WANTED: Advent Ideas

St. Teresa of Calcutta, once said, "Before the birth of Jesus, His parents asked for a simple dwelling place, but there was none. If Mary and Joseph were looking for a home for Jesus, would they choose...your heart, and all it holds?"


So the question to ask ourselves as we begin this Advent season is how to make our hearts ready for Jesus's coming? I wish I had the answer, and I don't think there is one right answer, but rather many different ways that we can make more room in our hearts for Christ and declutter the things that distract us from Him and His will.

Today as our family decorates for Christmas, I am going to ponder that question and try to decide what traditions or devotions our family should do this Advent.  I would truly love to hear some of your ideas, so please post them below!

A Thanksgiving message from Our Lady of Medjugorje

Here is the latest message from the Blessed Virgin Mary who is still appearing daily to 3 visionaries in Medjugorje (Vicka, Ivan, and Marija).  Mary also appears yearly and sometimes monthly to the other 3 visionaries (Ivanka, Jakov, and Marjana) who have already received all 10 secrets that will be revealed to the world at God's appointed time.  She has been miraculously appearing to the visionaries in Medjugorje since 1981, giving our world messages to guide us closer to her Son.  What a loving mother God has given us to patiently teach us slow-learners all these years! :)

November 25, 2016, Message to Marija

"Dear children! Also today, I am calling you to return to prayer. In this time of grace, God has permitted me to lead you towards holiness and a simple life - that in little things you discover God the Creator; that you fall in love with Him; and that your life be a thanksgiving to the Most High for everything He is giving you. Little children, in love, may your life be a gift for others and God will bless you; but you, witness without interest - out of love for God. I am with you and  intercede before my Son for all of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."

(for more history on the miraculous apparitions in Medjugorje, you can read this post that I wrote shortly after our pilgrimage to Medjugorje in 2015)

Thanksgiving Blessings---from our family to yours!

(This is the Thanksgiving letter I sent out to our family and friends on our mailing list, but since I don't have the addresses of all my blog readers, I thought I would post it here too. Thanksgiving Blessings be upon all of you!!!)

Our family wishes you a happy and holy Thanksgiving holiday!  Many of you already know that the Lord blessed our family with a new home this past year—thank you again to those of you who helped us pray our way into this new home!  Our hearts are still overflowing with thanksgiving for the gift of this home and the acres of wilderness that our boys are now able to explore.  God feels so near as we look around our property and see all of His creation surrounding us—the grove of colorful aspens amidst the pines, the deer we sometimes feed by hand, the array of birds (even owls!) who take baths in our pond, the wild turkey (named “Jake”) who sleeps in a Ponderosa tree in our backyard… It’s all a gift—just like God’s grace—which we do not deserve but that He gives us out of His goodness and love.

I almost hesitate to share our abundant blessings because some people may look at our home and our family photo and think that our life seems “picture-perfect.”  Allow me to quickly dispel that false notion of perfection.  Yes, God has been good to us and He is perfect, but no, our family is not perfect.  I could give a litany of our imperfections—marital tiffs, bickering boys, sins that outnumber the pine cones on our property, and times of intense darkness—but we’ve always held on to HOPE.  The reason we have for our hope is JESUS—His love, His strength, His saving grace—all of which helps us weather any storm that this world sends our way.

So this Thanksgiving season, we would like to leave you with a message of hope.  We want you to know that no matter what storm you may be going through right now or what storm you may have to face in the future, Jesus is there to help you take the next right step or to carry you if you can’t even take another step.  Just trust in His merciful love, which is far bigger than any of our sins, and cling to the hope that heaven awaits those who believe and persevere to the end.  And then go out and share that hope with the world!!!

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared to give an answer

to everyone who asks you to give the reason

for the hope that you have.”

1 Peter 3:15

Love from our imperfect family, striving to be a “Totus Tuus” family,

Christ the King prayer

On this solemnity of Christ the King, here is a beautiful prayer to help remind us to place Christ as King of ALL areas of our lives!  Happy Feast Day!  This is also the last day of the Year of Mercy in the Church, so we thank and praise God for the gift of His mercy and the graces given in this Jubilee Year celebrating His merciful love!!!

