Sunday Silence.

Saint Monica. Feast Day 27th August.

A fun day and a disaster in the Kitchen.

Today Bill and Linda had a wedding to attend in Port Augusta. Between the ceremony and reception, they came to our house for lunch and their 8 children stayed while they went to the reception.

It has been great having another family in the house. Lots of children means lots of hungry bellies to fill though so we made a huge pot of spaghetti for tea. I was quite surprised they were able to eat the whole lot. It was a nice sauce though.

I had my first cooking disaster in my kitchen today though. Today I decided to mix up a big batch of muffins. I forgot that the recipe needed 6 teaspoons of bi carb soda and started putting in tablespoons. I put in three tablespoons before I realized this is frothing up way too much when I had put in three tablespoons. This was just three teaspoons more than usual but enough extra that the muffins all rose a lot and then went flat. They also stuck like crazy to my non stick pans that had been sprayed with cooking oil. We ended up with ten trays of sticky muffins that we couldn't really get out. The muffins tasted okay but they were all in pieces. Oh well. I will have to make some more tomorrow and remember that it is 6 teaspoons, not 6 tablespoons.

Australians Joining the one minute of prayer.

Here are the times Australians need to be praying for the one minute of prayer.

Those in Perth on Western Time are to pray at 9.00am.
Those in Adelaide/Darwin on Central Time pray at 10.30
Those in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart on Eastern Time pray at 11.30.

My post on One Minute of Prayer

Abby Road's Post on One Minute of Prayer

I hope that helps others to join in.

God bless
Therese

Friday Funny.

Adam and Eve.

A little girl asked her mother:
'How did the human race appear?'
The mother answered, 'God made Adam and Eve;
they had children; and so was all mankind made.'
Two days later the girl asked her father the same question.
The father answered,
'Many years ago there were monkeys from
which the human race evolved.'
The confused girl returned to her mother and said,
‘mum, how is it possible that you told me the
human race was created by God,
and dad said they developed from monkeys?'
The mother answered,
'Well, Dear, it is very simple.
I told you about my side of the family,
and your father told you about his.'

Please join in One Minute of Prayer.

From Abbey's blog

The United States of America and our citizens need prayer more than ever!!! If you would like to participate, each evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, the upcoming election, that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land and that Christianity will grow in the U.S. If you know anyone who would like to participate, please pass this along.

I too will join in. A simple way we can all make a big difference.

Therese

Super Comentator.

Thank you Jen from He knows my name for passing on the award Super Commentator.

I feel very privileged to receive this award from you. Your blog is also inspirational and one I love to visit. I only wish there were more hours in a day that I could spend seeing all the blogs I love.


The 'rules' of acceptance are that you nominate 7 other bloggers to receive the award.

My seven are:

Louise from Percell's Chicken Voluntary.

Jean from Catholic Fire.

Alexandria from Happy Hearts at Home.

SuzyQ from Sailing by Starlight.

Adrienne from Adrienne's Catholic Corner.

JoAnn from Creamer Chronicles

Shelly from Keeper of the Keys.

Mad World by Barack Obama.

I know that many of you have probably seen these all but today was the first time I have. I am sickened by the thought that some politicians think that aborted babies should not have basic medical care if they survive an abortion.

Blogging friend forever.

Thank you Shirley for passing on the blogging friend forever award to me.

I really enjoy following your blog and reading about your journey of faith. Thank you for being a blogging friend forever.

I pass this award onto the following blogs:

Jane from Building the Ark

Angie from Garza Clan of Colorado

Lilder from Umm, where am I

Lowdenclear

Lynn from Signs and Wonders

oxymoron of the week.

Catholics For Obama.

What a worry. How can one be Catholic and support a pro abortion candidate?

I don't think it is possible.

A Traditional Catholic.

Marilena is one of my favourite blogs to visit regularly.

She is having a give away. Her giveaway is a copy of the book The Incredible Catholic Mass. I won a copy of this book from Shirley and since reading the reviews on Amazon I am looking forward to receiving it.

I most certainly hope this guy is not the next president of USA

Thanks to Jean for emailing me this.

Silent Sunday.

Thou art Peter and on this rock, I will build my Church.

Another meme.

Thanks Cathy for tagging me for Quirky Meme.

1. I am an extrovert but very shy.

2. I like my bed extra hot and wouldn't ever get into one without an electric blanket in winter.

3. I often write letters and cards but rarely post them if they need to go snail mail. Email is perfect for me.

4. I like being on committees for extra curricular activities our children are involved in.

I tag anyone that wants to do this. Just let me know in the comment box.

Therese

Blogiversary.

Today it is two years since I started this blog. I cannot believe two years have gone.

I am very grateful to all the people I have come to know over the last two years through blog and appreciate everyones friendship very much.

thank you for all your comments, friendship and prayers.

