HI, I am Catholic

When I was a little girl I wanted to be a nun.
I wanted to be just like Mary.
I love Jesus.

I remember that I sang solo once in front of the whole church.
I remember getting baptised when Father poured water over my head.
I remember my first Holy Communion, too.

I remember loving Jesus.
I remember loving Mary.
I remember loving the saints of God.

I am glad that I am one of them now.

I have been baptised.
Just like the Mary that I love so much.
Just like Jesus did.

I remember the promise of the Holy Ghost.
What Jesus told the saints of old all about in the Gospel.
I remember reading where the Holy Ghost fell on the Apostles.
And Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom I love.

I remember the Holy Ghost falling on me, just like that.
I remember speaking in another language.
Just like Mary did and Peter (the first Pope), along with all the Apostles and the rest of the 120 that the Holy Ghost fell on that day.
I remember that Jesus said He will send the Comforter.

I remember reading through the Bible and in the Book of Acts, many people received the Holy Ghost and spoke in another language.

I remember my first Holy Communion.
I remember when Father baptised me.
I remember being baptised in the name of Jesus, because there is no other name.
I remember feeling cleaner than ever.
I remember speaking in another language.
I now experince salvation on a day to day basis.

Hi, I am Catholic.

Blessed First Dinner at Our New Place

Words cannot explain how very important meal time is for me and my family. This is a family tradition; where dinner time is cherished. This is a time for the family to gather together, pray, talk about the day's events, eat and share a few laughs.

What makes dinner at Katy's special goes beyond all of what I just mentioned. A dear sweet lady from church blessed us with really nice dinnerware. The plates are in the picture. Funny thing is, I received two kitchen towels that match perfectly with the dish set here, for Christmas, by someone else.

Dinner time for me is sacred and that is a quality that I inherited from my Mom. She taught me everything I know about proper settings, dinner table etiquette, etc. Although we are eating on a card table and are without a real dining table, it is ok because being together to share all the things mentioned in the first paragraph is what is most important. It is the greatest blessing.

The dishes and the heart who gave them made this dinner even more of a blessing.

On the Menu

Fried chicken
Steamed rice and homemade gravy
Steamed broccoli with Lemon pepper and butter
Sweet iced tea

My little princess set the table :)

No More Weekly Washing Adventures

Hallelujah! No more lifting 100 pound boxes of laundry, loading the kids and driving 20+ miles just to do laundry! However, I am grateful to the many interesting, spiritual and nice people I met there. There are good memories for me at the laundry mat. Once this elderly black man was there and he ministered right to my heart and even prayed with me. It doesn't get any better than that!

"Gosh, a washer and a dryer is like having a bed for a single mom", Sister Holley said.

I couldn't agree with her more!

What a blessing I received from Sister Holley (kids call her Meme Holley and Sister Joann (kids call her Nannie Jo), we have a washer and dryer for our apartment! All I had to buy was a new cord and only spent $15.11. Hey, that is how much it costs to do a weeks worth of laundry, not including the gas to get there!

I am so blessed! Thank You Jesus for surrounding me with so many wonderful people!! :)

Ahh Why All the Silence?

The other evening in our new apartment, I was trying to enjoy some jams while doing the dishes. I know the kiddos were excited, etc.. But the noise, uhg!

Anyway, I continued off into space with the music going. The dishes were about done. I had just got onto the rascals making all the racket and told them that they needed to pick up and go to their room a play. This was something that they had to relearn. I mean it had been 9 months since we had our own place.

Just as I was drying my hands, it dawned on me... there was complete silence. "I guess the heathens are outside playing", I thought. It was just too quiet, so I dropped what I was doing to see just what they were up to. The unthinkable came to mind of course. If you knew me a few years back, I had two little artists who painted the entire living room (furniture included) white. I was thinking... toilet paper everywhere, shampoo, anything they can get their little hands on!

To my amazement, they were all nestled and snug right in Kayla's room reading a book. I was one proud Momma. It was such bliss... so I had to steal that Kodak moment.

My Son, a Football and a Lesson

Who all really tunes into their kids? I mean really learn from them? They are so smart and can teach us so much. Here is a little story about my oldest son and what I learned about him yesterday.

