When He Wants A Baby Brother

Have you ever seen this book? I ran across it last year, just weeks before Gianna was born. Perched upon a shelf, on display at the library. It caught my eye and thought it may be a good read for my boy who was determined that baby would definitely be a boy.

We read the book a couple of times and I fell in love with it. The little boy is so sure that his mom is having a baby boy and he keeps mentioning it throughout the book. Baby will not be a girl, he's sure of it. He keeps being reminded that baby could be a sister and that no matter what, when he sees his sibling he'll know that it's exactly what he wanted all along.

The last couple of pages:



'I bend down and kiss my little baby sister's head, and I feel all soppy and silly.'



'And Mom was right. I did get the kind I wanted all along-even if I didn't know it.'

This book really helped last time around getting Jonah to the point of understanding that baby could be a sister. Our family would be blessed no matter what the gender of baby and our prayer was that baby would arrive safe and healthy.

The book jumped out at me again recently at the library.

Sure, we all think baby IS in fact a boy this time around, but we could all be very surprised come baby day. And for a boy who REALLY wants a brother THIS time around, we probably need to read the book another couple of times as a little reminder.

Motherless: Book Review

Read my thoughts on Fatherless, the first book in this trilogy by clicking here.


The short response to this book: Enjoyed it and loved it as much as the first!!

Can I mention how sad I was when I turned the last page? VERY.


Motherless by Brian J. Gail continued to build on the story that Fatherless created and is set about twenty years later, leaving it written in present day and with many current event references. The same characters I came to know in the first book are followed once again and play the major roles. I may have developed an even greater fondness for my favorite, Maggie Kealey.

You may recall that Fatherless took on the task of exposing the harshness in the birth control and entertainment industries. Motherless takes a different, although not completely unrelated direction while focusing emphasis more on reproductive technology, as well as embryonic stem cell research.

If you are not open to the realities of stem cell and embryonic research or reproductive technologies of today and you'd rather be in the dark, then I suggest you not read this book. I think there is more truth within these pages than we may even begin to be open to in the realities of in our modern day and age.

Do not lose heart though. This book is also filled with hope and possibilities of what could be in health care, if but even a few stand for what is right, good and moral. Mr. Gail again has not left this book without inspiration, heart wrenching realities and faithfulness exhibited by its characters. Motherless once again draws in the reader just as Fatherless did: to examine our lives, morals, values and hearts.

I highly recommend reading the first book and the following with this one. Be sure you have plenty of time to devout to them, since I doubt that you will be able to put them down.

I'm eagerly awaiting the final book, Childless, which is due to be published later this Fall.

I received this book as a Christmas gift from my husband who bought it from Human Life International.

If you are interested in reading more reviews and more about the author, you can find it at Fatherlessbook.com.


**This is purely my own personal review to share with my blog readers. No goods or fees were exchanged.

Boyhood

The following is an excerpt from Boys Should Be Boys by Meg Meeker that I found interesting. Thanks to Patty for suggesting this book a few weeks ago in my com-box! I'm finding it beneficial.


And one lesson we should all learn is that while mothers want more for their sons, the truth is that sons need less. Boys need fewer toys and fewer clothes. They need more time with their mothers and fathers, less time in structured events, and more time being bored-yes, bored- so that they can use their imagination and creativity and figure out what to do. Young men need less face-to-screen with electronic life and more time face-to-face with people. Less television, video games, clothes, telephone bills, sports events, and preschool hours mean less stress for mothers and more time for boys to figure out who they are and what they want out of life.



As I've been spending more time these days just watching my boy I'm hearing him say 'I'm bored' but I'm seeing him become so creative. Building, following picture directions, imagining and creating beyond what he ever allowed himself to do in the past. It's a lot of fun being a fly on the wall in his little boyhood space and watching the gears turn.

Creating New Life, Nurturing Families

I've had Creating New Life, Nurturing Families by Sidney Callahan sitting in my 'to read' pile for quite a while. I've picked it up and set it down numerous times. For me, this was a tough read. Not that the content was difficult to understand, but for me the book failed to deliver what I was inclined to believe it would based on the title. I was looking for an inspiring and helpful book on family raising, motherhood and Catholic wifery. I felt that the book was put together very well and may serve well as a starting point for a new mom.