God bless
Therese

Me? A saint?

Esther and Easter both tagged me for the holy card meme.

What picture would I use for my holy card, should I make it to sainthood, and of what cause(s) would I want to be patroness of?


Well, while I was thinking about it today I was thinking about how much I hate washing. I then came across this photo that my uncle took of me. I have no idea how old I am in it but I remember when he showed it to my mother, she was very upset that I had a photo taken with all the washing in the background. I then decided that this picture would be a perfect one for me if I was made a saint. I also thought that I could be the patron of mothers that hate washing.It has to be done by someone but it is such a tedious and drawn out job.

I want to tag the following for this meme:

Cathy

Jackie

Lisa

Leah

Athanasius contra mundum

Pro abortion Politicians.

Yesterday I wrote to all the SA senators in support of the bill to terminate Medical funding for second trimester abortions.

Today I got my first two responses to my emails.

The first was an out of office auto reply from Cory Bernadi so I am unaware of his stance at this stage.

The second was from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. She tells me that the Australian Greens support womens rights to control reproduction including the right to have access to safe and affordable abortions.

Well how politically correct The Australian Greens are.

In supporting a womens right to reproduction, The Australian Greens are supporting a mothers right to kill her own child. How sad. I will be praying for all in the Australian Greens party and all the politicians that support the killing of a child by their mother.

What a crazy world we live in.

My little helper.

Christopher was annoying Tom and Amelia today when they were trying to get their school work done. I called him away and asked him to help me with the washing. Here he is putting a new load of washing on. He tried to get a bit too much into the machine though.

Medicare, not Medikill.

Medicare, not medikill

On 17 September 2008, Senator Guy Barnett (Liberal, Tas) will move a disallowance motion in the Senate seeking to tip the balance of power in favour of voiceless unborn children. The motion aims to terminate Medicare funding for abortions performed in the second trimester of pregnancy – 14 to 26 weeks gestation.

All Australians, please go to the link and sign the poll. Also, write to your senators and ask them to vote for this bill. If this bill gets through, it is a step in the right direction. I have sent of a pollie mail in support of Senator Barnett. Please join me in praying for this motion to get through. Maybe it will save some children from death.

Therese

Wednesday.

Today I received a package in the mail from the lovely Suzy from Scraps of Starlight.

These prints are gorgeous. I am so happy to be the proud owner of them. I am hoping to put them in our end room when we start renovating it which is going to be a classroom/family room area for the children.

The prints that I won can be viewed at this link

If you would like to be the owner of some prints or art work like these pictures, you can purchase them at Suzy's Etsy Shop.

Thank you Suzy for these prints and your give away.

Therese

Be Not Afraid.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been writing about Tom and diabetes for a book. Leticia from Cause of our Joy wrote to me an invited me to write something to be a part of a book called "Be Not Afraid: The Extraordinary Vocation of Special Motherhood".

I am so happy to have a chance to write something about Tom and speak about the affect having a special needs child has on our family.

Please pray for me as I put together my essay. Also pray for the success of the book. I hope that the book will help mothers out there see that every single life is valuable.

Therese

My prayer for all who come to my blog.

TO: God.com

Dear Lord,

Every single evening As I'm lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer Keeps running through my head:

God bless all my family Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm and safe from harm
For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing I wish that you could do;
Hope you don't mind me asking, Please bless my computer, too.

Now I know that it's unusual To Bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box Holds more than odds and ends;
Inside those small compartments Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list On your own Great CD-ROM,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to god.com



Amen

Thanks to Annelisa
for emailing me this.

This is beautiful.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy Chanted.

500 posts.

Tonight is my 500th post on blogger.

Here are some good senior jokes my mil and fil sent to us.

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, 'Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.'

The gentleman replied, 'Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!'


______________________________________




An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen.

The two gentlemen were talking and one said, 'Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly.'

The other man said, 'What is the name of the restaurant?'

The first man thought and thought and finally said, 'What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... The one that's red and has thorns.'

'Do you mean a rose?'

'Yes, that's the one,' replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, 'Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?'



______________________________________




Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet, who insisted he didn't need my help to leave the hospital.

After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator.

On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him.

'I don't know,' he said. 'She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.'



______________________________________





Three old guys are out walking.

First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'

Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'

Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go get a drink.'



______________________________________




A man was telling his neighbour, 'I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect.'

'Really,' answered the neighbour. 'What kind is it?'

'Twelve thirty.'

This looks like an interesting read.

Lisa Hendey has written a review of Teresa Tomeos new book, Newsflash: My Surprising Journey from Secular Anchor to Media Evangelist.

This book sounds like a great read. It is going on to my must read list.

Is Contraception evil?

Last Saturday week, Steve spoke at mass about WYD. I wrote about it here.

