Glasses Tutorial

Having correct vision is essential to functioning on a daily basis. I hope this tutorial will help you on your daily journey. Peace, my friends, peace.

Catholic Art Saturday/Loretto Staircase

Loretto Chapel Staircase

Santa Fe, New Mexico

When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.
The Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.
The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase."
Here's the website: http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html

Wahoo! Bishop Conley!

It seems Bisop Conley of Denver Colorado has concerns over the Girl Scouts as well.
 Below is the article.

DENVER, Colorado, June 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Denver Catholic bishop is warning parents that membership in the Girl Scouts could carry the danger of making their daughters more receptive to the pro-abortion agenda.
In a Wednesday column for the Denver Catholic Register, Denver Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley observes that in the last year a growing number of parents and youth ministers have shared concerns with him over the Girl Scouts alignment with groups advocating abortion.
He urges parents to browse for themselves the websites of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) to see the organization’s approach to “sexuality, ‘choice’, and reproductive issues,” saying this exercise “may be a sobering experience.”
The Girl Scouts have faced strong criticism especially in the last year after the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) revealed that they participated in a United Nations workshop distributing the Planned Parenthood sex education pamphlet “Happy, Healthy, and Hot.”
The pamphlet instructs young girls not to think of sex as “just about vaginal or anal intercourse.” “There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!” it states.
Just last month, two teenage girls went public with their decision to leave the Girl Scouts after eight years because of the organization’s ties to Planned Parenthood.
In his column, Bishop Conley quotes a youth minister who warned that girls who have been influenced by Girl Scouts USA will be “more receptive” to the pro-abortion and pro-contraception agenda.
“It’s hard to imagine that a girl who remains involved with Girl Scouts into young adulthood won’t eventually learn of the connections her organization has with ‘pro-choice’, pro-contraception and ‘reproductive freedom’ groups,” the youth minister wrote. “If she was introduced to GSUSA through her parents and her local parish, then that will inevitably create contradictions between her Catholic faith and her Scouting experience.”
The bishop notes that Scouting’s structures allow local troops to have a certain amount of autonomy, but nevertheless he says the activities and orientations of the international and national Scout bodies have “an important trickle-down effect.” “This is exactly why ‘pro-choice’ organizations have worked to develop connections with the Scouting movement,” he writes.
“Parents, as the primary educators of their children, have every right to insist that their beliefs, especially their moral and religious beliefs, be respected—not undermined—by the organizations to which they entrust their children,” he says. “Parents need to remain alert to the content of their daughters’ activities. And Catholics involved in the Girl Scouting movement should make it clear to leadership that Scouting is only a means to an end—the proper formation of young character.”
“It’s not an end in itself; and should Scouting ever fail in that proper formation, other groups can be found or formed to take its place,” he concludes.

Attitude

It's finally happened. We have a teenager. I hear it all the time..."Look out, here comes the attitude!" I've seen this "attitude" a few times. He's tried to make his appearance and he's tried to claim his stake on a few of my children. I won't allow it. I won't have sullen faces, rolling eyes, stomping rebellious feet, smart mouths, slamming doors, and or any form of disrespectful behavior! This is war. I am fighting for their souls. Body language is a HUGE part of how we communicate as people. This is an area that we as parents have to nip in the bud before it blossoms into stink weeds. Just because hormones are changing and growing doesn't mean poor behavior and disrespectful attitudes should be tolerated. We have to NOT tolerate it and we must prevent it from manifesting into a habit. As "they" say, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." We aren't helpless victims to our children. Laziness is all around us and we must resist the temptation to ignore it, or say to ourselves, "This is just a stage, it will pass." Yes, it will pass into disrespect not only for parental authority but for all authority...even the authority of God. I can't claim to love my children if I don't help them establish healthy habits and avoid sinful habits.
"Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death. " Proverbs 19:18

8th Grade Promotion

Our homeschool group, Holy Family Home Educators, has a graduation Mass/ceremony every year for Seniors and 8th graders. Usually the Mass is said by our Bishop, Michael Jackels. Unfortunately, Bishop Jackel's father was in an accident outside of Sacramento and died in the night. Please keep his father, Kenneth and mother, Ramona, and the rest of the Jackels family in your prayers. We were blessed to have Father John Lanzrath with us.

Here's the cake I made..I was feeling a little down about the unperfectness of it. Don lovingly put his arm around me and said, "Just think, Honey, you could open up a cake shop and your slogan could be, "Debi's Cakes..they taste better than they look."

Noah's godparents, Shirley and Doug.

Our family

Shoe Tutorial

I love tutorials, you can learn how to do anything from installing a hot water heater to learning gymnastics. I was reading an article on how to have a successful blog and the one thing that stuck out to me was, to be yourself and to share things you are good at. Admittedly, I am not an expert. But there are few things I can do.....and with this tutorial, you can too.

Honey Do

Don took a week of vacation to complete a pretty hefty honey-do list. He finished 7 more cabinets in the kitchen.

The back deck was partially missing so he finished it...for now...we hope to put up trim along the bottom and add some built-in benches and railing...someday. Oh and stain it...sigh

The garage has been complete chaos since the spring...bikes were basically just thrown in a heap in the middle of the garage. Don built a bike rack so each child has a place to put them away. He also moved another truckload of sand along with 4 wonderful friends to continue filling in the pool....that seems like a never ending project! He also helped at our parish work day. I don't know what we would do without him!!