I'm not ready...

to lose my friend.  How does one prepare for the loss of a dear friend?  A friend that you've had for 35 years?  I get sick anytime I think about it.  I want to cry and scream.  I know the Lord will give him complete healing, but I'm selfish.  I'm not ready for him to go yet.  We were supposed to have a friendship that passed at least the 50 year mark, or more even.  I offered up today's Mass for him, and have been saying the Rosary for him.  He has never wavered in his faith, and is looking forward to seeing his mom again.  He's not giving up the fight, but it hit him just the other day that he might not win this fight.  I pray he does.  I pray the Lord gives him the strength to keep fighting, and that He blesses us with healing my friend, or at least letting his body live with the tumors, etc., for many, many more years to come.  My friend has such a big heart, for everyone.  He is always there for someone in need.  He truly lives out his faith.  Please Lord, if it be Your Will, let us have my friend for many more years here on earth; but if it is not Your Will, then please grant him peace and comfort as he makes his way to You, Lord.  Amen.

Thanks, everyone, for letting me "bare my soul" to all of you.  May the Lord bless all of you.

~Kathy

Life has been busy!

Life continues to be super busy!  What happened to those long, lazy summers?  It seems once children go beyond age 11 or so, summers become super-busy, instead of just trying to keep up with their adventures outside.  I sometimes miss those days, of finding them caught-up in some new adventure outdoors, or seeing what the latest bug, or animal, they have found.  But, with new ages come new adventures, just different.  I am taking great joy in seeing my children blossom into a beautiful young woman and a handsome young man, and how involved they are becoming in ministries at our church.  It sometimes can be a hardship with us, to be constantly making the long round-trip to church and back, but we willingly do it, because it is well worth any personal sacrifice on our part.  They thoroughly enjoy helping out, and they have been blessed by all that they do, and I know many have received blessings by some of the things they have done.  This was my son's first year being really involved, and he absolutely loves it.  They did some serious work at an area ministry, taking in food and clothing, and organizing it all.  It was hot, hard work, but he was glowing when telling me all about it.  

The drought is continuing, despite some sporadic rain.  We are hoping to get some rain from Tropical Storm Don, but most predictors say we won't really get any.  It's sad when people start burning things, despite the burn bans in place all over this area, but they think since a little rain has fallen they are free to do so.  It has resulted in loss of property, etc. and further depletion of fire-fighting resources, that are way to preciously scarce to begin with.  We all need to think of our neighbors, and not just ourselves, in times like these.  

Well, I must dash off.  Lots to do still today.  I'm still trying to make sure I come by here, and I must get better about doing so.  

Thanks for stopping by, and may the Lord bless and keep all of you, as you go about your day. 

~Kathy

I've neglected my blog, yet again...

There just never seem to be enough hours in the day, or I think about coming over here to post something, and then I get sidetracked.  I am super-busy again today, but I noticed I had received a comment on one of my entries (alas, it was spam), so I came on over here.  I am trying so hard to put together a schedule, where I can carve out a teeny bit of time to come over here and update on a regular basis, and post some pics.  

I know so many loved ones and friends, and even some passing acquaintances, who all have pressing prayer needs.  Please know I am praying for you all.  I have people just pop into my mind throughout the day, as we go about our school, chores, etc., and I always stop and say a prayer when that happens.  I kind of think the Holy Spirit is laying it on my heart, at the precise time the prayer is needed the most, in those situations.  

Well, I must dash off for now. 

~Kathy

The Simple Woman's Daybook - March 3, 2011

The Simple Woman's Daybook - March 3, 2011

Outside my window... simply gorgeous, sunny day! 

I am thinking... about preparing for Lent.  

I am thankful for...the extra time we are getting to spend with my hubby, during this period of unemployment.

From the learning rooms... keeping on track, through the winter doldrums.  These wonderful Spring-like days certainly do help spur us on though!

From the kitchen... will be preparing swedish meatballs, with a delectable cream gravy, atop a bed of egg noodles for dinner this evening.  We'll also have a side of swiss chard and some lovely, crusty french bread.

I am wearing... denim stretch shorts, purple short-sleeved knit shirt, and barefoot.

