Easter Resolutions

During Holy Week I do a lot of meditation and  have realized as every Lent comes to a close, I feel that the progress I have made in my spiritual life just resorts back to what is routine for my family in our prayer lives. This year I wanted to make a difference. Similar to the idea of people that utilize New Year's Resolutions to help them down the path to their goals, I wanted to make Easter Resolutions. I want the roots of my faith to stay strong throughout my life and not just during the Lenten Season or when I feel I am going through a tough time. I want these Easter Resolutions to continue to touch my spiritual growth as it does during Lent but not to accomplish these resolutions as a penance but as a gift I have been given. These can be stepping stones to help my growth like the large leaps I attempt to make during Lent.

Easter Resolutions 2016

1. Attend daily mass at least one time a week.

We attend Sunday mass and Holy Days of obligations but I have only ever attended daily mass during Lent. I made a commitment to attend weekly mass during Lent 2-3 times weekly. I do love weekly mass but I never make an effort outside of Lent to attend and I think that I can make the commitment to attend daily mass at least once a week throughout the year.

2. Attend Confession every 2 weeks.

During Lent I make an effort to attend Confession at least once a week but outside of Lent I fall back into my families normal routine of once a month. Confession has always been a hard Sacrament for me because I honestly feel awful admitting the sins I have committed when God has blessed me so much in my life. I am ashamed to say I allow my guilt to hold me back from this Sacrament. I hope that attending every other week I will become more conscience of the sins that I commit repeatedly and I can fully appreciate the immensity of this amazing Sacrament. Eventually I would like this resolution to evolve into a once a week event as well.

3. Pray a decade a day

I am actually happy to say that I have been very dedicated to praying my Rosary daily sometimes multiple times a day throughout this past Lent. I love the beauty of the prayers and mysteries of the Rosary and I have faltered many times in my past efforts to continue my Rosary Devotions after the completion of Lent. I know that if I have found time these past 6 weeks to pray a daily Rosary it should be no problem to at least pray one decade a day. This will be a stepping stone to a daily rosary throughout the year.

4. Abstinence on all Fridays

As you will come to figure out, my entire family loves routine. That is why I feel these Easter Resolutions will help me past Lent because I want to make these steps in my faith routine versus something I just complete as the minimum requirements. Abstinence for our family dinners has never been a problem because I do my best to plan our meals for the week. It is normally our breakfast and/or lunches that we would struggle to remember to eat no meat. I think that incorporating abstinence on all Fridays will be an easy incorporation and it will even help add some more variety to our dinner menu.

5.  Dress in your Sunday Best

This particular Easter Resolution is very important. I have realized that I normally dress nicer for Mass but we should always dress in our Sunday BEST in honor of our wonderful God. I am more guilty of allowing my children throw something on lately (Goalie has worn his play jeans that ar riddled with holes twice this past month because I was in a hurry to get us to Mass on time) and I intend to instill this respectful deed into them. They are aware they have nicer clothing for church and other religious activities but I have fallen away from creating this into a habit. My family is not rich by any means and I hope that this resolution of mine is not offensive to anyone  My intention here is to dress my family in the best of what we have not the best of what others own. 

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These are my five Easter Resolutions. On this Good Friday I intend to continue in my spiritual journey. Easter is a time of renewal and new life. I think these Easter Resolutions grasp that concept

. Keeping your eye on the prize is so important in achieving what you want in your life. I have always been very good at setting goals and a plan to reach them but for some reason I have never done this in my spiritual life. That is changing today! I hope and pray that these Easter Resolutions are an inspiration to those who struggle the way I do to stay consistent. I am inviting everyone to join me and please tell me what you think would be some more Easter Resolutions that would help benefit my goal to grow in faith!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

I came across a really beautiful blog called Like Mother Like Daughter and I fell in love with a posting they do on Thursdays called {pretty, happy, funny, real}. This will be my first post so I am sure I will need some practice but here I go!

{pretty}

Thanks to my Spring Cleaning through Lent, I shortened our big family table to create more space in our dining room. I think this room is finally coming together!

{happy}

I gave up Facebook as a penance during Lent but my husband was sent this photo because it has been a year since I ran in the Color Run. This was actually the last 5k I ran before leaving Florida ad it reminded me about how happy I was while competing. I have decided its time to add some races to my calendar!

{funny}

It was "Crazy Sock Day" at Goalie's preschool and how could I say no to his request to wear my bright orange popsicle socks? I especially love how he decided to wear them over his jeans because we got a light dusting of snow and he wanted to make sure everyone could see his CrAzY socks!

I have been so blessed to be the mom of two amazing boys and the wife to a husband that spoils me. In these blessings I also have two hilarious cats named Lemon and Felix. Lemon got a strong wifi of Little Man's football gear and she couldn't stop making these hilarious faces and licking her face! Maybe the football field is covered in cat nip? Who knows? But everyone in the house has fully enjoyed the cat's reactions to us after we return from the football field. 

