Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Listening to
The baby’s peaceful breaths as he nurses back to sleep, the dishwasher, Shepherd Me, O God (Psalm 23)
Dreaming About
Vegetable garden’s, chickens, cows, and pigs.
Thinking About
Angela’s eye opening PSA on Saturday. She really did a great job laying the care of ourselves out there didn’t she?
Thanking God For
::being the mother of a 9 year old boy
::a husband who listens to my wild dreams and does not always remind me how often my dreams are waaay bigger than my reality
::living out in the country
::grocery stores within 10 minutes of my country home
::$5 pizzas ready for pick up after mass
The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!
Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Large Print
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux
Praying For
::Our priest who has the flu and the rest of us that we don’t get it.
::to be a good steward of all the Lord has abundantly blessed me with, including time
Memorizing
Ephesians 4:25-32
Captured
Leo playing “Where’s Leo?”
Join us each Monday as we journal our days. Share a glimpse into your life just like we were standing over the back yard fence or the quilting frame.
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Thanking God for
::an impromptu Sunday dinner with friends
::a large root beer on the rocks from my soul sister
::the sacrament of confession (I cannot express to you how amazing and comforting this awesome sacrament is)
::Chris letting Lucy the dog sleep in a pet carrier in the laundry room because it’s cold
::daughters who make a pallet next to Lucy’s carrier so she won’t be lonely and bark
::chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
::making school schedules
::a grand plan for our Year of Faith at Suscipio
Praying
I am praying for consistency. I think consistent living is the hardest part of the spiritual life and parenting.
Cooking
Monday–Chicken and Dumplings
Tuesday–Corn and Potato Chowder
Wednesday–Cheeseburger Macaroni Skillet
Thursday–Baked Sandwiches
Friday–Vegetable Soup
Saturday–Crockpot Mexican Chicken
Liturgical Living
I need to order some candles for Candlemas Day.
Reading
Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Large Print
Splendor in the Ordinary: Your Home as a Holy Place
a book on studying the Bible
Memorizing
Ephesians 4:25-32. Join us! It will be fun.
Listening to
I am enjoying the wind chimes dancing on the front porch. Although I am not super excited about the cold front coming through providing the wind for the dance party out there. I hear the dishwasher, fireplace, and Leo breathing as he nurses.
Looking Forward to
Angela (who has lost 50 pounds…maybe more?? It seems like I read one time she had lost 65??) is preparing some posts for us on health, the Stewardship of Our Selves. I’m pretty sure these will post on Saturdays. I need to lose about 20 pounds–ten would put me at pre pregnancy weight, twenty would put me at “Smokin’ Hot.” Ha Ha, not really, I’m 41 with an amazing body that birthed seven children and has been nursing for 14 years. I think “Smokin’ Hot” would be an oxymoron in my case. (Full disclosure: I am writing this while eating some chips and drinking a Smirnoff Blueberry Lemonade. I need some serious will power and consistency.)
Captured
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Catholic Woman’s Almanac is a way to keep track of where I am, have been and plan to be. What did a typical week look like, if there is such a thing? The meals I ate, the sounds I heard and the books I had the best intentions of reading, these all make up who I am, what I do, who I love and serve and I want to look back and see how they fell into place, week after week. Join me! Link up or leave you own Catholic Woman’s Almanac in the comments.
Thanking God for
::His awesome care. He knew how broken our hearts would feel after our terrible Thursday. I asked our vet for a dog recommendation to be around my children and the alpacas. Hands down he recommended a Great Pyrenees. I made two calls on Friday asking my friend and my sister to put out some feelers for Pyrenees puppy. My sister recommended a family she goes to church with who we know as well to see where they had purchased their Great Pyrenees dogs. Are you ready? Their dog had puppies 7 weeks ago! They were keeping two, giving two to her sister and had one female left to sell. We wanted a female puppy! We are supposed to pick her up today!!
::friends who pray when they don’t know for what, but hold me up anyway
::daughter who whips up Pumpkin Pies for her beloved daddy
::Pot Roast for Sunday dinner
::the kids sitting with grandpa at mass
::confession offered during mass
::ice cream at grandpa’s after mass
::freezing rain that passed quickly
Praying
I have some quiet prayers close to my heart, some are old and some new. Some don’t even have words to them yet, but God knows the deep, deep stirrings of my heart.
Cooking
Chris and I had our first Indian Taco a couple of weeks ago. They were so yummy! I am going to try to make them at home sometime this week. Since it’s cold, of course we’re going to have Frito Chili Pie. Baked chicken is on the menu and left over Pot Roast.
Living Liturgically
Father will come give our home its annual Epiphany Blessing this week and Candlemas Day is coming up soon…get your candles blessed. And then the Feast of St Blaise…get your throats blessed!
