My new camera.

Today I went and bought my new Camera. I am just trying it out so here is a photo of Amelia in her Christmas outfit and Tom with his new pump that arrived this morning. I am so happy to have this.

Yet another reason to home school.

VICTORIAN state primary school students will soon be able to take religious education classes which teach there is no evidence God exists.

The Humanist Society of Victoria has developed a curriculum for primary pupils that the state government accreditation body says it intends to approve, The Sunday Age newspaper reported.

Read the rest of the article here:

Students to be taught, there is no God

Happy New Year.

As 2008 comes to an end, I thought it would be good to look back over the year.

Home schooling has been good and I love doing it. I feel I am getting to know my children better and have a different relationship with them compared to before home schooling.

I have meet many good friends through blogging and really appreciate them all even though I haven't meet them in real life.

I have had a refuge here that I know at a click of a couple of buttons and posts I can have people praying around the world for me and my family needs. Thanks so much for all the people that prayed for my dad, Tom and all our family needs.

My dad is hanging onto life. It is hard to watch someone die of Alzheimer's disease but we are glad to have him here still.

Even though the pump company promised me we would have Tom's new pump by 5.00 pm last night, we are still waiting for it. I tried to ring them last night and find out why we didn't have it but they had left for the day. I am phoning them this morning first thing when they open.

One of the hardest parts of our year was the loss of baby Matthew. We were very excited to be expecting again and felt very blessed by God at the news. When he died, we were heartbroken. Still the prayers of everyone here helped us through and we are comforted with the knowledge that Matthew will never suffer and will always have complete happiness. Matthew was due on our wedding anniversary so we will remember him especially on these days and ask him to pray for us.

I am looking forward to 2009 and to getting to know other bloggers better. Thank you all for your friendship over 2008.

God bless
Therese

The Simple Womens Daybook.

Peggy is on holidays but I still wanted to post a Simple Women's daybook today.

FOR TODAY 30 December, 2008...

Outside my window...The sun has risen. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day.

I am thinking...about all I want to do today.

I am thankful for...the abundant vegetables coming from our garden.

From the learning rooms...we are enjoying the holidays but I am starting to plan next years curriculum.

From the kitchen...lots of cooking to do today. We have a huge pile of zucchinis and I am going to bake, Zucchini Quiche, Pineapple Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Slice

I am wearing...my pajamas still.

I am creating...Tom and Christopher are getting a lot of new summer clothes. I will be sewing a lot in the next few days. I am also hoping to get a dress made for me to wear to church.

I am going...shopping. I have been given a bit of Christmas money so will be spending that.

I am reading...Audrey.

I am hoping...Tom's pump will arrive early this morning.

I am hearing...Tom playing Mario Galaxy.

Around the house...The other children are sleeping in.

One of my favorite things...Tom's pump. I have learnt how much I appreciate it while he hasn't had one.

A few plans for the rest of the week: The cooking, sewing and not going out much.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

This is the fabric and pattern Brigette chose for a dress she wants. She has also cut out a bolero jacket to go over it. The dress she should be able to do but she will probably need help with the bolero.

Tagged.

I was actually tagged for this at Facebook and decided to post it here too.

I was tagged by Abbey

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

I won't tag 25 people but if you want to do this, let me know in the comment box and I will put in a link to you.

1. I am 42 years old.

2. I love sleeping in but always have a more organised day if I get up early.

3. I am trying to get to bed by 9.30 and up at 5.30 these days.

4. I love to drink Coke Zero.

5. My favourite main meal to cook is spaghetti.

6. About a month ago, my mil gave me a pack of Nescafe Hazelnut Latte's. I am totally hooked since.

7. My two favourite flavours are Irish Cream and Hazelnut.

8. I am realizing what a God send Tom's insulin pump is over the last couple of days. He is looking forward to getting a new one too. At least I know it is on the way and will be here tomorrow.

9. My favourite colour is red.

10. I prefer to wear dresses to skirts and jeans but don't own many dresses. I am going to make a couple of simple ones these holidays.

11. We are renovating our home and our next project is the children's bathroom and a family room.

12. I meet Steve at a 21st birthday party.

13. I am quite obsessive with running our budget. I don't like it one bit if I cannot balance our accounts perfectly. I have to find the transaction I have missed.

14. I am the treasurer for our local scouts group.

15. I have one brother and three sisters.

16. One of my sisters died when I was 11 months old.

17. I hate confrontation and will not confront people unless I have too.

18. I have been playing My Farm on facebook and think this is the best game they have there.

19. Steve and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage on January 26th.

20. The months of the years we have birthday celebrations in our immediate family are January, February, March, May and October.

21. I need to exercise more.

22. My hair is turning gray.

23. I hate being late for anything.

24. I want to go sky diving one day.

25. If we go out to eat, I will order seafood. I love to eat prawns most of all.

Tagging Amy from A word from the Herd

God is not pro Choice.

Recently I read a post where a nun was putting forward the idea that God is pro choice.

I was astounded that anyone would be able to believe anything like this.

Michael Voris has some pretty strong things to say to Sr. Arlene Welling and I support him 100% in everything he says.



This program is from RealCatholicTV.com

Edit to add, since posting this, I have come across This article saying that Sr. Arlene Welling is sorry for what she said. I hope this is true.

