I am a mom to six amazing kids, brought to us by birth and adoption, and a wife to a great man. My hubby and I have been married 15 years and live in the metro DC area. We are Catholic and love our faith and Jesus. I homeschool our three boys and play with our toddlers and baby. I am an ACE certified Personal trainer and I have my MA in counseling and also Life Coach on the side too. And I love to run. I started running the Spring of 2009 as a way to increase my cardio fitness. And I fell in love with running. I ran my first 1/2 marathon that December and my first Marathon in April 2011.
What you will find on this blog:
This blog is a hodge podge of all of the cross sections of my life. It is not a homeschooling blog. It is not a running blog. It is not a Catholic blog. It is not an adoption blog. It is not a family life blog. It is all of the above. This blog is, essentially, my scrapbook and journal of things I want to remember.
Jun
1
Holy Spirit, Come and Renew the Face of the Earth
We had no intention of taking our little kids into church today. Our diocese is not holding masses yet, just communion services and with Thomas still recovering from major surgery, we planned on taking turns going in with our older children and leaving the littles in the car. But, as we dressed for church, they did too. Dresses. Dress shirts. They were excited. And I did not want to quell that excitement, so we grabbed their masks and brought them all into the church.
Jun
1
Lillies
After the rain finally stopped, I headed outside and picked these. They grow in random areas in our flower beds and aren’t too attractive, if I am honest. But, I just cannot consider the thought of ripping them out. I see them. I smell them, and I think of my grandmother. They used to grow on the side of my grandparents’ house. And every time I see these blooms, I am reminded of her. She’s been gone as long as I have been married and I still miss her.
Jun
1
Captivated
This morning, after prayer with all of the kids, I laid my head on the kitchen table. Pete looked at me and said, “What would you like to do today?”
“I guess, go for a run,” I responded, with not too much enthusiasm. That half-hearted statement opened the door just enough for my husband to give me the kick I needed. And, he, very gently, forced me out the door.
“I guess, go for a run,” I responded, with not too much enthusiasm. That half-hearted statement opened the door just enough for my husband to give me the kick I needed. And, he, very gently, forced me out the door.
May
12
Thank You!!
It is Tuesday morning and we are home! Thomas is happily playing with his sisters in the living room while I sit at the computer to type this. I wanted to take a few minutes to write out our experience and to thank everyone who lifted prayers for us or were involved in some way in this whole process.
Thomas and I headed down to Milwaukee Thursday evening to check into the Ronald McDonald house.
Thomas and I headed down to Milwaukee Thursday evening to check into the Ronald McDonald house.
Apr
29
Dancing: What He Really Meant
I’ve been really struggling lately. The lingering winter that just won’t seem to break into blooms and sun filled days, the death of a good friend, and the weight of decisions looming have made me feel more anxious and restless. My kids were acting up this morning in the flurry of breakfast and school drop off. But even before that, the voice in my head kept ringing.
Mar
4
Dance into Your Inheritance
As soon as breakfast was over, she ran up to her room to get dressed. She had laid out her pink leotard, pink tights, and ballet shoes. She even found her “tutu pink” undies so that she matched perfectly. She beamed with excitement; a day she had waited and hoped for for a while, she would be starting ballet for the first time.
We drove to the class and I looked in the rear view mirror to get a glimpse of her. She practiced her arm movements as if she were already in class.
We drove to the class and I looked in the rear view mirror to get a glimpse of her. She practiced her arm movements as if she were already in class.
Nov
16
Five Months In
5 months is such a short time. 5 months feels like forever. We have been in our new state, new home for 5 months now. Long enough for the excitement to wane and the honeymoon period to end, yet not long enough to feel like we are truly home.
So I thought I would take a few moments to update everyone, and write mainly so I can remember just how our adjustment is going. Like my previous post, when we were just weeks into the big move, we still love it here.
So I thought I would take a few moments to update everyone, and write mainly so I can remember just how our adjustment is going. Like my previous post, when we were just weeks into the big move, we still love it here.
Oct
4
Rebuild My Church
In the business of the morning, attempting to get my gaggle of children ready for school and mass, I forgot that today was October 4th, one of my favorite feast days. But it seems that even in the craziness of the morning, God was planting seeds for me to better embrace the message that He had for St Francis so many ages ago.
As I was attempting to make sure all of my children were awake this morning, I passed by our little library nook in our upstairs hallway.
As I was attempting to make sure all of my children were awake this morning, I passed by our little library nook in our upstairs hallway.
Sep
6
Do Whatever He Tells You
The wedding feast at Cana is one of my favorite scriptures and on Thursday nights, when praying the family rosary, everyone knows not even to ask to pray the second luminous mystery. It’s mine.
And over the last few weeks, “Do whatever He tells you” seems to have invaded all my prayer times and quiet moments, and clearly I need to be reminded of it, in these days when back to school photos grace my social media feeds.
And over the last few weeks, “Do whatever He tells you” seems to have invaded all my prayer times and quiet moments, and clearly I need to be reminded of it, in these days when back to school photos grace my social media feeds.
