Ask And You Shall Receive

I have been back online for a few days. Last week, my fritzy computer screen finally surrendered. I placed my laptop in front of the gentleman at the Geek Squad counter with the hope and anticipation of an inexpensive repair. That wasn't how it played out. The young man informed me that they do not not fix HP's, they send them off. (By the way, this is our second HP notebook to break in the past three years - ugh!) If I were to send it off, even if it was a tiny part, the entire motherboard would require replacement resulting in a parts and labor expense nearly equal to the cost of a better equipped brand new notebook. I took it home with a prayer and a free disc to at least attempt to get our old desktop on dial up temporarily. My sweet husband spent a bit of time attempting to connect it to our DSL connection to no avail. Our providers tech support hours had ended for the weekend. Our option was to stay off of the computer, or try the dial up disc. When he loaded in the dial-up disc, he noticed that the password was novena-gizmos. He thought it strange because our family finished praying a Novena to the Infant of Prague for an intention that has been on our heart for a while. (a new job for him!). So here we are expecting a miracle with great faith and instead our computer konks out. Oh well, Thy Will Be Done.

Upon arriving at the payment screen, we decided that the "free trial" was too much of a hassle. We took that as a sign to let it go. I tried to let it go. Really. Throughout last Saturday, I caught myself thinking of how I would look through the Sunday Flyers to look for a bargain on a new laptop. I tried to dismiss those thoughts, though. This is not a season in our life to make a frivolous purchase, especially when I could make do with the old (and rather s-l-o-w desktop computer (that we have filled with children's computer programs) in a few days.

I resolved to stop being so greedy and materialistic about having my notebook computer. The one that sits on my lap when my husband watches tv. The one that sits on my kitchen desk, convenient to everything in the hub central of our tiny home. The one that zips around all of my favorite and useful sites. The one that holds all of our digital pictures (that have most all been saved to disc - a huge Grace right there!). Yes, my laptop is convenient, fast, portable and something I use each day, but I could make do with our old desktop. I could. I did it before. I even sold $200 a week on eBay with our old desktop. I resolved to be thankful to have a computer at all, when the majority of people on this planet cannot even claim to have basic necessities.

At Holy Mass last Sunday morning, when lifting up my prayers of Thanksgiving and praying intentions, I included a prayer for my computer. Specifically: That I would have peace and be thankful.. I needed some Graces to help me "let it go."

In the church hall, during coffee and donuts, I was chatting with a dear friend. While we were catching up, I shared that my laptop died. She told me that she uses her desktop because she found her (HP!) laptop to be quirky and annoying and then she OFFERED IT TO ME! Later that afternoon, she graciously blessed me with her abandoned-to-a-guest-room-closet-for-the-past-two-years-laptop. While the Patriots were on pause, my darling husband was able to get this neglected computer online with our DSL! It maybe a "quirky" HP, but it is working for me. I am still sort of happy-numb with joy. I am overwhelmed by my friend's generosity.

My friend asked me not to tell anyone we know that she gave me her computer because, her words "Good deeds should be anonymous." At Holy Mass tomorrow, I will be offering up HUGE prayers of Thanksgiving for the generous heart of my dear "anonymous" friend.

no! not N

Just kidding. I really think it is Nifty! NeatoBurrito! Dawn selected the letter "N" for me.

N is for:

NOT - as in this has NOT turned out to be a cute "little" list. Other than my Christmas yesterthought, I haven't posted for a month and my fingers were itchy. "Were" because this post has sat in my draft folder. I was too tired to proofread it, so I saved to post later. Then my computer died (that is an entirely separate post!). Now that I have been up and running and caught up on blog reading, I remembered that I actually wrote this last week.

NEVER - certain things I NEVER need to do... such as get up early to send my children away all day. What a BLESSING it is that home education is legal especially in..

NEW HAMPSHIRE - It is a beautiful place. It is where the grandparents live. There is no sales tax. It is very easy to homeschool in NH.. I cannot imagine a state that has "Live Free or Die" on the license plates will impose stringent restrictions on those willing to take responsibility for their own children's education.

NATION - as in One NATION Under God. How thankful am I to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

NATURE WALKS - another especially nice in NEW HAMPSHIRE in Autumn when joined by dear friends. (Bicycle helmets optional).



