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Peter Francis

2012-02-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

Todd here....All is well for baby Peter Francis and mom. They had room for us this morning, so we showed up at around 7:30. The nurse was the best one we've ever encountered (great job Kari!), along with our terrific doc. The day progressed nicely with Peter showing up at 2:53pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Here are some pictures. I brought the kids to meet Peter after dinner.

Thank you to all for your prayers. Also a special thanks to neighbor Tammy who watched the kids so I could be with Heather.

Tomorrow....

2012-02-20T17:57:00.003-08:00

We are still waiting for baby to make his grand arrival. As of Thursday, I was dilated to 2 1/2 cm and very s...l...o...w...l...y... making progress on my own which makes me a good candidate for induction. My doctor was out of town over the long Presidents' Day weekend, so I am thankful that baby Gyver decided to wait it out for our induction tomorrow morning. There is still the chance that I could get bumped from the schedule, so we have to wait and see if there is room for me. If Tuesday doesn't work out, then we'll try again on Thursday.

This weekend, we made a trip to Barnes and Noble and Michael's to use up the remainder of Christmas gift cards. The children made some good choices and should have no trouble keeping busy for the next couple of weeks while we take our "baby break" from schooling.

A little something for everyone!

So, we're all waiting and praying that all goes well. We have a lovely neighbor who has been on call the past week, just in case baby decided to come on his own. She has volunteered to spend the day with the children so that Todd can be at the hospital with me all day. What a blessing to our family!

We're all anxious to add #7 to our next "Mom and Kids" photo!

I enter the end of this pregnancy with all the same mixed emotions that I have each time. Being pregnant is such a blessing and I truly enjoy this special time. I am nervous about the labor/delivery, but trying hard to trust that God will guide everything and take good care of us. I know the children will be in good hands and that is a huge relief.

Your continues prayers are immensely appreciated. I can feel them and they are impacting me greatly. I am much more at ease than I was a few weeks ago and I know it is due to all of the prayers that I am covered with. Please continue them and we'll keep you posted....hopefully with some pictures of our baby boy tomorrow!

Now, I suppose I should go get a bag packed for the hospital....funny how preparations change from baby #1 to #7!

UPDATE: (Tuesday early am) Todd is out snow blowing the driveway so that we can head to the hospital for our induction. No snow all winter...of course it snows last night! I've been awake since 3:00....anxious to meet our baby boy I guess. As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

St. Valentine's Day Recap

2012-02-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

No...still haven't had the baby. We've just been keeping busy with school and celebrating Valentine's Day. I'm definitely running a little low in the energy and enthusiasm department. But, not to worry. The children more than make up for anything I lack!

I did make some festive heart shaped cinnamon rolls which were super easy...just my speed these days!

A little pink smoothie to add some nutritional value to breakfast!

A dear friend called to ask if they could stop by to drop off some Valentine's and treats for the children. I'm glad she gave me a little heads up. It gave us time to whip up this Valentine for their family that I found over at Catholic Icing.

It's hard to read in this picture, but John 3:16 is written through the word Valentine which is the true definition of love!

The children had scavenger hunts, played games, exchanged Valentines, and ate so much sugar I though that they might burst!

Madeline helped make these peanut butter blossom cookies which turned out amazing! We typically make these at Christmas with Hershey's kisses in the middle, but in honor of St. Valentine, we used Dove chocolates instead. The kids had a heck of a time keeping their hands off to let the chocolate firm up!

Grandma and Grandpa Kraft sent them cards with a some money to buy themselves a Valentine treat. They decided to pool their resources to purchase a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Have you priced those things out lately? Man, are they pricey!

Thanks grandma and grandpa! And there is still more for dessert tonight!

I have an appointment with my OB tomorrow afternoon. The plan, for now, is that I will be induced on Tuesday morning. Of course, that is all dependent upon there being room for me since it is a purely elective induction. If Tuesday doesn't work out, then we'll shoot for Thursday. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated. I'll keep you posted!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

What's the Best Breastfeeding Pillow?

2012-02-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

With less than 2 weeks to go, I am beginning to think about what life with a newborn is like. This morning, I was struck with memories of the first weeks of breastfeeding. Last time, I vowed to get a better start. But with a house full of children and sleep deprivation, I did not. My problems is always that I don't hold baby up tight against me which results in cracked nipples and a whole plethora of other problems. My nurse last time put it into words that made sense to me. She explained that my last recollection of nursing was with a toddler who could latch on in her sleep. A newborn baby doesn't know what to do and I have to teach him. We have at least 25 pillows in the house and I always try to make due with what we have only to fall into the same problems with baby properly latching on. This time, I don't want my thriftiness to get in the way of a successful start to breastfeeding.

So, my question to all of you mamas out there is this: What is the best breastfeeding pillow on the market? I picked up a Boppy today because they were on sale, but am not at all attached to it. I would love to hear what advice you all have.

Thanks in advance for any help you can throw my way!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

A Home Schooling First Family?

2012-02-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

This article made me smile. What an amazing testimony that home schoolers are becoming a bit more accepted and active in the political process. No longer do we have to hide at home and dodge questions/change the topic when someone inquires about where our children attend school.

It's no secret that I am a Rick Santorum fan. This is just a little bit more icing on the cake!

A home schooling family in the White House?

I did a search last night and the comments are interesting to say the least. I am reassured by the strong, logical, well thought-out responses by the home schooling community as opposed to the hateful, emotional criticisms thrown out by those who just don't care for Santorum or anything he represents.

I am not a die-hard home schooler who believes that public or private schooling is inherently evil. I just know that it is best for our family at this point in our lives and value living in a free society where it is one of many options available to us. It would definitely shake-up the establishment to have a home schooler in the White House. My kids soooo wish that it could be our family!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Little Boy Blue - We're Ready for You!

2012-02-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

I'm 37 weeks today and we're all anxiously awaiting Baby Gyver's birth. I've never went earlier than a week and up to 10 days late, so I realize it could still be a while yet. I had a check-up on Friday and am barely beginning to dilate. I'm trying not to get too anxious or freaked-out about the impending labor/delivery. Let's just say that I have my moments of calm mixed with those of fear and trepidation. Any prayers you could throw my way would be immensely appreciated!

Here I am at 36 weeks. You can see, there isn't much room left. He'll have to come out soon!

We've been trying to tie up any loose ends here at the house and get ready to bring baby home. I realized yesterday that we don't even have any itty-bitty diapers, so we picked those up today. While out and about, we stopped by Babies R Us to look at double strollers. Our double stroller has been put through the wringer the past 10+ years and was in need of replacement. Happily, we discovered that they are in the middle of their "Great Trade-In Event" which means you bring them your old baby gear and they give you a coupon for 25% off a new model. This worked out fabulously for us as we were literally going to throw the old one in the trash and it ended up saving us almost $30! Take a peek at their website for details.

It looks so nice and clean. I almost don't want to take it outside and get it dirty!

I feel that I have shown tremendous restraint in holding back on purchasing baby boy clothing. With five girls and one boy, our girl clothing arsenals are pretty well stocked. I did pick up a few outfits for the new little guy!

The children had so much fun helping me pick these out. I think the monkey outfit is our favorite!

Big sister Madeline has been busily crocheting for her baby brother. Here are a few of the items that she is most proud of.

Newborn sized booties, hat for the hospital and larger booties...because she told me that he'll grow you know!

So now, we wait. We try to get as much done as possible before baby comes. We are all fully aware that life as we know it will be transformed upon his arrival...and we can't wait!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

A Letter to Ponder

2012-02-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

I found the following "letter" on Patrick Madrid's blog last night. Take a moment to read it. It personalizes the whole abortion scenario into an already born child who is too much of an inconvenience to the family. It definitely makes one think.

January 22, 2023

Dear Mom:

Can you believe it is already the year 2023? I’m still writing ’22 on everything! It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in the first grade and celebrating the change to a new century.

I know we really haven’t chatted since Christmas, Mom, and I’m sorry. Anyway, I have some difficult news to share with you and, to be honest, I really didn’t want to call or talk about this face to face.

But before I get to that, let me report that Ted just got a big promotion, and I should be up for a hefty raise this year if I keep putting in all those crazy hours. You know how I work at it. (Yes, we’re still struggling to pay the bills.)

Little Timmy’s been okay at kindergarten, although he complains about going. But then, he wasn’t happy about the day-care center either. So what can we do?

He’s been a real problem, Mom. He’s a good kid, but quite honestly, he’s an unfair burden on us at this time in our lives.Ted and I have talked this through, and we have finally made a choice. Plenty of other families have made the same choice and are really better off today.

Our pastor is supportive of our choice. He pointed out the family is a system, and the demands of one member shouldn’t be allowed to ruin the whole. The pastor told us to be prayerful and to consider all the factors as to what is right to make our family work. He says that even though he probably wouldn’t do it himself, the choice really is ours. He was kind enough to refer us to a children’s clinic near here, so at least that part is easy.

Don’t get me wrong, Mom. I’m not an uncaring mother. I do feel sorry for the little guy. I think he heard Ted and me talking about this the other night. I turned and saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs in his PJ’s with his little teddy bear that you gave him under his arm, and his eyes were sort of welled up with tears.

Mom, the way he looked at me just about broke my heart, but I honestly believe this is better for Timmy, too. It’s just not fair to force him to live in a family that can’t give him the time and attention he deserves.

And please, Mom, don’t give me the kind of grief that grandma gave you over your abortions. It’s the same thing, you know. There’s really no difference.

We’ve told Timmy he’s just going in for a “vaccination.” Anyway, they say the termination procedure is painless. I guess it’s just as well that you haven’t seen that much of little Timmy lately.

Please give my love to Dad.

Your daughter

(Author unknown)

Kids Who Care - Making Blankets

2012-02-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

At our monthly Kids Who Care meeting today, the children tied fleece blankets to donate to our local Birthright. The Pro-life group at my church donated the fabric for the children. My husband graciously volunteered to cut the fleece to size and then I snipped all the way around so that they were ready for the children at our meeting. This prep work is necessary. Don't wait to do it with all the children waiting to tie a blanket together. There are oodles of tutorials on how to make fleece-tied blankets, so I won't go into that. A simple Google or YouTube search will give you all the information you need to get started.

We made 6 blankets and it took the children and moms less than an hour to get them all tied together and eat a cupcake. It was a nice project that children of multiple ages could work on together. I would highly recommend this activity. We tried to make it somewhat prayerful and have the children pray over the blankets to ask God's blessing on the mother and child who would receive this blanket.

Team work makes it more fun!

We had a good sized crew on hand to help.

A "Welcome Baby" note was attached with pretty ribbon and they were ready for delivery.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Susan G. Komen Foundation - Action Needed!

2012-02-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

I am sure that you have heard the good news about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The have decided to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood who is the nation's largest provider of abortions. This is excellent news and an answer to the prayers of many in the pro-life movement. You can read more about this here.

It should come as no surprise that Planned Parenthood is angry about this loss of funds. They are a well structured organization and have collected 45,000 signatures at their on-line petition which reads,

"Don't cave to Republican extremists. Reverse your decision to defund breast cancer screenings for poor women at Planned Parenthood clinics."

This logo is from Planned Parenthood's site which has already collected 45,000 signatures. Have you sent your e-mail in support of Komen's decision yet? * news@komen.org *

This is where you come in. Have you contacted Komen to let them know you approve of their decision? If not, send them an e-mail to communicate your thoughts. Please send an e-mail message to news@komen.org in support of the decision to end funding of Planned Parenthood. They need to be encouraged for their decision. Personally, my family has not supported anything with a pink ribbon for many years. Now we are able to financially support the noble cause of eradicating breast cancer again.

Our parish's pro-life group was advised via e-mail today by Brian Gibson of Pro-Life Action Ministries to e-mail and NOT to call Komen. Let's flood their inbox with notes of support and encouragement for their decision! Also, please continue to pray for the leadership at Komen Foundation as they still deny the link between abortion and oral contraceptives with an increased risk of breast cancer.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Goin' Bananas!

2012-01-31T18:11:00.000-08:00

I was at the grocery store the other day when these bags of ripe bananas started calling my name.

I don't know if you can make that out or not, but the price on them was 99 cents a bag and each bag contained 5-6 pounds of bananas! But a great price on something is only valuable if you use it once you get it home. No need for me to go into great details about the time I bought whole chickens on sale only to forget they were in the fridge...only $10 for 3 chickens, but they ended up in the trash. Lesson learned - use your deals right away before you forget you even bought them!

So, what can a mom do with 12 pounds of bananas?

1) Feed them to the children! Many of them inside the bag were perfectly ripe and ready for eating.

Esther making her best "monkey face" while eating a banana

2) Put them in the freezer for smoothies. This is super easy. Just peel them, leave them whole, pop them into a Ziploc bag, and put them in the freezer.

I think frozen bananas make smoothies taste better than fresh

3) Get them ready for your next batch of banana bread. My recipe calls for 6 bananas. I dropped 6 bananas into the blender at a time and poured them into Ziploc bags. I laid them all on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer so that they would dry flat and take up minimal freezer space. Next time I make banana bread, I set the bag of frozen bananas on the counter an hour or so before I need them and they're ready to go into the recipe.


After they're frozen, take them off the cookie sheet and store wherever there is room in your freezer. Now that they are solid, they can also be set upright/vertical if that works better in the space you have available.

So next time you see that amazing deal on bananas, snatch up a bag or two and get your freezer ready for your next banana containing recipe!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Random Words of Kindness

2012-01-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been a challenge for me. I have mentioned that I enjoy being pregnant...and I do. However, with increased blood volume and lots of extra weight (take my word for it, A LOT!), it was really just a matter of time before something gave out on me. This Sunday, it was my hemorrhoids. I've spent the past 3 days trying to find time to soak in a hot tub, sit on ice packs, stay off my feet, drink water, eat fiber, and use any cream/ointments that I have at my disposal. I consider myself to be pretty tough. I don't complain much and have a relatively high tolerance for pain. But the past 3 days have pushed me close to my breaking point.

