Saturday Morning Cartoons

We just like this one because it's such a catchy tune...

On the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The twelve promises accorded those who have devotion to the Sacred Heart

as related to us by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
12. I promise thee in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that its all-powerful Love will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of Nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

O Lord Jesus, holy and sweet love of our souls who hast promised that wherever two or three are gathered together in Thy name Thou wilt be there in their midst, behold, O Divine and most amiable Jesus, our hearts united in one common accord to adore, praise, love, bless and please Thy most Holy and Sacred Heart, to which we dedicate ourselves and consecrate our hearts for time and eternity. We renounce forever all love and affection which are not in the love and affection of Thy adorable Heart; we desire that all the desires, longings and aspirations of our hearts may be always according to the good pleasure of Thy Heart, which we wish to please as much as we are able. But as we can do nothing good of ourselves, we beseech Thee, O most adorable Jesus, by the infinite goodness and meekness of Thy most Sacred Heart, to sustain our hearts and confirm them in the resolution of loving and serving Thee, with which Thou dost inspire them in order that nothing may ever separate us or disunite us from Thee, but that we may be always faithful and constant in this resolution. We sacrifice to the love of Thy Sacred Heart all that can give vain pleasure to our hearts and all that can engross them uselessly with the things of this world where we confess that everything besides loving and serving Thee alone is vanity and affliction of spirit. O Divine and most amiable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, may Thou be blessed, loved and glorified eternally. Amen.

* Fisheaters has a page full of information on and devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, including the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home.

Honest Scrap Award

Many thanks to Squelly at Dreamer's Day for honoring me with this award. This is a good one, and no wonder it was honored to Squelly, because it's about being authentic and true, no fuss, no beating around the bush. I always like to go where I can get "honest scrap" and Dreamer's Day is one of those places -- with a twist, because her scrap is beautiful and faith-filled, too.

Here are the rules:

In accepting this award, I need to do the following: 1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award. 2) Share "ten honest things" about myself. 3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me. 4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.

OK, so here are my ten honest scraps:

1) I love people and love to socialize, but it makes me a nervous wreck, especially if it involves being in a group of more than three people or so. I think it's partly the residual effect of moving around so much when we were growing up (we were Navy) and the constant trauma of always being the new kid at school. (=sigh= Ain't I pittifullll?) But, I also worry that I talk too much. Instead of being shy and quiet when I'm nervous, I'm one of those that jibber jabbers uncontrollably. Like my grandmother used to say, it's like my tongue is hinged at both ends.

2) My hair is naturally curly, but this is not its natural color. (Check the roots for the real thing.)

3) Though I can get up pretty early and be somewhat functional, I'm pretty crabby until I've gotten my second cup of coffee. You're best off not messin' with me much until after 10 am.

4) I have on more than one occasion purposely on-accident not gotten the coffee made before the gang has gotten out the door in the morning. So I could have the whole pot to myself.

5) Since I'm coming clean here, I have to admit, that, though I'm the mother of a house-full of music connaisseurs and I'd like to say I'm a high-brow music sorta gal, I really cannot stand orchestral music. Hate it. I'd rather listen to Shania Twain than Johann Sebastian (and if you know how I feel about country music, you know that's something...).

6) The only real reason I was hired to be the editor-in-chief for my college paper was because I was the only one who knew how to run all the machinery at the paper -- and because I tipped back in my chair during the final interview. I was told later that the Dean thought my absent-minded chair tipping was a sign that authority figures didn't make me nervous, and he thought that would be an asset in that job. Silly man.

7) I stole a Snicker's bar from the not-so-secret candy stash in the cellar the other day -- if you can call it stealing, since I'm the Mom and technically it belongs to me. But, I zipped past the kids, candybar hidden discreetly in my apron pocket, then slipped in my room, quietly closed the door, and ate it as fast as I could before anyone caught me at it. I felt like a thief. Can you see how I'm covered with guilt? (You've gotta read about this scientific study linking Snickers theft and crime... Yikes!)

8) I did steal a frog, though, when I was in fifth grade.

There was an old house near the river on the Naval base where we lived that had been turned into the Officers' Wives Club headquarters. But all of us kids called it the "haunted house" because it was old and lonely, sitting like it did on the edge of the Officers' housing, its white paint peeling under moss-covered trees. As you can imagine, our little group of friends liked to tell ghost stories about that house and we were obsessed about getting into it. One summer day, after the ladies must have had a meeting or something, we found one of the downstairs windows open a crack, and seeing our chance, scrambled up on each other's shoulders to get in. The long-awaited day had come at last; we'd finally get our chance to explore.