4th day of Christmas.

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas season.

Therese

My week.

The week leading up to Christmas was hectic. I stopped blogging on Saturday night because I knew I needed to devote more time to prayer and to getting everything finished.

I managed to get all our cooking done and the youngest 5 all had a new outfit sewn. I was going to take a photo of them all and put it up but my camera broke. I am going to buy a new one though so will take a photo of them all in their Christmas clothes hopefully.

On Monday afternoon, I left with the girls, Tom and Christopher to go to Adelaide. We had a good trip down and stayed with my girlfriend Di and her family. The next morning I packed them all up and took them to the hospital for Tom's appointment. We changed some settings on his pump and his sugars were really good until the pump malfunctioned on Thursday morning. More on that later though.

Steve arrived on Tuesday afternoon with the older two boys and we went visiting. We were able to catch up with Brigette's Godmother, Christopher's Godmother and Amelia's Godparents. Inbetween we went out for tea at Red Rooster. It was a fun afternoon and evening.

On Wednesday we slept in a bit and then after breakfast we took the children down to Glenelg for a visit to The Beach house. After two hours of fun sliding down the slides, going on the bumper boats and playing the arcade games we went to Charlie's in Brighton for lunch. Wednesday Evening we went and visited some old friends that we haven't seen since Daniel was a baby.

Thursday was Christmas day and the children woke early to open their presents. After breakfast they all went for a swim in the pool. It was while they were at the pool that Tom's pump malfunctioned. It started alarming and saying button error. I got on the phone straight away to Tom's endocrinologist and then to Medtronic. We tried a couple of different things to get the pump going again but were unable to get it working. Fortunately, I had some lantus insulin with us so we put Tom back onto multiple daily injections. (MDI) We are still waiting on Medtronic to get back in touch with us about the pump and what we can do about it. The rep from Australia won't be working until Monday so I am hoping we will have a new pump on Tuesday. I think when we get the new one or have this one fixed, I will really appreciate the fact that we have a pump and the great control we usually have with it.

We spent Christmas day with my family for lunch and then went to Steves cousins for tea. It was a long day but enjoyable.

Yesterday we left Adelaide and called in at Tom's Godparents on the way home. We haven't seen them for a few years so it was great to catch up over lunch. We got back to Port Augusta about 5.00pm.

I am looking forward now to the rest of our school holidays. I will start planning Tom and Amelia's curriculum for next year soon and get some more sewing done. Steve is painting the front window and door and will paint the roof during the holidays. We decided we still want the charcoal black roof and we are going to put some vents and spinners in to draw the heat out.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Therese

A birthday wish for Esther.

Today is Esther's birthday. Here is a birthday cake and song for you Esther. I really wish we could have cake together and celebrate your birthday.

What is your personality type?

A while ago, I Analyzed Aussie Coffee Shop and the Typealyzer put me down as a ESFP (Extrovert, sensing, feeling, perceiving)

Today I did another similar test and the quiz came up with ESFJ (extrovert, sensing, feeling, judging)

The two tests are close. The only difference is between the perceiving and judging. I wonder though. The typealyzer automatically analyzes me and came up with perceiving and where I had to answer questions to get the type it comes up with something different.

So what do you all think? Am I perceiving or judging or am I even somewhere in the middle and not one or the other?

Therese

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas night here and we have had a great day. We were able to spend time with both Steve's family and my family. It has been a long day but it was great to catch up with family.

I hope you all have a great Christmas day and may the Christ child bless you all abundantly.

If you could also please offer a small prayer for Tom. This morning his insulin pump broke. We are using injections for him until we can get a new pump. Please pray that the new pump will be here soon and that we can still manage him well on the daily injections.

Thanks
Therese

Taking a break.

This will be my last post until after Christmas. I have a lot to do before Christmas and need to spend more time in prayer. I am going to give up my online time and spend more of it with my family.

I hope you all have a great Christmas. May the joy of the Christ Child be with all of you.


Therese

Quick 7.

1.

Daniel was our first baby. When I first got pregnant his due date according to my cycle was the 20th of December. (today). When I had the scan the due date was moved to the 28th. It was very disappointing at the time but what can one do. He wasn't born until New Years Day. On Christmas day, I said to my husband, maybe a New Years baby would be nice. I regretted saying that for the rest of the week but it is nice to have a new years baby.

2.

We are in our second week of holidays and I love that they started two weeks before Christmas. Usually, it is only a week or so. I kept on thinking I was behind in my preparation because they were all home but I am realizing now that I am right on track.

3.

I have finished Amelia's and Brigette's Christmas outfits. Brigette's was a quick one. Madeline found a dress that she started for herself a couple of Christmases ago that was more than half done. I finished it off for Brigette in a couple of hours.

4.

Today I will finish off our Christmas cake. I have had the fruit soaking for a while now. It is the first time I have made a traditional Christmas cake so I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

5.

Because we have 7 children and they cannot afford to buy presents for every sibling, we do a Kris Kindel draw. They draw a name out of a hat and buy for that person. They keep it a secret from each other who they are buying for. They all get excited and want to buy straight away but in our house there are many snoopers. If we have the presents too early, they guess who has who and see the presents. Today and on Monday I will take them individually to get their Kris Kindel present.

6.