So now you know my frame of mind as I was slowly waddling around Sam's Club tonight with the family. We were out of a bunch of stuff and ran there with five of the children while our eldest was at dance class. I was reading nutrition labels on the breads (looking for high fiber content, you know!) when a young, smiling woman approached me. She looked at me and said, "You are the most beautiful pregnant woman I've ever seen!" I'm not making this up! I replied, "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that today." I thanked her for her kindness and wished her a good evening.


Kind words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. ~Proverbs 16:24~

What an effect that brief conversation had on my outlook. I know that our good God prompted her to comment and I am grateful that she responded. I was in need of some positive energy and she provided it with her smile and sweet words.

If you ever have a random, positive thought about someone while out running errands, please take time to share it with them. I know that it's putting yourself out there, and that is beyond many people's comfort zones. There is no guarantee what their response will be, but you may just have the words that they've been longing to hear.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

34 Weeks and Lovin' It!

2012-01-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

I'm just beyond the 34 week mark of this pregnancy and am starting to feel huge. I am swollen, full of protruding veins, hemorrhoids, heartburn, and overall discomfort. I am slowing down, tired, and generally taking longer to accomplish simple household tasks that my non-pregnant body can easily knock out. That being said, I am absolutely loving this! I can't even tell you the amount of time we spend admiring my belly, talking to the baby, and watching him perform acrobatics which make my midsection do strange things. I am more uncomfortable than I ever was with my previous 6 pregnancies, but am filled with joy, wonder, and awe at the miracle that is happening inside of me. Perhaps our miscarriage this past year has something to do with this, I can't be sure. But the entire family is giddy about this upcoming birth of this little boy and we can't wait to meet him!

I don't think Esther really "gets" this whole baby thing. She likes to talk about him and give my tummy kisses, but we'll see what happens when he's born and becomes more of a reality to her!

We take photos every 4 weeks and here is the 32 week shot. It's hard to believe that's really me!

I'm anxiously following all the other pregnant blogging mamas out there. It is fun to share in their experiences and know that we're all praying for each other. I am so thankful for all of you who have e-mailed or left comments letting me know that you're praying for me. Please continue to pray for a smooth labor and delivery of a healthy baby around the end of February.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Slow Cooker Italian Creamy Chicken

2012-01-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

I tried out a new crock pot recipe today that I copied out of some cook book well over a year ago. I think it was one of the Fix It and Forget It series, but I'm not quite sure. Anyhow, I changed it up a bit and cut out ingredients our family isn't fond of and added a bag of frozen veggies. It turned out super yummy and it really couldn't be any easier. Let me know what you think.

Slow Cooker Italian Creamy Chicken

Ingredients:
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used 3 large breasts and cut them into thirds)
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
8 oz package cream cheese, softened (I used non-fat)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

Directions:
1. Place chicken in greased slow cooker
2. Combine salad dressing with water and mix. Pour over chicken.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 4-5 hours.
4. Remove chicken and shred. Return shredded chicken to crock pot.
5. Dump bag of frozen veggies into remaining liquid in crock and stir.
6. In saucepan, combine cream cheese and soup. Heat slightly to melt cream cheese. Pour mixture over chicken and veggie mixture.
7. Cover and cook on Low for one additional hour.

Serve over noodles or rice.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Kids Who Care - Fetal Development Meeting

2012-01-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

Our pro-life children's group had their monthly meeting this afternoon. Because this month is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and much attention is on the issue of abortion, I decided to talk about fetal development. The word "abortion" never came up, but rather we looked at pictures of babies at varying stages of development and marveled at how a single cell can can divide, multiply, and finally grow into an easily recognizably human so quickly. I put together some posters from magazines that I had and the children hung them on the wall in order from conception to birth. It worked out really well and we had some good discussion about how babies grow and prepare for life outside of the womb.

With all 9 months of development hanging on the wall behind them, the children munch on their cookies and prepare to listen to a story.

I also read the group one of my very favorite books. Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman is a fabulously written story about a baby, his development within the womb, and his voyage into life on the outside.

We all drove over to the local Birthright which is just a block away from our church for a quick tour. I wanted the children to know that there is a place right in our town that helps moms. They have formula, diapers, clothing (maternity and infant), blankets, and various other resources to support mothers. At next month's meeting, we are making blankets to donate to Birthright.

I feel like the meeting went well and the children learned a few new things about how babies develop. I'm really trying to stay focused on the quality of our group and not the quantity of members as it was just the standard three families who were there today. I started this group because I wanted there to be something for the entire family to attend. So many groups, clubs, and meetings are age or gender specific which makes it difficult for large families to join. Every time I talk to people about joining us, they sound supportive, but the conversation always ends with something to the effect of, "We're just so busy we couldn't possibly add one more thing." It is sad that there are countless hours devoted to sporting events and groups and clubs of all sorts, but when it comes to adding something at church, there just aren't enough hours in the day to make it work. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now...sorry, I just had to get that off my chest!

Our family plans to attend the Mass for Life at the Cathedral of St. Paul next weekend for the Mass marking the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Winter has descended upon the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a vengeance, but if it warms up a bit, we'll also attend the rally at the capital in the afternoon. Most likely, though, we'll be heading home after Mass.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

7 Quick Takes - A Few of My Favorite Christmas Things

2012-01-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

I had such grand ambitions of posting about our Advent and Christmas traditions only to fall short on time and energy. So, I've chosen the 7 Quick Takes route and will give you the much abridged version which will do just fine!

(1) Heirloom Tree Skirt

I found this idea many years back in a Family Fun magazine. When I was pregnant with Haley during Advent of 2001, I made a simple tree skirt out of velvet. It was kind of spendy, but I figured we'd have it for a long time and used a coupon to soften the blow. I got started with a hand print of Madeline (17 months) and Haley (a couple days old) for the first year's "entry". I've continued all the way around in the subsequent years and this year had to begin tier two. We all enjoy this heirloom tree skirt. It is so much fun to see how our family has grown through the years.

The skirt around the tree.

I trace each child's hand, cut it out, and trace around it with gold metallic fabric paint. The cookie cutter is traced onto white felt and then I write the year on it and stuck it on with tacky glue.

Esther and Eleanor seeing how their current hand size compares to last year.

(2) Children's Ornament Collection

Each year we make a special trip to the store for the children to choose an ornament that tells something about them that happened in the past year. The younger kids almost always choose a character that they enjoy reading about or watching on television. However, the older children really put some thought into it.

Joseph chose a golf cart because this was the first year he drove (and crashed...oops!) a golf cart. Lillian has developed a knack for photography and even talked Grandma into letting her have one of her old cameras to snap photos.

When the children leave home and have their first official Christmas with their own tree, we'll pass along all of their ornaments that they've collected over the years. I think back to my and Todd's first Christmas tree covered in tinsel and colored balls purchased at Target...wouldn't it have been nice to have a tree filled with memories instead?!

(3) Advent Family Reading

Last year, we thoroughly enjoyed reading Jotham's Journey. This year, we picked up Tabitha's Travels and it was fabulous. The daily reading time is short and very do-able. We even brought the book along on our family vacation as the children can hardly wait to read the daily installment of the story.

(4) Home Made Gifts

Teacher gifts can be a tricky order to fill. You want to make it something nice that will be used and appreciated, but nothing that is too spendy or over the top. Luckily, our family enjoys making gifts. This year, we made St. Nicholas Hot Chocolate mix (from Catholic Cuisine) and have gotten nothing but rave reviews from all who received a canister from one of the children. We even mixed up an extra batch for our family. It is yummy!

I found canisters at the Dollar Store and attached simple tags with mixing directions.

(5) Christmas Eve Pizza and Malts

Our first few Christmases I felt obligated to make something traditional...turkey, ham...something that took a long time to bake, children typically don't enjoy, and created an exorbitant amount of leftovers. Then, one year, it dawned on me. Why not have something easy that makes everyone happy? Our tradition has been for the past few years to have pizza and malts on Christmas Eve. We don't have any family who joins us for Christmas, so it's only the 8 of us who need to be happy. It is super easy (makes me happy!) and who doesn't like pizza and malts (makes the kids happy!)? And when mom and the kids are happy, it's only logical that papa bear is happy too!

(6) Christmas Day Chinese Take-out

This year we extended this to Christmas Day as well. The local Chinese buffet advertised that they would be open on Christmas Day and it got me thinking. I asked the family what they would think about take-out for Christmas Day and they all jumped on the bandwagon. I made the rice in our rice cooker at home to save money. This went over well and I think we'll be doing it again next year!

(7) Christmas Eve Mass

Madeline was assigned as an altar server at the 10:30 pm Mass on Christmas Eve. I have to admit that I was a little frightened about how it would go with the littles so far past their bedtime. Getting out of present mode and into church mode was a bit challenging, but it all worked out. The Mass was absolutely beautiful and incredibly prayerful. I think this may be another new tradition for us!

When we got home, each of the children had a new pair of pj's on their beds. They slipped into them and then were allowed to keep them on all Christmas Day, which if you know me at all, this is so NOT what I am all about. But, I must admit, the children really enjoyed it and it will probably catch on as something we do on Christmas Day.

There you have it...our Advent and Christmas celebrations in a nutshell. I have enjoyed reading about all of your celebrations and now feel that I have added just a bit to the discussion!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Why all the hate and anger?

2012-01-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have been following a story about Rick Santorum and his family the past few days. Some years back, his wife delivered a baby who lived only 2 hours. After spending the night with their child, they chose to bring the baby, Gabriel, home so that their other children could meet their brother. Then they arranged for a proper burial. Nothing seems out of the ordinary to me. I thought it was wonderful that they took time to make sure all members of the family were able to spend time with and say good-bye to this child who was taken to heaven much sooner than anyone had anticipated. But this is not how it is being portrayed across the internet.

To see what I'm talking about, you can read an article and take a peek at the interview here. The interview in itself if a bit disturbing. I don't think for a minute that the Santorum's took their deceased child home to "play with him", yet that is the verbiage that has caught on all over the internet. I am amazed and appalled at the number of people who have commented how "crazy", "weird", "morbid", or even "disgusted" they feel about the way the Santorum family dealt with the loss of their newborn son.

There has been much ink spilled over this interview and I am sure that I have nothing new or unique to add to the discussion. But I am stuck on this one point...why are people so hateful and angry at the Santorums for the way they chose to mourn the loss of their child? I am unaware of any correct way to mourn or grieve the loss of a child and can only pray that those judging this family never have to experience such a tremendous loss first hand.

And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets,but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. ~ 1Thessalonians 5:14-22

Please join me in taking this as an opportunity to pray. We must pray that all life, from conception to natural death, is valued, respected, and protected. Prayer is also needed to bring comfort to all parents who have lost a child, at any age or stage of development. Prayer is a mighty and powerful tool that we as Christians must remember to use.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Dinner from the Frozen Foods Aisle - IKEA Style

2011-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

My hubby knows my weakness for mashed potatoes and gravy...most especially when I am pregnant. He also knows that I am slowing down as we progress in this seventh pregnancy and my home-cooked meals are becoming fewer and farther between. Thus, when we were at IKEA a few weeks back, he discovered this near the checkout lanes. I gave him a very skeptical look of disapproval. I mean, really, have I sunk so far as to feed my family mashed potatoes from the freezer? But, he figured it was worth a try and bought them anyhow.

Like I said, that was a month or so ago and Todd had to make another IKEA run just to pick up some more frozen Swiss food (and most probably some chocolate bars, but that is for another post!). While the potatoes, gravy, and meatballs are not as good as homemade, they are a very close second. Every member of the Kraft family gobbles up the meatballs which I bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Most of the children eat the mashed potatoes. Those who don't eat them, don't eat my home made mashed potatoes either. I guess the potato-loving gene skipped a few of them! Being the mashed potato connoisseur that I am, I must say that they are really pretty good. Especially considering how easily they warm up in the microwave.

I just add an extra veggie and sometimes a loaf of french bread to round it out. Yum!

June Cleaver, I am not...I guess I will just have to come to terms with that. But this is a yummy, affordable, fairly healthy meal that the whole family enjoys which makes it a win/win in my book any day!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Kids Who Care - Pizza Party Edition

2011-12-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Our Pro-life Children's Group (Kids Who Care) had a pizza party and movie night last week. It was a fabulous night! We had our regular 3 families and were joined by 2 more for the evening. We started the festivities with pizza....lots of pizza...and some fruits and veggies thrown in for balance!

The children segregated themselves into the "boy table" and....


the (mostly) "girl table". Funny how that always happens, isn't it?

We have been talking about the Corporal Works of Mercy all year and thought it would be fitting to live out "feed the hungry" while we were having our party. Each family brought a donation for the local food shelf and here is what we ended up collecting.

Not bad!

The children spread out their blankets, grabbed their pillows, and got comfy on the floor. We watched Horton Hears a Who which is a lovely movie with a fabulous pro-life message and a good measure of humor.

It doesn't get much better than watching a movie on the big screen with your friends!

Of course we had to take an intermission for some cookies and treats. After all, it was a party! At the conclusion of the movie, we cleaned up and headed home. My children are already looking forward to doing this again in the spring.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

What a Beautiful Brace Face!

2011-12-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

Our Madeline got braces today! She has been so excited to get them on and is really doing quite well with the discomfort. I remember well the pain and sleepless nights that accompany braces and moving teeth to new locations, so I can sympathize with her. She is the first in what appears to be a long line of Kraft children who will need orthodontic work. I'm trying not to dwell on the price too much, but the end result of a healthy and beautiful smile.

One last photo before heading off to the orthodontist.

There they are! I should have had her re-comb her hair after laying at the orthodontist office for 2 hours of "treatment", don't you think?!

We're hopeful that she'll adjust and be getting used to them over the Christmas weekend. For now, it is smoothies, pudding, and soup...not a bad diet!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Catholic Audio for Kids (and grown-ups too!)

2011-12-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

We spend a fair amount of time in Big Blue (our 15 passenger van that gets us around). So, I'm always on the lookout for good things for us to listen to during that time...captive audience, you know! I'd like to share with you some of our favorites.

Altar Gang

The basic story here is that a parish priest is overwhelmed with his duties, so all of the items on the altar come to life to help him out. From listening to these Cd's, my children all know the names and functions of the different items on the altar. There is a DVD in the works, but for now we are really enjoying the Cd's. I can't even tell you our favorite as they are all equally requested. The company that produces these shows, Lumen Entertainment, is a non-profit who is truly working to get good Christ centered materials into the hands and hearts of our children...you've gotta love that!

