Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Lord give us a sense of humour and a creative intelligence to meet the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of our children Even when all the kids were still little, I decided to share the magic of a newborn with them. It was one of the best decisions I ever made to enable mutual respect and love to flourish in our family.  However, at the time I was forced to literally watch the clock to ensure everyone would get a chance to hold their new sibling . It seems to me that the children bonded to each other because even our toddlers were given the privilege of holding the baby. With excitement twinkling in their eyes, barely containing their joy long enough to sit still while I propped up one of their little arms with a pillow, they looked extremely proud and pleased as they too held the baby. continue

As I clean and get ready for our adult children to come home from university and work in the city, it is nice to remember the magic of Christmases when they were little. In fact, the scent of magic is still in the air, especially as our  five grandchildren join our family! When you live with nine children, even the most crusty curmudgeon cannot resist the magic of Christmas. continue

My husband, Michael, and I have been married for 36 years, and we are happy and still in love. Surprisingly, we have become one in reality, deeply in tune with each other’s spirits even though we are still opposites in personality. Our tangible joy is inexplicable through secular eyes, because from all outward appearances our life together has been a tough journey including poverty, nine kids, overwhelming chores on a small family farm and long-term, clinical depression. Accessing Power in the Sacrament of Marriage The grace available in the Sacrament of Marriage is not some esoteric theology;  it is real and it is powerful. The power available in the sacrament is what kept my husband and I together through the rough years. We both understood, beyond a doubt, that God brought us together. We never questioned this basic call from God, our vocation together, even during the dark years. I have always managed to keep our difficulties in perspective through humour. ...