An Update on our Snuggle Bug
On Friday I took Snuggles in for his One-Year check up. This was actually his third visit with the doctor since we arrived home from our trip. The first was due to his not recovering completely from the flu, and at that appointment we realized how little he weighed, 16lb 11 oz pounds. To put this in perspective, he weighed 8lb 5 oz at birth, and 16 lbs at 6 months. It was a HUGE drop on (or rather OFF) the growth chart. The doctor ran a few labs which came back negative, and with the help of some probiotics, we were able to stabilize his digestive tract. The doctor gave me lots of food suggestions to help him gain weight, and I took him in for a recheck the next week. He was back up to 17 lb 9 oz. This was very good, but still nowhere near where he should be, and still below 0% on the weight chart for his weight at this age–although his head is still measuring in the 85%. The rest of my children are on the small end of the charts, so generally we wouldn’t be too concerned, but Snuggles has gone from being our biggest baby to being our smallest. At Friday’s appointment, he weighed only 17 lb 10oz. Anyhow, we decided to go ahead and run a panel of tests to see if there was an underlying reason that is hindering his weight gain. Especially with everything he has been eating! The doctor wanted to look at a number of different things including his thyroid and various allergens. It was awful taking him to have his blood drawn, but I did take him to a good friend of ours though, who is excellent with babies. It was still sad to see him have to go through that, but it didn’t take long for Snuggles to be back to his sweet, smiley self, as you can see. I will be meeting with the doctor again in a couple weeks to find out his results. After finding out about all my food sensitivities, I am wondering if this could be the case for Snuggles. I guess we will see. I will keep you all updated. Thank you all for your prayers!The Ordination in Pictures
I had a few moments this morning, and thought I would upload a few of my favorite pictures from the Ordination Mass. Most of these were given to us by my brother-in-law, and a few were taken by my husband.
Deo Grátias!
The Ordination
On the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday, May 30th, 2008, in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, His Eminence, Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos ordained four members of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter , including my brother-in-law.
The ordination was beautiful! Some of you may have watched it since it was aired live on EWTN, but for those of you that didn’t, I just ran across all 3.5 hours a few clips on aol video, and thought I would share them with you:
Entrance:
Epître:
Sermon:
Litanies:
Preface:
Gospel:
Offertory:
Pater Noster:
Communion:
Ite Missa Est:
It was such a blessing to be able to be in attendance for the ordination. In fact, we were even able to sit in the second row, so my children were really able to watch what was happening. They loved it! The baby was super cranky though, so I did spend part of the Mass in the back, as I had done at the last two ordinations as well! Now that I am thinking about it, we had a 1 year old (or almost one) at all 3 of the ordinations! God worked that out perfectly, didn’t He?! 🙂
Anyhow, it is late, so I will try and upload a few of my favorite photos from this special day soon. In the meantime, I hope you are all having a great week! God Bless!
A Summertime Plan
After coming home from a 3 week vacation, and diving right into 2 weeks of swimming lessons, our summer got off to a rather crazy start.
Now that we can settle into a more normal routine, it is high time for me to get organized and motivated. And not only me… MY KIDS NEED MOTIVATION TOO! I am so tired of them asking to “watch a movie,” or hearing that they are “bored.”
Inspired by my cousin Margaret, I decided to implement a summertime plan called “The Ticket to Summer!“
All summer long the children can earn tickets for doing any of the items on the list that I have given them. These items are all things I would like them to do this summer, but which they are not always motivated to do on their own.
Basically, you can earn one ticket by:
- Getting up and dressed for morning prayers by 7:30 am (Mon-Fri) without being woken by mom or dad.
- Doing all the chores on your chart by 9:00 am(Mon-Sat)
- Read a book for 30 minutes
- Practice on the Piano for 30 minutes
- Write a 10 line letter to a friend or family member
- Play nicely with the baby for 30 minutes
- Read to the girls for 20 minutes
- Do 2 pages in Handwriting workbook
- Do 2 Math worksheets
- Do 1 lesson of geography
- Spend time exploring outside and then add a page to your nature journal
- Do an extra job for Mom
You can earn two tickets if you:
- Memorize one poem or song
- Memorize a new prayer or bible verse
- Memorize 25 States and Capitals
- Ask for, and receive training on, a new chore from mom
- Fix a meal (with the approval of mom)
The children can redeem their tickets for a number of different things:
- 20 minute turn on an Educational Computer Game – 2 Tickets
- 20 minutes on EWTN Kids – 2 Tickets
- Stay up for an extra 30 minutes – 2 Tickets
- Watch a video/movie for 30 minutes – 2 Tickets
- Go to the Library for Story time (July only) – 4 Tickets
- Go to the local Bookstore and choose a new book – 6 Tickets
- Go to the Kid Zone – 10 Tickets
- Go out for Ice Cream – 10 Tickets
- $5.00 to do something fun (lunch, ice skating, bowling) – 15 Tickets
I also love my cousins idea of having a biweekly
“Good Behavior Drawing.”
In addition to the above, the children can also earn tickets for good behavior that go into a jar. Twice a week, I will draw a ticket from the jar for a prize. They can not ask for these tickets, but, if I catch them being exceptionally good, I will give them a ticket. The better they are the more chances they will have of winning a prize. They can choose there prize themselves, from the prize basket. The prizes include a $5.00 gift card to Target, a couple Activity Books, some art supplies, water balloons and a few toys.
