A Confident and Capable Woman... St. Jane Frances de Chantal

St. Jane Frances de Chantal is my randomly generated patron saint, thanks to Jennifer of ConversionDiary.
Although I have found sources saying St. Jane's feast is the 18th of August, as well as the 21st, the Catholic calendar says that it is today, the 12th of August and so does catholic.org.  So the 12th it is!

Truly I didn't know much about St. Jane until this week.  I'm totally enamoured though.  She and her husband were madly in love and had four children together, but sadly their marriage ended early due to a hunting accident.  He husband was wonderfully forgiving of the man who killed him.  She later established a religious order and put herself under the spiritual direction of St. Francis de Sales.

But to pedal backwards a bit, upon their marriage St. Jane found herself deep in debt with her dear husband.  St. Jane took this upon herself and whittled it away until the estate was productive and prosperous.  And this I find most admirable, because of her, her family was able to prosper despite starting off "in the red."  

What a great model for financial stability and independence!
Even here, in our home, I need to believe that I have a great ability to help our family to prosper.

monasteryicons.com

St. Jane Frances,
Please help me to delight in my vocation.
Teach me to be thoughtful without becoming discouraged.
Pray for me that I can joyfully and hopefully travel upon the path that the Lord has laid-out for me.
Amen.

Mopping, Fear, Ya Know, the Norm

Moping the floor seems so daunting but it doesn't take me more than 30 minutes. And even if I don't finish what I do looks so amazing. I think I really "fear" moping because I "fear" starting and not finishing. Wow.

Anne helped me realize this after I read this post and I am still turning it over and seeing where else I can apply what she said.

I guess in the meantime I need to get to mopping!

Hoping you fearlessly leap over any hurdles that seem to be large but in reality are made of wispy clouds that need to be blown aside!

A beautiful vase my sister made for us for our wedding.  It's a timeless treasure!

Year of Faith Meets 2013 Goals

Year of Faith (2013) Goals

Throughout the beginning of the new year, which started early December (shout-out to fellow Catholics!) I spent time praying and discerned that this year will be a year of contentment.

Last year submission was my theme.  This year it is contentment and it is already such a challenge!  But I'm hopeful that I can open my heart to receive the needed grace to embrace this virtue (is contentment really a virtue? i mean, it has be! right?!).

This year I'm not using an acronym, but I am breaking my goals down into tasks again.  Breaking the goals down was much more helpful than the cheesy (but legit) acronym, so keeping the good and tossing the lame!

Continuous Goals

Monthly Confession (Before the 25th of each month)
Attend one weekday mass per month with the children
Night prayer with Tyler every day
Cardio three days per week (Monday-Saturday)
Wake-up with Tyler every weekday
Paint with Rita once a week
Use holy candles at supper, for First Friday, First Saturday, prayer requests, keeping vigil, etc.
Spend at least one hour per day solely playing with the kids (between nursing, diaper changing, meals, meal preparation and daily duties this is truly a difficult task for me, but I want it to be a priority)
Once a month visit out-of-town/out-of-state family

Play-by-Play Goals

1. Read the remaining Gospels (cause Jesus is the best to learn from!)

• December: begin Mark
• April: begin Luke
• August: begin John

2. Read and apply four books on simplifying (including Happy are You Poor and One Thousand Gifts of which I have only ever heard good things)

• December: Tell Your Time
• March: Surrender to Love
• June: Happy are You Poor
• September: One Thousand Gifts

3. Reduce clutter - Jesus obviously encourages this from my reading of Matthew's Gospel this past year

• January: Create and implement filing system
• February: Update hand-me-down organization
• March: Purge files (filing two months in a row would cause my brain to melt, thus the February hiatus)
• April: Eliminate technology clutter
• May: Purge Tyler's shed (Ahhhhhhh! I have SO MUCH STUFF hidden there.  So sad)
• June: Clean out prayer bench drawers
• July: Clean out linen chest
• August: Clean out clothing chest
• September: Cycle thru 31 Days to Living Intentionally Simple
• October: Organize and purge toys
• November: Pair-down Christmas ornaments

4. Sew once a week 

• January: Sew four felt food toys in January
• February: Sew four felt food toys in February
• March: Sew Lucy four felt food toys (Birthday present)
• April, May, June: Sew Rita a dress to wear for Jonah's one year pictures in July
• July: Sew Mom a make-up brush bag (Birthday present)
• August: Sew Nicole a make-up brush bag (Birthday present)
• September: Sew Stephan a harmonica case (Birthday present)
• October: Sew Nanny a make-up brush bag (Christmas present)
• November: Sew Molly a make-up brush bag (Christmas present)

5. Build a Lego Table

• Easter gift to Rita
• Easter 2013: March 31st
• January: price materials
• February: purchase materials
• March: assemble

6. Blueberry Business

• Build raised beds for blueberry bushes, plus room for one more
• Plant blueberry bushes
• Purchase and plant one alternate variety blueberry bush

7. Fence in our front yard

• January: get an estimate
• Save for fence 
• October: have fence installed (if three month emergency savings complete and fence-only funds available, otherwise wait until 2014)

We would love to fence in the front yard, but this isn't our forever home and so we are eliminating this.