Today we got a letter from a lady that was visiting our parish that night.

The letter was positive about nfp and our use of it but the lady was concerned that in calling contraception evil, Steve was putting a burden onto vulnerable and less fortunate people that have chosen to/been advised to use contraception for their own or families well being.

I just think that this is very sad. Never would it be in a families interest for a couple to contracept. Contraception is evil. It divides a couple rather than unites them. It makes the act of marriage about me and what I can get out of this rather than about us and what gift we can give to each other.

Telling people the truth is not burdensome. It is in hearing the truth that people are able to make informed decisions and choose what is right. Without the truth, many people are hurting themselves without realizing what it is that is hurting them.

Please pray for all people that think contraception is in their/their families interest. Contraception hurts everyone.

Wordless Weekday.

Our younger 5 children at the circus this year.

A meme.

Esther responded to my meme question and said I might like this meme. I went and checked out her blog and this meme looks like fun.


Summertime Meme

1.(a) When does summer start for you? (b) When does it end?

Summer starts in December and ends in February. We have warm weather from September till May usually though.


2.(a) Favorite Food(s) to cook on a grill:

An Australian BBQ. Chops, sausages, onions and potatoes.

2.(b) any recipe you'd like to share?

This is not a BBQ or grill recipe but I love love love my Butterscotch Icecream recipe

3. Favorite summertime smell:

Sun cream.


4.(a) Where was your last summer vacation?

Port Broughton

4(b) Where did you go (or what did you do) on your favorite summer vacation?

The Port Broughton holiday would have to be one of our favourite holidays. It was just a really nice relaxing holiday.

5. Favorite summertime dessert?

Duh. The Butterscotch icecream.


6(a). Favorite summer sport?

I don't have a favourite sport.

6(b)Why?

Because I am not a sporty person.

7.(a) Do you tan easily?

Yes.


(b)Favorite suntan lotion?

none.

8. What do you like best about summer?

I love it being day light in the evenings and going out for walks.


9. What do you hate about summer?

Definitely the mosquitoes.


10. Do you like theme parks?

Yes.

What's your favorite ride?

I really like the pirate ship that does a complete turn.


11. Favorite Summertime movie(s)?

hmm. State Fair.


12. Favorite Summertime Book(s)?

I cannot think of one.


13. Favorite picnic spot?

The foreshore.

14. Footwear?

Sandals or thongs.


15. Favorite Summer flower?

Sturt Desert Peas.


16. Favorite summer song(s).




17. Things you used to do, and miss in the summer:

Going to the beach as a family with my Uncle Robert.

18. Summer poem?

Don't really know.

Consider yourself tagged if you said you liked meme's in My meme question

Meme's question.

I am not doing a meme, but I often wonder what other bloggers think of them so tonight I thought I would ask for other peoples opinions of them. Personally, I love getting tagged and putting the latest meme on my blog. I don't have to think much about what to write if I have been tagged except to answer the questions that are asked. I also like that they make me think about what I am really like and what I know. They even inform me of things I don't know.

So what do all you other bloggers think of meme's? Do you like to get tagged? Do you think it is a pain? Do you like putting meme's on your blog and answering questions? Let me know in the comment box.

Saturday.

We had a very productive day. All the house work was done by about 11am and I was able to finish of most of our cooking. I have another lot of pizza's to make and the pasties then we will be finished for another month.

Tonight we went to mass again. Steve is getting involved with the music ministry and we have been singing a song in Latin at the offertory. I really like the singing in Latin. It makes the Mass more reverent.

Tomorrow Daniel is heading off to Adelaide for the week. He is doing work experience with my sister who is an accountant. Daniel is interested in getting into accounting when he finishes school so it should be a good experience for him.

New babies are wonderful.

For a while I have been meaning to say congratulations to Annelisa and Marty on the birth of Dominic Joseph.

Recently John Michael and Regan also had a baby girl and named her Gianna Clare.

Congratulations to both sets of parents from Aussie Coffee Shop.

Therese

Mushroom pasta recipe,

Karen asked how I make Mushroom pasta so here is the recipe I use:

1 tbspn oil
500 grams mushrooms sliced.
120 grams onions diced.
375 mls evaporated milk (I sometimes use normal milk).
2 tbspns tomato paste.
2 tspns dijon mustard.
1 tspn paprika.
30 grams cheese.
black pepper to taste.
300 grams pasta.

put pasta in boiling water and boil till done.
while it is cooking prepare your sauce.

cook onions and mushrooms in oil for about 5 minutes.
Mix together the milk, tomato paste, mustard and paprika.
add milk mixture to mushrooms with cheese and pepper.
Stir until sauce begins to boil and add pasta.

Enjoy.

A word from Steve.

