Book Nook

We're obviously Julia Donaldson fans here, because we have another one of her books showcased today.  This time it's Charlie Cook's Favourite Book.  Kieran has loved this book, and we recently pulled it back out for Charlotte, who also enjoys it.  As with all her books, her rhymes are catchy and fun, while Axel Scheffler's illustrations are great.  I think he must have some special love for squirrels, though, since I think I've seen one in each book he's illustrated.  I'll have to check now to see if there's one in The Tickle Book, which is written by Ian Whybrow.  I've talked about that one before.  In this book, though, each person is reading a book that somehow features another book, so the next part will tell you about that book, and so on and so forth until it comes full circle.  It's very fun, and I highly recommend it.

As an added bonus this week, you get to see our "book nook".  Until recently, I had the bookcase upstairs in Kieran's room, but the books invariably ended up in the living room.  This weekend I was about to take a big pile of books back upstairs to put them on the shelf when I noticed that both kids were sitting by their doomoo seats thumbing through books.  At that point I decided to bring the bookcase downstairs and put their doomoo seats by it to create their own little book nook.  So far it's a hit.

Charlotte to English dictionary

Now that Charlotte's talking a lot, I end up translating a lot.  So here's the dictionary thus far:

buff = moose
'bert = Firebert, or any cat by extension
cow = car
boo = moo or boo, depending on context
mouf = mouth
off = off or on
kass/gass = kiss
buk = milk or book, depending on context
bye = bye or bite, depending on context
Kahn/Keen = Kieran
bam = lamb
bee(d) = read
bass = Mass
gass = glasses
pay = play

baf = bath

bice = rice

bohne = button

gee = piggy

dow = dinosaur or diaper, depending on context

dah-ing = dancing

cak = snack

cow = car

'pise = Enterprise (as in the Starship Enterprise)

Pa = Papa

mow = meow

cup = cup

whee = anything with wheels or that slides or said when swinging

I want = I want

bu-ee = Mummy
huff/buff = horse
bow = ball
kass = kiss
bu-key = monkey
bom = phone
Pow/PowPow = PowPow (what the kids call my dad) 

St Peregrine Novena Day 9

Suzanna Allen, Johnny's little friend, has Wilm's Tumor, a childhood cancer of the kidneys. They found it on Tuesday, May 3rd and discovered on May 4th that it had already spread to her lungs.

Normally, this is a very treatable cancer with good response to chemo and super low incidences of recurrence. However, since it has metastasized, the cancer is much more serious.

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Please join us in a novena to St. Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer patients. He himself was cured of cancer in the 1300s after receiving a vision of Jesus. Invite any and everyone you know to help us present prayers before the Father that He might heal this beautiful little girl.

A novena means we will pray this prayer every day for nine days.
For Those who are unfamiliar, this is tradition of prayer that dates back to the Apostles, gathered in the upper room following the Ascension of Jesus. As they waited for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they prayed together.

For the next nine days, we will do the same for Suzanna.

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Glorious wonder-worker, St. Peregrine, you answered the divine call with a ready spirit, and forsook all the comforts of a life of ease and all the empty honors of the world to dedicate yourself to God in the Order of His holy Mother.

You labored manfully for the salvation of souls. In union with Jesus crucified, you endured painful sufferings with such patience as to deserve to be healed miraculously of an incurable cancer in your leg by a touch of His divine hand.

Obtain for me the grace to answer every call of God and to fulfill His will in all the events of life. Enkindle in my heart a consuming zeal for the salvation of all men.

Deliver Susanna from the infirmities that afflict her body, especially the cancer that has been found.

Obtain for her, and her family, also a perfect resignation to the sufferings it may please God to send her and them, so that, imitating our crucified Savior and His sorrowful Mother, they may merit eternal glory in heaven.

St. Peregrine, pray for us and for all who invoke your aid.

Be My Echo

If you want to know what things I say a lot, just listen to Kieran.  I actually didn't realise how often I said these things until he started repeating them.  So here's the list:

- Hey, Bart (said to my husband)
- or something (said at the end of a sentence)
- How was your day, love? (said to my husband when he gets home)
- Piggy, it's time for bed, sweetheart (I often say "sweetheart" instead of a name)
- Charlotte, don't climb around at Mass (I say this to Kieran when we're getting ready for Mass)
- I won't have any 'scants (ie: accidents; obviously this is a result of potty training)
- Piggy wake up nice and dry (again, potty training)

It's a good thing I almost never swear, since he's my echo all the time.

St Peregrine Novena Day 8

Suzanna Allen, Johnny's little friend, has Wilm's Tumor, a childhood cancer of the kidneys. They found it on Tuesday, May 3rd and discovered on May 4th that it had already spread to her lungs.

Normally, this is a very treatable cancer with good response to chemo and super low incidences of recurrence. However, since it has metastasized, the cancer is much more serious.