NAPS - Need I say more? Especially when it is contagious.. as pictured here when sister falls asleep on the couch, so you join her and next thing you know... zzzzzzz

The NET - It has turned NOUNS into verbs. Whodathunk that: I "googled it, I "mapquested" it, I "blogged" it, I just "pm'd" you, would be so commonplace. The NET is such a big part of my life. 4Real. It is the biggest time sucker, though. That would be the reason that this blog was NEGLECTED for the past month! Other inspiring bloggers were discerning their time spent online, but I could not even find the time to blog about finding the time! Once I finished visiting The Forums and reading the blogs on the Google reader (Thanks to Katherine's 4Real recommendation :-), there wasn't anytime to share thoughts or pictures.

NORDSTROM - My sister introduced me to NORDSTROM in 1988. The piano, the quality, the selection, I even liked the cafe! The nearest one to me NOW 185 miles and approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes away. If I had the means and a reason to go, I would plan an excursion. When I lived in Maryland, I was employed by Nordstrom in the cosmetics department. I have no idea what it is like NOW, but at the time, it was the best place I have ever worked. I was treated so very well there. At the time, they knew all about customer service. If it has changed, please don't tell me. Kindly let me remember one of the places where the customer was truly first.

NEW Handmade Sweaters with matching hats lovingly knit by GrandMemere. NOTHING from even NORDSTROM comes close.

NEWBORN Babies - I have had five of my own to hold and care for. I love love love NEWBORNs! I love the way they smell. I love the way they fit right in the crook of my arm. I love, oh just everything, about NEWBORN babies! even preparing for baby's arrival by..
NESTING - when you know your life is about to change so you prepare every nook and cranny of your home in anticipation for your little one's arrival and then there is lots and lots of..

NURSING - there was a day that I could never have imagined myself NURSING a baby. When I was young I was quite, shall we say, secular. I thought it was icky. (Mama's come a long way, baby!). Then when I thought I had no milk to feed my skinny two week old baby, suffered through a bout of Thrush that made back labor feel like sunshine after a spring rain and then a spell of Mastitis, I was so thankful that I was blessed with enough graces to endure and was able to NURSE all of my babies into their second year. (maybe that belonged on a gratitude post!)

NAMEs - That is one of the perks of being a parent. When I was a little girl, I would make lists of what I would NAME my children. We ended up NAMING our children NONE of these. NOW that I have a blog, I was able to NAME our children twice! (You didn't think these were their real NAMES, did you??)

NIGHT - I am a NIGHTowl. Bedtime stories, warm baths, snuggling on the couch. They all happen at NIGHT. It is also mommytime on some evenings when I spend quiet time on projects and uninterrupted time online.

NOTEBOOKs - My New favorite NOTEBOOK is Google Notebook. It is so easy! When you are browsing a webpage and find information that you want to save, you can rightclick and save it to your Google NOTEBOOK. I use it to show items I come across to my husband, internet shopping (wish)lists, random recipes, educational ideas. Google NOTEBOOK can be private or public and it is a great way to store information online without having to sort through entire webpages.

My NOTEBOOK computer - it allows me to have a small computer in our kitchen (no room for a cpu). I sit with it on my lap right next to my darling husband when he watches The Patriots, The Celtics or The Redsox.

I haven't made a clever homejournal, I just use a simple 3 ring binder, a lovely art print image (which I pinched from our children's CHC Liturgical Collection Art prints) on the front cover. Inside I store a few pretty striped pocket folders and striped spiral NOTEBOOKs. The folders hold my scratch planning pages from Hold That Thought among a plethora of other contained paper clutter.
Another favorite NOTEBOOK is my recipe notebooks. I have printed so many recipes from Food NETWORK that I NEEDED to create a system to store them. Being a visual learner, FoodTV is a God Send. If I see someone prepare a recipe, I am given the confidence to have a go at the recipe in my own kitchen. Recording the programs, then printing the recipe for my NOTEBOOK makes up for me being such a NINNY in the kitchen.

NIGELLA - This is my new favorite program on the Food NETWORK. My husband and I sometimes tivo it and watch it before retiring for the evening. We find her to be endearing and quite funny. For example, when NIGELLA licks the spoon and looks into the camera and says "Don't say you wouldn't."

NATURAL - as in all things not artificial. You know where I am going with this.

