Great Catholic Books & Resources

I wrote an email a while back about great Catholic books and resources we use in our home to teach our children about the faith. I have since had friends ask me for recommendations, so I thought I'd make it a blog post that I can easily share in the future. It's a LOT, but make a list and consider them for the future. THey make great Birthday, St. Nicholas Day, Christmas, or Easter gifts! Or even on the anniversary of your child's baptism! (Do you celebrate that? Their birthday in to the Church? WE just started this year!)

• Holy Heroes  are awesome. They have Glory Stories, which are like Adventures in Odyssey, but Catholic. They take the stories of the Saints and put them to an audio story, and then tell it as if St. Therese was telling you about her childhood. Some, like st. Cecelia, do talk about cutting her head off, so be warned about that for really young or sensitive kids. They also have other cool things on their website.
• Shining Light Dolls.  These are awesome Saint dolls that are small and fun for kids of all ages. Great for St. Nicholas Day gifts! They also have 2 books and we love the Mary one!
• http://www.catholicicing.com is just one of the best Catholic blogs for kids ideas. She has tons of costume ideas for All Saints Day (Dress up as a Saint when you attend Mass on All Saints Day- which is a Holy Day of Obligation!), peg-doll ideas, crafts for various Saints, make your own monstrance, great ideas for helping your kids prepare for First Communion, and so much more! She's a great resource. 
• Tiny Saints- These are just small charms that are fun to put on jacket zippers, backpacks, or I have mine on my keys! 

Good books: 

• 33 Days to Morning Glory-
• 33 Days to Merciful Love
• Any book by this author. I first read Our Lady of Kiebeho- Mary appeared in Rwanda (Like Fatima and Lourdes) and told the people to repent- and they didn't and then the genocide came. This author lived through the genocide and wrote several books about it. They are all amazing and it wasn't until i read these that I was able to have a relationship finally with Mary.  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=imaculee+ilibagiza&sprefix=imacu%2Cstripbooks%2C700&crid=2NOGCHVOEUDO5
• THis book is an easy to read one, and it talks about how this woman came to relate to a few Saints, like St. Therese. https://www.amazon.com/My-Sisters-Saints-Spiritual-Memoir/dp/077043651X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508816467&sr=1-1&keywords=my+sisters+the+saints
• I own this, but haven't read it, but heard great things about it. https://www.amazon.com/My-Badass-Book-Saints-Courageous-ebook/dp/B01NADT694/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
• I've been loving this for a daily devotional reader- Catholic woman's book of Days by Amy Welborn  https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Womans-Book-Days/dp/0829420576/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508816914&sr=1-1&keywords=a+catholic+woman%27s+book+of+days
• Also, any devotional by Blessed is She such as Above All. 

For kids:

• I got this as a baby gift for someone, and loved it. I keep thinking I need to get one for Max. 
• Catholic Treasure Box set
• St. Joseph picture books are amazing for little kids. You can find them individually on amazon for pretty cheap as well. https://www.catholiccompany.com/st-joseph-picture-books-boxed-gift-set-26-books-i7950/?aid=117&adpos=1t1&creative=103916029598&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_bSs5KuI1wIVhlt-Ch3DDwxMEAAYASAAEgKgQvD_BwE
• We have these DVDs about the Saints, and we always watch them for the Saints' feast day. https://www.cccofamerica.com/shop/saints-heroes-collection/ They often go on sale before Christmas. 
• This Saint book and others in the series are great, small Saint stories for kids. Not too much and on their levels. https://www.amazon.com/Once-upon-Saints-Ethel-Pochocki/dp/1883937159
• Most books by Tomie De Paola like the Legend of the Poinsetta (Christmas book!), the Clown of God, the Kitchen Angels, and the Holy Twins, St. Patrick, St. Christopher- all ones we own, are Saint stories and are awesome. He has many other great ones as well. 
• When kids are a bit older, Bethlehem books has a lot of great living books that are good books for kids to read. 
• Chime Travelers are chapter books, about the level of Magic Treehouse, and the kids go back in time to times of Saints. (Website says grades 2-4)
• Will Wilder (2 so far) for older kids
• The Weight of the Mass
• Roses in the Snow
• Saint Felix and the Spider
• Brigid's Cloak
• Lucia, Saint of Light (We always read this on her Feast Day in Dec. since it's our daughter's middle name)
• St. George and the Dragon
• THe Queen and the Cross

