We are the Champions, my friends...

It's that time of year for the annual baseball report, and what a fun finale I get to share this year!  Joseph and Michael's team won the City League Championship!  This year was extra special because it was the first time that Joseph and Michael were able to play on the same team in the city league because it was a combined 13-15 year old division.  That sure made it easier for my husband and I to watch their games because we didn't have to divide and conquer by running back and forth between different fields to try to watch equal amounts of their games.  It was so fun to watch our boys play ball together and make great friendships with the other players, while growing in baseball skills and virtues at the same time.

When the season first began, Michael was a bit bummed because he was one of the smallest kids on the team (wow, there's a big difference between 13 year olds and post-puberty 14 and 15 year olds!) and the coach kept putting him in the outfield (whereas, he has played shortstop consistently for the past few years, and that's his favorite position).  But we told him to just be humble, have fun, and simply do his best.  Well, he did just that, and the coaches quickly noticed his skills and his positive attitude and moved him to the in-field!  He may have been the smallest one on the team, but he had the biggest heart for the game  :)  Joseph, too, had a great season and got to play his favorite positions: pitcher, catcher, and sometimes 2nd base or center field.  Joseph pitched great this year, rarely allowing a run to score.  He was unhappy with his inconsistent hitting performance during the season, but in the championship game he hit 3 huge hits to the outfield, which seemed to make up for everything earlier in the season :)  The night of the championship game, we invited the team and their families out to our house for a celebration party, and it was a wonderful way to thank the coaches and end the season with sincere gratitude to God.

Here is a recap of the boys' season in photos:

The 2016 City League Champions!!!

Michael shaking Coach Johnny's hand

Joseph receiving his trophy from Coach Johnny

Joseph with two of his best buddies (Cy and Chase)

Michael slugging the ball

Michael about to make a catch

Michael's face full of determination

Michael and Joseph warming up before a game

Joseph waiting for the pitch

Joseph about to make contact

Joseph hustling to first base

Joseph is always happy with a baseball in his hand :)

Joseph's pitching face :)

I was always impressed with how calm and composed Joseph was as a pitcher

Michael was blessed to be on two teams this year--the city league and a traveling team (called the Rebels) that one of our friends put together.  Michael loved the extra playing time!

Here is Michael sliding in to home base in a cloud of dust. 

(FYI: he was "safe") :)

Michael even got to pitch a few times on the Rebels team...

I love this action shot of Michael pitching! :) 

Our son Dominic also played baseball this year, and boy is he a great player!  He sure can hit the ball and pitch like a pro, but he struggled a bit this year with keeping a positive attitude when his team was losing or if he stuck out.  We hope he matures more by next year so that he can enjoy the game more and improve in the virtues of self-control and sportsmanship.  Here are some fun photos of his baseball season on team Pepsi:

What an awesome baseball season...  And now we get to move on to other fun summer activities, like fishing, mountain-biking, hiking, camping, visiting relatives, and so much more!  May God bless my family and yours with a fun-filled, grace-filled summer!!!

16 Year Roller Coaster Ride

Today is our 16th year wedding anniversary!

What a crazy ride it has been.

Good thing we both love rollercoasters. :)


Just for fun, here's our engagement photo for you to see how much we've changed in the last 16 years :)

May Musings

I like the month of May.  It contains Mother's Day, my birthday (today!), my anniversary, and is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.  This year, being in a new home, I feel especially blessed.  It's hard to explain, but being in a new home has felt like starting a whole new chapter in the book of my life.  A good chapter that makes me not want to put the book down, but rather, makes me want to keep on reading to see what wonderful thing might happen next.  Those who know me well, know that there have been some ugly chapters in my biography, chapters I would like to re-write or even rip out and burn in the fireplace...  But, I think if I would re-read them now, I might understand how they were a necessary part of the story, and they made the blessings to follow all the more beautiful.  As an English-major and a lover of the written-word, I like being in charge of penning my own script, but God has been gently showing me that my story would be much better written (perhaps even a best-seller) if I just relinquish the pen to Him.  A bishop once said of St. Therese, that:

"her life was like a blank sheet of paper, at the bottom of which she affixed her signature and then placed it in the hands of God, to let Him write thereon all that might please Him, accepting in advance--with joy--whatever He would write, not knowing what it might be and no matter the suffering involved, but convinced that it would be only for His glory and her own spiritual good."  

I am humbled and astonished by St. Therese's child-like trust.  I'm so controlling that the thought of letting God write my story is very frightening to me (after all, what if He writes a Shakespeare tragedy!?).  But as I reflect upon all that has happened in the past 37 years of my life, I see over and over again that God always provides, He always works things out for my good.  Yes, sometimes He writes some suffering into the plot-line, but somehow He even turns that into something good!  I need to focus on the Truth that God is always good to help me worry less and trust more.  Yesterday, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Saturday morning Mass, followed by the sacrament of Confession with a Spirit-filled priest.  He spoke exactly what my soul was thirsting for and reminded me to be more like St. Therese.  He reminded me to trust in God's goodness and mercy and to not be afraid of anything--my sins, future suffering, disappointing those I love, not being the saint I want to be--but rather to simply believe in God's goodness.  He left me with this short verse to meditate on as my penance:

"Do not be afraid, only believe."  ~Mark 5:36

I hope I can embrace that as my motto for the 37th year of my life.  Like St. Therese, I will trust and believe that God has more wonderful adventures to write in the story of my life and that no matter what else happens, it will end "happily ever after."  So here I go, on my birthday...I sign my name to the last page and hand the pen over to Him.


