Goodbye January.

One of February's flowers is the violet. I love violets. They stand for faithfulness, humility and chastity.

We had a nice Sunday. Josh brought Gina over around 11:30 AM and we kept her until around 4 PM, but she slept most of the time. I fed her about noon, and played with her for awhile, then she fell asleep and didn't wake up until her daddy came to get her. She is incredibly sweet.

Ron and I went to Our Lady of Atonement for Mass in the evening. The Sunday evening Mass there is always a novus ordo Mass, but in Latin. It is very reverent and beautiful. The priest and altar servers come down to the middle of the nave to read the gospel, and there are clouds of incense. I always wonder if we smell like incense when we leave. The schola chants their parts of the Mass from the choir loft. I really love going to Mass there.

Today was quiet and uneventful. I went to Mom's, then stopped at the thrift store. I found a little red fleece coat, two pair of jeans and a pair of denim crop pants, and two long sleeved pullover shirts for Aubrey. She has outgrown most of her clothes. I love finding brand name clothes still in great condition for the grands. I have to look through an awful lot of junk, but I almost always find a few treasures. The little coat will come in handy; it's supposed to get cold here again by tomorrow or Wednesday. It was 80 degrees here yesterday, and 78 today.

I made pork chops, "fried" sweet potato chips (tossed thin slices of sweet potato in a little oil, seasoned, then baked them in the oven), and peas for supper. Pretty yummy. :o)

Saturday Summary

I had to post this cute pic of Reece that I took a few days ago. I think he had a bite of cookie or something in his mouth. :o)

Can you believe that it's already the end of January? 1/12 of 2011 is already gone!

I last posted on Wednesday. I did go grocery shopping for Mom on Thursday. She's all stocked up for awhile.

Friday I had an appointment with the ophthalmologist at BAMC again, this time just for a vision exam. Although my vision has changed very little, he gave me a prescription for new lenses. I like the glasses I have now, so I'm in no hurry to get new ones. It's mostly my close-up vision that has changed; far vision is fine.

Reece and Aubrey spent the night Friday night. They brought a movie again, and we made a chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting. We read stories and told stories. I love to hear Reece tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. And he now sings the Kookaburra song perfectly! He wanted Aubrey to sing along with him on the way to Gran's this morning.

They are going to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese tomorrow, and we are going to watch Gina. The time conflicts with our usual Mass, so we'll go in the evening to Atonement. I'm looking forward to spending time with just baby Gina with no distractions. :o)

Sister and Katy got salmon pate filled beef knuckle bones today as a treat. That kept them busy all afternoon, and they didn't want to leave them outside when they came in for the night. I had to bring the bones inside and show them where I put them before they would settle down. Funny puppies. :o)

I went to confession today. I am so grateful for such a beautiful sacrament. I am so grateful to be Catholic.

Grandchildren, Biopsies, Laundry, Life

Carnations are January's flower. Isn't this one pretty?

Reece, Aubrey, Camryn and Gina were here earlier. We kept the girls while Josh and Cyrise went grocery shopping. They took Reece with them, and he enjoyed spending time with his mommy and daddy, just him. He is such a good little shopper--he loves going to the grocery store.

The girls were good. I held Gina most of the time. She is so precious. She was really trying to talk to me, and has sweetest smile ever! I gave her a bottle and she fell asleep in my arms. I didn't want to put her down, so I carried her around. Even with all the noise of the girls playing, Noggin on TV, and me bending over and doing things, she stayed asleep.

Aubrey and Camryn played for awhile, then Aubrey got really sleepy playing on the floor with a pirate boat. I asked her if she wanted to take a nap and she said no, but she was getting sleepier and sleepier. Finally I picked her up and put her on the couch and covered her up. She said, "Boat." I gave her the little pirate boat and she was asleep in two minutes holding the boat on her tummy. :o)

Cammy wanted to wake her sister up, and kept messing with her, so I put her down on the other part of the sectional. She was mad at me because she didn't want to lie down. She kept giving me mean looks that made me laugh because her mean looks are so cute. But she didn't try to get up.

