Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Question of the week (month!)

Well, we're not doing weekly postings as we used to but we can still have questions for our readers! I'm just curious and so I'm going to throw out to you all a good old Question of the Week:

Do you have bedtime routines? If so, what is your routine? What works for your family?

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one of us :: 3:37 PM :: 2 Comments

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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

question for you

One reader wrote in asking for ideas on how women can earn money from home while still keeping her kids the first priority. What are your ideas?

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one of us :: 9:18 AM :: 8 Comments

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Question of the Week: the non-marrieds

Scenario: You have a close sibling who has fallen away from the church. She has been living with her boyfriend for several years and they even have a baby together. Playing house to the T. Your kids are young enough to basically assume they are a "traditional" family. When they come to visit you, do you allow the little family to sleep together or do you insist on separate bedrooms which in theory, protects your kids from scandal but it also insults the family?

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one of us :: 7:54 AM :: 4 Comments

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Question of the Week:The government of God

As Christians we have comfort in how the Bible tells us that God will always provide. He know our needs. People often cite finances as one reason for postponing a pregnancy, either temporarily or permanently. Now what human "needs" are is a controversial topic in itself. But I want to focus on the topic of government intervention via programs such as welfare, food stamps, and WIC. Obviously there are abuses to state programs but that's not the exact direction of this post either.

Do you think God uses these programs as HIS way of providing for families? Should couples be able to take advantage of these kinds of programs when considering having another child or not?

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one of us :: 9:00 PM :: 10 Comments

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Question of the Week: The Passion


My four year old is begging to watch Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" with us. What would you say? I'd like to think he's spiritually mature enough to handle it but I know better. Still,it feels a bit "wrong" forbidding him from watching a movie that he knows is about Jesus. He's seen our DVD cover front and back and is fascinated. What age would you allow your kids to watch this movie?

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one of us :: 6:47 AM :: 10 Comments

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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Question of the Week: potty training


When do you start potty training your children? What is your method?

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one of us :: 6:44 AM :: 8 Comments

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Question of the Week: Lent

We are supposed to avoid boasting of our fasting or sacrifices... in order to avoid a false sense of piety. But over the years I've learned a lot of good ideas from others on WAYS to sacrifice during Lent. What are some ideas you have on sacrifice that either you've done or heard of during this time?

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one of us :: 6:49 AM :: 6 Comments

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Valentine's Day and questions

Happy Valentines Day! Many peoeple don't celebrate this holiday, as, like many feast days, it has been taken over by the secular world. But Valentine was a saint. The stories of St. Valentine, such as the one of him marrying two lovers in secret, are very romantic.
Also, corny as the shape of a heart has become, it is indeed a very physical and Catholic shape. It is the physical shape of the very organ that beats to keep us alive; it's the symbol of the emotional aspect we all posess: that which gives us sentiment, compassion... it is used to represent the hearts of Jesus and Mary... the list goes on. Just as we see cartoon depictions of Santa Claus in the secular world and must interpret these as depictions of St. Nick, so must we do with the shape of the heart filling the public windows of the post offices and grocery stores all over the place.

On a side note, celebrating Valentine's day can be a delight in itself in color and decorations! What a fun time, in the middle of winter, to bring out those cheery doilies and summer-y plates and teacups... to make heart-shaped pancakes... to spread out the pink or red tablecloth. Symbols of St. Valentine include birds and roses.



In the New Calendar, this is the feast of the Memorial of Sts. Cyril, monk and St. Methodius, bishop . However, St. Valentine's feast is in the old Calendar which is where we get the name "Valentine's Day".

While in prison, Valentine was tended by the jailer, Asterius, and his blind daughter. Asterius' daughter was very kind to Valentine and brought him food and messages. They developed a friendship and toward the end of his imprisonment Valentine was able to convert both father and daughter to Christianity. Legend has it that he also miraculously restored the sight of the jailer's daughter.The night before his execution, the priest wrote a farewell message to the girl and signed it affectionately "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lives on even to today.

The valentine has become the universal symbol of friendship and affection shared each anniversary of the priest's execution -- St. Valentine's Day. Valentine has also become the patron of engaged couples.
~(above taken from catholic culture.org)

Go to CatholicCulture's site to read more about this saint.

I could go on with ideas of how to celebrate Valentine's day but I'd like to hear from our readers in the question of the Week responses first...


Do you celebrate Valentines Day? If not, why not? If so, how do you celebrate?

~Sia, Vancouver, WA

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one of us :: 6:42 AM :: 7 Comments

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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Question of the Week: Other Churches

I've found myself on more than one occasion stumbling over proper word choice and phrasing when I discuss non-Catholics to my children. They've learned that we cross ourselves when we pass a Catholic Church. Occasionally we pass a protestant church and the kids cross themselves and my oldest will say something like "Why don't we go to that church?"

