Red Lipstick

I grew up with my Mom wearing beautiful bright-colored lipsticks in the 70's and 80's. I loved wearing bright lipsticks when I was younger. When they went out of fashion, I had decided that my days of wearing red lipstick were over. Bright lips are in fashion again, but should a 44-year-old wear read lipstick? The thought of never wearing red lipstick again made me sad, so I bought some and I got to wear it twice before the kids used it for blood on a leftover Halloween decoration. I felt fabulous, if only for a couple of days. I know what the kids should get Momma for Christmas!

Welcome Home Frankie Francis

Frankie Francis (named for our beloved St. Francis of Assisi) has been with us for about two weeks. The Town Lake Animal Shelter was closing and moving across town so we thought it would be a good time to get a free dog. After three visits, numerous phone calls and messages, it became apparent that getting a suitable dog from Austin was not going to happen. Someone sent me a link to the shelter in San Antonio. They are not a no-kill shelter, like Austin, Their goal is 50% + 1. We saw a couple of dogs we liked,one was toy poodle, she was deemed "aggressive" and not available for adoption. I saw this cutie and could not believe that a beautiful dog like this was actually at a shelter and not already adopted. The online information said the Pomeranian was male, when we got there, the paperwork said the Pomeranian was a female and when we went to pick up the Pomeranian, we were told HE was a neutered male. He loves me, which is the most important thing AND he is house trained. He gets along well with Einstein (Smart Puppy). Initially, he barked and nipped at Hubby and Number Two Son, but he has adjusted to our home and is really very calm. He has a cold (AKA Kennel Cough), it has been two weeks so we are headed to the Vet tomorrow for treatment options. Bless his little canine heart, he has coughing spells during the night. Being the Momma that I am, I wake up every time he coughs. I hope he gets over this soon, it so tiring (and pitiful!).

My, how time flies…

Last month was a rough one for us. The same week we found out that a dear friend of Hubby’s was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, we also found out that we had another miscarriage. Hubby and I were weepy, distracted and unfocused, both events distracting us from the other.

This time was very different, but still very sad. Friends have been very supportive, but we get the “What did you expect?” tone form family we have told. Yes, I am 44, but if God can bless us with a pregnancy, God can also bless us with a baby, if it is his will. We have no remains to bury this time, but we will have a stone, just like big sister’s at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery in Georgetown, Texas. We visited for Number Two Daughter’s birthday in October and I was touched by families that had 3-4 markers in the Remembrance Garden at the feet of Our Lady. God in his infinite wisdom prepared me even before I knew I was pregnant. Number Three Daughter is named Miriam Johanna.

Not quite two weeks after the miscarriage, the day before Thanksgiving, I was terribly ill. I had severe stomach pains, vomiting, dizziness and cold chills. I just knew it was a gallbladder attack. Hormones from the pregnancy and miscarriage plus my family history had me convinced. I couldn’t get an ultrasound for 6 days and the results were “normal.” So I do not have gallstones, but I am not convinced that it was not an attack, time will tell…

A prayer for Jim

Hubby's friend has brain cancer. Glioma wrapped around his brain stem. Terminal and not treatable. I really don't know what I expected when I heard he had fallen and had trouble with one side of his body. I thought "stroke," then he said "growth" on his brain and I thought, "My grandmother and aunt has brain tumors and it wasn't cancer and they recovered." Jim is going to be released from the hospital under hospice. He has a son, a few months older than ours and has been his custodial parent since his divorce in 2008. Hubby and I are very sad that his son won't have his father with him anymore. I see how friends and family have stepped in with our friends who lost their Dad in April. I pray that Jim's friends and family keep his memory alive for his son. I will pray every day that Our Lady Wraps her cloak around his son to love and protect him.




Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly - for the healing of Jim Ingman and his family, that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.
I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.




Thank You for your prayers!

Last year's RE class was rough, so far, this year's class has been a huge blessing! Last night, one of the students asked what 'canonized' meant which led to a discussion of purgatory (they had never heard of it before), Sainthood and Feast Days. They didn't know about St. Francis, St. Faustina or how people become a saint. Even though all my 3rd graders have made their First Communion, they have some Catholic Core Knowledge to learn. They learned the St. Gertrude prayer and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy last night. I will keep praying that they keep asking questions and that the Holy Spirit guides me in my answers.