And we weren't disappointed. It was a neat, spooky, old house, and very exciting in a forbidden fruit kind of way to sneak through, but we were nervous as cats the whole time we were in there, and, though none of us would admit it to the others, we couldn't get out fast enough. So when we heard a car that sounded like it was coming close to the driveway, everyone jumped and ran like the dickens for the window. In the upstairs room where I was at that instant, the Officers' Wives had a table full of little ceramic figures that they must have made for a fund raiser or something, and in a split-second decision made by my greedy little hand and not my brain, I think, I snatched up a little green frog as I passed by, stuck it in my pocket, and continued down to high-tail it out of the house with my friends.

But, then, of course, I was consumed with guilt. I went to Confession about it, and, though Father didn't say it was necessary, I did try to get back into the house to return the little frog, but the windows were never left open again. (The Wives must have known someone had been in there...) So, what are ya gonna do?

I kept that frog in a philodrendon plant I had for the longest time, a symbol of my wreckless youth, but it was eventually lost in one of our moves. And then, I grew up, and spent a good many summer Saturdays at garage sales, where a few years ago, I found a little frog that was the twin of that stolen frog. Of course I had to buy it. It's on my windowsill right now, looking up prayerfully at the statue of my kitchen Madonna -- and when I look at it there, it all comes back: a lingering twinge of guilt, yes indeed, but, in the creaky staidness of my middle age, I also remember with a sort of fondness the innocent mischief and the nervous excitement of a hot, humid afternoon, sneaking around in a haunted house by a river in South Carolina.

Oh, to be a kid again.

9) And now for a different kind of guilt. And a different kind of coming clean... I am the guilty owner of barns and bins and closets and corners of unfinished craft projects that I now admit I may never actually find a use for. The hopeful, creative miser of my youth is starting to give way to the realistic resolve of an over-cluttered middle age. (Over-cluttered literally and figuratively, I think.) It's not that I still don't think it'd be really neat to refinish that old china hutch taking up space out in the quanset hut, or that I don't think there really may be some good use for all the little bits and scraps of wood and fabric and geegaws I've hung on to over the past twenty years; it's all honest scrap, so to speak (heehee). But, I think I may have reached the point where I'm ready to get rid of it. There's too much of it to find what I'm looking for, anyway. Maybe if I leave the quanset hut door open, some crazed craft burglar will back her truck up in the middle of the night and take it all away?

Because if I have to go through it all to give away or sell, I just know the Mrs. Thrifty in me will overwhelm Mrs. Efficiency and I'll keep more than I get rid of. It's a disease.

10) And, last of all -- I really do enjoy doing these kinds of meme things, as much as I enjoy reading them from others. They're a sort of indulgence. I think we get so caught up in our work-a-day identities, that we forget about the nitty gritty, silly little facts that make us who we are. I love learning about my internet and e-mail friends through these little exercises, and it's nice, too, getting reaquainted with myself -- as Lisa, instead of Mommy -- every once in a while.

Now, to hand out my own awards!


(Ahem!) I would like to pass along the Honest Scrap Award to the following bloggers, all charming, gracious, and 100% authentic:

1) Kim at It's a Dog and Pony Show (though she may be too busy unpacking at her new home to see this for a while...)
2) Bia at La Dolce Vita
3) Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings (though she won't know about the honor until after she gets back from Hawaii -- poor girl. &;o)
4) Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney
5) Sara at My Wonderful Life
6) Linda at Linda Lu's BTD
7) Marcy at Blessings Each Day

* Looks like my little frog is gazing longingly at that Snickers bar, doesn't it? That was accidental, but somehow appropriate, I'm thinking...

Following

So, do you know about Following? In case you aren't immersed in the blogging world, let me explain: Following is when a blogger attaches to him or herself a list of frequented, favorite spots on the internet. You'll find these lists on many bloggers' sidebars or in their profiles and their Following status is mentioned on the blogs they follow. Though they aren't necessarily advertised as such, they amount to an endorsement. They've been the newest thing for a few months now, but until recently I hesitated to step up onto the bandwagon.

For one thing, I worried that by singling out a handful of favorites, I was excluding all the other wonderful blogs out there that I only have time to visit sporadically, or just haven't discovered yet. I mean, like, GOSH! I could end up with twenty-nine thousand favorites, there's so much good stuff out there.

And, gee, if I had twenty-nine thousand blogs on my list, then all those blogs would probably feel obliged to Follow me, too -- and it'd be clear to all that mine was one of the most popular blogs on the block. Woohoo!

Not.

