A Month of Thanksgiving Continues...

...with gratitude for moments together while making triple berry icecream, and Madeleine sponge cakes. MAdge and I have special memories of our first time we made Madeleines together. Here is that old moment I'm so glad we shared together. We are still using the same pan!

Thank God for SunDAES on WednesDAYS!

We enjoyed Daddy's, Maddy's and Pita's creations of framboesa and manga ice cream!

Thank you, Lord, for hugs in the sunshine

Whenever Penelope is well-fed and ready for sweet arms to float into, after leaving another pair of gentle and hugging arms of her family, she goes. And, she stays: cozy and loved. We thank you, Lord, for love and hugs... in the sunshine!

Thanksgiving for...

Sweet, sweet love and the best sleepy snuggles.

A Month of Thanksgiving

What a blessing it is to start the month of November out with the virtue of Gratitude, as we near the end of 2012. Each month in our school room we look to the 12 virtues of the year and slowly navigate our ribbon-tied clothes pin toward the next virtue to grow in as the months change, and hopefully, our hearts change too for the better. This month, though, I cannot be more grateful for the gifts God has showered upon us over the year. But, the gift that I am truly grateful for and want to thank God for is the gift of my husband, God's son, the giving Dad to our sweet four children, and the soul that teaches me to be the person God wants me to be. Caleb, I love you.

As I read from one of Penelope's patron "saints" writings (that is Elisabeth Leseur's), I reflect on one part of her diary, taken from March 6, 1912, in which she speaks of her dear husband and his good soul. The beauty in her writings here shows to me that each spouse is able to open up, help channel, deeply love, assist, suffer for, the good of his or her spouse in ways that the world or those in the world will never see and are maybe never meant to see. But, the point is that God deigns to each person, particularly in marriage, an "excavator," one's spouse, who , according to a spiritual director I had in DC, spoke of as being "a channel of grace," one to the other.

Servant of God, Elisabeth Leseur's words from March 6, 1912 (taken from, The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, p. 122):
A short conversation with my dear Felix a little while ago deeply stirred the hopes and desires of my soul concerning that dear soul. Oh yes, my God, I must have it, Thou must have it, this straight true soul; he must know Thee and love Thee, become the humble instrument of Thy glory, and do the work of an apostle. Take him entirely to Thyself. Make of my trials, my sufferings, and my renunciations the road by which Thou shalt come to this dear heart. Is there anything that belongs to me alone that would not be ready to offer Thee to obtain this conversion, this grace so longed for? My sweet Savior, between Thy Heart and mine there must be this compact of love, which will give Thee a soul and will give me for eternity him whom I cherish, whom I want to be with me in Heaven."

In marriage, in friendship, in each relationship, thanks to God, He gives us the opportunity to freely give (and to receive in the like) forgiveness and love: totally what He did for us, without ever dangling something over our heads and saying that it is against His better judgement to forgive us. No, God in the Father, Son and Spirit, fully, totally, lovingly forgives us second after second, without any sign of reserve, if only we accept it. Again, Elisabeth Leseur writes beautifully on the loving act of the will: forgiveness:
To know how to forgive is the special mark of the Christian. Forgiveness should not merely be passive; it should be a lively act of love. (p.174)

I am Grateful

Throughout this week, we have had many transitions: multiple contractions coming and going at various points in the day and the night, early morning awakenings, later nights, and then: the real onset of labor, something that I hold near to my heart, something that I love, something that I am so grateful for, as a soul that has lain 9 months beneath my heart, transitions to a new world where God calls her to mission, but needs help in passing from one quiet world to the other, where noise, demands, confusion and joy will ultimately be scattered upon her path toward Him Who calls her forward. In all these moments, you were there, Caleb. You held my hand. You encouraged me to focus. You gave me my "daily bread" by bringing food to me upstairs as I labored in our room Monday morning as the kids played, and you remained home from work.

 Remember that morning?: 5:40am? The last big contraction came. I was excited. I thought, "This must be it." I remember leaning over to you as we set the plan for the morning for you to stay back because I thought "the baby would come soon and fast!" Intuition: what a gift from God, and how grateful I am that I told you and we acted on that together. Throughout that morning, you played with the kids two rooms down from ours: Lego time! You fed them breakfast, read with them, loved them as they passed in and out of our room to sit with me as contractions, long contractions, short contractions came and went, and grew closer together. You served. You served Him: you prayed with me. You served us: you loved, you fathered. You were. You were in the present moment with us. I am grateful for that. 

