School Days..

This week we started our 6th year of homeschooling..Although there are only 2 kids now, it's still an exciting time for me..Getting the new books, reading through them..Ariana & Trevor weren't so excited to be starting so early, but I figured it out just right that if we start on Aug. 22nd we'll be done around the time evaluations come up in May..

We have 3 days under our belts now..This week has been pretty easy so we've been getting done early..In the next few days I will share our schedule, what subjects the kids are doing, and share some photos..

It's been a lazy summer for us..Not to much going on..This fall and winter will be alittle bit more busy..Bob is entering his last semester of school..He'll graduate Dec. 15th..We're so proud of him for going back to school & accomplishing his goals..

I look forward to getting back to blogging again..I am cutting back on the Facebook & Twitter which makes Bob happy..

3 Weeks & Counting..

Until the 2011-2012 school year starts..I am trying to update the blog..I have negelected it so badly..I need to start blogging more and using Facebook & Twitter less..

So many things (some good, some bad) have been happening here..To much to explain right now but I will do so in the future..

This blog is about homeschooling mostly..But I am also going to share photos of the kids, and when we go on field trips, etc..

So I look forward to sharing again with you..Here's to a great homeschooling year!!

Here are a few pictures I've taken this summer..

One of my favorites..I love taking pictures of reflections..This was at South Park near where we live..

My kids while we were on a short mini vacation in Ohio..

Another reflection photo..This was taken at the Pittsburgh Zoo..

One of God's creatures..The praying mantis we found in our yard..

A rare picture of Bob & Me on his birthday..

May Updates

Well we're done with the school year..We had our evaluation on May 13th..The feast of Our Lady of Fatima & the 30th anniversary of Blessed Pope John Paul II near fatal shooting..We just have a few more tests to do then we can relax for the summer..

Had a quiet Easter..Mother's Day was nice..Continuing reading my bible & catechism..And saying the Rosaries more..

The kids are doing good..No problems (Thank God)..Bob is still in school, he'll graduate in December..Jenna starts beauty school in July..

I so need to pay more attention to this blog..I may revamp it..Not sure..But I want to do something to get back to blogging..It's been way to long..

Our Lenten Journey ~ 2011

This Lenten season has really been going by quickly..We've recently had 3 deaths in our family in the past few months.. Bob's grandfather passed away Dec. 7th..His aunt passed away in January and now one of his cousins just passed away March 27th..We had to go up to Ohio for a memorial service April 1st.. I forgot it was 11 yrs my own cousin Michael passed away April 1st..And our beloved Pope John Paul II passed away 6yrs ago April 2nd..Sometimes we ask ourselves "Why does God take the good people, but leave the bad ones?" I don't know why..Only Our Lord knows..But I am pretty sure he has good reason.. I went away for a "Girls Weekend" with my good friend & neighbor Nicole..We had a fun time with 8 other ladies..Nicole and I mostly took photos..Which I have to post some on here one of these days..I have been very lazy about keeping up with the blog and posting photos..I need to start..Ever since I've been on Facebook I have been neglecting my poor blog, and it came first before Facebook.. We're entering our last 9wks of the 2010-2011 year of homeschooling..It's gone by so fast..Come to think of it the years have been flying by so fast..Sometimes I wish time would stop so we can stop and smell the roses.. We've been doing well on what we've given up for Lent..And we've been reading alot of things about Lent..I have this book called "The Little Black Book" for Lent..It's very nice to read..Plus I'm still keeping up with the Bible & Catechism for the year..I'm determined to read it all!! I have a book a have to review from Dr. Ray (which I've read I just have to post the review)..It's a short book, but boy have we gotten alot out of it..I'm also trying to find a good planning book..So if anyone has any suggestions let me know.. Bob has 2 classes this semester..He'll be graduating in Sept. or Dec..I'm so proud of him..He built his own computer too..Plus he's still brewing his own beer & has gotten some of our neighbors hooked too.. My dad was in the hospital for a bowel obstruction but he's home now..Bob's aunt is in the hospital..I guess this is our time in the desert so to speak.. Happy Lent to all..God Bless..

Taking Time To Renew Myself

So..Here we are again..My posts are so far apart..I have been taking time to renew my faith & life..Things have been very crazy here..I can't begin to tell you..We've had 2 deaths in 2 months..

Our faithful Black Lab Onyx had a brush with death this past weekend..We've celebrated 4 birthdays in the last 2 months..

And here I am neglecting my blog once again..I have got to get back to blogging..Sometimes though life just takes so much time away from you..

I have begun to read the bible & the catechism..It's supposed to be a whole year..I am learning so much..Plus I have been reading more books about the faith..

School is going ok..We're slacking..We need to catch up..The kids dislike Seton very much..Nothing against them..Just to rigid for them..I think we're going to go in another direction this coming fall..