Actually, I've had an aversion to that sort of competition since I was a wee tot getting my pigtails pulled in kindergarten -- and it does seem that the Followings list has the potential to turn into a popularity contest, similar to the "friends" list on Facebook (If you don't know about this phenomena, don't ask; you don't want to know.). The idea of counting my friends, or anyone else counting them, seems counter to the whole idea of friendship. Like the coffee I accidentally poured soured creamer into a couple mornings ago -- it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And that's bad enough, but I also worried about the fact that I can't predict the content of every blog I visit - even those whose authors I think I know well. What if some topic of discussion on one of the sites I Follow takes a turn in a direction I can't endorse? Or it might turn out that I just downright disagree with an opinion latently expressed or a lifestyle exposed, who knows? The best of us have our little quirks... But, I have a large, extended family and a wide circle of friends, not to mention ten children, who are looking at my example... It's a big responsibility. One that I admit I didn't want to be called on for being lax about.

But, all those things considered, I've decided to hop on and make my own Followings or Favorites list, and I'll tell you why:

Life, whether we like it or not, is all about disclaimers.

And it behooves all of us to have mercy, accepting that some of the things we question about one another very likely have an invisible disclaimer in parentheses nearby. Many trees can be judged by their fruit, but there's a lot of non-fruiting greenery out there that just needs to be given the benefit of the doubt.

I wish everything were cut and dry. Some people sacrifice a lot to make things very simple -- the Amish, for example. No confusion in the Amish life. But, though that sheltered lifestyle is awesome and admirable, it's not the path for me. For one thing, if I didn't have a washing machine, my fingers would be worn down to the bone by now and I'd be a worthless, miserable wreck...

And there are many other reasons outside of laundry for us to choose to live in the world and (try hard to) still not be of it, but that decision requires us to figure out, in the entire dot-matrix pattern of modern living, which areas of the grey are black and which are white. A tricky job. And one that can result in different choices for different families based on many different experiences and priorities and locations on the Divine Learning Curve. I think we've all seen how this is a situation ripe for misunderstanding amongst us. And it's the reason, no doubt, for God's great caveat: Judge not, lest ye be judged.

But, I digress...

What I'm getting at is that, by listing my Favorites, I take the chance of being misjudged for my choices. Here's a list of some favorites of mine, with caveats to illustrate what I mean:

*I love Starbucks, but, don't be mistaken, I've gotten wind of some liberal leanings the company has that I don't like, and I really can't afford Starbucks and only treat myself as a splurge when I feel like Dan won't be annoyed about it -- and I really need to cut down on coffee, anyway, because the caffeine is bad for my blood pressure and the acidity is bad for my PH, etc, etc, etc... (Note, I say this as I drink of cuppa joe made with Starbucks beans...)

*I love movies, but it's true that I don't feel safe (morality-wise) watching almost any movie after 1960 that is not made by Pixar.

*In the same vein, I think Tom Hanks is a wonderful actor, but I worry about admitting it. I've thoroughly enjoyed him in a couple of his movies, and though I can't think of a single one of his movies I can whole-heartedly endorse, if asked, I'd have to name him as one of my favorite modern actors. With reservations.

* I love mopping, but only if it's with my little Swiffer, and only then because it's quicker and easier than a string mop, and then only because a clean floor is better than a dirty floor, and a floor I mop is cleaner than a floor any of my children mops.

* I enjoy the television show Ghost Hunters, but, it occasionally adds a wiccan team member that I take grave exception to. Hunting ghosts scientifically is one thing, adding a devil-worshipper to the mix offends me and defeats the purpose of the supposed Scientific Pursuit. And, there are those who would misinterpret my interest in the paranormal as contrary to my Catholic Faith, a position I'd have to explain with reference to my own personal experience and understanding.

* I enjoy relaxing with the television on occasion, but I wouldn't watch it at all if we didn't have a DVR capability that allows us to tape things carefully chosen ahead of time -- and skip all the vile commercials.

*I love Paul Simon's music, but, some of his lyrics get a bit, how-shall-we say, "free-thinking" for my taste...

* I love snow, but, only in reasonable amounts, between Thanksgiving and New Years.

* I admire Sarah Palin, and believe God sometimes chooses women for great causes beyond their stations of wife and mother (check out the old testament, read the lives of the saints), but, I grieve for the toll her public life has taken on her family life, and would never, ever take the path she has, even if it meant my country would go to hell in a handbasket.

* I love rootbeer, but only if it's poured over ice cream.

Anyway, you get the idea. Should I not admit to having favorites at all, because there are caveats and possible exceptions in future unknowns? Pixar might very well make a movie whose premise I find objectionable, right? So should I avoid mentioning that their movies are consistently my favorites? Should I never admit to liking anything because I'm worried about someone taking it wrong? Of course that's a rhetorical question.