Tom's blood sugar levels seem to have finally settled down and I think we finally have the right basal rate of insulin worked out. I am seeing his endocrinologist next week so I am hoping things go well over the weekend.

7.

I have such a good husband. Every morning he brings me a cup of coffee in bed. It is great to wake up too.

Visit Jennifer for more quick 7.

Advise Parents may want to pass onto teenagers.

H/T to Karin

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school.

He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

Since it is nearly Christmas.......

and Friday it is time for my favourite Christmas cake joke.

Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe


Ingredients

1 Cup water
8 oz mixed nuts
1 Cup brown sugar
1 Cup butter
1 tsp. Salt
2 Cup dried fruit
4 large Eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tea spoon baking powder
1 bottle Whisky

Method

Sample the whisky to check quality.
Take a large bowl.
Re-sample the whisky to ensure it is of the highest quality.
Pour one cup and drink. Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy
bowl.
Add one tsp sugar and beat again.
Make sure the whisky is still okay. Cry another tup.
Turn on the mixerer.
Break two leggs and add to the bowl, chuck in the dried fruit.
Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry
it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the whisky to check for tonsiscency.
Next sift two cups of salt, or something. Who cares?
Check the whisky.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
Grease the oven.
Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.
Don't forget to beat off the turnerer.
Throw the bowl out of the window, check the whisky again and go to bed.

Don't forget to wake up with a major hangover the next morning and
search the house for the fruitcake you so painstakingly baked the night
before.

Date Night.

A quick post tonight. Steve and I are putting the children to bed and sitting down to watch The Good Shepherd.

Have a great Thursday.

A great day.

Today the weather was quite a bit warmer.

Steve and I started the day with Mass and then went Christmas shopping. It is rare for us to get to Mass without children and it was really nice to sit there in the quite before without a toddler whispering in our ears.

We completed most of our Christmas shopping with a hour and were back home by 10.30.

I spent most of the day cooking and sewing. I have started the Christmas cake (that I should have done a month ago) and I helped Amelia sew a pair of 3/4 pants for her to wear Christmas day. I will do her top tomorrow. Brigette's dress only needs the zip and Madeline is making her own dress. Once I have done Amelia's top, I will start the boys Christmas shirts. This is the best thing about holidays. I can get so much more done. When Christmas is over, I am going to sew a heap of summer clothes for Tom and Christopher. Everything they have seems too short or too raggedy.

We have hired Mario Galaxy from the video shop and the boys have been playing it a lot. I have had a couple of goes at it and I really like this game. Maybe we will buy it after Christmas.

I hope you all have/had a good Wednesday.

Therese

Wordless Wednesday.

Christopher at the pageant this year.

The Simple Womens Daybook.

Outside my window...It is dark. The days end has come all to quickly.

I am thinking...about all the preparations I need to do for Christmas.

I am thankful for...The school holidays and a chance to spend more time with the school children.

From the kitchen...I am preparing for Christmas so lots of goodies.

I am wearing...grey pants and a white T Shirt.

I am creating...Christmas dresses for the girls and Christmas shirts for the younger boys.

I am going...to see Tom's endocrinologist next week.

I am reading...Chicken Soup for a Mothers soul.

I am hoping...that we can work out the right insulin dose for Tom soon.

I am hearing...My children chatting in the kitchen.

Around the house...The teenagers are chatting. The little ones are hungry. Do they ever get full?

One of my favorite things...waking up early and sitting in the quiet morning.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Finish the girls dresses. Finish of the Christmas cooking. Getting ready for Tom's Endocrinologist appointment.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Christopher in his new shirt.

Don't forget to visit Peggy for more simple daybooks.

Straight No Chaser.

Just because it is soooooooooooooooo cool.



I think these guys are my new favourite band.

Here is The Lion Sleeps Tonight from them too.

Marie Antionette Award.

I received this award from Tania at Out Back

Thank you Tania for this award.

The rules for this award are to display the icon and send it on to 7 other bloggers I feel are real in who they are.

I pass this award onto

Laura from Catholic Teacher Musings

RD from Life Matters

Therese from The Musings of a Mom

Lisa from Are We There Yet?

Kimberly from Awesome God

Adrienne and Elle from Adrienne's Catholic Corner

News: Hewlett-Packard granting $8.3 million to support worldwide abortion.

News: Hewlett-Packard granting $8.3 million to support worldwide abortion.

Don't support Hewlett-Packard while they fund the killing of innocent babies.

Sunday Silence.

A letter from Jesus

10 favourite living Catholics.

A while back, Jean tagged me for the 10 most fascinating Catholics.

Here is what Jean said about the meme.

I would like to make this a meme, as I'm eager to learn what the rest of you are thinking. The rules are to select ten of the most fascinating (living) Catholics for 2008. Then, tag at least five people for the meme.

1. George Cardinal Pell

2. Pope Benedict

3. Mary HIggins Clark

4. Fr. John Speekman

5. Sr. Mary Martha

6. Jennifer

7. Norma McCorvey

8. the Schindler family

9. Patty Bonds

10. Steve Ray

I tag the following for this meme:

Grace

Suzanne

Dawn

Coo-ees from the Cloister

Therese

7 Quick Take.

Jen is hosting the 7 quick take every Friday

Here are my 7.

