Advent Season

On Sunday we began the advent season. Four weeks of preparation for the greatest day of the year. Christmas is a very special celebration for us as Christians. We celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

This past Sunday, we light the first candle of the advent wreath. At our parish, my husband, son and I lighted the first candle. My daughter served as an altar server that day. It was very special to me. That morning husband told us he will be coming to church with us. It is a joy for me to have my husband join us at church. The Sister in charge of the Faith Formation classes asked us if we could light the candle. She wants each family in the first communion classes, to participate during the liturgy, each Sunday during this advent season. And we were the first family to participate this week.

At home, I removed all the fall decorations and placed them in their box in the storage room. I then took out all the boxes that contain all the Christmas decorations. The children put together the tree. We had our tree for about 12 years and even though I keep saying that I will get a new one, we keep using the same one.

This year, I think I will keep things simple. I bought some new ornaments and some garlands for the front entrance. Most of the decorations that I will use are things I have obtained over the years. The tree decoration is not always the same each year. It all depends on what color I choose for that year. This year, I chose purple, pink and gold. For the rest of the house I will be using the traditional colors: green, red and white.

The living room is a mess at the moment. I have some boxes with the christmas decorations that I will not be using. Another box with all my ceramic houses that I like to put on display each christmas season. I have not yet taken this out. I have not decided yet where to put them. My living room is small and adjacent to the kitchen.

I need to also spend some time decluttering the attic rooms. That room in the attic looks like a jungle. I do not like how it looks and it need to be organized and the floor cleared of boxes and stuff that need to be donated or just trashed. I just do not know how it gets so messy. I have gotten rid of some much stuff, and more stuff keeps apearing in that area.

The problem is that what ever is not needed in the other rooms ends up piled in this room in baskets or boxes. Toys, clothes, books, in one word clutter. I think I need to refresh on the things I learned from the Flylady system. I want this new year to be welcomed with a clutter free home. So this four weeks of advent, I will be working on decluttering the attic.

My goals for this advent season. In my home, declutter all the rooms. In my spiritual walk, to spend more time in prayer and return to my daily scripture readings.

THANKSGIVING FIESTA!

Once again our Thankgiving dinner at my Mother's house was amazing! The food was ready on time and we all gathered at the table and thanked the Lord for the food and the blessings. After our dinner we had the talent show with the kids. They are great for improvising their acts. No dress rehearsals, no days to practice what they will be doing. They just do what ever comes to them in that moment.

After the talent show we took some family pictures. Here are some of the pictures I took at our family Fiesta.

This is my family. My kids and husband.

This is my Mom and her five children,
Rosario (the oldest), Erica, Idalia, Ernie, and Griselda ( the youngest)

Here are the grandchildren. Dressed in Mariachi outfits.



Son's imitation of Elvis and his dancers. I wish I had video of this performance.
Son was so funny, he even droped to the floor and played his guitar, like a real performer.

The children had dressed in so many outfits for their different dances. They like performing
the songs of their favorite pop stars. Plus they had some ethnic dresses. From Mexico, China,
India, Spain, and Arabia. My sister finds the costumes at thrift stores and has a room
full of this costumes. Ready to be worn by the children in their talent show.
The children only perform at family events. But the main part is that they love it.
They enjoy performing for us their parents and their grandparents.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

I will be spending Thanksgiving day at my Mother's house. I will probably not have time to view updates or write a post this week. I have been quite busy this few days getting my house back to normal. I do not like to leave my house a mess when I go over to my parents house. I hate coming home to a messy house. I am not sure if husband will join us or stay home and celebrate thankgiving with his side of the family.

I am happy to spend thankgiving with my family this year. I love spending the holidays with my family. We all gather around the table and share or blessings. We pray for our food and then enjoy what we all helped prepared for that day.

My sister organizes a talent show with all of our kids. There are six children in all, ranging from 12 years to 2 years.