Now they are at home and I am doing some of their laundry because their washing machine has stopped working again. Josh was able to fix it for awhile by fiddling with the latch, but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Ron looked down the hall toward the laundry room and said, "That's a lot of laundry!" It reminds me of when I was a young mom and had piles of laundry to do every day. But even when you're old and there's just two of you, the laundry never ends.

I have to go grocery shopping for Mom tomorrow; she's nearly out of food. I was supposed to go last night, but didn't get it done. Ron took her KFC for lunch today, and she really enjoyed that. He said there were plenty of leftovers, so she won't be hungry. She will be glad to have her pantry and fridge stocked, though.

Dr. J, who did my colonoscopy called today to give me the results of the biopsy. She confirmed that the lab found no sign of the mantle cell lymphoma at all, so that's great news. She said the two polyps she removed had pre-cancerous colon cancer cells, but now they have been removed they should cause no problems. She said I need to be checked again in five years. Normally it would be ten years, but since there were two of them, and with my lymphoma history, she wants me to do it sooner. All in all, I'm happy with the report.

And that's been my Wednesday. Hope yours was good!

Monday Chatter

Sunday was certainly a day of rest here. We went to Mass, then Mom took us out to lunch. When we came home I spent the rest of the day upstairs in our room because it's the warmest room in the house. It was gray and cold yesterday (but warmer today). I surfed the web, watched a little TV and napped. It was nice.

Today I cleaned the kitchen and straightened the little cabinet over the stove top. That's where we keep the measuring cups, funnels, food scale, birthday candles, cupcake papers and sprinkles. There is also a set of vintage Colorware metal canisters with a pussywillow design. I had forgotten about them.

Last weekend (not yesterday, but the Sunday before) we cleaned out Ron's mom's storage unit. We've paid nearly $100 a month for the unit ever since she died, and I finally convinced him to bring the stuff over here so we can sort through it, get rid of what we don't want and distribute what we do want to the kids.

Now the garage is full of junk again, but Kelly is going to come over this week to help me sort through it. We may have a garage sale, or I may freecycle most of it--haven't decided yet. I guess I'll wait and see what we're dealing with first. I have quite a bit of stuff to get rid of, too, so it's not just the stuff from storage. Things like those canisters in the cabinet.

Reece is spending the night tonight. He and Papa have gone to the store. I'll make hamburger helper for dinner when they get back. Now I'm off to feed the dogs. Have a nice evening!

My Buddy

My little sidekick came over yesterday afternoon and stayed until about 5 PM today. Both days have been sunny and gorgeous, so we played outside quite a bit.

Yesterday he wanted to go outside the fence, so we went on a "nature walk." The people down the hill from us moved out and the house is for sale, so we stopped and looked in the windows. I think the house was leased, and they had either a large combined family or a lot of teen foster kids.

I have always loved that house, but they left it a real mess inside, and there were people (probably the owners) there a couple of weeks ago cleaning it out. It still looks none too clean, and I'm sure there is a lot of work needed, but I still like it. It's being sold as is for cash only, so it must be in horrible shape inside. I wish one of our kids would buy it and fix it up, though. I've always loved the idea of a family compound. :o)

Reece enjoyed looking in the windows so much that he thought we should look in the windows of the next house, too. We didn't, because people live there. :o)

After dinner I took him to Dollar Tree and he got some play dough and a Pez candy dispenser that looks like Pluto. We used all those P words to practice the sound of the letter P. He wanted to go back there today to get some little animals in cages he had seen, but when he saw them again he decided against them. Instead he wanted another Pez and some for his little sisters. So he got a Donald Duck, and got Aubrey and Camryn a Mickey Mouse and a Tigger. And that's all he wanted to buy. He's a sweetheart.

He took his play dough to Gran's today. He likes to share his toys with her. :o) They were making fireplaces, logs and flames. No simple things like houses, trees and people for him. I love to watch Mom figuring out how to make the things he asks her to make.