Not something I really wanted to hear:

"You are the first patient that this treatment has not worked on."
Gee, thanks, Dr :(
Hoping and praying that I don't end up as the only person NaproTechnology doesn't help. My poor children will have vivid memories of a Momma with PMS and as Tweens/Teens a Momma going through menopause. Great!

iPod Pat On The Back

I am so proud of myself. I was able to voice record the Boy Scout Law on my iPhone, email it, download it to iTunes and load it on Number One Son's iPod! I can't wait to hear his reaction when he finds out what I have done. His iPod is currently in time out for bad RE behavior. iTunes is so frustrating to me, I lose all my songs almost every time I sync it. Our computer died so now I have to locate all of the CD's I used to put music in my itunes account or lose the songs. I'm hoping that iCloud is all it is touted to be, we will see...

Did I Miss a Memo?
We had one of the best family days I can remember today at Schlitterbahn. Hubby tried for months to win us tickets and he finally did! We waited until this week to go because it has been so blazing hot in Texas. Since we do not have A/C in the old Blazer, I wear a bandana when I am driving to keep my naturally frizzy hair from standing up on it's ends. I "washed away the gray" a few days ago and I wanted to protect my hair from the sun and chlorine. I saw no one, not even a bald man, wearing a bandana. There were thousands of people so I guess, no matter how practical, people don't wear bandanas in 2011. I missed that memo and will still continue to wear my pretty white and black bandana.

Yes, you are invited!

We had our beautiful Children's Holy Hour today. One of the ladies that is an RE teacher at our church was there with her grandchildren. I told her thank you for coming, as I do with everyone that comes. She told me she didn't know about the Holy Hours. We have been doing it for three years. There is a pulpit and bulletin announcement every month. All the RE kids got bookmarks and the bookmarks with all the pertinent information were passed out at the Ministry Fair last year. I even announced it at a RE teacher training class last week. The Catholic bookstore down the street put up a small poster for us again this year. Today, on the way out, another homeschool family thanked Fr. Mike for inviting them. It made me think about what people need to really KNOW that Jesus is inviting them and their children to spend time with him. I know people are busy, I have people tell me all the time how they wish they could come, they at least, hear, see and read about the Holy Hour. My frustration is people not hearing, seeing or reading about special time for their family to spend with Jesus. I must be taking the comment, "I never knew about this," personally. I'll keep praying for peace and guidance. I will say that I am so happy that as time passes more and more families join us.

RIP, Big Dog

RADIATING CHRIST

By Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman

Dear Jesus,

Help me to spread Your fragrance wherever I go.
Flood my soul with Your Spirit and Life.
Penetrate and possess my being so utterly
That my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me
That every soul I come in contact with
May feel Your Presence in my soul.
Let them look up, and see no longer me but only Jesus.
Stay with me,
And then I will begin to shine as You shine,
So to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You.
None of it will be mine.
It will be You, shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise You
In the way in which You love best:
By shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching,
Not by words but by example,
By the catching force,
The sympathetic influence of what I do,
The evident fullness of the love
My heart bears for You. Amen.

Isn't this a beautiful prayer? I love how, just when I need comforting, guidance or focus Jesus works through friends. One of my friend's posted this on a yahoo group tonight.

HOT!

I thought that the little bit of rain we had today might have kept us below 100, nope.
While visiting Nana and Poppie this weekend, Nana and I were trying to remember the last heat wave in 1980. I think I have a good excuse for not remembering, I was in middle school. What do middle schoolers do in the summer? Sleep. We will keep praying for rain and praying that our beloved Texas recovers from this summer of 100+'s.

Lord God, in you we live and move and have our being. Help us in our present time of trouble, send us the rain we need, and teach us to seek your lasting help on the way to eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord.  St. Isidore the Farmer, pray for us and all who are in need of rain. Amen

A Job!!!

