What is marriage???

I think many people have different ideas about it, but I believe marriage is.............
A love story!

Today I would like to tell you a story.
Yes a story, a love story. In particular our love story!
So her goes~

Once upon a time there was a young girl who fell in love with her Prince Charming.  Prince Charming was all she had wanted in her future husband and he adored everything about her and could not imagine life without her.
Together they decided that they belonged together and were married. After they were married they lived  happily ever after.
THE END!

What? That's it? That is what you wanted to share? Well that is so uninspiring! And quite frankly not even believable. In fact rewind that and start again because that is not how real life is!

Well, that is how I see my life, all except the ending part yet.
In fact the happily ever after part is TRUE and it will continue to be true until the end of time because marriage is not just a wedding ceremony - it is a life-long journey that is filled with adventure all the way.

Oh our adventure has had many ups and downs and sometimes the downs seem to be all too frequent and drawn out. But when you commit to a lifetime of adventure together you truly have something and somebody to share that with.

I indeed have been blessed in this adventure as we have now been married for 25 years today.

Who could have guessed that when I was given a letter by the girl next door after school one day that I would marry the boy who sent that letter to me. I was only 12 years old at the time and I was being asked to attend youth group at our church on Friday by this young boy, because he liked me.

I did go on Friday night and for many Friday nights after. We developed a friendship which I know his friends teased him about ( he was three years older than me) that was probably a little too early for both of us,  for some reason for a few years in my life we were no longer close friends.

Then as I neared my 15th year ( I can't remember when exactly ) my beloved became a very important part of my life again. I remember him especially as the most important part of my 16th birthday celebration as we went out to dinner with my family. He was the person I wanted to have as my  most particular guest.

To try to keep the story reasonable short we were engaged after I turned 18 and had a two year engagement. Stephen was at University and I was at college we were over 600km (which is an 8 hour journey) away from each other for two years and married just before I turned 21, to live HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

How I think back to those days and see how much in love we were. Oh no, I am not saying that we are not in love now but I am reflecting on the ability of that love to last through the changes of these years together.

We now have 12 beautiful children and have had many challenges both person and financial during this time and what I know is this - that what is stable, what is true and unchanging is the fact that our marriage is FOREVER.

We know that even on the most difficult of days that we have each other  to rely on, to support one another and even have disagreements with. For yes, even in the best of marriages I don't think you can  agree 100% of the time. What is important and real is the ability to overcome these periods of disagreement and  be united in the truth of the 'foreverness' of our love.

Our children will tell you that both of us are very strong willed, passionate people ( Autumn here: we kids  say  very stubborn.)who stand up for what we believe in. This unfortunately can lead to some less than pleasant 'discussion' and not always privately.

Do I regret this? Absolutely!
Can we learn from this? Absolutely!
Is it good for the children? Yes and no!

I do think that it is best if children do not see their parents have a little 'discussion' but I also think that it show them we are not perfect, that we are still sinners and we need to be humble and sorry for past mistakes and try to do better with each opportunity that comes our way. We have faults and troubles we need to deal with, BUT with all of  this our love is strong and faithful.

We are faithful! We are faithful to the idea of love, marriage and happy ever afters. After all marriage is sacrament, and God is our binding link. We are  three fold link that has God as our centre.
Marriage is not for only when it feels good. It is for the not so good times as well. It is for all the journey and how wonderful to be able to look back with the one you started the journey with and say " Remember when........."

Sadly today in society our children are not shown this 'forever' theme in those around them. Too many children have come from homes that 'once the fun has gone so are we' and this has to influence their own outlook on what marriage is.
For us as Christians we need to be an example of a 'good marriage' not necessarily a constantly 'happy marriage' because marriage is more than the feeling of love and happiness ........it is about forever- no matter what.

One thing that I know has changed in our marriage is me, in fact both of us. We are not the same two young people we were when we first were married, and this is a good thing.

We both have grown and matured. We have become concrete in our commitment to God, our Faith, each other and our children.

Who would have known that we would achieve so much with our lives, and hey it isn't even over yet?
Who would know? God DID!

Thank you to my Price Charming who loves me unconditionally, with all my faults and problems. You are my knight protector, my Romeo, the father of our precious children and not last by any means the man I want to spend all the rest of my days with.

Happy Anniversary my love ♥ ♥

I think this says it all.........
Blessings to you and your homes,
 

May - Month of The Blessed Virgin Mary

I am continuing with my summary of the significance of each month in our Liturgical Year
This month of May is dedicated to...... The Blessed Virgin Mary.

All but the last 4 days of the month fall within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored). The last four days of the month (beginning the Monday after Pentecost) are in Ordinary Time which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection.


