Merry Christmas

The last couple of months have turned out to be quite busy in this neck of the woods. Some of the kids are gearing up for the play they are in on Monday (Frosty). We are looking forward to our upcoming school fair. And as one might expect, getting ready for the Christmas season. Which brings me to my topic of discussion, or rather, rant.

I don't like to watch the news. I get what important info I need from my husband and my local newspaper. Therefore, I did not hear the stories about our president wanting to take Christ out of Christmas. I hear he wants to call the white house tree a"holiday" tree. WHAT!! I thought the whole reason for the season was in fact Christ. It's His birthday celebration. I do not know the details about this, but it makes me sad. So as I was driving in Morgan City, a town across the river from me, I noticed the very large "Merry Christmas" banner hanging over the bridge. I am so happy that I still live somewhere where He is still king.

So to all of you out there, Catholic and not, MERYY CHRISTmas!!!!! Go have your St. Nicholas parties, enjoy decorating your Jesse trees, light your Advent wreaths, have a great birthday celebration of our Lord incarnate!!!!

Me and Jesus found it

OK this is just a quick story about something that happened to us a few days ago.

My brother has been staying with us and working with my husband. He got paid one friday and cashed his check. He left the money in his pants pocket. The next morning, my oldest went and got his laundry to wash it for him. She didn' t check the pockets and washed and dried the cash. When he went to get his clothes out, his freshly washed and dried green was all over the dryer! He gathered up the money and began to count, it was $100 short! One bill, a 100 dollar bill, was missing. He really needed that money. We looked everywhere, in pockets of all the pants that made the cycle, in the washer, in the pipes leading out the dryer, in the filter, everywhere. No money. I told him about St. Anthony and said a prayer myself.

He had to leave for a few days to see his family, we continued the search. Then, the Sunday after mass, I was cleaning in the classroom when my 2 year old comes running in yelling "Mommy, mommy, me and Jesus found it." I asked her what, and in her tiny little hand was a crumpled $100 bill!!!! I said "how did you get this?" Her reply was simple and true, "me and Jesus found in the living room, mommy, we found Dean's money!"

Praise God!!! He used my little one.

John Joseph as St. Francis

Daniel as Padre Pio

My Crew

St. Francis Christian Academey

On October 31, 2009, our homeschool, St. Francis Christian Academy, held its annual All Saints Party. We had about 18 families attend. We saw over 50 saints!

Grant Hebert

Just a note to let everyone know that Grant has passed. He died surrounded by his family on Sunday. His fight with cancer is over. More info to come. God Bless.

Oh My, it's WORKING!!!

Our home school organization is putting together a fair, a craft fair, a old time country fair. No rides, except maybe horse and pony. Food vendors are us, 25c hot dogs and such, cheap. But most importantly, it is what the families do together in preparation. I stress together. The idea was that moms and daughters, fathers and sons, would get together and make things, cook, learn from the elders, and bond. The thought was that spending time learning a craft or the like would bring us closer together and that the fair was a way to show everyone our hard work and fellowship with one another in a good and wholesome way.

Well, I have only been behind a sewing machine 5 times in my lifetime. I did not take home economics, I took Chemistry and Biology, and Calculus. So, needless to say when I came up with the brilliant idea to make a recycled denim jean quilt, I was asking for trouble. However, instead of fussing and fighting, it has been awesome. The girls and I went shopping at garage sales for the used jeans we would need. We have spent hours together cutting the jeans and preparing them to be cut into pieces. We are now at the point where they are each deciding what their quilt will look like.

We are learning together. It has been great. I want to thank the people who brought this idea out to us at the meeting for this. My girls don't quarrel while we are working on our creations. It is working.

Homeschool opening meeting

What an exciting and busy day for my family yesterday was. We had our year beginning homeschooling meeting for St. Francis Christian Academy. It was great. The speakers were well spoken and the topics were informative and interesting. We discussed the womans role in the home and with educating our children. One of the speakers spoke of attitude. A long time member and co founder of our school spoke about what a man should be doing in his home. We talked about the fair we will hold this year for the first time. I will be posting a lot about that soon.
The kids got a chance to see their friends and socialize. It is great to see such a large group of good young people. The boys playing football together, young and old. Discussing boy issues and teaching younger boys how to play the game. The girls in modest dress discussing girly issues and taking care of the babies and toddlers. This allows them to practice being mothers. Boys were boys and girls were girls. How nice.

School starts!!!

Today was the 2nd day of CCD in our home. The kids look forward to it so much. We did the 7 deadly sins and the 7 virtues to counterbalance them. It went great. Each of them understood, interacted, and discussed many issues in life relating to them.

