The Comedy Mass

My kids and hubby made a video while I was out today. I think it's hilarious and I hope you feel the same way.

First Holy Communion

Today was Web-princess First Holy Communion. Everything went well and over all I was very pleased with the day. She got to do the prayers of the faithful this year just like her brother, Superstar, last year.

The picture of her receiving is not the greatest because we are NOT allowed to use flash during Mass. We happened to be seated on the side that's why I was able to get that shot. It was not easy kneeling and taking the picture. My knees today hurt too. I normally I don't mind kneeling, but the kneeler on the side (the chairs) were we were sitting are much different then the kneelers in the pews. They hurt my knees, but oh well!

After Mass we were able to get pictures of Web-princess with several family members.  In addition to pictures with family we were able to get Web-Princess's picture with Father B.

Of the family pictures we were able to get one of my favorites is of Superstar and Web-princess together. I can't believe how much taller Superstar is! I'm often taken back by the height difference between the two of them because they are only 10 months apart. Superstar has pretty much always been a "head" taller then Web-princesses. Of course before he always stood on his toes. Perhaps that's why I'm more shocked lately.

DH and I also got our picture taken with Web-princess. We are so proud of her! This year was nice because I was able to sit back a little bit more, although the kids did need help every now and then. It was also bitter sweet because Web-princess was our baby. This will be the last time we will celebrate a first communion in "our" house. Sure I have nieces and nephews that will go through this, but it's really not the same.

I've also have included a picture of my Mom and my Step-Dad. This is because I wanted to point out that Mom and I were NOT wearing the same clothing unlike last year! LOL I don't think I could have lasted another year with her and I wearing the same clothing! LOL

Over all it was a good day! After Mass we hang, got pictures with family members, got Web-princesses gifts bless and then went home. At home I had a roast waiting for us in the crock-pot and a small chocolate cake for dessert.

DH, the kids, and I ate and had cake. Now we've put or feet up, and are chilling. I've check on Molly too. It looks like owlet number 4 could arrive today (if it hasn't already).

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. Mass will be earlier then normal because the Bishop will be there. In addition to Mass we might to to a train show. Superstar LOVES trains.

Well that's it! Thanks for allowing me to share Web-princess' first communion pictures with you! Have a good Palm Sunday! (One more week to Easter!)

Body of Christ like Toast?

I just overheard 8 year old Superstar tell Web-princess.

I guess toast is like the body of Christ! Once it's the body of Christ it can never go back to being bread, it's always going to be the body of Christ. Just like toast is always going to be toast. It can never be plain bread again!

Another Sacramental Year!

It is another Sacramental Year for us! Web-princess has been quietly preparing to receive her first Communion at the end of March (The actually date escapes me now but I know it's the LAST Saturday of March).

I say quietly because I haven't blog much about it! I've lately have blogged about Superstar's ITW and his recovery, field trips, and Web-princess's convergence insufficiency issues.

Well last Saturday Web-princess made her first confession. It was a beautiful morning and thing went as planned. Actually we got a very pleasant surprise. Our beloved Msgr. S. was there to help out. Msgr. S. married DH and I and baptized both kids. He got resigned to other duties a few years ago and we haven't been able to see him.

So it was very nice to be able to see and chat with him Saturday. We tried to get Web-princess to go to Msgr. for her first confession, but she had her heart set on Father B. (Which was fine...but you can't blame me for trying to convince her otherwise right? LOL)

After spending the morning at the Church we went coat shopping. We found some really great winter coats for the kids for $7 each. We bought them at a JCPenny Outlet and bought them LARGE in HOPES the kids will grow into them by NEXT winter.

The JCPenny Outlet here happens to be next to a Burlington Coat Factory. DH insisted we try there first. I have never been in there and was pleasantly surprised about what they had (more then coats) and the prices. Some of it was very reasonable. They had these beautiful white dresses for girls. THINK CINDERELLA!

Seeing them reminded me how Web-princess is going to need a dress! I personally would love for her to look like a little Cinderalla! So I was looking at them and the prices. Several of them were only $30. I know that's still A LOT, but these were just gouragous Cinderella Dresses so that was very cheap! They were white and I knew that they would work wonderfully for Web-princess first communion.

I was asking Web-princess what she thought and if she would like to have one. She told me NO! They were too fancy!! While at penny's she pointed out the type of dress she wanted. It honestly is no different then her summer dresses. We did NOT get it because it was a wild floral print. We told her the dress should be white. She said I know that,  I'm just trying to tell you that's  TYPE of dress I want!

