No To Divorce (A Guest Blog Post)
[This is a blog post from Veronica Cleofe-Alejar. Nikka is wife to Dong Alejar, and mother to four, two girls and two boys ages 2 to 10. She gave up her broadcasting career after the Lord converted her, but continues to use her skills and talents in the service of the...
A 2nd Grade Curriculum
Posting the 2nd Grade Curriculum I'm planning for our youngest at the request of homeschooling friends. (And as always, this is subject to change at any time for any reason.) Religion: Faith and Life 2 Baltimore Catechism First Communion A Life of Our Lord for...
“Catholic” Marriage in the Philippines
The conversation on legalizing divorce in the Philippines continues unabated in my circles, and last night's discussion led me to an AHA! moment. It is common knowledge that the Philippines is "a Catholic country". However, lately it's become clearer that many...
Life Lessons from a Game of Chess
Two weeks ago, I beat my six-year-old at chess. At first I worried if I should let him win some of the time, but after talking it over with hubby and mom friends, decided not to go easy on him. That's how we did it with the older kids, but I needed a refresher course...
No Need for Divorce in the Philippines, Part 2
I received several comments on my previous blog post on divorce, so here's Part 2. Mostly what I'm seeing is that people have a lot of misconceptions about what divorce is vs. annulment. I myself am not an expert and rely on people to educate me on these things, but I...
When the Cake Becomes the Cross
Today, while my hubby cleared spaces of dried brush and old wood, our 6-year-old ran around enjoying the sun and the chill air; I planted seeds. "As soon as the ground can be worked", said most of the packets. This was as good a time as any to get started. I've had...
Some Prayer Intentions for the Triduum
Specific prayer intentions, if you could join me in prayer the rest of this Holy Week for the following: April is Autism Awareness Month, so I’m praying and remembering my friends KCand Mary Ellen and their families. Also praying for those living with...
No Need for Divorce in the Philippines
In just the past week, Philippine news outlets, plus several international ones, published almost 50 articles on divorce, and how oppressive it is to keep Filipinos from having access to this 'unmet need'. There are too many intertwined issues which cannot all be...
Chicken with Almond Sauce on St. Frances of Rome’s Feast Day, March 9
Today we're celebrating St. Frances of Rome (click here for her fascinating story), so for dinner I've made a chicken dish which dates back to the Middle Ages. Since St. Frances was a good home manager I could imagine her directing the servants to pound the nuts and...
Where I Get My Pro-Life News and Commentary
A friend, Francis B., requested a list of my sources for pro-life news. So, in no particular order, my favorites: General Crisis Magazine First Things Catholic World Report MercatorNet NewAdvent.org National Catholic Register Abortion Live Action News Americans United...
The Plan for Lent 2015
- Commitment to daily Mass whenever we have a car at our disposal. (This sentence was very hard to type with it being 1 degree F outside. UGH. Please pray for me.) - Confession every two weeks. - Adoration on Wednesday evenings. - Mom's Reading Material: Sheen,...
Further Up and Further In: The Adventure of Raising Catholic Teens
I started this post days ago. A discussion at the 4Real forums called my attention to this article, and I quickly typed up some notes -- things I wanted to cover in response. That very night, with this post still in my drafts folder, I got a long email from our...
It’s Not About Rabbits, But Maybe It’s Not About You Either
It's been a little over 24 hours since I woke up to Facebook hopping (pun unintended) because of a remark the Pope made on the plane to Rome from Manila, where he spent four days with the Filipino people, celebrating, teaching, loving. Many are upset because once...
The Real Presence
It’s St. John Paul II’s Feast Day!!
Our paper dolls came just in time! So we'll be playing with those in the morning, hopefully while I read aloud Karol from Poland. "Hopefully" because we can't find it right now, though Nino says it's upstairs on his bookshelf. We'll start out in the morning with...