Wow. I can't believe I haven't participated in this since July! This is a video that a friend shared on FB. Her son and daughter-in-law just adopted a little boy from Uganda; it was a long, drawn out process, but they finally got to bring their son home. I have another friend whose daughter & SIL (she babysat our boys when we were in SC) have made the decision to adopt a little girl from the USA; they already have 2 boys, and after a lot of soul searching, decided not to adopt internationally, but to stay close to home. Since adoption isn't cheap, she is photographing families to raise money to bring their little girl home. So, if you're in the Charlotte area and need a family photo, look her up! (Sorry for that shameless plug!)
And, of course, I have a friend, Patty, who adopted a little boy from Korea. I haven't met him in person, but that boy already has my heart!
Yesterday during the homily at Daily Mass, Father said something that really made sense. I don't remember word-for-word what he said, but it went something like this: Being a Christian doesn't mean our lives are perfect. It means having the faith we need to get through whatever adversities come our way.
That really hit home. It seems like at the height of Lent, when I felt my faith getting stronger, our family went through something that tore my heart apart. I can't imagine how much worse it would've been if I didn't have my faith to fall on during that time.
I realized that most of the songs I post on Saturday are slow. Here's a more upbeat song that will have you singin' & praisin'!
Linking up with Amy at TSMSS.
Amy Grant was my first favorite Christian Singer. Last week I had a bit of a pity party for myself, and, while in Adoration I listened to a few songs. This was one of the ones that came up on the mp3 player. It's a great reminder that no one's life is perfect; not even Amy's, but there will be one constant in your life who will never leave your side.
Do you have a song that's touching your heart today? I'm linking up with Amy for some uplifting songs today!
Amy hosts this wonderful meme every Saturday. Click on the link to join in and hear what's in everyone's heart this morning.
This song is so beautifully done...it brings me to tears when I hear it, it's so beautiful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I.
Please remember all of the tornado victims in Ms., Al., and Tn. in your prayers. Such devastation and loss of life.
This is another song that is song during Mass. It's just beautiful and is a wonderful reminder of why I love being Catholic. This is a performance by St. Vitus High School in New Castle, Pa. (I hope that's right, anyway!)
I haven't participated in this meme in a long time, but I wanted to share this song with you; we sang it last Sunday. It's so incredibly beautiful; this is one of those songs that make me cry.
This is a beautiful song by a beautiful young woman, Jaci Velasquez. It's a great reminder to be humble and that there's a greater power than earthly beings. It also reminds us to get on our knees in thanksgiving as well as in need. Hope you enjoy it!
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that they lived."
General George S. Patton
Taking time out to honor our fallen soldiers, both past and future. Get your tissue before you watch this video.
Link up with Amy at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders for inspiration! Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, but please don't forget to say an extra prayer for those serving our country in all capacities. Don't forget the families, either: Those who wait also serve.
I had no problem with the song decision this week. When I'm at work and have a "break", I can't stand for it to be quiet in my room, so I usually pop in a cd or turn on the radio. I think it comes from being from a big family where there was always noise in the house! Anyway, one day this week, I popped in a cd that I titled: "country", not really remembering what songs were on it. Turns out there were songs on it that OS & I listened to on our way to my in-laws after the tornado hit the town. It was a good trip for us, all things considered. This was one of the songs that we listened to:
Thank you so much! It came with conditions, though: Accept and thank the person who gave it to you! List 10 things about yourself List 5 additional things you DON'T like Then pick ten people to give this lovely award to!
So, here it goes: ABOUT ME: 1. I'm a mom of 3 boys young men. 2. I'm a wife to my 'chubby hubby' (his words, not mine!). 3. I'm the 8th child in a family of 10 children. 4. I'm a 'cradle Catholic'. 5. I've lived in 3 southern states. 6. Last summer was the 1st time I traveled out of the country (excluding my Bahamas fiasco). 7. I yell at ballgames...any ballgames...it doesn't matter if I know anything about the sport or not. 8. I have 2 little dogs whom I adore. 9. I love to read. 10. I love my job. DISLIKES: 1. Rude people 2. Black coffee 3. Scary movies 4. The dark 5. Cleaning house
Now for the 10 friends whose turn it is to take the award: It's really hard to decide who to give it to, especially since I don't know if the 10 I pick will be interesting in doing this. So, I'm going to take a chance and extend the invitation to the following:
I'm also extending to them this tag after also receiving it from Debby at Just Breathe: (If you don't want to participate, you won't hurt my feelings at all!)
Looks like I'm one of the lucky ones who are "it"! Here's what you do:
1) Go to your photo files, select the 8th photo folder.
2) Select the 8th photo in that folder.
3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.
4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!
Here's my picture:
This is a picture of YS at a soccer game. The band director is really into getting the kids playing at all sporting events. YS plays baritone in the band, but he was given the opportunity to play the bass drum at MS' soccer game. This was taken 04 May 2009.
I had a really tough time deciding which song to use this week: I had no less than 3 different ones rolling through my head. I finally decided on this song by John Michael Talbot. He is a Catholic musician who played in a rock band as a teenager. His band opened for such groups as The Byrds, Pink Floyd, and The Grateful Dead. He credits Janis Joplin with turning his life around. His band was opening for her, and after watching her downing her alcohol, he went out on the stage after the audience left, and saw all of the bottles and drug paraphernalia littering the site. He knew then that he wanted a different life for himself. He didn't immediately turn to Catholicism, he researched, "experimented", and prayed. He is not only a musician: He has dedicated his life to monastic living, giving his earnings from his music back to the community he established, "The Brothers and Sisters of Charity". Some of his songs are used during Mass. This song is often used for Communion; it really touches my heart.