1.

The Christmas holidays started this week. Brigette finished school on Wednesday so Tom and Amelia finished their home school then too.

2.

Tom is still having high blood sugar levels. He has gone up 2 kg (around 4 pound) since going on the pump and probably needs more insulin. I have been talking with his endocrinologist everyday on the phone. Our phone bill is going to be huge.

3.

I am not ready for Christmas. I need to get my butt into action. I need to get the family Christmas cake made, The Christmas Cake recipe I am using can be found at Mum 6 Kids blog

4.

We are looking to buy a new freezer. I am hoping to start freezing muffins as well as our main meals and I want one that I don't have to pull everything out to see what is in the bottom.

5.

I really like all the different weekly meme's that are around. I am going to take part in the Womens day book more often. I also will start taking part in Home School Weekly when school starts next year. I am taking a break from the 5mart Martha Monday for a couple of weeks until school goes back.

6.

Today we are buying the children new summer shoes. The weather here is a bit colder than usual and we have had a lot of rain so it seems a bit insane to be buying them now but need to buy them when they fit in the budget.

7.

I have been thinking about decreasing the labels I have for my posts. I looked down the list of them this week and just cannot believe how many different ones I have so I will look into combining some or changing some labels so that they fit in a bit better.

Prince of Peace Award.

Marie and Ginny awarded me with the Prince of Peace Award.

Thanks Marie and Ginny. I really love reading your blog and feel very inspired by both of you.

I too pass this onto all the blogs that I follow and are mentioned in my side bar. Thanks for all your great blogs.

Therese

The Doghouse. Message for all husbands

Beware of the doghouse

Don't get your wife a duel bag vacuum cleaner for Christmas.

H/T to Therese

Graduation.

Tonight Madeline had her graduation from primary school.

Next year she will be starting at our local high school.

here are some photos from tonight.

Madeline with her class.

Madeline and her Teacher Mr. Osborne.

Madeline with her friends.

Winning on Wednesday.

Well I didn't win today but my prize arrived today. It was such a good pick me up after the start of the week with Tom.

A couple of weeks ago I entered The Timeless Treasures competition and I was One of the winners

Today I got in the post a lovely tote bag, a Christmas table runner, some Christmas cards and many little ornaments which the children enjoyed opening and putting on our Christmas tree.

Thank you Elena for running the Timeless Treasures competition. Go and check out Elena's Timeless Treasures shop at Bidmate

Gratituesday.

Today I am grateful for the excellent treatment Tom has for his diabetes. I am grateful for his pump, the insulin to keep his sugars under control and the glucose meter that measures his blood sugar level and blood ketone level.

I am grateful for the team of doctors I have to contact and help me when we have problems and the doctors and nurses here that looked after Tom while he was in hospital.

Therese

Back home.

Thanks everyone for your support and prayers for the last 24 hours. Tom is back home and much better. We have made a couple of adjustments to his pump and increased his basal rate of insulin. Hopefully that will work everything out. We are seeing his endocrinologist on the 23rd of December to review his diabetes management.

Therese

Improving.

Thank you everyone that has prayed for Tom. Tonight we finally have his blood sugar level within range. He is also ketone free.

I really don't know what is causing this. This is the second time he has got DKA in three months. Please pray that we can work out the cause and manage his diabetes well again.

Thanks
Therese

Please pray for Tom.

Tom woke up this morning with blood ketones. He is in Port Augusta hospital at the moment and may need to go to Adelaide for treatment. Please pray that he starts to improve and we can treat him here. I really want to avoid a trip to Adelaide.

Thanks
Therese

The Bell

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2:10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
Who you are?


Keep this bell ringing...pass it on
'The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The LORD turn His face toward you
And give you peace...
Numbers 6:24-26

H/T to Esther

Sunday Silence

Second week of Advent.

Demographic Winter Trailer.

Just what will happen to the western world if we don't have enough children?

H/T to Kingfisher Column

The Advent Conspiracy

I have seen this at a couple of blogs and really like it. I wonder how much Australians spend on Christmas.

Virtual Christmas cookie Swap.

I cannot wait to see all the yummy recipes.

Here are a couple of good Australian treats that I like to cook at Christmas. They aren't cookies really but Australians don't have a lot of Christmas cookies. We bake slices more.

1. White Christmas. (I also shared this recipe last year but it such a great recipe I have to include it).

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.

Rocky Road.

Christmas just isn't Christmas without Rocky Road.

Ingredients:
1 bag. chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T. butter or margarine
2 C. salted peanuts
1 C. maraschino cherries, halved (optional)
1 package colored miniature marshmallows

Method
In heavy saucepan, over low heat melt chocolate chips with condensed milk and butter.
Remove from heat and set aside.
In large bowl combine peanuts, cherries and marshmallows; fold into chocolate mixture.
In a 13 x 9" pan lined with waxed paper, spread mixture evenly. Chill for 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan, peel off wax paper and cut into squares.

Makes approx. 40 squares

JoAnn is hosting the Virtual Cookie Swap. Head over and add a link.

A funny Urban Legend.

I read this on DCF Message Board and thought it was so funny I had to share. It is an Urban Legend but pretty funny I think.

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter & Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews & observances of their holy days. The argument was it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized day(s).

