The Scandals

I had debated with myself for the past few days on whether to publish this post... I find it so important to put out there though... in these times, I have seen and heard Catholics who get cornered about the priest scandals; we, as Catholics, need to be proud to be who we are, not in fear because the media wants to play out this "coverage" on this men who are accused of acts. As we pray for these men, we continue to pray for our Church's firm stance on how we are moved towards Christ through the sacraments and graces that we are blessed with. I hope this article helps any one out there who is worried about these times.

God Bless, KA

Jewish Sam Miller on Catholics

Excerpts of an article written by non-Catholic Sam Miller - a prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman:

"Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church?

Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to that Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. The graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%.

The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students.The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today.

But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.

Let me give you some figures that Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed.Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic Problem.

A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.

The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.

Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States . Then remember what Jeremiah said: 'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'.

Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions.Be proud that you're a Catholic."

The Wish List

I figure I have a few weeks until Mother's Day, and since I know my hubby reads this blog sometimes, I figure what a perfect way to give a hint...and for you bloggers out there to see my style and taste in material things!

So without further waiting...here is my growing "Wish List" (and by wish, I mean I would need a falling star to wish upon OR a fairy godmother to actually get these things anytime soon!)...but it's suppose to be fun to window shop!
First up, is this ADORABLE Kitchenmaid 5 Qt. Artisan Colbalt Blue Mixer stand and stationary bowl with all the fixin's.... as I grow to love baking, I find myself in need of some sort of mixer (whether Hand mixer OR electric, but since this is a wish list...AWWWW!)

I just see me and B having fun mixing all sorts of things in the new house (when we finally own it, in two weeks!!)

Plus how cute would it be to somewhat match the blue theme I would love to have for my kitchen...






Ok so next up, the Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook. I know, I know, I'm not really the Martha Stewart type ( I mean other than wearing pearls while I do the dishes, so that I can feel more feminine while I hurricane-like clean my apartment), I guess my deep hope is that this book will help me with my new home as well... especially cleaning some of the stuff I have NO IDEA how to get clean and hopefully in environmentally-friendly/child-proof/chemically-free way. I've heard some great things about this handbook from lots of friends who also have little hands in their homes...so again, it's a stretch, but it's still on the top of my wish list items!





Next up is a cute cake stand, sorta like this one... but maybe a different one is fine by me! I figure, this summer has a LOT of cakes to make (Mr. and soon-to-be-Mrs. Texas engagement party cake, 3 Allex birthdays at our new home, and countless other fun party reasons like a new housewarming party, a fun 4th of July party!) The sky is really the limit when it comes to cakes and why not just get a cute little stand that can hold a 10 inch cake? I love it! And I really love the vintage/porcelain look!






Another thing I've noticed I've needed (but maybe not this one exactly) is a sewing machine... Although, I will say I LOVE this one because it can do monogramming without any hand movement of the fabric. I absolutely love monogrammed things, especially for little girls :) So I guess that's why this one is on my wish list!

Now granted, it's a little steep in price, so to try to justify this one (although can anyone really ever justify a self-ish gift?), since our new home needs drapes/window details for each room, which has different bedroom window dimensions, I thought how perfect and amazing would it be if I could make my own drapes, napkins for my blue kitchen, and fix all my hubby's clothing that has holes in it! PLUS I could make cute new baby blankets and other cute layettes as well!

Well these are just a few of my wish list dreams... aww to dream! have a great rest of your night!

As I quickly go and (hopefully) change my laundry to a dryer... enjoy this clip! I will be back to rant shortly about the patience I am learning to have with my neighbors..... needless to say, I cannot wait to have my own home with a personal laundry room that I can do as much laundry and not have to wait for horrible neighbors who forget, no, abandon their own now-molding-clean clothing in the washing machine.... good grief... God is good :) Oh and YES Mommy DID teach Bumblebee "Ready, Set..." "GO!!" all by myself to surprise Daddy!

Cute Laughs

So I thought it's such a perfect day for a cute laugh... and why not give my readers one to listen to? This is our little Tiger with one of my youth group girl's dogs.... Super Hubby and I wanted to bring the kiddies out to the park and Ash came with her "Poppie" for BumbleBee to play with... We never expected our son to be one who was more excited about a "Poppie"....

A Wonderful Conversation

Tonight, Super Hubby and I made a phone call to Great Grandma Ellie... we have really been discerning something that has been weighing on our hearts and we felt we needed guidance from someone, so we called upon the help from someone we love dearly to see what her thoughts were to our connundrum... she gave us her wisdom and even put a new spin on it to us... It was a hearty conversation, one that at times had me tearing up in the background has my hubby chatted his opinions... but during this lively discussion and conversation, something happened.