Christ, our Savior and our King, renew in me allegiance to Your Kingship.

I pray for the grace to place You above the powers of this world in all things.
I pray for the grace to obey You before any civic authority.
I pray for the grace to fervently bring about Your Kingdom in my family and community.
I pray that You will reign in my mind.
I pray that You will reign in my heart.
I pray that You will reign in my will.
I pray that You will reign in my body.
I pray that You will reign throughout all the world.
I pray that You will reign in every area of my life.

O Prince of Peace, may Your reign be complete in my life and in the life of the world. Christ, my King, please answer these petitions if they be in accordance with Your Holy Will…

[Mention your intentions here]

 As I reflect on Your second, glorious coming and the judgement of all mankind, I beg You to show me mercy and give me the grace to become a great saint. I pray that not only will I spend eternity with You but that You may use me – a sinner – to bring others into Your Kingdom for Your glory. Christ the King, Your Kingdom come! Amen.

Happy Birthday to Natey!!!

Nathanael turned SIX on November 10th.  It seems like just yesterday when I was on bed-rest with him in my tummy for three months! :)  I often think that he will have a special love for the Lord because every day when I was on bed-rest, a friend of mine from church would come to give me Holy Communion, which Nathanael shared with me in my womb.  From the very start this little boy brought us joy.  He was probably my easiest labor and delivery, and he was such a sweet, adorable, mellow baby.  He continues to fill our home with joy with his sweet smile, his laughter and his silly antics.  I sure miss him during the day now that he's in Kindergarten, but I'm happy that he loves school so much and has great friends.  For his birthday party, he invited 5 of his best kindergarten pals, along with their entire families over to our house for a BBQ.  The kids had a blast eating and chatting, playing kickball and capture the flag, and just being silly kids.  Here are some of the highlights:

And here's a flashback from the day he was born...

and the day he entered the Church...

It was love at first sight,

and my love just keeps on growing!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for our sweet Nathanael!

May he continue to grow in his love for You

and use his talents to serve You as he grows to be a man!

Grandparents are the Greatest

Last month my parents came for a visit when Paul was away on a work trip.  Of course, I wish my parents simply lived in the same town as us so that we could see them whenever we wanted to, but I am so grateful that they are willing to drive the 12 hour road trip from South Dakota to come to my rescue a few times a year and to spend quality time with their grand-kids.  We spent a wonderful week together, mostly relaxing and playing games, but we got a few projects done too--my mom is the queen of getting things done.  My mom is also the queen of having fun with her grand-kids.  She spent tons of time doing puzzles or baking cookies with little Isaiah while his big brothers were all at school, and then once the older boys got home, she would play cards with them until bedtime (or far past bedtime!).  My dad took the big boys salmon snagging because fishing is his passion, so we now have jars of canned salmon in our pantry--those will come in handy during Lent.  I am so blessed to have such awesome parents, and my kids are blessed to have the greatest grandparents God could have possibly given them!

Paul is always happy when my parents come too, because he knows that I will be happy and well taken care of while he is gone. :)

Annual Family Photos

This year we splurged (although the price was so cheap it didn't even feel like splurging) and hired a professional photographer to take our family pictures.  Eric, the photographer, goes to our church and was recommended to us by a friend.  When my friend showed me how awesome her family photos turned out, how reasonable the price was, and how stress-free the whole process was, I contacted Eric right away.  This was the first time we've hired a photographer.  In years past, I either set up the timer button on my camera to get our annual family photo, or I waited until my parents (or some other unsuspecting visitor) was around to take a picture for us.  But Eric was definitely the way to go.  He was so relaxed, so cheap---and so quick!  It took about 20 minutes from the time he showed up at our house to the time he left.  Sweet.  It will be sweet indeed to look back on these photos years from now to see how our family has changed...

But for now, here we are---our crazy family---filled with boys and blessings beyond belief.

Check out Isaiah saying "PEACE" to your family! :)