Reading
Splendor in the Ordinary: Your Home as a Holy Place
Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Large Print
Listening to
Pandora on my computer and Chris breathing through the baby monitor (I’m staying up late to get this posted).
Around the House
I am determined! I have started walking through rooms, spiral notebook in hand, deciding what needs to be done in each and every room of our home. I told you I was ready for 40 Bags in 40 Days.
Wearing
Old worn out lounge pants. I think I bought these at Target after my 5th baby because she was born in winter and nothing fit. The top is all frayed and they look kind of ratty, but they are sooo comfortable. I threw out a pair of pajama pants today that were super comfy. Chris hated them–couldn’t stand them. They were pretty bad, not ratty, just a very loose and baggy fit–I think he and I and maybe a couple of kids could have fit in them. It was a hard parting, but I did it for him. An old faded flannel pajama top and red and white slippers round out my lovely ensemble.
Wandering Around the Web
Bill Paying Organization
Captured
Altar Server Practice
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA} & Giveaway Winner
Good Morning Ladies! We have had quite a few new readers here at Suscipio…what a great way to start the year!
For those of you who are new, WELCOME. On Monday’s we have a link up party, Catholic Woman’s Almanac or {CWA} for short. This is a a Daybook or an online journal blog post…Catholic Woman Style.
Here are some prompts to get you started, but feel free to completely personalize any one of these or all of them. If you have a health goal, an exercise goal or a budget goal, make that one of your entries. I always start mine off with a gratitude list, but I may change some of the other entries week from week.
If you do not have a blog, do not let that stop you! Just add your Catholic Woman’s Almanac to the comments section.
::Moments of Gratitude
::Pondering
::Praying
::Cooking
::Wearing
::Creating
::Going
::Reading
::Memorizing
::Listening to
::Wandering Around the Web
::Liturgical Living
::Around the House
::Looking Ahead
::Captured
And the Winner of the fabulous $35 Gift Certificate from Catholic Child Catalog is…
Sarah–”I would love to get more crucifixes so each of my children could have their own.”
Contact me (Jenny) with your information and I will pass it along to Leane at Catholic Child Catalog.
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Moments of Gratitude
::riding to daily Mass with a friend
::spending Thanksgiving with my sister and her family
::my sister taking our 2012 family picture
::leaves falling
::a good confession
::leftovers
::older girls who are so helpful
Praying
For continued healing for our parish and quick a final resolution from our bishop.
Pondering
If someone tells you something about them self…believe them. If someone blesses and curses out of the same mouth, pay close attention to what they have just revealed about their character.
Meditation: Jesus, condemned to death must take His cross to Calvary. “Who is the true murderer of Jesus? Who is responsible for His execution?” asks St Augustine. He answers: “It is the tongue of the Jews. Hateful and jealous, they have made of their tongues a sword with which they pierced Jesus, when they said to Pilate, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’” This is what tongues are doing every day. With suspicions and hasty judgments they utter criticisms and improper remarks, sometimes lies and slander. How many reputations bad tongues have ruined and killed! There are some who under the inspiration of jealousy and revenge feel a secret joy and a malignant satisfaction in attacking others. These slanderers will have to render to God a severe and formidable account.
Prayer: O Lord, place a curb on our tongues; surround our lips with a barrier of carefulness, so that we will not hurt our neighbor through our criticisms, our detractions and our calumny.
–The Second Station, For the Intention of Fraternal Charity, taken from The Way of the Cross: A Treasury of Stations
Reading
The Way of the Cross: A Treasury of Stations
The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version – Catholic
Barclay’s Guide to the New Testament
Memorizing
Magnificat
Catholic Women Bloggers to Encourage
Christina::The Recovered Catholic
Sara::Handmaid of the Immaculata
Captured
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Welcome back Catholic Child Catalog as a sponsor of Suscipio. Suscipio and Catholic Child Catalog have partnered almost all of 2012!
Looking for some St Nicholas gifts? How about a saint book? My children loved reading Journeys with Mary: Apparitions of our Lady. St Damien of Molokai is a fascinating story of a pretty modern saint living in Hawaii and taking care of the lepers.
The obvious St Nicholas gift would be the DVD, Nicholas: The Boy Who Became Santa. My children have enjoyed all the saints DVD’s we have owned. Actually, we started purchasing them before DVD’s even existed!
Please stop by and check out their Advent and Christmas Page. As you make your Christmas list for your children, Godchildren, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and more, consider saying a thank you to Catholic Child for supporting Suscipio.
