Me-”Gabi I know you’re hungry and thirsty, but we’re going to wait till we’re home to eat and drink, so I suggest you take a minute to offer it up to God for something or someone. You could say, ‘God, I’m hungry right now and I have to wait to eat, so I offer my hunger to You so that Arianna does well at volleyball.’ Or, ‘God, I’m really hungry right now and I don’t get to eat until we’re home, so I offer it up to You so that we have a safe and fun trip to see our friends and family, later this week.’ See, you can focus your discomfort on something else and we’ll be home soon and then we’ll eat.”

Gabi-”But I’m hungry NOW!”

~sigh~ I tried!

Doing the Dance of the Children and hoping they get it~

This journey takes them through Spain and into France. I have to admit that, even though I’d heard about the trip for a whole year, I hadn’t given it much thought. Sure, I took him to the post office to get his passport and I sent money for the new bike, but I hadn’t looked into the route or researched the journey. I knew that the Senior classes before JJ’s had done this trip and that it was a wonderful experience.

Yesterday I finally sat down at the computer and typed “Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela” into my Google search box. I was fascinated with what I read and saw! An excerpt from the book,
Pilgrimage to the End of the World states-”A satellite image of the pilgrimage routes provides a little reality check to the bland abstractions of a traditional map. But even this isn’t enough to convey the toughness of the trail. The daunting mountain ranges of the Pyrenees and the Cantabrians speak clearly enough of the great challenges the pilgrim must overcome.” I’m in awe of these boys, on bikes and with little in their pockets, taking on this trek!

There’s been no word from the boys, so I’m going with the phrase, “No news is good news” and trusting that all is going well. I can’t wait for JJ’s return home so that we can hear all about this adventure, both spiritually and physically. I’m just more proud and pleased than I can convey that the boys are having this experience!

I truly hope that each of my children gets to embark on experiences like this one!

Doing the Dance of the Children and hoping to foster their dreams and nurture their souls~

So, tonight when it was his turn to pray, this is what he asked of God;

“Dear God, please keep the ladybugs safe. Please help people to go to the park and please don’t let my friends die”.

I have a feeling that,with a smile on His face, God has made all of the ladybugs safe…at least for tonight.

Have a good night~

Tristan told me he was going to “try” to spend less time on the computer (I asked him what that meant, but his answer leads me to believe we have some talking to do).

Max, on the other hand, knew EXACTLY what he planned on doing…

Me-”Max, what are you giving up or doing for Lent?”
Max-”I’m going to practice almsgiving”
Me-*trying not to laugh too hard* “almsgiving? But you don’t make any money”.
Max-”I find a quarter…sometimes a dime…”

I had to walk away so that he didn’t see me laughing. This kid! Priceless!

Have a good night~

I had the privilege of becoming a Godmother (for the 4th time) yesterday.  Sweet, little Lauren Marie was baptized at the parish that’s attached to my children’s school.  We hadn’t been to a Roman Rite baptism in quiet some time.  Everything was beautiful and I’m happy I got to be a part of it.  Afterward we headed to the family’s house for a luncheon.  My little ones are friends with the other children in the family and my older girls have babysat for them, so it was a nice, quiet, comfortable afternoon of visiting.  

I love this pic of the little ones gathered around the sleeping baby.  So sweet!

Even so, it tested my ability to be up all day.  We got home around 3 and I headed to bed.  I was able to stay there for a couple of hours and then get up to take care of serving dinner.  I’m wondering when the afternoon napping will come to an end.

This morning I’m back to my regular alarm schedule of 4:15 am and can’t help but wonder how soon I’m gonna want Gabi and Lex to lay down with me.  I suppose the day will tell!

