Some Dreams Come True

Joseph's baseball season ended the way every baseball-lovin' kid dreams it would...  Not only did his team win the competitive city tournament, but many other factors combined to make it even more of a dream come true and a day that Joseph (and his proud parents) will never forget:

1. Joseph's team was the underdog for the championship game, facing the nearly undefeated team: "Fencecrafters".  Because it was a double-elimination tournament, Joseph's team, "Kleen King," had to beat "Fencecrafters" twice on the same day. After they barely beat them in the first game by miraculously getting 3 home-runs in a row in the last inning (how rare is that!), they never imagined they could win again...but they did!
2. In the championship game, the score was tied at the top of the last inning.  Joseph came up to bat with one runner on first base.  He made his traditional "Sign of the Cross" with his bat on the home plate, and then got ready for the pitches to come.  First pitch:  a curveball for a strike.  Second pitch:  a fastball outside of the strike zone for a ball.   Third pitch: a high and away curveball that JOSEPH HIT OUT OF THE PARK!!!  It was his first homerun of the season, and what a time to do it! Though his team was now 2 points ahead, Fencecrafters still had one turn left to bat, and guess who was the closing pitcher?
3. Yep...Joseph was chosen to be the closer.  This mama started praying Hail Mary's like any crazy Catholic mother would.  I was a stressed-out mess.  Joseph was as calm as can be, lovin' every minute of it.  The first batter got a homerun...bring the score 7-6...GULP!  The second batter struck out...WHEW!  The third batter got a double...YIKES!  The fourth batter struck out on Joseph's wicked curveball...HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF!  The last batter hit a short grounder, which Joseph flipped to first base to end the game...HURRAY!  So, not only did Joseph hit the game-winning home run, he also got the final out, and as the closing pitcher, he is credited with "the save."  Pitching is his favorite part of the game, so that save was probably the bigger highlight for him than the homerun.
4. The other neat part about this game is that many of the team's "average," or even "below-average," players were the ones who got the major hits during this game to bring about the victory.  The whole game was a testament that God exalts the humble and lifts up the lowly.  So in my humble opinion, I think that the real "save" of the game should be credited to God, who helped out my son's team and gave those boys a dream come true and a taste of God's goodness.  All praise and glory is truly the Lord's, but I sure am proud of those Kleen King kids too!  :)

Here are some of the photo highlights of Joseph's season:

This is Joseph waiting for the homerun pitch...

Here's the homerun swing (I am so happy my husband caught this on camera!)

And here is Joseph watching his homerun hit...how cool is that!?
He may be the smallest kid on the team, but he proved that size doesn't matter!

This is Joseph on the mound, hoping to close this game with a save...

Joseph pitching with all his might...

Joseph receiving his 1st place medal from Coach Barry...

Kleen King...the "KINGS" of the tournament!

This was my favorite close-up of Joseph at bat during the season.
I love the determination on his handsome face :)

I love my telephoto lens to capture action shots like this!

This is my all-time favorite picture of the season:
Joseph warming up in the field, happy as can be, despite the pouring rain.

MORE STITCHES!?!?

Yep, more stitches.  Although, this time it was my big 11 year old instead of my baby, thankfully.  Michael, Michael, Michael.  This kid has as much personality and passion as he does freckles.  Right now, his passion is directed at baseball, so of course, that's where the stitches occurred.  Minutes before his final game of the season, he had just finished up practice and was passionately waiting for the game to start when he accidentally tripped outside of the dugout and did a face plant on his bat.  Blood everywhere.  But I think he was more in agony over having to leave the game than he was over the gaping wound on his head.  Paul rushed him to Urgent Care to get stitches, and 5 stitches later he rushed back to the game to beg "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!"  Sure enough, he got to bat the last inning and hit a nail-biting RBI to make the score 3-4.  There were already 2 outs, however, and the next batter struck out.   But Michael was sure proud to hit the ball one last time.  My dad is certain that if Michael could have played the whole game, his team would have won :)  Regardless, that boy sure was the hero of my heart that day.  What a joy he was to watch on the field and at bat all season...  Here are some season highlights I captured on camera:

Michael was always very easy to spot on the field...

He faithfully wore bright orange socks every single game 

in honor of his favorite team, the Detroit Tigers.

He adamantly refused to wear red, for that would resemble his nemesis, the Boston Red Sox.

Michael most often played short-stop, and he fit that definition to a tee:

He was short, and he always stopped the ball.

In my opinion, he was the best fielder on the team.

He would sacrifice his entire body to stop a ball, and made many awesome plays this season.

At the plate, he was small but mighty.

With amazing hand-eye coordination, he always got a piece of the ball

and could hit all the way to the fence!

Base-running was a breeze for Michael.

He was fast and has a brain for the game,

always knowing when to steal and how far to lead off.

Here's Miggy coming in for home plate!

Miggy was his nickname during the season

because that's the name of his favorite player:  Miguel (Miggy) Cabrera

Miggy about to slide in for home to score!