Each chapter touched on many pertinent topics such as love, marriage, sexuality, the working mom and suffering and joy. The author strung those together fairly well in showing how the woman's commitment to them shadows that of the Trinity. It also seemed to reiterate some of the most basic understandings of womanhood that I really didn't need to read another book about. Desiring more of a realistic, nitty-gritty type book on motherhood and nurturing the beauty of womanhood, I felt quite disappointed. The book also seemed to follow a more feminist view of 'God as Mother' throughout, which is not something I personally agree with and found difficult to stomach. It was also written more from a Christian standpoint or even more of a 'Catholic' with a small 'c' rather than a big and loud 'C'.

I currently have several other books on my shelf that are written with more concrete ways of encouraging and strengthening the vocation of wife and mother that I would eagerly recommend before this one. If you can put aside many of the things that I struggled with throughout my reading and you have a good foundation of theology and Church teaching, perhaps this book might work for you.


---

This review was written as part of the Catholic Book Review program from The Catholic Company. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest opinion and review.

Are You Fatherless?

I've recently read an excellent novel and had to share it with you. The book Fatherless by Brian J. Gail was loaned to me by a friend, but I think we'll be purchasing our own copy. Reed is currently in the midst of it and we've both really gotten into it.

At 536 pages, it can appear a daunting conquest to finish, but definitely a page turner! I will admit that I had several chapters that were difficult to muddle through with all of the details, but I pressed on and breezed right through it.

Fatherless is considered a Catholic novel, but it does deliver so much more than that. The book takes place in the 1980's and is centered around Fr. John Sweeney and three families in his parish. The families come to Fr. Sweeney for moral direction and guidance.

Michael Burns, a marketing executive, has the opportunity for a new job within his company and a move to New York City in order to work with a small television network similar to HBO.

Joe Delgado, a CFO at a major pharmaceutical company, becomes aware of the reality of the biological damage of the birth control pill and its effects on thousands of women.

Lastly, Maggie Kealey struggles with migraines, a daughter with bipolar issues, an absent husband and the moral issue of taking birth control in order to ease the family tensions.

The characters become very realistic with so much at stake in the midst of each of their dilemmas. When the book title became revealed, it was a real eye-opener. Are you intrigued yet? I might suggest that it would be a wonderful summer-read.

You can find more reviews and information about the book at Fatherlessbook.com. You can order it directly from the publisher, Human Life International.

In an interview, Mr. Gail mentioned that he is working on the second part of the trilogy, Motherless, to be joined by part three, Childless. I cannot wait for these additions!



**This review was written solely for my blog readers and no goods or fees were exchanged.

Love This Author

I find myself regularly (and especially during the winter months) reaching for a good book. Admittedly, sometimes it's awfully tough to find an author who takes the moral high-road and sticks to just good 'ol fashion, well written fiction. You know, something that doesn't involve innuendos, obscenities or other moral indiscretions.

I enjoy reading and always have since my childhood. Although my quiet reading times are fewer and far between since motherhood, I like my time to be used wisely. I want a page-turner, something that I want to come back to enjoy.

I have found that the author, Richard Paul Evans, always delivers. His writing appeals to my tastes and each of his novels inspires and gives me that 'feel-good' that I need after a busy day at home. I have been a loyal follower of his and eagerly anticipate each of his releases.

I received his latest, The Christmas List, as a gift and while the four of us spent a weekend sick with the flu it allowed me extra time to read it. Again, Mr. Evans did not disappoint. After his obituary is mistakenly printed in the local newspaper, James Kier realizes how many people wished he were gone and that others' perceptions of his life was not at all what he expected. He realizes that he hurt many people in his life all out of his pursuit of money and prestige. He decides to try and make amends to a list of people who he mislead and disregarded while merely 'taking care of business' and rising to fame.

This book was a reminder of the need for amends and forgiveness while journeying through life and that the decisions we make affect so many different lives.