I don't want to raise little bigots and I even hesitate to raise perfectly frank children who don't yet have any apologetic skills. The last thing I want is for them to be on the playground saying "My mom says your church is the wrong one." It's important to be honest... but sensitive to what they can understand at a young level.

How do you approach the subject of "other churches" with your children?

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one of us :: 12:03 AM :: 9 Comments

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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Question of the Week

Whether you are strict or not, whether you use corporal punishment or not, I think we all agree that children, at a certain age, need to learn obedience and right from wrong. I tend to think that children reach a very crucial beginning to the whole "age-of-reason" time around 12-18 months. This is, after all, when they begin to test our patience and figure out what they can and can not get away with. And they need to know that there are consequences to their behavior. So...


What age do you think is reasonable to begin disciplining a child? What method do you use?

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one of us :: 6:00 AM :: 4 Comments

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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Question of the Week: It's a sign


If someone rented a billboard out for you, what would it say?

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one of us :: 6:58 AM :: 11 Comments

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Question of the week- night terrors

Do any of your dear ones get night terrors? It's when they - I think toddlers, and so far it has only happened to my boys- wake up in the night screaming and no amount of coaxing will soothe them. They look at me like I am a scary monster or something... I am never quite sure what to do. Any suggestions, or experience on the matter would be great.

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one of us :: 1:03 AM :: 2 Comments

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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Question of the Week: reflections of your own

You know what? No general question this week; for now, feel free to use this post as a "speak your piece" about anything Christmas related you'd like.

On my end? I'm debating on waking up my troops to go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. We have baby-sitters at Grandma's place... but the last time we went to Midnight Mass sans children, we missed them a whole lot. I thought it would've been an awesome experience for them to be with us at the high, Latin Mass complete with incense and bells and beautiful choir music and the placing of baby Jesus in the church créche. Yeah, they'll be slugs the next morning but it's Christmas right?!

-Ellie

What's on your mind today?

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one of us :: 8:14 AM :: 4 Comments

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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Question of the week- healthy holidays

Here's a creative tip I read about on Danielle Bean's website: "...trying to stay healthy during flu season, one thing you can do is run the toothbrushes through the dishwasher at night, and they get completely sanitized. If you can get your kids into a routine with it, they can put it there after they use it at night and find it there again in the morning."
But tell me:


What are the ways that you keep your family healthy during the cold and flu season?

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one of us :: 2:55 PM :: 3 Comments

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Question of the Week: coming to town

With the Christmas season starting, here's our question for the week.


Do you tell your children about "Santa?" Why or why not?

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one of us :: 9:45 AM :: 15 Comments

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Question of the Week: Holiday Shopping

The frenzy has started... and every year most of us are faced with the advent struggle of mentally and spiritually preparing for the birth of Jesus while excitedly spending tons of money on people we love, or at least have an obligation to buy for.



How do you keep your thoughts on what is important amidst the busy holiday shopping season?

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one of us :: 8:38 AM :: 13 Comments

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Question of the Week- the kid next door

Having recently moved to a neighborhood- (my first time, really!) my kids are enthralled with which kids live in which houses on our block, and when we can go outside and play with them. Some of these children seem nice enough, some seem like they might actually be a negative influence.
So here's the question:


As Christians we are supposed to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, but for our childrens' sake, how should we approach these relationships?

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one of us :: 8:53 AM :: 2 Comments

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Question of the Week


How do you and yours celebrate Thanksgiving Day and dinner?

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one of us :: 8:47 AM :: 3 Comments

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Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Question of the Week: Overnighters

(I admit that I ask this because my 5th year wedding anniversary is coming up and we are considering leaving my 2 and 4 year olds with aunties for a night or two. But I've encountered widely different views on the topic of child separations and am interested in this crowd's response.)

How old are your children before you feel comfortable leaving them for an extended period of time, or even overnight?

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one of us :: 9:20 AM :: 16 Comments

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Question of the Week: Mass

Disclaimer: This post is not directed toward any discussion about the merits of Vatican II or toward schismatics or radical traditionalism. There are plenty of debates online if you want to duke out your own feelings on V2 elsewhere. I am operating under the premise that we all accept the validity of that particular council and the Novus Ordo Mass... and that we are all faithful and obedient to the Shepard in Rome, Pope Benedict. Given that, I think it's an interesting idea to wrestle around with since the topic of a universal indult is in Catholic news lately:

Yes, the Novus Ordo liturgy is a valid Mass, and yes, it can be celebrated beautifully... but do you think it is inherently inferior to the Traditional Latin (a.k.a. Tridentine) Mass?

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one of us :: 7:48 AM :: 36 Comments

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