Cat Chat

Many of you have probably heard about Cat Chat from their VBS program. I do not have any experience with that, but we have listened to ALL of the 6 different audio Cd's and their Ultimate One music CD. Josh and Hannah experience everyday life and live out their Catholic faith with their family and friends...and of course Hannah's talking cat, Moses. Again, no favorite as they are all frequently requested.

The Dogma Dogs

This is a CD my husband came across by accident at a local Catholic book store. It was interesting to him because they are all songs that teach dogma of our faith. After listening to this a few times, the children can sing all 21 of the Ecumenical Councils...can you? To be completely honest, prior to this CD I couldn't have even told you how many councils there had been, much less list them. This is a good, fun CD filled with catchy tunes that will have you (and your kids) learning more about your faith without you even realizing it.

Matt Maher

A favorite Catholic artist of ours is Matt Maher. This was another accidental find. Our family's favorite CD is Welcome to Life. He has a wide array of styles of music and each song has a sound all its own. My biggest complaint about "Jesus music" is that most all of the songs sound the same. Not so with Matt Maher's music, in my humble opinion. And, his Cd's are quite affordable off of his website.

Jim Weiss - Great Hall Productions

Jim Weiss is a master story teller like no other we've heard. Todd and I had the pleasure of meeting him at a local Catholic Home school Conference this past year. We don't listen to these Cd's as much in the car as I would like, because it is hard to follow a story with the 2 year old chattering away. None the less, they are excellent quality and very well told. We have a pretty good collection that we've picked up over the years, but they are also available for check-out through our library system as well.

I'm sure that I've only scratched the surface here and would love to hear what your favorite Cd's are.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Happy Birthday Bean!

2011-12-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago, our Haley Bean was born and my second delivery was an exciting one! The entire day was rather uneventful. The doctors and nurses continually sent us home, told us to "walk, walk, walk", and insisted that I was in "false labor". It was a long day, but that evening things picked up at a rapid pace. Todd and I walked the halls of the hospital until I could no longer handle standing. We went back to the room and convinced the nurse that I was in "real labor". The doctor came in and checked me and, sure enough, I was progressing. I was feeling worn out and the epidural was calling my name. The anesthesiologist arrived and sent Todd out of the room with the claim that he'd had too many dads faint on him while watching their wives get a needle in their back...totally understandable! Todd took the opportunity to call grandparents with an update and head to the chapel to pray. In the less than 10 minutes he was gone, all the action happened.

As I was being prepped for the epidural, my entire body started to shake and convulse. This being only my second baby, I said, "I think the baby is coming." The doctor and nurse assured me it wasn't. Then, there was a huge gush as my water broke and I said, "No, this baby is coming...NOW!" They laid me back on the bed and told me not to push. I was now trying to keep the baby in that I had worked so hard all day long trying to get out...does this seem backwards to anyone else but me?! Anyway, in just a few minutes, little Haley Elizabeth made her grand entrance into our lives. She was our littlest baby at just 6 pounds 12 ounces...what a blessing she was so small as our regular 9 pounders might not have "slipped out" quite so easily! When Todd returned about 5 minutes later, he heard a crying baby. Was he ever surprised when he found out that it was HIS crying baby! Needless to say, he doesn't stray too far from me when I'm in labor now!

Haley had a wonderful birthday yesterday. Because her grandparents made a last minute trip to visit us, the kids even had the day off from school! She spent the day baking and frosting cookies, opening presents, and playing games with her siblings and grandparents. (And I did manage to sneak in about an hour of homework for her writing class!)

Cookie cake with lime green and green frosting - her favorite colors!

The Kraft kids posing with the birthday girl after she opened her gifts.

And as long as they were all lined up...why not sneak grandma and grandpa in for a photo!

The children look forward to this all year long - making and frosting sugar cookies with grandma. May God bless her for her patience with the children...and the mess! (and thank God for grandpa who cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes...a number of times!)

The grandparents left this morning and we had a fairly normal day and muddle our way through about 75% of what I wanted to get accomplished. Getting back into routine can be tricky, know what I mean?!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Happy Birthday Eleanor

2011-12-02T20:00:00.001-08:00

On a stormy, wintery night, four years ago today, we raced to the hospital to give birth to our fifth child. I had my eyes closed for most of the drive. I heard my husband honking the horn and passing cars...I think he was hoping for a police escort! We made it to the hospital and Eleanor Ann was born 8 minutes later. She was delivered by the ER doctor, who did a fine job by the way. It all is so fresh in my mind. I really can't believe it was 4 years ago!

Eleanor had a lovely day and truly enjoyed being the center of attention. We had our home school co-op today so she was even able to be the birthday girl with her "class". Grandma Pam is visiting which added to the excitement of her special day....grandmas make everything better, you know!

This is her new "big girl" smile...not really sure what prompted it, but there it is!

The favorite gift was from Grandma and Grandpa. A piggy bank that oinks when you put in coins. Grandma even remembered to give her oodles of coins!

Eleanor is a very expressive and emotional little girl. This past week she gained a "roomy" as Esther moved out of our bedroom and into Eleanor's room. They are doing great and sleeping remarkably well together. It has been fun watching my little El tackle the job of big sister and role model to Essie. This mom gig I've got going on is tremendously rewarding. I have a fabulous job with excellent benefits...six of them with another joining us soon!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Prayer to Ask for the Grace of Properly Educating My Children

2011-11-29T21:07:00.001-08:00

I did not write this, nor do I know the source. But it is one of those prayers that I keep in my bible and pray regularly. I hope that these words are able to help you as you start your day and focus on what our goal as parents truly should be.

Prayer to Ask for the Grace of Properly Educating My Children

Dear God, my children belong to you more than they belong to me. I must remember that You have entrusted them to me as a precious trust for which I am responsible and must one day account for. I have received, by the grace of holy matrimony, the necessary help to bring them up properly; but I pray that You shall put in my heart the right dispositions to remain faithful to those graces. Do guide me, o Lord, in this awesome task of giving my children a real christian education.

My unique goal, o Lord, is to bring my children to a truly virtuous life. To You, I trust their spiritual call which is not mine to decide. Mine is the task of helping them to discover their vocation and to follow it for Your highest glory and their salvation. To this intention, I offer You all my prayers and good deeds; do help me to spend my efforts in acquiring those virtues I need most. Help me, Lord, to correct my failings of character and mood. Please, help me to be persevering in patience, without weakness in kindness, gentle in firmness, with great self-denial, so that I will not give in to discouragement in the trials to come.

May all my sufferings contribute to the spiritual good of my children, and may they love You above all things; this request I address to Your Divine Heart, imploring You to hear my prayer. Amen.

~ B. Michaels ~

Madeline working on her grammar.

Haley creating a Word-a-day card.

Joseph building with Lincoln Logs in his free time.

Lillian finding a fable to retell and illustrate.

Eleanor exclaims, "Essie is NOT in the box with the stuffed animals!"

Esther LOVES to dress up and be "pretty". Every time I come downstairs, one of her big sisters has her in a new outfit.

For this child I have prayed

2011-11-22T20:06:00.001-08:00

I have to share the most wonderful maternity t-shirt ever. I saw it on a blog the other day and decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present. Priced at $20, it was a little more than the plain old maternity t-shirt I would typically buy, but still affordable enough. You can click here to go to the web-store where they are available.

For this child I have prayed - 1Samuel 1:27

I thought it was such a fitting verse for an expectant mother to wear over her heart and expanding tummy. Just as Hannah prayed for a child, I prayed that God would bless us with another baby after our miscarriage last year. I have been reflecting on that bible story and have realized something very important. This child (actually all of my children) are not my own, but rather they are on loan from God. He may call them back to Himself at any time and I need to be okay with that. Just as Hannah presented her young son for a life of service to God, I must be prepared for however God calls my children to serve Him.

If you're looking for a Christmas gift for yourself or a pregnant momma on your list, I highly recommend purchasing a shirt from His Child Christian Maternity Clothing. I did not receive any compensation for this review, just wanted to share a great company and product with you all.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

One of those days...

2011-11-17T04:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was one of those days. One that just doesn't seem to happen all that often. You know, the type where almost everything seems to fall into place. The little children all keep busy and don't create any major disasters in the house. The older children obediently and cheerfully complete their work with minimal bickering or complaining. We made it to all of our various classes and lessons successfully and on time. The house seemed to run as a well oiled machine. Those kind of days just don't happen very often around here.

As I fell asleep last night, I praised God for giving me the gift of that day. As my alarm went off, I woke up with a smile on my face....really! I needed that day to help me remember the JOY in this vocation of motherhood. I realize that today may not run as smoothly as yesterday, but I will recollect the peace and happiness that we all felt yesterday and try to live in that moment rather than the frustration and irritation that typically creep into my heart as I struggle with our daily schedule not going according to my plan.

God is so good! I needed that day yesterday and He knew that more than I did. I pray that God may bless you with "one of those days" when you need it most.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Can a Pro-Lifer Give to the Bell Ringers?

2011-11-14T20:13:00.001-08:00

The bell ringers are already out in full force. In years past, I have been a strong and generous supporter of the Salvation Army's Christmas time fundraising efforts. The children love to put any spare change into the kettle and wish the volunteer a Merry Christmas. This year, however, is different.

I no longer support the Salvation Army's kettle campaign due to their weak stance on abortion. Please consider the following information taken from their website:

"The Salvation Army recognizes tragic and perplexing circumstances thatrequire difficult decisions regarding a pregnancy. Such decisions should bemade only after prayerful and thoughtful consideration, with appropriateinvolvement of the woman's family and pastoral, medical and other counsel. Awoman in these circumstances needs acceptance, love and compassion."

While the above statement may sound understanding and accepting, it leaves a huge opening allowing for abortions. I absolutely agree that the issue of abortion can be complex, but ultimately we must all stand for life. Their slogan is "Doing the Most Good" which I guess only applies to those fortunate enough to have already been born. The Salvation Army's posted statement can easily allow for abortions in the case of rape, incest, life of the mother and fetal deformity/abnormality.

Their past stance on abortion and other life/contraception issues makes their new policy highly suspect. As evidence of this, consider the following. Speaking on behalf of the Salvation Army, very recently retired Salvation Army General Shaw Clifton (the General directs Salvation Army operations throughout the world) stated, "We are not as conservative as our catholic brothers and sisters. There are situations in which abortion is the lesser evil, for instance in cases of sever deformities of the fetus, (or) rape." Discussing birth control and sterilization, "The Salvation Army encourages the use of birth control methods that are contraceptive...The Salvation Army does not oppose sterilization as a means of contraception. However, because it is generally irreversible in nature, such a procedure should be undertaken only after full consideration is given to spiritual, moral and practical ramifications." Please refer to page 8 of this document to read his words for yourself.

In light of this information, this year instead of putting money into their kettles, I will be inserting a slip of paper that states:

Dear Salvation Army,

The Salvation Army approves of abortion in cases of rape, incest, health of the mother, and fetal deformity. As a "no exceptions" pro-lifer, I cannot in good conscience contribute to your kettle. If your position were different, this piece of paper would be a couple of dollars of change. I hope you reconsider your position. Kindly forward my concerns to the Salvation Army headquarters and let them know of my objection.

Here is the link where you can download that text to put in their kettles. If we all did this each time we passed a kettle, imagine the impact it could make!

Please do not think for a moment that I am trivializing the good work that the Salvation Army does with the majority of their funds. If they were to change their stance on abortion, I would continue to support them. Rather than using any of their funds to provide abortive services, I think they could better serve their clients by focusing only on post-abortive healing and alternatives to abortion. This would actually be helping all involved, both unborn baby and mother.

I understand that not all of you will agree with my stance, but ask you to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider where you are donating money this holiday season and the impact that those funds may have on all of our brothers and sisters in Christ...both the born and pre-born.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Raising Pro-life Children

2011-11-13T10:48:00.001-08:00

As a family, we participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. The children made signs that they carried while we prayed outside of the hospital for an hour. I had brought the older girls last year, but this year the whole Kraft clan went. It was a great family activity to give of our time to pray for the children at risk of abortion, the mothers contemplating abortion, and the doctors who perform this horrible procedure.

I strongly believe that the key to being a pro-life adult is having a solid background as a child. We started a children's group just for this purpose at our church this past fall. We begin with 20-30 minutes of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and then gather for pro-life crafts and activities. It is open to children of all ages and their parents.

At our first meeting, the children all made t-shirts that they could wear to our meetings. I forgot to take pictures, but here is the shirt that I made. I took ideas from Catholic Icing and we used fabric paint and markers. The kids had a great time and their shirts all turned out remarkably well.

At our second meeting, we discussed the Corporal Works of Mercy. I read from Mathew 25 so that the children would understand it is Jesus telling us that how we live our lives matter. It makes a difference how we treat others and how we respond to their needs. Here are some boys doing a matching activity with the Corporal Works of Mercy.

To live out one of the works, I chose to make Christmas cards to send to soldiers who are stationed overseas. I had a stack of old Christmas cards that the children cut up and remade into new cards with a Christmas blessing and personal message to a soldier. Each child made a few cards and we had a good collection to send off by the end of our time together.

Here they are all displaying their craftiness. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and put a lot of effort into making something special that would bring some holiday cheer to a soldier away from his/her family at Christmas time.

I am genuinely excited about this group and the possible projects we can do. I would appreciate your prayers for the growth of our group and that the children will be able to touch hearts in ways that adults are not able to.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Now that feels good!

2011-11-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

I am 24 weeks into my 7th pregnancy. Overall, I love being pregnant and truly enjoy this time. I have very few complaints, but these are my "issues" : back pain and muscle discomfort, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins. Each of these show up earlier and become more pronounced with each pregnancy. They also get progressively worse as the day goes on. The more I'm on my feet, the more uncomfortable I become. Towards the end of they day, I'm moving pretty slow and the "waddle" is my main mode of transportation.