Have a great day~

For the last few months I’ve been talking to doctors and having ultrasounds and appointments because of endometriosis.  It’s something I’ve dealt with since JJ was born,but our children have been close enough together that the symptoms had been curbed.  I’ve been on hormone therapy twice, when we had bigger spaces and the symptoms would come back.  When I stopped nursing Luke-Xavier, back in August, I noticed that my pain came back.  Over the last 5 months everything has picked up rather quickly.  After speaking with my doctor and having my options laid out before me, I’ve made the decision to have a hysterectomy.  I made this decision based on knowing that Clay is going to be gone for a year, that my symptoms have rapidly gotten worse and knowing that I need to be whole and healthy for myself and my children while I am the primary caregiver.  BUT, I thought I would have my appointment yesterday and then have a month or so to prepare myself, emotionally and mentally.  Nope!  I am having surgery next Tues.  That’s right!  So much for any preparing or planning!  After 20 hours of emotional highs and lows, I am getting my head around it all and can see that sooner is better.  With Clay leaving in May, we need to be able to have me recover and feel strong and healthy before we are dealing with all the emotions and paperwork of his leaving.  

When I say I’m Doing the Dance, I mean it!  There is always some sort of Dance to be done over here!  

Since finding out about all of this and getting the word out, I have to say that I am amazingly blessed with the people in my life!   I have women from my spouse’s club, women from the neighborhood, women from bible study, women from school and even moms of my older kid’s friends, offering to help.  Wow!  I know that everything will go as planned and that I will be fine and that my family will be fine.  I will take you along the journey with me and let you know how this all plays out.  It’s a new phase of my life!  

If any of you have had this experience I’d love to hear about it!  Please share!

Have a beautiful  and blessed day~

Last night I took Arianna shopping for some school clothes. While she headed into Old Navy to try things on, I decided to take a few minutes and go into Marshalls to look for some shoes for myself. I wasn’t carrying my purse, just my wallet, keys and phone. I decided it would be a good idea to hook my keys onto the the basket so they wouldn’t fall through and get lost. I made a mental note not to forget them. I need to remember that my mental notepad is out of paper and needs to be replaced! So off I go trying on and ultimately finding a pair of shoes to purchase. Then off to meet up with Arianna to see what she’s found. We spent a bit of time debating a pair of pants she wanted. We didn’t bring them home. Once we were checked out at Old Navy, I remembered that Mariah needed a book for school and hey, there’s a Borders right next to Old Navy. So into Borders we go to find the book. After buying the book and some coffee, I was beat and ready to head home. We headed for the van. WAIT A MINUTE! Where are my keys? In the bottom of the bag? My pocket? Where the heck could those keys be? AHHHHHH! “Jen, remember (remnants of the mental notepad trying to speak), you hooked them onto the basket in Marshalls so that they wouldn’t get lost”. No!

We started walking briskly back to the store in the hope that the basket would still be sitting in the same place I’d left it. Yeah right! No basket! I went to the counter and asked if any keys had been turned in. “No”. I explained what had happened and an announcement was made asking everyone to look at their baskets for keys hanging from it. I made a mental note to start listening to announcements because, hey, they just might be important! No one else made that note!

So begins my time in Marshalls, looking like a stalker. I sent Arianna outside to check the baskets that were lined up. Then I started walking the isles looking at each basket. Sometimes I had to say things like, “Excuse me, could you pick up those clothes? I just need to look at the back of the basket”. Ever try to explain something in 2 seconds? Not so good! I had people make many a comment to me. But after checking as many baskets as I could, I felt dejected and headed back to the front to see if they’d been turned in. Nope! It was time to make a phone call. The most frustrating part was that the other set of keys were sitting inside the van in my purse. If I would have just carried my purse in, I would have had 2 sets of keys and not had to worry about them falling through the basket to the floor. Another mental note, “carry your purse!”. I decided to check the baskets of the people in line. I uttered a little prayer to St. Anthony (patron of lost things and a good friend of mine) and headed to the line. “Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, YOU HAVE MY KEYS!”. Poor man! I am positive that either he didn’t speak english or he was dumb-struck. Every head turned to look at the crazy lady shouting a joyous shout at this poor man. “No, really! You have my keys. See, they’re right there”. He unhooked them and handed them to me. I held them high, gave them a jingle and marched victoriously out of the store. Whoo Hoo! I’m a lucky girl!

Thanks St. Anthony! I owe you!

