New Year's Blessings

Once again, our family ends the year overflowing with thankfulness at the number of blessings God has given us!  Of course, He sent some challenges and crosses too, but we are learning that even those can become blessings if we rely on God’s grace to carry them.  One of our biggest blessings this year was the news that we are expecting another sweet son in the spring.  He will fit right in with his older brothers!  May God give Paul and me the grace to raise these boys to become holy gentlemen to love and serve Him as they grow up!  As we begin a New Year, I asked each member of my family to brainstorm what they were thankful for in 2012 and to ponder what might be some goals for 2013.  Here is the list we created, and perhaps you’d like to do the same with your family—

 

Paul:

·       Thankful list for 2012:  my compassionate wife, a healthy family, my broken wrist healing from my snowboard accident last February (I’m sure my jump in the terrain park looked cool though…until I landed), a good paying job with the FAA, and the exercise of taking my gun for long walks in the fall mountains for no apparent reason.   

·        Goals for 2013:  not to break anything while skiing this year (I’m retiring from my snowboard), a big (ok ANY) elk for Joseph’s first year of hunting, to welcome a new son into our family, and to win the weight loss competition with my brother Dann.

Maria:

·       Thankful list for 2012:  my holy husband who points me heavenward, great-behaved boys that make me smile every day, my supportive girlfriends who encourage me in my faith-journey, bubble baths, graces from the Eucharist, learning how to snow ski, and two books that have changed my soul for the better:  1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and The Diary of St. Faustina.

·       Goals for 2013:  to pray the rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy every day, to laugh more, to do some quilting, to love my family and my Savior more perfectly, to help others love Jesus more, to learn how to take better pictures for our family blog: (www.atotustuusfamily.blogspot.com).

Joseph:

·       Thankful list for 2012:  skiing the backside of Discovery Ski Hill, catching a 20 inch walleye with grandpa Pat, pitching in my baseball league, learning to play the violin, hanging out with my school buddies, altar serving, practicing archery with daddy, and mountain biking with friends.

·       Goals for 2013:  to ski more double-black diamonds, try out new ski hills, shoot my first deer or elk, become better at baseball, catch a world-record Northern Pike, make more paracord bracelets, and to grow in holiness.

Michael:

·       Thankful list for 2012:  skiing, becoming an altar server at the Cathedral, playing baseball with my classmates, going hunting with daddy, going fishing in SD with grandpa Pat, going to Silverwood Amusement Park with my friend Alex, camping in the mountains, and going mountain biking with my friends.

·       Goals for 2013:  to grow closer to Jesus, become better at skiing, baseball and piano, to be kinder to others, learn how to catch more fish, make more paracord bracelets, and to be a helpful big brother when the new baby comes.

Dominic:

·       Thankful list for 2012:  going to South Dakota to play with grandma, grandpa, and my cousins, starting Kindergarten at St. Andrew Catholic School, learning how to read, playing baseball, snow skiing, and building with Legos.

·       Goals for 2013:  to catch some big fish, go to grandma and grandpa’s house, play baseball, do more camping, and become better at playing the piano.

Nathanael:

·       Thankful list for 2012:  big brothers to play with, playing with anything that has wheels, reading books with mommy or daddy, my teddy and monkey to snuggle with at night, and a cat to chase around the house.

·       Goals for 2013:  to be a good big brother to the new baby, to be 100% potty trained, and to stop throwing tantrums when I don’t get what I want.

We pray that God blesses all of your families abundantly this year and helps you to see all the gifts you have to be thankful for!  This season reminds me that the greatest gifts of all to be thankful for are Jesus’ sacrificial love and His abundant mercy—to bring us those gifts is why He came to this earth on that Holy Night so long ago.  May we embrace those great gifts with all our hearts in this New Year, and may we learn to constantly say like St. Faustina did, “JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!” 

Christmas Recap

Our Christmas this year was very relaxed and joy-filled!  We did not have any family with us this year, but instead celebrated with some of our dearest friends and simply bonded closer together as our own little family (actually, we aren't so "little" anymore, are we?).  The celebrations began at the boys' Catholic school Christmas program.  Dominic and Michael each had special speaking parts that they had memorized.  They spoke loud and clear and made this mommy's heart beam with pride!  Joseph played violin in the new school orchestra, which impressed everyone in the audience because all the musicians have only been playing their instruments since the school year began. 

 

Next, we celebrated a pre-Christmas dinner with some of our dearest friends--Glen and Lisa with their 4 beautiful little girls (Lisa just had baby girl #5 yesterday!!!)  One of our favorite priests, Fr. Sean, also came to have dinner with our two families which made the evening extra special.  The highlight of the evening was the music recital that the children performed after dinner was over.   The youngest Cronk girls each played a Christmas song on the piano, and Agnes, who is the eldest at age 6, played "Silent Night" on her fiddle.  Our boys each played a few songs on the piano, and Joseph played two songs on his violin.  What a joyful noise the children made that night!

