Costumes

I made costumes for the kids until a few years ago. I heard, "I'll
wear the Pope costume, but I really want to be Spiderman," from Number
One Son a few years ago. I was sad, but he endulged me for several
years. He was a monkey, St. Francis, St. Michael and then John Paul
II, the Great before choosing Speed Racer, Spiderman, Batman and Darth
Vader this year. Number One Daughter was an Angel, St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton, Cinderella, St. Philomena, Batman and Toothless this year.
Number Two Son missed his first Halloween because he was sick. He has
been St. Francis, Batman and Iron Man this year.
I did get to sew All Saints Costumes for all three of them this year.
Number One Son will be Divine Mercy Jesus, Number One Daughter will be
Our Lady and Number Two Son will be St. Padre Pio. With two white
robes and one brown one, I hope to recycle/repurpose the costumes for
a couple more years. They all have such strong opinions, our children.
I wonder where they get that?
I find it strange that our children seek out the same costumes as most
other children their age even though their exposure to "characters"
is limited. I guess they will get to a point when they want unique
costumes and I will be useful again.

Happy Birthday Number Two Daughter

Hubby has a yucky URI, so he stayed home from work today and was able to go to the cemetary with us. I made allergy-free cupcakes, he planted a lily from our yard (but originally from his old house), we sang "Happy Birthday" walked around the beautiful grounds of Our Lady of the Rosary and said a Divine Mercy Chaplet before we drove home.
Before we left home, there was quite a heated discussion between Number One Son and Number One Daughter about what to call today. He insisted that it was Number Two Daughter's feast day, it was the celebration of the day she went to Heaven, he explained to his sister. Number One Daughter insisted it was her birthday. We compromised and agreed that it was both!
Number One Daughter saw little toys at the graves of other babies during our last visit. She wanted to buy her sister a toy. I was sceptical if she would actually leave a really cute cat and dog Littlest Pet Shop set dressed as an angel and devil. When it comes to her baby sister, Number One Daughter always suprises me. She is thoughtful, selfless and brave.
Number One Son was sad. We talked about how, after praying about it for several days, we decided to tell them about their sibling being born to Heaven. He agreed that it was better that we told him. He is still shocked that I wasn't told about my siblings born to Heaven until I was almost grown.
It is my sincerest prayer that our children will use this life experience to witness to others about respect for life from conception to natural death. They participated in a funeral for their sister who was the same age when most abortions take place. So much has happened in the past year, I have been grateful for all the extra prayers, today was so much more about gratitude than sadness.

Nana's and Poppie's Dog had puppies!

Poppie found a very scared, hungry Jack Russell Terrier at his camp
ground last year. She is a very shy and hides most of the time. Nana's
long tongued Pomeranian loves her. She never really warmed up to
anyone but Nana's other dog. They found a home for her, with a little
girl to love her, but then she had puppies and never could house
train, so Nana and Poppie got her back. The little girl kept a puppy.
Well, she had four more puppies this week. Number One Daughter is so
excited! She loves snuggling puppies, kittens, dolls, stuffed animals,
Beanie Babies, etc... Hubby is threatening to sneak one home in his
shirt. He misses the personality of Little Dog. We will not be getting
a puppy, but maybe one of our friends will want one and we can visit it.

Christopher Columbus and Our Lady

On August 3, 1492 Christopher Columbus left Spain on the Santa Maria.
The wind began to blow on September 8, the Nativity of Our Lady. He
sighted land on October 11, the Solemnity of the Mother of God and
landed on Hispaniola on October 12, the Feast of Our Lady of the
Pilar, Patroness of Aragon, the sponsor of his voyage. The names of
the ships "Santa Maria pinta nina" means "St. Mary paints a girl."
Thirty-nine years later, on December 9, 1531, Our Lady appeared to
San Juan Diego and gave the world the miraclous image of Our Lady of
Guadalupe. Millions of conversions are attributed to this single event.
I have to thank Fr. Rocky from Relevent Radio for enlightening me to
this story written by God's hand.