I am reading... Stories for Homeschool Heart by Patti Maguire Armstrong and Theresa A. Thomas, and Bootcamp For Lousy Housekeepers by Heidi Schaap

I am hoping... get more reading done.  There always seems to be a million other things to be done, and I have books just sitting around waiting to be read.

I am hearing... the birds singing their Spring-time song outside my window (which is open,with the curtains blowing gently on the breeze), the cows, donkeys, dogs, squirrels, all making their sounds, and every once in a while I hear the sounds of a child laughing (we don't have many children in the neighborhood).

Around the house... trying to get a few projects done around the house, since my hubby is home.  It's difficult though, since most involve things needing to be bought, and we are trying to conserve cash at this time.  But, we make progress on what we can. 

One of my favorite things... being able to have all my windows open, with my curtains softly blowing, listening to all the sounds around us.  

A few plans for the rest of the week...continuing with school, chores, then getting everyone ready for Mass on Sunday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My beautiful daughter, shortly after her 15th birthday

24 years ago today...

at a 10:30am Nuptial Mass, I was wed to my sweet hubby.  It was such a wonderful day.  There were three priests concelebrating; the priest who was at my Baptism and First Holy Communion, the priest who concelebrated, with the Archbishop, at my Confirmation, and the priest who was the current parish priest at my church.  My great aunt, after the Mass, said it was the most Catholic wedding she had been to in years.  I took that as a great compliment, because my mother and I went through great pains to make sure it was a very joyful, but still reverent, Nuptial Mass.

We've certainly had lots of ups and downs throughout the last 24 years, not in our relationship, but in just the general circumstances of life, i.e. jobs, finances, etc.  It has all been wonderful though, with my sweet hubby by my side! :)

Here area couple of pictures of us.  The first is obviously us at our wedding, and the second is one my daughter took of us not that long ago, much older and plumper! LOL!

Absolutely beautiful day!

I am feeling so blessed today!  The weather is gorgeous.  I have the windows open, and the curtains are blowing gently on the breeze.  The birds are all chirping merrily as they go about their business.  I can hear the neighbor's animals making their sounds.  There are people doing their weekend chores outside, making all kinds of wonderful sounds.  

My children were so excited today.  They have new friends that live just down the road from us.  The woke this morning, finished their chores quickly, and happily ran out the door to go have fun.  They are sure to have great adventures today, with the temperatures so nice and the sun so brightly shining!  They've been so blessed to have these new friends.  They have not had friends in our area for quite some time.  The children are either very young, or are young adults, or they are troublemakers.  It's nice they have some very nice, polite kids to hangout with now.  

Last night was wonderful too, as I had the windows open quite late.  The cool breeze was so lovely.  The night sounds out here are so fantastic to listen to.  You can hear all the nocturnal animals starting to move around, calling out to others, etc. You can hear both the frogs near the ponds, and the tree frogs, all making their various chirping and croaking noises.  We have owls out here too, and they make such fascinating sounds.  

Here's a picture of one of our tree frogs, a bit displaced from his normal habitat.  My daughter helped get him back to a more suitable place.

 Here is a picture of the bottom part of our property, during a previous spring or early summer.

A beauty my daughter found after last winter, blooming under one of our trees. 

I've been away again...

We've all been trading the "sickies" back and forth.  My son was hit first, then my daughter, and then me.  We've been keeping my hubby well at all costs.  As you'll see in the next paragraph, we need to keep him in very good health.

I do need all your prayers.  My poor hubby was laid-off, yet again.  This time it was not only him, but apparently 1499 other employees as well, company-wide.  There still wasn't any notice to it, just as last time, but at least he wasn't singled-out this time.  That makes it sting a little bit less.  He had a really, really good lead into another job, but it mysteriously fell through, just as they told him they wanted him really bad.  Very strange, but obviously the Lord did not want him in that position.  The job search is such a horrible thing.  You put your all into it, and people just cast you aside, most of the time with absolutely no reason given as to why you weren't chosen.  Sometimes they let you know you weren't chosen, sometimes they just leave you hanging, but very rarely, if ever, do you receive and explanation as to why you weren't chosen.  I don't think that's very polite, but then again, no one asked me. 

Well, other than the sickies, and the job search, we're all doing fine.  I've said many a prayer of thanksgiving for that. I hope to try to pay attention over here more often, especially now that I am feeling somewhat more on the side of human now, with my bout of the sickies almost done.