Hubby was laid off from his teaching job in May. He decided that he might need to go back to school and change careers. He was accepted to St. Edward's University, but there was a student-loan snafu, so he continued looking for work. We lost count on how many resume's he sent. He sent 32 in one day alone. The school district was supposed to rehire laid off teachers, but we really don't think they did. Zero of his friends on the RIF (reduction in force, schools LOVE acronyms) list have been rehired.
All of that is in the past. He was hired at The School That Works http://sjdchs.org/ as a part-time technology teacher, but after the first day, he came home with a full-time job as a Theology teacher and he will be getting a Master's Degree in Theology instead of Business.
We all have a overwhelming sense of peace and gratitude. A big hug and thank you to our Jesus, Mary, Joseph, all our Saints in heaven and our friend and family prayer warriors who have stormed heaven with prayers for months and months.

What we learned...

What We Learned in 3rd Grade Religious Education (2010-2011)

Many of my students were learning to speak English as a second language, I just took dictation from what they said.

• How to treat others nicely
• The Divine Mercy Chaplet
• Hail Mary prayers in English
• That being in a Pre-K room, it is very difficult to work
• The Passion of Jesus
• Help my our family and friends
• Say I want to go to church
• How to heal people, about the Samaritan
• Help people you don’t like
• How Jesus is life, how to change Jesus’ life
• All the Rosary
• I learned how to use the beads to keep track when saying prayers
• The Weight of a Mass
• How one person and another look different but they are family
• Our neighbors, don’t walk past people on the side of the road, try and help them
• How to pray when something is like the TAKS test
• Lean about the Stations of the Cross
• Learn how to ignore bullies, say prayers for them
• We learned more about Lent
• When we say the St. Gertrude prayer, 1000 souls go from purgatory to Heaven
• Learned new vocabulary words
• Learned about the 10 Commandments
• Learned you can pray for family so they can be safe or healthy

I certainly learned that if you don't give up there are friuts of your labor. It was such a rough year, I was frustrated and embarassed. The students bullied Number One Son, ran through the church talking and laughing, talked out of turn constantly, and misbehaved in front of our Deacon and Priests. I guess they learned something afterall. All things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26).
We just got out computer fixed and I typed this up for our Pastor and DRE. I think this was God's way of getting my mind ready for the next batch of 3rd graders in a month.

Big Dog

Big Dog is dying. She had a stroke over a year ago and has been three-legged since then, but a month or so back, she took a turn for the worse. She needs help walking and no longer tells us that she needs to go outside. She still eats and drinks and lifts up her head and perks her ears when we talk to her. This is so hard, hard enough that I don't want any more dogs. Hubby and I decided to get a dog to keep Hubby's JRT company. I was pregnant with Number One Son. She was such an energetic puppy. One the way home from Nana and Poppie's the first time, she whimpered and cried unless we had the Tejano radio station on. It was a long two hours for Hubby! When Big Dog was about six months old, we made the trip back to Nana and Poppie's for a family baby shower. When we were packing ip to leave, Big Dog was nowhere to be found. We stayed and looked for her, but had to head home. Poppie knew she would turn up. The next morning, I called and Nana said she hadn't shown up. That night, I shared with me Middle School RE kids that Big Dig was missing and we asked St. Francis to help us find her. Tuesday when I got home from work, I was looking out the window and she was in our backyard! She had come back to Nana and Poppie's and Poppie brought her home. She was injured, it was a bit gory, the Vet thought she might have been mauled by other dogs. She had to have stitches in her mouth, so no chewing hard toys or playing frisbee. This was hard for a teething puppy! The next Monday, I told my RE kids that our dog was found and the look of shock/surprise/joy on their faces is one I will never forget. God does answer our prayers. Big Dog is Hubby and my first "Our" pet. His dog and two of my cats have died since we got married, but this is harder. Big Dog has chosen a long goodbye. We have chosen not to take her to be euthanized. Being at home is the best place for her to die. She really is showing no signs of suffering, she sleeps most of the day. We are the ones suffering, but I believe our earthly suffering is simply kisses and hugs from God.

Footprints

Little Sister's favorite poem is Mary Stevenson's Footprints:

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."

I know I am being carried right now, thank you all for your prayers!