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, 'Case dismissed.'
The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, 'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter & others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur & Hanukkah. Yet my client & all other atheists have no such holidays.'
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, 'But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant..' The lawyer said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.'
The judge said, 'The calendar says April 1st is 'April Fools Day.' Psalm 14:1 states 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day.
Court is adjourned.

Good to know.

You Scored as Roman Catholic You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 100% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 86% Neo orthodox 82% Fundamentalist 39% Classical Liberal 36% Reformed Evangelical 29% Emergent/Postmodern 29% Modern Liberal 14% Charismatic/Pentecostal 14% I just wish that instead of saying "the communion of saints includes the living and the dead" it said, The communion of the Saints includes those in Heaven and on Earth. Link for quiz here

Virtual Christmas Cookie Swap.

JoAnn from The Creamer Chronicles is hosting a virtual Christmas Cookie swap this Friday.

I am looking forward to putting in a couple of good Australian recipes for the swap.

JoAnn will have a Mr. Linky link for anyone participating to add their link. So dig up your cookie recipes and post them.

Therese.

Gratituesday.

I saw this last week at Laura's blog and wanted to take part.

This week I am grateful for

the Catholic blogging community.
The churches teachings on marriage and family.
My wonderful husband who encourages me to follow Jesus and be true to the faith given to us.
My 7 children.
Home schooling Tom and Amelia and getting to know them better.

Therese

5mart Martha Monday.

So it is time again for 5mart Martha.

My 5 from last week was quite a disaster. I don't think I did all 5 decades of a rosary once. :::red face goes here:::

I read a bit of Audrey every night. I think it is too deep a book to read quickly and I read it just before we turn the light out so I am pretty tired so I don't read a lot of it. I will continue to read a bit more each night this week.

Tom's and Christopher's shirts are finished (except I need to put the buttons and button holes on Christophers. I have done 90% of Tom's shorts. I am happy with my progress on them both though. The shorts are a bit harder than I thought they would be.

I didn't mark Tom and Amelia's spelling and Math's each day. I think I did it on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday though so 3/5 isn't too bad.

The children's chores were all checked (not every day) but often enough that I knew if they were slacking off and they have kept up with the work load pretty well.

I have also thought a bit about 5mart Martha and what it really means. To me it is more about getting our house organised enough that even though there are 20000 things to do, they are doable because of the level of organisation.

There are several rooms in our house that need to be more organised. The kitchen could do with a really big de junking and clearing out. I won't be able to do it in one week though so I need to set myself little tasks to do each week.

I also need to go though our children's clothes again and send clothes they don't need to St. Vinnies.

So my 5 for this week are:

1. clean out my baking cupboard and make it easy to see everything I need.
2. Sought through Tom and Christopher's clothes.
3. I want to bake a heap of muffins and freeze them.
4. Finish the boys shorts and make Madeline's graduation dress.
5. Get up by 7am each morning and pray before going online.

If you want to post 5 things you want to do for the week, put your name and blog post in the Mr. Linky Link below.

Therese

6 things that make me happy.

Heidi has a new meme posted that I wanted to take part in.

According to the rules, I have to post six things that make me really happy ... and pass it on to give six more people a reason to be thankful! (And not the least bit irked that they've been sucked into yet another meme.)

So my 6 things that make me happy.

1. A clean organised house.
2. Relaxed weekends with families sitting around a lot.
3. Finishing sewing an outfit for our children and seeing their faces light up.
4. meeting other mum bloggers and getting to know them.
5. Writing on my blog and looking back through it and remembering good memories.
6. Summer nights.

I tag the following:

Elena from Precious Treasures

Yofed from The Land of Cheerios, Sticky Fingers and Muddy Shoes

Tracy from A Catholic Mom in Minnesota

Kathy from A Bit of the Blarney

Lisa from Are We there Yet?

Ellie from A peek of The Pecks

Sunday Silence.

First Sunday of Advent.

Johnny the grocery store bagger.

Johnny is a grocery store bagger who chose to make a difference.

Click here to watch Johnny's story

H/T to Ed for this video

Book award and Meme.

Tracy and Jean tagged me for the book meme. Thanks Tracy and Jean.

These are the rules:
Pass this on to 5 blogging friends. Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.

So for this meme, I sent Sam into our room (that is where I had the closest book and choose one that was on my bedside table.

I chose the book Audrey.

Aline was always getting him off the hook and making excuses for him when something went wrong.
By contrast, Audrey was strong, serious, ordered, highly reflective and a master organizer. She would get annoyed with her brother because she couldn't understand his childish anarchy.

I tag the following people for this meme.

Amy

Corrine

Sarah

Nine + Texans

Shelly

Suzanne's meme.

Suzanne has a fun new meme that I said I would take part in.

Here are the questions:

1. Three favorite recipes that you think you cook well (you can write the recipe if you like but you don't have to).

1. Butterscotch Icecream

2. Lasagna.

3. Hot Cross Bun's


2. Two places that you would like to visit and why.

1. I would love to go to the Holy land during Easter sometime because I think it would be very holy and uplifting.

2. I would love to tour America and meet all my blogging friends.


3. Three secret things you'd like to know how to do .. learn to do.

1. I would love to do a tandem sky dive. I bought Steve a Tandem sky dive jump for his 40th birthday and since seeing him do it I would love to have a go.

