Feast of St. Augustine

“O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Say it so that I can hear it. My heart is listening, Lord; open the ears of my heard and say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let me run toward this voice and seize hold of you. Do not hide your face from me: let me die so that I may see it, for not to see it would be death to me indeed.” 

― St. Augustine, "Confessions"

Sirach 26

1Happy the husband of a good wife;

the number of his days will be doubled.

2A loyal wife brings joy to her husband,

and he will finish his years in peace.

3A good wife is a generous gift

bestowed upon him who fears the Lord.

4Whether rich or poor, his heart is content,

a smile ever on his face.

5There are three things I dread,

and a fourth which terrifies me:

Public slander, the gathering of a mob,

and false accusation—all harder to bear than death.

6A wife jealous of another wife is heartache and mourning;

everyone feels the lash of her tongue.

7A wicked wife is a chafing yoke;

taking hold of her is like grasping a scorpion.

8A drunken wife arouses great anger,

for she does not hide her shame.

9By her haughty stare and her eyelids

an unchaste wife can be recognized.

10Keep a strict watch over an unruly wife,

lest, finding an opportunity, she use it;

11Watch out for her impudent eye,

and do not be surprised if she betrays you:

12As a thirsty traveler opens his mouth

and drinks from any water nearby,

So she sits down before every tent peg

and opens her quiver for every arrow.

13A gracious wife delights her husband;

her thoughtfulness puts flesh on his bones.

14A silent wife is a gift from the Lord;

nothing is worth more than her self-discipline.

15A modest wife is a supreme blessing;

no scales can weigh the worth of her chastity.

16The sun rising in the Lord’s heavens—

the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home.

17The light which shines above the holy lampstand—

a beautiful face on a stately figure.

18Golden columns on silver bases—

so her shapely legs and steady feet.^†

What the Woman May Have Prayed...

And now, our only provider and cause of all good things,
listen with compassion, Lord
to the supplications I call to you,
with my arms lifted in prayer,
bolstered from within,
with the sighs of my heart,
with the cries of my tongue and lips.
Expressing thanks through these offerings,
I offer up my gratitude to you,
almighty, awesome, exalted, incomprehensible, forever embraced in unending love,
constantly praised with the chant,
Holy, Holy, only and always Holy,
Blessed forever

Out of your great goodness,
grant me yet more help,
for I am completely lost.
Give me hope of sweetness,
though I am not worthy of the least drop of your light,
so that I might understand through you, good Lord,
the subtle secret of this mystery,
and mix thanks with my prayers,
saying with David,
"We have received your mercy, Lord,"
and "your hidden and invisible secrets,"
you have revealed through your wisdom."


This could not come to me at a better time in this moment of my life.....longing for Baby 'Opia!  Throwing my arms up and asking for help!

The new addition...

How could anyone say no???

Meet Frankie, our new addition to our family.  

We get bring our new little guy home on Sunday!!!

The kiddos are so excited.  Yesterday while at Target we had to look at all of the different items in the pet isle...picking out what they think Frankie would love most.  It will be quite an adventure for our family but I must say, I am excited too!!!  I think this little peanut may just be my new little cuddle monster!!!

because sometimes people are just stupid....

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."
-Anonymous

Prayer Warrior Mom

...is what I am reading right now...I always find it so awesome when something I read has such incredible relevance and importance to my life in the exact perfect moment.

Here is what I read this morning:

"God often answers us after long and persevering requests.  He hears prayers and grants blessings long after they appear to be unanswered or withheld.  He does not promise to give blessings immediately.  He promises only that He will do it according to His will and plan.  Although He promises to answer the prayer of the faithful, often He requires us to wait a long time to try our faith.  He may allow us to persevere for months or years, until we are completely dependent on Him, until we see that there is no other way to receive the blessing, and until we are prepared to receive it.  Sometimes, we are not ready to receive a blessing when we first ask.  We may be too proud, or we may not comprehend our dependence upon Him.  Maybe we would not value it, or the timing for it may simply be wrong.  If what we ask for is good and accords with God's will, He will give it a the best time possible."


How incredibly perfect for our entire family as we continue to wait....for our precious child from across the world!

His hand is always holding us...

His steady hand is always holding us...

You always think you know how you might react if a 'scary' situation happens... but when it does...hindsight is always better!

On Sunday night, Ryan and I had just went to bed, the clock read slightly before midnight.  The kids had been sleeping for hours.  When all of the sudden someone started knocking on our front door.  We waited thinking it would stop....when it didn't, panic raced through my veins.  Someone wanted our attention and they were not going to stop until they got it.  We call 911 and Ryan quietly tried to sneak a peak of the person now banging on our door.  Then just as Ryan was about to walk downstairs, phone in hand, to face the large man knocking on our door.....he disappeared.  Police searched for him most of the night, but came up with nothing.  Needless to say, I didn't fall back to sleep until daylight came....

Looking back, there are a few things Ryan and I said we would do much differently...so here is my advice to you.  Even if you think "a break in would never happen at my house," think again....and come up with several different 'what i think i would need to do' plans.  

Yesterday morning Ryan and I talked about our plans and things we would have done differently.  Thankfully, no one entered our home and no one was hurt....but it was a great big eye opener.

There is no doubt in my mind the Lord was keeping us in the palm of his hand...He was watching over our home, my family.  Our plans changed, we were not actually suppose to be home until Tuesday.  But instead, we decided to come home Sunday.  Had we not been home...I truly believe the home we walked into Sunday afternoon would have looked gravely different.

Praise the Lord for the Lord is good! Psalm 135