I've discovered two very simple things that help substantially. The first is a warm bath. I know that sitting in hot tubs and raising my body temperature are dangerous, so I'm not talking about boiling myself in a tub filled with superheated water. But soaking in a nice warm tub for 15-20 minutes before I go to bed reduces swelling of all types and helps relax my muscles. Also, just getting off my feet and laying down for 30 minutes in the middle of the day is a very good thing.

This is SOOOO not a picture of me, but doesn't she look relaxed?!

The second fix is a pregnancy belt which helps with back support. It reduces the pressure of my expanding mid-section on my lower body. I only wear it about half of the day, but it sure makes a difference.

Again, not me, but this is the same support that I have.

My doctor suggested compression stockings, but I'm not sure if it's worth it or not. In order to fix my most affected area, I would need the full up and over the belly stockings. Seriously, I'm going to the bathroom about once an hour and I think I'd become seriously annoyed having to take them on and off so many times a day. Anyone have any advice here?

Also, my doctor had always told me to wait off on having varicose veins treated until I was done having children. Since I don't know when that will be, I had figured that this would just be a cross for me to bear. However, I did hear that some specialists are fixing varicose veins between pregnancies now. Anyone have any experience with that?

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Hearts at Home Rochester 2011

2011-11-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

We made it! My mom and I got my booth all set up, finished our first evening, and have retired to the motel for a few hours of sleep before we start again in the morning. This is such a wonderful experience. Being surrounded by so many other happy moms is utterly refreshing. This is my fourth year being a vendor at this conference. It is so much fun to have ladies return and purchase additional items from me. That is the ultimate compliment!

I saw a lot of smiling faces and heard tons of laughing today, so I know that everyone is having a good time! I look forward to another wonderful day tomorrow.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

My Love/Hate Relationship with Ground Meat

2011-11-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

I love the convenience and versatility of ground meat. I typically use whatever is on sale: turkey, chicken or beef...I'm really not picky.

I hate actually browning the meat. I dislike the smell of raw meat as it goes into the frying pan. I despise the spattering mess it leaves on the stove. I could live without all the wasted time standing in front of a hot pan chopping the meat so it doesn't accidentally turn into a meatball-like substance.

What's a mom of many to do? There are so many recipes that call for some form of ground meat that it really is a necessity (unless you are a vegetarian, which no one in our family is). Here's my solution....buy, brown, rinse, bag, freeze.

Let me explain. Keep an eye on your grocery ads and buy ground whatever when it is cheap. Next, enlist your loving husband to brown the meat for you as shown here.

Do this in small batches. Don't be tempted to just throw it all in the frying pan. Believe me, we've tried it and it doesn't save any time. It takes much longer to cook up a large batch than two smaller ones.

Rinse it well with warm water to remove as much of the grease as possible. I run the garbage disposal at this stage and have never had a problem with it messing up our pipes. However, if you're worried about that you could collect the grease into a glass jar and throw it out which is what some of our friends do.

I portion it out into Ziploc (I've found store brand baggies just don't cut the mustard in the freezer!) baggies with the date written on the outside so that I know how long it's been in the freezer. This is what 12 pounds of ground beef looks like all browned, bagged and ready for the freezer.

I now have a freezer filled with browned ground meat all ready to go into a recipe. This is enough to last us for a couple months. It makes me sooooo happy to know that all I have to do is grab a bag, thaw it, and toss it into a recipe without having to mess with browning it! :-)

I apply a similar method for cooking chicken breast and chopping them up to be used in recipes. Or you can shred rotisserie chickens in a like manner. Since I have confidence that my readers are all highly intelligent (grin) I won't bore you with the details...you can figure it out!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Joe is 8!

2011-10-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Last week, Joseph turned 8! With Esther's birthday just 3 days earlier, I somehow forgot to post. He had a fabulous day and loved being the center of attention. His sisters pooled their money and bought him a RC helicopter that has been buzzing around the house non-stop. Joseph has been on cloud 9 flying that thing...pun intended!

The traditional birthday breakfast of monkey bread...YUM!

Joseph in the middle of his older sisters with his favorite gift...the Fly Crane!

The birthday boy holding a holy card and medal of his namesake - St. Joseph.

The grand finale was his special present from dad. The boy loves LEGOs and was super excited about this one which was a little more advanced with gears and moving parts.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Esther Turns 2!

2011-10-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Little Esther turned two today!!! Two years ago, it was a snowy October morning as we left for the hospital. It's been in the 80's the past week...we have such interesting weather here in the Midwest! I snapped a few photos of Esther's day to share.

Notice all of her "friends" behind her...she refuses to sleep without them!

After preparing the customary birthday breakfast of monkey bread, the older children and I all went in to wake up the birthday girl. She looked at us quite puzzled as we sang her awake with an early morning "Happy Birthday".

Because she celebrated her second birthday, she got two presents from Todd and me. This is a puzzle/shape/magnet book that she instantly took a liking to!

My "helpers" licking the frosting off of the beaters.

Esther and Eleanor were eager to "help" me frost the cake. I use the term help loosely...it was mostly me feeding them bits of frosting to keep their fingers off of the freshly decorated cake.

Yes, she is trying to climb onto the table. She's a busy gal with no time to sit!

There she is - the birthday girl! She's been sensing that life is changing. I think that children are hard wired to get a sudden thirst for independence right around their second birthday. She prefers to sit at the big table now and not her high chair. She fights getting buckled into her car seat, stroller, or shopping cart. She runs away in fits of laughter in any public place leaving her pregnant momma to waddle after her. So, I guess, we're right on track! She's doing exactly all the things that any self-respecting two year old will do...life is good!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Waffle Night

2011-10-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

The children all like waffles. When the entire house enjoys eating something, it is a must in my meal planning routine. However, making waffles one at a time for 6 hungry children (not to count mom and dad!) was a daunting and time consuming task. I scoured the internet, local department, and big box stores. This is what I wanted:

Doesn't that look lovely? Just like the pro's use!

Wouldn't it be nice to make 6 waffles at once? One for each of my hungry little baby birds each time the timer dinged? But....and a HUGE but here...the price was $120 plus shipping. That's just a bit out of my price range. So, I improvised.

We stopped at the local Target and picked up two more small waffle makers for $10 a piece. Now that is definitely within the budget! This is what the kitchen looks like when I've got them all fired up.

Yes, there are 3 waffle makers spread out across the counter. As long as I remember to set the timers for each of them, it works like a charm!

I usually make a triple or quadruple batch and put the extras in the freezer for breakfast. They thaw in the microwave for 15 seconds and then reheat in the toaster oven. Half of the children like them with peanut butter and the other half like them with just a bit of syrup. I recently switched to all natural maple syrup which is quite pricey. To keep that cost down, I'm in charge of drizzling the syrup. Pure maple syrup is much sweeter than the high fructose corn syrup version we had been using, so a little bit goes a long way.

Here's my favorite recipe for waffles.

Light 'N Crisp Waffles
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup oil
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Preheat waffle maker. Put all ingredients except egg whites in a large mixing bowl. Beat on low until moistened. Increase to medium, mix until smooth. By hand, gently fold in beaten egg whites. Pour 1/2 cup batter over hot grids. Close waffle maker, bake until steam no longer escapes.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Ultrasound Photos

2011-10-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound last week. After careful consideration, Todd and I decided to bring the whole family along. After all, if we're going to be pro-life, we need to show folks what it is like to have a large family. We prepped the children and talked extensively about our expectations for their behavior. They were all fabulously behaved. Esther and Eleanor took a little bribing (Dum-dum suckers did the trick!) but were remarkably quiet and still.

We decided that we wanted to find out the gender of our baby. Joseph would need some time to adjust to the idea of yet another sister if that was the case. We all patiently waited as the technician took all the necessary measurements. After about 10 minutes, she asked if we were ready to know. I replied, "Only if you're absolutely sure." She smiled at me as the room became absolutely silent. "It's a boy!" she exclaimed and then proved it to me with the ultrasound image. I don't think Joseph quit smiling that whole day! He called each set of grandparents to share the news and has told even random strangers about his new baby brother.

I was thinking about this...I'm pregnant with a boy. It's been a long time since I carried a boy. Joseph will be 8 years old in just another week. I've been much more tired and nauseous this time around, but that may just be because I'm older and busier with more children. Who knows?

The house is buzzing with talk about the baby. What shall we name him? Who will he look like? And most importantly in the minds of the children - Who gets to sit next to him in the van? We are all so anxious to meet him!

I appreciate all of your prayers and well wishes. Please continue to pray for the health of our baby Gyver and for a safe delivery this February/March.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Friday Funny

2011-09-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

A couple hours ago, I was pushing the mega-cart around the aisle of our local Target. One of those gigantic carts that allows plenty of room for children and groceries, but is almost impossible to maneuver around any obstacles like your fellow Target patrons.

I didn't take this picture, but found it on google images.

As most of you know, we're about half way through our pregnancy with baby number 7. The only detail I will add is that I was on the hunt for Preparation H cream for some much needed relief...enough said!

I was dodging people and doing my best not to knock over any displays. After making one round through the personal care aisles, I came up empty handed. So, I asked for help. The helpful employee stared at me blankly and asked me to repeat myself. After she fully understood what I was seeking, she looked in all the same places I had looked without success. So, she asked another employee who blasted it over the walkie-talkie. They didn't know the answer, so she went to the pharmacy to inquire there. Luckily, the pharmacy technician knew exactly where to look. "Aisle 8 - next to the fiber supplements, " she replied without even looking up from her work...now that's a valuable employee!

Why do I share all of this? I was reflecting on how my life has changed over the course of the past ten years. Ten years ago, I would have spent an hour scouring the shelves looking for this personal item and would have died of embarrassment if anyone actually knew I was looking for hemorroidal cream. Now, I don't waste my time. If I can't find what I need, I ask...right away. Life is too short and time is too valuable to care if people know about my "personal issues".

Funny how children and age change a gal, huh?

God Bless!

Heather :-)

7 Quick Takes

2011-09-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I've been so absorbed in schooling that I've fallen way behind in everything else, including this blog. Honestly, I feel so back-logged that I don't even know where to pick up. But, I was reading Melody's blog today and thought...that's how I should do it. I decided to play catch up with 7 Quick Takes Friday

(1)

First Day of School - Take 1

We started school a few weeks back and it went horribly. I mean, really bad. The children resisted me at every turn and had horrible attitudes. But I persevered and kept at it all week...that was one long week! Thankfully, Todd had some vacation days he needed to use or lose so we took the next week off and had family time. We thought about going somewhere, but decided there were plenty of things within an hour drive that we should take advantage of. So, we began our stay-cation (vacation when one stays at home.)

(2)

Kraft Family Stay-cation Day 1 - Off to the Races!

It was a beautiful late summer day in Minnesota. We loaded up the kids and took them to the horse races at Canterbury Park. Madeline adores horses and was super excited. She even borrowed out horse-themed apparel to her sisters...now that's sisterly love! We watched four races and placed small bets on them. We ended up breaking even for the day as the "winnings" paid for our admission and covered the losses.

Placing our bets.

(3)

Kraft Family Stay-cation Day 2 - Day of Park

This was another picture perfect day. We made a list of some favorite parks across the metro area and took off for the day. This didn't cost anything other than gas (which for Big Blue is no small thing!) and our meals out. I was going to pack lunch, but hey, we were on stay-cation. So I figured Mom should get a break too! The kids had a blast and played their hearts out.

We made an impromptu stop at Minnehaha Falls. The children had never seen it and couldn't take their eyes off the beauty and wonder of God's creation.

(4)

Kraft Family Stay-cation Day 3 - Apple Orchard

Amazingly, the weather was fabulous for a third day in a row. We went to a local apple orchard. It wasn't just an orchard, however. They are a working farm and do a great job educating children and adults about farm life. There were a bunch of farmyard animals that the children were encouraged to pet, feed, and play with. We packed a lunch and ate at a picnic table under a shady tree. Ahhhh....life really doesn't get much better than that!

There were a few huge bins like this filled with corn, much like a sand box. The kids could have spent the entire day in there!

(5)

Kraft Family Stay-cation Day 4 &5 - Back Yard Camp Out

We had some friends bring over a tent and we pitched our tents in the back yard. We grilled out and had a bonfire with s'mores. We had breakfast together and lots of fun and laughs! This is one of our favorite things that we do each fall. Since the tent was up, we kept it up a second night. Why is it so much fun to sleep anywhere but your own bed when you're a kid?

All the men-folk working on one of the tents.

(6)

First Day of School - Take 2

All great things must come to an end. So I took a day to rethink our school schedule and routine. Here is what I came up with...I blew it! I got the kids up on day one of week one and just jumped right into our school day. There was no "hoop-la" or anything special to set the day apart from any other day. This struck me as I watched all the parents walking their children to the bus and taking photos of them getting onto the bus on the first day of school.

I bought a "Welcome" banner and decorated our school room a bit. I wrote a note to each of the children about how excited I was for the new school year and how proud I was of them. I also made these pencils for each of the four big kids from Catholic Cuisine.

I have to say, that making the day different and having a few special treats made a big difference. Lillian said, "Mom when will I start 2nd grade? I really like that yummy candy pencil and I'd like another one!" I guess the little things do make a difference!

Welcome sign with each of their names and grade hanging from it. They want it to stay up all year...we'll see!

I used the template for the Rollo pencil - didn't it turn out cute? And it was so easy!

(7)

Webinar Writing Class for the Big Girls

This is a completely new experience for the Kraft family. Up to this point, I have taught the children all core curriculum subjects. They do take dance and art with other teachers, but I am not artistic or able to dance well so that made sense. I, however, was a certified reading/writing teacher in my previous life. I completely understand the how of teaching writing. My struggle....TIME!

I actually purchased the IEW program and was very happy with it, but was not consistent in doing a lesson/assignment each week. It was killing me to have this outstanding program sitting on my shelf that was getting only occasional use.

I knew of a fabulous writing teacher who offered classes to home schoolers, but she taught about an hour away. This was just not a feasible option. This fall she began offering her classes via a webinar format. I bit the bullet and signed the girls up for the class...two weeks late! (ugh!) We're still playing catch-up and will be relieved when we're on schedule. The girls are really enjoying it and the guilt about paying for a class I am capable of teaching is lessening a little bit each day (sigh).

