Today

Once there was a girl...She decided she didn't want to have kids...or get married before the age of 27.  Then she met a boy.....a handsome boy.....a boy that made her feel things she had never felt on every possible level.  They had fun together.  Then one December day, they found out they were going to be parents.  Many tears were shed, many dreams gone, many questions remaining.  One day, said girl asked said boy if he had ever considered adoption.  He said. "No.  I could not imagine living in a world where this child was not mine, and I don't think you could either."  and just like that, the fleeting thought was gone.  To this day, that girl is unbelievably and eternally grateful to that boy for knowing that even though she didn't necessarily know what she wanted, or how she felt, or how it was all going to work out,...he knew better.  

Fast forward 8 years

I, or anybody that has ever met Cohen David Ayres, could not imagine a world without him in their lives.  The hearts he has touched, the greatness still yet to be achieved, the whales still yet to be saved are all thankful for Cohen.  And although possibly having another family raise him was a fleeting thought, I'll tell you what was NEVER a thought, him never getting the chance at life.  

Abortion--the second most performed surgery in America, just under circumcisions. Millions of babies are killed each year and it is "okay".   Many people are saying that abortion is a "non-issue" in this years election....when is killing of the innocent ever an non issue?!  The right to defend life is always an issue.  The minute we stop defending life, then we will have a bigger issue.  So what is an issue with today's election?

Religious freedom. 

I am Catholic.  I am a proud, devout, practicing Catholic.  I am Catholic before I am anything else, including American. If I was relocated to a different country, I would still be Catholic.  I am not a perfect Catholic.  I struggle everyday with living exactly how Christ wants me to live.  But I try.  And I think what bothers me the most about others in my faith, is the convenience of their Catholicism.  The "I'm Catholic but I'll go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation if I'm not working, or don't have practice, or am not hung over, or don't have dinner plans." or "I'm Catholic but I don't believe this or that." So today, you can imagine my immense sadness when I hear people, especially Catholics say "I'm "Catholic" but I'm voting for Obama because such and such is more important and abortion is a non-issue."  So now we have our "issue" to consider-religious freedom.  

Once there was a little girl, who was beautiful and full of zest and lots of words and lots and lots and lots of dance moves. That little girl cannot wait to be a mommy one day.  That girl is 6.  

Now lets say said girl, 8 years down the road is living in Oregon.  In Oregon, under the new health care plan (also known as Obamacare) she can get irreversible sterilization at the young age of 14 WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT and it is paid for by the government.  Fast forward 20 years from now, when said girl wants babies but cannot have them because at the age of 14 she made a decision that she did not know the enormity of.  As a parent, what do you tell her?  "well you see, when you were six, I was more worried about taxing the higher class and school vouchers and food stamps, then I was about personally funding bills like this one.  I even voted for the man whose name it bares, I'm sorry, back then IMMEDIATE issues were what I was voting on.  Making sure all the kids' lives I was effecting immediately were more important than you, my daughter, in the future.  Luckily for you, I also helped vote to make Catholic institutions have to pay for birth control too, that way I could also make others, who believe it is wrong, have to pay for others to not have babies either.  But don't worry sugar I will still call myself "Catholic", even though the golden voting rule of taking the biggest issue (Sanctity of Life) and voting in the best possible way to better that, was something I simply did not worry about."  Imagine explaining all of this to that little girl one day? 

At the old age of 14 I had no idea what I wanted....even at the age of 20, i still did not know what i wanted, but luckily for me, I had someone who knew better.  Be the person who knows better.  

I can't sit here and tell you I am crazy about my candidate. I'm not, but I do know who has proven he does not care a bit about my faith, or the sanctity of life, or religious freedom and I simply cannot vote for him.  Because one day, you see, I'll have to stand before someone else and take responsibility for all of my actions and decisions and I would like to proudly say "yes, God.  I defended life above all things.  When it was tough, i defended it.  when other issues seemed more important to the world, i defended it.  When it came down to filling out a ballot and voting for someone who was more likely to defend life, I voted to defend it. 