Something that had been heavy on my heart was able to be discussed and resolved; it was beautiful and so rewarding to hear that she loves me so much... I mean I knew she loved me, I'm married to her first grandson, I birthed her first great-granddaughter, we've always been friendly towards each other...but to discuss that burden on my heart and to hear those kind words that she loves us so much and is completely willing to be here for us to support us through love and prayer.... well I just had to come and blog about how much I love this woman; to thank her publicly for all that she had done for us as a small family, for us as a couple, for me as an individual when I thought I would lose my mind... I love her so much and it was so great to hear that from her... so I thank you Grandma Ellie for that love and for sharing that with me tonight in our conversation...

OH and just for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful woman of God, well she is a fantastic painter! So much so that I am blessed to be an owner of her work; you see Preston and her talked about a tea pot that I was searching for through my life... and as my birthday gift, she worked for months on painting the exact tea pot in my mind and completely surprised me with it on Easter! It is so beautiful and I wanted to show off her wonderful work... so take a look! It even has a special inscribing for me on the bottom!!

The Easter trip to Fargo

This year, we were able to go to Fargo to see the in-laws and family... it was actually quite the weekend!! With 17 people in one house, it was very busy and never a dull moment... to say the least!

We left Thursday night so that on Friday morning we could all go to an abortion mill in downtown Fargo to pray the stations of the cross with the Diocese of Fargo's Bishop and other Catholics in the area. The picture is when we were across the street... there really seemed to be a good turn out for the stations! Standing so close to a building that claims it will give women their futures back, with my daughter in my arms... all I could do was cry softly. If only they could meet their child before they made their "choice"... It was a very somber Good Friday.

Although this prayer service was challenging... we left with lifted hearts as we drove to David's Bridal to find a cute flower girl dresses for our niece and our daughter for my Sister-In-Law's wedding that is coming up in late July. When we arrived, both Super Hubby and I were shocked to find that some flower girl dresses for 2 year-olds were over $100!!! WHAT?!?! Super Hubby and I were blown away to think of our daughter, who is a princess in our eyes, in such an expensive dress!! Even with Great Grandma Ellie offering to pay for this beautiful gown (as seen on our daughter to the right), both Super Hubby and I needed to go and pray about this material object... the questions that buzzed through our hearts included: is it alright to buy such an expensive dress when the money could do so much good in other means? Is it wrong for us to accept or deny a gift from a loved one that is so expensive? Is a $80 dress expensive for a 2 year-old if it's for a wedding?? After a week's time of prayer, discernment, and speaking with spiritual guidance, we made a decision... but I guess you'll have to see it come late-July's post on the wedding!

Meanwhile this little man became quite the sensation at the in-law home. He loved all the attention!! This is a smile I've never seen from T the Tiger! He enjoyed crawling around, trying to figure out who Aurielle, his cousin, was since he hadn't played with her in about two months...

Saturday's Easter Vigil was quite the sensation. We were able to go to mass at the new santuary that the parish had been working on for at least 2 years. The Vigil was some 2 and a half hours long, with 9 readings, and the extended Eucharistic prayer, all starting at 8:30 p.m. BUT it was quite the amazing vigil to be at. We parked ourselves in the crying room, not that we like being set apart from the larger congregation, but we knew the babies would have a hard time since it was so close to the bedtime; and we didn't want to be a disruption from the whole Vigil. At the Vigil, our soon-to-be-brother-in-law was welcomed into the Catholic Church family!! It was very exciting to see such a site.

Easter Sunday had the Easter Bunny come to the In-Law Household...while in the morning, it left the baskets filled with Catholic movies and Catholic coloring books and even fun teething foods. Mommy crashed pretty hard with a three hourish nap due to the Easter Bunny's arrival in the house wasn't until 2:30 a.m.... so when I woke up, Great Grandma Ellie's marvelous food was all ready to eat! It was marvelous to have good food that Baby A let me enjoy by staying in my tummy! Meanwhile after dinner, it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt. Can anyone explain to me how a bunny gets eggs and hides them??? yeah... b/c I can't. But my daughter LOVED it! Each little egg had a fun Sesame Street character mold for her to play with in the car! I figure these 6 little friends can be her car toys so that we don't always grab large toys to keep her occupied in the backseat! Altogether, it was a nice trip to Fargo for another holiday break.

A Nice Day in the Park

Since the weather has been wonderful in MN recently, we took the babies out to the park! Bumblee has gotten a LOT bigger since last April, so we made sure she got some new protective eye gear for the bright sun! She absolutely LOVES her new sunglasses that we call "the Babu vision" since they are pink glasses.








T the Tiger LOVED the time on the swings with Daddy... granted, he white-knuckled for each swing, but he giggled each time Daddy tried to "run" under him...
Meanwhile Bumble Bee found a friendly "DOG!" so we asked if she was friendly enough to pet... Bumble Bee LOVES animals... she is quite the franciscan animal lover at heart. She was awfully sad to leave the dogs at the park, but we reassured her that one she would have her own puppy...but first she needs to grow a little bit bigger so that she can help train him/her too.