To many more...

Happy 6th!

6 years revisited

Do you ever feel like when you are going thru something, while you know you are making the best decision for you, you aren't very good at explaining it to anyone else who asks?

I think this is me when it comes to Catholicism.  I love being Catholic.  I have never felt more at home in the Catholic church but I am also thankful for my protestant upbringing as my parents taught me foundational Christian values that have stuck with me even in my conversion.

I think now as I look back, is how I have battled a long time with who I was as a person, what my worth is. My dignity, in my mind, was taken away from me at a young age and I struggled to see myself as good. I fought against the good and just let the bad happen.  And you wouldn't have seen this from the outside except that I was always fighting something.  And the thing is even though I am redeemed and it has taken me a long way to see that all come together.  I still do question my worth to an extent. I still struggle with what others think of me in my choices, I know that ultimately God is my judge not man, but I feel like the culture around us eats at us and makes us think differently.

In Catholicism,  I think that for myself, I was able to find this in the theology of the body in the veneration of Mary, in the ability to be fully me and fully understood and to be challenged in things like confession to move forward in my Christian walk.  Yes, I got a lot of other answers.  Yes, a lot of things made a lot more sense, especially the communion of saints.  But I think through Jesus in the Eucharist and the relationship of Christ and his Church, this all came to fruition.

I was made in an image of greatness, I was designed to be fully woman and not what society sees as such.  I do have a place of great influence even if its not recognized and I have to take it with humility.  But I learn through the redemptive suffering.  I learn through not having it my way and I only have seen this since my journey into Catholicism.

I do thank my parents for teaching me to be generous and loving.  For teaching me to always look towards Jesus in all that I do.  I thank them for pushing me hard and not letting me have the easy way out.  I think I would not have arrived to be who I am today if it wasn't for them, and that is a good thing.

So, Catholic I am.  Follower of Christ I am. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Three year old logic

Ben: "I'm bigger than Ephraim.
          Mama, you are bigger than me.
          And Daddy is so big, but not as big as God."


And now to prove that 3 year old logic doesn't really function on the same level as an adults.  Ben is always trying to fit himself into this pound puppy dog house.  Obviously he doesn't fit.

Cara Box Reveal - June

Hi all.

Since the family is headed to the beach on the lake tomorrow and then we have a busy Sunday, I figured I should put my Cara box reveal post together today. The theme this month was "The Circus"or a Summer Fair.

I was paired up with the lovely Rebecca from XOXO Rebecca Mae and Elise from Books, Bottles and Bags. I sent a box to Elise, I'm hoping it got there, I lost the tracking number with a mama brain moment, and I recieved a super fun box from Rebecca.

Elise is seriously rocking it in her life right now with nannying and going to school all at once.  I love how passionate she is about natural parenting as much as she can be as a nanny.  Baby carriers and cloth diapering are two of my favorite things.

Rebecca is such a sweetheart and was going through some major life changes this past month moving 17 hours away from her husband to finish up some schooling.  You can read all about it on her blog.  I loved getting to know her and I pray that she does well with the long distance and awesome with her schooling.

So here is the box from Rebecca.

Cotton Candy- Yum

A Water ball Game - A prize you would win for playing a fair game

A sweet note from Rebecca with lots of encouragement

A magnet - A close up seen below

A princess crown - So I could finally be a Fair Queen

And a Clown Game for the boys to play someday on a rainy day

Rebecca was encouraging to me so much this month even though she herself was going through a ton of stuff. The magnet was great because I am always worried that I won't be able to hack it as a teacher, but this definitely helps. 

So if you are interested go check out more about the Cara box at Wifessionals.  It's open to blogger and non-bloggers. 

If there is one thing you watch today

Let it be this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q4foXehDmWs

Happy Father's Day!

To this guy:

And this guy: 

And to all the other fathers out there.  Your presence in your children's life is appreciated.

And if you want to read an excellent post on the reflection of who a father is check out Calah Alexander's piece here. 

Differing Opinions

Since posting the homeschooling bit yesterday, I've been thinking about differing opinions because I know there are so many when it comes to schooling your children and in many other things too. Sometimes its easier especially in this day and age where you can find commonality at the click of your finger tips to just seek that out.  And also to have the opinion that unless everyone does see things like you, well then they are morally wrong.  I know I do this even if I don't want to do it.  But history tells us that this doesn't work well. While there are moral absolutes, a lot of things that people discuss and deal with are not even if we make them out to be.

But the thing is God created us as unique individuals, all of us mostly with completely different DNA and experiences to go with it. To say that all of your friends have to think like you on this or this subject  just doesn't make sense and frankly would be boring.  And maybe I am writing this for myself more than anyone as a reminder of this simple fact, but I'm putting it out there anyway.

By having different opinions on life choices or even the small things we can learn from each other.  God may just be teaching us a lesson through that differing person that will make us stronger in our choice or realize that maybe another way could be better. But to totally not take the time to listen, to think you know it all, and I am so guilty of this (my husband knows it), doesn't sit well for building the kingdom for Christ.

So I thank-you people from different backgrounds that care about different things that choose different choices than me.  I'm learning from you! I'm growing because of you! And you are an awesome thinking individual that I am privileged to encounter in my life.