A couple of awards.

Earlier this week Marie and Ginny awarded me an Emmanuel Award.

Thanks so much for This award Marie and Ginny.

The Emmanuel Award is:

In a consumer society it is a blessing to read blogs where the writer's main focus is God. Where they express their love for their faith so visibly and joyfully.

In a cynical world it is refreshing to see so many blogs which are generous, giving, who care about others and demonstrate what being a Christian is about, loving God and loving our neighbor.

Through their faith, lives and spirituality, they bring God to us, they in essence make God visible, 'God with us.'

This Award goes to all the faith filled blogs who make evident 'Emmanuel'- God with us, with Joy in their hearts.

Please share this Award with Christian blogs that focus on the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior.

Peace, JOY & Merry Christmas.

I want to pass this award onto the people in my blogroll. You are all there because you really do make Emmanuel - God with us evident.

Please pray for this parish.

I got this in an email this morning:

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112807.html

US Catholic Parish set to "Publicly Bless the Relationship of Same-Sex Couples" Openly challenges Church moral teachings
By Hilary White.

ST. PAUL - MINNEAPOLIS, November 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - St. Francis Cabrini church, of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese, has announced on their website that they are ready to "bless" homosexual partners.

The parish has published a "Statement of Reconciliation" repudiating the Church for its teaching on sexual purity and married chastity and misrepresenting these teachings as a form of "oppression." The statement said the parish will "Publicly bless the relationships of a same sex couple after the couple completes a process of discernment similar to that completed by heterosexual couples before marriage."

The parish statement goes on to pledge that it will publish in the homosexual press their commitment to the homosexual activist agenda and to including "a gay/####### perspective in catechesis at all levels, including elementary school age." The parish currently runs catechesis programmes for children from ages three and up.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pastor of the parish is Fr. Leo Tibesar who is a national leader in the anti-Catholic homosexual lobbying organisation, Dignity. Fr. Tibesar was recorded this week preaching a homily refuting Catholic teaching on sexuality and accusing those who uphold it, including bishops, Cardinals and "Evangelicals", of hypocrisy.

In May 2006, when LifeSiteNews.com revealed Fr. Tibesar's leadership role in the homosexual political movement within the Church, he was not the pastor of any parish. It was since the revelations of his involvement in the anti-Catholic campaign group that he was assigned to St. Francis Cabrini. He is also a longstanding figure in Archbishop Flynn's archdiocesan programmes preparing couples for marriage.

The parish says it "stands willing" to accept "openly gay or ####### priests or lay ministers" despite the widely available statistics showing the high prevalence of homosexual clergy perpetrators in the Church's ongoing sexual abuse crisis.

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, head of Human Life International, told LifeSiteNews.com that the parish's statement was "totally contrary to the Catholic faith". "I can only say what the scriptures say, this is an abomination. The blessing of homosexual partners is an abomination and the corruption of children is a scandal," he said.

"The fact that they are placing themselves in opposition to the bishops, that they specifically cite the bishops in opposition to them, means they have placed themselves outside the communion of the Catholic Church and apostolic tradition of the Church. In fact in opposition to it."

Fr. Euteneuer explained that Catholic teaching was not a matter of arbitrary or politically motivated decisions but a "clear understanding of human sexuality passed down to us through the centuries and faithfully passed on by the Church." He added that those actively living a homosexual lifestyle separate themselves "not just from the Church but from God".

The leader of the international Catholic pro-life organization stated, "We're not talking about disordered persons but disordered desires and actions. The bishops have been very clear, and the papal teachings go back forever on this issue. I think what it comes down to is that these people worship a different god than we worship."

In his 2003 book, "Anti-Catholicism in America The Last Acceptable Prejudice", US Episcopal author and historian Philip Jenkins identified these themes as the guiding conventions of the latest wave of anti-Catholic bigotry, fuelled by the sexual and "gender identity" politics common to the American left since the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Euteneuer said, "I agree with Jenkins and I think the other side of the coin is that we have people within our own ranks, wolves in sheep's clothing, who are not only not authentic Catholics but are working on an anti-Catholic agenda from within the Church."

