Because when I find a way to save a bit, I pass it on to you.  It’s tough out there.  We should help each other out. Two saving tips today: The Computer Guy and I have begun using only store gift cards to purchase gas.  Most gas stations will discount your gas $.03- $.10 a gallon if you use their gift cards.  We can reload them on line from home.  My favorite part is that when we budget for gas,... Read more

She’s not yet old enough to smile on purpose.  It will be weeks before she can laugh because something is funny.  Our little #7 is still too young to do any of these things with meaning.  So how is it that she does them all the time? When she’s awake, the baby looks around at the world with a serious frown as she attempts to figure it all out.  But when she sleeps, she grins.  Her tiny face beams with... Read more

The Catholic world is filled right now with a determination to make this Advent a meaningful season.  The faithful are rediscovering that Advent was originally a penitential season second only to Lent.  They are renewing the traditions of Ember Days and fasting during this season as they seek to make themselves ready for the arrival of the Christ Child.  The “Spirit of Vatican II” generation is seeking to regain what has been lost in the last 40 years in terms... Read more

My in laws are in town visiting us for the next few days.  They are in the process of moving to Kentucky on what they laughingly call “our new great adventure.”  It is an unexpectedly daring move for people who aren’t known for their unpredictability. I watch their laughing excitement over the changes they are facing.  I hear them speak in excited tones about the houses they’re considering, and the kinds of furniture they might get to put in those... Read more

Last year at this time, we were preparing to move our family from Oklahoma City to the Dallas area.  We had months to go, but I was already lamenting the loss of our family rituals and traditions.  Like most military brats, I was raised in a nomadic lifestyle.  Holidays were not spent surrounded by family and friends, but with whatever relatives happened to come to visit if they came at all.  I didn’t know what I was missing until the... Read more

A pair of soft brown eyes peeked up and over the edge of my bed this morning.  Two little hands grasped the blankets and prepared to haul my two year old up to his usual snuggle place next to me under the warm covers.  His eyes twinkled and his mouth twisted into an impish grin, and then his sister squeaked.   It was the tiniest of baby noises, but #6’s face fell.  He shook his head and climbed back down.  His... Read more

For 48 hours I had the worst PMS ever.  I was mean alternating with uncontrollable sobbing.  It could mean only two things, either my husband needed to acknowledge that he had married a lunatic and put me in a padded room for the sake of humanity, or I was about to go into labor.  Yay for me that it was labor, because that asylum thing was becoming a viable option to him.  I could tell. I have a post to... Read more

8 days of false labor.  8 days of contractions holding steady at 8 minutes apart.  I’m starting to lose my ever-loving mind here, and have just become a tad bit mean.  I have a few things I need to say out loud, and when I do I feel so guilty for being crabby over such minor things and want to donate money to charity to make up for my bad attitude….or go shoe shopping to cheer myself up. Here’s my... Read more

When you call in to talk to the doctor and the nurse says, “If you want, you can come in so she can check and see how dilated you are.” Reply, “Oh, I already did.  I’m an easy 3.” The stunned silence is very reassuring. Read more

I’m showing signs of early labor and expect to be having this baby in the next couple of days.  I’m offering up my labor for those struggling with family size, whether it’s infertility that has kept their family from growing or super-fertility which has made it grow too large or too quickly. I’ve got hours of labor and lots of discomfort which will inevitably lead to many prayers, so who else needs them? If I can offer up my labor... Read more