Because I know you would want better."

"America you are beautiful . . . and blessed . . . . The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless. If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." -Blessed John Paul II

*I do not need comments about the greatness of the current commander or you justifying why you are voting for him.  all comments will be deleted.   This is my blog and this is my entry about why I am voting for who I am voting for. 

Amor



Seven years ago today, Cody and I vowed in front of God, family, and friends to love each other all the days of our lives.  For better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.  To love each other, honor each other and never seeking anyone else.  It was the happiest day of my life.  Some people ask why we didn't have a destination wedding.  The answer was quite simple, it wasn't us.  In the Catholic Church, you have to be married in front of an alter, seeing as to how our faith is at the center of our lives, it made absolute sense to pledge our lives to each other in front of where God pledged his life to us, for us.  Having been blessed with Father Matt placing his hands on us, through the installation of hands, knowing God truly blessed our marriage was a moment that still brings peace.  We weren't worried about not getting married outdoors or with sand in our toes, the only thing we were concerned about was God's blessing.  Nothing against that, it just was not US, what we needed at the foundation of our marriage.

  During our wedding, we had songs that spoke of love and the blessings of hands, which spoke of all that our hands would encounter in our marriage.  We celebrated in readings, the Eucharist, and our final blessing.  During our wedding though, we also prayed at the feet of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We prayed that like her, we would be able to answer God's will unwavering.  That we would say "yes" without fail.  We knew that would involve sacrifice, suffering, love, and grace.  We knew that no road would be easy, but that God would be with us every step of the way.  We prayed that like Mary, we would be amazing parents, that our children would know of their Creator and His ultimate sacrifice. 

But you see, it is not easy.  It is hard.  Every. Day. People often think we have a little picturesque life over here, but we don't.  There are struggles, pain, sacrifice and suffering. Every. Day. But you see, there is also the knowing that to have eternal life, which is why we are all here, we must die unto ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him.  Every. Day.

 

I have reminded myself of this every day for a very long time.  Very ironic that Fr. Lanzrath was visiting our parish yesterday and reminded me of it too.  Every time I get thrown up on, I am dying unto myself.  Everytime, I throw up because of "Cinco" (which is STILL everyday), I am dying unto myself.  Countless diaper changes, when we choose Disney channel over football, or laundry over game nights, we are dying unto ourselves.  Groceries over shoes, dance lessons, over concert tickets, dying unto ourselves.  Cody having to work late to pay bills, he is dying unto himself.  Even when we argue, there is a dying unto ourselves that we are reminded, out is not an option.  Working through it, is an option.  Praying on it, is an option, sacrifice and love are options.  Taking up whatever cross the other has given us, is an option.  It is hard. Every. Day. And tonight, on our anniversary, I took Miayla to dance, Cody took Cohen to scouts.  There was no fancy dinner, no romantic strolls, no cute outfits.  As I sit here and type, I am in a tank top, shorts, slippers and my hair is in a messy ponytail.  Kaia is ramming my chair with a truck and Miayla is icing her eye bc she thinks it is going to fall out......no joke.  Cody is with Sawyer, who has a bandaid on his forehead (don't ask),  enough said.  So tonight, just like every day, we are dying unto ourselves.  The sacrifices we make,  the crosses we take up, whether theyare small ones of or the big ones.  We are here to get to THERE. 

So as I reflect on Cody J and seven years as his bride, I am so incredibly thankful God chose him to my partner in this life, to be the one I take my crosses up with.  To be the one I die unto myself with, and for. I LOVE my kids.  Don't get me wrong, they are my world. I would go to the depths of this world for them. Die for them, give anything so they know nothing but happiness. But at the end of the day, they will grow. They will move on, they will find someone that God has prepared for them. When I am not with them, I miss them yes. But with Cody, God created him for me, and I for him.  When I am not with Cody, I have a WANT for him.  I have a NEED for him.  A DESIRE to be with him.  Just simply be together.  To be ONE, which is how we became, seven years ago today. 