 

I am Grateful

Throughout this week you have made the days so enjoyable. Your presence alone has soothed me, knowing that our three treasures are secure as I rest. Swimming everyday. Ice cream treats to celebrate Penelope's birth. Enjoying Mass yesterday: you and our threesome together and then lunch at Giraffa's while Penny and I rested. Movie night. A beautifully-organized All Saints' In-Home Trick-or-Treating with well-organized clues, guiding Maddy, Pita and Caleb from door-to-door throughout the house. And, specially-bought candies from the Commissary, and specially-ordered Saint holy cards to pass out with each "Knock, knock! Trick-or-treaters!"

I am Grateful

 

 Thank you. Thank you for sharing your life with me. For, as our wedding song, Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor (I Am Nothing Without Your Love) says, weathering the storms of life together. For making the way up the mountain of life with me, together. Blessed John Paul II says it so well: "The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons." Nothing is perfect, but all can be perfected in Him with the hand that Jesus lends to us on this journey. I am so Grateful He lent me yours to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. While others can quickly relinquish another's goodness, I am Grateful that God binds us to one another in Him, in our marriage vows, to never ever give up no matter what difficulties, struggles, joys, confusions, moments of loneliness, heartache, come. 

There is so much to be grateful for, and I could continue to write in one letter here, but I will leave these thoughts to God's timing as I look to each moment to be grateful in these days of November as we celebrate the call to sanctity and reflect on the real moment God will call us home and ask us how we each cultivated the good He gave to us and if we shared that with our beloved. I love you, Caleb. Thank you for you and being open to God's graces and transforming love.

Mom's Birthday Bash

A fun and enduring family tradition that has arisen this year is the formal dance in the backyard, aka Dances on the Veranda. Mary and the kids were quite smashing in their dance gowns and suit. I really enjoyed the dance, and particularly dances with the Birthday Girl. It was also fun dancing with each of the kids. Each kid has his or her own song, and so when it came up on the playlist, the dance floor seemed to revolve around the special someone. It's always fun to experience the personality, individuality, and spunk that comes out of the kids on the dance floor! Of course, it's Mom who is leading the gang in the dance moves and gets the group dances going!

This last pic is of Pita's hair. She is always proud of how long it is getting. She can now do a bun! I think it has come just in time for ballet classes! Madge and Pita will be starting a ballet class together tomorrow. Maybe we can find cabyvara-skin leotards here in Brazil.

Pic of the Girls at a Birthday Party

A couple weeks ago, we went to a birthday party of a friend of the girls. Here is a pic of them with some of the kids at the party.

Praying for and Protecting Our Marriages with God's Grace and Help

The Tearing of the Flesh

It was all very beautiful the day we were Wed
We stood before God and our vows had been said
For richer or poorer, for better or worse
Til death do us part, what a beautiful verse
-We meant what we vowed and started our life
The way God intended, as husband and wife
We felt very blessed with the life that we had
The trials and triumphs, both happy and sad
-And as the years passed, what we both didn’t know
Is love can’t be felt if you don’t let it show
You settle for comfort instead of life’s joy
Then in roars the lion to steal, kill and destroy
-You’re not sure what happened, you try at all cost
To win back their heart, but your loved one is lost
Their soul has been stolen, one flesh torn apart
You cry out to God for their soul and your heart
-Then God whispers softly, “My child, come here
Put on your full Armor, for battle is near
Pray and have faith that the devil’s been beat
Go wait in the light, lay your pain at My feet
-This battle is mine, your prayers have been heard
My victory is certain, you know by My Word
So walk by your faith, and not by your sight
My Word is my promise, all wrongs will be right
-It may take some time, our ways aren’t the same
Keep love in your eyes and try not to blame
Satan will shoot you with fiery darts
To try to confuse you and harden your hearts
-Don’t let him fool you with lies and deceit
Keep your eyes fixed on Me and don’t think of defeat
For I AM the Lord, there’s none stronger than Me
And I will build hedges you can’t even see
-So fear not my child and take up your Sword
And walk right with Me, your Savior and Lord
Their hearts’ like a river that turns in My Hand
Just wait for My Promise while taking your stand
-Remember Beloved and rest while you sleep
Your tears in a bottle forever I’ll keep
I AM the Restorer, I’ve spoken, it’s done
The Flesh torn apart will again become One”