I highly encourage giving his novels a try. I'm sure you can find a whole treasure trove of them at your local library.



How about you? What do you enjoy reading? Who is your favorite author?

Simply Put, Good Book

Have you read Mitch Albom's latest, Have A Little Faith? I have been an on-and-off reader of Mitch's books over the last several years. Mitch has authored such books as Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet In Heaven and For One More Day, all of which I have read.

His books are pretty simple reading and this mommy's brain appreciates that. As much as I try, I just can't get into those thick, heavy, mind-numbing, overly intellectual books. Sorry, just not me. I enjoy my simplistic nonfiction, thank you.

In Have A Little Faith, I was once again left with thought provoking intrigue as I continued through the book. It is the story of an eight year journey that the author shared with two very different men of different faiths and communities. A Rabbi and a reformed Christian Pastor. An African-American and a white man.

Asked by his childhood Rabbi to perform his eulogy when the time comes, the author begins spending a lot of time with the man to understand him better in order to perform the task laid before him. At the same time, near his current home, Mitch becomes involved with a Detroit pastor who ministers to the poor and homeless.

During the book as America begins to struggle, he finds that many are turning to their faith and beliefs. Although there are many differences in these two men and the faith they believe in and profess, Albom recognizes some of the unities that lie between them. In the end, he finally understands that what the men have been teaching him throughout this process is what he knew (and had forgotten) all along:

Believing in something much bigger than yourself brings profound comfort to those who simply, have a little faith.

I'd highly encourage this book if you are searching for an easy, quick-read and perhaps are looking for a small reminder of the strength and hope found in Faith.

Our Busy Schoolroom

'Tis the season for Christmas preparation! And we're gearing up with lots of coloring pages, crafts and numerous projects.

Each day, we're creating an ornament for our Jesse Tree along with Holy Heroes Advent Adventure. And then there are plenty of printable coloring pages, crosswords and word searches that they offer too!

I found these online that we'll use for coloring and some will be used in conjunction with other planned crafts:

(Check out Apples4Theteacher, to print yours. And here, for the religious themed ones.)

If your basket is filled with Jan Brett books for the Christmas/Winter Seasons (shh..don't tell, I think I've got EVERY one from our local library!), then you can find plenty of printables like these, over here.


I've also pulled out an old issue of The Mailbox magazine for Dec./Jan. and found a good number of reindeer, gingerbread man, Santa and snowman simple craft projects. I hope to share them as we finish them.

With all of these fun projects we are keeping busy, but not overly so. We're taking our time and enjoying it all as the winter weather settles in around us. Enjoying our days and preparing our hearts this Advent.

Did I mention all the baking that's going on in the kitchen?! We'll save that for another day. Oh, the goodies!

Advent Plans

I think I've got it all figured out and we're ready to roll into Advent. I asked, you answered. I knew you'd come through and help me out.

Thank you!!

I perused, I clicked, I read, I made lists and now I've got an idea of where we are headed. Relatively simple for this year, but there are just SO MANY ideas if you look for them.

I checked out these places:

O Night Divine blog

Love2Learn's Advent reviews

Elizabeth's Advent/Christmas reading lists on her sidebar

Tracy's Circle Time/Advent Plans

Jessica's December book list on her sidebar

From there, this is what I did:

1. Signed us up for the Advent Adventure through Holy Heroes. We enjoyed all they offered for Lent, so we should enjoy it for Advent as well. I also found out that this year they will walk us through Advent using the Jesse Tree, which was one of the many suggestions I received. So, I'm not going to have to do any further looking on that subject.

2. Ordered these:

**From Adoremus Books:

Destination: Bethlehem (for our family Advent Adventure this year)

Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers (for our bookshelf)


**From Catholic Company:

Advent Reflections Come, Lord Jesus (for my own Advent season reflection)

3. Put these on my library list and will request them this week:

Christmas in the Barn

Christmas in the Country

A Christmas Story

The Donkey's Dream

The Legend of the Candy Cane

The Legend of the Christmas Stocking

The Legend of the Christmas Tree

The Light of Christmas

While Angels Watch


Ideas, ideas, ideas! There are so many options. I think we'll have a good start with what I've listed here and perhaps whatever else we plan along the way.