Because it was a gorgeous day, I took the kiddos to the park. After a walk, Zed and I decided to throw a football. I have always told him that he wasn't really cut out for either baseball or football. He gets so frustrated and literally throws a fit when he can't throw a ball or catch it right. Poor child is a computer whiz and not really into sports or the outdoors for that matter.

So I thought...

Yeah, I thought. To my surprise I discovered that my son can throw a football! I was amazed and it just kept getting better. Here is what happened...

I would throw the perfect throw to him. I mean it would go right to him and he would attempt to catch it with his fingers. I tried to explain to him that he needs to catch with his hands and arms. This is not baseball and you dont have a mit. His poor little fingers would get hurt trying to catch and I was throwing as soft as possible.

Then it got to where he couldn't catch the ball at all. He was getting furious, so he gave up. Here comes my uppity, sports fanatic little boy, Jorli. This kid can throw anything; just hand it to him. :) He loves baseball, football, any ball lol.

He was throwing the perfect throws and I would high five each and everyone of them. He was rocking the ball and I saw that his oldest brother was getting mad. I explained to him that he throws well, he just needs to lose the attitude a little and calm down. He then took over again and Jorli resumed his bouncy car adventure with his sister.

Zed was doing really well and finally he threw the most perfect throw. I smiled and cheered him on with a high five. Then when he started throwing flemsy throws again, I would say "nice try but try better". He was getting angry but gearing his anger towards perfection. This is what I noticed...

He would say, "I am going to throw this one over your head Mom". When he threw the ball, it did go over my head but I caught it. I smiled and said, "see there, the perfect throw". He would do it again and again and if he messed up, he would fuel his frustration towards perfection.

Kids are wonderful and they can inspire us in so many ways. My little boy taught me something, because I stayed intuned with him and was able to see that he wanted to be the best. He used his frustration to try harder. That is admirable!

A Nice Man at the Laundry Mat

Well we were off on our weekly (well not weekly this week, but two weeks worth) laundry adventure. Hey, it's an adventure, believe me. 3 kids + free room to run around = adventure, to say the least.

Needless to say, my box was slap full and running over with clothes. It was about 7 loads plus all our blankets. That sucker was heavy! I am talking at least 75 pounds of clothes to carry. I scooted that bad boy to the door and left it there so I could open my trunk.

As I turn, there was a nice gentleman picking up my box of clothes.

"Looks like you got your hands full, there", he chuckled.
"Yes, sir, they keep me busy", I laughed.
"I totally understand. I have three boys of my own", he replied.
"Ah, so you know how it is with the boys. Nice to know someone understands that these boys are always bouncing off the walls", I said.
He just laughed...

It's wonderful knowing that there are still people in this world who care enough to help. What a blessing to have someone like that, to pick up that box of clothes.

Now carrying into the house and moving boxes was another story... :)

Angels All Around

About a year ago I met one of the most beautiful people I have ever met both inside and out. She was my oldest son's first grade teacher. I was drawn to her immediately, not only because she had the last name of Reger, but because there was just something about her that I admired. She was different then a lot of teachers. She was special.

I grew to like her very well while I was actively working as a substitute teacher at VEMMS. One day during lunch I left some of my business cards, hoping that I could lift my cleaning business off the ground. I had just started. This was last December. Later I saw her and she told me that I was hired. She had become my first client and still is :)

Around Christmas break last year I was over her place cleaning. She was home as well because she's a teacher and gets those vacations as well. Anyway I had previously asked her if she was related to my highschool math teacher, Ann Reger. She had been one of my most favorite teachers. She happens to be her daughter in law.

Mrs. Reger had recently passed away and we talked about the woman that she was. She was very soft spoken and sweet. She had a gentleness about her. I remember her smile more than anything and how she was always more than willing to help her students. She made my worse subject, math, so much fun and easy to understand. I really miss her but I have a couple things that Joy gave me, I will treasure forever.

I still reflect on Mrs. Reger when I wear her sweaters. I also express to my children how much teachers are worth and what they will mean to them, especially when they are older. They are not as appreciated as they should be (not to mention they are underpaid). Mrs. Reger was special to me and I will never forget her. I am so grateful to Joy for sharing something of hers with me.

Nice to know that I will always have something that belonged to an angel in my life. It makes me feel that much closer to her. This is a picture of me in one of her sweaters. I love you Mrs. Reger(s) :).