Saturday, April 28, 2007

Family Rosary.

We prayed the Rosary as a family tonight. Christopher fell asleep in my lap. It is nice to have a quiet house for a change. Usually he is still up at this time running around. I think we will pray the rosary more as a family.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Fun Visit with friends.

Yesterday we went down to Kapunda to see our good friends Larry and Maria and their 5 children. It was really good to see them. I think the last time we saw them was in 2003 so it was good to catch up. The whole family had a ball. Thanks so much Larry and Maria for having us. We hope you will be able to come here sometime and catch up with us.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

mmmmmmmmm. Home made bread.




JoAnn put a recipe on her blog for some home made bread. I wanted to try it because it didn't need any kneeding. I am not very good at kneeding. I started it yesterday and have just finished it. It has been a hit. I took some photos of the childen having a try of it.

So here is finished loaf and Christopher enjoying a piece.


Tom also enjoyed taste testing.
It is a nice loaf. I think I will try it again with some basil and cheese. I might even try a loaf with some wholewheat flour. Thanks JoAnn for a easy bread recipe.


Monday, April 23, 2007

some photos from my phone camera




Sam just showed me how to upload photos from my phone camera to the computer. Here a couple that are really cute.
First we have Amelia and Christopher at last years Christmas Padgent party. Every year we have a padgent through the town where lots of different business and community groups put a float together. They drive around the town wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. At the end of the parade Father Christmas comes and waves to all the adults and children. After the padgent we have a party in the town square. All the rides are free and the children can see Father Christmas to tell him what they would like for Christmas. Every child is given a bag of sweets from Father Christmas. The photo of Christopher and Amelia show them on a merry go round. This was Christophers first ride. He loved every minute of it. He laughed and clapped and waved everytime he went past us. I thought he wouldn't want to get off but we didn't have a problem with it. Ever since though everytime he sees a coin operated ride at the shops he wants to get on it.




This next photo is Tom having his first go on my sewing machine during the school holidays. They were all very enthusiastic about learning to sew during the last holidays. Brigette, Tom and Amelia all made a cushion.


Finally, here is a photo of Christopher at the local pool last year. This was a favourite place for us all to go this last summer. Chrsitopher loved this big pool. He would get all excited everytime we said lets go to the pool. Now the pool is closed so he will have to wait till next summer to go again.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

ho hum.

Well after the easter holidays and lots of take away I have come up in weight again. I thought I would be around 70 but it is 72kg. I go in cycles. I work really hard at eating well for a couple of weeks. I get down to 68 and then I don't watch what I eat so much. It is frustrating that it takes only half as long to put the weight on as it does to loose it.

So I have a new resolve. I really want to get my fitness up so I am going to do running. One of the girls at dcf did a couch to 5km running programe and I am going to try this one too. Tomorrow is pay day so I will go down and get a good pair of running shoes. I will also buy a stopwatch. So my exercise routine will be walking on Mondays and Thursdays and running on Sunday Tues and Friday. Saturday and Wednesday will be my days of.

As well as the exercise I will be looking at our diet. We really don't eat enough vegetables in this house so I am looking for new ways to eat them that the aren't so bland or plain. Any suggestions most welcome.

Monday, April 16, 2007

I got this in an email.

A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray. Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn't shaved in a while.His shirt was kind a shabbyand his coat was worn and frayed, the man knelt, he bowed his head, Then rose and walked away. In the days that followed,each noon time came this chap,each time he knelt just for a moment, A lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew,with robbery a main fear, He decided to stop the man and ask him, "What are you doing here?" The old man said, he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunchtime was his prayer time,For finding strength and power. "I stay only moments, see, because the factory is so far away;as I kneel here talking to the Lord,This is kind a what I say: "I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY." The minister feeling foolish, told Jim, that was fine He told the man he was welcome To come and pray just anytime. Time to go, Jim smiled, said "Thanks."He hurried to the door The minister knelt at the altar, he'd never done it before. His cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed, in his heart, he repeated old Jim's prayer: "I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY." Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come. As more days passed without Jim, he began to worry some. At the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill. The hospital staff was worried, But he'd given them a thrill. The week that Jim was with them, Brought changes in the ward. His smiles, a joy contagious. Changed people, were his reward. The head nurse couldn't understandwhy Jim was so glad, when no flowers, calls or cards came, Not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed, He voiced the nurse's concern: No friends came to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile; "the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, that in here all the while everyday at noon He's here, a dear friend of mine, you see, He sits right down, takes my hand,Leans over and says to me: "I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM, HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN. ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY, AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY." If this blesses you, pass it on Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. May God hold you in the palm of His hand and Angels watch over you. But for those of us who are already His, He not only holds us in the palm of His hand, but has engraved our names there, and we are continually in His sight (Isaiah 49:16) Please pass this page on to your friends & loved ones. If you aren't ashamed. Jesus said, " If you are ashamed of me," I will be ashamed of you before my Father." If you are not ashamed, pass this on. But only if you mean it. Yes, I do love God. He is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each and everyday. Without Him, I will be nothing Without him, I am nothing but with Him "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me." Phil 4:13 This is too good not to share - So this is me ... Just Checking In

Monday, April 09, 2007

Happy Easter.