I've filled this post with lots of things for you to clickety-click on, but if you are still looking for great ideas hopefully this will inspire you to just head on over to those places. Have fun with it and prepare away!

I'm looking forward to celebrating the beautiful season of advent peacefully, while preparing our hearts for the birth of Our King.

Wordless Wednesday: From Amazon to My House

The Domestic Church: Room By Room

Will you forgive me? Perhaps I bit off a bit more than I can chew??!! Actually, it's more like real life happened and I over-committed.

A few weeks ago, I committed to do a thorough book review of the above. I am still faithfully reading the book, however, I think I will have to end my weekly review. I hope that I have given you enough reason in the past weeks to convince you to buy the book or perhaps introduce it to your Ladies Book Club.

I am still thoroughly enjoying the book, it's just that taking the time to write the weekly reviews was getting more of a 'chore' and 'duty' than I expected. I still encourage you to embark on the journey of learning more about your Domestic Church and faithfully keeping yours happy and holy.

If you are just stopping by, here's where you can find the past reviews: Week I, Week II, Week III.

I hope I have not disappointed you, but I better stick to my real-time mommy posts for awhile! Have you read the book? Let me know what you think of it!

Quick Take Friday

1. This week I tuned in for the Dancing With The Stars season premiere. I was torn if I really wanted to watch, since there wasn't really anyone on there I knew or really wanted to see. However, I was also lured there by the fact that two new additions would be announced during the show, due to Jewel and Nancy O'Dell being out of the picture due to injuries. It's a lot of fun to watch the first episode of the season because, well, let's face it, some of the 'Stars' really don't have a dancing bone in their body! I enjoy watching the grace and beauty of the dance, but admittedly, I could do without some of those really scant outfits! I was rather disappointed in a few things and bothered while I watched (with my 6 year old daughter). For one thing, the man who is paired with Lacey, Steve-O, apparently was on a popular TV show titled Jackass. That's fine to be mentioned once, but did they really need to use that word to describe him and use plays on that word in every sentence? Another thing, I was disappointed to see Holly Madison, former girlfriend to Hugh Hefner and Playboy bunny as one of the new additions. I totally don't agree with that lifestyle for a TON of reasons, therefore it will be rather difficult to just watch her on the show strictly for 'entertainment value' and not judge her and her lifestyle. Will I continue to watch? Perhaps, but maybe not completely committed every week. I do look forward to watching Julianne Hough with her real-life boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks though.



2. We took our overnight family 'winter getaway' on Sunday. We only took a 20 mile drive to a local hotel attraction which includes an indoor water park. It helps when a place like that offers a spring break rate that includes the room and 4 water park passes for one low rate! As expected, we had a great time as a family and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Like last year, we spent hours at the water park both on Sunday afternoon and for a little bit before check-out on Monday morning. We also ordered pizza for dinner and ate it on our beds (the kids always get a kick out of that for some reason!!). It was a short getaway, but worth the family time.

3. Have you checked out your local library's Books on CD/Tape selection lately? We've just recently began diving into ours and the kids love them! It's a lot of fun for them to hear simple stories in a new voice and Jonah really likes the ones that have a page turn chime. For some reason, this section of our local library just never caught my eye or seemed to draw me in, until recently. There's a pretty large selection of simple, short books as well as chapter books that Lily can enjoy too. As if we weren't already in love with the library, now we just have one more reason to look forward to our library trips!

4. Speaking of reading, Miss Lily has been progressing throughout the school year in her reading and is so much fun to listen to! The words that she just automatically reads for the first time without hesitation are most often tough words to even sound out. She just keeps at it and keeps moving on to a different level. Just yesterday, after Lily read our family Lenten meditation from this book , my husband marveled at her reading proficiency. Which is a good reminder, because sometimes we easily forget that she is only 6 and in Kindergarten! I think I'll be doing a lot of looking at our Catholic Homeschool conference in May to decide what program to continue with her in the fall in order to continue to nurture her reading skills.