These pics are from my daughter's 15th birthday, and my son's 11th birthday.  They were born just a month shy of 4 years apart. 

Please pray for us...

We need all of your prayers. My husband was just laid-off today (part of a huge company-wide layoff). He has been with the company for just over 2 years. He was laid-off from his last job as well (after being with them for around 7 years). This job was a 50% paycut from his previous job, so things were, and had been, really tight for us. 

Please pray he can find something very quickly. He was in retail management, but has been in other fields in management as well. He is also a veteran.  He is a fast learner, and can adapt to just about any job. 

Thanks so much.  For those of you who know where we live, if you know of any leads, please let me know.  We cannot relocate, for various reasons, but he can commute up to 70 miles each way, if need be.  My e-mail is on here, or you can leave it in a comment (I moderate all comments before I publish them).  I'm also on FB, for those who are on my list there, so you can send me a message there as well.  Thanks again. 

The Simple Woman's Daybook - January 4, 2011

The Simple Woman's Daybook - January 4, 2011

Outside my window... cool and rainy.  We started out with sunshine, then it became overcast, but still had sun peeking through.  We have now been having thunder, lightning and rain, though the rain has pretty much slowed to a light drizzle now.

I am thinking...about how much we can get done around the house.  There are so many projects needing to be done, but so little time to do them, once school is done for the day.  Hubby works so many hours, it's hard (and we feel bad asking him when he's off) getting some of the harder things done around here.  My daughter and son are really good about getting in there and trying to get as many jobs as they can done, even if we think they can't do them.  It's a real help.

I am thankful for...my family and home.

From the learning rooms...shad a great day "back to school".  There was a bit of fussing at the start of their day, but then they got right to it..

From the kitchen...wonderfully tender cutlets, spanish rice, butter beans, and crescent rolls, all cooked by my daughter.  She does such a wonderful job.  I know we really needed greens in there, but we just finished a big ol' pot of greens, so I let that slide tonight.

I am wearing... denim stretch capri pants, purple short-sleeved knit shirt, and barefoot.

I am reading.. just magazines at the moment: mater et magistra, Faith and Family, and St. Mary's Messenger.  I promised my daughter I'd read Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams.

I am hoping... to spend more time with my hubby and children, away from the computer, TV, Wii, etc.

I am hearing... my daughter's music and my son playing Star Wars on the Wii.  They worked really hard on their schoolwork today, so I'm giving them some time to unwind.

Around the house... LOTS of decluttering and organizing going on.  We are all just so tired of all the "stuff".  I think that has been the biggest blessing of my husband losing his job almost 3 years ago.  We have had very, very lean Christmases, as far as gifts go, and we've been so much better for it.  Our Christmas decorations will probably all come down on Friday, my husband's next day off.  I don't like to tackle all of that without him, if we don't have to, as he is a much better organizer of all that than I am.

One of my favorite things... having some more of Mrs. Meyer's Lavender All Purpose Cleaner in the house.  I had run out a while back, and just kept buying the cheap junk to replace it.  I really like how nice it smells, and that it isn't "too chemical".  I have the window cleaner and ironing spray (don't look for that, as they quit carrying it quite a while back).  I've found linen spray (can be used as ironing spray) by Caldrea, in a lavender scent, but it is much pricier, and their shipping is outrageous.  I have not tried to locate it here, but might do so when my bottle is getting low.

A few plans for the rest of the week...nothing exciting.  We'll just keep doing school, laundry, decluttering and organizing.  We'll be going to Mass on Sunday, of course.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Yes, our children received BBs in their stockings.  LOL!  Our son got a Red Rider 75th Anniversary BB Gun for Christmas.  Our daughter got hers when she was 9, so we thought it was about time our son got his.  The sweatshirt my daughter is wearing was a gift from her brother. :)

Happy Second Day of Christmas

Many people think Christmas is over, once the morning of December 26th dawns, but there is oh, so much more!  Please visit the link below, reading the information there, then click on each of the numbers on the tree to the right, going in order from 1-12, and it will tell you all about each of the 12 days of Christmas.  It is a wonderful resource, and even gives activities at the bottom of each page, for each day of Christmas.  I sure hope you enjoy it! :)

Twelve Days of Christmas