2. I would love to learn crochet.

3. I would like to learn to play piano.



4. In your heart, do you feel more close to the Dominicans, the Benedictines, or
the Franciscans? Why one over the others?

Probably if I had to choose one, I would say Dominicans. I was educated by Dominicans.


5. What are your beliefs about what Heaven will be like and ..not just hope
but what you really believe. Give some details.

Boy. That is a hard one. I believe it is so fantastic we cannot put it into words. Every thought and belief will be 100% in accord with God's will. I believe the empty hole we feel here on earth will be filled and we will finally stop trying to fill it in a sinful way.

6. Favorite female and male saint.

Favourite female saint is St. Gianna. Favourite male saint is St. Joseph.

If you want to take part in this meme, let me know in the comment box.
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Classic Dames Test.

In my Lazy Blogging post, Grace asked me to take The Classic Dames Test

Here are my results.

Your result for The Classic Dames Test...

Myrna Loy

You scored 19% grit, 24% wit, 19% flair, and 52% class!

You are class itself, the calm, confident "perfect woman." Men turn and look at you admiringly as you walk down the street, and even your rivals have a grudging respect for you. You always know the right thing to say, do and, of course, wear. You can take charge of a situation when things get out of hand, and you're a great help to your partner even if they don't immediately see or know it. You are one classy dame. Your screen partners include William Powell and Cary Grant, you little simmerpot, you.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the
Classic Leading Man Test.

Take The Classic Dames Test at HelloQuizzy

I don't even know who Myrna Loy is.

Aussie Coffee Shop: ESFP - The Performers

Well I went and Analyzed Aussie Coffee Shop

Here is what they found out about me:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

It is true that I like to surround myself with pleasure and beauty. I don't hate planning ahead but hate disorganisation so do plan ahead most days. Without a list, I cannot get anything done.
It is also very true that I avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation. I just am not a confrontational person.

All you wanted to know about me (and maybe more).

Here are the questions everyone asked me:

From Vicki

Ok, here's a question. It may be hard to answer in a blog post though. How do you pronounce your name? I know the American and French pronunciation, but what about the Australian.

My name is pronounced Ter-raise. Many Australian's when they see it pronounce it Ter-ease but my mother has always pronounced it Ter-aise. HTH. This would be a good thing to put on video maybe for you to hear the pronounciation and our accent.

From Grace

Name and post your four favorite Christmas songs.

1. Steve Curtis Chapman's This Baby

2. The First Noel

3. Boney M Mary's Boy Child

4. Joy To the World

From Dawn

I have three, if that's okay. What is your favorite movie? song? book?

Favourite movie is a toss up between The Sound of Music and It's a Wonderful Life.

Favourite song is Joyful Joyful, We Adore Thee I also love both Sister Act movies.

I cannot think of a favourite book. If I had to choose a favourite genre I would say Mystery books. I have read many Agatha Christie, Mary Higgin's Clark and Just finished my first Carol HIggins Clark.

From Therese

Have you lived in Australia your whole life? Ever been to the US?

Yes to Australia my whole life and no I haven't been to the US. I haven't traveled outside Australia at all but I have seen every State and Territory in Australia. (I saw the Northern Territory when I was only 1 though so don't remember it.

I have heard that your toilets flush in the opposite direction of ours. Our are counter-clockwise-I just checked...what about yours? hee, hee!

hmm. I cannot tell with our toilet. I went and flushed it and couldn't see which way it was going down. I will check it out next time Christopher has a bath and will probably be able to see it a bit clearer. Maybe this is something else we could video.

from Alison.

If you could choose someone to play you in a movie rendition of your life who would it be? :)

Nicole Kidman?

Nicole Kidman is a great actress and I would love her to play me in a movie. I am not anything like her though so they would have to make her up a lot.

from both Nancy and Esther

What is your favourite prayer?

I love praying The Angelus and the St. Michael Prayer.

From Kalona

How did you meet your husband?

Steve and I meet at a 21st birthday party. We were both involved in the Young Christian Worker's movement. Most of my socializing was with other YCW members then. The day after Steve and I meet at the 21st there was a first wedding anniversary party. Steve rang me and asked me if I wanted a lift. I had already organised to go with someone else but got a lift home with him. From there we started having many dates.

From Alexandria

Where is your favorite place to go on holidays?

I love camping in Caravan parks by the beach in Summer.

has your family always been in Australia?

Yes.

I wish I could visit someday. It's on my list of places to travel if we have a lot of spare cash. ;)

I hope you do visit sometime and you will have to stay with us.

Thanks everyone for your questions. If anyone else has any more questions feel free to ask still.

Therese.

Lazy Blogging.

Well I got this idea from The Mom.

Ask me any question about me you like and I will answer it in my next post (as long as it doesn't give out too much information about me. This way you get to know me a bit better and I don't have to think about what to write.

Quick 7.

I thought I would take part in Jen's quick seven this morning.

1.

Today I am taking our children for a drive to see another home schooling family. The family live around a hours drive away so we don't get together as often as I would like. Today should be fun though.

2.

Tomorrow evening we will go to the family night at Madeline's school.

3.

There is only two and a half weeks of school left here for the year. We will have a 6 week break and start the new school year at the end of January.

