Association Of Catholic Bloggers

My sense of fashion withered while raising nine kids on a hobby farm.  I barely had enough time to make sure my dress was clean and my hair and teeth were brushed before I hustled everyone out the door and made sure they were all well groomed. This changed when my daughters were in their late teens because they organized an all-out assault to bring me into the 21st century. continue

I have always heard the mother is the heart of the family, especially a stay-at-home mother with a crew of kids, who also helps with a hobby farm. So why was I not missed when I spent hours locked in the chicken coop? You must first understand that even if this was a subconscious belief, I behaved as if a mother   was the most important member of the family. It took a drastic experience to shake me out of my arrogance. God has a sense of humour and will use any and all experiences to teach us. continue reading

The question we had struggled with for years was,“How could we remain faithful to Church teaching when Natural Family Planning did not seem to work for us?” Intuitively, I already knew a call to trust in God could not just be an intellectual assent but included  entrusting my fertility to God . Catholic teaching stated couples should space their children with abstinence but we slowly discovered I was one of those rare people who could conceive long before ovulation and we were pro-life, abortion was not an option. My doctor, after considering another unplanned pregnancy told us “Ah, I remember reading about a woman in New Zealand two years ago who conceived five days before ovulation.” I raised my hand and chirped, “Well, you can add me to that list!”  continue

How about a little taste of eight-year-old reasoning to act as a reality check to balance all those manipulative commercials and sentimental Mother’s Day cards flooding the market for Mother’s day? A warning. The following true comments are  not  politically correct . So simply laugh and enjoy these hilarious comments from little people; no need to flog me with feminist remarks afterward. continue

No able-bodied human or animal would live in my house without contributing in some way to our household The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the family as the original cell of society which teaches children all about justice and responsibility. There are countless ways to teach kids about responsibility and one of the best ways is assigning everybody a chore. Even family pets are not exempt. continue

People’s mouths drop open and their eyebrows shoot up when they discover I raised nine kids because I am tiny and do not look like a worn out, frazzled wreck. God has blessed me with a gift of joy which defies my circumstances. Mothering came naturally to me; it was easy to look like a saint on the outside as I mothered nine little people.  The trouble was, although I looked like I lived a life of self-denial, losing myself to give life to others, I tended to over control. I depended on my strength to get through the overwhelming chores which were part of running a household of eleven.  In all honesty, though, the only chore which actually threatened to kill me as a mother of a large family was the laundry, specifically pairing all the socks. continue reading

For me, it was easy to look like a saint on the outside as I mothered nine little people. The trouble was, although I looked like I lived a life of self-denial, losing myself to give life to others, I tended to over control. I depended on my strength to get through the overwhelming chores which were part of running a household of eleven.   I slowly learned how to let some things go and centre on the essentials, on loving and not maintaining a perfectly clean house with all the laundry folded in dresser drawers. I learned to let go of control in my daily life which spilled over into my inner life. Surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit within our spirits can seem like a rather esoteric activity, something to talk about, write about, and perhaps pray about but not part of our daily lives but our inner and outer lives are intricately entwined. continue