Micki Lowery

Listen: By Your Side, by Tenth Avenue North

Please, join us in prayer

Today is our sweet little person's due date, October 17, 2012, but we will leave the timing to God and see when He desires this little soul to enter the world. Until that time, would you join us in prayer as we near the last stages of time for this sweet little soul growing inside me before entering the world to accomplish the mission God made him or her for:

                                                  Labor Prayer
                                   (Delivered in our birth kit from InHisHands.com)

“Dear Father, thank you for this new baby.  Would You protect and nurture this baby and bring this pregnancy to full term.  In labor, would You remove all fear and replace it with faith and expectation.  Please give those attending the birth wisdom to take the best care of mother and baby.  Please let this baby be born normal and whole, healthy and strong, and at home with no complications with baby or mother.  Father, thank you for hearing my prayer, for I pray in the name of Him who is called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Amen.”

(Bl. Mother Teresa:)
“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

"Smile at each other. Smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other- it doesn't matter who it is- and that will help to grow up in greater love for each other."

“Love begins at home and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into that action.”

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”

(Bl. John Paul II:)

"To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others."


 

Our Sweet Little Faces

Oh, how we love you!

Our Lives and Our Calls (Except for Sanctity) are Incomparable

Mary, humble handmaid of the Lord, we need your example today to discover God's will in our lives. You always gave God the first place in your life. Just as you pondered his Word in your heart, help each of us to seek his plan in all that we do. Give us the conviction that nothing is more important than doing the will of our heavenly Father. May we spend each moment in loving and pleasing him. Help us follow your example in proclaiming, I am the servant of the Lord, I will what God wills, when he wills it, as he wills it, because he wills it.
(Mother of Perpetual Help Devotions, Redemptorists) 

I do not concern myself about what God might be asking of others. Whatever God asks of me always makes me happy.

St. Therese of Lisieux

We must keep ourselves detached from all we feel or do if we are to travel along his path and live only for God and the duties of the present moment. We must stop all imaginings about the future, keep our attention on what is happening now and not bother about anything that has gone before or what may follow. I imagine that God's will always governs you. You will then have some inner prompting which makes you say: "I feel drawn toward this person or this book; I would like to give another person some advice or ask for some myself; I wish to complain about something, to open my heart to someone and in turn receive confidence, to give something away or to perform a certain action." We should at once obey these promptings of grace without relying on our reason or considering the matter at all. We must give ourselves to whatever God wishes and for as long as he wishes and yet never get personally involved in them. In this condition of self-abandonment the will of God moves us because he dwells within us, and it should completely replace everything on which we usually rely for strength and support...


All we can say can be reduced to this: "I feel drawn to write, to read, to question and examine. I obey this feeling, and God, who is responsible for it, thus builds up within me a kind of spiritual store which, in the future, will develop into a core of usefulness for myself and for others." This is what make it essential for us to be simple-hearted, gentle, compliant and sensitive to the slightest breath of these imperceptible promptings.


If we have abandoned ourselves, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment. The soul is as light as a feather, as fluid as water, simple as a child and as lively as a ball in responding to the impulses of grace. We are like molten metal which takes the shape of the mold into which it is poured, and can just as easily assume any for God wishes to give us. We are like the air which stirs continually, or water which fills every vessel no matter what its shape.

We must offer ourselves to God like a clean, smooth canvas and not worry ourselves abut what God may choose to paint on it, for we have perfect trust in him, have abandoned ourselves to him, and are so busy doing our duty that we forget ourselves and all our needs. The more closely we devote ourselves to our little task, which is so simple, so secret and so hidden and apparently so paltry, the more does God enrich and adorn it: "God works wonders for those he loves" (Psalm 4: 3).

It is true that a canvas simply and blindly offered to the brush feels at teach moment only the stroke of the brush... We might ask it: "What do you think is happening to you?" And it might answer: "Don't ask me. All I know is that I must stay immovable in the hands of the [artist], and I must love him and endure all... to produce the [art] he has in mind. He knows how to do it. As for me, I have no idea what he is doing, nor do I know what he will make of me. But what I do know is that his work is the best possible. It is perfect. I welcome [it] as the best thing that could happen to me... I concentrate on the present moment, think only of my duty..."