4.

I am going through the children's toys and have pretty much decided our children rarely play with inside toys. The only toys I see being used regularly are building blocks and lego. These will stay and the others need to go. I have also made a rule that no toys go in the bedrooms. They need to stay in the family room.

5.

Amelia's dress is finished. I am really happy with the way it turned out. I was sharing on DCF that I find it really hard to gather fabric and make it look good. I am happy though with the gathering I was able to do for Amelia's dress and will try a couple of the hints next time shared by the ladies at dcf.

6.

Summer is my favourite season. I really cannot stand the cold weather. I like the long warm days and having windows and doors open to let the breeze in. I also like the longer daylight hours in the evening.

7.

Daniel has exams this week. Yesterday was Physics and today is an Oral presentation. He is a good student. He studies hard and I am confident he will do well in his exams.

XXVIIth CIRCUS FESTIVAL OF MONTE-CARLO

Simple Women's Daybook for 25th November.

FOR TODAY Nov 25 2008...

Outside my window...The rain is coming down. It is nice to have a good rain.

I am thinking...about my day and what we have planned.

I am thankful for... good health and Tom's doctors support from Adelaide.

From the learning rooms...we are starting to finish many things off. Only three weeks of school left for the year.

From the kitchen...I have prepared our monthly meals for the month and will do some muffins today too.
I am wearing...my blue leggings and a beige blouse.

I am creating...Amelia's dress and some shorts for the younger boys.

I am going...to the pool this afternoon probably.

I am reading...Audrey.

I am hoping...the weather will get a bit warmer soon.

I am hearing...Daniel preparing his breakfast.

Around the house...most of the children are still sleeping and need to get up soon.

One of my favorite things...lying in bed and listening to the rain.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Finish of Tom and Christopher's shorts and start Madeline's graduation dress.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...(I will add a bit later).

Visit Peggy at The Simple Women's Daybook.

5mart Martha Monday.

For those that have never done the meme 5mart Martha Monday, here is what it is all about.

Each week you choose 5 things you want to accomplish that make you a smart Martha. Shelly came up with the idea for the name. She had a post about being a smart Martha on her blog You can read here what we mean by Smart Martha.

Shelly also suggested that we replace the S with the 5 since we are challenged with 5 things.

My 5 from last week:

1. Finish decluttering Tom and Christopher's room.
2. Pray 5 decades of the rosary.
3. Go to bed by 10 and get up by 6.
4. Sew Amelia's church dress and Tom and Christopher's shorts.
5. Finish reading the book Audrey.

Tom and Christopher's room is done. Yah!!!!!!!!!
I didn't do the rosary every day.
I was in bed every night by 10 but slept in a couple of mornings.
4. Amelia's dress is done except for the zip. I have cut out the boys shorts but still need to finish sewing them.
5. I actually only read one chapter of Audrey. My mother loaned me a book when I was in Adelaide. I started reading it last Monday night and found it hard to put down and finished that instead. I am going to read the rest of Audrey this week though.

My 5 for this week are:

1. Again try and pray the rosary every day.
2. Finish of Audrey.
3. Sew Tom and Christopher's shorts and shirts.
4. Mark Tom and Amelia's spelling and Maths each day.
5. Check all the children's chores each day and make sure they are keeping up with them.

Therese.

Where I blog from meme.

Sarah from Ora et Labora put up this fun meme and I wanted to take part.

Here is the place the I blog from. I took the photo yesterday because it wasn't to much of a disaster zone.

Sunday Silence.

The feast of Christ the King.

Blog competition.

Elena from Timeless Treasures is having a blog competition. Here are all the details.

T коли под наемimeless T reasures

Blog Competition Nov 2008

To celebrate the opening of my new auction site store Timeless Treasures I have put together my first competition here. There are lots of gorgeous prizes to win with a lovely secret surprise package included Total value of prizes is over AU$250.

There will be Three (3) Main prizes, plus Nine (9) consolation prizes. This is because I’d love to send out out lots of prezzies to as many of my readers as possible. And seeing we’re getting so close to Christmas wouldn’t you love to receive something special just for you!

It’s quite easy to enter - The most interesting comments will win. You can add to your winnings by notching up bonus entries for the consolation draws. Simply follow these steps below - then do one or do all of them, it’s up to you. Read on to see how many entries you can get. The more you do the more chances you will have of winning something special.

Blog Competition Rules & Conditions.

* This is a combined judging and drawn competition. First, Second and Third prizes are judged on the most interesting comments. Bonus entries go into a draw for the consolation prizes.
* Maximum number of prizes per entrant is 3 (three).
* The competition is open to anyone who has a blog or website, both Australian and International. (absolutely excluding inappropriate and adult themes). Postage for prizes is paid by EP Designs.
* Entries open Monday 10th November 2008 & close Monday 1st December 2008.
* The winners will be announced on Wednesday 3rd December 2008.

This is the compulsory part of the rules which enters you for the main prizes. This part must be completed before any bonus entries can be entered -

1. POST this competition in it’s entirety on your blog or website including the links.

2. COME back HERE and leave a comment with a link back to your post. Make sure you leave me an interesting comment. It can be gorgeous, cute, funny, fun …. whatever you feel - have a bit of fun and see what you can come up with.