We came home from Gran's and went out to lunch with Papa. Then Papa installed the little table and bench on the playset. It's coming along, slowly but surely. The weather and lack of time have kept Ron from being able to work on it much. Reece likes for me to climb up into the "fort" with him. He wants me to go down the slide, but I'm afraid I'm too big to do that. :o)

I'm so blessed to be able to spend my days with a little guy who sees so much wonder in everything. I like seeing the world through his eyes.

Funny Grandkids

Reece was with me all day today. His sisters all had appointments for check-ups this afternoon, so he stayed with me while they did that. We dropped Aubrey off at home on the way to Gran's.

We didn't do anything special, just hung out at home together. We did stop at Walgreen's for gummy worms. :o) We played hide and seek, Memory games, flash cards and watched a lot of Silly Symphonies. Oh, and we watched some Cake Boss videos, then Reece wanted to build cakes out of Duplo blocks and decorate them like Cake Boss. He's so funny. There is still a "cake" sitting here on my bed decorated with a cityscape.

One of the things our kids and grandkids have always done is repeat lines from movies or shows they've seen, and Reece has picked that up. Today, out of the blue, he said, "There's danger in them woods! Beware! The big bad wolf is lurking there." A few days ago he asked me what "lurking" was.

Once when we were at Freddie's with some of the grandchildren, Jacob stood up in the booth and loudly announced, "Soylent Green is people!" He was about 4 when he did that. He's never seen the movie, but had heard the phrase and had a t-shirt that said that.

They're all so much fun. :o)

It was still nice and warm early this morning when I put the trash cart out, but later in the morning a cold north wind started blowing and it got really cold. I've had my jacket on all day, and really don't want to go out again, but have to pick Ron up at the airport. In fact, I'd better get a move on.

Reece and Aubrey

I slept for hours yesterday afternoon and evening. I thought I'd have a hard time falling asleep that night, but I went to sleep around 11 PM or midnight and slept like a log. Kelly said I was probably sleeping off the sedation during the day.

Today I took care of some errands, went to Mom's, and called to see if Reece and Aubrey could come over. Josh said that was okay, so I went to get them. We played outside for an hour or so because it was a beautiful sunny day. They enjoyed playing on the slide, and Reece brought some of his dinosaurs out to play with on the table.

We had to go to PetsMart for dog food, then picked up fast food for dinner. After dinner we made oatmeal cookies, some plain and some with chocolate chips. They had fun helping with the cookies, and we had flour everywhere!

We talked with Papa on the phone. He said it was snowing in Kansas City and they were supposed to have 9 inches by morning! His flight was supposed to be at 9 AM, but he rescheduled it for 5 PM, hoping everything will be cleared by then. So he won't be home until tomorrow night.

Now we are all upstairs, but they don't want to go to bed. They want to play in my closet. :o) Reece took his safari animals in there, and Aubrey has a Woody doll. It's a big walk-in closet with two doors, and they are having fun. I bet they will sleep well when they are finally ready.

Uh oh. I thought it was awfully quiet, and when I looked to see what they were doing, Reece was quietly watching Aubrey who had a spray bottle of sunscreen and had sprayed it all over Papa's briefcase, the floor and some clothes. :o\ I asked Reece why he didn't tell me she was doing something naughty, and he said he didn't know. Of course she got in trouble and now we are all sad. (Just for a little while though, so that she knows we are not happy with what she did). She is making cute faces at me, trying to make me smile. :o)

Time to snuggle them in bed and read a story. Gramma's tired.

Happy News!

I learned this morning that my colon is rather infamous at the BAMC gastroenterology clinic. :o) The doctor who did the procedure today is the same one who did it before at Wilford Hall. She said that the last time my colon was so interesting that she took video of it, to share on an on-line website for doctors. She said that she wanted to do the same thing today to show the before and after.

Todays procedure showed a totally normal colon, with no huge lumps and bumps or other abnormalities. (She even gave me pictures to prove it, but I will spare you those details). She did remove a couple of small polyps and will send them to the lab, but she doesn't think they are anything to worry about. I was totally sedated for the procedures and don't remember a thing, but my voice sounds a little hoarse from the tube they put in.

One of the nurses was talking to me and asking questions and discovered that I had been diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma. She said, "Oh, you're the one!" It seems that the whole staff was interested in my case. I am such a celebrity. Ha!