{real}

That is the real Death Star on the wall of the boy's Star Wars Room :)
At least that is what they will tell you. They updated their bedrooms from Angry Birds to Star Wars... they are growing up so fast!

Spring Football 2016

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am that we found a Spring Football team for Little Man. He LOVES football! We just paid for his jersey and decals for his helmet this past week. Practices began this past week and we have been really jumbled with all the change and transition we have had going on this past month. Little Man is still finding his place on this new team but I have faith that this season will be a life-changing one for all of us.

New Coach. New Team. New Friends. New Challenges.

I want my children to be dreamers. I want God to open their hearts to be what he has called them to be and that they know they can do anything with him by their sides.  I have always been a prodigal daughter. I have fought my faith and God's direction several times in my life. I have been a wanderer more times than I would like to admit. I do not want that for my children because I want their faith to be a strong bond that keeps them grounded.

Sports have always been a way for God to work through me and my children. We have made amazing friends and made amazing friendships. My son has learned about dedication, handwork, discipline and how to work as a team. Saint Sebastian is the patron saint of athletes and I ask him to watch over Little Man in every practice, scrimmage and game. 

Dear Commander at the Roman Emperor’s Court, you chose to be also a soldier of Christ and dared to spread faith in the King of Kings – for which you were condemned to die. Your body, however, proved athletically strong and the executing arrows extremely weak. So another means to kill you was chosen and you gave your life to the Lord. May athletes be always as strong in their faith as their Paton Saint so clearly has been. Amen

This is my favorite picture of Little Man from his last season in Florida. His first touchdown!

Jumped the Starting Line

OOPS! Looks like I got carried away in an earlier post. My family will not be relocating like we thought because God opened another door for us :) So I got my prayer answered! I was excited about seeing a new place and new experiences but I have really fallen in love with the mountains here. They are BEAUTIFUL! So I get to keep this beautiful landscape as my view a little longer. Please continue to pray for my family as we continue down our new path because although we get to stay in Colorado we will be moving closer to my husband's new job so we will be in a new area eventually.

Since all this craziness with a potential move, I really haven't had time to blog but I do have several posts I am working on. Spring Football just started and it looks like it will be an amazing season. We also have lots of meetings coming up for Goalies transition to kindergarten! Soccer is also suppose to start this week in addition to the feasts of Saints Patrick and Joseph! I am really excited about all the new things going on in our lives.

Tonight we will be celebrating by attending evening Mass (We missed it this morning thanks to forgetting about Daylight Savings) and watching the Peanuts movie with some pizza, popcorn and candy!

"There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven"

-- Ecclesiastes 3:1

Let the Novenas Begin!

I know many family and friends that are AMAZING at remembering to complete Novenas. I, on the other hand, am awful! I can usually remember the dates to start a Novena but nine days is a long time to consistently remember something outside of my normal routine. I am a very routine person! I hope I am not the only one with this problem otherwise my great discovery will go unappreciated...

Check out praymorenovenas.com! You can sign up for reminders so you don't ever miss/ forget a Novena again!

Tonight you can start the Novena to Saint Patrick and tomorrow you can start one for Saint Joseph. These two saints are favorites in my household. The boys love Saint Patrick because he was kidnapped by pirates and has an abundance of other intriguing stories that boys love and Saint Joseph is Goalie's baptismal saint and his feast day is my dad's birthday. We are on the home stretch of Lent so let's go out with a bang! In addition to a daily rosary and any other daily prayers you are completing now, think about adding these prayers to your routine....I hope you all decide to join me with these novenas and sign ups at praymorenovenas.com for reminders :)

Novena to Saint Patrick: 

Blessed Saint Patrick, glorious Apostle of Ireland, who didst become a friend and father to me for ages before my birth, hear my prayer and accept, for God, the sentiments of gratitude and veneration with which my heart is filled. Through thee I have inherited that faith which is dearer than life. I now make thee the representative of my thanks, and the mediator of my homage to Almighty God. Most holy Father and patron of my country, despise not my weakness; remember that the cries of little children were the sounds that rose, like a mysterious voice from heaven, and invited thee to come amongst us. Listen, then, to my humble supplication; may my prayer ascend to the throne of God, with the praises and blessings which shall ever sanctify thy name and thy memory. May my hope be animated by the patronage and intercession of our forefathers, who now enjoy eternal bliss and owe their salvation, under God, to thy courage and charity. 

Obtain for me grace to love God with my whole heart, to serve him with my whole strength, and to persevere in good purposes to the end, o faithful shepherd of the Irish flock,

who wouldst have laid down a thousand lives to save one soul, take my soul, and the souls of my countrymen, under thy special care. Be a father to the Church of Ireland and her faithful people. Grant that all hearts may share the blessed fruits of that Gospel thou didst plant and water. Grant that, as our ancestors of old had learned, under thy guidance, to unite science with virtue, we too, may learn, under thy patronage, to consecrate all Christian duty to the glory of God. I commend to thee my native land, which was so dear to thee while on earth. Protect it still, and, above all, direct its chief pastors, particularly those who teach us. Give them grace to walk in thy footsteps, to nurture the flock with the word of life

and the bread of salvation, and to lead the heirs of the Saints thou hast formed to the possession of that glory which they, with Thee, enjoy in the kingdom of the Blessed: through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Amen.