Now you're caught up on most of what's been going on in our family life. There are more details to fill in, but that's for another day.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Do You See It?

2011-09-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

I often wonder what my children will be/do when they grow up. I can honestly tell you that, until today, performance painter never even entered into my mind as an option. Take a look at this with your children. It is amazing! This man has a special artistic gift and has found an interesting way to share it with others.

Performance Painting of Jesus

How long did it take for you to find Jesus? I didn't see Him until the artist turned the canvas over. Even after watching a second time, I didn't have the vision to see what direction he was going. That got me thinking about how many times (each and every day) in my daily life I just don't have the foresight to see how God is directing me or which way He wants me to go. So, I keep praying and learning to trust that God has my best interests at heart and that He will never lead me astray. All I have to do is LOOK and LISTEN for his guidance and direction.

Have a blessed weekend!

Heather :-)

Mom, you look pregnant.

2011-09-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, my husband and I were sitting at the dining room table talking with our eldest daughter. There was a lull in the conversation and she looked at me quite seriously and said, "Mom, you look pregnant." I glanced at Todd quickly and said, "You know that is an incredibly rude thing to say to a woman, right?!" Todd changed the topic of discussion without missing a beat and the rest of the evening went on without any further focus on my mid-section.

Well, the irony of the situation is that I WAS pregnant. Yes...I AM pregnant! We were holding off on saying anything because of our miscarriage this winter. We are expecting blessing #7 at the end of February and couldn't be more excited! The children are super pumped about my growing belly and the thought of a new baby coming into our house this winter.

We give each of our children in-utero names so that we don't have to keep referring to that baby as "it" or "baby". This time around, we chose Baby MacGuyver (we're watching re-runs of that 1980's hit on Netflix) and Esther has shortened it to Baby Guyver.

I've had two ultrasounds and one general check-up where I heard the heart beat. The sound of a baby's heart beating inside of me is something that I never get tired of listening to! I am feeling really well and have only petty things to complain of - so why bother? I would appreciate your prayers for a strong and healthy baby and an uncomplicated delivery this February.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Dilly-Doo Turns 6!

2011-08-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today our Lillian celebrated her 6th birthday! Because of our Birthday Bash celebration, we don't have individual parties for the children. But don't think for one moment that our children are deprived of the birthday experience. With 6 children, birthdays are a pretty big deal in our house. It seemed more like Christmas than a birthday when Lillian was opening her gifts this morning. Her older sisters went a little nuts and she made out like a bandit! She enjoyed playing with her new toys throughout the day and then we went to the pool as a family this evening. Finally, we came home and had some birthday cookie cake and ice cream...the perfect ending to the perfect day in the life of a newly-turned 6 year old!

She's opening the hat that Madeline crocheted for her with her favorite colors and a flower on it.

Posing with the chocolate chip cookie cake that she decorated with some help from her big sisters.

After blowing all of her candles out she smiled and said, "I can't tell my wish or it won't come true!" Wonder what it was?!

I know I say this with each of the children as they celebrate another year of life, but I can't believe how quickly it goes by. I was just laying with Lillian on her bed telling her the story of her very first birth day. It seems like yesterday. All of the sudden she's 6 years old...how does it all happen so quickly? God willing, we'll all be around to celebrate many more!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Laundry Day

2011-08-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I really like about our house is the laundry room. It is located upstairs with all of the bedrooms which makes it convenient for gathering dirties a putting away clean clothes. I snapped some photos of laundry day in progress. It's not neat and clean, but my laundry room seldom is.

This is the sorting area. Each person is responsible for sorting their own clothes. The top basket is labeled "towels" and that is where all dirty/used towels are placed. Underneath are the "dark", "light", and "white" baskets for clothing. I colored in the letters with examples of what those colored clothes may look like, although this does not guarantee they will all be sorted correctly! :-) Those lingerie bags hanging on the wall are for the children. They each have a bag in which they place their dirty socks and undies. They go into the washer and dryer and when they come out, each child folds his/her own and puts them away. It works great and saves a ton of time trying to figure out what belongs to who.

Right next to the sorting station is an area where I am able to hang clean clothes. Each person is responsible for finding his/hers and putting them away.

You'll notice the Tide containers in the back left corner. They hold my laundry soap that I made. Take a peek at that post here. It works pretty well, but does not get out stains as well as Tide did. I keep a stain spray handy and add a cup of baking soda to each load to help.

And this is where all the action happens...the washer and dryer! I had my hubby paint a piece of particle board with a few coats of white paint and put it on top of the washer dryer so that I would have a folding area in the laundry room. I have a stack for each member of the family and at the end of the day, we put laundry away. I have a stack of "to be mended" or "to be ironed" and take care of that when all the laundry is completed.

I hope you were able to get an idea or two about how to stream-line your laundry process. Of course, it doesn't always work as intended (like the red shirt ending up in the whites....ugh!) and needs to be supervised. But it has freed up a lot of my time and made the children more responsible for the care of their clothing.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

This Moment

2011-08-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

This moment...One photo....No words

For more moments captured, visit soulemama

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Panera Soup

2011-08-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

I really, really enjoy Panera Bread. The bread, bagels, sandwiches, soups, cookies and pastries...you really can't go wrong. Unfortunately, we live about a half hour away from their closest location. So, I was delighted to find this in my local grocer's refrigerator section.

You'll notice the container is empty...it said 2 servings, but it was so yummy I ate it all.

I warmed it up in the microwave and crushed up some tortilla chips to sprinkle on top...absolutely delicious and incredibly simple! This will definitely be in my cart again the next time we go to the supermarket!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

How Do We Get to Heaven?

2011-08-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

The following conversation took place last night while I was rocking Eleanor before putting her to bed.

Mommy, where is heaven at?

     I'm not sure, but I think it's up in the clouds.

Is it way, way up in the clouds? Higher than the airplanes fly?

     Yes, I think so.

And that is where God lives with all the saints, right?

     Yes.

Well then, how am I going to get all the way up there?

     (my mind is reeling, trying to think of a way to describe to a 3 year old how a soul isn't restricted in the same way that an earthly body is...silence...)

I know, how about a magic carpet? That would work perfect!

Problem solved - no more anxiety about how she would get to heaven. Eleanor then told me she was ready to go to bed and dream about the saints in heaven and how she would be one some day...God willing, we all will be!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

A Little Bit Nuts

2011-08-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Isn't life like that sometimes? I feel like this past week and a half has completely gotten away from me. We're usually pretty low-key and under scheduled...on purpose...that's how I like things. But, this past week has been way different.

After Math of the Birthday Bash
You can imagine that the clean up is quite an undertaking. Getting the house back in order, taking inventory of what is left-over for next year, making notes to help plan the 5th Annual Bash, returning borrowed goods to their owners, and just trying to regain control of the children is quite the mental and physical workout!

VBS Week
500 children + 300 teen and adult volunteers + 5 amazing, crazy, faith-filled days = VBS Week at the Church of St. Paul in Ham Lake, MN. This is the parish we are hoping to move closer to. I have never been part of anything like this. All children from 3 years old up to 7th grade had a week filled with activities to learn about "The Life and Times of David". The music, drama, bible reading and activities, outdoor/indoor recreation activities, pie and ice cream social, arts and crafts, and various other happenings made the week fly by. I co-taught my son's 2nd grade class and was amazed how each day went more quickly than the last. It was absolutely amazing...but I must say that I'm happy it's done!

One funny story - my Eleanor (age 3) kept referring to vacation bible school as PBS all week long. I kept chuckling at her and tried to explain that it was VBS, but she didn't get it never understood what I thought was so funny. I love 3 year olds! :-)

House Guest
We were blessed to have the wife of one of Todd's co-workers from New York make some time to spend a night with our family after attending a conference in Minneapolis. She was one of the first people I really talked to about the nuts and bolts of home schooling, but had never actually met her. We took her to Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. We all love attending Mass there and hosting an out of town guest was the perfect opportunity to go. We had a lovely visit and thank God for the opportunity we had to visit with an amazing, faith-filled woman.

Carver County Fair
County fairs in Minnesota are a big deal. Each summer, we take a hiatus from our "regular" schooling and work on a variety of projects that the children enter into the fair for a chance to win ribbons and small cash prizes. We've been finishing up the projects this past weekend and got them all dropped off this afternoon. I am really impressed with the quality of work that the older children produced and awed by all of their ability to focus when it's something they are truly interested in. We'll be attending the fair on Thursday, so I'll get some photos and let you know how the children make out with their projects.

House Showings
Of course, when life is busy and you have your house on the market, there will always be a showing or two! We had one on Friday and another on Saturday. There is still a prospective buyer that's meeting with our realtor tomorrow. I am praying for resolution - one way or the other. I need to settle in and plan for the upcoming year.

School....UGH!
I truly thought that we'd be sold and in the process of moving by now. But, it appears that we are going to be here for another year (which I am truly fine with...I've made huge progress in trusting in God's plan...thanks for your prayers as I know that I didn't get there on my own!). So, these next two weeks will be hunkering down and getting all the schedules down on paper and materials ordered. Wish me luck!

Craft Shows
The life of a crafter is an interesting one. No matter how much I plan ahead or think I'm prepared...I'm not and it's always crunch time at the last minute. Like I said earlier, I thought we'd be moved and didn't want to commit to any shows that would be too far away, so I just held off. This week, I've registered for my regular fall/holiday shows and need to get serious about preparing for them.

There you have it - all the "stuff" that's been keeping me busy and awake at night. I'll try to stay on top of blogging, but don't hold your breath...it still has that "nuts" feeling around here!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Birthday Bash 2011

2011-07-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Whew!!! We made it! Our 4th Annual Birthday Bash was this past Wednesday and it went off without a hitch. I can only say that because of all the help we had from family (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) and a host of friends and neighbors. We were just under 200 guests and had 9 families drive and hour or more to get here! We collected almost 700 pounds of food for the local food shelf and $95 in cash donations. We have hundreds of photos, but I've chosen a few to give you a look at our event.

The Carnival

Face painting, tattoos and sucker pull - huge favorite!

Trampoline, bounce house and duck pond

Fishing pond, bucket ball toss and putt-putt

The magician was great! The kids (of all ages) really enjoyed the walking magic during the carnival

Food and Cake

Guests finding some shade to enjoy their supper (hot dog or sloppy joe, watermelon and chips) and cake

All the Krafts with the birthday cake - yum!

Magic Show

Everyone getting settled for the magic show to begin

Family friend Mr. Alzen led the group in "Happy Birthday"

Magician Matt Dunn had the Kraft kids help him with one of his magic tricks - great fun!

Food Shelf Delivery

Big Blue was all loaded up and ready to head to the food shelf - notice the little heads poking out above the bags of food!

Bringing all of the donations into the food shelf

Family photo (minus dad - someone had to take the shot!) with our birthday bash shirts on outside the food shelf

This was, by far, our best bash yet. We are making notes about what went well, amount of food/prizes/supplies purchased, and things to change for next year. It is a lot of work, but it is so worth it. It is a great memory for us all filled with family, friends and fun. I would really encourage you to give it a try - especially those of you with larger families. Think of it...one party to plan...no gifts or "stuff" to find homes for (everyone brings something for charity of your choice)...sounds appealing, doesn't it?!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

And the winner is....

2011-07-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your well wishes and shared memories about your wedding days. The winner of an "I love my husband" t-shirt is....Patty from Reasons for Chocolate. Congratulations! Take a peek at the t-shirt specks and then e-mail with your address and shirt size.

Click here for t-shirt details.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

This Moment

2011-07-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

This moment...One photo....No words

For more moments captured, visit soulemama

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Wedding Day Memories and Give Away

2011-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 13th anniversary. I had a good time taking out the wedding album. The kids and I paged through it, looking at that young couple who was so happy and so much in love. I am happy to report that while we aren't as young as we once were, we are still very much happy and in love with each other.

I am the kind of gal who is an emotional roller coaster. Anyone remember the Terri Clark song Emotional Girl? My dad actually bought me that CD because the song fit me so perfectly. So, it was assumed by all that I would be a blubbering mess during the wedding ceremony. Much to the surprise of all, it was Todd who choked up during our exchange of vows and I was rock solid - go figure!

I have the perfect give-away to help celebrate our 13 years of wedded bliss.

For t-shirt details, click here

It's a t-shirt that carries a simple and very strong message. Most people think it is some kind of a joke and ask me to turn around so that they can see the "punch line" on the back. I just tell them, "It's no joke. I really do love my husband."

You can have up to 3 chances to enter - please leave a separate comment for each (makes it easier on my part!)
1) Leave a comment with a favorite memory of your wedding ceremony.
2) Become a follower or leave a comment telling me that you're already a follower.
3) Blog about the giveaway and leave me a comment telling me.

I'll accept entries up until midnight CST on Friday night and do the drawing on Saturday morning.

Good luck ladies!

Heather :-)

When I Grow Up...

2011-07-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

I was snuggling Eleanor (age 3 1/2) today after her nap.

We were rocking in the chair in her room and I said, "What do you think God's plan is for you? What will you do when you're all grown up?"

She didn't say anything, so I prompted with, "Maybe a mommy, or a teacher, or a doctor, or..."

She thought for a moment and said, "A saint, mommy. I think that God would most like me to be a saint."

I was flabbergasted at the response.

I said, "How wonderful, Eleanor. You're right. Isn't that what God wants from all of us!" I gave her a hug and a kiss and we continued to rock in silence for a few minutes.

Breaking the silence, my little saint in training added, "And a fairy mom...with wings!"

Enjoy your week - go give your little saints a big hug!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Baked Potatoes in the Crockpot?! You Betcha!

2011-07-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

The other morning I was still in bed planning out our day and got to the point of our meals. I wanted to have baked potatoes, but didn't want to heat up the house with the oven for an hour and a half. I was planning on making BBQ ribs in the crock pot when it occurred to me, "Couldn't I bake potatoes in the crock pot?" I ran to the computer to google it, and sure enough it could be done.

I scrubbed the potatoes, poked them with a fork (could it really explode if I skipped this step?), sprayed them with canola oil, and wrapped them in foil. They were all on the medium/large side which is key - keep them all the same size or some will be overdone and others not quite done. I put them in on low heat for 5 hours and they turned out perfectly!