I hope you all have a blessed Thankgiving day. I will try to post pictures of our thankgiving dinner sometime on the weekend.

Walking with Jesus Wednesday

Every Wednesday I share a post at Holy Experience with other blogers. This week I have not written a post yet. I have been quite busy getting back to normal with house chores and managing the finances.

I went through a rough week,as you all know from previous post. I have not stoped praying. I keep asking God to heal me, physically, and emotionally. It is hard to know that you are pregnant and later be told, you are no longer pregnant. My body is going through the changes too.

I am taking things easy. I have not done much in the house like other days. I have ask my children to help with moping the floors and vacuuming. I have done a few loads of laundry. But I ask daughter to change the clothes from the washer to the dryer. I am just taking care of myself. I do not want to go back to the hospital.

Spiritually, I have been praying the rosary. I have been reading my bible or listening to the readings on the radio. I know that I have many friends and family that are praying for me. Your prayers have helped me to not fall into a depression mode. My Lord Jesus has been so close to me. I went to Mass on Sunday. Not at my parish. Mass at my parish starts at 8:30 AM and we had to go pick up my kids at my Mother's house. So we went to the Cathedral for the 2PM Mass.

I went to my Parish on Monday to speak to the Priest, but I think they were at a retreat this week, because the church office was closed. I left him a message on his voice mail to call me.

I have a good friend, a very devoted Catholic lady. I have spoken to her on the phone a couple of time this week. She encourages me in many ways. I know that she is praying for me too. I enjoy talking to people who are very devoted to prayer. I feel that presence of God in them and it radiates to me just by talking to them. It is a very healing experience.

I keep encouraged by your comments. Also by reading posts by other blogers that I follow. I am slowly healing, and I know that this experience has helped me to grow stronger in my Faith.

I continue to walk with my Jesus and when I am weak he carries me in his arms.

Sad News

I had another appointment today. A blood test confirmed the sad news. I had a miscarriage. I have been through a roller coaster of emotions since the day I was admitted into the hospital. To find out that I was pregnant was a wonderful thing. To be told I might not have a normal pregnancy was terrible for me. I was filled with fear, but I never lost my faith. I turn to my God and cried out to him daily for guidance. I let go of my fears and gave God full control.

I am also happy that I did not have to go through a surgery or to have the injection. Everything happened naturally. I am not sure why? The doctors do not know why either. Yes, I am sad. But I am also hopeful, that perhaps in the future I might try again and be able to bring the pregnancy into full term. If it is God's will of course.

I still believe my God is powerful and an amazing Father. He know what is best for me, and he knows my weaknesses. I am thankful to have great spiritual mentors. My Mother has been a great help too. Lots of people have prayed for me.

I thank you for your comments and prayers. God bless you all.

Still Waiting

This song, "While I'm waiting", says it all. Everytime, I hear this song, it uplifts me. Lord, I let your will be done in all of this. I am in pain. I have faced my fears. All I need to do is surrender it all to you and let you work. You make the decisions. I love you Lord. I will never loose faith in you. Thank you for all the great things you have done for me. Thank you for all the wonderful people that are praying an believing for me. Forgive me for doubting at times. Strenghten my weak moments. I pray in your powerful name Jesus, Amen.

Recovering

I am slowly getting back to normal. On Thursday, I spent all day at the Hospital's clinic. I was told I had appointment at 10 am. Apparently the appointment was not in the system, and I had to wait to be seen. I did not leave the hospital until 5 pm. Was told to return next day for more tests and to make final decision.

Like I told you before, I had a positive pregnancy test. The problem was that the ultrasound done did not find a pregnacy in the right place and the doctors suspect in might be in the tubes. They call this an ectopic pregnancy. I was told there are to ways to treat this. One is surgery to remove the affected tube. The second one is an injection similar to chemoterapy. This injection dissolves the pregnancy and has many other complications. When I read them and all the information. I felt sick.

