Getting To Yes
When my family migrated to the United States in 1986, I had no idea what God had in store for me. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to finish college and settle down with whomever God had picked out for me, at age 27, after a courtship of at least five years… but God...
John Lillis and Lifeboat Coffee
Typing this on a (still!) chilly spring morning while sipping John Lillis' Lifeboat Coffee. Yum!! I first heard about Lifeboat Coffee through Facebook friends, and as we're always on the look-out for pro-life businesses to support, I added Lifeboat to my shopping...
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...
No Need for Divorce in the Philippines, Part 3 (Q&A)
Link to Part 1. Link to Part 2. Q. What about people who can't afford legal services? A. There are legal aid offices which provide free legal services in the Philippines, though not many. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has chapters all over the Philippines. If...
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...
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...
Homeschooling First Grade Science (A Sample Curriculum)
Posting this for my friend Madora who asked for a bit of guidance on how to homeschool Science with a first grader without the use of a textbook. Prior to fifth grade and often even beyond, I rarely use a textbook. I find that living books very much fit our...
How I Didn’t Teach Science
A close friend and fairly new homeschooling mom recently asked, "How do you teach science?" I told her the truth. "I don't." There was a time, years ago, when I would have been embarrassed to say that, because I would have interpreted my own answer as an admittance of...
@D&G&E: #blessthechildren
While the "adults" are having a Twitter war and calling for boycotts, there's this: Lettera a Dolce e Gabbana da sei figli cresciuti da coppie gay: «Grazie per il vostro coraggio» The English translation is here: Dear Dolce & Gabbana- a letter of support from children...
Contraception vs. NFP in Catholic Philippines
Oh yes, it’s Lent. It seems the anti-life and anti-family movements are out in full force again. Did funding come in recently? In just the past week, several articles have been published targeting the Catholic church yet again for its [archaic, primitive, bigoted,...
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,...