For St. Thomas Aquinas
Tomorrow, January 28th, marks the feast of one of the greatest Doctors of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas. It is also the date on which The Summa Theologica, written by St. Thomas, was originally published.Before 1969, and in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, his feast was (and is) observed on March 7th, the anniversary of his death.
In honor of his feast, we will be whipping up some star shaped cookies since “the star, St. Thomas Aquinas’ symbol, signifies the divine guidance given him in his work.” I just posted this along with a few other ideas for celebrating his feast over at Catholic Cuisine.
I also just copied the Cartoon Page about St. Thomas Aquinas from A Year With God for my children to color tomorrow, and then add to their liturgical notebooks, while I read them a brief story about St. Thomas Aquinas from the beautiful picture book More Saints: Lives & Illuminations
.I am really tempted to pull The Quiet Light: A Novel About Thomas Aquinas
off my book shelf and sneak in a little reading for myself… I absolutely LOVE all of Louis de Wohl’s books
! In fact, I am going to sign off for the night, and do just that!Before I go, I’ll end with a quote and a prayer to St. Thomas that I jotted down last year on his feast:
~ St. Thomas Aquinas
My Daybook ~ January 26, 2009
FOR TODAY: January 26th, 2009
Outside my Window… the sun is starting to come out from behind the clouds.
I am thinking… about our 8th baby that is on the way! Our 8th Godchild, that is!! 😉 He will be baptized on Friday!
I am thankful… that the Vit D prescription is really helping!! I am feeling so much better.
From the kitchen… there isn’t much of anything. Thankfully hubby has been picking up some things these past couple weeks (or should I say months), but now I REALLY need to do a big shopping trip. (I put this off, since, with my hubby’s schedule I have to take all 5 kiddos, plus it is quite a drive and turns into a half day ordeal… I just haven’t had the time or energy!) Breakfast today was cold cereal, lunch will be PB&J’s, and I think I will make taquitos for dinner. I will HAVE to shop tomorrow… Or maybe I should just give hubby another list?
From the school room… I am starting to wonder if we are ever going to finish the “simple” 10 Commandments Lapbook. Rascal started painting it and we realized our black paint (which he wanted to mix with some white to paint the cover to look like stone) had turned green… How does that happen? The girls had so much fun with our “Winter Fun” theme last week that we are continuing their study with a couple lapbooks on Snow and Winter. Right now Twinkle Toes is painting snowflakes with glitter and Chiquita is cutting and pasting things that are white!
I am creating…birthday party invitations for Rascal’s “Golden” birthday in 2 weeks. I had asked hubby to see if he could find some in town the other day, and he didn’t have any luck… So I’m trying to be creative. They are turning out cute!
I am going… to try and start making it to weekday Mass again. The kids and I use to go every morning until I was pregnant (and just too sick) with Snuggles, then gas cost WAY too much and we couldn’t afford it. Now I am not pregnant and gas has come down, not to mention we have a wonderful new associate pastor, so I think I need to get back in the habit. I really miss it, and it was such a wonderful way to start the day.
I am wearing… black sweats, white tank, and a gray cable-knit hoodie. Yes, I do wear sweats at home sometimes, and for exercising, even though most people wonder if I even OWN pants! 😉
I am reading… I didn’t have much time for reading last week, so I am still working on the same books as last week: Boys Should Be Boys: 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons
I am hoping… to finish the invitations today and get them to the post office tomorrow morning, along with a couple other things that need to get mailed.
I am hearing… the girls giggling as they paint snowflakes, Snuggles is playing with a few toys, and my boys are asking me questions about their English assignments.
Around the house… lots of laundry to catch up, as usual. I also plan to try and clean the bedrooms, it has been awhile and they are MESSY!
One of my favorite things…is spending time with friends!! We had so many visits this weekend. Our friend Marc came over Saturday night, Amy’s family came over after Mass on Sunday, and then we went out for dinner last night to celebrate another friend’s birthday! It was a busy weekend, but filled with great friends and fun!
- Mrs. K meets with Rascal and Twinkle Toes Monday-Wednesday.
- Try and make it to daily Mass a couple times — probably Tues & Wed.
- A visit from some friends Wednesday Afternoon.
- Our wonderful new associate pastor (who was SUCH a huge blessing to me during my miscarriage) will be coming for dinner on Thursday.
- Friday morning will we be attending Mass and Benediction, followed by a Baptism and Reception!
- Saturday I’ll be doing more bookkeeping, I am now up to August, so I am making progress!
- Mass again on Sunday… and I think that is it, so far!
A picture thought I am sharing:
The girls helping their little brother walk to the car after MassIt’s Official
The Holy Father has lifted the excommunications placed on the Bishops ordained by Lefebvre!
