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.

So Much Going On..

That I haven't been able to update when I want to..Here are some things that have been going on..

Celebrated my 39th birthday..I am SO SO BLESSED!! I have wonderful family & amazing new (from Facebook) + old friends (some I've reconnected with over the year)..The Lord has been so good to our family..Even though things have been tough we're still in our home, we have food to eat and more importantly we're HAPPY, HEALTHY & TOGETHER!! So how could I complain about it!!

My parents just celebrated 40yrs of marriage together!! They have had their ups & downs *believe me* but they have a happy, holy marriage..I attribute them praying the Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet every night together as their secret..

Thanksgiving was very quiet..Just the 5 of us..We enjoyed ourselves and talked about what we all were thankful for..

Bob's grandfather has been sick..He needs prayers..Also my aunt has been very sick too..They are both the same age 88yrs old..We keep them in our Rosary intentions..Plus there have been other friends, relatives that are ill who need lifted up in prayer..So if you have a spare moment if you could say a quick Hail Mary or Our Father we'd appreciate it..

Bob is still off of work..But we're going to enjoy our time as a family together for this Advent/Christmas..That's what it's all about..And welcoming "The babe in the manger"..

I can't express to all of you the joy in my heart I feel..It seems like when the world or life is at it's worst is when Our Lord is at HIS BEST!! I love my husband, children, family, & friends!!! I am so lucky to be able to be home with my kids..I am fortunate to be able to homeschool them..I am very lucky to have the best, most loving husband in the world..He does his best to provide for us and to keep me home & homeschooling..I would be so LOST without him..Besides God he's my ROCK!!

When Bob & I are out or away I always miss my "little piece of heaven"..My wish for all of you this Advent/Christmas season is that you all feel the same way!! Love the Lord, Love Life. & Love Each Other!!

More later..I promise!! :) *But who knows*

My Poor Neglected Blog

Yes..Once again I have neglected my blog..But I *promise* that I will start getting back to it..Here are a few things that have happened while I've been gone..

1.) Kids started back to school..We've been using Seton and it's been slow but sure..We're trying to get into a groove. We're on week 9 and are taking 1st quarter tests..

2.) I have a new hobby..Photography..Bob got me a Nikon D3000 for my birthday, Christmas & 15th Anniversary present..I LOVE it..I will be posting pictures on here..

3.) My 39th birthday is coming up..I feel very blessed that God has given me everything I want..My faith, my husband, my kids, my family & friends!! I couldn't ask for anything more..

I will be doing more review too..Plus I will update you on our school day, family stuff, religious items & whatever else I have to get off my chest..

I leave you with a few pictures I've taken with my new camera..

The city I love..

Sun peeking out from Church..

I'll post more pictures..There is so much that has been going on..Please bare with me once again!! God Bless!!

Summer Coming To A Close..

I have been so busy this past summer..Jenna's graduation, my nephew's graduation, etc..I am now getting some time to post..

One of the really neat things that I got to do this summer is to be on the radio! Well actually internet radio or a blog cast (I guess you would call it)..I was on The Catholic Revolver with Jerry Weber.. It was a great experience..I got to talk about Catholic Homeschooling & our wonderful Catholic religion..At first I was really nervous, so I prayed to the Holy Spirit & it seems like he just took over..I couldn't believe the things I was saying! And Jerry is so nice and made me feel comfortable too..My interview should be still archived there..If you get a chance check it out and tell me what you think..

Also Bob & I took the plunge and enrolled Ari & Trev into Seton this year..We are so happy that we did..I think our school year will be much better..Ari & Trev aren't to thrilled with the prospect of more work, but OH WELL..In my opinion Seton Home Study has a wonderful curriculum, and is what Bob and I are looking for..Plus they have lesson plans, tests online, etc.. So we shall see..Our 6th year of homeschooling starts Aug. 30th..I can't wait to start!! Taking the summer off is great, but we really need to get back to learning..

I purchased a few books this summer also..Most are history related..I haven't started reading them yet..I'm still in the process of reading my book that I have to review for the Catholic Company..

Hmmm..what else..There has been alot going on and I can't think of what else to write..So I will end this post now, and hopefully (*cross your fingers*) I will update in a few days..Hope you all are having a wonderful summer..

Our Summer So Far...

On our way to Ohio for our nephew's graduation party..Trevor fell asleep..

The kids in the swimming pool at the motel we stayed at..They loved it!!

Our nephew's graduation party..

Sisters..

We have been very busy lately..With my nephew's graduation party, Our Father's Day baseball game (which I got sun poisoning from), & then getting ready for Jenna's graduation party..I will post more pictures later..Plus give you all an update on what's coming up for St. Peter's!! We're moving into very exciting times here...