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:Prominent Minneapolis-St. Paul Priest a Leader in National Homosexual Lobby Group http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032009.html

ON TAPE: U.S. Priest Blasts Vatican Cardinal and Archbishop over Homosexuality During Homily http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112602.html

Readers may contact the Archdiocese to express concerns:
Most Reverend Harry J. FlynnArchdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis 226 Summit Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55102 (651) 291-4400 communications@archspm.org

Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt Coadjutor Archbishop Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis226 Summit AvenueSaint Paul, MN 55102(651) 291-4400 communications@archspm.org

Please help Sophia Institute.

Go here to read about what is happening with Sophia Institute.

If you cannot help with donations please pray for their apostolate.

Back from Adelaide.

I took Tom to Adelaide yesterday and we caught up with the Endocrinologist and Diabetes Educator.

We are changing the site that the pump goes into and getting a backpack for him to put his pump on his back. This way he will not touch his tube or site so hopefully he won't have such a problem with insulin getting through and the site will last for three days.

I am going to keep in close contact via phone and email with both the Endo and DE so hopefully we will get a good picture soon of the basal rate that Tom needs.

Here is a picture of the pouch we are hoping to get for Tom to put the pump on his back.

Thanks so much to everyone that has been praying for us. We will soldier on.

Patron Saints for 2008 now up.

Thanks to Angela Messenger for doing this. Go here to get your saint.

These are our Saints for 2008.

Me: St. Gianna Beretta Molla.
Steve: St. Peter Chanel.
Daniel: Lawrence of Brindisi
Sam: Ignatius of Loyola
Madeline: Margaret Mary Alacoque
Brigette: Teresa of Avila
Tom: Joseph Cupertino
Amelia: Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist)
Christopher: Alphonsus Liguori

Those of you that put your name down can go and see who your patron is for the year.

Thanks Angela for doing this.

Learning Perseverance

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for Tom and I.


I am starting to believe that God is teaching me perseverance with this all.


Back in July I spoke with a Diabetes Educator about getting Tom onto a pump. Around that time I was chosen by St. Thomas the apostle. I thought right then that St. Thomas choosing me was confirmation that we were heading on the right road with Tom especially when he was named specifically after this St. Thomas. I also thought that because he was praying for me and because I was getting confirmation that this was what God wanted me to do that it would be perfect and I would have no problems with it.

I put God in boxes like this often. I say to him well because I am following your will life will be easy and have no problems. This isn't true. I can see now that God is using this situation with Tom to teach me some greater truth. He is teaching me what it means to persevere. Without perseverance we cannot attain Heaven. Without perseverance we are not going to know the right dose of insulin for Tom and be able to have his diabetes managed well. The Diabetes Educator that we saw today told me that within three months we should have a pretty good pattern and know exactly what Tom needs. This takes work from both me and Tom but will have good long term consequences. We need to keep the long term goal in mind not a bad day here and there.

So thanks for all the prayers. I know that it is because of all your prayers that I have been able to persevere through the hard days. There will still be some hard days to come but I know that they will help us get a better picture of what Tom needs.

It has been a tough day.

But I think we have it all behind us now. Tom had ketones again. After speaking with the Endocrinologist we decided this evening that he needed a higher basal rate. This is the insulin that goes in slowly all the time. Usually having ketones indicates that the insulin isn't going in but we don't think that was the case with Tom today. He simply had been high for a bit too long. We have changed his basal rate so hopefully we will have good sugars now.

Today was the Federal Election in Australia. We have a new Prime Minister. Our new Prime Minister is Kevin Rudd. I wonder what this Govt will be like.

Socialisation. (again)

Today I was reading over at Totus Tuus Family a post on Socialisation. It is very funny. Go and check it out.

Thanks to everyone that prayed today for Tom. It looks like we have worked everything out. He is having a different inserter for the insulin to get into his body.

Tom needs prayers.