So, no cancer spotted in my gastrointestinal tract, praise God! That's two tests down (the CT/PET scan was also clear) and one to go. I'll have a bone marrow biopsy next, to be sure my bone marrow is still cancer free. It's not scheduled yet, but should be soon. I'm happy and excited, and getting healthier by the minute! Thank you again for praying for me.

Kelly was with me at the hospital. We left there around noon, went to Gran's and had a nice visit with her and Teddy. Then Kel brought me home. I'm supposed to rest for the rest of the day. I feel fine, but I am sleepy, so rest would be good.

I thank God for you, my praying family and friends!

Monday, Monday

Foggy here this morning, and cold. But it's supposed to warm up to 67 degrees later today (70 tomorrow), and the low tonight will be in the 50s. Thank goodness! I'm looking forward to being warm. :o)

Ron is going out of town tomorrow, but just until Thursday. Kelly is going to come and spend the night with us tonight so that she can go to the hospital with me early tomorrow morning. I have another colonoscopy/endoscopy scheduled. It's just another one of the checks my doctor wants done, to make sure there is no cancer in my GI tract. I dread the preparation for the procedure, but I'm thankful that my doctor is so thorough. Kelly has to be there because I'll be sedated for the procedure and can't drive for 24 hours. Thank you, Sweetie!

I can have low sodium chicken or beef broth today, and things like 7-Up, ginger ale, popsicles and jello. Nothing red or purple. I have to drink half the nasty awful Colyte starting at 4 PM, then the other half (1/2 gallon) starting about 2:30 AM. So I'll be up most of the night. The directions say the Colyte "acts as a tidal wave to wash out the colon." Oh joy. :o\

Better get busy around here while I can. Wish me luck.

Cold Rainy Saturday

Well yuck. The past few days have been ugly, but I do thank God for the rain that we need so badly.

Reece has been my sunshine. Yesterday we made the little paper koala craft, and I showed him the video of the didgeridoo. Oh my goodness, what a funny reaction he had. We had to play it three times. He danced, made his toy koala and kangaroo dance, and tried to make the sounds the instrument makes, including the barking sounds. I knew he would love the deep tones and rhythm.

This morning we made our own didgeridoos, using wrapping paper tubes. We just painted some designs on them, but he was happy. You really can make a sort of didgeridoo sound with the tubes. :o)

Last night he talked Papa into taking him to the store again. They went to the barber shop yesterday afternoon. While Papa gets his hair cut, Reece plays with the toys they have there.

Speaking of hair, mine is now at least covering my head. I have man hair. I still wear hats or caps most of the time when I go out, but not always. My eyebrows and eyelashes are getting back to normal, too. I was able to give Reece and Aubrey butterfly kisses for the first time in months. :o)

Reece went with me to Gran's this morning, then when I took him home we went looking in the kids bedroom for some toys parts that are missing from one of his Playmobile sets. He was sure they would be under the bed. So we got all the toys out from under the bed and sorted through them, but we only found one of the parts. I told him we would look for the rest another day, in the boxes in their closet. We managed to throw away a lot of old broken toys and toys from fast food places. He was in a "throw-it-away" mood. I would hold something up and say "keep or throw it away?" and he almost always said to throw it away. :o)

I'm sure Aubrey and Camryn thought Gramma was a big meanie because I wouldn't let them come in while we were sorting through toys, but they are anything but helpful in a cleaning situation.

The puppies keep "talking" to me. They think they want to go out, but when I open the door to let them out they change their minds. They don't like the cold wet weather any more than I do!

Reece and Aubrey

I've spent quite a lot of time with Reece and Aubrey the past few days.

When I stopped by to pick Reece up yesterday, Aubrey got her little shoes and jacket. I said to Josh, "Does she think she is going with me?" and he said yes. He said that she has a fit every time he goes with me. So I brought her home with us. She didn't spend the night, but played for several hours, had dinner here, and watched Finding Nemo with us. So she was happy, and didn't cry when her daddy came to pick her up.