In the back of my mind I thought, sure you have the chance to have a fancy Cinderella dress and instead of jumping on it you tell me you rather have a plain Jane! Of course there is nothing wrong with a plain Jane....sigh!

Reading The Bible

Over the last year (or two) I have loosely followed a 365 day reading guide. I haven't done as well as I would like, but perhaps I should take notes from my son!

Followers to my blog know that over the weekend my DS received his first communion. He, not only received communion, but he received several gifts from relatives and friends. One of these special gifts included a Bible. The Bible he received, according to my mom, is the same Bible that is used by the students at our local Catholic-High School. (My mom used to work at the one and only local Catholic book store that parents, school staff, and local Catholics shop at: so she would know what is used at the local Catholic School~ LOL~)


Well he received this Bible and has decided on HIS OWN that he will read a chapter a night. He made this decision on Sunday Night. So as of last night, Wednesday Night, DS has read Genesis Chapters 1-4 and has plans to continue reading until he's done with the WHOLE bible. (The Catholic-Christian Canon)

Does anybody know exactly how many days that will take? Remember he's just reading 1 chapter per night.

As for the actual reading, DS is doing every well. There are a few words he does not know especially the larger words. He has taken turns to actually read the passages to either myself or my DH. So he's really reading it! The first night he read to my DH and DH started to correct him on the words he was getting wrong, those larger words that are harder for him to read.

This correcting really bugged my DS so much so that he said "Dad just let me read! I don't need you to correct me! I just want to read". DH decided to back off and let it go and I have taken my DH's lead on this one and I just let it go myself. I'm puzzled and amused on how DS can read and pronounces words like "garment", "cherubim", and "desirable" correctly, but misreads and mispronounces words like "serpent", "garden", and "childbearing".

Why is that? Is it wrong to just let him read and NOT correct his errors?

I'm just so glad that he has decided on his own to read the Word of God, that I don't want to spoil it for him, because he knows how special these Words are.

So tell me what do you think?

One More First Communion Picture

I just wanted to share one more picture with all of you. My DS was blessed with being able to say the prayers of the faithful during the Mass. Of course I did NOT take this picture during the Mass itself. However, I did take a moment before Mass to having my DS "pose" for the camera, as if He was saying the prayers....

First Communion

It was a LONG and busy day, clothing to get dress in, meals to be made, arriving on time, and just enjoying the moment. I was busy directing the kids when to go up that I actually missed the moment my DS received Holy Communion for the first time. However, I was beaming ear to ear when my DS answered Father's question. Father during his homily (sermon) today talked about the Last Supper and had asked the children a few questions. DS rose his hand with such confidence that Father couldn't help but call on him. :) DS had the "correct" answer! I was a little nervous about it, but that's okay, I think as mothers we get nervous for our children.

After Mass we took some pictures of the whole family:I can't believe that she, my mom, wore the same shirt:She's lucky that it was my DS big day! Gosh, the nerve of some people! When we realized we were wearing the same shirt, just different colors, Mom went on and on how she must be "hip" because she can dress "young". I just turned to her and said "Or my style is just OLD!" Oh, I had to run and hide after a remark like that, because I got that Mom stare, oh you know what that Mom Stare is! I don't have to tell you what that means! (It's all good now we laughed about it; and was laughing then)

At the end of the day DS is happy! And that is all that matters. Thank-You to everyone that kept him and our family in their prayers today.

First Communion: Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my DS's "big day". It is the day that he can join our Lord at the Eucharistic Table. Please keep him in your prayers today and tomorrow.

Thank-You,
SAHMinIL

First Communion

Those of you that have been following my blog for a while know that my DS has been preparing to receive First Communion. Today and yesterday we have been doing those final preps that needs to be done, buying outfits, clothing, shoes, stockings, etc. We also made it a point today to stop in at church to receive reconciliation. So we've been busy the last few days.

My DS picked out his own clothing and I must say I'm happy with his choices! DD even got a new dress for the occasion. I'm going to be wearing some slacks that I already had, but I went and bought myself some new shoes and shirt to wear with my slacks. Luckily for us, DH wears "dress" clothing for work, so he didn't need anything NEW. LOL

I have added a picture of the children's outfits for the day. I got DS outfit a 4 piece shirt, pants, vest and tie at JcPenny's for $20. I got DD dress at TJmax for $10 and my new shirt/blouse at walmart for $15. It really sucks when the shoes cost MORE then the clothing! Shoes today (3 pairs) cost $55 at playless. However we are all ready now, especially seeing we also went to confession today!! DS, even decided it was best to receive reconciliation today as well!!! (He had received his first reconciliation in January)

So we are now officially counting down the days to DS's first communion. The first communion Mass is going to be Saturday April 4th @ 2:00 pm @ our church!!! Congrats to my DS!!!