During the night Tom had ketones in his blood. Blood ketones are postive in the blood at 0.5 and Tom had 1.1. I had to resite his pump and give him extra insulin. Even though I did this he still has ketones in his blood and they are 2.6 this morning. This is pretty high so if you could please offer a prayer for him that the doctors can figure out what is happening and that his ketones come down.

thanks
Therese

Why God made mothers.

I got this in an email and wanted to share it with you all.

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers are given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on. Ha ha ha ha!!!

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

We Belong to the Lord: Catholic Carnival 146

We Belong to the Lord: Catholic Carnival 146

This weeks Catholic Carnival.

Once a month Cooking.

In my tasty Tuesday post I had a link to frugal mom's once a month cooking (oamc). I have been thinking about giving it a try.

I was thinking of doing my first atempt during the Christmas holidays. My plan is to make a list of ten different meals and we will have each meal three times in the month.

Has anyone else ever done oamc? I think to do this kind of cooking would save us a lot of time. The clean up after tea would be easy and I wouldn't have to plan dinner during the day. When I came back from Adelaide last week the house was still pretty well organised. The only thing that was big was the washing. I knew it would be like that though. I am pretty sure if I hadn't cooked ahead that the place wouldn't have been so organised. I am also hoping that it will save us a bit of money.

Tasty Tuesday.

Today I cooked Chicken Enchiladas for tea.

I have been looking at the once a month cooking site for a while now and decided to try a few recipes and see what they are like. This was delicious.

I gave Tom a cooking lesson and he helped me cook the sauce this afternoon. We made up the Enchiladas this evening and put them in the oven for all to eat.

This is the recipe:

Ingredients for Cooking Day:
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
1 boiled chicken, deboned, skinned and chopped
1 - 4 oz. can mild green chili peppers chopped
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. of salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. butter
3 oz. Monterey Jack cheese shredded
3 oz. Cheddar Cheese shredded
12 6-inch tortillas
Cooking Day Instructions:
Saute onions and green peppers in butter. Add cooked chicken and green chili peppers.
In separate pan heat chicken broth and and cream of chicken soup. Remove from heat and mix in sour cream and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Stir 1/2 cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture.
Dip each tortilla into remaining sauce to soften; fill each with the chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange seam side down in a baking dish prepared for freezing. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaing cheese. To freeze use the foil and plastic wrap method. For instructions of this method click here.

How cool is this.

I love being a Catholic. We have saints for everything.

I was looking at my sitemeter and someone had came to my site by googling patron saint of sewing.

I went to the google page to see what it had and it tells me that St. Seraphina, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Parasceva are the patrons of sewing. Now I know who to ask for prayers when I have a difficult project.

Tomorrow we start.

Tomorrow we start our full time homeschooling program. We have had a couple of days that he was home and I did it before he left school. I have his program all worked out and I am really looking forward to spending more time with him. Some days he says he wants to go to school still and other days he is happy about it. Please pray for us as we start this new chapter in our life.

Thanks
Therese

Christmas Recipes.

Jane at Building the Ark is having a christmas cookie swap. I love baking christmas goodies so have a couple of recipes to share.

My first recipe is White Christmas:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit
1 cup powdered milk
2 cups rice bubble cereal
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 tsp. vanilla
8oz. (250gms) white vegetable shortening

Method:
Melt the shortening. Add vanilla.Place all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.Add melted shortening (not too hot) and mix till well combined.Press into a shallow tin and allow to set in refrigerator.Cut into squares.

Next is Rum balls. (I haven't made these yet but this is on the list to give to the children's teachers this year).

Ingredients:
9 Vita Brits or Weet Bix crushed
½ cup coconut
1 cup chopped raisins
2 tabsp. Cocoa
1 tin condensed milk
3 tabsp. Bundaberg rum
extra coconut

Method:
Mix together well in a bowl.Cover in the fridge for ½ hour. (That's what we do in Australia.)(Yours could probably sit in the bowl in the snow.)Shape into balls and roll in coconut.

If you have any recipes go and tell Jane about them.

A bit more about the pump.

I just read my last post about the pump. I realize that I left a lot of infomation out and many of you probably are thinking what the heck is she talking about.

