Kirby Frustration

While Don worked his way through college, he was employed as a maintenance guy at an apartment complex. It was in this line of work, he fell in love. She was everything he dreamed of, versatile, hard working, dependable, and she could suck the dirt out of the carpet from beneath the carpet pad. Her name was Kirby and she was from the vacuum family. Unfortunately, when he obtained a better career, she was left behind. Until his wife, understanding his love and hearing repeatedly about this relationship, decides he should be reunited with Kirby. Happiness reigned in the Kingdom of Rohr once Kirby was happily home.

As the wife in this story, let me tell you how I feel. Yes, Kirby is hard working, dependable, and she sucks really well. However, she also comes in like a thousand pieces, she's heavy...really heavy, and that makes it super inconvenient living in a quad level house.


Sometimes, I just want to clean up a small crumb mess...quick. I don't want to have to assemble a vacuum like a giant Lego project(seriously it comes with a college level course on DVD so you can learn how to assemble it), pick the heavy thing up and haul it up the stairs. I'm all for high quality products, don't get me wrong, but I also crave simplicity, ease of use, and quick and ready to go products.
The greatest frustration of all is, I can't even assemble it myself, I have to ask the kids to do it for me! However sad and embarrassing that may be, it's true. You see, I failed the college level DVD assembly course.

 Do you love your vacuum??

Homeschool Pet Peeves

1. The kids eat all day long, I'm constantly kicking them out of the kitchen.
2. Finding books everywhere...and I do mean everywhere!
3. If the kids don't get it, I can't blame the teacher.
4. The dining room table looks like a paper factory.
5. The kids don't care if they wear matching clothes or not...but I do!
6. The principal takes bribes and plays favorites.(maybe this shouldn't be on this list;)
7. Our house actually looks like 8 people live in it.
8. I can never find any writing instruments...it stinks to have jot down a quick note with lip liner or a broken crayon.
9. When I tell the kids to line-up, they just stare blankly at me.
10. There are no lunch ladies that prepare lunch, serve it, and clean up the mess.

P.S. When I asked the kids what their homeschool pet-peeves were, they said, "There aren't any."
So I guess it's just me;)

Bathroom Inspiration

This winter Don and I are going to tackle the "ugly" bathroom upstairs. Once again, I have turned to our local MLS to get ideas and inspiration. All these bathrooms are from homes in the Wichita area for @ $500K. 


I love the shape of this counter and the under mount sink
 is a dream....that might not happen for us.



I like the color of this granite.

There isn't anything I don't like about this bathroom!

Do you have preference?? I am hoping to redo our bathroom for less than $200...let's see if we can stick to that!

*UPDATE*Catholicism Series

I recieved an email with this message:

FR. ROBERT BARRON'S EPIC SERIES 'CATHOLICISM' ON EWTN. Journey with Fr. Robert Barron to more than 50 locations throughout 16 countries to discover the full meaning of the Catholic faith. Be illuminated by the spiritual and artistic treasures of this global culture that claims more than one billion of the earth's people. Catch the final 6 episodes not aired on PBS, exclusively on EWTN! Begins Wed. Nov. 16 at 9PM ET. For more information visit www.ewtn.com. Don't forget you can watch EWTN online through their website.


4 friends and I purchased this 5 disc, 10 1 hour series at the Catholic Conference earlier this year.
Father Robert Barron, a priest from the archdiocese of Chicago, has released a series of videos on our Catholic faith. If you get a chance to see these or purchase them, I would highly recommend it.

We have watched about half of them, and we have been so captivated. They are beautifully shot, simple in dialogue, and rich in scripture. The series takes us across the globe and gives us the true sense of the term Catholic/Universal, making us feel that connection in faith to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I love that Fr. Barron says that the "church is more than just a community, it is a living organism."

Wouldn't it be great for every parish to play these 1X per month along with a potluck dinner and a chance to visit and discuss them? I believe them to be a wonderful source of evangelization. Click here to watch trailers.