5. I've been doing some research on our state's department of natural resources website this last week. There's a lot of stuff out there! I'm in search of some fun nature programs for our local Catholic homeschool group or even for my family to go enjoy. The closest State Park for us that has a variety of programs available is probably a good 45 mins. away, but looking at some of the stuff they're offering the drive should be worth it. Do you know what your State Parks have to offer you and your family? I found a few fun programs in April and May like bird watching, woodland flower walk, a pond view walk, dragonflies and more! Now we'll just have to narrow it down to a few and get them on the calendar.

6. Well, hopefully spring is around the corner and that has got a lot of blogging mom's talking about spring cleaning. I found that a number of them do it during the season of lent as they prepare for Easter, along with the spring season. What a great idea! I'm a bit behind since I haven't started yet, but I'm working on my cleaning list and hope to get started next week. I did it a couple years ago where I made the list and did a lot of cleaning and purging as well. I cleaned everything, right down to the woodwork and walls. Not that some things were as dirty as others, but it was nice to have the WHOLE HOUSE clean! I'll let you know how it goes. You can check out Elizabeth's list here or Emma's list here to get ideas how to start your list.


7. Spirited child, anyone? I'd heard this term in the past, but it wasn't until recently that I've contemplated that perhaps I have one living in my home. These children may sometimes also be referred to as strong-willed, determined and intense. Their characteristics commonly are MORE than normal children, more intense, persistent, sensitive, perceptive, etc. I'm not sure yet if my child completely carries all of these traits, however, he does have some of them and he is at times MORE. I just picked up this book from the library to hopefully help me in deciding. If this is him, I'm hoping that the book helps give me some good tools to guide him and live with him, minus a lot of our current battles.


Jen has more Quick Takes for you today here!

Have you read these with your children?

I just finished listening to the audio book, Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick. How cute! Have you read this one?

Recently, we had found Lost in the Woods by the same authors and I'm actually awaiting it's arrival from Amazon since I purchased it last week. Now, after reading today's book, I may just have to order this one too for our home library.

The photography in these books is absolutely gorgeous and I certainly appreciate it's beauty. What treasures they will be on our bookshelf! I understand why they call these books 'A Photographic Fantasy.'

Check if your local library holds either of these titles and especially check out Stranger in the Woods if you are still in the midst of winter like we are. They are a special treat for you and your little ones to enjoy.

The Domestic Church: Room by Room (Vol. III)

Here's my weekly installment for my continuing review of the above book. Please pardon me today, since I am still working through a cold and I am not at 'full throttle' just yet. I do not wish to easily dismiss this week's chapter since it continues to delve deeply into our Domestic Church, but my post may not be as lengthy today. If you would like to follow the reviews from the beginning of the book, start with this post.

This week's focus:

The Nursery: The Blessings of Little Souls

This chapter discusses the gifts of the souls of our children, conception and contraception and the role mother's have been given in their special communion with the mystery of life.

How beautiful and precious is life! How wonderful the gift of children in our marriages and in our domestic church! Unfortunately, how often that is not seen by our society, our government, our friends or even our family. Sadly, we live in a world where life is not necessarily valued everywhere as precious and unrepeatable. In a society of convenience, too often children are viewed as an inconvenience to be avoided at all cost. The Church does not share those views and therefore teaches that each and every marriage act remain open to the transmission of life. Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and to educate their children; they should realize that they are thereby cooperating with the love of God the Creator.

While we live in a world with 'contraceptive mentality' filled with negative values, we must have continued determination to act with responsible parenthood and with a respect for the conjugal act in marriage. It is a precious and valued gift we have as spouses and often it is one that is attacked and undermined in our marriages.

Motherhood plays a role in the special communion it has with the mystery of life, especially in the beginning as it forms in the woman's womb.

Whether it occurs biologically or through adoption, a mother's contribution in the early stages of her child's life is "decisive in laying the foundation for a new human personality".

A mother's love increases as her child grows within her and as God gifts her with motherly graces, causing her heart to expand to love other human beings in a deeper way as well.

