DECLUTTERING

Anyone who knows me, knows I am always trying to get rid of things and

declutter.

It is a constant battle in a house with 6 children under the age of eight!

I try, but never seem to get rid of enough.

Well, today, I have an eye opening conversation with my dear, sweet, smart

Marcus that I would like to share with you it taught us both 

something!

 

 

This little face became the opening of a deep conversation! Thank you Timothy!!

 

 

The conversation goes like this:

 Marcus: "Mommy, why is Timmy always so happy?"

 Me: "Well, it's like this, Timmy is happy because he doesn't have a lot of things to clutter his mind and take away from his happiness and joy. He was born into the world with NO clothing, but a family that loves him.  He doesn't have very many things, and so he doesn't realize the "want/need" for more."

 Marcus: "Oh, I see. Well, he really is happy!"

Marcus with his little brother Timothy, he doesn't know the impact a smile will have!

Me: "Yes, son, he is, and we can be too...we can declutter and get rid of things in order to take our minds off all the things that need to be done or of the things we think we want or need.  We can declutter our house and our mind and be happy!"

 brief silence

Me:  "I have an example I want to share with you Marcus."

Marcus: "Okay." sits and listens again

Me:  "I really was hoping to get a Kindle to get some books downloaded for school and religious reading, BUT, because we have need to keep food on the table, clothes on our backs, heat in the house (top priority) and we need a new vehicle (top priority as well), it isn't possible for mommy to get a Kindle right now, maybe down the road it will happen, (I was looking at the Staples ad last night just to get an idea of the price.) but I really don't care. I don't care because it may make me happy for a short time, but I know in the long run, it will not be the thing that makes me happy. It is another "something" that will take up space, and in the end, I can't take it with me, so does it really matter if I have a Kindle or not? The same goes for you children, more things won't make you happy in the end, only your love for God will do that."

 Marcus: "I see, I guess you are right."

 

As the conversation ended, I finished changing Timmy's diaper, snapped his outfit back up to keep him warm, Marcus went off to get ready to eat breakfast.

 

Next thing I do is check my email.  In it was a message from a very special person, asking if I have need for a Kindle.  

Mind you, I NEVER SAID A WORD TO THIS PERSON about wishing I had one for school purposes.

 

I truly believe that the Holy Spirit had everything to do with all that transpired today from the talk with Marcus down to the email I received.

 

I will be saying some extra prayers for my benefactor throughout the day and evening.

 

  I called my husband and told him what happened and he agreed that it was intervention by God and/or the Holy Ghost. And we are being blessed in this

matter.

I hope one day you have the benefit of knowing the Spirit the way It has come to me today.  

Thank you Lord for sending such caring people into our lives, and thank you for knowing what our needs are without really saying anything to anyone.

May you all experience a declutter of heart, head and home and be more open to the gifts that God has in store for you!

God bless!

Marcus receives First Holy Communion

We honestly couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day than what we had on 

Sunday, May 26, 2013.

The sun was shining, it was warm, there was a slight breeze. It was the last Sunday of the month which is the Tridentine Mass offered by Father E. B. Connolly at St. Joseph Parish in Girardville PA.  It was also the Mass in which Marcus was to receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion for the first time. 

There was prep work involved for such a holy and joyous occasion.  First we (Brian and I) had to agree on a suit, originally I wanted black, but with the help of Father Connolly, I "gave in" and got a white one for our dear boy, It was certainly the right choice! After having the pants altered at Keller's, the suit was perfect!

Brian said keep the guest list small, not many will want to attend...when I showed him the list, he had his doubts, I told him, those that are to be there will be, sure enough, the RSVP's started coming in, turned out all but 4 of the invitees showed up. It was beautiful to see so many people that care about our child and our family attend an important event.

Even though I've been teaching Marcus his religion, in his school lessons at home, I wanted him to have more preparation for what was about to happen....Father Connolly and Miss King had a 

Holy Communion Class at 

St. Vincent in Girardville, it was about 2 weeks long, and two nights a week, which worked out well. Marcus did very well in the class, which helped put this momma's mind at ease that he was indeed prepared for his special day.

 I wanted to have some sort of small token of our appreciation for those that did come to support Marcus, so I made bookmarks, thank you Beth Ann Whitenight for the use of your machine to cut out the rosaries and cups!  There were several trips to Michael's until I had it together, but it came together well.

 

 

 The cake as you should know is where I had a lot of concern.  

I wanted it to be perfect....First Holy Communion only happens for a child once.  I shopped around and not being pleased with what I saw in the bakeries, I decided to do a bit of research and found a few things that I liked and the cake designing began. The end result was host and chalice with writing done in white, baby blue and gold.  In my eyes, it was perfect for our needs.  

 

And of course there is the "reception" after Mass...

We kept the menu simple, hot dogs, chips, potato salad, lemonade, iced tea, coffee, water, my mother-in-law was kind and bought a meat and cheese tray, the Potteigers brought fruit salad,  the Miller's brought ambrosia, and Father Connolly bought pizza and had it delivered to help feed the crew! 

The Mass was absolutely beautiful, everything went smoothly, and according to plan.  Mr. Feeney played the organ beautifully, we had 2 altar servers. 

Marcus was "introduced" to the people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

answering Father Connolly

Marcus answers Father Connolly's question: "What is the Holy Eucharist?" response: "The Holy Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ hidden under the appearances of bread and wine."  Marcus spoke those words with such confidence, he made me so proud.

 

preparing for Holy Eucharist

 

 

 

The reverence Father shows here touches my heart, he is truly a man of God, and I am thankful that he has baptized 3 of our 6 children, and pray that he will baptize our next blessing in October, in the Traditional Rite.

 

preparing for Holy Eucharist

 This was the first time Father Connolly gave First Holy Communion in the Tridentine Rite, his homily was on the Blessed Trinity, and was very insiteful.

Jesus enters Marcus for the first time

 After Mass, Mrs. Thye took this family portrait, it is the first one we had done in four years, so this is special to me.

All of the beautiful pictures on here with the exception of the cake and bookmark are courtsey of Mrs. Thye.
She did a beautiful job capturing this special day, there are many more pictures but I chose the ones I felt made the biggest statement for me.

As you can see, our family has been blessed by God in more ways than one, a wonderful family, a wonderful preist, wonderful friends, good food. 

my sweet family.

I pray that this day will always be in Marcus' heart, and that God will always be with him when making any kind of decisions.  May God bless you not only today, but always...

Love you always little man!

We have so much to be thankful and grateful for, and words can't express our gratitude enough.