I absolutely head over heels, love my Lord and faith and this is definitely enriching and deepening that love. I have to say that watching these makes me feel very thankful that God allowed me to be born into the one true faith....I often tell my convert friends that God allowed this because He knew I wasn't smart enough to figure it out on my own;)

A Challenge for Life

This summer at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference, I was blessed to hear Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director speak for life. Although at times, her testimony was very disturbing, she made an excellent point. She challenged us, "So what are you doing for life?"


I  have been thinking about that question ever since.


Recently, a good friend told me she going to pray at Planned Parenthood in conjunction with 40 Days for Life. I told her I would go with her. So we packed up the kids and drove to E. Central and prayed silently kneeling. We had no signs, just bowed heads, tears streaming as we prayed the sorrowful mysteries.


For both of us, this was our first time praying in front of a facility. Our family usually stands with our signs every year for the life chain, and usually we see lots of support in the form of waves, honks, and even a few cheers....and yes, the occasional rude gesture, but over the years, those have been rare.


Today, we had nothing to hold up and display. It wasn't the experience I was expecting. First, a group of teenagers strolled by pointing and laughing...we just kept on praying. We had completed the rosary, my friend had to leave, and had hit the half-way mark on the divine mercy chaplet. A man approached us and began speaking loudly and pointing at us in slurred speech. I smiled and nodded in acknowledgement of him. I wasn't worried, but once he began yelling, we finished the chaplet and decided it was time to leave. We were only there a half hour. It seems like a pretty pathetic beginning for us, but we will return... However, I feel like it's best to have at least 2 adults present, for safety reasons.

I am ashamed to say, I haven't ever really been active in any pro-life activities that have taken me out of my comfort zone.
I could go on and on about what I have failed to do, but that accomplishes nothing. I won't wallow, I will instead try to do God's will.

 It wasn't easy to be without a group and to be mocked and yelled at, but that was nothing compared to what our precious Lord endured during His passion, or the suffering of helpless tiny babies fighting for life. 

I can see why this isn't a "popular" activity.
But, it is a necessary one.  

Million Dollar Kitchens

One of my favorite pastimes is checking out our local housing market.

These kitchens are found in $1 million+ homes right here in Wichita.

Whenever I am stumped about decorating, I glean lots of great ideas this way.

I can't even imagine paying a million plus for any house...even if I could afford it! It is fun to have a look, though. Which one would you like to whip up a meal in??

A Few Read-Alouds

I wanted to share a few of the "hits" our children have loved during read-aloud time.
Disclaimer: Most of my kiddos don't actually enjoy these books until they are 5 and up...Don usually takes Charlie out of the room while I read, otherwise, nobody can hear.

These are books that I have read more than 1 time...I know I posted these in an accumulative book post before, but these 3 are worthy of their own post.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these books, every time I read them, the kids start to behave in a more loving way towards each other.

I have felt the need to reread these books lately, and once again, the love has returned!

What's great is that each story is super short...like 4 pages and at the end there is usually a reference to the catechism of the Catholic Church or a scripture or both and then 3-4 questions about the story for further discussion on the virtue covered...my kids really enjoy this part.

Oh, Narnia the Complete Chronicles, how do we love thee...so much that your cover has fallen off! There are 7 books contained in the complete chronicles which makes it easy not to have to search for a missing volume...I guess that also means if you misplace the 1 book, you've lost them all! Ha! It is hard to misplace, however, it's quite large!I am reading the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe for the 3rd time! The others I have read at least 2X as well.

C.S. Lewis has a knack of seducing the reader that propels them to keep reading...which also makes it difficult to stop after each chapter! The kids beg me..."You can't stop there, Mom!! I mean, how are we supposed to know what happens next?? You can't just keep us hanging, Mom! Please!!!!!  Just 1 more chapter...please?!?!"

My favorite book is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader...I know that I am the dragon in that story, and I have quite a few more layers of scales than Eustace;)

Anyway, you just can't go wrong with these 3 selections!

Happy Reading!!