My friend Di and her family came to stay with us for Easter. It was nice to have them and return some of their hospitality. Everytime we go to Adelaide they put us up. The Easter ceremonies were very nice. We didn't make it too the stations but listened to them at home. I find it very sobering to reflect on the stations of the cross and to reflect on what both Jesus and Mary went through. The passion of our Lord was also very sobering. The song behold the wood of the cross just about brings me to tears.

Happy Easter too all my friends and visitors to this board. I pray that many graces are yours from the risen Christ.

Therese.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Seeing God in our trials.


Our fifth child Tom is a insulin dependant diabetic. He was diagnosed when he was 14 months old. At the end of that year I wrote an article about it for our parish magazine. I keep on loosing my copy of it so thought if I posted it on here I would have it for a long time. When I wrote the article I really tried to look at what good had come out of the situation. It was hard to find good especially when you feel so down about something but it has been a valuable lesson to me. I think of the words of St. Therese. God doesn't send a trial until we are strong enough to deal with it. We also need to see trials as a compliment. It shows that God thinks we have a strong faith.


Seeing God in our trials.


Our son Tom was diagnosed with diabetes early this year. This was a time of great trial for both Steven and I, but also a time when we were able to see God working miracles in our lives. In January of this year we moved to Millicent from Adelaide. Not long after our move, Tom became sick. At first we thought he had the flu. It wasn’t until he was admitted to hospital that we realized that the problem was more serious. He had become seriously dehydrated even though we had been maintaining his fluids. His body had started to shut down with blood being directed to his vital organs. His hands and feet were blue and always cold.In the hospital they had to establish a drip for Tom to re hydrate and to get some blood to test. As he was so dehydrated they had trouble finding a vein. Tom was in a lot of pain and I felt totally out of control with the situation. Once the drip was in and they had collected some blood, I left Steven with Tom at the hospital and went home to the rest of our family. I went back to the hospital at 3pm. The blood test results were back and we knew that Tom had diabetes. I was told that he would need to go to Adelaide for treatment and that the flying doctors would be taking Tom with a team from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. When the team arrived from Adelaide to retrieve us, they had some test to do before we could leave. I felt both frightened and overwhelmed at all that was going on around me. Most of all I felt totally helpless and unable to do anything to help Tom who was very distressed. Once all the tests had been done we were flown to Adelaide. We arrived at the hospital late in the evening. I was very tired at this stage but still needed to talk to doctors. I wanted to get Tom settled for the night before I went to bed. The doctor on duty came and talked to me about Tom and what symptoms he had had in the lead up to being admitted. She also explained what treatment they would be giving him and what tests they would be doing.The first thing they had to do was establish another drip line to get fluids into him. They were still having trouble finding his veins. I held his arm still while they tried to find a vein and prayed like I have never prayed before. All the while Tom was looking at me and screaming out in agony. I can still remember the way he looked at me and seemed to ask me why I, his protector was helping these people do this. He couldn’t see the whole picture. He could only feel the pain that he was in. He didn’t realize that if they didn’t get a drip into him that he would die. I felt as if I had betrayed his trust. After trying to get the drip in the arm several times and failing they decided to call in another doctor who decided to put the drip into a vein in his head.Tom was kept in intensive care for 48 hours. He was monitored by a nurse at all times and received treatment to bring his sugar levels back to normal. We were then moved onto a ward for the rest of the week. Over that week I received training on how to treat Tom’s diabetes.Through out the week that I was in hospital with Tom, I had a lot of time to both pray and reflect on life. The most important thing God revealed to me was that when we are in pain and it seems like he is not there, he is with us but cannot stop the pain, just as I was unable to stop the pain for Tom. When it feels like God is betraying us, he isn’t, but we cannot see the whole picture, just like Tom couldn’t God also makes these times easier by looking after the little things. It happened that my brother was down for the weekend. It couldn’t have happened at a better time. He was able to look after the other children while Steve and I were at the hospital with Tom. Also Fr John was at the hospital before we left and was able to anoint Tom. As my brother was down for the weekend he was able to take Brigette back to Adelaide so that my parents could look after her. Steven was very supported in Millicent with several people looking after the boys and Madeline and others having them out for tea. After I got home with Tom, people were still bringing around meals and helping out with general household chores.When we have trials in our life, it makes us pause and reflect on the more important things. It also made me realize that I cannot do thing on my own. Steve and I were both very grateful for the support that we received from the parish and school community. We felt very glad that we were a part of it and that people were so willing to help and make the load we had to carry lighter. Tom will have diabetes until they find a cure. This is a big thing for a little boy to live with. Just as Steven and I help him with it, so God does with big things in our life too. Whenever trials come our way it is always easy to see the things that God is not doing. The challenge for us all is to see the things he is doing.

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes
Our sons Tom and Christopher and our daughter Amelia are type one diabetics. We pray everyday for a cure. We do not want one by illicit means though so don't support any organisation that contributes to Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Click on the photo of Tom and Christopher to read about why I am against using Embryonic Stem cells for a cure.

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Australian Catholic Homeschoolers.

Tom's and Christopher's insulin pump

New book: Faith Quilt.

New book: Faith Quilt.
All proceeds from sales of "FAITH QUILT" going to "Casa de Amor Children's Homes in Bolivia" and "Sarah's Covenant Homes in India" Two truly extraordinary organisations that take in the most needy children and give them a place of love and security to call home.