Friday, August 22, 2014

Our Normal Routine

Apologies for my absence.  There were a couple weeks when I just did not have a single second to do anything but prepare my classroom, write lesson plans, and get the kids ready to return to school.  Then I had trouble getting into my blog account.  Now I'm finally able to sit for a minute and take a deep breath.  Aaaahhhhhhh!

I hope everyone is doing well.  We are finally back into our school routine.  Our dog is not very happy with us, being gone all day long.  But the kids love on him all night so it's all good.

Have any of you been challenged to do the ALS ice bucket challenge?  I only ask because there has been a lot of talk between our Catholic friends about whether to donate to the ALS Society.  They apparently fund embryonic stem cell research.  So if we are challenged (is it bad I'm hoping that I'm not???), we will be donating to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute.  They do great work there...with ADULT stem cells.  I challenge you to do the same if you find yourself under a freezing cold bucket of water.  ;)

Prayers to you as we enter the weekend.  I know our family can certainly use the rest after our first full week of school and homework.  Blessings!

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Gospel Reflection

Jesus feeds the crowd with only five loaves and two fish, with leftovers.  A couple things come to mind.  First, we can all make do with way less than we have.  As I look around our home, I sometimes wonder where everything came from and why we have so much "stuff." We're getting ready to prepare our house to sell it.  I'm most looking forward to purging everything we don't need and starting fresh in our new house.

Secondly, there were leftovers!  There is always a way for us to help others, even if we perceive that we don't have enough to give.  My husband has been laid off three different times in the last five years and we've tried really hard to continue giving to others.  Even laid off, we know that we are abundantly blessed.

What stands out for you?

Friday, August 1, 2014

Friday Fun Day

Any exciting plans this weekend?  We'll be attending the Midwest Catholic Family Conference.  So excited!  Tim Staples will be there, as well as Dr. Gregory and Lisa Popcak. Looking forward to some quality time with the family.  If you'd like to see more info on the conference, go to www.catholicfamilyconference.org.  Our diocese is certainly blessed to host this every August!