The one thing you may have noticed about the outfits is that DS's shirt is NOT white. It's blue with a white collar and white cuffs. To be honest, I'm okay with that. It looked really nice on him and he's going to look just fine when receiving communion.

DD dress looks more yellow in the picture then it really is. Her dress is actually a green. It also has flowers (white) and darker greens along the bottom and flowers around the waist. For whatever reason no matter how I took the picture the dress came out yellow. Oh well.

My blouse that I'm wearing is going to be blue, DH has decided that he's going to wear his green shirt. So we are going to be very "spring-ish" next weekend! :)

Lost!

This blog is about my homeschooling efforts as much as it's about my life as a Catholic-Christian. Part of being a "good" homeshooling mom is teaching the kids about God, faith, trust, hope, grace, etc.

Can I just be honest and say I just don't know anymore! I've felt the distance and disillusion for a while now, and I've just been going through the motions. I know in my "head" what all the answers are, and I've been good to spout out those things for others that are in my state of heart, but seriously there is a difference of knowing something in your head and feeling it in your heart. My heart has felt empty from some time now.

Sometimes, I lay in bed at night question if God is real, mainly because I feel so empty. I wonder in my head and propose things like well if he was real then xyz should happen, almost as if to dare God to prove his existence. Especially seeing my heart feels so empty now. I have read the many conversion stories of the saints and conversion stories of the unknown saints. Can I just say that at times these stories brings me sorrow, because I wonder what makes them so special that God shown himself to them in the way THEY wanted, and I'm left feeling in the dark.

I'll be honest; I know that's it's "bad" for me to think that way. After all I'm sure God has his reasons, after all every child NEEDS things differently at different times. We don't always get what we want, we get what we NEED and at times our wants and needs are the same. See that's the logical side coming in and rationalizing it for me, but in my heart I'm still wondering why, what's so special about them.

In the truth of honesty I haven't been to confession for a good 2 years now, and I thus I haven't received communion in this last year. Perhaps the lack of receiving has caused my heart to feel so empty. I don't know...

I've come close to going, but I haven't gone. Back in January my DS received reconciliation for the first time. It was a family event and the parents were encourage to be there and go AFTER the kids gone. As I blogged about it earlier, I was going to go until I learn there would be treats for the kid. Well honesty, I used the "treats" as an excuse not to go. I also never went the following week, nor have I taken my DS to confession. DH has but I have not.

The next closest time I came to actually doing a confession was this past Sunday. Our parish offers coffee and donuts after the 9:00 am Mass. Fr. B is always good about popping in at coffee and donuts and greeting the people. He's a good priest in that regard.

When he approached the table I was sitting at I thanked him for making my son's day last Saturday. You see my son had his first communion retreat this past Saturday and was making his banner when Fr. B stopped in to say "hi". He told my DS that he like his banner. So I shared with Father how that made my son's day. We went home that day and all my DS could say was how Fr. B liked his priest. (DS put a priest on his banner, I would add that DS was the ONLY one to have a priest on his banner; Is that saying something?)

Father, started to talk about parenting and I made a comment how it's hard because you are reasonable and scary because they (the children) call you on so much, and make sure you follow the "rules".

Father B, looked at and asked, "You do go to confession regularly don't you?" I didn't vocally give my answer, I just hung my head and shocked my head no. Fr. B immediately sat down and preceded to tell me it's not that hard, I don't have to go in the confessional, we could do it in his office, etc. He basically said everything he could, just short of telling me to do a confession right then and there.

I listen to everything he said and with tears in my eyes and I just sorrowfully looked at him and said "I know,I know, I know; I just don't understand what's stopping me, and it's so frustrating, because in a few weeks my son is going to receive and well I want to be able to too." At that very moment my DD (almost 7), who had been off playing, jumped into my lap and said "Mommy!!!" Well DD being there changed the mood. Father said a few words to my DD and then turn to me and said well I have to talk to the other people and left. So close yet so far way!

My just so lost! I know in my head what's missing, it's just getting my heart to follow and take action. I know it's NOT my church! It's ME!! Going somewhere else is not going to "fix" it; I know that....Please pray for me, because I don't know what else to do any more.