Many of you are probably a little more on the ball than I am and have done this already. I, however, am still marveling at this fantastic method of baking potatoes and can't wait to do it again!

Enjoy your weekend - possibly with baked potatoes added to your favorite summertime meal!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Spirit of America Celebration

2011-07-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

Typically, our 4th of July is spent in Minot, ND visiting family and shooting off fireworks. Due to the horrible flood covering the city, we postponed our trip and stayed close to home. We were invited to a "Spirit of America" party in the afternoon. It was a unique way to celebrate our country's independence. As we arrived, each person was given an identity of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Your job was to read up on your person and mingle with the others and find out about each other. What a neat way to learn about the signers! There was a brief program with tidbits of information about our history followed by learning/activity stations for the children. Then there was some game time with potato sack and 3-legged races. At the end, we all came together to "debrief" a bit and share anything that we'd learned.

Craft time was led by Martha Washington.

A chance to talk about and play games that children would have played during the Revolution.

Story time.

Joseph (left) and Madeline (right) competing at the potato sack race.

I love my Haley's outgoing personality! She didn't have a partner for the 3 legged race, so she walks up to some adult she's never met before and says, "Would you please be my partner?" They went on to win the race. That's Todd and Madeline coming in 2nd behind them.

And here is me sitting with Eleanor at the chicken coop. She spent most of the time talking to and about the chickens and chasing the cats....ahhhh...life on a farm!

After a couple hours in the hot July sun, we headed home for some supper and air conditioning before heading off to our next event. Some friends invited us to an event sponsored by their church. It was a really neat carnival that the children had a blast at! Afterwards, we got our blankets and lawn chairs set up to watch the fireworks display over the lake. It would have been absolutely perfect, if not for all of the mosquitoes! It's kind of a joke around here that the state bird is the mosquito. They were out in full force last night.

All the bug spray in Minnesota wasn't even a deterrent. So, today we're itching and scratching but the fireworks display was amazing!

Esther had the best time crawling in and out of the bounce house for little kids.

Lillian and Madeline buddied up and made the rounds.

Joseph and Haley taking a water break.

Eleanor fishing for a prize.

Mom and Madeline waiting for the fireworks show to begin.

It was a good half hour to get out of the parking lot and onto the highway to get home. The kids were pooped and were asleep almost instantly - gotta love that! We had a great day with family and friends remembering what the 4th of July means mixed with a whole lot of fun. You couldn't ask for much more than that!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Camp Lebanon 2011

2011-06-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our family spent last Thursday through Sunday at Camp Lebanon. This was our family's second visit there - you can see last year's trip here. The weather was beautiful, the company was friendly, the food was fabulous and abundant...we could not have asked for anything more!

Eleanor got a chance to drive the pontoon with dad!


If you look really closely, you can see the fish on Eleanor's line

Joseph doing a little leather work at craft time.


Lillian taking her turn at some leather work.

You can't go wrong with Play-dough!

Joseph and Lillian on a hike with Mom and Esther in the stroller.


A few of the girls enjoying the s'mores and camp fire.

Haley and Dad at breakfast - check out all that yummy food!

We had a water fountain right outside our room - we always new where to find Esther!

I can always count on Haley to help out! She's bringing our stuff outside for Dad to load up for our return home.

Hmmm...as I look at the pictures, I realize that I didn't get that many of Madeline and Haley. They were off on their own much of the time, playing board games with friends, swimming in the lake, or fishing off the dock. They really enjoyed their freedom, but came to my aid whenever I needed some help with a little one. We spent much of our time just walking around and exploring. Eleanor and Esther spent hours picking up rocks from the dirt road and throwing them...who knew rocks could keep a 3 and 1 year old entertained for hours!?

I think the reason I look forward to this week so much is that there really isn't much to do. The only think you have to do is show up for meal time, or you miss out. The rest of the time is spent however you want. Nowhere to go and nothing to do - makes you slow down and just enjoy God's creation. I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend with my family!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Our house has never looked better....

2011-06-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

As I was just vacuuming upstairs, my husband walked by and said, "Honey, the house has never looked better." My reply, "Yeah, but we don't get to live in it."

We have another 2 showings today. I know. I know. I've been praying and asking for prayers that our house will sell and it can't sell if people don't look at it. BUT - we're never at home anymore. And when we are here, we're trying not to get the house dirty so that we won't have to spend another 3-4 hours cleaning. So, we get the house spic and span and then leave for the day. That's really no way to live.

The couple that made an offer on our house was way off. We're already priced at $87 a square foot and they wanted us to come down another $30,000. Then their agent says, "I thought your sellers were more motivated." Motivated - yes. Desperate and ready to give the house away - no.

It is such a sellers market right now. Everyone knows somebody who got a smokin' deal and that's what they want as well. I don't blame them. We'll be looking for a good deal when it's our turn to buy, too. But, what's missing here is the concept of paying a fair price for a good product. We custom built this home 6 years ago and have lovingly taken care of it and added on. There is so much greed and selfishness out there, it's hard not to become discouraged.

So, we continue on residing in this beautiful home that we can't live in. I gotta run...there's a showing in half an hour.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Happy Birthday Madeline!

2011-06-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

Could it really be true that my Madeline is 11 years old today? It sure doesn't seem possible that she (or I!) could be that old. None the less, we celebrated her 11th birthday today. She had the traditional monkey bread for breakfast and enjoyed dining on the "You Are Special" plate all day long. She used her cake decorating skills on her cookie cake which turned out lovely.

Here are some photos of her special day.

A new diary/journal!

WOW!!! A St. Catherine medal with a relic on the back!

After looking through this crochet book, Madeline said, "Mom, this book is really inspiring!". She's taken a fancy to crocheting and is making beautiful things.

"I don't really get what all this excitement is about...but did I hear something about cake?"

e-l-e-v-e-n...Madeline said to me today, "Mom, you know that eleven is only two years before being a teenager. That's a pretty big deal!"

We had a lovely day with swim lessons sandwiched in the middle of all the birthday fun.

Also, we got an offer on our house today. A HORRIBLE offer, but an offer. We countered and now we just wait and see how badly they want it. As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your prayers for my brother. He is out of the hospital and doing much better.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

6 Showings in 8 Days....Whew!

2011-06-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

The past 8 days have been busier than usual around the Kraft house.

First off, the five biggest kids were all in swim camp last week which took up most of our afternoons. They LOVE the water and are having a blast with it. We're all geared up for week #2 to begin on Monday!

Secondly, we've had 6 showings in the past week. Why the increased traffic? Only God knows. One thing I do know, though, is that I am okay with God's timing in our move...even if that means we don't move....really. That is huge for me. There have been a number of things that have happened to me this past year and I think that they have all been leading me to the same point. Are you ready for this? I am not in control. I cannot have what I want when I want it. God will give me what I need when I need it. I continue to repeat those sentences in my prayer time and throughout my day.

How do I know what direction God wants me to go?

It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Putting it into practice is the tricky part.

I need to remember that what I think are "lost opportunities" may not be what I perceive them to be...and to shut-up and listen during my prayer time so I can hear what God is trying to tell me!

Thank you all for your prayers. We are all ready for this stage to be over and to move onto the next. Please continue to pray for the best possible outcome for our family and that we will know what that is for us. Also, say a prayer for my brother who was hospitalized over the weekend with nausea/vomiting. There is much testing but no diagnosis yet.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Spiritual Advice on Planning

2011-06-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Did you ever get a mass e-mail sent to a group you were in that seemed to be written specifically to you? That just happened to me tonight.

It's no secret that I am anxious for our house to sell so that we can move closer to the church where our home school co-op is located. We've had the house on the market for over a year and I can't even begin to count how many showings we've had in that time (although I can tell you that it's been 2 this week so far). I've been feeling "stuck" in this wait for a showing a run around like a chicken with my head cut off to get the house clean mode for so long. I've been doubting whether or not God is listening to our prayers. I've been wondering why are we still here and not where we'd like to be. It's a frustrating and exhausting place to be....mentally, physically, and spiritually.

From Fr. Edward Casey brother of Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey whose cause for canonization is active:

"Your plan may prove to be sublime, if you'll await God's own good time: We cook up plans but turn them ill with too much flavoring of self-will. If this idea comes from Heaven, be patient: it will grow like leaven.

God condescends to use our powers, if we don't spoil His plans by ours...We do God's work best when we obey, and crucify self-will each day.

We know this well. Then why refuse? Why balk at orders? Why abuse? The cause is clear--our vain self-will insists on acting, good or ill. We fear men won't appreciate the wisdom we might formulate.

We seek God's glory, not our own? Then let us honor Him alone. No matter if I preach or pray, or sweep the floors or mow the hay, the angels watch, to recompense my loving, prompt obedience..."

I am trying to resign myself to God's will for us...it's not easy. Please keep me in your prayers as I work harder to give my life to God and trust that he will do what is best for our family.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-06-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday. Birthdays are a big deal in our house. The children brought me breakfast in bed. It took every ounce of strength I had to stay in bed as I heard them clanking around in the kitchen downstairs. To their credit, the kitchen looked amazingly clean when I came downstairs! They brought me up toast, fruit, milk, and scrambled eggs with a candle in them! Then they sang to me and I made my birthday wish which I cannot tell or it won't come true. (hint: it has something to do with the house selling so that we can move before the new school year begins!)

Cold scrambled eggs and toast...every mother's dream breakfast!

I got cards in the mail, phone calls from family and friends, and a good friend who brought by cupcakes for the kids and a smoothie for me...I am so truly blessed! The kids also wrapped up their gifts for me and had a great time watching me open them.

Getting ready to open gifts from Joseph.

Madeline gave me holy cards for St. Benedict and St. Mary - the names that we gave to our babies that we miscarried earlier this year.

Check out the giant card Madeline and Lillian made for me!

We went to Mass which I was dreading a bit because my hubby is gone this weekend. Little Esther is crazy busy and unbelievably loud...a bad combination for making it all the way through Mass. We had a little family meeting this morning and I told the kids that all I wanted for my birthday was for them to be on their best behavior at church. They were fabulous! I didn't even have to leave and take Esther to the back...thanks Ann for sitting with us and helping "supervise" the bigger kids!

After church, we picked up take and bake pizza for supper. I had a coupon for a free cookie pizza due to my birthday, so we made chocolate chipper sundaes for dessert. Life is so good!

Ready to make my wish...what could it be?

God Bless!

Heather :-)

PS I got a call from my realtor that a gal phoned her directly saying she wants to look at the house tomorrow. She's been following the house for over a year (yes, it has been on the market THAT long!) and wants to see it. You think this could be my birthday wish (that I did NOT share with anyone!) coming true? Time will tell. Prayers are greatly appreciated!

Modest Swimwear Site and Giveaway

2011-06-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here! Do you have plans to head to the pool or the lake? Take a peek at Melody's blog to see her review of Girls4Sport swimwear. It's a tough thing to find stylish, yet modest swimwear. I'm debating about buying from Girls4Sport or Lands End....decisions, decisions!

Head on over to enter into her giveaway for girls board shorts. Good luck!!!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

A Peek at Our Day

2011-06-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

The school year is officially over for the Krafts and we've entered into "summer mode". This translates into doing minimal school work and maximum pursuit of individual interests. Why the school work? Basically, to keep a bit of routine and to make sure we don't back pedal too much and lose all of the gains that we've made this year.

I attended the Minnesota Catholic Home Educators Conference last weekend with my hubby (thanks Grandma Pam for watching the kids to make that possible!!!) and have been thinking about a lot of things. Am I doing the best for the kids? Am I doing the best for myself? How can I improve upon this past year? I'm still doing a lot of thinking and praying about those questions, but in the mean time, I am excited to scale back and let the kids work on "their stuff" - projects and pursuits that they choose.

Here is a sampling of a few of those things as I walked around the house snapping pictures.

Joseph has been playing the piano for 2 years and is really into big and grand music. He is fun to listen to and really enjoys perfecting a piece of music.

Haley is my multi-tasker. She's always got a couple things going at once. Here she's in her bed listening to a book on tape and sketching some dress designs.

Madeline has recently gotten the "crochet bug" and must have a dozen or so crochet pattern books checked out from the library. She just finished her second purse which turned out adorable! Here she is beginning a hat to give to Lillian for her birthday.


Lillian is up in the school room coloring...far away from the littles who want to "help" her color. She was enjoying some quiet time with her markers while listening to some Handel ("Mom, this is kinda like churchy music, huh?)

Eleanor loves to play dress-up. Here she is in one of her favorites...goooo Eleanor!

And if Eleanor is playing dress-up, what does little sister want to do?

I should have known better than to leave the dress-up sisters alone for long. The last thing I heard was, "Come on Essy, let's go find an adventure." Who knew that soap and water meant adventure?!

And a surprise (early) birthday gift arrived in the mail....

she tried so hard to preserve the beautiful wrapping paper....

Just what she wanted! Thank you Grandma Pam and Grandpa Lee!

So that's a sampling of our day. We also went to the pool, but I forgot the camera. The kids all had a great time and listened the first time I asked them to get out of the water to go...ya-hoo! I am really hoping that I'm able to chill out a bit and try to just have a relaxed and fun summer. I'm always trying to get something accomplished and make everything "educational"....anyone else relate to that?

God Bless!

Heather :-)

This Moment

2011-06-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

This moment...One photo....No words

For more moments captured, visit soulemama .

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Steak Burgers

2011-06-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

A few years back, I got a recipe for steak burgers. I have never been a huge burger eater, but this recipe has changed that. This is one of Todd's favorite things to eat and because the BBQ season has finally hit the Midwest...tonight we had steak burgers and corn on the cob.

Haley and Madeline cleaned the corn for me while I got the burgers mixed up and ready to go on the grill.

Steak Burgers
2 lbs ground meat (whatever your family eats - beef, turkey, buffalo, etc.)
1-2 tbsp mustard (I usually just give it a good squeeze - whatever variety you have handy)
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp steak sauce
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely minced onion

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Form into 8 patties. Grill until desired doneness.

Don't forget to butter the buns and toast them a bit on the grill as well....yummy!

Dump everything into a mixing bowl.