True, children are wonderful blessings to our Church and our little domestic ones as well, but tough days in mommyland can make it difficult to find the motherly grace I need and rely on. Anyone else with me? Many times I have to remind myself that this is my vocation and I must embrace it with joy and love and bring that to my home. And then there's this reminder from the Catholic Catechism: "Children in turn contribute to the growth in holiness of the parents"(CCC, 2227) I've found this to be true on a DAILY basis! Thankfully, God arranged it perfectly when he came up with this one: Mothers are given the task and responsibility of raising their little souls to heaven and while doing so, the children will, by God's grace, also be helping to sanctify their parents' lives. We all need our domestic church and its members for us to work toward Heaven! No one is insignificant or 'useless' in our homes, none without value, each unrepeatable.

**The author cites that if you would like to read more essential teachings of the Church regarding husband and wife's cooperation with God in transmitting human life, you can find it in Familiaris Consortio available at Catholic bookstores or on the Vatican website.

Blessings on you as you embrace the gift of the little souls in your household and continue to be open to life!

Next Week: The Living Room!

The Domestic Church: Room By Room (Volume II)

The following is my continuing review of the above book that I am doing in weekly increments on Mondays. To follow along, you may want to begin with the First Chapter review here.

This week's focus:

The Garage: A Husband In The Picture


What better time to reflect upon your marriage and your relationship with your husband, then during Lent? I think this chapter comes at a good time, especially as my husband and I work harder toward accomplishing more prayer time as a couple. This chapter really focuses a lot on the husband and wife relationship and that we have been growing together each day and that we actually become a reflection of "God's love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church his bride" (Familiaris Consortio, 17).

At times, this is difficult, is it not? Goodness, we are different beings! How intricate and beautiful both male and female are, but we come together as one in Christ therefore it should all be easy and glorious every day, right? It just does not always happen that way. Although we are united as one, we are sure to be very different from one another. A man's brain at rest is most ready to achieve instant activity or to physically respond to stimulus. A woman's basal resting state is more attuned to differences in expression and communication. This makes sense in a way that the male is the father and husband who falls into the 'protector' role and ready to serve and physically take care of his family. A mother becomes the 'nurturer' and provides the care of the home and family. It's amazing how us mothers become the 'dispensers' in our families in order to care for them: of the band aids, kisses, hugs, crayons, snacks, meals, laundry, etc. It is how we nurture them. Might I take a moment to remind you of last weeks lesson on how we need to pray that we respond with Mary-like 'sensitive-attentiveness' to the care and needs of others? (I'm still working on that one!) We need to learn how to communicate lovingly and acknowledge our differences and the fact that man and woman have their own specific gifts to bring to their marriage and family that will help alleviate some of the anxiety and confusion.

It is not always easy to live daily life with our spouse. We all know that. They are wonderful blessings, but the differences we have can sometimes be huge obstacles in our growth together as a couple. As the book indicates, we need to grow in mutual self-giving. The sacrament of their marriage unites the couple in love, responsibility, sacrifice, and service to one another. Our love needs to be one that is authentic, devoted, strong, and sacrificial. That sacrificial one can be a tough one sometimes, can't it? I can be authentic in my love and dedicated to our marriage, but sometimes when sacrifice is involved it's easy to pull out the mental tally card and start keeping track of all the things that I have to sacrifice in order to have a successful marriage. How great is my sacrifice then? How devoted is my love to my husband? Those are definitely things to ponder. It is with great sacrifice and love that Christ gave of Himself and yet how often do I balk at the sacrifices laid before me? Too often the 'easy road' looks so much more delightful! Beautifully though, through our self-giving, our marriage blossoms and grows in holiness and maturity.

Along with sacrifice, prayer is absolutely vital to our marriage. As mothers whose time is demanded by many and spread thin, do we still find time for prayer with our husbands? Too often it is set aside because we are just too busy. Prayer helps to strengthen the marriage bond and draw them closer to God. Prayer together needs to be set as a priority and is needed on a regular basis. Even if it starts as a single prayer together before bedtime. In time once a habit is formed, hopefully you will be able to extend your time of prayer together. As a Catholic married couple, we receive many graces through the sacrament. Through our prayers we are united and strengthened in our sacred marital bond. The grace we receive helps us be strengthened in our unity and be enabled to help our spouse to attain holiness. In living out our state of life faithfully, we are given graces to become holy! This is God's plan for us and our marriages. What a gift He has bestowed on us!