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Moments of Gratitude
::pizza party after Mass
::Chris taking our children hunting
::time spent with their grandpa and uncles while at the hunting land
Beauty in the Ordinary
First one of my daughters, then Leo, then my oldest daughter and I, then my youngest daughter and another son and now my second oldest daughter have been hit with a cold. That does not make for much beauty in the ordinary.
From the Kitchen
See those legs? Those chubby legs belong to one, Leo the Great, who shared his cold germs with me over the weekend. So, over the weekend, I made a garlic soup to help fight this awful cold. This garlic soup is really good and both my oldest daughter and I agreed that right after eating the soup, we felt better and the next morning, even better.
Cold Coming On Soup –>Tweet this
Servings: 2 {Provided by: In Pursuit of Garlic: An Intimate Look at the Divinely Odorous Bulb
Ingredients
13 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups chicken stock (or beef or vegetable, but chicken fights colds)
2 thick slices crusty bread
grated Gruyère or cheddar cheese
Directions
1.Simmer garlic in stock for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Blend with an immersion blender.
2.Place 1 slice of bread into each bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Pour hot soup overtop.
3.Wrap yourself in a blanket, hold a bowl of soup close to your mouth so that you can inhale the vapours, and spoon it in!
Note: Halve ingredients to serve 1. The general rule is 6 cloves of garlic for each cup of stock, plus 1 for the pot.
Praying
One of my daily prayers is that Chris will continue to grow and mature into the strong spiritual head of our family.
Pondering
Chris and I ran into a lady we used to know about 20 years ago. She just could not get over our life now. So I’ve been thinking, you just never know…20 years ago, Chris and I were just a couple of very weak practicing Catholic kids and now we’re not. 20 years ago he may have been considered a little rowdy and kind of a punk and me, just a boy crazy flirt…and now we’re not. All that to say…you just never know the life God has planned out for you, or your children or anyone you happen across in your daily life.
Meditating
God’s steadfast love. This year, as I’ve been going through my Bible, when I come across the mention of God’s Love for me, I draw a little red heart next to the verse. Look at all those little red hearts on one page!
Reading
The Imitation of Christ
Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Large Print
A Woman After God’s Own Heart®
Memorizing
Magnificat
Catholic Women Bloggers to Encourage
Meg–Offering it Up
Liana–Working to be Worthy
Rebekah–A Light to the Nations
Susanna–Mission:Possible
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Moments of Gratitude
::rain!
::the wonderful, knowledgeable tech at Elegant Themes who fixed my MAJOR computer issue Saturday night
::laughter
::Anna putting Leo to sleep when he’s restless with me
::starting our 2nd quarter of school
::siblings who are friends (& also get on each other’s nerves. but get over it quickly)
Beauty in the Ordinary
Towards the end of my pregnancy with Leo the Great, when I was very big and in pain because Leo the great was an 11lb baby sitting on some nerve, some days I would go lay down in my bed and stare out the window at my Blessed Mother Mary statue in the backyard. I remember one day deciding to keep flowers in front of her. And then I delivered Leo the Great and forgot all about it, plus everything else. Saturday night I picked up some pansies to plant. They will look lovely in front the statue.
From the Kitchen
Spicy Pulled Pork
Praying
I found this lovely prayer by St Therese for priests.<–Tweet this– I also found a template to print on Post It Notes. I printed this prayer on a Post It Note to place in my Missal so I can pray it for the priest as he receives our Lord’s precious body in communion.
O Jesus, eternal Priest, keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart, where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with Your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and shield them from the world’s contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen
Pondering
The Sacred Scriptures. As much as I would love to start my day quietly with God, I’m not in that season right now. I have been and I will be again, but not right now. So every night before bed I spend some time reading the Word of God. I am telling you, this is a great way to end the day.
Reading
The Imitation of Christ
A Woman After God’s Own Heart®
My spiritual father and I were talking about reading the Scriptures the other day and he told me about the Knox Bible Translation. He said it is a Catholic translation, written more poetically than the Douay Rheims or the Revised Standard. I have been browsing various verses, comparing them. Note, this free online version of the Knox Bible has been revised to read ‘you’ rather than ‘thou’.
Memorizing
Magnificat
Catholic Women Bloggers to Encourage
Monica–Little Jesus and Me
Amy–Beautiful Whispers of Catholicism
Captured
Come on ladies, share a peek into your life. Use this opportunity to journal your days–what you’re reading, eating and pondering. I know, sometimes I think this sounds silly..what I eat, really? But then I look back and savor the memories I’ve captured just by taking the time to jot down the little parts of my life that make the whole. <–Tweet this–Join us by linking to your blog post sharing your CWA or just start writing in the comments.
Take some time, if not today, then sometime this week, to visit each other in the comments or through a blog link.