Lenten Lessons Part 1.

One of the things I worry most about as a mother, is that I may not be teaching them enough about the things that really matter in life...namely God. I strive day in and day out to take every opportunity I can to teach them, turn situations into learning lessons, let them know of God's love. Obviously being human, I struggle. Luckily for me, there are people out there that have helped pave the way, making the opportunities for lessons a little easier. I take no credit for the activity below. I borrowed it from http://www.catholicmom.com/ a site I frequent often for little tips. It helped we wonderfully this past January on pro-life activities for the kiddos. However this one is under kids, Lenten activities, jelly bean prayer. I came across it two years ago, but at the time I came across it, Lent was half over, so we have technically only done it a year. The kids are not fans of jelly beans. Actually I take that back, they love jelly beans, but I don't like them to have them so we used m&ms instead. The kids loved it and I really felt that it covered a wide range of actions. It did not just focus on sacrifice, but also forgiveness, not just actions, but also prayer. The kids looked forward to getting new colors and striving for the colors they struggled to get. It is kind of funny because one of the kiddos' sitter came over a few weeks ago and asked if we had started that m&m thing yet. I told her no, that it was for lent, and she was like "man, they worked so hard for those black ones, I thought it would be easy tonight." I laughed...apparently she liked the activity too. Luckily the kiddos went to bed just fine for her anyway. When I was getting all the stuff out to do it for this year even, Cohen asked if we could add some more colors. I asked him to elaborate. He suggested adding brown because his Rosary is brown and he thought maybe he could get brown for every time he prays his rosary. I don't know how many 6 year olds think about praying the rosary, but I am happy mine does! We are also in the process of constructing a crown of thorns...I'll keep you posted on this one as we have never done it:) I am always looking for new things to do with them, so if you have any, please share! I am still trying to come up with other stuff besides the usual (weekly Stations, Easter Cookies) so if I think of anything, or if anyone shares anything, I'll pass it on.

Here is our set up from last year....

Red is for the love He gave- Each morning they would choose something to sacrifice for that day. He had to be something they had the opportunity to have or do on that day.

Green is for the palms cool shade- green were earned for good deeds done (providing shade for Jesus with palms was a good deed)

Yellow is for God's light so bright- yellows were earned for kindness shared to others

Blue was for prayers at twilight- (these were supposed to be orange, but the kids thought the sky was more blue so we went with blue)- these were for good behavior with prayer or during special prayer times

Black is for sweet rest at night-these were earned for going to bed good:) Miss Miayla had just a few blacks-this year she swears she will get more

White is for God's grace- THESE COULD NOT BE EARNED

Purple is for His days of sorrow- these were earned after apologizing to someone you hurt through words or actions-asking for forgiveness

Pink is for each new tomorrow-pink were earned when we forgave someone who had apologized to us .

We set the jars up on Ash Wednesday and the kiddos could earn m&ms for the colors they performed whatever deed for. They COULD NOT eat them until Easter. The kids could not earn white m&ms, these represent God's grace, which is a gift not earned ourselves. Essentially though, on Easter morning, the kiddos woke up to find their jars filled up where they were empty (lacking) with white m&ms (God's grace)-All of those pictures are on a different computer that is all apart as we finish a basement...if or when I find them, I'll post the jars with white m&ms:) ---

I hated to spoil it for you if you were excited to see where this was going, but just in case you wanted to do it with your kiddos, I thought I would prepare you:).