After they left, Reece said, "I miss Aubie." :o)






Here she is wearing Reece's hat.










And here he is, wearing his hat. He won't wear it most of the time, and carried it with him to my house. I talked him into wearing it while I took a picture, and he thought it was pretty funny.

I kept him with me all day, until we picked Papa up at work. We went to visit Gran, went to WalMart, then Toys R Us, stopped at Freddie's for lunch, then came back to my house and played with his new toy.

He got a little Playmobile set with two koala bears and a baby koala, a kangaroo with a pocket and a baby, some eucalyptus trees, hay, a pitchfork, a bucket, flowers, a butterfly and a caretaker to feed the animals. We were talking about his toys and I decided we could do a little school unit on Australia. I told him that koalas and kangaroos live in Australia, and we found Australia on the globe.

On the way to pick up Papa after work he learned the kookaburra song. He wouldn't sing along with me, but kept asking me to sing it. I'm certain he knows the song now, but he will only sing when he feels like it. He's a good little singer. :o) I need to find a picture of a kookaburra so that he will know what they look like.

When he's here again we're going to make a koala bear craft. We'll also listen to a didgeridoo on Youtube, and make one from a wrapping paper tube.

Tuesday Chatter

Aubrey spent the night last night. It was fun watching her explore and examine anything she could get her hands on. I love to hear her talk, but sometimes her little voice is so soft that I can't hear what she is saying. She's very smart and almost totally fearless.

We were up pretty late and slept in this morning. She went with me to Great-Gran's. She loves Teddy and tried to make him play with all of his toys at once. Gran is always so happy to see her. Gran thinks that Aubrey looks like she knows something we don't know. :o) I think it is Aubrey's mischievous eyes that make her think that.

After taking her home, the rest of the day was quiet. I did some cleaning and laundry, and made hamburger steaks, baked potatoes and asparagus spears for dinner.

The Christmas tree is still up. I always hate to take it down, and take the garland off the stairs because I love the lights, so I procrastinate. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow.

Mom has a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon, but it's not until 3:30. She will get her new bottom partial. I hope it fits! I am tired of having to take her to the dentist, and she is tired of going.

That's been my day. Hope yours has been a good one!

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Happy Birthday, Jason!

I love you.

Mom

Happy Birthday, Cyrise!

Today is our daughter-in-law Cyrise's birthday. (Her name is pronounced like the color "cerise.")

Cyrise's birthday celebration started on Friday when she and Josh went out with friends. Ron and I stayed with the kids. Fun for us!

This morning I baked her a birthday cake. Kelly came over around noon and we took the cake with us when we went to pick up Cyrise for lunch. Kel and I took her for a birthday lunch at Macaroni Grill.

But first Josh had to fix Kelly's tire, which was flat and hissing when we got to their house. She had to drive home on her doughnut tire, but called me just now to say she got there safe and sound. It's just always something with cars.

The kids were looking forward to having cake and ice cream when we got back. They were happy to see their Aunt Kelly, and she enjoyed holding Gina and interacting with the others. There were a few little fingerprints in the frosting of the cake, which only made it sweeter. :o)

I hope you are enjoying your special day, Cyrise!

Thursday Chitchat

I guess you can see that I've been fiddling around with my blog a little. I like the blue background, but will have to get used to my blog list, labels, etc. being in the right margin rather than the left. The background is one of the "ethereal" themes from Blogger.

I also added some songs to my playlist. I was a little tired of the soft instrumentals, so I added some songs with lyrics, mostly oldies, a little Texas, some Cajun--I'm very eclectic when it comes to music. :o) If you don't like the new tunes, you can scroll down in the list. I didn't delete the songs I already had on the list, but mixed them up a bit. Or you can just turn off the playlist player for some peace and quiet.

We had another pretty day, although it did cloud up and get colder as the day progressed. Mom and I took Teddy for a walk and I made her tuna salad for lunch.

I'll go over and watch the kids for Josh and Cyrise tomorrow night. Cyrise's birthday is next Monday, and they are going out for the evening with friends for an early celebration. Not sure of our weekend plans, but I'm missing my Kelly so hope to see her.