Catholic Woman’s Almanac {CWA}
Moments of Gratitude
::An All Saints Homeschool party
::Veronica making chocolate chip cookie bars
::a yummy new recipe, Cilantro Lime Rice
::the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
::a faithful Catholic community who have grown up together, reuniting
::hugs, handshakes and games of tag before Mass
::the Men’s Schola singing at Mass
Beauty in the Ordinary
Chris installed a door rack on my closet door to put Leo’s clothes and some of my own. Is anyone else, other than LuAnne, on a cleaning kick? I feel like we have too much and it’s dusty or needs to be arranged or given away or something. I try to be on a cleaning kick, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and interrupted by a sweet chubby baby who needs to be cuddled and nursed and smiled at.
Praying
November is traditionally set aside in the Church to remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory. Here is a prayer I found that we could pray daily for the poor souls. I’m going to pray one prayer a day, not the whole big prayer everyday. This way I have a prayer for each day of the week:
Day 1
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Blood which Your Divine Son shed in the Garden of Gethsemane, I ask You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular those who are most neglected. Lead them into Your Glory so that they praise and glorify You in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Day 2
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Blood which Your Divine Son shed during the cruel Scourging, I ask You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular those who stand the closest to the entrance to Your Delight. Let them begin to praise and glorify You now in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Day 3
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Blood which Your Divine Son shed at the painful Crowning of thorns, I ask You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular those in most need of our intercession. Do not let them wait any longer to praise and glorify You in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Day 4
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Blood which Your Divine Son shed in the streets of Jerusalem as He carried the Cross on His Holy Shoulder, I ask You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular the one who in Your Eyes has the greatest merits so that he can, from the high and glorious throne that awaits him, praise and glorify You in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Day 5
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Flesh and Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, which He Himself on the evening before His Death offered to His beloved apostles as food and drink, which He thereby left behind as continuous Offering and life-giving Sustenance for the faithful of the entire Church, I ask You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular the one who honored this Secret of His Infinite Love the most, so that he with Your Divine Son and the Holy Spirit may, through this Holy Sacrament, praise and glorify You in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Day 6
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Blood that Your Divine Son shed from His Hands and Feet while on the beam of the Cross, I ask of You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular the one for whom I must pray the most. Do not let that one stay there any longer due to my fault so that he may praise and glorify You in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Day 7
Lord, Almighty God, through the Sacred Blood and Water which flowed from the Side of Your Divine Son in front of the eyes of His Holy Mother and to her greatest anguish, I ask You to free the souls in Purgatory, in particular the one who honored the highest Mother of Heaven the most intimately. Let him soon enter Your Glory in order to praise and glorify You with Mary in eternity. Amen.
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary; Lord, grant them eternal peace.
Meditating
For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.
†Wisdom 1:5 (Revised Standard)
Here is the Douay Rheims translation
For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful, and will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding, and he shall not abide when iniquity cometh in.
†Wisdom 1:5
And here is the Common English translation
A holy, instructive spirit will flee deceit and leave when ignorant people start to plot. It is ashamed to be found in the presence of wrongdoing.
†Wisdom 1:5
It’s that last version…well, first off, I’ve never heard of this translation, but I have to tell you, I quietly gasped when I read it…and leave when ignorant people start to plot…Oh my goodness ladies, this is exactly right where I am/have been with all my downer posts about the struggle and discernment process my family has been going through lately. It is ashamed to be found in the presence of wrongdoing…again, this is the burden we have been under while trying to ride out a particularly nasty storm. But there comes a time when you just have to evacuate for your own safety…for the salvation of your soul and those of your children.
Reading
I would like to have a plan for our 2013 Book Club Books. There are a couple of reasons for this: the ability to purchase them beforehand so we can read them at leisure and be ready when the discussion starts, adding to my amazon cart as I make purchases and maybe need one or two more items to get free shipping, so I can be on the lookout for them at discounted prices on the internet or used book stores.
So, what are your suggestions for our 2013 Book Club books? I would like to add some Scripture studies in addition to reading books. I’d also like to include a book or two of classic fiction (I would need Emily to help out here!) What do you think? I have a couple of suggestions, what do you think of these:
Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart
Abandonment to Divine Providence
And something Marian.
So, let’s talk about what we want to read and discuss this coming year.
Memorizing
Magnificat
I think I know one of the reasons I am having such a hard time with this, other than not making it a priority. I love listening to My Savior’s Love Endures (Magnificat)
Catholic Women Bloggers to Encourage
Veronica|My Catholic Kitchen (Mmmm, her recipes look delicious!)
Brianna|Just Showing Up
Catherine|Hallelujah Is My Song
Captured
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