With an insulin pump Tom receives insulin all the time. When he was having injections he would receive a dose of insulin all at once and this meant that he would have to eat at the exact right time or go low.

With a pump he receives a small dose every hour. We have programed into the pump what insulin Tom needs for each hour of the day. It is just a small amount. This is called the basal rate. Everytime Tom eat's carb's we give him some extra insulin. The amount is worked out by entering in his bsl (blood sugar level) and the amount of carb's he is eating. This is called the bolus rate.

The first couple of days we were testing Tom's sugars all the time. If his sugars went high we would check to see if he had ketone's. If he did then we knew that there was a problem with the pump and that he needed to resite the pump.

Monday Tom had the pump put in. Tuesday he had ketones and needed to have it resited. Wednesday the same. Thursday he didn't wake with ketones but was fiddling with the pump and pulled the attachment of. We weren't able to reattach it so had to resite it again. Hopefully this one will last until tomorrow.

We are still trying to get the basal rate right. I am doing a lot of bsl tests. I have to test him every night at midnight and 3am. It is wearing but it is getting better and I am sure we will know the right rate soon.

Some Photo's from Adelaide.

Tom and Christopher just after they had had their face painted. Tom is spider man and Christopher is a puppy dog.

I was trying to upload a couple of others but blogger keeps on having problem's so they will have to wait till later.

We are back.

It has been a very long week but it is looking like it was all worth it.

Most of the time pumps are meant to be reinserted after three days. This week Tom has had to have it re inserted every day because the tube has kinked inside and he wasn't getting enough insulin through. Today finally though he has had no kinks and has been able to keep the pump attached so hopefully it will last until Sunday.

We spent a lot of our time at the hospital on Monday, Tuesday and Wedneday. Yesterday we had a fun day out. We went to Adeliade city and visited Santa in the Magic Cave. Afterwards we walked through Rundle Mall and there was free face painting. Tom was painted as Spiderman and Christopher as a puppy dog. We went shopping and bought some toys. We also went and visited my sister. We had to be back at the hospital at 4pm to see the Diabetes Educator. I am still going to stay in close contact with the Endocrinoligist and Diabetes Educator. We may need to adjust the level of insulin going in through the pump and we need to go back in two weeks and six weeks to have checkups.

thanks for all the prayers. I will have some photo's to share later from our day in town.

Cash Advance Loans

Well that is a bit of a surprise.

H/T to Are We There Yet?

Leaving in the morning.

If there is any news that we need prayers for I am hoping that one of my older children will be able to update you all while I am away. I will be phoning home every day to let the family know what is happening.

If you could all please pray for my children especially. Last night after having a conversation with Brigette I realized that following what the church teaches in a secular world is a cross for our children as well.

Some photo's from Tom's last day at school.

Everything just about ready.

I have all the main meal's in the freezer for Steve, we have got all the equipement for Tom's pump and everything ready for homeschool. Only two days now till I leave. I am excited about going and getting the pump. I wish the whole family could come though. I am going to miss Steve and the other children a lot.

We are looking forward to catching up with family and friends and also doing some Christmas shopping.

Please pray that the pump works well and that we get through the week without any major drama's.

Thanks
Therese

I think these are really funny.

I found this on my desktop. I think that Sam must have got it from one of his friends online;

