” in Italian, when he joined the Capuchin Order, a branch of the Franciscans.  St. Pio was ordained a priest in 1910, but soon after, he became ill, experiencing loss of appetite, fainting spells, and terrible migraines.  His fellow brothers and followers believe that he experienced severe spiritual suffering and even battled physically with the devil.

He heard confessions several hours a day, and he had the ability to read souls; therefore, he could talk with people about the sins they had forgotten to confess.  He also had the ability to bilocate and levitate.  It is said that during World War II, some pilots were trying to bomb his town.  When they approached the town, they saw Padre Pio floating in front of their airplane!  When they tried to bomb the town, the bombs would not leave the plane. 

Perhaps the most famous and well known fact about Padre Pio is that he bore the stigmata, which are the wounds that Christ received on the cross.  The bleeding was so severe that he constantly needed them to be wrapped in bandages.  He said that he also experienced the pain from the crown of thorns and the scourging.  Miraculously, he did not die of blood loss, which is amazing since he was constantly losing blood.  Padre Pio’s health continued to worsen until 1960, when it reached a climax.  On September 1968, he offered his last Mass.  He died at 2:30 AM September 23, 1968, at the age of 81.  He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002.  His feast day is September 23, and he is the patron saint of civil defense volunteers and Catholic adolescents.  January 22 is identified as “Don’t Worry Be Happy Day” in honor hos one of St. Pio’s well-known sayings:  “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

St. Padre Pio, pray for us and help us love Jesus as you did!

Celebrating the Saints

Every year we love to celebrate the saints rather than the secular Halloween holiday.  I certainly don't fault any families who go trick-or-treating on Halloween night; it's just that our family has found it to be way more fun to be crazy Catholics who dress up as saints and play games that keep our minds focused on our faith. 

A few nights before our party, we always have fun carving "Saint-O-Lanterns" and roasting the seeds for a tasty snack...

 

 

 

And then we have fun thinking of our favorite saints to dress up as, recalling their heroic faith and praying that we can become more like them every year until we meet them in person someday in heaven.  Here are some of my favorite pictures of the costumes from this year...



 





Isaiah dressed as brave St. George, the dragon-slayer!

Paul and I dressed up as Blessed Louis and Zellie Martin, the parents of St. Therese, who are the only married couple to be beatified together.  I pray that Paul and I can glorify God through our marriage like they did.  (Sorry, there's no picture of me this year...apparently, I was a camera hog).

 



Nathanael was St. Gabriel the archangel, but I was worried he would become a "fallen angel" as he tried to climb up to the top bunk right before the party!  Thank goodness for guardian angels!

 

 

 

Dominic was St. Juan Diego, and he sure loves the Blessed Mother just like Juan did!

 

 

 

Here is one of the sweetest guests at the party, little Agnes, dressed as pious St. Clare.

 

 

 

And here are all the little saints who came to our party this year!

5 girls plus 5 boys...they could make some saintly couples in years to come... ;}

 

 

 

We had a small gathering this year because I was a bit too overwhelmed to organize a big shin-dig.  So we invited some of our dearest friends who are the most faith-filled Catholics we know,

and they creamed us in a Catholic Trivia game!  Even Joseph and Michael were old enough to play the trivia game with us this year and they almost beat the adults!  It's good to know how well they are being catechized at their Catholic school.

 

 

 

The party always ends with smashing a pinata full of candy.  That way the kids won't miss out on the Halloween sugar-high that all their trick-or-treating friends experience!

 

 

Once again, fun was had by all, both young and old.

And hopefully God was glorified by our crazy-Catholic celebration!!!

 

HAPPY ALL SAINT'S DAY!!!

 

Still searching...

My appointment this week was a disappointment.  The midwife that I went to see pretty much dismissed my concerns about my low progesterone, didn't even send me to the lab to check my progesterone levels, and simply thought I should take an anti-depressant.  It's not that I'm close-minded about the possibility of needing to take anti-depressants.  I truly feel like there is no shame in taking them.   It's just that my instincts tell me that my low progesterone is the root cause of my mood-swings, so why would I take a drug to hide my symptoms rather than finding a way to fix the source of the problem? 

So I left the appointment with more questions than answers. 

But thankfully, I have some wonderful friends who have been leading me towards some possible solutions.  My NFP instructor is referring me to an NFP physician from the Tri-cities area who truly understands the fragile ecosystem of a woman's hormones and might be able to help me get my progesterone levels back to normal.   Other friends have suggested some natural remedies like taking extra D and B vitamins, getting more exercise, and spending time with the Lover of my soul in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  My husband has been extremely helpful too and has offered to take care of baby Isaiah at night so that I can start getting some sleep and begin the weaning process which might help stabilize my hormones.   And many friends (and even strangers!) have reached out and shared their personal journeys through depression and hormone imbalances which has consoled my heart more than they will ever know and made me feel like I'm not alone.

So THANK YOU, all of you, who have been walking beside me on this road that I never thought I'd be on. Your outpouring of tips, words of encouragement, and prayers are helping me to have hope and giving me the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other as I continue to search and to find.

P.S.  If there are others out there who would like to share their wisdom or experiences with me but don't want to leave a public response in the "comment" box, you are welcome to email me at:  pmhurlbert@gmail.com