Family Activity on June 22nd - T Bones game

On Sunday June 22nd we met at a T-Bones game. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground, rolling down the grassy hill, blowing bubbles and watching some of the game! A few bumps and bruises after being told "don't do that or you'll get hurt" so it was so hard not to say "I told you so" to the kiddies! :) Looking forward to seeing more of the group at the upcoming events.

Why do they call it Summer Vacation?

I hope all of you are enjoying your summers so far. For some it's a time to slow down the pace and relax a little....for others it's busier than during the school year....still not what any of us would really consider a vacation!
I am trying to figure out if I am going to sign up my kids for any activities this summer. I am thinking swimming lessons would be great for both since John will be 4 in about a month and Alyssa will be turning 6 in September.

It was nice meeting up for the Mom's Time Out on Tuesday night. The next Mom's Time Out will be on Tuesday, July 15th at Mi Ranchito (14154 119th) which is a walk from my house but I will miss out on the fun. I will be on a family trip (note - I did not call it a vacation - because it will not be one....vacation's are relaxing times - like to the beach!) to see my parents two brothers and sister and their families. We will be meeting up at a rental home on Lake Michigan. We will also be stopping in Chicago to see my husband's grandma, parents, and two sisters and their families. Will be nice to see everyone since it's been too long. And I will get to see my nieces - twin girls born in November last year - who I haven't seen yet!

Does anyone else have any trips or plans for this summer?
Any fun camps or activities your kiddies are involved in?

LENT 2008

This year for Lent my family is trying something new. For the period of Lent, we've decided to put a moratorium on our spending. We'll pay bills and buy groceries, of course, but trips to Target, Wal-mart, the mall...all out. We're cutting all fast food, take-out, coffee trips, liquor store runs, the center of Sam's, etc. We spend a ton of money on sitters to attend meetings and social functions, so whatever can't be traded with family members or other families...out. Valentine's day will be homemade this year and all family outings will be walks and parks. We're consolidating driving trips and using the SUV only when necessary. We talked with Joe, who will soon be four, about turning off lights as we leave rooms, wearing our clothes until they are really dirty, keeping the thermostat down and wearing extra layers and reusing and recycling whatever we can...how being a good steward of the earth is an excellent way to honor God. Each sacrifice should remind us of His grace and mercy. The money we save will then go to Lift High the Cross. I'm nervous and excited about this Lenten challenge; I've always taken on a solo sacrifice: no caffeine, no fast food, no cursing, so involving the entire family will, with hope, prove fruitful!

Use this space to share other ideas about how your family is using Lent to grow closer to Christ. We all need more ideas!

Soup's On!

Okay,ladies! Here's the request for soup recipes from several weeks ago. Print 'em out for the next stretch of chilly weather we seem to be in for. Here is my standby recipe for chicken stock that seems to change each batch. It is ideal for chicken noodle or pork wonton or vegetable. I will often freeze 1 cup baggies of it for individual servings, to add to rice, or for when I'm out of canned broth. Enjoy!

Basic Stock
1 whole chicken (I love buying the roasted chickens at the grocery. Serve it for dinner and use what is left of the carcass for the soup!
1 onion, cut in quarters
2-3 carrots or a handful of baby carrots
2-3 stalks of celery
1/2 tomato (I've also used a squirt of ketchup if I'm out!)
1-2 bullion cubes (more if your chicken carcass is skimpy)
fresh parsley
salt
pepper
*other "last day" veggies and random herbs I've thrown in the pot: turnips, green onion, shallot, thyme, bay leaf

Bring the bot to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 2-3 hours, tasting frequently and adjusting seasoning. Strain off broth and pick out chicken (if using fresh). I like to refrigerate the stock overnight, then skim the fat off the top.

Chicken Noodle
Bring stock to a boil. Add chopped carrots. Boil noodles in water. Drain and add to broth.

Pork Wonton Soup
Brown lean ground pork or cut leftover pork loin into small pieces. Using store bought wonton wrappers (in the refrigerator part of the produce section), add a tsp of cornstarch to 3/4 cup or so of water and mix. Use your finger to wet a "V" of the square, add the pork, and fold into a triangle. Use the paste to fold sides into an envelope. (My kids love to help with these!). Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil just until wontons float to the top. Add chopped scallions and thinly sliced mushrooms to broth, adding wontons last. Coupled with fried rice (I throw all the weeks leftover veggies and meat in!), it makes for an impressive and healthy meal!

Ordinary, Not Common

I've been thinking lately about what it means to be ordinary. Minus the dog and the .4 child, my family seemingly fits the definition. No outstanding warrants, no E! True Hollywood Story fodder--heck--my husband and I even have jobs so ordinary they are spaces on the board game, Life (Remember that one? Where a travel agent could win the Nobel Peace Prize with the right spin of the wheel?). I've been thinking how easy it is to get pulled down by being ordinary in a culture that seems to value more: more money, more stuff, more fame, more friends, more everything. It is easy to forget the blessedness in being ordinary. The holiness of an ordinary day. The graces present in household tasks than are back on the to do list as soon as they are crossed off. I'm certain Mary sighed and shook her head when Christ came in from playing in the snow--er sand--and tracked it all over the house. I've been reminded that Mary did the laundry of the Son of Man, after all. In writing about St. Therese, Michael Novak (one of my favorite Catholic writers)puts it most succinctly: "To be a saint, it is not necessary to do great things. It suffices to do all the daily tasks we face with all the love God suffuses into us, even when we do not feel its presence." St Therese is known as the "Saint of Little Ways" and her life teaches us to live with humility, to do ordinary deeds with "God's intensity". Something to think about as we mop floors and wait in carpool lanes.

For those of you who missed the January meeting, Shawna Davidson of MOMS (Ministry of Mothers Sharing) came and talked to us about many things. She recommended several books that I'll list below. If you have other spiritual reading you'd like to recommend, please let us know!

Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Jacques Philippe, George Driscoll, and Jannie Driscoll

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska by Saint Maria Faustina Kowalaska

Revelations of Divine Mercy: Daily Readings from the Diary of Blessed Faustina Kowalska by Faustyna and George W. Kosicki

Have a blessed week!
Jennie

Works Cited
Novak, Michael. “St. Thérèse, Doctor of the Church.” Crisis (December 1997).