8. Pay $500 on principle car debt

• July: $250 (at least that much paid)
• November: total $500 paid

9. Build a three month emergency savings fund

• Use any tax return money for this savings
• Use any Ebates earnings for this savings
• Set-up automatic withdraw

10. Save for a family vacation/wedding in October 

• February - August Save $100 per month
• August possibly purchase plane tickets
• August order visitors guides
• September book/plan accommodations

I think this concludes my Year of Faith goals.

Jesus, into your merciful hands I entrust these goals.  Above all, let me accomplish what You desire, Jesus.  I give you my life.  Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Review of G.O.A.L.S. which were last updated in June (so terrible, I know! but our sweet Jonah has put a new rhythm in our awesome family!)

GOD
Increase in visits to the adoration chapel (weekly, hopefully)
Must be done solo.  
Daily family prayer
Before dinner, and at bedtime most nights.  Tyler and I are also working on saying Night Prayer each night together once the babies (or at least Rita) are sleeping.  That is such a blessed time.
Teaching Rita the traditional Catholic blessing before meals, the Guardian Angel prayer and the Hail Mary
Working on it and we added the "Glory Be."  Rita continues to make the Sign of the Cross and every now and then clasps her hands in prayer.  She also exclaims "A-ben!"  So sweet to read this June update.  ACCOMPLISHED AND MORE! Rita now (23 months old) knows the Hail Mary, Our Father, Prayer Before Meals, Guardian Angel Prayer and the SIgn of the Cross.  We are so blessed to have such a bright and delightful (and sometimes fierce) little girl.  I love you, Rita.
Establishing 15 minutes of conversational prayer time
Challenging.
Saying as much of the Rosary each day as I can (separate from conversation time with Jesus)
I usually manage to start at least one Rosary each week - progress!
Lately it has been about one decade per week.  sigh  More effort and focus needed!
OWE NOTHING*
Decrease vehicle debt by $1200 (at minimum)
We have put $524 towards principle! And that's it for 2012.  Almost 50% of this goal met.  Every dollar has helped!

Take a family vacation with CASH only.  ACCOMPLISHED!

*Currently we owe on one vehicle and on our home, so this won't happen in 2012 but we are at the start of the journey to totally debt free living!
APPRECIATE 
Being a SAHM is the greatest blessing, Lord let my lips not complain!
Become great at pursuing gratitude and expressing it at every opportunity
Appreciate our financial stability and practice frugality as part of my job as wife and mother
A hungry toddler and a nursing momma and a dada that does lots of physical labor has pushed us up. We're happy to eat healthy!  Meal planning quickly strayed from the ideal plan (doesn't it always in this imperfect world?!) but I try to jot notes on the calendar on Saturday or Sunday and have at least four meals planned.  Still working on gratitude via contentment.

LISTEN
I talk way too often
I interrupt even more often 
Lord Jesus Christ, remind me of the simple anatomy of my being - two ears and only one mouth
Always pursuing this.

SAVE

Save, save, save!
Save $6,200 $5,967* for our three month emergency fund  

We have saved $3,033  $3040.55  $3045.99 towards our three month emergency fund (more than half way)! 

*We reevaluated our needs vs wants during a time of financial stress and determined we would truly need $5,967 for three months.  

Savings is drastically reduced.  Sad but true.  But for 2013 we have auto-withdraw!  

Save $400 for photos with our new baby in July and for family Christmas pictures
We haven't saved anything for pictures and being that Jonah is due to arrive anytime in July...looks like I will be calling on my high school photography skills and my black and white manual camera.  Won't be what we thought of but it will be done by me, and that's special!  Still hopeful about Christmas though!

Took Christmas photos with cash! Hooray!

Radiant Love: A Visit with Our Lord

Well, back in September I said that it was back to chapel for me...but after one creepy visit in which a man stayed lingering outside in the chapel parking lot, Tyler asked that I visit chapel at some other time than dark...great idea...not so practical since he comes home after 5:30 every day! 

Stained glass above the tabernacle.

So, life happened and I thought of chapel and I attempted visits but never got there.  But the truth of the healing and rejuvenating Eucharist kept calling to me and I didn't let myself stop trying.

It FINALLY paid off!  Two months later (so embarrassing) I made a visit to our Lord in a local church.  I spent a little more than 15 minutes but it felt like hours.  I was so refreshed by quiet, still prayer time in the presence of Our Lord in the tabernacle.  

The stained glass had me marveling at the beauty of God in this world, as did the gorgeous tabernacle. 

I'm so refreshed.

It's God is amazing.

I'm looking forward to another visit!

Candles burning beneath the mantle of Our Lady.

My goal is confession once a month and chapel once a month.  My last two attempts at confession have left me starring at an empty confessional...just a few minutes too late.  Shucks.  I'm not giving up!!

On another note, Tyler has a retreat coming-up soon.  Please pray for him as he prepares to spend time away from the busyness and wooing nature of the world.   I pray that he is blessed, revived and refreshed during his time of spiritual renewal.

As we near Advent,
Come Lord Jesus!