 

On Christmas day, we celebrated with some great friends from Paul's office:  the Amos family.  It was a delicious meal with wonderful fellowship.  The following morning we left for a mini-vacation to Bozeman, Montana.  Paul and the older 2 boys went skiing at Bridger Bowl, while I took the younger 2 boys to the very cool Museum of the Rockies (which we call "the dinosaur museum").  Nathanael was a bit intimidated by the life-size, ready-to-eat-you-looking dinosaurs, but he loved the Lewis and Clark play area where he could pretend to go camping, catch fish, and all sorts of hands-on activities.  In the evening, we all loved swimming in the hotel pool and playing "Angry Birds" on mommy's new iPad that she got from daddy for Christmas :)

 

All in all, it was a lovely, Christ-centered Christmas.  We chose to have only 3 presents for each of our kids to open, since Jesus (the real Birthday Boy) had only 3 gifts from the Magi.  Having a 3-gift limit really helped our kids to focus less on what they were getting for Christmas and more on the true meaning of Christmas.  Someday I would  like to adopt Ann Voskamp's tradition of having NO gifts under the tree and to focus on giving gifts to those in most need instead.  I would love to train my children's hearts to think of others more than themselves, but I know this will take time.  A few years ago I started the tradition of having our kids think of a gift they can give to Jesus each year, since it's His birthday after all.  Last year each of our boys picked a gift from the Compassion International catalog to send to poor families to please Jesus for His birthday.  I think the boys picked some baby chicks, a water pump, and a month's worth of rice from the catalog.  This year, the boys decided that they wanted to each sponsor a Compassion International child as their special Christmas gift to Jesus.  To sponsor a child means to give a monthly donation to a particular child to help feed them, clothe them, and share the Gospel with them through your love and letters.  The boys really got excited choosing the child they each wanted to sponsor---they got to pick what country their child was from, choose the age of their child, read about their child's life, and even see a picture of their child.  Almost immediately they started writing letters and drawing pictures to send to their child.  I think Jesus was very pleased with this gift from our boys, because whatever we do for the least of His children, we really do for Him.  It only costs $38/month to sponsor a child, but I have a feeling the rewards will be eternal for both our family and the children we are sponsoring. 

 

I pray that each of you had a Christ-centered, peace-filled Christmas too!  May the infant Jesus live and grow in your hearts throughout the New Year and always!

 

Below are some photo highlights to recap our Christmas celebrations...enjoy!

 

 



May your Christmas sugar-high JOY last a lifetime!!!

what little boys do when the dirt is frozen...

Winter in Montana gets long, especially for little boys who love to play in the dirt with their trucks.  So I decided to help my 2-year-old cope with the cold weather by creating some "dirt" to play with inside instead.  Nathanael LOVED it!  He has spent hours playing with his trucks and various kinds of "dirt" all week.  One day we used uncooked rice, another day we tried rice krispies, another day we used cheerios mixed with chocolate chips.  I used a cookie sheet to attempt to contain the mess a little bit, but I still found that I had to vacuum after the "excavation site" shut down for the day :)

 

I'd love to hear other creative ideas that you crafty moms have come up with to entertain your kids when they can't play outside.  We still have 4 long months of cold weather here, so I need all the help I can get!

 

 

 

Names

So now that we know God has given us a son, we start the struggle of choosing the "perfect" name, as if there truly is such a thing, but as parents we put so much weight in that decision for some reason.  Normally, Paul and I have chosen names for our children that are our favorite saints or Bible heroes.  I love the names we have chosen thus far---except for one factor that I didn't take into account:  how the names could be shortened into "cool" nicknames as they grew up.  I guess I just assumed my boys would love their full names like I do, that they would insist that their friends use their full, birth-given, Christian names.  But no.  No.  I have learned that once again my idealistic wishes don't always come true.  My sweet and handsome Joseph has become "Joe."  Joe!  It's hard for me to even type that name!  And my beautiful brown-eyed and feisty son Michael goes by the name of "Mike" everywhere except home.  Well, actually, even Joseph calls him "Mike" at home, and at times I wonder who he is talking about....we don't have any "Mikes" in this house.  "Mike" is my oldest brother in South Dakota, not my son in Montana.  And then there's fun-loving Dominic.  How could I have ever guessed he would become "Dom"???  "Nic" would have been bad enough, but no, he has adopted the nickname "Dom," and I'm embarrassed to say that I even catch myself calling him that.  It just happened and it stuck.  And last, but not least, our adorable Nathanael.  Such a beautiful sounding name, but all of us started calling him "Natey" as soon as he was brought home from the hospital.

