Saint Peregrine, patron of cancer patients

Saint Peregrine, whom Holy Mother Church has declared patron of those suffering from running sores and cancer, I confidently turn to you for aid in my present need - mention your request.

Lest I lose confidence, I beg your kind intercession. Plead with Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, whom you loved so tenderly and in union with whom you have suffered the pains of cancer, that she may help me with her all-powerful prayers and consolation.

Obtain for me the strength to accept my trials from the loving hand of God with patience and resignation. May suffering lead me to a better life and enable me to atone for my own sins and the sins of the world.

Saint Peregrine, help me to imitate you in bearing whatever cross God may permit to come to me, uniting myself with Jesus Crucified and the Mother of Sorrows. I offer my sufferings to God with all the love of my heart for His glory and the salvation of souls, especially my own. Amen

St. Peregrine....pray for us!
Our Lady of Sorrows....pray for us!

In the midst of whining and complaining about our muddy backyard, FIOS frustrations and moldy floorboards, I have come across heartwrenching requests for prayers for women suffering through breast cancer. In my weakness, I want to offer up these little splinters for the faithful women who are suffering far more than I am today. Please help me pray for them: Elizabeth De Hority , Rachel Higginbotham,
and others. I'd be happy to add to the list if you will leave names in the comments.

"Held" sung by Natalie Grant

Karlyn has the song HELD sung by Natalie Grant on her ipod and I listened to it on the drive to Georgia last week.

At first the words were baffling and I listened three or four times before the message of hope struck me. I was intrigued by her use of the phrase "when the sacred is torn from your life" so I did a little research on lyrics by Christa Wells .
In light of Amy Wellborn's recent loss and my own secret fear of losing a child, this song grips me in a way that no other contemporary

Christian song can. It reminds me of the lyrics of the Old Rugged Cross that my grandmother used to sing; an unearthly mixture of suffering and joy that I hope to accomplish in my own life.The "sacred", Christa Wells explains, means

the idea of us "giving" everything over to God, except for some unspoken
"sacred" parts of our life. We mean to say: "Of course, you won't ask this
of me."

The Old Hay Barn in Georgia

I said I wouldn't post unless it was earth-shattering. Well, in my book, this is: the dear old hay barn has been dismantled.

Home to many childhood memories......

My cousins and I used to haul the Christmas tree up there, real tinsel dragging behind, for a coke and cookies party after New Year's Eve.

Lots of hide and seek with siblings and cousins.

watching cattle being rounded up for sale from the open door,

cutting, raking, flailing, stacking square bales in the hot Georgia sun...

the time my brother bumped me lightly on the rear with a hay bale and I fell out on to the tailgate of my uncle's truck....

Carrying cold cokes from the outdoor fridge to the 'men' working in the field - I had to walk throught the barn lot to get there

More recently, Karlyn hitting the side of the barn with the four wheeler...yes, she CAN hit the broad side of a barn... :)

Well, it's not gone yet! And my kids are still making memories in the old hay barn.....a bit more dangerous than when it had all its floor boards!

Taking a Break

Taking a break from BucketoGlee, probably until we are finished with our formal homeschool year. While I enjoy the creative outlet and keeping up with other blogs, I can see that other parts of my home organization are sagging. I plan to log in to keep up with other blogs and political topics, but I won't post anything unless it really is earth-shattering!
TTFN,
Momma Dunne

Red Envelope Day is March 31st

Please join us in sending your Red Envelope to President Obama as a nation-wide visual aid. Our right-wing Prolife voices have not yet been heard, so perhaps an influx of red enelopes will get some attention in the White House.

The goal is to send 50,000,000 red envelopes (empty inside, but a message on the back) and send them to President Barack Obama on March 31st.

50,000,000 is the number of babies that abortion has claimed since Roe vs Wade.

On the front, address it to:

President Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave.Washington , D.C. 20500On the back, write the following message on the outside of the envelope:

"This envelope represents one child who died through abortion in my lifetime.It
is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the
world.Responsibility begins with conception."