We love Girl Scouts!

I just returned from my first Girl Scout Camp-out. Number One Daughter
and I had such a nice time together. She didn't push boundaries, I
didn't lose my temper. She was focused, patient and brave. We spent
time with Girl Scouts and parents from our Church troops, it was a
lovely weekend.
Before going through the process to start a troop, I prayed,
researched, prayed and listened. I really felt called to Girl Scouts
USA. I loved my time as a Brownie, Junior and Cadette. I really don't
know why GSUSA has gotten so much bad press, but here is some
information about what has been in the news over the past year:

Not all the information on the Internet is accurate, and that our
organizational integrity is at stake when we fail to properly
investigate allegations--The National Federation for Catholic Youth
Ministry

Here is the official GSUSA statement regarding Planned Parenthood:

" GSUSA does not provide any financial support to Planned Parenthood,
nor do we have any national collaboration or relationship with that
organization. We believe issues related to health and sexuality are
private matters for girls and their families"

3/12/10
We have been alerted about negative article that is circulating in a
national religious publication in which allegations were made about a
United Nations meeting involving the World Association of Girl Scouts
and Girl Guides.

GSUSA is aware of this situation and has assured us that this article
is a complete misrepresentation of the facts. See below for GSUSA
response.

"We are very disturbed and disappointed about the article. We have
been assured by our national organization that this article is a gross
misrepresentation of the facts. Girl Scouts of the USA is actively
investigating the situation and will be preparing a Girl Scout
position statement.

The mission of the Girl Scout program is to build girls of courage,
confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. It is
not the role of Girl Scouting to take a position on issues such as
abortion, birth control, sex education, etc. Our membership is a cross-
section of America's diversity with regard to religious opinions and
practices. We believe these matters are best decided by girls and
their families.

In some areas of the country, depending on community norms and in
response to requests, Girl Scout troops or groups may hold discussions
about human sexuality. In all instances, the topic is discussed from
an informative rather than advocacy point of view. Participation in
these discussions is totally optional, and each girl who participates
must provide written consent from her parent or guardian.

3/15/10
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA)

This week, an online publication by the Catholic Family and Human
Rights Institute alleged that Girl Scouts, by participating in an
event at the United Nations earlier this month, helped to distribute
Planned Parenthood information as a part of the experience. We had
adults and GSUSA media staff on the ground at the event and know this
information to be false. We took steps to ensure that our fact-finding
was comprehensive and complete, and we are communicating with you so
that you have up-to-date information in the event you receive
inquiries surrounding this issue.

Here are some top-line facts of the event in question:

On Wednesday, March 3, GSUSA, UNICEF's Working Group on Girls, Girls
Learn International, and The Grail jointly hosted a Young Women's
Caucus at the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at
the United Nations. The Caucus was a group conversation conducted to
formulate the Girls' Statement—a document that seeks to draw the
attention of world leaders to key issues affecting girls around the
world.

The Girls Only Workshop that Girl Scouts of the USA co-sponsored at
the event was supervised by adults and included no distribution of any
brochure or collateral of any kind. The only participants were adults
from GSUSA, Girls Learn International and The Grail, as well as 30-35
teenage girls. The event involved groups of girls, sitting in circles
with adult supervision, developing language for the document. No
materials were handed out. From the perspective of the GSUSA media
staff member who attended the Caucus, there was no involvement
whatsoever by Planned Parenthood.

The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on family
planning. Our membership is a cross-section of America with regard to
opinions on religious and social issues and practices. We believe
these matters are best decided by girls and their families.

The Girl Scout organization has no affiliation with any political
organization.

3/16/10
Update on Girl Scouts and the United Nations from GSUSA

Earlier this month, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) was honored to
attend and participate in the 54th Commission on the Status of Women
at the United Nations, where girls were encouraged to take action on
global issues concerning women and girls. Our participation in that
conference was recently the subject of numerous internet stories and
blogs that are factually inaccurate and troubling. Here are the facts
of that meeting:

The Girls Only Workshop was jointly hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA,
UNICEF's Working Group on Girls, Girls Learn International and The
Grail. The meeting was only open to the girls and participating
sponsors.