Here are some photos of the fun and beautiful hike we took on Mother's Day:

Just for fun, I thought I'd throw in this photo of me when I was 2!

I can't believe I'll be the big 40 in just a few years!

Happy Birthday to our "Baby"

Our "baby" turned 3 on April 26th and it was a sweet and simple celebration.  On his actual birth date we couldn't have a big celebration because Isaiah's big brothers had baseball that night.  So, we ate a quick supper, followed by Birthday cupcakes, and rushed out the door to baseball.  But a few days later we tried to redeem his birthday by taking him to the carousel for a few rides on his favorite animals, followed by some yummy ice cream, and we let the birthday boy pick a toy from the gift shop.  He chose an adorable stuffed animal mountain goat that we named "Rocky."  :)  He was as happy as a birthday boy could be.

Dear Sweet Isaiah,

Mommy loves the little man that you are turning out to be.

You are silly and snuggly and each morning when I hear your little feet my heart leaps for joy.

You are such a blessing to our family because you make us all laugh and smile

(which we need because many of us tend to get too serious around here).

I love how you say "rabbit" and "river", because it sounds like "hobbit" and "ribber." :)

Thank you for protecting me from all the bad guys like Darth Vader and pretend poisonous snakes.

Part of me wants you to stay 3 years old forever,

but the larger part of me wants you to grow up and set this world on fire for love of Jesus!

Love through Jesus and Mary, 

your Mommy forever

House pictures---finally!

+JMJ+

I finally have house photos to show you!

...But I need to start off by telling you that I struggle a bit with even posting these pictures because I feel embarrassed--even slightly guilty--by how beautiful the home is.  It is so much more than we deserve and even more than we had ever hoped for!  The other day I shared with a friend my feelings of "guilt" over having such a wonderful house, and she reminded me not to feel guilty, but rather to focus on being thankful to God for such a blessing, otherwise I'm not truly embracing the gift He has given us.  She reminded me what an ideal house and location this is for a large family with 5 adventurous boys. I know she is right... God has given us a wonderful gift, and now we are called to be thankful and use our gift to serve and glorify Him.  But I'm scrupulous and vain and I worry too much about what others think.  So, that being said, I hope no one will look at these photos and think that I'm bragging or that my family is overly-wealthy, and I certainly hope that these pictures don't make anyone feel jealous in any way...  That would totally make is sad.  My only reason for sharing these photos is to point to God's goodness and to remind people to trust in the Lord and He truly will grant the desires of your heart--perhaps even more than your own desires because He knows what you truly need and desire more than you do!  The gift of this home has reminded me that life is filled with both sorrows and joys, but that God is good all the time (which means we should praise Him all the time).  Someone might need to remind me of that truth when the next storm of life hits and causes the giddiness over our new home to wear off.  :}

Anyway, in all humility and gratitude, let the tour begin...

One of my favorite things about our house is how it is so tucked away in the trees.  For the past 16 years of our married life, Paul and I have lived in town in busy subdivisions--from our tiny house on a California Navy base, to our last home a block away from a busy (and loud) railroad crossing--which makes this serene setting something that we will never take for granted.  We share our driveway with one other house, but we are at the very end of the road and we cannot really even seen another house from our front porch.  We never thought it would be possible to find a house so secluded after looking and looking for 2 years.  Being nestled in these trees makes me feel like I am surrounded by God's love, safely tucked away in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Thank You, Jesus!  

This is the front entrance.  It is a very welcoming entrance, and I hope people will always feel loved and welcomed when they walk through those doors--we want this to be the kind of house our friends will just want to hang out at and feel relaxed and joyful when they come visit.  As you walk in, you can go to the right to find the living room, go straight to find the kitchen, or go upstairs to find the boys' rooms.   Although I didn't get a picture of it, the door that you see closed in the picture is a mudroom that leads to the garage.  I can' tell you how excited we are to have a mudroom!  Few of the houses we looked at had a real mudroom, and it is such a blessing with a family of 5 boys!  Thank You, Jesus!

This is the view from the kitchen which shows this unique and beautiful hutch which hold all of our dishes because the kitchen doesn't really have any cupboards.  At first we thought it was really weird that the kitchen had no upper cupboards, but we have grown to really like this hutch and it gives us plenty of room for all of our dishes.  Thank You, Jesus!

