My Muse
subtitled: hey keyboard, this desk ain't big enough for the both of us...

Prayers Needed

Right now, as you read this, an adoptive mom of 10, who is traveling alone, is in Ethiopia--

with her new Ethiopian daughter...

whose deteriorating condition demanded admittance to the hospital overnight...

while her bedside prayer vigil attempts to rally her health...

to finish the journey home.

Please, please go and offer her some encouragement.

Tony Snow's Testimony

Much has been written in the past week about the great faith of Catholic Christian Tony Snow, who served as press secretary for the current Bush Administration. If you've had the good fortune to not stare down a demon such as cancer, reading his story can be awe-inspiring, and perhaps a bit frightening even. But if you've lived long enough to have your life turned on its end by some unexpected trial, you will find yourself gently nodding your head in understanding as you read his story:

I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.
But despite this--or because of it--God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.

Read the rest at Christianity Today here.

May God grant unto thee eternal rest, and may Our Blessed Mother comfort this family, who continues to fight the good fight to which we are all called.

H/T Amy

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh

What? Don't you run around with your hair on fire when you find out your court date has been set for July 31st? In less than two weeks, I could be a new mom again--for the seventh time!

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for my life as a mother. Thank You for all of the blessings and love You have bestowed upon me. My heart swells with joy, happiness, and peace contemplating the great love that compelled You to bless me with the gifts of my children. Thank You for the gift of faith You have given me. Please increase it in my heart as I pray for my children. Amen.

From Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers (this is the link to The Catholic Company because that 20% discount would be just one more great reason to pick up this precious book today) by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle (who was gracious enough to send her books for my review. They are pure gems. Keep your eyes open for reviews of them coming soon!)

Strawberry Picking

It seemed like a good idea at the time. But when we noticed all the folks out from the City, spending a day on the farm (bordered by three subdivisions and a divided highway); we had our doubts. And it didn't help any when the surly farmhand greeted us, palm outstretched, looking for our admission fee!

"Five dollars per person?!?" the Captain asked. "I hope that includes the strawberries," he grimaced, as I paid our not-so-farm-friendly hostess. "Yeah. Um. About the strawberries, "I stammered, "We pay for those on the way out." Pausing for dramatic effect, he turned and looked at me, "You do know that strawberries are on sale at the grocery store for $1.79 per pound, right?" Swallowing hard and steeling my resolve to bring home our fresh, ruby-colored fruit, I acknowledged the current asking price at the market and considered my folly. Back in the day, when I picked strawberries with my mom, there was no entrance fee to simply walk on the field. (Insert loud, almost middle-aged sigh here.)

For the brief amount of time it took us to fill our little berry baskets (because after paying admission for 8 people, who could think about buying strawberries?) I figure the farmer laughed himself right to the local credit union that night--or at the very least out for a very.nice.dinner.

Was this money poorly spent I wondered as I paid our bill? It was certainly a more expensive outing than I had planned on. We certainly enjoyed ourselves and the tiny, sweet berries tasted divine. But I'm thinking for next year, maybe we'll just invest in a few nice strawberry plants for our own yard. I hear there's money to be made in the business.

Thinking About Adopting...

But your spouse isn't quite there yet? Then, don't miss this story, told from an interesting perspective---the husband's!

Timeline

Naomi asked, with regard to the arrival of her new kitty, "Is later now yet?"

And the Winner is...

Laura, from Simple, Ordinary Lives with 64% of the votes for her family's volunteer idea, which can be found here. Email me at patjrsmom at yahoo dot com and let me know where you would like me to ship your new Pampered Chef bar pan!

Congratulations, Laura! Thanks to everyone who shared their ideas!

Faith and Family Live!

Don't miss this new and much improved site for Faith and Family magazine. On this site, you can even find our cheerleading party article! There is such an extensive amount of information available, you'll have to watch the clock to remember to stop to feed the children--or you could just throw a package of juice boxes and an economy sized box of goldfish crackers their way. They're happy, you're happy. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Customer Appreciation Week at The Catholic Company

If you needed a reason to click on over and check out the prolific inventory at The Catholic Company, here it is: order by July 21st and use the code JULY to save 20%. The code is good on all purchases made online, by fax, phone or mail!

Wordless Wednesday-Neighborhood Fourth of July Parade

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Catholic Carnival #181

is now up at Frank, in a Sense & Mirth by Alexa. This is another new host this week and once again, she has done a tremendous job. As a matter of fact, she's gone and changed her entire blog template to reflect her theme! Talk about dedication, eh? Go and see for yourself. But don't forget to bring money for the funnel cakes.

Last Chance!

Today's the last day to vote for your favorite family volunteer activity. The poll in the sidebar will close in less than 24 hours!

New Column

You can read my new column in the Beacon-News today: We Can All Strive to Be Heroes

Help Wanted

The EthioKids website is looking for help in the following areas:

EAKC Volunteers Needed:

EAKC Website Help:

• Our website is still in the early stages of development and it is a very important first impression of our organization. It is more work than one working person can manage, so she is requesting assistance from 3-4 people, to work as a team, to help post all of the beautiful photos from EAKC events and families, develop an adoption story page (stories are already written and ready to be posted), and basically just work with her to be sure keep the website alive. Please contact Katie@ethiopiankids.net to discuss further. Time required is limited but it is crucial that we have a team of people to keep moving this forward!

• Our website team is also in need a few people who will continually look for Ethiopian cultural information to post to our site, Ethiopian holiday ideas, current events in Ethiopia (Google alerts, etc). Contact Katie@ethiopiankids.net if you would like to send in these type of updates to her on a fairly regular basis.

Social Coordinators

• We need help identifying, planning and organizing additional events that will benefit the Ethiopian American adoption community. Please contact Carol at Carol@ethiopiankids.net to volunteer!

As if you need another reason...

to go and pick up a copy of the latest issue of Faith and Family magazine. It's always chock full of informative articles, stirring reflections on the faith and family friendly activities. But this month's issue has something near and dear to my heart---my own personal "Party Planner" story! If you've been reading here for quite sometime, you might remember the Cheerleading Birthday Party for Beulah's 9th birthday. If not, go pick up this month's issue (or better yet--start your own subscription and never miss a single issue!) and you can read all about it there!

Extraordinary Moms Network!

Wondering what that new button over there in the sidebar is for? Go ahead and click on it. Come on, you know you want to...did you click it yet? You did? Okay, good.

Then you don't need me to tell you that it takes you to a great new site designed specifically to:

"offer encouragement and guidance for adoptive mothers and foster moms, those considering foster care or adoption, and all women who invest their lives in other people’s children."

The lovely, Heidi Hess Saxon, adoptive mom and writer/editor/all-around good guy is the creator of this new site, and I'll be participating there as her Ethiopia "expert". Check often for news and inspiring stories to encourage an adoptive/foster mother's heart. And coming soon, the inaugural Extraordinary Moms Network Carnival on August 1st! See you there!