Flan

1/2 c sugar
1 T. Water

2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 t. Vanilla extract
1/2 c sugar

3 eggs
3 egg yolks

Oven 350*

I use a cast iron skillet to bake the flan and make the caramelized sugar, but you can brown the sugar in a heavy pan and quickly pour it over the bottom of a heavy baking dish.

Add the sugar and water to a heavy pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted and it starts to turn light brown. * Turn off the heat and either pour it into your baking dish or leave it in the skillet and let it cool while you make the custard. (*I added 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips and let them melt once the sugar was dissolved)

In another saucepan, combine the half-and-half, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a bare simmer (warm enough to melt the sugar). Do not boil it!

In a stand up mixer, mix the eggs until they are light yellow (I use the paddle, not whisk).

On slow, gradually drizzle in the simmered milk, 1/2 cup at a time until it has all been added.

Pour the custard over the caramelized sugar and bake for 45-60 minutes (depends on the diameter of the pan). It is done when the edges are bubbly and it is not jiggly when you shake it. It will set up as it cools.

Cool and then chill. Clear the edges with a knife and then quickly and carefully flip it onto a serving platter.

Adapted from the Food Network's Alton Brown's Flandango

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1 14 oz sliced pineapple in it's own juice (save the juice)
1/2 c. Brown sugar
2 T. Butter
2 T. Reserved pineapple juice from the canned pineapple

I have always used a 13" cast iron for my pineapple upside down cakes. Melt butter, add brown sugar and pineapple juice until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and arrange pineapple slices (I had three left, I ate one and pureed the other two and added them to the cake). I used blueberries instead of cherries in the middle of the pineapple slices.

Cake:
1/2 c canola oil
1/3 c white sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
3 eggs
2 slices pureed pineapple
1/2 c tapioca starch (bat nang in Asian section of grocery store)
1 c garbanzo bean flour
1 c coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill sells coconut flour, but I grind unsweetened dried coconut in a coffee grinder)
1/2 c. Reserved juice from canned pineapple
1 t baking soda
Pinch of salt

Cream together oil, sugar and eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients alternating wet and dry until well mixed. Spray edges of cast iron with spray oil. Pour the batter slowly over pineapple in cast iron. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, cool 5 minutes, invert on serving platter.

God's Mercy, a story...

I read this in the comments section of a NCR article about the ABC series, "What Would You Do?" I was touched by the story and wanted to save it and share it.

There once was a man who proclaimed he did not believe in God. "God could never love anyone and if he existed, I would insist that he prove it to me", he often proclaimed to friends. "God takes lives all the time and the poor and down-trodden are first on the menu", he would say further. Even though the man was often kind to people all throughout his life, he believed that one should live life to the fullest in every way. He also believed strongly that a woman had every right to an abortion, and if she chose to do so, it was her business only.

One day the man found himself in front of an abortion clinic watching women walk in as protestors were praying and begging the pregnant women not to go in the clinic. A woman who was protesting began talking loudly to a young pregnant woman who was walking into the clinic. This immediately enraged the man and he began yelling at and cursing the woman who was protesting and others began to join in.

The young woman walking into the clinic became scared and upset at both the woman protesting and the man, and immediately turned and ran away from the clinic. This enraged the man and others even more and they escalated their yelling and insults toward the woman protestor. The woman protestor cried and left the scene.

Many, many years later the man was in a serious car accident and was thrown from the car. As he lay dying, many people consoled him as an ambulance rushed to the scene. A young priest who had also been called to the scene began to perform last rites. The man, although in terrible pain and very terrified, gruffly said to the priest, "Don't waste your breath with that prayer, Father, I'm not a Catholic and even if I was, God has never gone out of his way to help me – take a good look".

The priest gently smiled at the man and stopped saying the last rites. After a few seconds, the priest began to softly recite the Divine Chaplet of Mercy. "For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have Mercy on us and the whole world", he recited over and over. The man peacefully passed into darkness.

Suddenly, a great light engulfed the man along with great love. The man was more afraid than ever as he knew he was in the presence of God. He asked what was happening and who it was that he was speaking to. He asked this because he could only see one form but felt there were others in the area as well.