I know nicknames are cute and it's something that just happens.  But it really does make me sad deep down that their saint names have disappeared from our tongues.  So...with baby #5, I am bound and determined to pick a holy saint or Bible name that CAN....NOT....BE.....SHORTENED.  Period.  I know you probably think I'm crazy, but for some crazy reason this is important to me, and I need YOUR help.  There just are not very many good-sounding, strong saint names that can't be shortened.  Here's the list I have come up with so far, but please help me add to this list if you can think of more.  So far, none of the names have captured my heart or my husband's, so we need brainstorming help before this little guy is born (which I'm paranoid might be soon because I'm already having tons of Braxton Hicks contractions!  Yikes!)

So here's our list, but please send more "unshortenable" names in the comment box below if you can think of any:

Justin, Caleb, Isaiah, Luke, Levi, John

It's a...

...BOY!!!
 

 

 

Today was my 19 week ultrasound, and we learned that God has blessed us with another sweet son!  The Lord must think this world needs more holy priests!  :)  Paul and the boys all came along to the appointment, and when the ultrasound tech told us the gender, none of us were surprised at all.   I was so relieved to learn that he looks perfectly healthy (after having 3 miscarriages I tend to have a lot of anxiety when I have an ultrasound).  The little guy sure put on a show for us; he did a headstand, sucked his thumb, and even stuck out his tongue at his brothers! :)  I am confident he will fit right in with his big brothers, and I feel at peace that this truly is God's will for our family. May our heavenly Father give my husband and I the grace to raise these boys to become holy gentlemen to love and serve Him as they grow up. We went out to celebrate at Chili's after the big appointment, and then in the evening the boys helped me make cupcakes with blue frosting for dessert...

 

 

Thank you all for your love and prayers...keep sending them our way...we'll need all the help we can get with FIVE boys running around our house soon!  The thought just occured to me that our Blessed Mother was "blessed among women," but I feel like I am very "blessed among boys"--ha ha!  :)

 

P.S.  And if any of you have daughters, perhaps you could invite me over for a very girly tea party someday----just so I can experience what that might be like! :}

 

Stay with me, Lord



I recently stumbled upon this beautiful prayer of St. Padre Pio, which he would say after receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.  What a treasure!  I now have a copy of it in my purse so that I can pray it after receiving Holy Communion at Mass.  For those of you who have not heard of Padre Pio, he lived in the early 1900s and was given many supernatural gifts from God, such as the stigmata, the ability to know the sins of a person's soul in Confession, and bilocation, just to name a few.  His story is inspiring and well worth reading.  If you would like to learn more about this holy man, click on the following link:  (http://www.padrepiodevotions.org/biography.asp).  

 

 

 

Stay with me, Lord Prayer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina after Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You. Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without meaning and hope. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will. Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You. Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You  ever more, and always be in Your company. Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love. Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile! Stay with me, Jesus, because in the darkness of this life with all its dangers, I need You. Help me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart. Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by Your grace and love. Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You! Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more, with a strong and active love.  Grant that I may love You with all my heart while on earth,  so that I can continue to love You perfectly throughout all eternity, dear Jesus. Amen.

Thankful Thursday: my mom's visit edition

My husband has been gone for a couple of weeks on a business trip, so my mom came to rescue me for about 5 days in the middle of his absense---what a blessing!  Most of the things I have to be thankful for lately are related to her visit (hence the title of this blog post).  So here's my list, along with a few photos to make you smile :)

 

• watching my mom play games and read books with my boys
• decorating the Christmas tree with my mom and the boys
• listening to non-stop Christmas music--especially Anne Murray, James Taylor, Fernando Ortega, and my new favorite...the Benedictine Sisters of Mary (I feel like I'm in heaven listening to angels when they sing!)
• continued success in potty training Nathanael (he still doesn't "like" to go #2, but he does it every time on the potty with no accidents, so I'm calling that a success)
• the way my boys love John Denver's music as much as their mother (I never thought that could be possible, but I love it...especially hearing Nathanael belt out "Take me Home Country Roads" from the back seat while driving to school)
• Nathanael's ADORABLE 2 year portraits that we recently had taken at Walmart (I was so thankful my mom came with me to help get him to smile so sweet for the camera)
• simplifying Christmas spending by setting a 3 gift limit for our kids (I figure that Jesus only got 3 gifts from the wisemen, so why should our kids get any more than the King of Kings, right?)
• sipping a cup of coffee in the morning now that I'm not nauseous anymore
• the delight on my boys' faces when they get to open another door to their Advent calendars (their aunt and uncle from Germany sent them each a calendar filled with authentic German chocolate...how cool!)
• hearing our baby's heartbeat
• missing my husband and anticipating his return to my arms