DON’T HOOK YOUR KEYS ONTO A BASKET AND THEN WALK AWAY. Unless, of course, you want to play a game of hide and seek!

Have a great day~

I had not heard of Bella and am really happy that the family I’m staying with shared it with me. Check out the website! The movie is out on DVD, now. With so many crazy movies and messages available to our kids, that often conflict with the family values we are trying to convey to them, I think this movie deserves to be seen and shared.

Have a great day~

A Butterfinger wrapper? Really?! Yep! Today’s little post is about the funniness of kiddos.

When I went up North for my grandmother’s funeral, Mariah and I each chose an item or two from Grandma’s belongings to bring home. I took home a blanket that has been with my grandma for as long as I can remember. Mariah found this lovely necklace-

She also found this little Butterfinger and thought it was funny to bring it home with her. Who knows how long it had been laying around in Grandma’s room? I had told her to throw it away, but she put it in her purse and brought it and the lovely necklace home.

Yesterday I came out of my room, as Luke-Xavier was shutting Mariah’s door. When he saw me he did a little, hoppy step and started running, which let me know he was doing something wrong. I called him to me and asked what he was doing. He said, “chocolate”. So, I called Mariah and told her that he must have been into her Easter candy and to go check. The funny part was that he didn’t have any chocolate on him (odd for a 2 year old that’s been into chocolate). As I came into the dining room and asked him to show Mariah where the chocolate was, he pointed at Tristan. Tristan was sitting at the table with the empty Butterfinger wrapper on the table. EWWWW! Mariah and I burst into giggles! We didn’t tell Tristan. I just hope he doesn’t get sick!
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AN UPDATE-

Well, a big thank you to everyone who said a little prayer about the Girl Scout Cookie “Dough”. It’s been found! Hooray! It was in the hall of my church. I must have forgotten to pick it up last week, in the flurry of events. Hooray! Hooray!

Have a great day~

There have been so many things on my mind these last weeks. I’m getting my kids ready to face their dad being gone for at least 7 months. I’ve been trying to make sure that Kateri and JJ can get where they need to be for Easter. I set up a party for Clay’s farewell. Luke-Xavier has had some dental issues. I’ve been stressed about taxes and paying off the rest of JJ’s tuition. Anyway just lots of stuff all at one time. But piece by piece it’s all coming together. I’m amazed at how everything will work it self out if you just step back, take a big breath, utter some prayers and let God take over. Some beautiful people have been put in the path of my family and when we all work together things get done.

Kateri has been lent a car by a wonderful family in Ohio, so that she and JJ can drive to VA for Easter to be with friends. She’ll be able to pick him up at the airport and then they can take a little road trip. ~Whew~ Big weight off of my shoulders! I was trying to get them on a train for the trip but it was a long trip that actually would have sent JJ hours back in the direction he had just flown from.

Luke-Xavier has some teeth that need to be worked on and when the kids are little the dentist likes to have them asleep for the procedure. The cost for the anesthesiologist is substantial. We’ve had to do this with Max and Gabi. These last 3 kids have really had a lot of dental issues. I need to find out if it’s our water or toothpaste or what because none of the older kids ever had issues. But, Luke-Xavier does and it became one more thing in a pile of expenses that I was finding hard to face. Yesterday he went in for a cleaning and he did so beautifully by cooperating with the hygienist that I asked if she would recommend to the Dr. that Luke-Xavier be worked on without the anesthesiologist. They tested his listening skills by doing x-rays. I was amazed at how well he followed their directions! So, long story short- he’s willing to try to work on 2 teeth without putting him to sleep. Let’s hope and pray it goes well!