OK - that’s all you have to do and you’ve entered the competition. Now, if you would like more opportunities to win more prizes, read on …..

BONUS ENTRIES: each thing you do will earn you bonus entries for the consolation prizes as follows, then come back to post what you’ve done, including links if applicable. It’s up to you how many you do. I will keep tally for each entrant -

3. POST this competition post with links in groups or forums you participate in = 3 Bonus entries.

4. COMPLETE a purchase from Timeless Treasures between 10/11/08 and 01/12/08 = 5 bonus entries.

5. STUMBLE this post (see button at end of post) or any other post on EP Designs blog = 2 bonus entry.

6. ADD EP Designs as your favourite on Technorati (new favourites only) = 2 bonus entry.

7. SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter (new subscribers only)- see top right sidebar for link- which will be sent out beginning from January 2009 = 2 bonus entries

8. INVITE your friends to enter. Tell them to say who sent them when they post here = 2 bonus entries Each (ie.2 for you and 2 for your friend).

9. REMEMBER to list here all the extra things you did to earn you bonus entries. You can post as you do them or all at once.

10. YOU must leave your name, country, links if appropriate and valid email when posting so I can contact the winners. When I notify the winners I will request full name and address. Prizes must be posted within one week of winners being announced (Wednesday 10th December 2008). If I don’t receive a reply from you within the week your prize will be forfeited.

* EP Designs reserves the right to delete any inappropriate comments or entrants with inappropriate or adult themed sites.

* All entries for both the compulsory and bonus entries will be checked for verification. Those which are falsely entrered will be deleted from the competition.

* Privacy Note: All details collected are purely for the purposes of carrying out and fulfilling this competition. Names will not be added to subscriptions (unless you have added yourself), and will not be passed on or sold to third parties.

* Prizes are not transferrable and cannot be exchanged.

* Total Prize Pool Value AU$253.75

*** Now Take a Look Here at the Prizes You Can Win ***

Enjoy the competition and have some fun.

Satan's meeting

H/T to Susan

How addicted to blogging are you?

61%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites

I thought it would have been higher.

H/T to Grace for this quiz.

At soccer tonight.

The weather here has been a bit cold for the last week. Tonight when we went to watch the soccer it was pretty cold and the wind was strong but Tom and Amelia both put a good fight. Their team lost 2 - 0 to the strikers. Last time they played them though they lost 6 - 0 so they must be improving.

Before the game

taking a break

Cheering the team on and eating good old chips



more chips yum yum



Tom was the goal keeper for the second half.
He was able to stop quite a few goals.

water leak problem

Read first, then watch video ...

Jennifer and Jim kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt
that the bills weren't representative of their actual usage, and no
matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continued.

Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for
leaks or problems: first the water meter, then outdoor pipes, indoor
pipes, underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker, etc. --
all to no avail. One day Jim was sick and stayed home in bed, but kept
hearing water running downstairs.

Apparently this was happening all day long when they were not at home.

Knowing that few would believe him, he taped a segment of the'problem'.

Count : 11 times in 2 minutes and 46 seconds!

What colour are you?

you are lavender #E6E6FA

Your dominant hue is blue, making you a good friend who people love and trust. You're good in social situations and want to fit in. Just be careful not to compromise who you are to make them happy. Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

H/T to Therese

I do like shades of purple and lavender is a shade of purple. I decided to change my blog colour too.

Therese.

The Holy Man.

A holy man was having a conversation with God one day and said, ' God , I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'

God led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished.

They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

God said, 'You have seen Hell.'

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.

The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'

It is simple,' said God . 'It requires but one skill.

You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you.

Wordless Wednesday.

This is my favourite Sesame Street you tube video.

The Butterfly Award.

Thank you Jean for passing on the Butterfly award to me.

The rules for this award are:

1. Pick ten people and pass this award to them.
2. Then contact them and let them know that you have chosen them and their blog for the award.
3. Also link back to the person who gave you the award.

I bestow this award on the following blogs:

1 Tea Time With Melody

2. Adreinne's Catholic Corner

3. Seeking Jesus

4. Nine Texans

5. The Escandon Family Blog

6. A peek of the Peeks

7. Signs and Wonders

8. Gem of the Ocean

9. Sailing by Starlight

10. Building the Ark

Thank you all for your wonderful blogs.

Therese

Please help this family.

Minnesota Mom: When Sarah Laughed

Recently I posted about a yahoo group that was starting for parents of Type one diabetic children. Our group was started by Michele Quigley

Michele has had two children diagnosed with type one diabetes in the last 6 months. At the moment she is waiting for insurance to come through and until it does they need to pay for the insulin themselves. At a cost of $600.00 per month per child they are struggling to meet basic medical care for their two insulin dependent children.

There is hope that they can do it. The kind people at Hillside Education are donating all their profit to this family from now until Christmas.

If you could please consider doing some shopping from Hillside Education and help this family I am sure they will be most grateful for all your help. There is also an option there to make a donation without buying something.

Here is a link to Hillside Education

Also join me in prayer for them all. I found the first two years of Tom's diagnosis the hardest and the learning curve was very steep. I cannot even imagine trying to cope with two diagnosis.

Thanks to Margaret from Minnesota Mom for posting this information.

Thanks
Therese