He scored major points in this mamma's heart

with his courage, passion, and sportsmanlike conduct all season long!

WAY TO GO, MIGGY!

Anniversaries, Memories, and Fairy Tales

This year, our wedding anniversary shared Memorial Day, which made it a day filled with memories for me.  I still remember almost every minute of my wedding day:  getting my hair done with my bridesmaids (and then redoing it myself because I didn't like it), wearing my mom's homemade wedding dress, swooning over my soon-to-be-husband in his military suit, my dad crying as he gave me away, lighting our unity candle to the Marian song "As We Kneel Before You" while we dedicated our marriage to the Blessed Mother's care, walking under the Navy sword arch and being swatted in the derriere with the words "Welcome to the Navy, ma'am," and thinking that I was in a fairy tale and would live happily ever after.  

How thankful I am for these vivid, happy memories to remind me that God has indeed blessed me with a real-life fairy tale that He has written just for me.  If I had written it myself, I know I would have changed many things along the way, but then I probably would have messed up the whole story and turned happily ever after into a tragedy.  Perhaps if I trusted the Author of my soul and Script-writer of my life a bit more, then I would find perfect peace and joy.   But the control-freak, English-major-geek inside of me always tries to steal the pen from God's hand.  When will I learn?

For example, I would have re-written the parts where the babies in my womb died.  There would be three more children in our family making our life even more joyfully chaotic.  And I probably would have written in the script that one of those sweet babies would be a curly, red-headed little girl named Bernadette Therese perhaps.  But, I didn't get to write that part of my story, and those 3 babies are in heaven praying for my family instead, interceding mightily so that we can all make it to meet them someday.  And God knew that's what we needed, and although I don't understand it, I do trust the Author and know He only chooses what is best.  I know this, but I don't often feel this.  I never imagined crying and questioning so much.  I hope God understands.

This is our sweet baby Sebastian who died at 13 weeks.
I hope this photo doesn't offend anyone...
It's the only photo of any of our lost babies, so it is precious to me.

I would have also removed many chapters of heart-ache and re-written the character development of my spouse just a  bit.  I would have had him holding a guitar rather than a hunting rifle, writing Christian music lyrics rather than FAA pilot regulations, and he would passionately put the protagonist on a very high pedestal.  But what kind of love story would that have made?  A pretty pathetic one, at best.  Who wants to read about a spoiled brat for a protagonist?  And without heartache and character flaws, how would the lovers learn about unconditional love and that the crosses in our lives lead us to the crown of Eternal Life?  Again, I would have mucked up the whole story and perhaps lost my salvation in the process.  Yes, God is a trustworthy Author.  I will hand Him back the pen and learn to be thankful for this wonderful life He has written for me, thankful for my babies on earth and the ones in heaven, thankful for my spouse who is teaching me about real love, and thankful for the Author of my Soul who has given me the gift of happily ever after in heaven someday.  God knows I love happy endings! :)

I love you my sweet babies in heaven.  Please pray for us until we meet again in glory!

One Very Blessed Birthday Girl

This month I turned 35!  I sure don't feel that old, and according to most restaurant waitresses who still card me when I order a margarita, I must not look that old either.  But 35 is what I am--like it or not.  This year contained many ups and downs for me, many tears mixed with a little laughter, and many failures that led to humility and (hopefully) closer to a Christ-like heart.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but I feel like this year has been like a mid-life crisis for me (a bit young for a mid-life crisis, I know, but I'm just getting it out of the way early, I guess)... :}   It has been a year of dying to dreams and desperately searching for new ones; a year of letting go of who I thought I wanted to be when I grew up and striving to be who God created me to be instead; a year of clinging to faith, hope, and love even when my feelings betray all three.  Yes, this year was difficult but good, and on my birthday I had MANY reasons to feel very blessed...

REASON #1:  Chili's chips and salsa and MARGARITAS (mmmmmm!)

REASON #2:  FREE molten lava cake to share with my crazy-awesome boys

REASON #3:  My mom and dad coming for a week and watching them bond with my boys

REASON #4:  My dad helping me plant our garden and our flowers

REASON #5:  Getting to go on a field trip with my 6th grade son watch him play music for the elderly

REASON #6:  Taking my boys to go play mini-golf

REASON #7:  Paul coming home from a long work trip and watching him teach our boys all about archery

 



REASON 8 (the greatest reason of all):  KNOWING THAT I AM LOVED BY GOD---a merciful God who forgives my failings, feeds me with His life-giving Body and Blood, and who gently reminds me to look for the blessings all around me (yes,even in my silly mid-life crisis) and to live my next year loving Him and others even better than I did the last.

Yes, I am one very blessed birthday girl, with one very AWESOME GOD!

First Steps...First Stitches

Hi, my name is Isaiah, and I'm a walker...

I just learned how to walk.  Can you tell?

Yep, underneath that cute band-aid are some nasty stitches.