One more check off the list is JJ’s tuition. Now, this story is going to sound funny, but it’s a good example of how there’s a reason for everything and how we are given exactly what we need, when we need it. Go ahead and think I’m crazy, but here’s the story; A little over a year ago, Clay was biking to work. He had started riding a few days a week and was really enjoying it. Well, one morning he left for work on his bike and about 15 minutes later my phone rang. There was a frantic woman on the other end and she said, “I’m at the rec center. I have your husband and I need help”. I immediately figured I was going to get down there and find a pile of mush. But I threw on my robe, jumped in the car and went. Now, the rec center is on the street in front of ours, so it’s a quick trip that you wouldn’t normally use a car for, but again, I was thinking I was going to the hospital (didn’t think of ambulances). When I got there, he was on the ground off to the side of the sidewalk and he was bloody, but I could see that he was talking and his head and face were not injured. I thought, “ok, I can do this”. He was telling people what he needed and who to call at work etc. The poor woman who hit him was more of a wreck than he was. He could see that she was going to hit him so he was at least able to prepare for it. She never saw him! Imagine her shock when her windshield was smashed and a body was flying over her car! Anyway, he went to the hospital by ambulance and spent some time getting glass out of his arm, but was back home hours later and back at work in 2 days. However, the settlement process has been long and drawn out. We were beginning to wonder if it would ever be done. Well, apparently there was a plan, bigger than us for all of this! Clay received his settlement this week and it’s just the amount we needed to finish paying for JJ’s schooling! So, even something as scary and stressful as an accident can have it’s purpose in the big picture! (still thinking I’m nuts? That’s ok! Thinking this way has gotten me through a lot of tough times).

Well, that’s my long-winded Thursday morning post. I just wanted to share that even when things are stressful and appear bleak (or even impossible), a force larger than us can work it out!

Have a great day~

Whew! Over the last week I’ve kept busy with several social functions involving different groups that I’m involved in. I try to stay connected in all areas of my life; Clay’s squadron, kids’ school, church, neighborhood, etc. I love to meet with everyone and keep current with each group. But I am wiped-out! Today I wished and wished that the alarm wouldn’t go off. Yeah, wishing doesn’t do much! So, off to the shower I ran!

One of the things that’s stood out for me over this week is that I’ve unconsciously surrounded myself with REALLY great and positive people. There were a couple of rough spots this week that made me stumble backward a little. But when I stepped back up and looked around to try to figure out the best way to move forward, the people around me were so positive and full of great ideas that I knew it was all going to work out. I am continually reminded, in life, that I am not meant to stand alone and try to figure things out by myself. That I am meant to rely on community and that the people within that community are there to remind me to look outside of myself and remember that God has put an amazing plan together for me so that I don’t ever have to despair. Thanks to everyone who gave me great ideas and positive words this week. It seems that it was a week heavy with issues, but one-by-one they’ve fallen into place.

Many thanks!

Good night~

For a few days now, I’ve been trying to make a solid decision on whether or not to have JJ come home for Easter. Here’s a list of what’s going through my head;

ON THE ONE SIDE:
Clay leaves for his deployment the day BEFORE JJ can come home. So they will miss each other.
It’s VERY pricey to get him here. Actually, the getting out here isn’t so bad. It’s the getting him back to school that’s the killer.
He will be home for the summer 2 months later.
He can stay with Kateri for Easter.
Kateri is staying at school for Easter.
He says it would be ok with him if he went to stay with Kateri.

ON THE FLIP SIDE:
He won’t be home again for 2 months.
It’s Easter! We should be together.
I miss him.
He’s my son. I should do whatever it takes to bring him home.
He says that his first choice would be to come home.

Clay and I still need to talk about it and I still need to search the internet (again and again) for a better ticket. My “Momminess” is having a tough time with this one. It’s hard to put one person in the family before everyone else. BUT we’re a family and families take sacrifice. But, on a logical level, the $ that it would take to get him out here could be put towards the different camps and trips we’d like to be able to give to all of the children during the summer, while Clay is gone. It’s just a BIG decision for me. Because he’s not yet college age, I feel a deeper draw to get him home EVERY time he’s off. However, he’s become very understanding and knows that we are all working hard to make the education that he’s getting, possible for him.

A few, well said, prayers might make the issue a little clearer.

What do you think?

Good night~

Thank you for listening and for visiting MommyofMany.com. I look forward to your comments and questions. You can email me at; Jen@MommyofMany.com.