So far, this morning, it is off to a WONDERFUL start! The children are dressed, chores are done, and the boys have both been reading for the past 30 minutes. Hopefully, this enthusiasm will stick!
The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ July 7th
Outside my Window… it is HOT!!! (and will be getting hotter as the week goes on.)
I am thankful for… my hard working hubby who spent all day Saturday fixing our sprinklers and burying the pipes to make it easier for me to water the grass each day!
From the kitchen…there will NOT be any “friendship” bread. Seriously, is this some kind of mean joke? My hubby brought home a bag of the stuff from a co-worker, and since last week I have been following the directions. This morning I woke up to find that it had exploded all over the counter top, and the fermenting batter oozed into EVERYTHING! I just finished picking it out of the bottom of my coffee maker, and I still don’t think I got it all out.
I am creating… a “Summer Plan” to implement with my children. We are in desperate need of a little structure!
I am going… to deep clean the kids bedrooms.
I am wearing… a pink tee and black gauchos.
I am reading… Connecting with History: Volume One in preparation for next year.
I am hoping… that we will be able to get together with some friends a few more times (at least!) while they are in town visiting.
I am hearing…the air conditioning running, the girls playing with puzzles, and the boys talking about Reepicheep and Prince Caspian. (We just finished listening to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.)
Around the house… I need to continue decluttering and organizing. I am finding that this is an endless job–though very rewarding.
One of my favorite things… is getting new books in the mail!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…
Hubby & I will be going to Couples Bunco tomorrow night. This time it will be at my Dad & Mom’s home!
I am also hoping to finish planning out Captain’s 8th birthday party (which is now in less than 2 weeks), and try to figure out just how to pull it off on a very limited budget. If any one has any ideas–we are going for an “army” theme this year–I would LOVE to hear them!! So far I am thinking of having Basic Training (obstacle course) and a Grenade Toss (water balloons).
Also, if I have a chance, I am hoping to finish up blogging about our trip to Nebraska. Next up, the Ordination and First Mass!
Fun with FriendsI just love the variety of hair colors in this picture, don’t you?
To see more Daybook entry’s, click here.
I hope you all have a simply wonderful week!
Beatification ceremony of St. Therese’s parents is imminent!
Just ten days before the 150th wedding anniversary of Louis Martin and Marie-Zélie Guerin Martin, St. Therese’s parents, a miracle was formally attributed to them. That miracle fulfills the requirements for their beatification.
The prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes is expected to announce the date for their beatification at the anniversary celebrations set for July 12-13 in Lisieux and Alencon (where the Martins married on July 12, 1858).
Wishing you all a very Happy…
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
May God bless you all today, and may God bless America!
Plans for the Feast of St. Thomas
St. Thomas the ApostleThe feast of St. Thomas is celebrated on July 3rd.
We haven’t been celebrating the feast days of the Church much lately, since we have been out of town, and then were busy daily with swimming lessons. I am hoping to change this, starting tomorrow, with the feast of St. Thomas.
In Thomas’ best known appearance in the New Testament, he doubts the resurrection of Jesus and demands to touch Jesus’ sacred wounds before being convinced. The above painting by Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, depicts this scene.
This story is the origin of the term Doubting Thomas. After seeing Jesus alive (the Bible never states whether Thomas actually touched Christ’s wounds), Thomas professed his faith in Jesus, exclaiming “My Lord and my God!”; because of this, he is also called Thomas the Believer. His martyrdom for Christ was further testament of his faith.
Here are a few ideas for the day:
Prayer:
O Lord, we rejoice in the example of St. Thomas, Your Apostle. Grant that we may ever be helped by his prayers and imitate his faith with fervent devotion. Amen.
Food/Snacks:
- Finger Foods!!
- Make Thomasstriezeln (St. Thomas Fingers).
- Make Chaldean Coconut Cookies.
Reading:
- Listen to the “Saint of the Day“
- Read about St. Thomas the Apostle in Picture Book of Saints
- Read St. Thomas the Apostle in Saints for Young People Vol 2
- Read Pages 220-221 in the New Catholic Picture Bible
, Unbelieving Thomas.
- Read The Twelve Apostles
- Read The Twelve Apostles by Father Lovasik.
Craft:
- Color a picture of St. Thomas to add to our Liturgical Notebooks. We will be using the picture of St. Thomas from The Saints Coloring Book Volume 2
- Finger Paint… and maybe even make our own paint!
- Make Finger Puppets, or a St. Thomas Spoon Saint.
Copywork:
“My Lord and My God!”
Or this poem about St. Thomas (found online) for my older children:
These things did Thomas hold for real:
the warmth of blood, the chill of steel,
the grain of wood, the heft of stone,
the last frail twitch of blood and bone.His brittle certainties denied
that one could live when one had died,
until his fingers read like Braille
the markings of the spear and nail.May we, O God, by grace believe
and, in believing, still receive
the Christ who held His raw palms out
and beckoned Thomas from his doubt.~ author unknown
If any of you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments, I’d love to hear them! I hope you all have a blessed day!
Wordless Wednesday ~ Graduation Day!
Pass the Chicken
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