Moments of Gratitude…

Today I am especially thankful for

• Family.
• Friends who pray for us and love us, especially those who have never met us in person.
• The heat wave leaving and the fog rolling in.
• The smell (and taste) of fresh baked granola.
• A day of no errand running (other than dropping off and picking up kids) so I can finally finish this post, do some baking and catch up on house work.

Beauty in the Ordinary…

I love ordinary Sundays that turn into an impromptu lunch date with the hubby because Opa was willing to watch all the kids at the last minute.

In the Kitchen…

M – (Cinco de Mayo) Chicken tacos, homemade pinto beans, green beans and guac/salsa.

T – Spaghetti and salad.

W – Turkey meatloaf, brown rice and roasted asparagus.

Th – Homemade wheat pizza and Greek salad.

F – Tuna Melts & tomato soup.

S – Leftovers.

S – (Mother’s Day’s/The in-laws are coming over for dinner) Enchilada lasagna, black beans, broccoli and salad.

Side Note – When we went out to lunch I was craving a chicken Caesar salad. Do any of you have a recipe for a healthy version that you like?

Praying…

• For Brian’s chemo and continued recovery from cancer.
• For all those who are fighting cancer and other illnesses.
• For all moms.
• For those who suffer with longing to be a mom.
• For moms who have lost a child.
• For moms dealing with an unwanted pregnancy.
• For moms who feel burned out, stressed or alone.
• For those who have lost their mom.

On the homefront……

On Monday Brian started his third round of chemo. Once he is done with this round he is half way done with chemo treatment. Brian talked to the doctor about some of the “red flags” that were showing up in his side effects. The doc said Brian’s dosage needed to be altered so we’ll see how it affects him.

Pondering…

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It’s funny but this weekend I was thinking that I have to make sure that I am prepared to care for the house and kids solo since the first week of the chemo cycle is hardest on Brian. I also knew that I had to try my best not to get stressed out in front of Brian because I know it bothers him that he needs to sleep while I do the work. If I am yelling at the kids and huffing about this and that, it will only make him feel worse. I knew I had to smile, be cheerful and give him lots of reassuring kisses that the kids and I are okay and we’ll pull together to keep things running smoothly.

Well, God must have wanted to put an exclamation point on that thought because my mom calls me up and tells me that she needs me to do something. She said she needs me to be Mary Poppins this week. HUH?? She said she was about to make lunch when she had a strong urge to call me and  tell me that Brian needs me, really needs me. I have to be the heart and strength of the family right now and channel my feistiness into fighting this cancer by being Mary Poppins – not losing my temper, keeping the kids and house in order and letting Brian know that he can relax and focus on getting better, not worrying about us. It’s exactly what God has been putting on my heart.

Monday and Tuesday the grace was flowing and I was Poppin it all over the place. But this morning was one of those morning when everything was going wrong and I felt more like Ursula than Mary Poppins. After getting Bella and Andrew to school I had a 10 minute window before I had to get the little boys ready for school. I stopped to pray and pleaded with God to take the anger and calm me down. I asked for the calmness of Mother Mary. It helped, a lot. I was able to kiss Brian goodbye and get the boys off without losing it. Sometimes a bit of prayer is the spoonful of sugar you need. 😉

Around the house…

I’m going through all the kids’ old clothes and seeing what is worth handing down and what should just be given away.

Reading…

Although my sister is sending me a hard copy, I couldn’t wait to start reading so I also downloaded the kindle version of Jen’s new book Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It.

I also just started reading…

The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home

The Fault in Our Stars

Listening to…

Matthew singing the Frozen song, “In Summer.” (With great emphasis on the word Summerrrrrrrrrr.)

Watching…

We are catching up on DVR’ed shows – Mr. Selfridge Season 2 (They kept their pants on this season.), Blechley Cirlce Season 2 (Not sure if I liked it as much as season 1.) , Revenge (Conrad got it this time!) The Blacklist (I’m on the edge of my seat!), Fr. Brown, Grimm (I’m loving Truble.) and Hallmark’s Signed, Sealed and Delivered.

On the blog…

Running late since this post should have been posted Monday. 😉

In the blogosphere…

This morning I read a heartfelt post from Haley titled Dear Moms, Don’t Hate Yourself for Liking Social Media. Here is a snippet:

…I don’t think the importance of face-to-face friendship makes online community worthless. It’s easy to dismiss social media friendship because the dangers of obsessing over virtual life are so obvious. But, I think online community can be incredibly valuable.

Because what’s a mama to do during those times when pursuing face-to-face community is nearly impossible? Your kids have been sick for two weeks so you’re stuck at home. You live in a rural area and can’t make it into town daily. You’re on the couch with morning sickness. Your days are filled with medical appointments for a child who needs extra care due to health issues. You’re recovering from a miscarriage. You’re having difficulty finding friends who understand your lifestyle or faith? What do you do then when you need community more than ever but can’t just hop over to a girlfriend’s house for a heart-to-heart?

I think that’s when online community really can be wonderful. Both to connect us to our established relationships with real life friends and to connect us to like-minded women all over the world who are willing to share life together despite never meeting in person.

Bonnie echoed the same sentiment when she said…

One day Cari Donaldson made the comment that it didn’t matter if she only knew you through the internet. If she talked to you every day and thought of you as a friend you were a friend. An in real life friend.

Her declaration allowed me to let out a sigh of relief because suddenly I didn’t feel like a weirdo  – the only one who felt that way about her online friends. These women who I chat with and pray for every day, who happen to live in other states and time zones and countries, whom I had never actually met in real life: THEY WERE MY FRIENDS!

I love Haley and Bonnie’s posts because I can completely relate.  I have local Catholic mom friends but we are all so busy we don’t get to see each other face to face as often as we’d like. Plus, they aren’t social media happy/crazy the way I am so we don’t have that daily contact. My online friends understand the bond you can have with a person without meeting them. (Heck, I fell in love with my husband before seeing him in person!) So it is nice to know that they, and so many others, share that bond and understand how important it is in on our lives. 🙂 So to you, that long distance, unmet friend reading this, a big xoxo to you! 😉

This topic is being covered today by four other bloggers. I just read Kendra’s and it is hilarious. Next I have to go check out Molly, Mandi, and Christy.

Pinned…

Not much time for Pinterest but I did pin this one.

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gluten free and low carb strawberry mug cakes

Plans for the Week…

I am hoping for a quiet week, although on Thursday there is a mother’s day party at John-Paul’s preschool and on Sunday we’ll have Brian’s parents over for dinner. 🙂

Captured…

When Matthew was young he used to like to sit in the hamper while I did the laundry.

He still does. (He just graduated to a larger hamper.) 🙂

Linking-Up with…

Jenny at The Littlest Way

A Mama Collective’s Currently

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