"I am Jesus, Son of the Living God, and you have been born to a new life. We are here to judge your life on earth". Immediately, as in a video, the man began to see his entire life in review. The good and the bad.
Many times when he helped the poor, other times when he freely partook in sins of the flesh. Times when he helped the elderly, and times when he intentionally hurt other people. The life review seemed to stop as quickly as it had started and the man felt ashamed.

Quickly, however, the man recovered, and recalled what he had said to friends during his life. "What chance did I have when my creator never showed any effort to reach out to me with love?" "Why did you not even try a little to help save me from myself?".

The Lord looked lovingly at the man and played back the life scene in front of the abortion clinic. The man was mortified as he watched himself become enraged. He was overcome with resign and asked the Lord what happened to the woman protestor who had left the scene those many years ago.

The Lord responded, "She was called to me a few days later, she had accomplished her mission".

"And what of the woman that decided not to have an abortion that day?", he asked.

"She bore a healthy son and passed to me after childbirth, she had accomplished her mission".

The man looked down and felt very sad. He slowly looked up and softly said to the Lord, "I wish I would have met her son; that I could know what he looks like and see how he turned out in life". But, I never did, and yet you show me these images anyway." Lord, can you not show me one instance in my life where you went out of your way even a little bit to show the extent of your love for me"?

"You met her son at the twilight of your life", said the Lord, "He will be joining us soon – he has accomplished his mission". "Come, let us go to heaven".

The man felt happy, relieved, and curious all at once, and felt compelled to ask Jesus two final questions. "Who was this woman's son and what was his mission?" , asked the man.

"He was a simple priest who believed in God's Mercy, and you were his mission", responded three voices.

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This morning the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., released the following declaration on the news regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden.

 "Osama Bin Laden, as is known, claimed responsibility for grave acts that spread division and hate among the peoples, manipulating religion to that end. A Christian never takes pleasure from the fact of a man's death, but sees it as an opportunity to reflect on each person's responsibility, before God and humanity, and to hope and commit oneself to seeing that no event become another occasion to disseminate hate but rather to foster peace".

Disappointed

The Divine Mercy Novena started on Friday. I was hopeful, and led to believe, that our parish would encourage and propagate the Divine Mercy devotion. A lovely lady from the parish compiled and presented a proposal, which I understood to be a formality. I asked the Director of Liturgy if RE should obtain copies of the novena and chaplet or if they would be distributed to the Parish before Easter. I was told to hold off purchasing the booklets for RE. The DRE agreed to say the Chaplet with all the RE children when we gather, I brought her the copy of the Chaplet that we use during Children's Adoration. Sadly, we didn't say the Chaplet tonight with all the kids. We say it almost every week in my Third Grade class, the kids did a great job praying for the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children tonight. Last night, after Mass, our Pastor talked with Number One Son about his Divine Mercy All Saints Costume. He also mentioned that the devotion was spreading. I asked if there was going to be something special on Divine Mercy Sunday and he said it would be mentioned in the Homily. I hope and pray that promoting a devotion to the Divine Mercy was not delayed a year because our Deacon will be ordained to the Priesthood on Divine Mercy Sunday and our pastor, associate pastor and a bus load of people from our parish will be at Notre Dame. Blessed John Paul II declared on April 30, 2000, "The Second Sunday of Easter from now on throughout the Church will be called Divine Mercy Sunday." Eleven years later and this beautiful devotion doesn't warrant more than a one line mention in the Homily? It is very sad and disappointing that promoting Divine Mercy has not been mandatory or, at the very least, strongly encouraged.

Our Allergy Free Waffles

3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 c tapioca starch
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
2/3 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil

In a stand up mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites (you will add the yolks later) with the sugar until they form soft peaks.
Change to the mixing paddle, add all other ingredients on low until well combined.
This makes 6 waffles in our waffle maker. Spray with spray oil and cook until golden. Serve plain, with cooked fruit, with butter or with your favorite syrup. We usually use agave nectar, but I found some cane sugar golden syrup that was equally yummy and much cheaper!

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

84,000 Novenas for the Pope’s 84th Birthday!