But to get back to the point again: There's a lot to like and little to dislike about the blogs I follow, anyway. I'd be hard-pressed, in fact, to find anything wrong with them at all ~ if I cared to make that kind of search. Most of the blogs I've decided to Follow belong to women I've come to know and love over a fairly long period of time -- and, though we often come from different walks of life and sometimes different faiths, I learn much from their hopeful and Godly approaches to life, their practical knowlege, their humor, and their warmth. But I can't promise that any of the blogs I Follow agrees 100% with my personal world-view, my understanding of my Faith, or the way I live my life.

But then, I can't say this about any of my dearest "real-life" friends or even my family members with complete assurance, either.

I stay close to my friends and family and visit my favorite blogs, not because I agree with everything they say, do, and think, but, rather, because we have enough of the important things in common that the other stuff is incidental; because they enrich my life; and because, for one reason or another, I care about them and want to support them. And I want to add them to my Followings or list of "Favorites" so they know I appreciate them.

Many of my blogging friends, by the way, are also on my other "Favorites List" with my in-real-life friends and family; you know the list -- the one at the end of my evening prayers, the one most of us add as a footnote to God's Great Big Favorites List.

Isn't that the most comforting thought ever? While I worry and ponder about who to consider a favorite and who might judge my choices and whether or not I should care... He's the One who's allowed to judge and everyone's His favorite. No caveats.

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

Did you ever get the feeling

you were being watched?

Fun thing to do: Collect photos of faces found in nature.

(These we found while hiking up Bear Creek Trail, above Ouray, CO the end of May, 09.)

For lots more Wordless Wednesday fun, run over to Sara's place at Ordinary and Awesome.

Happy T...

Happy To...

Happy Toes...

Happy Toesday!

From Gabe and Yuyum

Where We've Been and Gone and Done Today

We got up bright and early to pack a cooler full of lunch for the big kids to take to Catechism Camp; waved them out the door ("Here's your hat, what's your hurry, kids..."); then Mommy (um, me) milked the goat, cleaned the house and blogged while the boys watched cartoons; then we chilled out for a while and watched Winnie the Pooh and ate Frosted Mimi Wheats; after that, we packed up a picnic lunch and headed off to the Denver Museum of Nature and History, where we saw all our favorite (stuffed) animals -- polar bears, lions, monkeys, owls, and some prodigious dinosaur bones -- but we were so busy yakking and checking out all the manipulatives and videos that we forgot to take pictures.

But, we remembered when we went outside.

So, here 's a little bit of a picture record of the rest of the afternoon -- before the rains came (I declare, we're starting to feel like we're in Seattle these days!):

Here they are, my two cubs, William and Gabriel, climbing up to visit this Mama Bear and her two cubs in the park outside the museum....

And here they are checking out the life-size dinosaur outside the parking garage...

And here we are taking some time to smell the roses in the garden outside the museum...

And here's a little game we played called Try-to-Find-a-Rose-That-Matches-the-Color-of-Your-Shirt...

Gabe chose these roses to match his shirt; we think #2 is the closest.
What do you think?

And here are the pink roses the boys chose to match my outfit. (Gabe took these pictures!)

And here's William, who says his nose is tired from sniffing ~ and there aren't any blue turtle flowers, so when are we going home?

Makes My Monday

Two things:

First, all the children except the youngest two boys are at Catechism Camp this week. So, even though, I have to do all the milking and animal chores by myself this morning (boo...), it'll just be me and the two littlest guys all week (yay!). The big kids will have fun, and so will we! As soon as I finish typing this, I'll join the boys on the couch for some cartoons and a bowl of dry cereal (and a cuppa coffee instead of the pineapple juice they're having...).

Second, both of the white rose plants that I thought died of transplant shock have come back to life in our Mary garden! Woohoo!

Run over to Cheryl's for more Makes My Monday posts!

Feast of St. Anthony

The Devotions of the Nine Tuesdays

in Honor of St. Anthony

On the Tuesday following the death of St Anthony the people of Padua carried his body to its last resting place in the Church of Our Blessed Lady, which was attached to the Franciscan Friary at Padua. The occasion was marked by great splendour and enthusiasm, and the cortege moved through the city to the music of bells and joyous hymns. The day was marked, too, by an extraordinary number of miracles. The biographers of the Saint tell us that “the blind regained their sight, the deaf their hearing, and the lame the use of their limbs. Every grace and favour asked for in faith and confidence was granted.” The people were so impressed by the wonderful things they had witnessed that they began to observe Tuesdays as days of special devotion in honour of their saint. However, as time went on, the practice fell into disuse until, in 1616, St Anthony himself revived it in the form of a novena of nine consecutive Tuesdays.