That's a lot to think about this week! It will be the perfect time for my husband and I to continue working on our prayer time together and establishing a better routine.

Blessings upon you and your husband as you work on deepening and strengthening your marriage and as you focus on your domestic church's garage!

Next Week: The Nursery!!

The Domestic Church: Room By Room (Volume I)

I've decided to post a book review of the above by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle in weekly segments as I read it. The book is done in a format that I think will work well for a weekly review.

In case you haven't heard of this book, hopefully my very amateur review will help you decide if it is one you'd like to add to your own library. It is available from Circle Press. This book can be used as a part of a study group or for individual use. Each chapter is broken up into 'rooms' for the reader to contemplate different topics and identify them as rooms in their domestic church. My hope is that each week I will read the chapter for that week and then be able to give you several points to ponder and excerpts as well in Monday's post. Hopefully. I think it will also serve as a wonderful way to walk the journey of lent as I focus on my domestic church in the process.

I am really enjoying this book so far and in the first chapter I have already repeatedly gone back to re-read what I've highlighted in order to refocus my meditations on the subject. As I said, this book is written in Study Guide type format for weekly meetings with other women and mothers. It comes complete with thought provoking discussion questions at the end of each chapter as well. It is much more than a study guide though, because it brings to light Catholic teaching through Scripture, papal encyclicals, apostolic letters, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the words of our great Saints. They are sprinkled throughout as a wonderful addition to the eloquent words of the author.

This Week's focus:

The Foyer: Our Blessed Mother Mary and Motherhood

How can I aspire to imitate such an amazing Mother as Blessed Mother Mary? That's a big question. Mary's "Yes" to the angel Gabriel was a courageous "Yes" to God. It was not a mediocre surrender to God's Will. It was a full, complete surrender to her becoming the Mother of Jesus. What is my answer when I am asked for that surrender in my vocation of wife and mother? I must admit, it is not always the full-hearted "Yes" that Mary gave. I should consider all of my responses to God as a mother, reflecting upon my willingness-or lack thereof-to accept everything that God has for me. This is not always easy as a mother, but I desire that complete "Yes" to my motherly vocation. Like Mary when she visited her dear cousin, Elizabeth, while with child herself, I desire to have Mary-like sensitive attentiveness to the care and needs of others. I love that phrase! Sensitive attentiveness. I will admit that sometimes I do not have sensitive attentiveness towards members of my family and that it does not always come easy. This will be a wonderful phrase to stick on my fridge for this week so that I may become more aware of improving it in my domestic church.

How can we as mothers and women follow Our Blessed Mother more faithfully and discover peace as we follow her "Yes" with sweet surrender? Here's a few things to ponder from the book that I picked out for this week:

A mother can learn from Mary by asking for God's grace to entrust herself completely to him with the "full submission of intellect and will".

For mothers, it means service first in her family and then reaching out to the world. At times, good intentions and a mother's loving heart may cause her to stretch herself too much to administer to the needs of others outside her home. It's wonderful and holy to want to help, yet mothers must remember that their love begins first and foremost at home. Being sure that her family is properly cared for before she embarks in other areas of ministry will ensure that she is not inadvertently neglecting her family in the process of helping others.

Silence can ironically be found in the busyness of a mother's day as a mother learns to retreat to her heart even as she is involved in the care of her family. Within the "silence" of a mother's heart, Our Lord can speak.

It is when she realizes that Our Lord actually wants to use her attentiveness to her family's needs that she will understand the value and prayerfulness in performing little things with great love. The mother becomes an everyday example to her family as she raises her children in holiness and goes about with a prayerful heart, striving to emulate the Blessed Mother's virtues.