Good night~

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a 3rd grader from my children’s school. It was a little boy who had previously been in class with Tristan. It was incredibly sad to see the family come in behind the little coffin. The kids go to a Catholic school and the funeral and Mass were held at the parish church affiliated with the school. Many of the students and teachers attended. As I sat there saddened by the loss of a little boy, my mind started to wander. I started to think about what, exactly, I was sad about.

I realized that the saddest part for me was knowing that if I were to lose one of my children, that I’d have missed out on enjoying some of the things that are often “annoying”. I’d miss the clean and folded clothes that have been stuffed into the laundry basket so that they didn’t have to be put away. I’d miss a little voice begging me to sit down and read a story, even though I’m trying to make dinner, fold clothes, wash dishes, write a blog post or take a shower. I’d miss “on-demand” nursing. I’d miss the warmth of a little body climbing into my bed and squishing in-between my husband and I. I’d miss special requests at dinner or snack time. I’d miss the long, drawn-out explanations of ideas from curious and growing little minds. I’d be heart-broken to realize that I hadn’t enjoyed being a mother and instead focused on the annoyances of doing this job 24/7 for years on end. And right there and then I made a decision to ENJOY my children. To love them for the time I have them, dirty hands, food on the floor, whining and all. I’m making a vow to love them the way I want to, despite people who think they should be more disciplined, quieter, cleaner. Despite people who think my family is too large or too poor. I’m just going to love them and enjoy them and hope that I get to keep them for a long, long time.

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday! I learned that I need to appreciate what’s been put before me.

So, now, instead of worrying about the paperwork that’s piling up or the laundry that’s never going to be done, anyway or the messy playroom, I’m going to pack up my 3 youngest kiddos and take a walk to the beach.

I hope you each find a way to appreciate your loved ones today and to vow to love them in your own way, without being hindered by other’s opinions.

Have a great day~

There are so many topics running through my head! Everything from being so grateful for wonderful people in our lives to wondering if my girls should attend a funeral at their school on Wednesday. I guess I’ll just jump in with both feet and see where I land.
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This weekend, we were fortunate enough to have 3 great guys come to the house to help Clay get some things in order before he deploys. Each of these people had to make a trip to get here. It wasn’t like they lived around the corner or work with Clay. It’s amazing to have people like that in your life! Thanks guys! I always hum the Johnny Appleseed song when I think of how lucky we’ve been with our circle of friends!
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When we got the mail today there was a new bill in it. When I opened it, it was for a credit card that I hadn’t heard of before. When I asked Clay about it, he said it was a card that he had applied for, but that when it came, we sent it through the shredder. It had over $100 in fees on it! He went to call to say that he never “activated” the card and to close the account. No live people to talk to! So, we Googled the card and came up with this! I’m writing about this, so that if any of you receive this offer that you can tear it up. I’m saying a prayer that it becomes an easy fix.
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It seems that as Clay’s deployment approaches, new projects keep being laid before us. We need to switch Dr.’s for the family because Luke-Xavier can’t be seen at the one we have been with for the last 10 years. Plus, we need to change the status for Kateri and JJ and try to find Dr.’s in their areas. The taxes have to be done (and we’re just NOT going to talk about THAT!). Oh! I’m just not even going to list any of the others, because they are just depressing!
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Last week, a little boy from the kids’ school passed away. It was unexpected and tragic! The funeral is on Wednesday and the girls want to go. I can’t attend because I would be bringing Gabi and Luke-Xavier with me and I just don’t feel like it’s the right place to bring little ones. So, another mom has offered to check the girls out so that they can go. But, then I wonder if they should go to something like that without me. What to do?!
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Well, this all seems a little dreary. Sorry! There will likely be a few more like this as the time for deployment and the crunch to get things done approaches. If you’ve never sent your spouse off to war, it’s probably a bit difficult to understand the vast array of emotions that go into it. If you HAVE been through this, then you are probably remembering specific crazinesses of when it was happening to you. Ugh! But, we make it through. One step at a time and it all gets done. Ultimately the kids get taken care of, the bills get paid, the needed items get purchased and off they go. Then the time during the deployment creeps along until it’s literally flying to the date for homecoming. Whew! One step at a time.

Good night~