Saturday, January 24, 2009Decree of the Congregation for Bishops
By way of a letter of December 15, 2008 addressed to His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Mons. Bernard Fellay, also in the name of the other three Bishops consecrated on June 30, 1988, requested anew the removal of the latae sententiae excommunication formally declared with the Decree of the Prefect of this Congregation on July 1, 1988. In the aforementioned letter, Mons. Fellay affirms, among other things: “We are always firmly determined in our will to remain Catholic and to place all our efforts at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept its teachings with filial disposition. We believe firmly in the Primacy of Peter and in its prerogatives, and for this the current situation makes us suffer so much.”
His Holiness Benedict XVI – paternally sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party due to the sanction of excommunication and trusting in the effort expressed by them in the aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the still open matters, so as to achieve shortly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem posed in the origin – decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, arisen with their episcopal consecration.
With this act, it is desired to consolidate the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant stability to the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, is also intended to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church and to try to vanquish the scandal of division.
It is hoped that this step be followed by the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the entire Fraternity of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of visible unity.
Based on the faculties expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I remit from Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae excommunication declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived of any juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that time.
Rome, from the Congregation for Bishops, January 21, 2009.
Card. Giovanni Battista Re
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
The Vatican has said that, “The Holy Father in this decision was inspired by the wish that full reconciliation and full communion can be achieved soon.” Isn’t this wonderful?!?! What a perfect end to a rather depressing week.
Let us continue to pray for unity of all Christians!!
UPDATE: Click here to read Bishop Fellay’s Texts on the withdrawal of the Excommunications.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Fr. Z has posted a great explanation on exactly what this means. We need to just keep praying that it won’t be long until the SSPX is reconciled with The Holy See.
Little Flowers Girls’ Club ~ January Meeting
I can’t tell you all just much my girls look forward to Little Flowers each month!! They are developing great little friendships with the other girls in our group and having a wonderful time.
Last night we had our January meeting. This month’s theme was: St. Joan of Arc, the virtue of Obedience, the color white, and the Carnation. Here is an overview from our meeting:
Each month I have had coloring pages for the girls to color as we wait for everyone to arrive. Since this month’s lesson focused on St. Joan of Arc, the girls colored a beautiful stained glass picture of her out of Fenestrae Fidei. While they were coloring, they listened to God’s Hero on Horseback: The Story of St. Joan of Arc.
Once all the girls arrived we began our meeting with the prayer to St. Therese and the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love. We then continued with a review of last month’s virtue and saint. As usual beads went into the jar for all the completed assignments… The jar is starting to fill up!
Next I introduced the virtue we will be working on this month, Obedience, and we read a short biography of the saint for this month, St. Joan of Arc.
After that I continued the lesson by asking the girls questions about Obedience. Like the last couple months, I once again used the book Chat’s With God’s Little Ones. This month I used the lesson on The Fourth Commandment. This book has been a life-saver and I have been thrilled with how great these little lessons are working for our meetings!!!
Following the lesson the girls began making their notebook pages for this month. I had a really hard time finding Carnation embellishments so 
I found a couple images online and printed them out in various sizes for the girls. They weren’t quite as cute as the embellishments, but they worked just fine, and they were less expensive! =)
Here is my sample page for the girls. I included the Prayer for Obedience, along with a Bible quote suggested in the Craft Companion and memory verse for this month.
I have been putting off coming up with the pages till the last minute, and my creativity has really been lacking lately. Nevertheless, the girls are always able to take what I give them and come up with the cutest creations to add to their books.
The notebooks are all filling up very nicely and it is so neat to see the girls looking back through their various notebook and coloring pages.
Snack time was next. I have been thrilled that all the moms have been more than willing to help tie in the snack to each month’s theme.
Since the flower for this month was the Carnation and the color was White, one of the girl’s older sisters (who is ALSO a Little Flower!) made White Carnation cupcakes for us!!
Didn’t they turn out cute?! The girls loved them!!
I had brought along a couple
I’ll end once again with the group photo for the month. We had 8 of our 11 girls in attendance! You may recognize some of the cute little faces from here, here, and here.
Saint Joan of Arc,
pray for us to be obedient.
Saint Therese, the Little Flower, pray for us!
Friends
Even though my birthday came and went a week ago, my friends continue to spoil me!! Last night, at Little Flowers, Amy surprised me with a lovely little gift bag containing a beautiful mug, a Barnes & Noble gift card, and the most delicious smelling freshly ground coffee EVER!! I keep picking up the packet just to smell it! YUM!!!
Also, this past Sunday I came home from the March for Life to find a little gift box with three beautiful bracelets handmade by my friend Marci!! Not only that, she made them in the perfect colors to complement most of my clothes. (I tend to wear mostly browns, blacks/whites, or greens. I wear pink too, and Marci said she was going back and forth between the green and pink!)
Thank you Amy and Marci!!! You really shouldn’t have, but I am glad you did. I LOVE the gifts!!!!