The world is resplendent with Spring's increased light and new growth (well in the northern hemisphere). It is Mary’s month in the Easter season and all of nature rejoices with the Queen of heaven at the Resurrection of the Son she was worthy to bear. During the remainder of Easter time, let us endeavor through the prayers of the Holy Liturgy and the Holy Rosary to deepen our gratitude for the mystery of our Baptismal rebirth in Christ.

"The month of May, with its profusion of blooms was adopted by the Church in the eighteenth century as a celebration of the flowering of Mary's maidenly spirituality…With its origins in Isaiah's prophecy of the Virgin birth of the Messiah under the figure of the Blossoming Rod or Root of Jesse, the flower symbolism of Mary was extended by the Church Fathers, and in the liturgy, by applying to her the flower figures of the Sapiential Books-Canticles, Wisdom, Proverbs and Sirach.

"In the medieval period, the rose was adopted as the flower symbol of the Virgin Birth, as expressed in Dante's phrase, 'The Rose wherein the Divine Word was made flesh,' and depicted in the central rose windows of the great gothic cathedrals-from which came the Christmas carol, 'Lo, How a Rose 'ere Blooming.' Also, in the medieval period, when monasteries were the centers of horticultural and agricultural knowledge, and with the spread of the Fransiscan love of nature, the actual flowers themselves, of the fields, waysides and gardens, came to be seen as symbols of Mary…" – John S. Stokes



This  "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance" (Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1).

This Christian custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin arose at the end of the 13th century. In this way, the Church was able to Christianize the secular feasts which were wont to take place at that time. In the 16th century, books appeared and fostered this devotion.

The practice became especially popular among the members of the Jesuit Order — by 1700 it took hold among their students at the Roman College and a bit later it was publicly practiced in the Gesu Church in Rome. From there it spread to the whole Church.


In our observance of the Marian month we should take into account the season of the Liturgical Year which largely corresponds with the fifty days of Easter. Our pious exercises could emphasize Our Lady's participation in the Paschal mystery and in Pentecost with which the Church begins. The pious exercises connected with the month of May can easily highlight the earthly role played by the glorified Queen of Heaven, here and now, in the celebration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.

The following practices which are recommended by the Magisterium are offered as suggestions for honoring Our Lady during Her month.

♥ The Regina Coeli
The ecclesial community addresses this antiphon to Mary for the Resurrection of her Son. It adverts to, and depends on, the invitation to joy addressed by Gabriel to the Lord's humble servant who was called to become the Mother of the saving Messiah.

♥ The Rosary
Also called the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Rosary is one of the most excellent prayers to the Mother of God. Thus, "the Roman Pontiffs have repeatedly exhorted the faithful to the frequent recitation of this biblically inspired prayer which is centered on contemplation of the salvific events of Christ's life, and their close association with the Virgin Mother."



♥ Litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary
These consist of a long series of invocations to Our Lady, which follow in a uniform rhythm, thereby creating a stream of prayer characterized by insistent praise and supplication.

♥ Consecration and Entrustment to Mary
The Roman Pontiffs have frequently expressed appreciation for the pious practice of "consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary" and the formulas publicly used by them are well known.

Louis Grignon de Montfort is one of the great masters of the spirituality underlying the act of "consecration to Mary". He "proposed to the faithful consecration to Jesus through Mary, as an effective way of living out their baptismal commitment."

♥ The Brown Scapular and other Scapulars
The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

♥ Medals
These are witnesses of faith and a sign of veneration of the Holy Mother of God, as well as of trust in her maternal protection.

The Church blesses such objects of Marian devotion in the belief that "they help to remind the faithful of the love of God, and to increase trust in the Blessed Virgin Mary."

♥ The "Akathistos" Hymn
In the Byzantine tradition, one of the oldest and most revered expressions of Marian devotion is the hymn of the "Akathistos" — meaning the hymn sung while standing. It is a literary and theological masterpiece, encapsulating in the form of a prayer, the universally held Marian belief of the primitive Church.
Excepted from the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy



Important Feast Days for us as a family  are~
1st Joseph the Worker
13th Our Lady of Fatima
20th  Ascension Day
22nd  Rita of Cascia,
24th Our Lady Help of Christians- Patroness of Australia
27th  Pentecost; Whitsunday, Sunday
31st Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Information from Catholic Culture

MARY- Our Life, Our Sweetness and Our Hope


Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Wednesday Waffle

Image Courtesy BHG

Here's another take on what I want my front entry/foyer to look like. As my home is running along the 40m frontage, it can really only be one room deep, if it's going to be flowing out onto lawn and the pool area.... so the stairs are going to have to start immediately you walk in the door. I still can't get my head around designing on a corner block... but I'll get there. No rush. Oh and I think I want a black front door? Opinions? Advice? 