My secret weapon against yucky raw meat...I can't stand to have it stuck under my nails! Put on a pair of these and no more icky meat to scrub off your hands when your burgers are done!

See how well that works?! After the mixing and patty-making is done, just peel the gloves off and no mess...pure genius!

Remove the gloves and head out to the grill.

Ready to feed the crew!

There you have it - majorly easy, but a little different take on the traditional burger. The whole family eats this one up...I love summer time!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Teacher Thank Yous

2011-05-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

I loved the idea I found over at Blossoming Joy a while back. I used it to make thank yous for the children's teachers. In my former life, I was a teacher and received all kinds of gifts. While they were all appreciated, unless the family knew me and my tastes well, I usually ended up with something to re-gift or donate to good will. BUT, candy was always consumed! With that in mind, here is one example of what we did. (Take a look at the tutorial to get directions and see what is inside)

Don't you think the curly ribbon is cute?

I don't know what it says about our family, but each time a child presented one of these cute little goody-cans to a teacher, they were worried that something was going to pop out at them....I guess everyone knows how much we like a good joke! :-) BTW - nothing did pop out, although that would have been funny!

Joseph, Haley and Madeline with two of their very favorite dance teachers in the world!

Remember to thank the teachers in your children's lives. They give so much of themselves and have huge impacts on our children - many times with little or no positive recognition. And the little gifts from the heart are so appreciated!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

That's Better!

2011-05-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Did you even have one of those projects that you know will be super easy, but you just put it off. For no really good reason, other than pure laziness? The piano bench has needed to be recovered for, well, about 6 months now. It wasn't a really pressing project, so it always got forgotten. I'd cringe each week as the piano teacher came over and I thought, "Man, that really looks hideous!"

Anyhow, I bought a remnant at JoAnn's this weekend (less than $5!!!) and tackled the project this afternoon. It took less than an hour and looks so much better. We'll see if the piano teacher notices when she comes for lessons on Wednesday!

Look at how it is worn through and fraying all around...yuck!

A pliers, screwdriver, drill, staple gun, and an hour later...voila!

Here's some encouragement to go and tackle a little project that's been eatin' at you. Take some time to check it off your list...you'll be so glad you did! BTW - I just saw that my friend Grace must have had the same recovering bug as me. Take a peek at her project and enter in her giveaway.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

This Moment

2011-05-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

This Moment...One Photo...No Words

To see more moments captured, visit soulemama

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Easy Lunch Recipe

2011-05-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

I don't really even know if this qualifies as a recipe as it has only 3 ingredients. But, it is quick, easy, and yummy which makes it a winner in my house! The kids even assemble these for me...bonus!

Here are the 3 ingredients - pepperoni (our family prefers the turkey kind), crescent rolls, and mozzarella cheese.

On an ungreased cookie sheet, roll out the crescent rolls. Then poll the kids to see who wants only cheese and who wants pepperoni/cheese. I put 4 pepperonis on each one and then cover with about a tablespoon of cheese or just the tablespoon of cheese. You could get creative and make all different kinds of roll-ups, but that just isn't our style so I stick with cheese or pepperoni.

Roll them all up and pop them into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Here they are! Fresh out of the oven and nicely golden brown (you can't tell from the picture...just take my word for it!)

Then plate 'em up and serve with some pizza sauce (BTW - I'm too cheap to spring for pizza sauce and use the jumbo jar of spaghetti sauce that is always in my fridge). We usually have fresh fruit or carrot sticks on the side.

So, there you have it. Easy and pretty tasty (at least by kid standards!). 5 out of the 6 Kraft kids request this lunch and only 1 eats it reluctantly...but she still eats it. Let me know if you give it a try.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Mission Accomplished!

2011-05-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Our family participated in the Robbinsdale Women's Center Walk for Life yesterday. Despite the rain (drizzling all day long) and cold (about 40 degrees), we all had a great time. It was wonderful to see so many people there all working towards the same goal, especially families. That is why we chose this project. It was something that our entire family could do together.

We set a goal to raise $500. This seemed like a really big number and we weren't sure that we could get there, but decided to aim high. The 3 biggest kids were out ringing doorbells and collecting donations. We had a donation site set up online. When we combined the two, we discovered that we had actually exceeded our goal! In all, $561 went to help moms and dads bring their babies into the world!

Here we are, ready to get going! Esther and Eleanor are in the stroller which kept them protected from the cold and rain.

Grandma Pam, Madeline and Todd walking under their umbrellas.

Joseph and Haley enjoying some juice after we completed our 2 mile walk.

This was a fabulous endeavor for the Kraft family. It pushed us to come out of our comfort zone a bit and go begging for the benefit of unborn babies and their moms. We called upon friends, neighbors, and family and many showed us such generosity. We are so thankful for their support. This morning Madeline said, "I think I might want to try the run next year." So, they're already thinking about doing it again. I'll count that as a success!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a wonderful day. We went to Mass on Saturday evening which allowed plenty of time for the children to give me breakfast in bed. I'm not sure why, but that is the ultimate treat in their minds. So, I had a yummy banana-nut muffin and fresh fruit. Then (still in my pj's) I headed downstairs for their gifts. They had decorated the wrapping paper themselves with drawings and messages which were just as fabulous as the gifts inside.

The best part of this photo is how Lillian has her arm lovingly around her brother's shoulder!

After gifts, I headed back up to my room for some exercise on the elliptical machine. I figured I'd really need it after all the food they had planned out for me!

The afternoon was filled with a long nap. Then I mixed up some pizza dough for supper and was banished to my room so that they could finish it and set the table. This is what greeted me when I was summoned back downstairs.

Can you see that I even have a crown?

It was a rainy, dreary day that cleared up in the evening. So, we headed outside to play. Much to the delight of the children, I decided to jump on the trampoline.

Yeah, that's me doing the crazy jump. And, no, I did not land on any of the children!

Then we came back inside and had dessert. This was not the best day for my resolution to lose weight, but I figured it was worth it!

Dairy Queen ice cream cake - YUM!

I think the best part of the day was that we had no plans. We just hung out and enjoyed each other. I really enjoyed how the children went out of their way to let me know that they appreciated all that I did for them. That can be the most difficult part of the day to day life of a mom - feeling unappreciated or under appreciated. So, when I begin to feel that way, I'll just look back at this post and remember my wonderful day.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

This Moment

2011-05-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

This moment...One photo....No words

For more moments captured, visit soulemama.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

The Weight-ing Game

2011-05-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

I know this is going to sound so stereotypically female, but I could really stand to lose about 10 pounds. I was just about exactly where I wanted to be (within 3 pounds) when I got pregnant. Then I put on 7 first trimester pounds, only to go through the miscarriage. So, I have the baby weight to lose without the baby to console me.

I have gained anywhere from 30 to 60 pounds during any of my 6 full-term pregnancies, and the weight always comes off. It's just that it is getting harder as my body ages. The older children occupy my days and the little ones tend to take up much of my nights. I don't eat as well as I should and I don't get nearly enough exercise. As most of my readers are moms, this is nothing new to any of you.

So, what's a happy mom to do? I decided this week that I've had enough. I need to feel better about myself and that happens when the weight comes off. I am committed to the Slim Fast plan for the next 2 weeks and then I'll reassess where I'm at. Slim Fast has a line of yummy meal bars that I prefer to their shakes. They stick with me and are sweet to take care of my sweet tooth. I'm also trying to get at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise in each day. I need to get rid of my "if I can't have at least an hour, it's not worth it" attitude.

I recently read a post over at Blossoming Joy on this very topic. Funny how this is something that seems to affect all mommies at one time or another. I relate to everything - especially my rotating wardrobe of maternity and post-pregnancy clothing with some "regular" clothes that get worn in between. You should check it out.

I'll keep you posted on my progress as I'm sure you all can hardly wait to find out - can you read the sarcasm there?! I do think that it is so important for us to encourage each other, though. Typically, moms just do the commiserate thing and nothing good comes of that. We need to hold each other accountable so that we can be good and healthy examples for our children. (OK, I'm off my soap box as I need to bring Haley to guitar)

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Divine Mercy and May Day

2011-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

This was the first year that I really got my act together and did something extra to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We prayed the novena all week and the children have gotten very good at reciting the chaplet. We were able to get to confession, which is something that we're trying to do more often which is easier said than done when confession is only offered for 45 minutes before Saturday evening Mass. We read a bit about St. Faustina and have added her to our daily prayers by asking her to "Pray for us!" (the kids like that part!) And, I made some simple sugar cookies in the shape of hearts, frosted them white, and sprinkled them with blue and red sugar to symbolize the blood and water that came from Our Lord.

Joseph patiently posing for a photo before devouring his Divine Mercy cookie!

This Sunday was also May 1st which is May Day. For whatever reason, this has become a big deal in our house. The children love to leave treats on the neighbor's doorsteps and run away without being seen...at least that is the goal! We make it an opportunity to show friendship and love to our neighbors, even those with whom we struggle to love. This year, we put quotes about friendship from Mother Theresa and Thomas Aquinas on the tag attached to each basket.

The baskets all lined up and ready to go. Very simple construction - dixie cup with pipe cleaner handle. Of course, it is filled with some of the children's favorite treats!

Quick and take the picture, Mom! We're ready to deliver!

We also had some good friends over for soup. Sadly, it is still chilly soup-eating weather here in Minnesota. So, we made the best of it and had dinner with some lovely friends. Amazing how surrounding yourself with those you love makes it feel like the sun is shining!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

This Moment

2011-04-29T05:35:00.000-07:00

This moment...One photo...No words

For more moments captured, visit soulemama.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Lenten Reflections

2011-04-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we almost removed all of the thorns. It has had a good impact on our entire family though. The idea of taking out the thorns and making sacrifices to grow closer to Christ has even gotten through to the 3 year old. On Easter Sunday, Eleanor came up to me and said in her Elmer-fuddish little voice, "Mommy, I want to make Jesus happy. Give me a job to do so I can take out a thorn." She obediently cleaned up some toys, I checked her work, and we took out a thorn. Making Lenten sacrifices is something that we've all struggled with this past season, especially me.

Just a few thorns (sacrifices) remaining before we can start to add the flowers where the thorns once were.

I began the season of Lent with the joyous secret of a tiny life inside of me. Just as we were preparing to share our news, we suffered through a miscarriage. Surely, I thought, this was my Lenten sacrifice. What further need was there for me to give up candy or deprive myself in other ways? God had already taken my little one to be with Him. I continued on with this attitude and kind of "blew off" the idea of any further sacrifice for a couple of weeks. Then, the weekend before Holy Week, a mom in my home school co-op posted some thoughts on a message board that she'd been struggling with and it really made me think....what is it that God has asked of me and what is it that I have willingly given to Him? There is, after all, a tremendous difference. I did not volunteer my miscarriage, rather it was something God volunteered me for. While it was (and is still) a huge sacrifice and growth experience, it was not something that I willed to happen. This realization was HUGE for me. My Holy Week took an amazing turn for the better and our home was filled with love, peace, prayer, and reflection...well, as much as it could be with 6 children ages 10 and under with a husband out of town for the week! :-)

Our Easter day was amazing! We attended the sunrise Mass and it was beautiful. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping away as we walked into church.

The Krafts after Easter Mass. Joseph could not stop fiddling with his tie!

After Mass, we came home and had a lovely breakfast of egg bake, fruit salad and resurrection rolls. Then we changed out of our Sunday best and headed out for an egg hunt in the lovely Spring-like (finally!) weather.

Esther enjoyed the egg hunt so much that the only way to get her to voluntarily come back inside was to leave a trail of eggs to the door!

We had a lovely young neighbor couple and their son over for dinner. After eating, we had this yummy lamb cake and ice cream for dessert. This is the first year that I made a lamb cake and it was a hit! It will definitely become a part of our Easter dinner tradition!

It actually turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself!

And, we can't forget about the resurrection scene. We made the cave last year. It was a time consuming project involving ply-wood, chicken wire, many layers of paper mache, and spray paint. Since that was done, we made the resurrection set of paper dolls from Catholic Icing. The kids had a great time with it and are still having fun playing/acting out the Easter story. After all, the Easter season is 50 days long. That's even longer than Lent!

The empty tomb and resurrection characters sit atop our mantle with the "Alleluia" banner!

I hope that your Easter was as joyous and filled with wonderful memories as ours.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Holy Week

2011-04-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Lord, I offer you all of me, all that I am and all that I am not.

I offer you every good decision and every regrettable mistake,

every great accomplishment and every missed opportunity,

every divinely inspired gift and every unapplied talent,

every success and every miserable failure.

I offer you all joy and all heartache, every kindness and every bitterness to be forgotten,

every twinkle in my eye and every tear flowing down my cheek,

every great love and each lost or irrecoverable act of charity.

I offer you every quiet reflective moment and all of the unneeded chaos around me,

all things holy and good in me and all things in need of greater purification.

I give you every joyful memory and every bitter foul pain,

each future moment and every missed opportunity to love,

every kind act and each regrettable harsh word,

all meekness and humility within me and every misplaced prideful thought,

every virtue and every weak vice, every laugh and all misery mixed with weeping.

I give you every healthy breath and every weakness of mind and body,

every attempt at chastity and every unworthy lustful thought,

every restful repose and every anxious sleepless night.

O Lord, you can have all of me, the beauty that you've deposited deep within me and the emptiness of my sinful thoughts. I love you and am yours completely.

Amen.

Prayer adapted from catholicprayercards.com

This Moment

2011-04-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

This moment....one photo....no words.

For more moments visit soulemama

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Day of Silence

2011-04-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

I just heard about something called the "Day of Silence" on our Catholic radio station. Please read the article and then take action to find out what is going on at your child's school.

I suppose the first argument used in defense of this Day of Silence is freedom of speech. However, the idea is that students and staff (yes, I said staff!) are allowed to remain silent all day. This infringes upon the learning environment. If you intend to keep your child home as the AFA suggests, please call your child's school to let them know why you are doing so. The schools receive federal funding by attendance and if there is a huge number of students missing due to a particular cause, it is bound to catch the attention of the administration.

We home school, so this does not directly affect me. I was appalled to discover that there are so many schools who allow the student led organizations to promote this within their schools. Again, please read the article so that you know what is going on.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Not Really Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

These are the business cards left behind by the realtors who bring clients through our home. We're accumulating quite the collection!