I spoke with my husband and explained everything to him. I spoke to the priest of our parish for counsel. I am thankful for all the support that I am getting from family and good friends. They all want what is best for me. As a Christian faced with this challenge, it was a very hard for me to decide. But I made my decision. To leave things in the hands of God. I am not going to do anything that harms me or harms my baby. If indeed I am still pregnant, I pray that God will make everything possible for this baby to continue growing in its right place. If the baby is not in the correct place, I pray to God that he will do everything for the baby to get to its right place or let the doctors be able to see its there for the necessary procedure to be done in time before the baby continues to grow and harm me.

The blood test indicate that I might had a miscarriage. But the doctors can not confirm it yet. Yesterday that I saw doctor, I told her that I am feeling much better. I do not want to do injection. I want to wait until they confirm that I had a natural miscarriage. Or to see if the ultrasound will be able to detect a normal pregnancy. She agreed. I told her that I need some rest. This past week has been a hard week for me. She said to go home and rest this weekend and on Monday return to have more test done.

I took bus to my house, I walked for a couple of block to connect to another bus route that will take me closer to my home. I got home fine. I felt fine. But in the evening, I began to feel lonely. My body is reacting to all this ups and downs, and I think I might of had some sort of depression moment. I did not wanted to be alone. I call my neighbors to come and talk to me until my husband got home. My children left to my mother's home for the weekend. They are celebrating my nephew's second birthday.

I told Mom, I wanted to stay home in case I felt worse and I could go to hospital were they already have my record of the past events. They all wanted to see me this weekend. But they understood. My neighbors are very nice ladies. They talked to me and cheered me up. They listened to me and I was able to let go of my fear. I also spoke with the priest on the phone and prayed.

I know that my God is with me and he will not let anything bad happen to me. I thought of those women that go through this and do not have this kind of support. I prayed for them. Lord, send this women someone that cares for them. Make them feel loved and protected.

This morning I feel much better. I ask you to continue praying for me. Depression hits anyone no matter the race, or how much faith they have. Pray for all those women out there who do not have spiritual support. May God bless you always. Amen

Walking in Faith and Obedience

This past weekend my Lord Jesus has shown his great mercy and grace upon me.

I had decided a few months ago to be obedient to his word and believe that he has great plans for me. I was no longer going to impose my own will. I surrender my all to Him my Lord and savior.

I was open to the possibility of getting pregnant again, three months went by and nothing. I figured it is not God's will yet. I have not seen a doctor for almost two years and I had been procrastinating to make an appointment to make sure I was in good health.

God knew this and I believe it was him who alerted me of what I know today. Since Friday of last week, I was feeling uncomfortable. I knew I was almost due for my regular period, and it all seemed like it will start soon. I started getting pain on the right side of my abdomen. I thought the pain was related to my menstrual cycle. As the days went by the pain got worse.

Sunday Morning after church, the pain got worse. I asked husband to take me to the ER. God was with me all this time. I was quickly triaged and some test were done. The first diagnosis, "you are pregnant" What? I was happy yet at the same time worried because I was getting this pain. More test needed to be done.

The ultrasound did not show a normal pregnancy. The doctor thinks it is to early to see it or it may be an ectopic pregnancy. They explained everything and suggested I should be admitted into hospital for further test and monitoring. I agreed.

Can you imagine if I had stayed home and not gone to hospital. If indeed the pregnancy is in the tube and keeps growing, it may burst the tube and I could bleed to death. The pain was a warning sign that something is wrong. I have a friend who is a pediatrician and she always tells me if there is pain, something else is going on.

In this world we use pain killers to die out the pain but we rarely try to get to the root of the problem. I have a book that I was reading but did not finish reading. Where is God When it Hurts? by Philip Yancey. I thought the title was interesting so I bought it and began reading. In the first part of the book, "Why is there such as thing as pain?" the author explains why we need pain.