Here is our kitchen (which never looks this clean and lovely on a day-to-day basis--this is totally staged!)  My favorite part about the kitchen is the old cookstove which belonged to my grandparents on the farm back in Selby, SD.  We feel so blessed to have it and to know that if the electricity went out for an extended period of time, we would still be able to cook food and stay warm huddled around this beautiful heirloom.  Thank You, Jesus!

The view from our kitchen window is one of my favorite things about this house.  I love looking at the aspens and watching the deer meander on by almost daily.  Thank You, Jesus!

This little nook above the stove in the kitchen is another treasure for me.  It holds our statue from Medjugorje, blessed rocks from Apparition Hill, and the roses from my wedding bouquet (or at least the ones that have miraculously survived for almost 16 years).  These treasures are constant reminders of Our Lady's motherly love and guidance throughout my whole life.  Thank you, Jesus AND Mary!

This is the formal dining room, and to be honest, we didn't know what to do with it at first.  We've never had a formal dining room, and we never really wanted one--it just seemed too fancy for us.  We thought about using it for our computer room or piano room at first.  But it just seemed too formal for anything but a dining room, so that's what it became, and now we love it.  What I like most is the pictures of Jesus on one wall and Mary on the other wall--a reminder that they are always guests at our table each time we have a meal together.  Thank You, Jesus!

Here is another formal room that we didn't really know what to do with.  It's the formal living room, and really the only thing it gets used for is folding laundry--seriously.  I dump my laundry on the couch and then stack all the folded clothes on the coffee table :)  But I also use it when I host rosary group with a couple of my girlfriends, so it is starting to become a special place too.  Thank You, Jesus!

Here is the "other" living room--the one that we use the most.   We absolutely love the wood fireplace--my husband especially!  I am so grateful for a husband who takes his role of provider and protector so seriously, and it was very important to him that we find a house with a wood stove just in case we lose electricity during the winter.  God knew the desires of Paul's heart and found him a home with a wood stove (plus, 7 acres of land to get firewood if needed!)  Thank You, Jesus!

This is our master bedroom (or perhaps I should say "Our Cat's master bedroom," for she sleeps in there all day long!)  Again, this room is bigger and fancier than we needed, but we are choosing to be grateful.  I feel blessed every time my husband and I kneel at the foot of our bed and look at the crucifix as we pray our night prayers.  There is also a big picture of the Divine Mercy image on our wall that reminds us to trust in Jesus's mercy and love no matter what is going on in our lives, and to strive to be loving and merciful to others too (especially our spouse!) :}  Thank you, Jesus!

Upstairs there are two bedrooms where all 5 of the boys sleep.  Their rooms are connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom, which is just perfect.  This is Joseph and Michael's room, and they each have their own desk for doing homework.  Joseph spends quite a bit more time doing homework, so we gave him the desk with the better view :)  And what a gorgeous view it is...he can see our pond with the little waterfall, as well as acres of beautiful trees.  Thank You, Jesus!

Here is another view of the big boys' room showing their bunk beds.  I'm glad all the boys have to share rooms because it promotes closeness and self-lessness.  I love listening to the boys talk and banter every night as they fall asleep.  Thank You, Jesus!

This is the 3 little boys' room.  Right before we moved into this house, some generous friends offered us this bunk bed set, which was a huge blessing because we didn't have enough beds for the boys.  We were especially thankful for the big drawers underneath the bottom bunk because we only had one dresser for all 5 boys!  Thank You, Jesus!

This is where Dominic sleeps on the far side of the little boys' room.  We wanted him to feel a little bit more independent and have more privileges than his 2 little brothers, so we put his bed on the other side of the room so that he could stay up later than they did.  We actually tried putting him in the big boys' room at first, but we quickly found that he wasn't getting quite enough sleep because the big boys stay up so late doing homework.  But this location turned out to be ideal.  Thank You, Jesus!

This is the spare bedroom in the basement.   It is great for anyone who comes to visit us because they basically have an entire floor to themselves, with a bathroom/shower right across the hallway.  So, please come visit us...it's ready and waiting just for you!  :)  Thank You, Jesus!

One of the things we love most about the house is the HUGE basement, which is basically a 3-room-recreation area.  This room holds all the toys.  Thank You, Jesus!

This room holds the couch and TV/entertainment center...  I am thrilled that it is big enough for us to have some other families come over to watch a movie together, or even for me to do an aerobics video (don't imagine it unless you want a good laugh!)  Thank You, Jesus!

But the best part about the basement is what lies behind the couch...

...A PING PONG TABLE!  We just got it this week, and we are having so much fun with it already!  Paul and I both grew up with ping pong tables at our houses, so we both have very fond family memories of playing with our family and friends.  Which is why it was a dream for both of us to someday have a ping pong table in our home.  This is the first home that we've owned that has enough room for a ping pong table---yet another desire of our hearts fulfilled.  Thank You, Jesus!

Again, please know that the invitation is open for you to come visit us at our new home! As you can see there is plenty of room and plenty of opportunities for fun!  It is the least we can do for helping us to pray as we searched for the home God was planning for us.  May God bless each of you even MORE ABUNDANTLY than He has blessed us!