God's Peace!

a slice of heaven

This has nothing to do with Ree, but everything to do with food. So last week I noticed on facebook, that one of my friends was making a skillet chocolate chip cookie. I commented that she should share the link and she, clearly recognizing that I am obsessed with food, said she was just getting ready to link it to my page because she knew I would like it. Well it was about 8pm and the kiddos were in bed. I logged off facebook and started baking. But despite all the goodies around me, I could NOT for the life of me get the image of the cookie out of my head. See the thing is Mel did not know about my love for the chocolate chip cookie. It goes back decades. I have homemade mixes all baggied and ready to go so I don't even have to measure anything anymore! I just grab a kit and whip up some cookies. The pennicle of my obsession is the Old Chicago Big Cookie. I get one every time we go....and I have a hard time sharing. I have made "big cookies" before. I have even made little individual cookies like the ones at OC before in little corningware dishes. However, when I saw the skillet cookie, it was if the skies parted and I realized my life would never be the same. So as I was baking, unable to get the image out of my head, I made one. I figured I would try it and see how it was. Cody asked who was going to eat it and sadly a part of me thought it was perfect that I could indulge all by my lonesome. This was afterall a test run, so why subject the kiddos to a possibly bad dessert? What kind of mother would I be if I did that?! When the cookie came out of the oven I just stared at it....waiting for it to be ready for consumption. Unfortunately that did not happen long enough for me to take a picture of it....

I HAD to have some. It was unbelievable. Cody kept looking at me while I ate it because of the noises I was making. It was soooo good. It was warm, gooey, and a thick cookie! I kicked myself for being selfish because this really could feed a few people, but hey, you live and learn.
I enjoyed my little slice of heaven that night and have made three times since last week. My life will never be the same! Thanks Mel.

Here is the link: sorry about leaving it out, thought I had it in there:)

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/skillet-baked-chocolate-chip-cookie?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/chocolate-chip-cookie-recipes#slide_6

my Month with Ree- Day 16 and 17

One of another favorites of mine is Country Fried Steaks. It is one of those items I get whenever Cody takes me someplace that serves them. If it is an Italian restaurant-lasagna, an American grill- ribs, steakhouse- country fried steak. I LOVE THEM. I can't remember which family member it is now, but one of them traded me roasts for their minute steaks when we got beef because we go through them so fast! I LOVE MAKING COUNTRY FRIED STEAKS (chicken fried steaks to others). Yes they are bad for you, I realize this. But I hope you also realize that I clearly do not care. Country fried steaks are one of my comfort foods. They bring me happiness. I love my country fried steak recipe so i was a little leery about trying Ree's, but I did. It was funny too because I had a craving for it and went to get her cookbook to see how she made it. Except my mom had my cookbook....so I logged on and great minds think a like because Ree had posted it to her site a few days ahead of time (under Chicken fried steak). They were craving it too. See I know we would be friends. Anyway, I tried Ree's recipe and it was delightful. Very similar to mine, very tasty too. The reason this is the posting for day 16 and 17 is because I of course had to try her creamy mashed potatoes with it! Now these were AWESOME!! I'll never make potatoes the old way again. Her suggested ingredients made them so creamy. I did use whipping cream instead of half and half because that is what I had, but they still came out great. The meal brought me lots of comfort. Probably a few more pounds too, but oh well. I enjoyed every bite!

I use my handy dandy pampered chef coating trays for the coating meat process...

They really are handy. When I purchased them, I had chicken fried steaks in mind:)

Creamy mashed potatoes!! That is butter on top, not cheese!

DELICIOUS GOODNESS THAT RIGHT THERE!!

My happy place that quickly became my happy plate!

Chicken Fried steak

Grade A

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Grade A

I'm back....

So the last week and a half have been CRAZY here. Mainly there have just been three things that have consumed all my time, but I actually think they consumed more time than I actually had to give, so blogging was not an option. Oh I thought about it. And I thought about Ree and all her delicious goodness that I was not tasting, and all the stories about the kiddos that were not being shared, and all the times that I just wanted to post a thought to the world. But it simply did not happen. What have I been up to.... well...