We officially start school on Monday. I am a little nervous and excited all together. I am hoping we can get off to a great start and they listen. We began a chorepak style of organization a couple of weeks ago to prepare for school. This seems to be going well. Here is a link to that software and books.

http://titus2.com/

Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrement

My husband and I have wanted to take our children to Alabama to see The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament for a long time. Finally finances and a family who owns a house fell into place and the trip was planned for July 2009.

We drove to Hanceville, AL on a Sunday afternoon from Mississippi after a family reunion there. We got in late so we weren't able to go to the Shrine till morning. We went and ate at a little Mexican restaurant in town. Our discussions ran the gamete. Would we see Mother Angelica? Would the girls meet a nun? Would Father Fox be there? and so on.

We stayed in a friend's guest house right down the road from the Shrine, on the same county road. It is a 3 bedroom 3 bath house built by a family we know from home, just for the purpose of visiting the Shrine. They have a daughter who is one of the Poor Clare nuns of the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. The house next door on the right was a B&B for Shrine visitors and the house on the left was Father Robert Fox's house. The kids were beside themselves. I could hardly sleep that night in hopes of the spiritual awaking I was sure my children would receive.
The next morning we ate and headed out the door. The road ahead was lined on both sides with a white picket fence and beautifully cut fields of grass with trees in the background. It took my breathe even before we say the Shrine itself. Young men were running lawn equipment and waving as we passed. My husband explained that those were the brothers from the Knights of the Eucharist on the property, they keep up the grounds.

Once we rounded a curve and saw the gates, my heart sang out in a cry of joy. My kids reacted as if we had just drove to Disneyworld. My eyes teared up and the baby stopped crying. It was indeed magical. We drove a little farther to park the car and get all of our things together.
Once we had the kids, all 7, either in a stroller or with a partner, we headed up the cobblestone walkway. There was a lot of cleaning, pressure washing, and lawn care going on. We later found out that it in preparation for the funeral of Sister Mary Joseph who had died the Sunday we had arrived. We turned and walked up the pathway to the Holy Child statue. My daughter took a glorious picture of it that we will surely be printing and hanging up.

As we entered the upper church, the girls and I donned our chapel veils and walked down the aisle to the front. We knelt in silent prayer in front of our Lord. I have never felt so close to Him, even though we do a Holy Hour weekly. The church is so gorgeous. I lost my breath a few times. We then wondered down to the lower church where Father Fox has his mass and the nuns are laid to rest. It was very pretty. There is a life sized Holy Shroud hanging in the foyer.

After leaving the two churches, we went down to the left of the Shrine and found a crucifix like no other I had ever seen. Jesus was all beat up and battered. He looked so weak and so sad. My daughter Isabelle and I had to walk away because the sight of it was to much for us.

Then it was off to the bookstore. It was a castle. How great. The huge doors were amazing. The door pulls were huge knights. Inside was a number of antiques, tables, chairs, art, and statues of St. Michael and St. Joan of Arc. My son whose favorite saint is St. Michael was so happy to see them. We signed the pro-life petition at the door. Each one of my kids put their name done to make certain everyone knew they disapproved of this murderous act.

Once we left the store, purchases in had, we walked over to a building that housed a nativity scene and candles. We took pictures, lit candles, and prayed. I was so nice to see my kids so ready to pray and meditate. I could tell the love and spirituality was spreading.
We then went down a long pathway to the creek, where recently a Shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes had been built. It is a exact replica of the grotto in France. It was so nice to be able to tell the story of Bernadette at home and then be able to bring the kids there to have them see it. The statue of Bernadette looking up at our Lady is breathtaking

After our day of God was done. We went back to the house and said a Rosary and a Divine Mercy. My kids came away with a sense of hope and peace. My husband and I are planning another trip there for the fall. I know that this is only a short summary of our trip and experiences, I hope that all of you can make it to Hanceville to see what Mother Angelica has built for Catholics in our country. We are very lucky to have her in our time. She has made it easy to come and adore our Lord.
J.M.J.

Quick hello

I am very excited to say that I am working to a trip report for our trip to The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrement in Alabama. Be looking for it in a couple of days. I am in the middle of touching it up and adding photos.

Pic of family

This is my family at Easter Mass 2009.

TOP ROW: my brother Dean, me (9 months PG), SIL Kacee, My mom, Ingrid, Mamie 10, Isabelle 10, husband Daniel, Braden 16, neice Ariana 1

BOTTOM ROW: nephew Landon, Daniel Jr. 9, Alicia 5, and Elizabeth almost 2.

An introduction

Hello, my name is Shane and I am a mother of 7, 5 girls and 2 boys. I have created this blog out of a desire to put on paper my feelings about my faith and family. We are traditional Catholics who love to attend the Latin Mass. I will try to post links and such of some of my favorite sites. I hope I can encourge other mothers to come to the faith stronger than ever. J.M.J.