Steve has written about his World Youth Day experience for our Diocesan Magazine. Here is what he wrote:

World Youth Day was great. The food was good, accommodation excellent and the company superb. I was pleased to see so many of the clergy and religious walking the streets of Sydney in their religious garb. It is a great witness to the world and proclaims that 'God is good.' I felt proud to be Catholic.

Because of World Youth Day, I came to love Jesus more. This came about through three main events, Mass, Confession and Adoration. The Masses at our catechesis venue were excellent. They were so prayerful and reverent. Some of the songs were sung in Latin and I think this is what really created the atmosphere to celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass. Confession left me with a sense of freedom and readiness to make a new start in life. Adoration is what I think brought me close to Jesus. Just being able to sit at the feet of Jesus in silence is an experience I find hard to describe in words. Best to try it out for yourselves.

Each evening we had the choice of a multitude of talks, workshops, drama and music to choose from. One of the talks I went to see was by Jason Everett. It was on chastity and was specifically aimed at teenagers. Not only was it educational but also very entertaining. He was able to hold the attention of my teenagers for 90 minutes. His website is Pureloveclub.com. It's worth checking out for resources.

Another talk that I really enjoyed was by Christopher West. He is a world expert on 'The Theology Of The Body'. It is basically about Gods plan and purpose for sex and how our sexuality fits into our vocation in life. He spoke so clearly about the evils of contraception and how it attacks society and the family. As the use of contraceptives become more prevalent through the 60's and 70's so did divorce increase. This was actually predicted by Pope Paul IV in his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.

One last event I would like to mention is a play we went to see. It was about the life and death of Saint Maria Goretti. Even though there was only one actor in the play it was still very entertaining. With the use of recorded voices and a large projector screen he was able to act out the part of Alisandro, the murderer of Maria.

Tuesday.

Thanks to all who prayed for Christopher. He is still a bit under the weather but definitely improving.

This weekend I am having my cooking weekend and preparing our main meals.

I am going to have a go at making some of my own shortcut pastry. I haven't made this before. I have tried filo pastry and that didn't turn out very well at all. I am making my own pastry for some pasties. The recipe I am using is here.

The other things on my menu plan are:

King Ranch Chicken.
Chicken Spaghetti.
Zucchini Slice.
Tuna Mornay.
Mushroom pasta.
Shepherds pie.
Pizza's.
Chicken Chow Mein.
Chicken Snitzel's.

Prayers for Christopher please.

Christopher has picked up some nasty gastro bug. Throughout the night Steve and I were up to him about 4 times because he had thrown up. Today hasn't been much better. He is throwing up every time he tries to eat something.

I think tomorrow I will try the BRAT diet on him and see if he can keep that down.

Please keep our little man in your prayers.

Therese

Sunday.

Because we went to the Vigil Mass last night, we had a quite day at home today. It was nice to sit in the sun and play a bit with the children. We even had a game of soccer where the boys versed the girls. The boys won 5-2 but it was a fun game.

This afternoon Steve and I watched a video online from St. Michael's media on Hell. I was struck while watching it, how much the world denies many many truths about the faith and deny themselves the opportunity of receiving sanctifying grace to get to Heaven.

The first part of the video can be watched here.

The presenter, Michael Voris speaks very eloquently and does not mince words. He tells us the churches teaching without sugar coating it.

It is inspiring to hear someone speak the truth with such a passion and conviction.

Tonight at church.

Tonight after Mass, we had two speakers give a talk on WYD. Steve was one of the speakers and I am so proud of him and what he said.

He spoke about the Masses they attended and how they were reverent because of the music. He also spoke about having adoration and going to confession.

After speaking about this, he went on and spoke about the Catechisis classes that he and the children did.

They went to talks by Jason Everett and Christopher West on chastity and the Theology of the body. Steve mentioned that Christopher spoke about contraception and how evil it was and about NFP which we have used. When he said this I felt sure that every eye in the room was on me. I was glad he got up and spoke these words for people to hear though as so many people never hear these words or even realize that contraception is evil.

Please pray for the people in our parish that heard these words today. I hope that hearing these words will make these people think about contraception and how it has a negative impact on marriage and family life.

Therese

Will the Real World please stand up.

Many of you probably recognise the title of my post. It is the opening chapter for the book, Please Don't drink the Holy Water.

Today I started reading this book and it looks like it is going to be a great read. I was really struck by the opening and the fact that this world is not the real world. It is a fallen world and the real world is Heaven.

Once I have finished the book, I will let you know my full impression of it. I am looking forward to reading it.

----------------------------------------------------

Please remember also this Friday to pray for the Unemployed. Easter from mostly prayers has asked us all to remember families especially every Friday. Since today is the First Friday of the month, lets all ask Mary to interceed for all families that are in need in our world.