Jenna turned 20 on Feb. 17th..My nephew Luke turned 1 on Feb. 15th..Plus my mom's birthday was Feb. 11, and then there was Valentine's Day..That was a busy week..

Bob is in his second to last semester of school..If all goes well he'll graduate in Sept..

So the next few posts will be about trying to get myself & school in order..We've got to start be accountable for things..I'll detail it later..

I'm really starting to enjoy photography..I may even have a spin off blog with the pictures I've taken over the past 6 months..I want to start taking pictures of the kids projects & field trips..

That's it for now..Oh and look for more book reviews..I've got a bunch I need to publish..

My Review of The Essential Catholic Survival Guide

When I received The Essential Catholic Survival Guide in the mail I couldn't believe what I had gotten myself into. The book by the Staff of Catholic Answers was huge. It's a 533 page book, and I kept thinking "How am I ever going to get through this?"

But this book is very easy to read. And it has answers to all the questions you ever wanted to know about the Catholic faith. It starts out with "The Church & the Papacy" and ends with "Practical Apologetics." There is so much more to this book though.

There are questions and answers to some of the most common questions like "Do Catholics worship statues?" to more complex ones like "Where is Purgatory found in the Bible?"

You also have questions and answers about Birth Control, Celibacy and the Priesthood, the Great Heresies, and many, many more subjects.

Also in this book are how to answer questions from people of other faiths (i.e. Fundamentalists, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, & Jehovah's Witness) The authors give you practical and helpful tips on how to answer the questions they ask.

Towards the end of the book the authors give you helpful advice on starting out as an Apologist, and what books you should have on your bookshelf to help with the apologetics.

Finally, ending the book is Common Catholic Prayers. They have all the Mysteries of the Rosary, The Hail Mary, The Our Father, etc. and ends up with the Scriptural Reference Guide.

Even though this book took me awhile to read, it was worth it. This should be in every Catholic persons or families home. It's very easy to use, and very well written. I highly recommend it.

You can purchase this book here.

I wrote this review of The Essential Catholic Survival Guide for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and more Catholic Goods your source for Oplatki and Advent Calendars . For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and more Catholic Goods.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

I receive free product samples as a compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

Review of..2011 Catholic Almanac

Ok everyone so I am back to reviewing books again..And I read a very informative book for anybody..It's by Our Sunday Visitor and it's called 2011 Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Almanac.

When I first received this book I thought to myself "What did I get myself into?" The book is huge!! It's over 600 pages long! But as I started to delve into it, I couldn't believe what a treasure I stumbled upon. This book is wonderful. It's a great resource. I can't go into great detail about it, but I will focus on a few things.

The book is broken into 4 parts. Part One ~ News and Events, Part Two ~ The Teachings of the Catholic Church, Part Three ~ The Church Universal & Part Four ~ The Life of the Church in the World. I will go into some of these parts now.

Part One: In this part the Year in Review talks about what happened between the dates of 9/09-8/10. Then talks about the News in Depth (i.e. Papal Travels, Vatican Documents & Announcements, Special Reports, Life Issues and lastly the USCCB)

Part Two: This part discusses the Doctrine of the Catholic Church, The Church Calendar, Movable Feasts, Liturgical Life of the Church, The Sacraments of the Church, & Communion of Saints (i.e. Patron Saints, Intercessors & the people who were Canonized or Beatified in 09/10)

Part Three: Deals with Dates & Events in Church History, The Papacy and the Holy See, Roman Curia, Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, The Universal Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, The Church in the U.S., The U.S. Hierarchy, Biographies of American Bishops, the USCCB, Cultural Diversity in the Church, Statistics of the Church in the U.S., The Church in Canada, & finally ends with the Church in Mexico.

Part Four: In Part Four you can read about Consecrated Life, Apostalates & Ministries, Catholic Social Services, Education, Catholic Communications, Ecumenism, Inter religious Dialogue, Separated Eastern Churches, Reformation Churches, & Inter religious Dialogue.

There is also a Church Calendar, Glossary & Index for you to review things that you may have missed.The sections are broken into little paragraphs.There are so many that I can not write about all of them but if you look in the parts you can clearly see what they are talking about.

I HIGHLY recommend this book for Catholic Homeschoolers. It has been a great resource for my children to look up things we normally would have to look up on the Internet or some other source. But this book is great for anyone who just wants to learn more about the Faith & what's going on with it. This is a book (or resource) that every Catholic home should have in it. Kudos to Our Sunday Visitor for publishing these books every year.

As always this review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from the Catholic Company. Visit the Catholic Company to find more information on 2011 Catholic Almanac. They also are a great source for all kinds of religious gifts, books, etc.