Will you join me in giving the Pope a huge gift for his birthday? Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating his birthday on April 16th and I'm joining up with praymorenovenas.com to get 84,000 people to pray a novena for the Pope's 84th birthday.

On April 8th, we will begin praying for nine days leading up to and ending on the Papa Benedict's birthday. The Pope prays for us everyday so it's time to return the gift to him on the anniversary of his birth.

84,000 Novenas is a lot! So, I'm going to need your help. I want everyone who reads this blog to do the following to help with this birthday gift!

+ Sign up here: http://bit.ly/h0052O
+ Join the facebook event and invite your friends here: http://on.fb.me/eE2Xs7
+ If you have a website, post about it there!
+ Email your friends and family and get them praying too!

I'm sure the Pope will love that we are all praying for him! Please help us reach our goal of 84,000 novenas for the Pope!

Remember to sign up to pray your novena for the pope here: http://bit.ly/h0052O

A reminder for myself..

Chrysostom also warns against hypocritical fasting: gIt is possible
for one who fasts not to be rewarded for his fasting. How? When indeed
we abstain from foods, but do not abstain from iniquities; when we do
not eat meat, but gnaw to pieces the homes of the poor; when we do not
become drunkards with wine, but we become drunkards with evil
pleasures; when we abstain all the day, but all the night we spend in
unchastened shows. Then what is the benefit of abstention from foods,
when on the one hand you deprive your body of a selected food, but on
the other offer yourself unlawful food?h

Home Loan Modification

Last year, right before Hubby was hospitalized, I applied for a Home
Loan modification. The mortgage industry was overwhelmed with
applications and after months of waiting, our application expired. We
filled out another application last Fall and Friday, I got a call from
the Office of Home Owner Preservation. After worrying all weekend, I
had the thought that if we had been denied, they would have sent a
letter. I'm praying that a phone call is good news. I will find out
today after work. St. Joseph pray for us.

I see him!

Number Two son brought me my Diary of St. Faustina with it open to the
back where there are photographs. He points to Bl. John Paul II and
says, " I see him, I see him." "Where do you see him?" I say. "In my
imagination, in my dreams."
"What does he say to you?" "Go to church eighteen minutes." Hmm, I
guess I have to wait a little longer to hear what else John Paul II
has to say to our almost four year old.

Crazy

Ozzzy's Crazy Train has been going through my head the past few days.
Number Two Son drank half of Hubby's energy drink and last night right
before bed, he drank some Diet Dr. Pepper. The caffine is only part of
the problem, he is also allergic to several ingredients, so we have to
deal with monster-like behavior for days. I count the days, usually
three, but then he gets into something else! The past few weeks have
been rough!

RIP Sweet Kitty

Spirit 6/6/99-1/26/11

Spirit

Our eleven-and-a-half year old kitty, Spirit, is dying. He almost died
8 years ago, but we spent lots of money on the ER Vet, Vet and
homeopathic Vet. He has lost and gained weight when he gets either
sick or stressed, but this time he doesn't seem to be recovering. When
I met Hubby, Spirit was four months old. They fell in love with each
other and I lost my cat. Twelve years ago, I lost my dear sweet, Max.
When he got sick and required IV fluids, force feeding 4-6 times/day,
I resolved that I was not going to go through that again. I kept him
alive for me because I wasn't ready to let him go. I spent the next 18
months in twice weekly psychotherapy. It changed my life. I wouldn't
be the person I am today if I had not been through the caretaking,
trauma, grief and eventual healing. I am sad about what is going to
happen, Hubby is too. This really sucks!

Yuckuary

What is it about this time of year? I am a Texas gal and I love my
sunshine and recently we have had plenty. I really don't think it is
seasonal affective disorder. Christmas is getting easier, I'm working
more so we are not completely broke, the kids are as healthy as they
can be mid-winter. Number One Daughter has fluid in her ears or
negative pressure and she has been so well behaved. I guess that she
is not being overstimulated by the sounds of our world. Hubby is
beyond stressed at work. Our little friend is stiil in the hospital
waiting for seizures so he can have another brain surgery. There have
been so many deaths and illnesses recently. This time of year is one
more opportunity to focus on the gift of suffering and being born to
eternal life.