Only seven adults were in the room at the time of the meeting, each
representing one of the sponsors of the event. No one from Catholic
Family & Human Rights Institute was in the room to report on the event.

30 – 35 girls from across the world participated in this event. All
teenagers.

The girls received a copy of the only document they were working on
titled "The Girls' Statement". No other documents were given to
the girls as part of this event.

The room in question was also used to host other events over the
course of the multi-day conference. Prior to our girls entering the
room, we did not "sanitize' the room to ensure that no trash or
other items were left behind. We did request that those not associated
with the sponsors leave the room prior to our session.

The Girl Scouts of the USA was not contacted by Catholic Family &
Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) regarding its initial story to discuss
the facts of this event. Had they applied these basic journalistic
standards, perhaps the true details of this event would have been
reported.

Our Mission in Girl Scouting is to build girls of courage, confidence
and character, who make the world a better place. We continue to be
proud of our girls and look forward to showing the world what our
girls can do. We thank everyone for their support of Girl Scouting.

3/18/10
The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry has issued the
following in support of Girl Scouts:
In the last several days NFCYM has received inquiries about a meeting
at the United Nations with Girl Scouts of the USA and whether or not
Girl Scouts of the USA distributed offensive material to girls. Our
practice, as an organization, is to investigate such matters by going
directly to the source involved. Therefore we contacted GSUSA and they
have officially offered the statement below [statement is above as
3/16/10 update.] Please share this with those in your diocese who have
voiced any concerns with you. This is a good reminder that at times we
can be quick to render judgment without fact, that not all information
offered on the Internet is accurate, and that our organizational
integrity is at stake when we fail to properly investigate allegations.

"Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry!"
--St. Padre Pio

Asking for help

And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks,
receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the
door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)

I really hate asking for help, it is a HUGE struggle of mine. I'm not
sure why it is so hard. I was reading the Gospel for today, the
celebration of Our Lady of The Rosary, and these verses spoke to me.
The exact verses in the Novena to the Infant of Prague that I love so
much. Jesus is telling me to step outside my comfort zone. I
constantly remind my children that children are to be obdient, Momma
needs to be obedient too!

Bullies Using Food to Harass Allergic Kids

A new study authored by Christopher Weiss, PhD, from FAAN, and Scott
Sicherer, MD, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mt. Sinai in New York,
gives new insights on the scope and prevalence of bullying children
due to their food allergies:

- Almost one-quarter of children in all age groups were reported to
have been bullied, teased or harassed because of their food allergy;
- 82 % of the occurrences were at school;
- 80 % of the occurrences were by classmates;
- 21 % of the occurrences were by teachers or other school staff.

Before we thought about homeschooling, I believe we got a clear
message that that is exactly what God wanted us to do. We struggle to
have family events that do not result in days and days of fussy, sick
children. Food is the center of our culture. It seems like every
celebration has at the center of it, a tempting not-allowed food. It
is so hard to go to a movie and not have popcorn, nachos at a ball
game or pizza and cake at a birthday party.

I am still in shock that adults accounted for 21% of bullying.
Children need to be educated and redirected, but adults should know
better.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Novena to the Infant of Prague

I heard about this specific prayer on Relevant Radio (KIXL 970). It is
so beautiful, simple and powerful!

O Jesus, Who hast said,
ask and you shall receive,
seek and you shall find,
knock and it shall be opened to you,
through the intercession of Mary,
Thy Most Holy Mother,
I knock, I seek,
I ask that my prayer be granted.

(request)

O Jesus, Who hast said,
all that you ask of the Father in My Name,
He will grant you.
Through the intercession of Mary,
Thy most Holy Mother,
I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father
in Thy Name that my prayer be granted.

(request)

O Jesus, Who hast said,
"Heaven and earth shall pass away
but My word shall not pass",
through the intercession of Mary,
Thy Most Holy Mother,
I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.

(request)