Have a great Friday!

The Epiphany of Our Lord

Today is the traditional celebration of the Epiphany.

The word "Epiphany" means "manifestation." The Church in the Mass, commemorates a triple manifestation of Christ: to the Magi, that is, to the Gentiles; in His Baptism, when the voice from Heaven declared: "This is My Beloved Son"; and in the miracle of changing water into wine at Cana. (The Roman Missal, 1962)

Matthew 2. 1-12

When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. [2] Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him. [3] And king Herod hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And assembling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ should be born. [5] But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet:

[6] And thou Bethlehem the land of Juda art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule my people Israel.[7] Then Herod, privately calling the wise men, learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them; [8] And sending them into Bethlehem, said: Go and diligently inquire after the child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come to adore him. [9] Who having heard the king, went their way; and behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. [10] And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

[11] And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. [12] And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country.

Gloomy no longer.

I wound up staying at Josh's yesterday when I took Reece home, so the kids could go shopping with their Christmas gift cards. So I got to spend time with Aubrey and Gina, and more time with Reece. I saw Camryn when I first got there, but Cyrise put her down for a nap just after I arrived, and she didn't wake up until they got home, so I didn't see much of her.

Reece and Aubrey wanted to play with Play Doh, so that's what we did most of the time. I held Gina a lot, and gave her a bottle. She can really eat! And she's such a good little baby. I forgot to kiss Aubrey and Camryn good-bye when I left, and as I was walking to my car Josh opened the door and said, "Wait! Aubrey wants a kiss." It was so cute. She gave me a kiss, then Cammie also wanted one. They are the sweetest!

Today was sunny and warm--72 degrees--much better than the past two days. It will be nice for a couple of days, then we'll be back into the 50s for highs. Sunshine (and warmth) works like magic to make me feel happier. :o)

Bills are paid, kitchen is clean, some of the laundry is done, and I'm making enchilada casserole for dinner. Have a great evening!

Gloom, Puppies and Funny Faces

Monday...

It's gloomy here today. I shouldn't complain--our temperature is 58 degrees--cold to me, but warm compared to most of the country. And it will probably warm up a few more degrees by the end of the afternoon.

Now the holidays are over, and we're back to "real life." Ron went back to work this morning after nearly 2 weeks of vacation. He was dreading it. I really think he would like to retire.

Bills are due, I have several doctor appointments this month, and I should be doing laundry and cleaning, but I've done nothing productive all day. I think I have the post-holiday blues.

I was watching the puppies from an upstairs window earlier. They are funny, but they are such a mess! They have worn most of the grass away in their dog yard, and they were digging holes in the dirt. They love to dig up little rocks. I knocked on the window and they both looked up a me. Katy had dirt all over her nose and muzzle. Sister lets Kate do most of the work, then she plays with the rocks Katy finds. I feel guilty that they don't have any toys to play with, but everything we give them is destroyed in a matter of hours, or sometimes minutes.

Josh called earlier to tell me that Reece is asking to come over, so I'd better get off the computer and get something done. Once he gets here I have no time for anything but playing. :o)

Next Day.....

Reece did come and spend the night, and he certainly brightened up my day and night! He brought Toy Story 2 to watch, and we enjoyed it. He also brought Up. So it was a movie night. :o)

He got the paper tiger puppet last night at Wendy's, and has loved playing with it. He likes things with sharp teeth and claws. :o)

We are going to see Great Gran in a bit, then I'll probably take him home. Or maybe I will keep him longer. :o)

The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

Introit:

In the Name of Jesus let every knee bow, of those that are in Heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth: and let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.

Ps. 8. 2. O Lord our Lord: how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth!

Collect:

O God, who didst constitute Thine only-begotten Son the Saviour of mankind, and didst bid Him be called Jesus: mercifully grant, that we who venerate His holy Name on earth, may fully enjoy also the vision of Him in Heaven.

Lesson: Acts 4. 8-12

In those days, Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said to them: Ye princes of the people and ancients, hear: If we this day are examined concerning the good deed done to the infirm man by what means he hath been made whole, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel: that by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by Him this man standeth here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner: neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other Name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.