Nobody wants to be in pain, but according to the author pain is a gift. It is a way for us knowing there is something wrong with us. He described the illness of leprosy. Leprosy is a disease that has existed for ever since the bible times. Lepers loose all sense of pain and that is why they do not feel when they are hurt. I did not know this? I have not read the book completely but it is a great book with lots of interesting information regardin pain.

I thank God for the pain I experienced. I was able to get quick attention at hospital and we were able to know that I was pregnant. I now need to wait for more test and hope that this is a normal pregnancy and that baby will grow to full term. Only God knows what the future holds. And I have put all my trust in him. He will not give more than what I can handle.

His message for me today in his word is,"Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." Luke 17:11-19. This is what he told the leper that returned to thank him for healing him. My God is a healer. My God is my strenght and my hope. Jesus I trust in You.


Now I invite you to visit Holy Experience for more encouraging posts.

Every Wednesday, we Walk with Him, posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.

Prayer Request

Hi Everyone. I will make this short and simple. On Sunday I was admitted to hospital for a bad pain on right side of abdomen. Test were done to determine the problem. First diagnosis. I am pregnant. Second diagnosis it might be an ectopic pregnancy. Had to stay in hospital for lots of tests and to determine what to do. Today, I was sent home. We are not sure yet what will be the final outcome. We are praying that God will work in me a miracle, and pregnancy will continue without complications. If indeed I have an ectopic pregnancy this could be dangerous for me. I spoke with my Priest and he is praying for me. Lots of people already praying for me too. The Doctor wants to wait longer before we decide anything. Will get another test on Thursday. I am now home. I am still in a little pain. So I will try to stay in bed and away from computer room. Will give you update on Thursday.

Its Here!

My new washer has arrived. I am already washing husband's work clothes. I am so glad that laundry will be done on time and no more trips to the laundromat.

Today I was at school all morning. I am taking teology classes in Spanish. In the first class we are learning all about the bible. In the second class we are learning of Mary and the Saints. And in the last class we are learning about the first Fathers of the Church. The classes are once a month and in each we have assignments to do for homework. So I will be very busy studing and doing my homework. This is my first year, and I plan to continue taking this classes to learn more about the Catholic Faith.

Please keep me in your prayers. My Husband is not very supportive of my desire to take this classes.

I have not been feeling well physically either. Last night I had a pain in my lower abdomen and I could not sleep. I was thinking of going to Hospital if the pain gets worse. I have been procrastinating to make my medical checkup. I will try to make appointment on Monday.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation or Confession is another sacrament of the Catholic Church. The seven sacraments are : baptism, reconciliation, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Annointing of sick, and Priesthood.


I already wrote about the Eucharist or Holy Communion. I will be writing on each sacrament in later posts. Today I want to focus on Reconciliation.


Reconciliation or Confession is when you confess your sins to a Priest. The Priest has authority to forgive you from your sins, ask you not to do this again, gives you a penance or assignment to do and you are free to go. Many will object to this saying, that it is not necessary to go to a priest, just confess your sins to God. I agree with that, because that is what I had been doing for about twelve years. I believed that God hears me, and if I get on my knees confess my sin, he will forgive me. I did not think it was necessary for me to go to a Priest.


Now that I am back in the Catholic Church, I had to find out more about Reconciliation. And all those other things the Catholic Church teaches. I have been reading books and searching in website for information that will clarify or make me see the truth. I came upon this book, "Rediscovering Catholicism" by Mathew Kelly. In Chapter 12 he speaks about Reconciliation and he quotes a scripture.


John 20:19-23 , In this scripture Jesus is praying over the Apostles and says to them in verse 22 and 23,"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Here, Jesus is giving his Apostles the authority to be able to forgive others their sins.

After reading this passage, I was still in doubt. Where else in the bible does it say that we need to confess to a priest. I began searching for answers to my questions. I came upon many articles about reconciliation. One of the websites that was helpul for me was Catholics come Home.