V. Pray for us, O glorious saint Patrick.

R. And obtain for us the intention of this Novena.

Noventa to Saint Joseph:

Glorious Saint Joseph, foster-father and protector of Jesus Christ! To you do I raise my heart and hands to implore your powerful intercession. Please obtain for me from the kind Heart of Jesus the help and graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I ask particularly for the grace of a happy death, and the special favor I now implore (name it).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel animated with confidence that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

V. O glorious St. Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ, and for the glory of His name,
R. Hear my prayers and obtain my petitions.

Goodbye Colorado

It looks like my family is being called to another adventure. We just moved to Colorado this past October so I am not excited about packing up our things and relocating to the MidWest but I am excited about making new memories in a new place. Please keep us in your prayers as we quickly pack and move to our new home in our new city. I decided that I would compile some pictures of our short time here so I can relive some fun adventures and see that we made the most of our short time here. Colorado is a beautiful state and we will be here again some day :)

February Snow Storm:
We have always lived by the water and got to experience SNOW for the first time! It was incredible! We had a snow ball fight, made snow angels and ran through the snow as it fell on us :)

The Love of my Life

Walking to the grocery store

Garden of the Gods (Siamese Twin):

One of several beautiful areas to hike at the Garden of the Gods

Red Rock Canyon:

Amazing place near Manitou Springs! I wish we could have gone here a few more times. Maybe I can sneak in a trip before we are officially gone?

Noon Years Eve at the Olympic Training Center:

This was such a neat event that allowed the boys to celebrate New Years but it began at noon versus midnight and was such a memorable day!

Polar Express at Castle Rock:

There is a smaller town outside of where we live called Castle Rock and they hosted many family friendly events and we attended their Polar Express Festival in December! We got to ride the Polar Express and took a carriage ride as a family through a beautifully lit downtown area. I think this was one of my most favorite adventures.

Manitou Incline:

Also known as the stairway to heaven. This is a difficult hike but it was so much fun! Everyone was sore for days after we climbed to the top of the Manitou Incline. Both of my boys got so many high-fives and other acclamations from the older hikers.

View from the Top

We Made it!

Lord, I pray that you keep my family safe during our relocation and help us to stay on the path you have chosen for us. Guide us to where we are meant to be as a family and as individuals.
Amen

Saint Perpetua and Felicity

Monday already!

Wow... My family has an insane week ahead of us! Football and Soccer start this week for All Star and Goalie. I am waiting on the soccer schedule but football is 4 days a week! All Star also has Picture Day and a Reading Goal party to attend this week. So while I wait for the rest of our scheduling to fall into place for this month, I REALLY need to clean out our vehicles, sanitize all the team sports gear and pack one of the vehicles with seats, blankets and the sports gear :) Its going to be a fun day because, of course I waited until the day before everything starts to get this accomplished. At least I will easily complete one of my 40 bags today for Lent. 

Moving forward... today is the feast of Saint Perpetua and Felicity. They have a wonderful animated movie that portrays the story of these two amazing Saints. If you click the link above you will be taken to a website where you can purchase the movie and find some great resources for today, including coloring pages, word search, games and other fun activities. 

Personally, Saint Perpetua is renowned for the journal she left behind after she was martyred. She started the journal while she was imprisoned and it was completed by a friend after her death. I think today would be a good day to start a prayer journal. Or renew your commitment to write in your prayer journal you already have... I will be renewing my commitment to write in my journal to at least 3-5 times a week. As of right now, I haven't written in my prayer journal since Advent! 

Another good activity for today would be to visit a zoo. Saint Perpetua and Felicity were thrown to wild animals in an open arena. Point out the animals that would have been in the arena with them and explain how dangerous those animals are, they are in cages and have large spaces between them and you to keep everyone safe. We haven't been to the zoo in quite awhile so I will have to plan an outing soon. Using a Zoo Passport could help keep the focus on finding animals. You can find printable Zoo Passports on Pinterest and sometimes you can find them on your local zoo's website.

Saint Perpetua and Felicity are two saints that really touch my heart. They were both young mothers, like I was myself, and imagining the difficulty of sacrificing your life and giving up your child would certainly be difficult but they did all this graciously for God. I pray that God can give me a heart like these two saints. 

Reading the book Perpetua: A Bride, a Martyr, a Passion would be a wonderful addition to your Lenten journey. I will be heading to the library later today in search of this gem so I have something to read this evening after all the hustle and bustle of the day. My family should be learning some news about my husband's job sometime this week so I would greatly appreciate any prayers you could send our way. We are praying that we are staying on the path God has intended for us as a family.

"Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, and don't take offense at our suffering."

-- Saint Perpetua