For some reason, a question that a friend asked me a long time ago has been on my mind this week: Why do Catholics have crucifixes and not crosses? At the time, I had no answer except to say that the crucifix reminds us of Jesus' sufferings. She asked me if a cross wouldn't have the same effect as a crucifix. Today I have the answer, with the help of Catholic Answers: The crucifix represents, obviously, the crucifixion which occurred on Good Friday, which was when Jesus redeemed us. The redemption did not occur on Easter Sunday. If I'm not mistaken, the cross supposedly represents Easter, the Risen Lord. One article I read by Karl Keating suggests that the empty cross does not symbolize Easter; Easter would be symbolized by an empty tomb. Which leads to the question: What does the empty cross symbolize? Would it have to be Palm Sunday? For a biblical reference, here's one:
"We for our part preach a crucified Christ; to the Jews indeed a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor 1:23–25). Phil Thompson (who is associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church) said ,12. "But there's still one more reason to show Christ on the cross: It's Christ we worship, not the Cross. Nobody salutes a flagpole when the flag is not flying! But when they see the flag on the pole, they venerate the flag, hand over heart, hat removed, in token of their respect for the country it represents. A cross without Christ on it is an empty flagpole."
"The Catholic Church celebrates Easter for 50 days—not including each Sunday of the year, which are seen as "little" Easters. The Mass never fails to proclaim the resurrection of Christ. And the Church’s daily prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, is filled with Scripture and prayers rejoicing in the resurrection."
So, I think I was right in telling my friend that the crucifix does remind us of Jesus' sufferings, I just didn't take it far enough. I don't think one is right and one is wrong; we have crucifixes in our house and I have a crucifix necklace, but I also have a cross necklace. I just feel a lot better that I have an answer.
It's finally here...the first day of Spring! I was finally able to ride in the car with the windows rolled down! I also decided it was time to put a little "Spring" on my blog!
Yesterday I met a friend at her condo and we walked to lunch at The Tomato Head. This was my first time eating there at this location. It's downtown (or as we used to call it: "Cowtown") with tables sitting out front. I was going to take a picture, but didn't want anybody to think I was a stinkin' tourist, or a local who has never seen tables outside on the sidewalk before. Even though I could eat meat yesterday, I stuck with the plan and had a Cheese Melt, which was delicious, by the way. It's probably a good thing I didn't look to see what the dessert specials were, because you tell me if you could've passed these up: The “Guten Nacht Gorilla” Special Dessert: Whole Bananas Spiraled with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar and Wrapped in Pizza Dough – Topped with Vanilla Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Cupcake of the Day: Strawberry Tiramisu Vegan Cupcake of the Day: Red Velvet Cobbler: Blackberry/Blueberry/Raspberry with a Scoop of Vanilla Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream
I didn't think so! We took the long way to get there (my friend forgot exactly which street it was on!) and the short way back. This friend is my "football" friend: Ever since we moved back, she is who I sit with at high school football games. Her son is MS' age and she has a daughter who is a year younger. I call her daughter my "surrogate daughter". I absolutely love her, and if I had a daughter, that is what I would hope mine would be like. She (the daughter) has come to away games with my husband and I a couple of times. She's a great kid, and my friend is doing a wonderful job being a single parent. (And, no, she's not reading this!) On the way back, we saw these signs of Spring:
And this when I got home:
Okay, you gardeners out there, tell me if these are weeds:
I know they look like clover, but they're actually really little and dainty. And these:
I know that they're all weeds, but they really are pretty...too pretty to pull right now. And there are so many of them! My plan is to spray weed killer on them and save my back. I really, really thought about pulling them, but I did get in there and rake the leaves and dead weeds out, so it actually looks like a nice weed garden instead of a crazy, messy one!
Husband and YS went camping last night. They put 2 of the motorcycles on the trailer, and drove up to the mountains to camp. Husband's thought is that there are fields so he can let YS get more comfortable on the bike. He has high hopes that YS will want to ride and they can take long rides together. OS rode some and MS has no interest whatsoever. And, I think I've mentioned how I feel about it. YS wanted a picture and suggested I put it on my blog, so here it is:
Since it was just myself & MS, he decided he wanted to take advantage of being able to eat meat on a Friday during Lent, and wanted to go to Burger King. They do have the best french fries, y'all! As we're heading over to BK, he gets a phone call and is talking to a friend. Then I hear, "I'm heading to Burger King with my mom. We're on a Burger King Date!" MS is my son who has never had a problem with coming up to me in front of his friends, and grabbing me and hugging me and telling me he loves me. He is forever my Snuggle Bunny!
In other news: MS has made his college decision. Looks like he will be donning Big Orange in the fall. This is really crazy, but even though the school is only 15 minutes away, I'm really nervous about him going there. It's just so big, and that, to me, is scary. I guess it's just the unknown for me: I didn't go there because it was too close to home; I was ready to get away and be my own person. I told him that he needed to meet people from other places and not run around with people from this county or that he ran around with in high school. I don't want it to be an extension of high school; I want him to meet people from other backgrounds, and I want him to be ambitious enough to want to get away from this small town, even if it's only for a short time during his life. He needs to see what else is out there. If he lives on campus, I don't want him coming home every weekend; he needs to develop relationships with people who aren't from here. But, he wants to be there for this:
and even this:
I can't say I blame him, because if he goes to the school I went to, this is all he'll get:
Now I'm sure everybody is wondering how many pictures I can get in one post! Hope everybody has a nice Saturday! I'm going to leave you with a link up to Then Sings My Soul Saturday (TSMSS) with Amy over at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders. This is one of my favorites; another one that I've played over and over and over!