Speaking of the block, I received a phone call from the Real Estate Agent yesterday afternoon. "I have a house here that belongs to you, do you want the keys?". I forgot to pick them up! I went hell for leather in the shed all day and forgot. 

I had a few customer pick ups and some deliveries to unpack and then I decided to drag everything out in search of something way at the back, then I put it all back... time consumingly neatly, then I had a chat to one of the flower delivery ladies about the hideous cost of living in this country, then I chatted to Garry (front desk man) about recycling, then I chatted to the Nestle rep about the luxury of receiving a weekly pay-cheque when you don't work for yourself, then a lovely lady who was putting all her belongings in storage chatted to me about my lights and real estate and house sitting (which is what she is doing), then Scotty turned up (interior designer, shed neighbour... he also has 'prime position' shed real estate like myself... one of the lucky ones... actually he has the 'corner block'!) so we excitedly caught up on each others lives for about an hour, then the shed manager James had a chat about his holiday in Thailand, then Scotty and I chatted some more about Paris and Fiji and New York, and then the day ended. Who said working alone is unsocial? I spent my day shifting boxes and chatting... and still don't have possession of this house.

So, this morning, I am picking up the keys, no ifs, no buts, no distractions. First thing. Boys to school, then the keys. I'm not going anywhere near that shed today. I need to arrange to get some tenants into this house. 

I overdid it yesterday. I can't move my arms. I'm still doing a violin practice though, somehow. I am sitting next to someone in orchestra who used to be in the 'Basel Symphony Orchestra'. She's a machine. I can't compete. I think she feels sorry for me. I can only do my best. I was never 'Basel Symphony Orchestra' standard. I'm a bush-band violinist. My bush-band was called, 'The Bullocky's Bathtub Bushband'... I rest my case.

Happy Wednesday!

PS Thanks for your 'tooth' love yesterday. He's feeling better and in good spirits. He told all his teachers about it.....and 'they felt sorry for me Mum'.

PPS. Happy Birthday Marina, my cousin, in Melbourne. xx

PPPS. Hi Scotty! xx

30 CAT AND DOG HOUSE / 30 KUTYA ÉS MACSKA HÁZ

via Pinterest

COMPARISON OF DEPTHS

The abyss explained.
_______________________________________________

Click for enormous version. Credit: xkcd.com.

LET'S PICNIC / PIKNIKEZZÜNK

Via 79 Ideas

Celebrating May Day: Ideas and Fun

“The fair maid who, the First of May,
Goes to the field at break of day
And washes in the dew from the hawthorn tree,
Will ever after handsome be.”

Even though May is dedicated to Our Lady we still like to celebrate the first of May with the traditional May Day theme

There are many interpretations of the first May Day, and many different theories and origins, all with the same principle ~ people through the years loved to celebrate the coming of spring on the first day of May!

Maypole dancing evolved into Ribbon dancing around the maypole in the 18th century, and is possibly derived from traditional and 'art' dance forms popular in Italy and France.

In old European villages, the youth would go into the woods and cut down a tree, removing the branches and covering it with violets. At daybreak they blew horns and celebrated and the towns would know May Day had arrived.

By the Middle ages, English villages had a May Pole, and everyone ~ from adults to children would all go into the woods to select the tree, making it a parade and singing songs as they went back to town. Often large cities like London would leave the maypole up for an entire year, so it was ready for the next years may day dance.


In Yorkshire, dancers gather in a circle, each holding a coloured ribbon attached to a much smaller pole. As the dance commences the ribbons are intertwined and braided either on to the pole itself or into a web around the pole. The dancers may then retrace their steps exactly in order to unravel the ribbons or leave them as a beautiful design on the pole.

Today May Day and dancing around the May Pole are still traditions in many European Countries and the United Kingdom.

In our home each year we usually have our Maypole outside and sang as we skip around it but for an inside version this works fairly well:

♥ Hang a Maypole from the ceiling using crepe paper streamers. AS you  walk or skip around the Maypole you can sing,

♥ Walking around the Maypole, Walking around the Maypole, Walking Around the Maypole, Going 'round and 'round.

♥ You can substitute dance, skip, etc. for "walk". Believe it or not, when you walk around in a circle the streamers create a "pole". For added fun, have a person probably an adult or older child stand in the middle and get wrapped in the Maypole. To untangle, simply reverse directions.