You can purchase 500 legal-sized red envelopes from http://www.actionenvelope.com/ for $50.00. There was a discount for purchasing larger quantities of envelopes at one time. I am still looking for smaller quantities locally.

I hope we reap what we sow!

In an effort to save a few bucks, we are sowing lots of seeds this year in peat pellet flats. Our neighbor Jill has loaned us some space in her sunny window away from toddler hands! If all goes well, we should have a sweet crop of cherry tomatoes, zinnias, allyssum, basil,cilantro, blue lake beans,poppies, and cosmos. Later, when the ground is warm, we'll try nasturtium and a few others......

Thanks for the boost, Barbara Curtis!

Barbara Curtis of http://www.mommyteachme.net/ presented Montessori methods for preschoolers on Tuesday . Eamon is currently the only preschooler in our house and he is almost seven years behind Liam. Having forgotten all the hands-on activities I did with the older kids, I had resorted to plugging Eamon in to Backyardigans and Blues Clues while we worked on school subjects at the dining room table. I kept wondering why he had turned into a whining, book-eating, house-wrecking monster. In my efforts to keep up with the older kids, I was trying to keep the toddler busy rather than engaged.

Barbara's book Mommy ,Teach Me! was just the refresher course I needed!

You can almost see the steam coming out of Eamon's ears as he works on these exercises! I was put off at first by the structure that Montessori imposes - left to right and a distinct start and finish to each exercise. But the concentration and focus that he learns while pinning beads to a pincushion will hopefully transfer to other things. Being the eclectic type, I skimmed through the book and found what I needed for the moment. As I learn more about Montessori and we try new things I will post successes!

Small Successes #8 - Where did the Week Go?

1. I called Ron the Painter and he actually came to finish skimming and painting the ceiling...for nine months we have lived with holes in the ceiling where the old flourescent lights were taken out and the new pretty lights were put in! A few new lights really updated the kitchen - lot cheaper than a whole kitchen renovation!

2. I scheduled a "mommy morning" for myself and attended a presentation by Barbara Curtis on Montessori methods of teaching. I have even implemented two of her ideas for preschoolers! More here tomorrow when I post pictures!

3. I turned, edged, and planted veggies! Tomatoes, onions, beans, and lettuce! Yay spring! I am glad I took pictures last year so I can remember what will come up where in the flower gardens.

Small Successes

1. I successfully changed my blog background to purple for Lent! Thanks Jill.

2. I have continued to pray the Rosary and the prayer of Saint Ephrem daily......much to the consternation of Little E (2 and 1/2) who insists that any prayer around the table be the Angelus! Little sponge.

3. I got up with my dh at 6:15 before Little E was awake and as soon as this is posted my morning quiet time will be up! All before 8 am! YAY me!

Grassroots Support for Ken Cucinelli

Republican Attorney General Candidates Debate

March 10, 2009

7:00 p.m.

at Stone Bridge High School

Please come out and support Ken Cucinelli, Republican for Attorney General.

In addition to being a Catholic, homeschooling father of six,and hope for the future of Conservative Virginians, Ken is 100% Pro-life, Tough on Crime, Anti-tax, Defender of 2nd Amendment Rights, Guardian of Property Rights and Supporter of School Choice.

We can all sit around with our chins on the floor, aghast at the rapid change taking place, or we can actively pursue some changes of our own toward more conservative family values.

David Broder writes about Ronald Brownstein's term the blue wall. In order to take a few bricks from the wall we'll have to get out and vote for local and state representatives in 2009 and 2010 in record numbers.

"It will obviously take much more
than that to put the GOP into a position to challenge the blue
wall – and the hard fights all lie ahead, in the primaries for
candidates in 2010 and 2012, and in the policy debates within the Senate and
House GOP caucuses.
Clearly, Republicans have to change if they are going to
climb that wall"

Snow day in Ashburn

Outside My Window ...lots of boys all shapes and sizes are out with snow shovels and sleds.