At this website I found the section regarding Reconciliation

Okay, so the Catholic Church says that this has been done for many years and that Jesus Christ initiated it by giving his Apostles the authority to forgive sins. I was not convinced immediately. It has taken me time to adhere to this sacrament. To me, is just much easier to get on my knees and ask God for forgiveness right there in the comfort of my own home.

I had to ask God to forgive me for not doing things the way the Catholic church teaches. I have asked God to keep showing me, where I should read in the bible to confirm to me that it is necessary to go to a priest.

Since I returned to the Catholic Church, I have gone to confession, three times. I went to my Sister's parish the first time. The Father also converted into the Catholic Church before his ordination. The second time, was the same day my daughter had her first confession. I did not know what to say that time. I am still unsure of what to say. I told the priest that I had just returned to the Church. and I was not in agreement with many practices of the Church. He said my sins had been forgiven, that I should try to attend church more often and get closer to my family members who are active Catholics.

The third and last time I went to confession, was about 8 months ago. This last time I felt I needed to go to Reconciliation. I had come to the conclusion that using birth control methods was wrong and I was going against what God teaches. I felt bad for voting for people who are pro-choice, and I felt I needed to reconcile with God for this. I could had done this at home, like I always do. But instead, I felt God calling me to Reconciliation. I felt so much better after confession.

I respect anyone's opinion on this subject of confession. I think is a matter between you and God. If you feel much better going to the priest, that is your choice. I personally do not think, I must go to a priest. I believe that God forgives you, if you confess your sins with a sincere heart and do your best not to sin again. I ask God to tell me what he desires for me. If he lets me know I must go to the priest, I will go to the priest. That is why prayer, and daily immersion in his word the bible is important. God always lets us know what His will is for us.

Celebrating 100 posts!

I can believe this is now my 100th post today. Wow! I wrote my first post back in the end of July of this year 2009. Three months have gone by since that day. Today I will like to give you a list of the things that I am thankful for, in this last three months.


I want to also share with you a list of Blogs that have encouraged me and that have helped me be a more organized person in my home. Also some great blogs that help me teach my children more about the Saints with coloring pages, crafts, and activities.


The three things that I most thankful for are:


1. I have developed a closer relationship with God thru prayer, reading his word, and journaling. Thanks to Ann's blog Holy Experience.


2. I have met lots of other Moms, that have the same problems as I with our children and our spouses. I get encouraged by their stories, and I do not feel that I am the only one going through this same problems.

3. I have made new friends that encourage me with their comments to keep writing posts. God uses me to speak to others. If it wasn't for Jesus in me, I will not be able to do it alone.

Here is a list of the blogs I follow that have been helpful to me this last 3 months.

Shower of roses

Holy Experience

Coming Clean

(in)courage

Waltzing Matilda

Foreverknit 2gether

Getting Down With Jesus

become what you are

Lord, Make me a Saint

Meet Me at the Gates

There are more blogs that I follow, but this are the ones that have encouraged me more, in my life at home, and in my walk with Jesus.

Thank you to the wonderful women behind those blogs. You have been a great inspiration to me. May God bless you, in all you do. Amen.

The Eucharist

According to the Cathechism of the Catholic Church here is a brief explanation of what the Eucharist is and what it means to a Catholic.


ARTICLE 3 - THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST
1322 The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.

1323 "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"[133]

The Eucharist is the term used by the Catholic church for the Holy Communion.

In order to be able to receive Holy Communion, for the first time within the Catholic Church. A Catholic has to first had received the sacrament of Baptism which is the initiation sacrament into the Church. It is also common to start Holy Communion preparation at around 7 or 8 years old. A child has to be able to know how to read and write in order to be prepared for the sacrament. It might take up two years for the preparation process.

During preparation a child will learn all about the Mass and the traditions of the Catholic church. They will learn about each sacrament. They will learn prayers. And they will learn what the Eucharist is and what it means for us to receive Holy Communion. When the child is ready for receiving Holy Communion, first they need to fullfill another sacrament. Reconciliation or first confession. The child is taken to the priest, to confess his or her sins. You are probably saying what sins does a child have? Well, perhaps none, but it is a process that needs to be met and this teaches the child that Reconciliation is necessary to be able to receive Holy Communion. I will explain more later.