My mommy can't bear to look at them, so she covered them up.

Mommy now calls me "Band-Aid Boy" and she says I'm still cute.

I must be extra cute now because she is hugging me and kissing me a lot more than usual.

P.S.  And if you must know how I got the stitches, I fell at the park while trying to follow Mommy who had walked 10 feet away to throw something in the garbage.  Much to my dismay, I'm not very good at walking on sand and there was a brick retaining wall preventing me from getting to Mommy.  Darn bricks.  The park was so much fun until I fell.  Mommy and I both cried.  To be honest, I think I handled the whole affair much better than she did.  I'm perfectly fine and happy, but she still looks worried.  Pray for her.  Thanks.  :)

Queen of the May

May is the month that we honor all mothers on Mother's Day, but it is also the month that Catholics honor Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of all Christians, in a special way. At the foot of the cross before Jesus died, he gave Mary to the apostle John as his mother, and John to Mary as her son. We are all called to be apostles; therefore, just like the apostle John we take Mary into the home of our hearts as our heavenly Mother, and we become her sons and daughters, asking her help in leading us closer to Christ and loving as Christ loved. That was and is Mary's only mission:  bringing Christ to the world and the world to Christ.

The school that our boys attend is a beautiful, traditional Catholic school that celebrates the month of May by crowning Mary and Jesus and laying flowers at their feet in honor of our love for them. Symbolically, we are crowning Jesus and Mary as King and Queen of our hearts. I love how the Catholic Church often uses tangible symbols and actions to represent intangible truths which help to remind our hearts of what is important, and to make the mysteries of the faith take root more deeply.

It was very touching to see all the students at the school bring a flower to lay at the feet of Jesus and Mary while we all sang the traditional hymn "Queen of the May," which dates back to the 13th century. My eyes welled up with tears; my heart overflowed with love for Mary as we sang.  It made me so thankful that our children have such a wonderful school to attend where they are receiving an excellent education and having their souls fed and led toward heaven all at the same time!

Our family was blessed to be able to crown Mary a second time as we attended our monthly family prayer group called "Our Mother of the Eucharist and Grace."  Our gathering was out at a horse ranch, owned by one of the families in our group, and it was such a joy to pray with so many other families and then afterwards to watch all the children feed the horses, climb on rocks, and play with barn kittens, while us adults enjoyed great fellowship with one another.  I think Mary was smiling upon this gathering of Catholic families striving to live their faith in such a busy, secular world.  I pray that she showered all of us with extra graces to give us the strength we need to live out God's will in our lives.

Mary has been close to my heart since I was a little girl.  I loved praying the rosary and even dreamed of wearing a black and white habit so that I could pray all day long and help bring souls to Jesus like Mary has asked us to do in countless apparitions.  There have been times in my life when I have almost tangibly felt Mary's presence and her mantle of peace surrounding me.   One of those times was my senior year of high school during a pilgrimage to Medjugorje where the Blessed Virgin has been appearing daily since 1981.  I was blessed to be present during one of her apparitions in 1997.  I was in St. James Church with hundreds of other pilgrims praying the rosary, and Mary appeared to a few of the visionaries in one of the upper steeple rooms in the church.  The moment she appeared, I think every single person in the church could feel a holy presence--at least I certainly could--I was covered with grace-filled goosebumps!

St. James Church in Medjugorje
How I long to go back there someday!

There have been other times when I have felt her motherly presence just as strongly as I did in Medjugorje, usually during times of sadness when she knew I needed a mother's embrace.  One such time was earlier month.  I was unable to sleep, filled with deep sadness, and needed to cry.  Not wanting to wake my husband, I walked quietly downstairs to the living room, wandering in the darkness of despair and feeling consumed with my failures--even to the point that I began to worry about my salvation.  In my heart I knew that Jesus is always filled with mercy, but still I didn't have the heart to turn to Him because I felt like my sadness and selfishness must terribly wound his Sacred Heart, which just made me feel even worse.  So I turned instead to His mother.  And she was there.  I begged her to be my mediator, to be at the Gate when I die and beg for the Lord's mercy for me, and to never let me fall out of the Heavenly Father's favor.  I felt like she held me and said, "Of course, I will.  I am your mother, and also the Queen of Heaven.  Someday I will take you to the King.  Do not worry; I will always be with you."  What a gift, what a treasure to have Mother Mary to comfort us like only a mother can; to shine light into our darkness with her smile, her warmth, and her tender, unconditional love.   Thank you, Mary, Queen of my Heart and Queen of the May!

QUEEN OF THE MAY

Bring flowers of the fairest
Bring flowers of the rarest
From garden and woodland
And hillside and vale
Our full hearts are swelling
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest
Rose of the vale

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May

Our voices ascending,
In harmony blending
Oh thus may our hearts turn
Dear Mother, to thee
Oh thus shall we prove thee
How truly we love thee
How dark without Mary
Life's journey would be

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May