What NOT to do in an elevator
* When there's only one other person in the elevator, tap them on the shoulder and then pretend it wasn't you.
* Push the buttons and pretend they give you a shock. Smile, and go back for more.
* Ask if you can push the button for other people, but push the wrong ones.
* Call the Psychic Hotline from your cell phone and ask if they know what floor your on.
* Hold the doors open and say your waiting for a friend. After a while, let the doors close, and say, "Hi Greg. How's your day been?"
* Drop a pen and wait until someone goes to pick it up, then scream, "That's mine!"
* Bring a camera and take pictures of everyone in the elevator.
* Move your desk into the elevator and whenever anyone gets on, ask if they have an apointment.
* Lay down the twister mat and ask people if they would like to play.
* Pretend you are a flight attendant and review emergency procedures and exits with the passengers.
* Stand really close to someone, sniffing them occasionally.
* When the doors close, announce to the others, "It's okay, don't panic, they open again!"
* Swat at flies that don't exist.
* Call out, "Group Hug!"and then enforce it.
* Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering, "Shut up, all of you, just shut up!"
* Stand silently and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
* Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce in horror, "Your one of THEM!" and back away slowly.
* Wear a puppet on your hand and use it to talk to the other passengers.
* Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
* Stare, grinning at another passenger for a while, then announce, "I have new socks on".
* Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passnegers, "This is MY personal space!"
* Put police tape in front of the door before entering.
* Hold an auction.
* Ask every passenger coming if you can borrow a tampon. Especially effective if victim is male. Even more effective if you yourself are male.
* Throw a rave.
* Place potted plants and water fountains at strategic locations in the lift. When people ask what you are doing, tell them you "won't ride an elevator that's not fung shwei."
* Greet everyone getting on with a warm handshake and ask them to call you "Admiral".
* Hum the first six notes of the "It's a small world" over and over again.
* When you brush past someone, whisper "Was it good for you too?"
* Have a heated debate with yourself.
* Bring a melon onto the elevator. Try to sell it to the other passengers. If they don't buy it smash it on the floor screaming, "You're ruining my career! Im going to get fired" then sulk in the corner and don't get off.
* Drum on every available surface.
* Write a big X on the elevator floor, and hand out "pirate" maps to everyone as they enter.
* Give psychotherapy to the other passengers.
* Greet everyone coming on as if they were your best friend. Use the same name for all of them.
* Say "ring ring," then pull a banana out of your pocket and start talking into it.
* Propose to the other passengers.
* Challenge people to duels.
* Sell girl scout cookies.
* Bring a large pile of ice. Build an igloo on the floor.
* Come on looking really scared, and say to another passenger..."I'm kinda nervous...this is my first time flying..."
* Any time someone enters the doors, recoil in horror.
* Pitch a tent on the floor, and "camp out" for the weekend.
* Play "I've got your nose" with the other passengers

Get your patron Saint for 2008.

Angela Messenger has very kindly offered to take over this work. Last year "moneybags" started the patron saint for a year and told over 400 people the saint that had chosen them for the year. I was chosen by St. Thomas.

If you would like a patron saint this year please

go here to Angela Messenger's blog.

I am a blogging mama.

Take the Mom Blogger quiz!

But I am sure you already knew that. I am addicted to blogging and if anything happened to it I would be very sad.

H/T to Esther for this quiz

We had a huge flood.

Yesterday we had a huge amount of rain. It was astounding the amount of rain that came down. Our street was flooded and the children all went out and ran around in the rain. The rain was needed so we are thankful for this huge rain. Steve took some video's but they are huge at the moment (50 mb) so we need to look and see if we can reduce the quality and put it up.

I have everything ready for Tom's homeschool. On Friday the children had a day of school because my friend Di left her middle child with us while she and Mark went to a funeral. Tom did some maths, reading, writing and I gave him a big spelling test to see what level he is at.

On Saturday he asked if he could do more maths so I got his book out and he did it for about 5 minutes and decided he wanted to play instead.

I have started cooking meals for while I am away. Last night I did pasties and 160 muffins. Today I will cook a few more meals to go in the freezer but the bulk of the cooking for Steve and the children will be done during the week. I have got a couple of great recipes from Esther's Kitchen and
Are We There Yet? From Esther's kitchen I am making the Mushroom Pasta and from Are We There Yet?, I am making the Beef and Cornbread Bake .

God bless
Therese

Blogging is taking a back seat for a while.

Last night Steve and I went to adoration. I realized while we were there that prayer has not being the priority it should be. When I first wrote my mother's rule I made sure I scheduled it around prayer. Over the months small things slip and it seems I am not spending enough time in prayer now like I use too.

So I will still be posting here. It won't be an everyday thing though and it will only be in the evenings or early mornings if I can drag myself out of bed. I need to spend more time praying, a bit of time writing up a new mothers rule, finish planning Tom's program and get meals in the freezer for Steve and the children while I am in Adelaide.