The day of the First Holy Communion is now here. The children are very anxious and excited about this very special moment. And why is it so special? As Catholics, we believe that God is ever present in the blessed Holy Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist we receive Christ. That is why, it is so important to receive him with a clean heart. He abides in us. To us Catholics, Holy Communion is not just a symbol, to us is a very special moment.

The Eucharist to me has lots of meaning. I feel closer to my Lord every time I receive communion. Jesus is there present in the bread and the wine. His love surrounds me at that moment and I am filled with His Spirit. Is such an amazing time for me.

I do not partake of the Eucharist if I had an arguement with Husband or I am mad with someone. I discipline myself by abstaining from the Eucharist until I have reconciled with my Husband. The day that I am not able to receive my Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I feel sad. I know that God is forgiving and he call us to his table. But I rather not partake if I know that I have sinned.

I have not gone to confession in quite a long time. And I feel I need to go soon. Reconciliation or confession is not an obligation but it is necessary for your well being. When you release your sins and receive forgiveness from them, you feel much better. I will probably write about each sacrament on my next posts. For now I wanted to let you know how the Eucharist has been the one thing that has brought me closer to God and to have a better understanding of my Catholic faith.

Now I invite you to visit Holy Experience for more encouraging posts.

Every Wednesday, we Walk with Him, posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.

St. Martin de Porres Day

Today is St. Martin de Porres Day. We also consider St. Martin a favorite one in our home. Once we had a cockatail bird that got injured with a wire. We thought he will die. We prayed to St. Martin de Porres and too St. Francis of Assisi to help the bird. Our bird did not die. He got better in a few days and we return him with the other birds once he was better.

We saw a movie of the life of St. Martin de Porres. He will talk to the little animals and will feed them.

I was looking for a coloring page and I came upon this blog. Paperdali is the name of the blog. Visit their blog, download the picture.

Dia De los Muertos

Today in Hispanic American Countries the day of the Dead is celebrated. It is a costume or tradition to visit the cementaries and spend the night there praying keeping the dead company. Sounds outrageous but is true.

I do not take part of this tradition. I remember my lost loved ones, just praying for them from the comfort of my own home or at church during the Mass.

We had a nice Halloween Day. We attended our Parish Harvest Festival. My kids played games and made crafts. After the Festival we went home for our first year family potluck. My neighbor, Husband's family and us, got together and made a costume party for the kids. There was lots of food, two pinatas, and lots of candy.

When evening arrived, most of the other parents took their children trick-or-treating. My kids stayed home. I have told my children the reasons I have for not participating in that tradition. The others say, that I should let my kids go.

I made it clear to them, you deal with your children how you want. But as long as this two are in my household they will do as I say. I am so glad husband does not go against my decision.

So why do I abstain from this traditions of trick-or-treating. A few years back we heard in the news how kids were being poison with candy on halloween night. That is one reason. The second is that we also heard a testimony of a ex-satanic worshiper who told our Parish the things they do on Halloween night to hurt those out trick-or-treating. My husband's family says I believe everything.

Is not that. I care for my children, and I will do anything in my power to protect them from harm. So I do not let them go trick-or-treating and I do not allow them to wear scary costumes either. They participate in their school's harvest festival, the church's harvest festival and that is it! They do not need candy. Every time we go to parties and they get goody bags, I end up throwing out most of the candy because they do not like it. So what is the purpose of taking them trick-or-treating? Just for fun?

Another reason, I do not like going door to door, is our neighborhood. And also in past years we heard that kids get kidnapped and hurt on Halloween. Last year at a neighbor city party many people were injured. So you see my concern. I know most of you my readers will agree with me. I hope that my Husband's family will see my point of view one day.