Yes... leave to God what is his business and carry on peacefully with your work. Be quite sure that whatever happens to your spiritual life or to your activities in the world is always for the best. Let God act, and abandon yourself to him. Let the... brush do [its] work even though the brush covers the canvas with so many colors that, instead of a picture, it seems there is only a daub. Let us work together with the will of God by a steady and simple submission, a complete forgetfulness of self and concentration on our duties.

Let us go straight ahead. Never mind the lack of a map, ignore the lie of the land and take no notice of the places you pass through. Keep going and you will attain all you desire. Everything will be given you if, with love and obedience, you seek God's kingdom and his righteousness. There are many people who are uneasy and ask: "Who will guide us toward that mortification of self which will lead us to perfect happiness?" [...]

Let us stay united with God by love and let us walk blindly along the clear straight path of duty. His angels protect you, and if he wants more from you he will let you know.

-----Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751), a Jesuit priest and mystic. This quote is taken from Abandonment to Divine Providence published posthumously.

Caleb's Sniffle Face

Ever since he was a year old, little Caleb would scrunch up his nose and make an incessant sniffing sound. This became a family meme as we would all sit around the kitchen table at dinner time and imitate him. As you enjoy the video below, just imagine the rest of the family joining Caleb and you'll get a sense of our fun family dinners.

Bath Time, Everyone!

The kids love taking a bath together at the end of the day. They are such great kids. Madge and Pita help little Caleb wash his hair and get all ready. Quite a few existential conversations can be heard wafting from the bathroom as the kids swim in the tub, play with bubbles, sing songs, and do silly hairstyles.

Brasilia Skyline

Two blocks from our home is a beautiful path that runs alongside the main lake in Brasilia, known as the Lake of Paranoa. It's our favorite path jogging, walking, biking, etc. We typically are treated to a sunset view at our normal hour, a little before 6pm. Here are some pics from the other day.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful!

This week, we celebrated with Mares her 32nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Beautiful! I can't believe another year of bliss has passed us by. It was such a fun and memorable birthday. As you also noted, this is the first time that you have celebrated a birthday while pregnant. For all the other kids, you were pregnant at the end of October, as they were all born in July. Now you will have a birthday buddy. Hopefully our little one will be coming soon! We're all so excited.

Every morning when I wake up next to you, I count myself the luckiest man alive. I love you so, so dearly. I can't imagine life without you. As easy as pro-abortion folks can dismiss a life as a fetus, I look at your life, the life of one grown up "fetus" :), and see the love, the joy, the meaning, the other lives that you have brought into the world. What a truly incredible gift life is. It is indeed incredible to have you as my wife and best friend, to have a family with you.

We thank God so much for the gift of your life. We thank him for the marvelous blessing that you are for us and for so many people around us. Here's to another year of life, of love, of striving day-in and day-out for sanctity amidst the poopy diapers, homeschooling, preparation of 20 snacks a day for the kids, the ups and downs...ordinary life as we know it and love it. We love you, Mares and Mommy. Happy Birthday!

Requesting Prayers for My Grandma

Over the last ten days, my maternal Grandma, affectionately known as Grandma Gertie, has been on the brink with some serious health complications. We ask for your prayers at this time that she pull through. She is a fighter: We thank God for that! Our love and prayers to the kids' only Great Grandma, Nana. We love you, Grandma. Get well soon!

2 Months of Marriage...Already!

I am dreadfully behind in blogging, but hopefully can get some catch up going!

Two months ago today, my little sister, Mary Theresa, and Adam got married. I can't believe how time has flown! It seems like it was just yesterday. It was a beautiful wedding and they make an incredible couple. It was an enjoyable and memorable day. There are many, many other beautiful photos from the wedding, but I want to get a few online for the moment. Mary Theresa and Adam, we love you! Happy two month wedding anniversary! 

The rehearsal walk down the aisle!

"I am Falling"

Little Caleb is quite the character. He entertains the whole family, and we all love and adore him. A couple of his recent quirks:

• He loves to say, "I am falling..." as he pretends to fall either to the ground or off furniture. It has become a tag-line at home, as we all walk around the house now saying, "I am falling..."
• He also loves to cock his head to the side and say, "Can I leave the table?" Of course, we all have fallen to repeating that line to him as well. His response to us is always a curt no. I guess we'll be at the table for some time!
• We sometimes call him our little parrot, because he loves to repeat what everyone else is saying. He particularly loves to parrot his big sisters' lines. It can make for some hilarious situations.

We love you, Butch. Thanks for your love, sweet affection, and simple ways. You'll be Daddy's little guy forever.