Eternal Rest

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Charlie van Hecke, oldest son of friends Dave and Cecile.  And pray for their family as well.

Eternal Rest grand unto him, O Lord
And let Perpetual Light shine upon him
May he rest in Peace.

More Urgent Prayers for Jackie

After so much good news recently (that I haven't filled my blog viewers with, sorry) we have received a report that in a nutshell, Jackie has hypertension and her blood pressure is going up. Although they can keep the blood pressure in check with meds it harms the baby, the solution is that they will have to deliver the baby soon. Please, please pray.  The baby is 22+ weeks.  The chance of survival is very low but it is possible but will take much care and many prayers.   Please pray.  They are prepared for emergency Baptism with the matter and form with them.

For anyone so inclined to pray with our extended family, please feel free to join us in an hourly novena to St. Philomena. Any time to begin the prayers is just fine!

O faithful virgin and glorious martyr, St. Philomena, who works so many miracles on behalf of the poor and sorrowing, have pity on us. Thou knowest the multitude and diversity of our needs. Behold me at thy feet, full of misery, but full of hope. I entreat thy charity, O great Saint! Graciously hear me and obtain from God a favorable answer to the request which I now humbly lay before thee. (Mention your intentions here)

I am firmly convinced that through thy merits, through the scorn, the sufferings and the death thou didst endure, united to the merits of the Passion and death of Jesus, thy Spouse, I shall obtain what I ask of thee, and in the joy of my heart I will bless God, who is admirable in His Saints. Amen.

St. Philomena, pray for us!

St. Gerard, pray for us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Our Lady of Good Help, pray for us!

Blessing of Throats and Other Goings On

 Following our absolutely beautiful Candlemas Day Mass our priest did the St. Blaise blessing of throats.

 Following this was another one of our great potluck meals.

 Frodo was having a snack that I was introduced to.  Cut a very large slab of home made bread. Scoop out most of the middle and fill it with honey.  Really?!  Really.

 Frodo was in a band concert with some children from a local good and faithful Catholic school.  It was a real treat for him to play next to this very talented young man, who also happens to be the son of my friend who had passed away not too long ago.

Frodo breathed a big sigh of relief!

This past Saturday Frodo participated in his first Solo and Ensemble Festival.  He received a first rating on his piece! So did all the others from our homeschooling band who participated!

 Kili is crawling and all over the place.  He loves to eat out of the dustpan.  Really?! Really.

 So I said, "What should we eat for February 2nd?" I was thinking of a nice commemoration for the Feast of Our Lady's Purification, the Feast of the Presentation. The reply was "Ground Hog"  Get it... ground hog, groundhog... ground pork.  I just about laughed my fool head off... so we made our ground hog into a sausage.  Frodo formed it into the shape of a groundhog.  Really?!  Really.

 Galadriel reading to the littles.  I'm not exactly sure the expression on Marigold's face but we don't ask to many questions about pictures.

 Frodo has been busy sanding down the walls and ceiling in the new bedroom in the basement. He is very eager to get Sam, Merry and Pippin out of his room.

 Eleanor & Poppy

 Galadriel, Eowyn balancing the clock on her head? and Rosie

Eowyn and Galariel

Did I mention mischief?

That said, he just might be a candidate for the world's fastest dishwasher (youtube) 

 This Sarah's Silks sword turned out to be his prrrrrrrrrrrrrecious.

 Don't mess with me. My name is trouble.... and don't you forget it.

An absolutely delicious chicago style home made pizza.

Home Made Yogurt

 Since we have a good supply of raw milk I decided to try my hand at making home made yogurt.  Yes, that creamy, thick white blob is real homemade yogurt.  I mimicked the Frugal Girl's recipe.

 1 gallon of raw whole milk in a heavy bottomed pot.

 Bring it up to 180 degrees, this takes up to 20 minutes with cold milk.
(my next test will be to bring it only up to 165 so as to preserve the extra nutrients in raw milk)

Meanwhile place 4 quart canning jars and lids (either canning lids or plastic canning jar lids) into a pot and an little water and boil for 10 minutes, remove and just let them sit in the hot water until ready to use.

 Place pot of 180 degree milk into a sink of cool water until the milk gets down to 120 degrees. This takes about 5 minutes.

If we desire a lovely vanilla yogurt we add in 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 Tbl of vanilla during the cooling down process.  but the plain yogurt is delicious plain with fruit or with honey drizzled on it.

 Stir in your starter with a whisk.  You may use powdered starter (approximately 50c per gallon) or use a brand name 6 oz container of plain yogurt (approximately 75c per gallon).