Isn't that just beautifully said? I think these are all such important things to remember as mothers. I am striving to keep in mind that my small acts throughout the day and my little prayers and offerings in my mind and heart bring holiness and blessing to my home. How important are the needs of my family and the manner in which I attend to them! They are my simple offering that I give daily, along with my morning offering of all my works,joys and sufferings that I pray before the day begins pulling me in all directions. This week I have a lot to focus on and meditate upon as I enter the season of lent. I will need to write some of the quotes down in order to call them to mind frequently this week. I just wonder if I'll have enough room on my bathroom mirror and my fridge to hold them all??

Blessings this week as you focus on your domestic church's foyer!

Next Week: The Garage!!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. This week has been a bit long in our house. We've been confined indoors all week, mostly due to the snow and frigid temps. We've come up with plenty of things to do, but it just seems that this week has kind of been never ending. One of the projects Lily is working on this week is her jewelry box kit she received as a Christmas gift. It's become quite the little artistic box and she can't wait to put her few pieces of jewelry inside when it's finished.

2. This weekend is one of our few long weekends at our house. We look forward to weekends like these because it means daddy is home for 3 days instead of 2! Due to MLK Jr. Day on Monday, daddy will be home with us. It is one of the things I am grateful for, due to Reed being a city government employee. No big plans, but that's good too.

3. I've been thankful this week that I've made a better effort (and succeeded) at creating a better/workable time each day for my personal and family prayer time. So far, it's been a good schedule and I hope we can keep it up!

4. I've been in kind of a rut when it comes to our evening/supper meal. Nothing has really been sound that enticing, for whatever reason, and even less appealing to prepare and put on the table. I finally sat down again this week and put together some menu ideas and prepared a couple of meals to put in the freezer for another day. Maybe that will help me get out of my rut and enjoy making supper again!

5. For Christmas, I put together a gift for Lily I thought she'd enjoy. I cut blocks of fleece for her to make a tie blanket. At the time I was thinking of the fun we'd have working on it together this winter. It turned out to be 48 blocks total. Well, I don't know WHAT I WAS THINKING!! Lily is struggling with the tieing and easily gets frustrated/bored with the project. So, guess who's been working on the tie blanket?? Yes, me. Not that I wouldn't enjoy it, but after awhile it gets tedious. Now I'm thinking that we can leave it half completed and hope my nephew's wife has a baby girl next month and give to her! Guess how well that idea was received when I brought it up yesterday! So, I will continue to plow on with the blanket and not consider a project this large for my 6 year old anytime again soon! I think we'll stick with painting animals and jewelry boxes!!

6. Yesterday I ordered two books for myself and can't wait to get them started. They are: Grace Cafe & The Domestic Church: Room by Room . Both are by author Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle. All things mommy hood and domestic church seem to draw me in these days, so these books are looking enticing.

7. Although this week has had some rough spots and the winter is overwhelming me, I have had my heart warmed and my head filled as I've been inspired. I have slowly been adding to my 'Blogs I Read' list and surrounded myself with some amazing women. I enjoy daily peeking in the windows of their homes and hearts as they share their lives as mothers. Check them out in my list of 'Blogs I Read' in my sidebar and I'm sure you will agree! Thanks Ladies!


For more Quick Takes Friday, check out Jennifer at Conversion Diary!

The Purpose of Christmas

As advent is coming to a close and the Christmas season is upon us, I am trying to keep in mind the reason for our celebration. So, the other day I bought the new book by Rick Warren, 'The Purpose of Christmas'. I had heard that it was a quick read and figured with less than a week until Christmas I'd get it finished. I am just about done with it, but I am thinking that it may be a good book to read again and re-direct my attention. If nothing else, I think it will be a good advent reading book for me each year. Yes, some of the things it covers aren't anything new to me, but it does have a way of giving the gentle reminders needed in this season. Here's a little peak at what it offers:

Christmas is a time for Celebration!
*God loves you!
*God is with you!
*God is for you!

Christmas is a time for Salvation!
*Jesus saves you from something.
*Jesus saves you for something.
*Jesus saves you by something.

Christmas is a time for Reconciliation!
*Peace with God
*The peace of God
*Peace with others

I need to remind myself what the true purpose of Christmas is this year and celebrate it as a birthday party for Jesus! I hope to accept, unwrap and enjoy God's Christmas gift for all of us.