Now I am off to to brew a pot of that coffee and try and decide just which book to get with that gift card… (Do you all have any suggestions for me?!?!)
I’ll be back later to share some pictures from Little Flowers. We had a great time as usual!
Fun at the Zoo
I don’t have much time to post since I have been trying to get ready for Little Flowers tonight, but real quick, I wanted to tell you all to head over to Prosapia Vita and A Family Treehouse and check out the great pictures from both of their family’s recent trips to the zoo.
My children have really been enjoying looking at their pictures and comparing them to our own since we have visited both of those zoo’s (multiple times) in the past! I keep hearing, “OH! LooK!! We’ve been there!!” and “I remember crossing that cool rope bridge!” and “Mom, why didn’t we see the elephant doing that?” 😉 Hummm… Maybe it is time to plan another trip to the zoo…
Oh, and Elm is having a giveaway, so make sure to leave her a comment and say hello! Ok… I better go and finish getting ready for tonight!
What was I thinking?
I am so glad it isn’t raining so I could send them all outside after all that candy… (I think they ate as much as they used making their “Winter Dessert Landscapes.” It was a great way to get some of it out of the house though!!!March for Life ~ 2009
This past Sunday our family participated, once again, in our annual March for Life!
Last year, we were given lots of great pictures from a friend of ours, but since he was out of town for another Rally, I was asked to take pictures this year.
(You know… The funny thing is, last year in my March for Life post, I gave that particular friend of ours a hard time about the fact that we still haven’t received Chiquita’s baptism video… and a whole lot of good it did!! I just keep reminding myself, “like fine wine!” 😉
I think there are plans to put a video together with all the pictures, but in the meantime, I thought I would post a few of them.
The March was a great success, and from what I heard there was well over 600 people that braved the cold and stood up for life with us this year. (Not bad for our little town.)
Warming up with Hot Cocoa at the Park
My sister Mary and I
The Emmons sisters
(Do you recognize Victoria, from Come What May?)
Chiquita with our friend Lindsay
Snuggles with his Daddy
Some of my kiddos and I
And here are my favorites from the day:
“Let us never pretend that abortion is just a social or political phenomenon that has to be voted out of office to be defeated. We must do everything we can to restore legal protection to our most innocent citizens, but our battle against the devil will not be won at the polls. It will be won on our knees before the Lord and on our feet before the centers of death. More than ever we need men and women of tested holiness who are willing to fight the spiritual battle for the lives of God’s precious babies and the souls of their mothers and fathers.”
WoW ~ Week 2
My Summary:
- Week Two Weight Loss/Gain: -2 pounds
- Inches Loss/Gain: +1″ (Half of this is in my arm, probably due to increasing the weight on my hand weights — THANKS CHRISTINE!– so I’m not too upset…)
- Overall Results: -4.5 pounds and -2.5″
Last Week’s Goals:
- Continue exercising each day using the DVD [I was able to do this until Sunday. I hurt my knee on Saturday– either doing squats or possibly playing Wii? Anyhow, I tried Sunday but I just couldn’t do it. I’ve given my knee a break and will resume soon… I was really dissapointed about this, since I was doing so good getting it in each day — for 10 days anyways.]
- Take the kids for a walk [We went last Wednesday.]
- Track food every day, and work on making better choices [I did great with this until we started eating out over the long weekend. I wrote down what I ate, but didn’t figure out the calories 😛 — Protien drinks for Breakfast, Steak Fajitas (ate half), Chocolate Cake (1 piece Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!), Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger with Garlic Fries (ate half Friday night and the other half on Saturday), Carrot Cake (2 pieces), Cold Stone Ice Cream (Shared the small size with hubby), KofC Breakfast on Sunday but I only ate the eggs and sausage! I also had a number of pieces of biscotti with a Cup of Hot Cocoa while reading Sunday night… YIKES!!]
- Eat Breakfast [I was good about this and had Protien shakes for breakfast.]
- Drink more water, at least 8 glasses each day. [I’m still not drinking enough, but getting better. Why is it easier to drink more water at Restaurants?]
This Week’s Goals:
- Try and get 3 walks in at the track or at home (if the weather is bad) using Walk Away the Pounds Express
.
- Exercise daily using Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred
DVD avoiding the squats and possibly “jumping rope” till my knee is better.
- Resume tracking food and enter it into Spark People.
- Continue watching portion sizes and hopefully make better choices this week.
- Drink MORE water!
To see everyone’s stats, or report your own, head on over to Regina’s!
Fun Music For Kids
I think I mentioned that I joined Facebook a couple months ago. I was amazed at how quickly I was reconnected with some friends from Christendom!! One of those friends was Danny Schneible. I was so excited when I noticed that he has put out a new Catholic CD:
I’ve already ordered a copy of his CD to add to our collection, but until it arrives, we’ve been enjoying his music online each afternoon. My children love it! THANKS DANNY!!
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