When the milk reaches 120 simply pour it into the canning jars using a funnel and put the lids on.

 Take your 4 jars and put them into a cooler and fill with 120 degree water (we get that right from our tap) so it comes about to the top of the yogurt in the jars.

 Close the cooler and let it sit in there for 3 hours.   Then simply place in the fridge.  If you forget an leave it there 5 hours, I have found the yogurt is very forgiving!

The next day I had a nice consistency yogurt, which didn't slide of the container.

My first batch was quite runny but I tried to just heat it to 130 degrees, it was still very good and great as a smoothie but not like a nice creamy yogurt.

Be sure to check out Lady Modesty's Home Made Yogurt HERE where you can make creamy yogurt in your crockpot!  

I also want to give credit to the Frugal Girl who also gave me some inspiration to make homemade yogurt.  

Urgent Prayers

UPDATE:  She really needs many prayers. She is 22 weeks along and had a mini stroke. We need prayers for the life of both the mother and the baby.  Please pray!

Please pray for our sister-in-law Jackie.  She is having some kind of physical problems and is being taking to a hospital.

Good Reminder

We must never be discouraged or give way to anxiety…but ever have recourse to the adorable Heart of Jesus.
St. Margaret Mary

As a mother of 12 in the 21st century?  Yeah .... a good reminder.... a very good reminder.

February 2nd - Candlemas Day

According to St. Ivo of Chartres, the wax, which is formed from the juice of flowers by the bee, always considered as the emblem of virginity, signifies the virginal flesh of the Divine Infant, who diminished not, either by His conception or His birth, the spotless purity of His Blessed Mother. The same holy bishop would have us see, in the flame of our Candle, a symbol of Jesus who came to enlighten our darkness. 

 The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  On the fortieth day after the birth of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin came to the Temple to purify Herself in accordance with the custom of the Law although She was not constrained to obey the law, for She had conceived by the Power of the Holy Ghost. Nonetheless, She was minded to submit to this law for four
  reasons, namely:
● To give an example of humility
● To do homage to the Law, which Her divine Son had come to fulfill
● To put a term to the Jewish purification and to mark the beginning of the Christian purification
● To teach us to purify ourselves throughout our whole life

  The Presentation of Our Lord, Jesus, in the Temple
  The Virgin came therefore to the Temple, presented Her Son, and Redeemed Him with the sacrificial offering of the poor, a pair of turtle doves. The just man, Simeon, took the Child Jesus in his arms and blessed Him, and said to Mary His mother:  Behold this Child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a Sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.

Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace. He then who is let depart to go in peace to God, is presented as an offering to God. And in order to make known by whom he was presented, he said, For lo! mine eyes have seen Thy mercy.
Simeon

Candlemas Day
The wax of the candles signifies the virginal flesh of the Divine Infant, the wick 

figures His soul, and the flame His divinity.  
St. Anselm
  On this day, the faithful carry lighted candles. And there are four reasons for this custom:
● To remedy a pagan superstition. For of old, in the first days of February, the Romans used to light up the whole city with candles and torches, in order to  honor the goddess Februa and procure her favor with her son, Mars, in order to insure their victory over their enemies. In the month of February the Romans also
  honored the gods of the underworld. In order to win their good will for the souls of the dead, the people offered them solemn victims, and passed the night singing their praises, with lighted torches and candles. As it is difficult to wipe out such customs, Pope Sergius decreed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be honored
  each year on this day, with a blessed candle being carried in the hand. Thus the ancient usage was transformed by a new intention.
● To show forth the purity of the Virgin Mary. To impress her purity upon the minds of all, the Church ordered that we should carry lighted candles, as if to say: Most blessed Virgin, thou hast no need of purification; on the contrary, thou art all light and all purity! Such indeed was Mary's innocence that it shone forth even outside of Her, and quelled any urgency of the flesh in others. Thus the Jews tell us that although Mary was surpassing fair, no man could ever look upon Her with desire.
● To be a symbol of the procession of Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna, when they presented the Child Jesus in the Temple.
● For our edification. It teaches us that if we wish to be purified in the sight of God, we should be sincere in faith, unselfish in conduct, and righteous in intention. For the lighted candle signifies faith with good works. And the wick which is hidden in the wax represents the right intention of which Saint Gregory speaks when he says: Let your works be visible to all, but let your intention be hidden; so that we may give the example of good works to our neighbors, and yet ever desire that our virtues be unknown, by the intention we have of pleasing God alone.

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For funsies:

If Candlemas Day be bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year.

(English folklore)

When it storms and snows on Candlemas Day,

Spring is not far away;

if it's bright and clear,

Spring is not near.

(Germanic folklore)