><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+

Please join us in a novena to St. Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer patients. He himself was cured of cancer in the 1300s after receiving a vision of Jesus. Invite any and everyone you know to help us present prayers before the Father that He might heal this beautiful little girl.

A novena means we will pray this prayer every day for nine days.
For Those who are unfamiliar, this is tradition of prayer that dates back to the Apostles, gathered in the upper room following the Ascension of Jesus. As they waited for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they prayed together.

For the next nine days, we will do the same for Suzanna.

><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+


Glorious wonder-worker, St. Peregrine, you answered the divine call with a ready spirit, and forsook all the comforts of a life of ease and all the empty honors of the world to dedicate yourself to God in the Order of His holy Mother.

You labored manfully for the salvation of souls. In union with Jesus crucified, you endured painful sufferings with such patience as to deserve to be healed miraculously of an incurable cancer in your leg by a touch of His divine hand.

Obtain for me the grace to answer every call of God and to fulfill His will in all the events of life. Enkindle in my heart a consuming zeal for the salvation of all men.

Deliver Susanna from the infirmities that afflict her body, especially the cancer that has been found.

Obtain for her, and her family, also a perfect resignation to the sufferings it may please God to send her and them, so that, imitating our crucified Savior and His sorrowful Mother, they may merit eternal glory in heaven.

St. Peregrine, pray for us and for all who invoke your aid.

St Peregrine Novena Day 7

Suzanna Allen, Johnny's little friend, has Wilm's Tumor, a childhood cancer of the kidneys. They found it on Tuesday, May 3rd and discovered on May 4th that it had already spread to her lungs.

Normally, this is a very treatable cancer with good response to chemo and super low incidences of recurrence. However, since it has metastasized, the cancer is much more serious.

><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+

Please join us in a novena to St. Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer patients. He himself was cured of cancer in the 1300s after receiving a vision of Jesus. Invite any and everyone you know to help us present prayers before the Father that He might heal this beautiful little girl.

A novena means we will pray this prayer every day for nine days.
For Those who are unfamiliar, this is tradition of prayer that dates back to the Apostles, gathered in the upper room following the Ascension of Jesus. As they waited for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they prayed together.

For the next nine days, we will do the same for Suzanna.

><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+><>+


Glorious wonder-worker, St. Peregrine, you answered the divine call with a ready spirit, and forsook all the comforts of a life of ease and all the empty honors of the world to dedicate yourself to God in the Order of His holy Mother.

You labored manfully for the salvation of souls. In union with Jesus crucified, you endured painful sufferings with such patience as to deserve to be healed miraculously of an incurable cancer in your leg by a touch of His divine hand.

Obtain for me the grace to answer every call of God and to fulfill His will in all the events of life. Enkindle in my heart a consuming zeal for the salvation of all men.

Deliver Susanna from the infirmities that afflict her body, especially the cancer that has been found.

Obtain for her, and her family, also a perfect resignation to the sufferings it may please God to send her and them, so that, imitating our crucified Savior and His sorrowful Mother, they may merit eternal glory in heaven.

St. Peregrine, pray for us and for all who invoke your aid.

Hormones

Edited

I frequently read the posts on the Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths blog, so of course I checked out her latest post entitled "On Being a Hormonal Woman".  As I was reading, one quote in particular stood out to me: "Even more significiantly (for me) we fail to recognise the beauty of hormones. How they empower and enable us all to feel more deeply, to empathise, to become energised, to care."

In fact, I found myself nodding at various bits throughout the post, but that one really got to me, because I know that I am often that person who fails to recognise the beauty of my hormones with all their ups and downs.  As a teen, I absolutely hated using hormones as an excuse for my moods.  I was adamant that I would control my moods, and not be controlled by my hormones.  Now, I'm not saying I should be controlled by my hormones now, but also that I shouldn't fight against them, for this is how God has designed women.  What I used to see as only a weakness, I am now seeing as a potential strength, even if the ups and downs (or, in my case, the nausea that comes with higher oestrogen levels) can be annoying at times.  I think part of my thinking in the past came from the fact that we don't acknowledge and value the cyclic nature of our hormones. Many women suppress them through the pill, or try to ignore them or deny their influence upon us. At least I've fallen into both of those categories at different times.  The question is whether we're truly valuing who we are as women, who by nature have cyclic hormonal patterns throughout our lives, if we fail to acknowledge and accept this.

Nor should our reactions or arguments or feelings be dismissed as simply being the result of hormones.  Believe me, few things make me angrier than being told my argument isn't valid because I'm hormonal, or having someone ask me if I'm hormonal because I'm getting upset about something.  I may be hormonal at that time, but then again, I may not, and either way my argument or feelings should not be declared invalid.

I'm glad for this post at DBM so that I've had the opportunity to rethink my perceptions about my hormones.  Perhaps in the future I won't see them as the enemy to be fought against, but as a strength which can work with me.