Showings, showings, showings. I have a love/hate relationship with them. I will never turn away a showing because that could be "the one" who decides to buy the house. So the children and I scurry around for about four hours dusting, scrubbing, vacuuming, polishing, and tidying until the house shines.

Over the weekend we lowered the price again and decided to up the pay-out percentage to the agent who brings a client in to buy our home. We had a showing on Sunday, one on Wednesday, and one scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I guess that the new pricing seems to be bringing them in at least.

Please keep us in your prayers. Of course, we'd like the house to sell so that we can move closer to the Church of St. Paul and be near other large home schooling families. But, more importantly, that we don't lose sight of what it is that God wants for us. We need patience in waiting for God's plan to unfold. I was reminded of that today by something that Melody posted over at her blog.

I'm off to get ready for bed, read the bible, and have some prayer time with my wonderful husband. Ahhh...life is good! :-)

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Go Visit Our Field of Little Flowers Giveaway!

2011-04-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here's another giveaway hosted by one of my blogging (and real life) buddies. Grace over at Our Field of Little Flowers is a homeschooling mom of 7. We got to know each other at a reading workshop a few years back and our families have become good friends over the years. She is a fabulous woman whose friendship I greatly value. Grace has an extra Palm Sunday figurine set that she's giving away. Head on over to her site to leave a comment to have your name thrown into the hat.

(Palm Sunday Set description) These resin figures depict Jesus' ride into Jerusalem. Display this detailed tabletopper at Easter on your mantel, buffet table or as a centerpiece. (8 pcs. per set) Arch, 10 3/4"; figures, 3" to 4 1/2". © OTC

Good luck and God Bless!

Heather :-)

Go Visit Blossoming Joy's Gratitude Giveaway

2011-04-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Melody over at Blossoming Joy is hosting a Gratitude Giveaway. She is a fellow homeschooling mom and devout Catholic. I have learned so much from her and have enjoyed getting to "know" her through her blog. Take a moment to think about what you are thankful for and leave a comment on her blog to be entered in the drawing.

She has put together two great Easter baskets. I donated a few items - you'll have to take a peek to see what's in them!

I must admit that I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about all the many blessings in my life. My list gets longer and longer each time I sit down to reflect. As we approach Holy Week, I am so thankful that Jesus came to die for my sins - now THAT is what love is all about! My fabulous husband and lovely children are next on my list. Our health insurance and health care system have blessed me immensely these past few weeks as we worked through our miscarriage. All of the day to day things that I often take for granted - my home, food, clean water, appliances, a vehicle to drive, clothing - these things often fly under my gratitude radar, but must be properly remembered and appreciated. Finally, I pray that I may always share my many gifts and blessings however and whenever the Lord gives me the opportunity to do so.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Pro Life Prayers

2011-04-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 weeks since my miscarriage. For the most part, I have more good moments than bad. I am laughing and enjoying life more than I am grieving and crying. Today was the day that my Pro Life group from church was scheduled to go and pray outside of a local hospital that performs abortions as a part of the 40 Days for Life Campaign. It took about an hour to get there. When we got there, my daughters and I said a rosary and then we had some quiet prayer and reflection time.

The thought that I can't seem to wrap my mind around is that there are women who CHOOSE to force a miscarriage on their body. One of the most painful (physically, emotionally and spiritually) things that I have experienced and wouldn't wish upon anyone is considered reproductive health care in our country. I don't know how to process that. I can only pray for all those promoting and selling the lies of abortion, that they will have a conversion of heart. That was what I prayed for today in my quiet prayer time.

Haley and Madeline were so happy to be there. They both commented about how quickly our hour passed by and that they would like to go again.

Along the same pro-life topic, our family is taking part in a walk for a local women's clinic. The kids are super excited! It is only 2 miles which is totally do-able for the whole family. I encourage you to try to find a walk in your area. It is a great way to get out in your neighborhoods and communities to fund-raise and raise awareness for the pro life cause.

Also, have you taken notice of any of the pro-life billboards that have been popping up around the country? And have you heard the buzz that they're creating in the mainstream media?

This billboard features an image of President Obama and was up in Chicago.

Thatsabortion.com sponsored this billboard. You may be interested in checking out their site.

This billboard was up in New York City.

I have written about the disproportionate numbers of abortions that occur in the African-American population previously. I think this is a super effective visual to make that very point.

Wow - I could go on and on. There is so much happening within the pro-life movement. We have so much progress to praise God for! But there is still much work to be done. Abortion has been legal in this country for 38 years and millions of defenseless mothers have allowed their children to be slaughtered. We must make our voices heard and stand up for the rights of the unborn. Pray for the courage, wisdom and compassion to be an effective tool in this fight.

As a side note, we had yet another showing this morning but it appears that they are not interested in buying our house. Please pray for someone to make us a fair offer on our home so that we can be done with this phase of scrambling to get the house ready to show. We've been at it for a year now and it is getting tiresome. We feel so pulled toward this other church with a great home school ministry and would really like to get closer so that we can be more involved. We are invoking the intercession of St. Joseph and St. Paul. Your prayers would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Supper from the Frozen Foods Aisle

2011-04-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

I used to have an idealized vision of what it would be like to be a full time mom. The laundry always caught up. The house always clean. Home cooked dinners every night. Occasionally these things do happen, but, sometimes life gets busy. For those times, I like to have something in the freezer that makes supper time easy for me. Every now and again, I get really organized and do a big bulk cooking day and fill the freezer with home cooked meals. That hasn't happened for a while.

Todd and I really enjoy PF Chang's restaurant. But it is pricey and a quite a drive from our house, so we don't get there often. I was intrigued when I saw this in the freezer section at Sam's Club a few weeks back.

I have yet to try anything that I didn't like from PF Chang's, so I thought we'd give it a whirl. Last night, I put some rice in the steamer and heated up the frozen orange chicken and veggies. It was really yummy. I'll let Esther show you how good it was.

Yes, she actually licked her plate clean. Kinda cute when a 1 year old does it!

One of these days, I'll actually post a real recipe that requires me to do more than steam rice and heat up a frozen meal. I'm actually a decent cook and usually enjoy preparing meals for my family. But having an easy and tasty meal was great...and I'm okay with that!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

10 Tidbits About My Best Friend

2011-04-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am sooooo behind on this, but have had fun reading about everyone else's hubbies...so here it goes.

1) We grew up in the same town, but he was 3 years older than me and attended the Catholic school (I went to the public schools), so our paths didn't really cross.

2) In high school, I worked at a Dairy Queen. There was this tall, skinny kid that came in with his buddy a couple times a week. All I remember about him is that he ordered the exact same thing each time he came in...a large peanut butter crunch blizzard, extra peanut butter, extra crunch. Years later, we still laugh that I was the girl behind the counter who knew to start making the blizzard before he even ordered it!

3) We met "on-line" way before it was cool, fashionable, or common. Todd was dared to get someone to "talk" to him via the inter-university computer system. As chance would have it, he chose my name from all those logged on. To make a long story short, he won the bet and made contact with me.

4) During our courtship and engagement, we never lived in the same city. He was in Fargo, ND and I was in Minot, ND for the first year. After that, he moved to Minneapolis, MN and I stayed in Minot.

5) We dated for a year and were engaged for a year.

6) We were married for just over a year when we found out that we were expecting our first baby.

7) He is a problem solver. I over react and tend to be a bit overly emotional. Together, we balance each other out perfectly!

8) He has the most unique sense of humor. I still, to this day, don't know when he's telling the truth or pulling my leg.

9) He enjoys golf and is quite gifted at it. I've never made it off the driving range and couldn't hit the ball straight if my life depended on it.

10) He loves me and the children unconditionally. He puts God first and then takes care of our every need. We'll be married for 13 years this July. I am truly blessed to have him as my best friend!

Thanks for the encouragement to share about our better halves. Take a peek over at Betty Beguile's blog to read more love stories.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

No Foolin'

2011-04-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

April Fool's Day is a big deal in our house. The children like to play pranks on each other and really love "getting" somebody...especially when that somebody is mom. All year long, they search out the perfect prank. My Haley who typically will sleep as late as possible was out of bed at 5:45 am to sneak downstairs to get a few April Fool's Day surprises ready for her siblings. Her best one this year was getting her younger sister a bowl of cereal that she had secretly put green food dye in the bottom of the bowl. As Lillian ate her cereal, it began to change color. Haley could hardly contain herself at the success of her trick!

The children all had fun playing tricks on each other. However, this year's best prank award goes to Dad!

It begins like this. I yell from upstairs to the children who are downstairs, "Kids, I need daddy to come help me. I think he's in the den. Can someone get him for me?" Instantly, all the children obediently run into the den to relay the message to dad. (okay, so maybe it doesn't quite go down like that, but a mom can dream, right?!) When someone arrives at the den, this is what they see.

Hey dad, mom needs some help upstairs.

And for some reason, dad doesn't respond. Upon further examination, this is what they find.

Hmmmm...something's not right here! I think that dad just pranked the kids!

We got the idea from Family Fun's website.

Ahhhh....it felt so good to have a day of fun and laughter. After a week of sadness and tears, April Fool's Day was just what our house needed.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

How Are You Doing?

2011-03-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

How are you doing? That's a question I've been hearing a lot of. Most people that ask me don't even know about our loss over the weekend. So, I smile and say okay and we exchange pleasantries. But...how I truly am doing is a question that has a much longer answer.

My eyes leak tears pretty much all day and night. It seems as though I have no control over when I cry and when I don't. My eyes are sore and my head aches.

My heart hurts. I know that I have so many things to be thankful for. I count all my blessings and then feel even worse that I am so sad in the midst of my abundance.

My womb is empty. This is going to sound weird, but it feels as if my body is rebelling. It is confused about what has just happened. It knows pregnancy, child birth, nursing...and this is none of those.

My body and mind are tired. I think that I could lay in bed for a whole day and still feel worn out.

But, today the sun was shining. Spring is trying very hard to come. A season of growth and renewal. The children and I got out for a nice long walk and it was great to be out in the fresh air.

My parents sent me some lovely flowers. I LOVE flowers...thanks mom and dad! A fabulous neighbor friend brought me over a super fragrant hyacinth plant today. The smell and sight of these beautiful signs of spring make me happy.

They smell as wonderful as they look! Thanks mom and dad!

So, how am I doing? I guess I'm where I should be. Everyone tells me to take it easy on myself and just work through this at my own pace. I had a nice visit with my doctor on Monday and he assured me that there was nothing I could have done to have prevented the miscarriage. My body did what it was supposed to do and I didn't need any medical intervention. That was a huge blessing! My children are being super helpful around the house and even seem to be bickering less with each other. My husband snuggled me this morning and just held me as I cried. It must be hard for him. What is it I want him to do or say? I don't even know. So having him just be there for me was exactly what I needed.

I am so thankful to be Catholic. I mentioned in my first post that Mother Mary has been holding my hand through all this. On my drive home from the doctor on Monday, I realized that while I cannot hold my baby, Mother Mary can. We have souls in Heaven waiting for us. That is a wonderful thing!

Mother Mary, watch over my baby until we can all be together in Heaven.

Your kind words of encouragement and prayers are greatly appreciated. Miscarriage is something that affects so many women and I now have a completely different understanding of how it overwhelmingly affects a person. Please keep our family in your prayers. They give me great comfort and strength.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Growth Through Loss

2011-03-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

I have went back and forth over whether or not to share this. It is something that Todd and I have decided to keep private in the real world, but it is an issue that so many moms deal with. I feel I need to share with all of you in my blogging world. I need to "talk" about it, but can't actually talk without breaking down into a puddle of tears. So, here it goes.

We were expecting another baby in the fall. We had just passed the 12 week mark and were preparing to share out news with the world...that's when Thursday morning happened. Nothing drastic. Just a little spotting. Perfectly normal. Only it continued on all day and into the next. So I called my doctor and he suggested an ultrasound to make sure that all was well. Turns out, all was not well.

I don't recall most of what the ultrasound technician said to me, just phrases....smaller than expected....no heartbeat....abnormal...I was physically there, but couldn't mentally take it all in. Ultrasounds have always been such an amazing experience for me. The first chance to see our baby. But this time, there was no baby to see.

So, we spent the weekend waiting for the process of miscarriage to begin. This afternoon, things kicked into high gear and were pretty intense for about 4 hours. I think that the worst of it is over. But I don't know. This is my first time down this road.

I've spent a good amount of time reading and thinking this weekend. I had the ultrasound on Friday, the Feast of the Annunciation. A joyous day marking Mary's "YES" to God. The same day we celebrate the Angel Gabriel announcing the conception of our Lord was the same day the technician announced the death of our baby. I stopped by my church after getting that news. I lit a candle and said a prayer. Then my gaze turned to a statue of the Pieta where Mary is holding the lifeless body of her beloved son. Perfect, sinless Mary was filled with sorrow. Then I realized, that she understands and knows a hurt much larger than my own. The Mother of God has been holding my hand this weekend, helping me to be strong.

Michelangelo's Pieta

I do pretty well during the day. I guess having six kiddo's to chase after can keep a person's mind off her troubles. But, at night, when they're all in bed and the house is quiet...that's when it gets hard. I have a feeling that this is going to take a while to work through.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I held Esther in my arms tonight until she fell asleep. I snuggled Eleanor in her rocking chair until she asked me to put her in her bed. I hugged and kissed the 4 big kids...probably a little too much. Life is precious and something not to be taken for granted.

The children are all doing okay and working their way through this too. They're already talking about next time....Todd and I are just trying to get through this time. Please pray for us all this week.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Raising Homemakers - Check This Out!

2011-03-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm...wonder where I could go to find over a hundred links to blogs all discussing different aspects of homemaking?

I stumbled across a great "linky" on a blog called Raising Homemakers a few minutes ago. Take a peek. There are links to over a hundred blogs and they all relate (somehow) to home making. I viewed about a dozen of them...some were really great! (others not so much, but to each her own, right?!) There is bound to be something of interest to you! I posted my DIY Laundry Soap (number 169).

Happy reading!

God Bless!

Heather :-)