An old photo of a maypole cake and doll maypole I made

Here are some activities and Ideas for the day~ 


♥ Make Mayday baskets we have made cornucopia ones, filled with flowers and stickers and poems and paper filled with paper gifts in the past
Get the  children to  decorate and fill some May baskets.  You can the them leave the baskets on the door knobs (or steps) of friends or family members.  Here are a number of simple ways to make May baskets.
CONE BASKETS  - either use a plain colored cone party hat, or make your own cone by cutting out half circles and wrapping them around into cone shaped.  Add paper or Chenille handles
CUP BASKETS – use paper, Styrofoam, yogurt or margarine cups for baskets.  Poke holes on opposite sides of the cups and tie on handles.
CIRCLE BASKETS – use large cut paper circles or large doilies.  Tape a ribbon handle to opposite sides of the circle.  When held up the circle will fold into a open-ended basket.
BOX BASKETS – use small box bottoms, cut-down milk cartons, or berry baskets.  Add handles and decorate.

♥ Make May Day Crowns ~
Let every child be Kind or Queen of the May by making a flower crown to wear.
Cut the centers out of paper plates and have the children paint both sides of the rims green.  (or use green paper plates)
Cut various colors of tissue paper into small circles.
Then let the children crumple the circles and glue them on their paper plate rims to make flowers.

Variation: Glue strips of colored tissue or crepe paper streamers to the sides and backs of their crowns.
Variation:  Place real flowers on their crowns by making slits in the rim so that the flowers can be poked through.

♥ Simple Game~
RING AROUND THE ROSIE
Here is an adaptation of the usual “Ring Around the Rosie” game for May Day.
Have your children stand in a circle around a pretend Maypole.
Let one child stand in the middle and choose the action at the end of rhyme.
As children march around the circle recite the following rhyme.

“Ring around the rosie.
A pocket full of posies.
Flowers, flowers
All (fall down, twirl around, bend way down, touch the ground, etc.)
Choose another child to stand in the middle and repeat the chant.

♥ Craft ~
In the past, children used to celebrate May Day by having hoop races -- now you can, too.
Supplies:
Plastic hoop (hula hoop)
Ribbon
Small bells
12-inch wooden dowel

Use a plastic hoop and decorate it the way children did hundreds of years ago.

Cut 6-inch lengths of thin ribbon. Tie as many ribbons as you can to the hoop, all the way around. Make sure the knots are on the inside of the hoop so they won't get in the way when the hoop rolls.

Tie a tiny bell to the end of every third or fourth ribbon.

Practice rolling your May Day hoop by touching it with the dowel. How fast can you go? Invite your friends to a race!

♥ For more activities~
Colouring page
Wreath colouring page
May day word search
May Day Anagrams
May Day Crossword and Answers key
Picture crossword and Answer key
Sudoku and Answers and Easy Sudoku
And to keep the Blessed Mother in the picture this site has a list of other sites that have colouring pictures of Mary
These are a couple of our past Mary themes:
Fatima and May Crowning of Mary
May Crowning and Bookcase display

For a  sugar filled idea~
Take a plastic baggie and fill it with candy and then in the center of it tie a pipe cleaner and make it look like a butterfly!! Wrap the pipe cleaner in the middle of it!!

Simple Song~
"I Made a May Basket" (sung to: "A-Tisket, A-Tasket") A-tisket, a-tasket, I made a May basket. I filled it up with flowers bright And hung it on the door just right.

THE MAY QUEEN
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear;
To-morrow ’ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year;
Of all the glad New-year, mother, the maddest merriest day,
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.


There’s many a black, black eye, they say, but none so bright as mine;
There’s Margaret and Mary, there’s Kate and Caroline;
But none so fair as little Alice in all the land they say,
So I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

I sleep so sound all night, mother, that I shall never wake,
If you do not call me loud when the day begins to break;
But I must gather knots of flowers, and buds and garlands gay,
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

As I came up the valley whom think ye should I see
But Robin leaning on the bridge beneath the hazel-tree?
He thought of that sharp look, mother, I gave him yesterday,
But I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

He thought I was a ghost, mother, for I was all in white,
And I ran by him without speaking, like a flash of light.
They call me cruel-hearted, but I care not what they say,
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

They say he’s dying all for love, but that can never be;
They say his heart is breaking, mother–what is that to me?
There’s many a bolder lad ’ill woo me any summer day,
And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

Little Effie shall go with me to-morrow to the green,
And you’ll be there, too, mother, to see me made the Queen;
For the shepherd lads on every side ’ill come from far away,
And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

The honeysuckle round the porch has woven its wavy bowers,
And by the meadow-trenches blow the faint sweet cuckoo-flowers;
And the wild marsh-marigold shines like fire in swamps and hollows gray,
And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

The night-winds come and go, mother, upon the meadow-grass,
And the happy stars above them seem to brighten as they pass;
There will not be a drop of rain the whole of the livelong day,
And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

All the valley, mother, ’ill be fresh and green and still,
And the cowslip and the crowfoot are over all the hill,
And the rivulet in the flowery dale ’ill merrily glance and play,
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

So you must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear,
To-morrow ’ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year;
To-morrow ’ill be of all the year the maddest merriest day,
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

Blessings to you and your homes,