As some of you know, my husband and I have been involved in teaching Marriage Preparation courses for almost as long as we’ve been married. At first we assisted a leader couple by giving the talks on sexuality, and after a number of years we felt confident enough to teach the course on our own. It’s rewarding and challenging, and we always feel honored to be a part of the beginning of these couples’ journey together.
Continue reading “Marriage Preparation: Why do it?”
When I was younger, I used to have mixed feelings about therapy. Growing up, there was certainly a stigma and even skepticism surrounding mental health, with psychology and psychiatry considered the “soft” sciences. Basically, the way out of a bad mental health spell was to keep busy and use that willpower and all would be well.
Continue reading “(Pycho)Therapy: Highly Recommend”
This fall, hubby and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Boy did that happen fast. Blink and your eyebrows sprout white hairs.
Continue reading “Twenty Years”Whenever life gets a little crazy and stressful, and even when it isn’t, my escapist pastime is to read. During the pandemic I read a lot a lot a lot. There were definitely perks to being very pregnant and having nowhere to go. But even now that we’re in the full swing of life with five kids, I always manage to make time for reading. You could say that it’s a vital part of my self-care routine.
Continue reading “When Life gets Crazy, Just Read”“Greetings in God, dearly beloved husband!“
“Greetings in God, most beloved wife and mother!“
Have you heard of the 2019 movie A Hidden Life? Written and directed by Terrence Malick, it tells the story of Franz Jagerstatter, an ordinary Austrian farmer who was caught on the wrong side of WWII. When Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938, young Franz was called away to military duty by the Nazi regime. During the months of military training and later imprisonment, Franz and his wife Franziska exchanged several letters. Following his training, the time came for Franz to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler and the Nazi regime. Franz courageously followed his conscience and refused to sign the oath, even though he knew his decision meant certain death for him and much suffering for the young family he was leaving behind. Ultimately (spoiler alert), Franz was martyred for his beliefs in 1943. Franz is currently on his way to becoming a canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
Continue reading “Franz and Franziska Jagerstatter: A Beautiful Story of Marriage”
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash
Hello world! Boy oh boy has it been a terribly long time since I’ve been here. I’ve missed you, dear blog. So what have I been up to in the last three years? Let’s see, for starters, I had a baby! Sweet baby #5 was born right smack in the middle of lockdown, and she’s turned out to be the greatest joy during a challenging time. She’s now a crazy toddler who gets into all kinds of trouble, including fishing out used Covid tests out of the garbage and drinking their contents (yup, that happened). I always said that I would love to have a baby while having teenagers in the house, and God being so good has made all my dreams come true.
Continue reading “Testing 1, 2, 3”
Reading is my passion and my comfort. Especially in these times of anxiety and uncertainty, I love to escape with a good book. If you, like me, are always looking for the next great read, check out my list of favorite books. I hope you find one or two gems here!
Continue reading “Reading in the Time of Quarantine”
This is a strange, strange season we’re living in. Never in my life has the entire world shared one single focus: the eradication of the COVID-19 virus. Here in Canada, we’ve been practicing social isolation for close to a month, and counting. As a family of six with a newly minted teenager, we have already had our share of intense, angst-ridden moments. The extroverts are bouncing off the walls and the introverts are craving some real alone time. We miss our extended family and our friends. And I really, really need a haircut.
Continue reading “The Greatest Gift of Social Isolation: Time”
Confession: I have been at low-functioning capacity (ie. in bed a lot) for a combined total of 28 weeks in the past year and a half. While this state of affairs has not been ideal, I have had plenty of time to reflect that it hasn’t come without its blessings. Because, while it has been a period filled with anxiety, worry and suffering, it is undeniable that much fruit has been borne from the pain. Every cloud truly comes with a silver lining.
Continue reading “The Perks of having Mom in bed”
Merry Christmas, dear friends! We are now right in the middle of the Christmas season, which ends on the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). So while it looks like I’m publishing this post a tad late, it’s not late at all!
One of our favorite (and easy) traditions during Christmas is to watch movies. It’s not something that we do often, so it’s truly a treat to gather together under cozy blankets and watch family movies while drinking hot chocolate. While there are a few good movies which capture the spirit of the season (It’s a Wonderful Life and The Sound of Music are musts), for a while there weren’t any movies which actually told the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it strange and sad that among the myriad of so-called Christmas movies, hardly any of them mention the reason for the season?
Continue reading “Watch this: The Nativity Story”