1. The Britches and Lace Consignment Sale. I do this sale twice a year and it means a ton to me....a ton more than a sale should, but hey. The thing is, if you partake in this sale and are one of the "die-hards" this sale becomes your life for a few days. Cody and I do not shop that often. Actually, hardly ever. We have a very hard time buying clothes for ourselves and we hardly buy clothes for the kiddos....except for this sale. It is all things kid related, and it is where I get their wardrobe for the year and anything I think they will need (toys, games, sheets, decor) I go to the fall sale in September to stock up for fall and winter and the spring sale in march to stock up for spring and summer. The sale fits nicely into our budget, saving us tons. I used to like garage sales....kids do grow super fast and go through clothes faster. But I have mostly eliminated all garage selling when I discovered this sale. Granted you pay a bit more, it is like a one stop shop AND for the most part, most of the clothes come in outfits so you don't end up with a cute top and a cute bottom, but not a cute coordinating top and bottom. Another thing I LOVE about the sale is if you are a consignor, you get to shop early (the night before). It is CHAOS. MASS CHAOS, lots of mommas on missions. But fun:) If you barter or volunteer you get to shop even earlier (I'm going @ 6 the night before, yippee). And the other thing I love about it that garage selling is lacking is that kiddos are not allowed at the pre-sale:) With garage selling you are getting kiddos in and out of cars, in the heat usually, all for hoping you hit a good spot. This is a few hours of my life, kid-less, getting all our shopping done for two seasons. And Lana and Trina run a tight ship so they only take nice, up to date clothing, most of it is gymboree, childrens place, baby gap....you get the idea. If you are in my area, check it out!! you can check out the website @ www.britchesandlace.com . Look at the photos, and you will be amazed. Anyway....I have been busy trying to get stuff ready for that. Oh, I also have a "friend" pass for wednesday night. you would get in at 8 with all the other crazies. Let me know if you are interested.

2. The other big time consumer was my first really big bakery order. I had 1000 mini desserts to do for a school auction. It was a lot of fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it....but I baked soooooooooooo much. My kitchen was an inch deep in flour dust, but it smelled divine:) Trying to bake 1000 desserts was not so bad...it was the doing it pregnant with three little ones already that posed a bit of a problem. Actually the kiddos are amazing. I know one day it will all come crumbling down and they will start being hellions..but for now they are awesome. Sawyer just got used to moving his elmo chair to the kitchen and sitting and reading while I baked. It was awesome.

3. The family took the rest of the time. Obviously they are at the forefront of all of my life (I do the sale for them, and the desserts were for Cohen's school). When I got a spare moment, I cuddled, and read, and played.....i didn't blog, or read about Ree. And I am happy with my decision. They are my world and I think I handled the chaos nicely.

I am back though, and we will continue Operation Ree and being a crazy little family. Thanks for still checking in!

My Month with Ree- Day 15

One thing about getting 1/2 beefs is you get a lot of roast. Or at least it seems that way. Maybe it is because I don't like roasts so don't use them so by the time we get another 1/2 beef I am up to my ears in roasts....We have more dang roasts than I'd care to have. I know, I know, everyone loves roasts. Do you know how I like roasts? When Cody smokes them or cooks them or pretty much when I don't have to do anything with the roast, that is how and when I like them. Well...before now. We will now call this time B.R. (Before Ree).

I realized that I do have some amazing roast recipes, some easy roast recipes, however, I lacked patience with my roast. I lacked the proper care and preparation for the roast pre-roasting time therefore, I disliked the roast at eating time. I decided to use one of the lots of meats we have in the freezer and give the roast another go around. I chose Ree's "Perfect Pot Roast". It smelled perfect, it was easy to prepare, it was insanely similar to other roast recipes that I cursed myself for ruining all those roasts in the making of this roast. And Cody said it was the most perfect roast I have ever made. Yay. Looking at the dish it doesn't look like very much, but this was about a 1/3 of the roast. We had it again the next day and I am pretty sure there is still some left in the fridge. Although even though I am blogging about it at 9 am on a Monday morning, the thought of it is making my mouth water, so I may just go heat the rest of that up now:)

So tender-so good.
Perfect Pot Roast
Grade A