I am listening to...the sensible girls in the warm toasty kitchen making comfort food with neighbor hood friends.

To Live the Liturgy...we have added Saint Ephrem's prayer to remind of to embrace our Lenten promises daily with purity of heart.

To Breathe Deeply...my piriformis stretches and yoga poses for back health have not happened yet........We watched Joan of Arc with the whole crew til midnight and Daddy and I slept in while the wind whipped the snow onto the porch.

Towards rhythm and beauty ...we need to work harder at getting out of that warm toasty bed in the morning to be sure that first things come first.

I am thankful for ... SNOW!



From the kitchen ... Kraft mac n cheese. Unless it's Aunt Dorothy's homemade macncheese in Georgia, it gotta be Kraft. (shrug)

Towards a real education...I am hoping to start Lenten meditations from My Path to Heaven with the middle kids today, if they ever come in from the snow.

Bringing beauty to my home ....just keeping up with the snow gear....

I am reading...In Conversation with God, Daily Meditations for Lent.

Around the house ... yes, there will be lots of running in and our and around the house today!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: hijacked by 6 inches of snow, which, in Loudoun County, VA means two or three days off of school!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

"He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry"
(Mt 4,1-2)

It's Friday ......and the kids are already digging through the fridge wondering "what will we eat for lunch?" Funny how talking about fasting and abstinence makes us hungry and craving.



I have heard people, some of them priests, remark that giving up is not so important as doing some extra good thing. If we had to make a choice between the two, I suppose more works of mercy would be the best choice. Why does it have to be either /or? Why has fasting become such a stretch in the minds of otherwise faithful Catholics? Isn't there time in this forty day journey for a little of each of the principal works of Lent?


After reading what Our Holy Father wrote, I am more inclined to keep Friday fast and abistinence with greater resolve as well as fasting from some small comfort every day.

"Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an
interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word. Through
fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we
experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God."

In our family, we have always given up sweets and desserts with the understanding that the little ones may have sweets that are offered at someone else's house. Our hope is to gently help them learn to delay gratification as well as to pause and reflect on the greater sacrifice that Christ made for us. More on the full program of Lenten offerings can be found at http://www.catholichomeandgarden.com/lent.htm. It is an excellent and comprehensive resource. * The program of fasting in the strict, forty-day sense described here is not for everyone. * But it offers some helpful guides for those who want to try a strict fast of any length.

Small Successes

1. We attended Mass on Ash Wednesday as a whole family. Daddy had toddler duty and stood in the narthex for most of Mass, but we made it together!

2. I successfully fasted the entire day without mentioning hunger or nibbling before dinner! And we prayed the Prayer of Saint Ephrem with our grace before the meal.

3. I finished our parish book club book Pierced by a Sword. It should prove to be a very interesting discussion, as it is based on a Marian apparition that I do not believe has been authenticated by the Church yet. (Garabandal) It is no literary classic, but it had a postive effect on my prayer life.

Ash Wednesday

What will you do to clean up your act during LENT?

1. Fasting and Mortification

2. Prayers

3. Almsgiving

4. Good Works

5. Education

6. Self Denial

Fat Tuesday

Liam has been counting down the days to Fat Tuesday, partly because we all love a party, but mostly because our special guests Cheryl and John will be joining us for the sixth year in a row! We make sausage, bacon, pancakes, whipped cream, donuts and we do an activity called "What I Like About You." On Fat Tuesday, we put each person's name at the top of purple or green paper and pass the papers around till everyone has a list of kind comments to read out loud. I can't remember how this got started, but we've been doing it since 2002 and some of the older ones are quite amusing and very sweet.

Some favorites from past years:

What I like about Bridget is "she lets me have sleepovers with her." (from a little sister)

What I like about Karlyn is "she gives me candy and hugs." (from the sweet tooth in the family)

What I like about Bridget is "she is vare nise." ( a friend in 2002)