NANA - Mine and our children's. My NANA passed away eleven years ago this month at age 89. She had such a gentle nature. My mom used to marvel at how her mother was able to manage her three tenement home and get by very well as a widow without a driver's license and a mere Second Grade education (she was forced to work in the factories to help her family from an absurdly young age). She was a fine cook. Her Christmas fudge was scrumptious. She spent many a winter month with our family as she got older. My fondest memories include playing a card game with her that she insisted we play for 3 nickels. I thought I knew the name of it, but when I just googled it, the most horrible websites (I prefer to remain NAIVE, thankyouverymuch!) appeared in my search. It was a two or more player game with three cards dealt to each with the object of making 31 points. The losers must toss a nickel into the kitty and they are entitled to one "welfare" hand. The final winner won the kitty.

and her daughter, who is our children's NANA.. well, my nickname for her is "Disneyland." Our children are addicted to her and nearly require a detox after a visit with her! She feeds them lollipops and lets them jump on the bed, oh everything she never approved of when I was younger, but she tells me it is her "right" because she's the NANA now. Oh, well, we pick our battles and just give thanks that she loves her grandchildren and they love her. This is a typical picture of a visit from NANA. The boys are lined up to have her rub their feet! and she does it!! NOT NORMAL! - lol! yet very loving.

NOW - nownownow - as in my attempt to live in the present moment. I have a bad habit of presenting a hypothetical situation to my husband and am foolish enough to expect a response. He doesn't have it in him. He deals in reality, the level-headed gentleman that he is.

NOVENAs - In NOVEMBER, Dear Alice united 4Real families to pray NOVENAs for each other. What a beautiful gift.

In addition, We began this New year by praying a NOVENA to the Infant of Prague with the hope of NEW opportunities for our family. St. Paul claimed that he had lived in want and lived in abundance. Our family can say the same. There were big changes for my husband's employment, resulting in less to work with in the budget. The past year offered me opportunities to go to work two nights each week. The extra income has helped to provide for our family, yet it has been the greatest exercise in humility. I am not complaining. Humility is good. I am not saying that working outside the home requires humility (perhaps for some it might, I suppose). I am saying that my specific employment has given me several opportunities to "offer it up" and huge opportunities to pray for my co-workers. It has been an eye-opening experience to say the least. My life is completely countercultural to all of my co-workers and some of the less charitable ones have let me know that. I am trying to "Count It all Joy." I do not mind working (it is kind of fun, most of the time) and the children are well-cared for by Daddy in my brief absence, yet I am praying for a change. God provides. If you feel moved to pray for us, we would be grateful! A miracle would be nice.

The NEW YEAR - As thankful as I was for 2006, I welcome 2007 with open arms, an open mind, and many hopeful prayers. 2006 was a year of hope and loss, not once but twice for our family. We trust that God has a special plan for all of us. Although we will not understand this side of heaven, we will persevere in faith.

Thank you, Dawn, for including me in this Alphabet of Friendship. You are so NICE!

Christmas yesterthought

Well, I don't call this blog yesterthoughts for nothing. No more motivation was necessary for me than reading that Diane will be hosting a fair of our 4Real Ornament Exchange.


First we had to select a tree. In the past we have cut it down ourselves. This year we purchased a freshly cut tree from a gentleman who was selling his trees from his Vermont property to raise funds to groom his cross-country ski trails.



The seller had a small fire going, which was a bit more exciting to our older boys than selecting the tree (that Mom and Dad had final say on anyhow).

When we put up the lovely-just-right-for-our-little-corner tree and went to install the lights, we discovered that all of the bulbs had fizzled out since last year. After music lessons, I brought five children with me to Target. (an adventure in and of itself, let me assure you!) Selection was slim, but I liked the idea of blue lights and after a quick call home from the store, it was agreed that blue would do.

Pier-Jérôme and Elaina thought the boxes made fantastic legwarmers.


The youngest child hung our first ornament.
It had arrived in that day's mail from Minnesota Mom, Margaret, for our 4Real ornament exchange. It was a lovely gold wreath which had been filled with the most perfect image of The Holy Family.
The ornament exchange was Diane's fantastic idea. What a treat it was to receive a treasure that we will enjoy on our tree year after year. I noticed that the card sent by Margaret with the beautiful ornament, was written on December 12, The Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe. It was a day that Margaret discovered the most joyous news. I have a feeling that when we decorate our tree next year and in future years, I will always be filled with the sensation of ecstatic anticipation of a new baby when this lovely ornament is hung on the tree! Thank you Diane for coordinating the ornament exchange and Thank You, Margaret!!