Gospel: St. Luke 2. 21.

At that time, after eight days were accomplished, that the Child should be circumcised: His Name was called Jesus, which was called by the Angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, hear us.

Jesus, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us .

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Splendor of the Father, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Brightness of eternal Light, have mercy on us.

Jesus, King of Glory, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Sun of Justice, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.

Jesus, most amiable, have mercy on us.

Jesus, most admirable, have mercy on us.

Jesus, the mighty God, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Father of the world to come, have mercy on us.

Jesus, angel of great counsel, have mercy on us.

Jesus, most powerful, have mercy on us.

Jesus, most patient, have mercy on us.

Jesus, most obedient, have mercy on us.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Lover of Chastity, have mercy on us.

Jesus, our Lover, have mercy on us .

Jesus, God of Peace, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Author of Life, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Model of Virtues, have mercy on us .

Jesus, zealous for souls, have mercy on us .

Jesus, our God, have mercy on us .

Jesus, our Refuge, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Father of the Poor, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Treasure of the Faithful, have mercy on us .

Jesus, good Shepherd, have mercy on us .

Jesus, true Light, have mercy on us .

Jesus, eternal Wisdom, have mercy on us .

Jesus, infinite Goodness, have mercy on us .

Jesus, our Way and our Life, have mercy on us .

Jesus, joy of the Angels, have mercy on us .

Jesus, King of the Patriarchs, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Master of the Apostles, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Teacher of the Evangelists, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Strength of Martyrs, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Light of Confessors, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Purity of Virgins, have mercy on us .

Jesus, Crown of all Saints, have mercy on us .

Be merciful, spare us, O Jesus!

Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Jesus!

From all evil, deliver us, O Jesus .

From all sin, deliver us, O Jesus .

From your wrath, deliver us, O Jesus .

From the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Jesus .

From the spirit of fornication, deliver us, O Jesus .

From everlasting death, deliver us, O Jesus .

From the neglect of your inspirations, deliver us, O Jesus .

Through the mystery of your holy Incarnation,
deliver us, O Jesus .

Through your Nativity, deliver us, O Jesus .

Through your Infancy, deliver us, O Jesus .

Through your most divine Life, deliver us, O Jesus .

Through your Labors, deliver us, O Jesus .

Through your Agony and Passion, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Cross and Dereliction, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Sufferings, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Death and Burial, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Resurrection, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Ascension, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Institution of the Most Holy Eucharist,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Joys, deliver us, O Jesus.

Through your Glory, deliver us, O Jesus.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Jesus!

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Jesus!

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, O Jesus!

Jesus, hear us.

Jesus, graciously hear us.

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ, you have said, "Ask and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you"; mercifully attend to our supplications, and grant us the grace of your most divine love, that we may love you with all our hearts, and in all our words and actions, and never cease to praise you.

Make us, O Lord, to have a perpetual fear and love of your holy name, for you never fail to govern those whom you solidly establish in your love. You, who live and reign forever and ever. R. Amen.

New Year's Day, 2011

It's been pretty quiet around here this week. Jason and his family went home Wednesday. I had a doctor appointment and Mom had a dental visit. Ron's been on vacation, and has been working on the outdoor playset we got from freecycle this summer. Josh came over and helped him this afternoon, and Ron said it was much easier with his help. Reece came with his daddy and is very excited to get the slide put on the set. :o)

Reece stayed overnight Thursday night, and most of the day Friday. Friday he went with me to pick up a car seat I got from Freecycle, then we went to Gran's, then home to pick up his Papa, then out to eat lunch at IHOP (Reece's choice). He played outside during the afternoon while Papa worked on the playset and I cleaned up the car seat. (It looks great after I washed the cover and cleaned the seat and all the straps). We took Reece home around 4 or 5 o'clock to spend New Year's Eve with his family.

Ron and I didn't do anything special for New Year's Eve, but we did stay up until after midnight. I slept in this morning, then Ron went with me to Mom's. We had lunch with her and Teddy.

I think I'll go make some brownies now. :o)