9 month old Funny Guy

Jacob has now had equal amount of life in and out of the womb! It's a big deal, y'all. Does it mean my baby weight has to have been eradicated as well? In true Dawson fashion I have 1 picture in my phone of Jacob. He is 75th percentile in both weight and height... he's 28 inches long and 23 1/2 pounds! This guys knows he is loved and knows that he is funny. This is his sweet eyes face. He can make it on command and it looks just like that every time. So stinkin' funny. What a gift it it to be Jacob's mommy!

Suffering : difficult but necessary

We all struggle to want to suffer, but the truth is that suffering is the way we can 1) gain a better understanding of Christ's love for us 2) gives us a chance to console Jesus in His sufferings as He looks on a world that rejects His gifts and 3) helps us to gain humility in order that we might better accept God's providence and recognize His mercy... among many other benefits. To quote Pope Benedict XVI. “The world offers you comfort, you were not made for comfort, but for greatness.

And aricle by Thomas J. Neal, Ph.D. --- A veritable over-indulgence in spiritual goods, bordering on gluttony. That’s what time at IPF in Omaha amounts to for me. My one hope for salvation is to obey the counsel of St Augustine to all would-be teachers: “What you learn you learn not so you might arrogantly boast or greedily hoard what you come to know, but that you might give it all away.” That is the joy of acquisition: giving it all away. Ruski Proverb Anyway, in a talk I heard today a priest-theologian referred to a Russian saying that, he said, circles among the clergy: priests are ordained to help people suffer well. That saying led my mind to an extraordinary man I came to know in 2009 who is presently dying in a hospice. Not long before he began to face the final crisis in his long battle with his illness he wrote me a one-line email: “Tom, pray that I might suffer well.” Not, “pray that I might be healed,” but “pray that I might suffer well.” Now, he fought mightily to be restored to health; he did all he reasonably could to stave off death. But he also understood that life is de facto filled with sufferings great and small, and that the most-essential vocation of every human being is not to ‘be well’ but to ‘love well.’ And it is in suffering, one might say, that we find the greatest test of our love for God and for neighbor; that we encounter the greatest opportunity to love with depth, with force, with sacrifice. An old Siberian woman at my Dad’s church once said to me, “You Americans do not know how to suffer, which is why you have so little depth.” After taking some offense at that, I realized that it was spot on – certainly in my case it did. To the same effect, a mystic-woman I met in D.C. (who lived through Dachau) in 1991 said to me, "God wishes you to offer Him your crosses, not throw them in His face." Costly Chrism So I have encouraged these men, these seminarians at IPF that I am privileged to be teaching, to be fully aware of this calling. The sacred and fragrant Chrism that will one day seal their hands for divine service flows freely from the bloodied body of the Christ, the Eternal God who suffered with infinite love for and with us and for our salvation. The Sacraments they will celebrate and communicate come forth from the violently opened side of Christ, costly Gifts that beckon from us a like response. And if it is true that the priest is to help us suffer well, it is also true that we faithful must desire to suffer well. My friend, as he nears death, is a white martyr, a witness to this truth lived out in extremis. May I have the courage to one day pray, and not just admire, his prayer. ------ A great book that dives deep into the struggles we face with suffering is this: Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat- Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius BY (now Father) Michael E. Gaitley

Our beautiful Children...

Thought I would share- in case you didn't already know- that my children take my breath away~

Small catch up

In no particular order: We have a new-to-us canoe. We were in the paper for dressing as cows from head to toe for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a (which meant free meals for us). I took a day trip with my mama and all three kiddos to Houston. And I'm just returning to this post after starting it this morning... so I don't remember what else I wanted to say. Like that?

Book Study that meets once AND will change your life!

Hey hey, ladies! It's time. I have been saying I am going to do it and I just need to jump in and get started. So here's what I propose: The book of which I speak - Mother's Rule of Life: How to bring order to your home and peace to your soul- has changed my life. I want to spread the word to you as many mamas as I can- particularly those who are staying home and/or thinking (even thinking) about homeschooling. Even if you have all your kids in school, if you have small children, grown children, no children, this book will help to put it all in perspective. The "Rule" of which Holly writes about refers to the same idea used in monastic communities, a rule of life by which they live, eat, pray, play, and work. This book takes the first half to describe the 5 P's that we are to have concern for in our daily living: Prayer, partner, person, parent, provider. Then she takes the second half and walks you through "writing your rule" or "putting your rule together." Everything from daily chores (who does them and when) to scheduling dates with your hubby, to seasonal activities, to an exact structuring of your prayer life. I must say that, since creating my rule and in it's first stages of implementation, I have more time to pray, feel less flustered about the mounds of laundry and dishes, am able to pray more frequently throughout the day, get my coffee break almost everyday, and have more time to be present to my kids and my husband. I certainly do NOT wake up earlier to do any of it, either. I propose that we all order this book (super cheap on amazon- mine was $4 used including shipping). I propose that we all read it. On our own time, of course and meet once to discuss the book and help each other out. I will schedule a time/place at the beginning of August to meet at the Family Life Center and (with paper and pencils in hand) work together to write/rewrite/talk about our rule of life. Tentatively I will say August 9th at 6:30 pm at the Family Life Center. (Out of town friends you can ALL stay at my house :). The book is not long and you will devour it like I did and won't need to worry about drafting it until we meet if you wish. I have been in touch with the author and I can ask her any amount of questions that you wish as well. Please let me know if you are going to do this and I will know which room to schedule (if at all). I will also create a facebook group and ANYone is invited. If you see anyone on this email list that is missing (please email them and ask them to come). Please consider joining me. Blessings.