In that year – 1616 – “there lived at Bologna a noble and pious couple who, after twenty two years of married life, were childless. One day the lonely wife, kneeling before the altar of St Anthony in the Franciscan church, laid before the saint the sorrow of her life and begged his intercession. And see! The saint himself appeared before her and bade her visit his altar and pray before it on nine consecutive Tuesdays. This she did and in course of time became a mother. But to the bitter disappointment of the parents, the infant was found to be horribly deformed. This new sorrow, however, proved to be but a further trial of their faith. The mother brought the babe to the altar of the saint, and on touching it to the stone, all traces of the deformity immediately disappeared. “Franciscan Almanac”

The grateful parents spread everywhere the news of the miracle and very soon the Devotion of the Nine Tuesdays became very popular throughout Europe. Today it is practiced universally throughout the world. It has always proved to be a marvelously efficacious means of winning St Anthony’s assistance.

The following plan is suggested for making the Novena:

(i) Receive, if possible, the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist on nine consecutive Tuesdays. This may be done in any church.
(ii) On each of the Tuesdays visit a church, Franciscan if possible, and before a statue or relic of St Anthony, recite appropriate prayers. If the church cannot be visited, the prayers may be said at home before an image of the saint.
(iii) To gain a plenary indulgence on each Tuesday of the Novena, receive the Sacraments, visit a Franciscan church during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and there pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. (This indulgence can be gained on each Tuesday of the year on these same conditions.)

No particular prayers are prescribed for the Novena, but the following are commonly used.

Prayers for the Devotion of the Nine Tuesdays

O Jesus my Saviour! Who vouchsafed to appear to St Anthony in the form of an infant, I implore you, through the love you bore to this saint when he dwelt on earth and which you now bear to him in heaven, graciously hear my prayer and assist me in my necessities, who live and reign, world without end. Amen.

O glorious St Anthony, safe refuge of all the afflicted and distressed, who have revealed that all who piously invoke you at your altar on nine consecutive Tuesdays shall experience the power of your intercession. Encouraged by your promise, and by the knowledge of the wonderful favours and graces which God bestows on those who piously invoke your intercession, I come to you, O powerful Saint, and with a firm hope I implore your aid, your protection, your counsel, and your blessing. Obtain for me, I beseech you my request. (Pause here and make your request). But if it should be opposed to the Will of God and the welfare of my soul, obtain for me such other graces as shall be conducive to my salvation. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Then say one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, followed by the Responsory.

** From the Via Rosa rosaries site, where you can also purchase a St. Anthony chaplet!

Other, simple prayers to St. Anthony

(The children like these)

Dear St. Anthony, please come round; Something's lost and must be found!

Dear St. Anthony, thou art the patron of the poor and the helper of all who seek lost articles. Help me to find the object I have lost so that I will be able to make better use of the time that I will gain for God's greater honor and glory. Grant thy gracious aid to all people who seek what they have lost, especially those who seek to regain God's grace. Amen.

** To read about the life of St. Anthony, go here; to find some recipes for his feastday, go here; to learn just about everything you might want to know about our miracle worker, including a list of his maxims, go here.

**To find a beautiful, printable poster of St. Anthony, depicting many of the key events of his life, go here.

~ St Anthony, our dear friend in heaven, please intercede for us! ~

Saturday Morning Cartoons

(Here ya go, Paul!)

Watching the Sky

Especially these days.

We had a tornado touch down near our tiny town on Sunday afternoon, and the shopping center near my sister's house was hit by a twister the same day. Colorado is not the state most pestered by this wicked weather, though; we're just west of tornado alley and only ninth on the list of twister hit states. Our terrain in eastern Colorado, though, is much like our tornado alley neighbors, Kansas and Nebraska, two of the top five states for tornado touch-downs and we see more of this dangerous weather than we'd like between May and July.

A couple years ago, when we were living in Western Colorado, a tornado touched down here on the farm; yanked a trailer on our property off of its foundation and ripped the roof off of our neighbor's barn. Thankfully, we weren't here at the time, and our neighbor was fine, too. But, we know to be very wary. We keep our eye on the sky, our ear out for sirens, and a stack of vhs movies and a tv in the cellar with our other provisions.

(We watched Cinderella last Sunday while the sirens blared and the wind blew outside. A good time was had by all.)

Frowning sky over the early spring trees at our house.
Smiling sky east of our house.

Little lost cloud drifting through the sky over McClure Pass, CO.

Sunset from our campfire in the backyard last Friday.

To hook up with lots of other sky-watchers, go here!