Favorite kids' bibles- 

https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Picture-Bible-Book-Publishing/dp/089942435X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508817011&sr=1-1&keywords=new+catholic+picture+bible

https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Young-Catholics-Eileen-Heffernan/dp/0819811513/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508817033&sr=1-1&keywords=bible+for+young+catholics

https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Childrens-Bible-paperback/dp/159982177X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508817033&sr=1-7&keywords=bible+for+young+catholics (We usually give this one for First Communion) 

I'm always checking Seton's website for good books and ideas. They are a homeschool program. we don't use them, btu they have great materials and good book suggestions. setonbooks.com

ANyway, i know it's a lot, but hope you find it helpful!!

Spiritual Tug-of-War

I am currently reading three fabulous books. First, I am reading 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-it-Yourself Retreat. This is just about a 3-5 minute read each day, and it's truly blown me away with how wonderful it is.  The day I started it, it was exactly what I needed that day.

The second is "Mom Enough: The Fearless Mother's Heart and Hope"  It talks about the many fears we as mothers often have. Am I doing enough? Will I ever have a career again? Have I lost myself in this 'job' of motherhood? It's really what I've been needing as well.

And the final one is "On the Other Side of Fear: How I Found Peace". This one is about dealing with fears and anxieties, the unknown. I saw this one advertised on FB, and with the fear I've had over this move, I decided to look in to it.

The three books have intersected so perfectly. Most recently, "On the Other Side of Fear" suggested talking your fears and anxieties out, working them to their logical conclusion and figuring out what is the worst that could happen. So, for example, if we don't get orders this week, what then? If we don't get them until the week we're suppose to leave, what then? What if we don't get movers by the time we gave our landlord notice? Then we'll have to talk to her. I don't want to, but it's possible. What if we close on the house and then don't move to ID? Then we'll rent it out. When my husband and I sat down and talked all of my fears out to the possible ends, it really helped.

I was thinking about this constant struggle I feel, this tug-of-war if you will. One day, I feel like the Lord is in control. The entire move is in His hands, and it will all work out. I have a "Thy Will" approach instead of "My Will". I remember His command "Be still and know that I am God." and I am at peace.

But then, the fear creeps in. I start worrying about the stress of every thing last minute. I start fretting about getting orders and movers. I start getting worried about purchasing the house, the church in town, homeschooling, etc. All of these fears then begin to consume me. I feel like the old cartoon with the angel and the devil on each shoulder.

I loved this quote "...darkness and light cannot coexist." The same is true for love and fear. The author went on to say she prayed for peace, for the ability to surrender, and that amidst her fears, that she'd be able to trust God and His plan for her life. This is my prayer as well.

With this constant struggle, often tug-of-war relationship between love of God and anxiety and fear, I was feeling discouraged. And then, I read the beautiful wisdom of St. Therese in "33 Days to Merciful Love", as she's talking about a stairway to holiness. Imagine a young child is trying to climb this stairway with huge steps.

"Now, the child, who is all of us little souls, cannot even climb the first step of that big staircase -- we're too little. But Therese tells us to try. She says 'Raise your little foot to scale the stairway of holiness.' Of course, we won't be successful, but Therese then adds 'God requires you only to demonstrate your good will.' In other words, we just need to give it a try. And as we do, Therese tells us that God will be 'conquered by [our] futile efforts' and will then descend the stairway, gather us into his arms, and take us to the heights. So, Therese's point seems to be that our efforts in the spiritual life are absolutely necessary but also absolutely useless....The Lord doesn't demand that we attain all virtues (success) but that we simply keep trying (faithfulness)." (day 11)

God understand that I am trying to have peace, I am trying to leave it in His hands, give it to Him, not have worry and anxiety.

"In sum, then, the Little Way is often a little way of darkess. It's about accepting that we are to put up with ourselves -- with all the darkness of our weakness, brokenness and sin -- without getting discouraged. It's recognizing, without giving up, that some struggles are chronic. It's realizing, without despairing, that they may be with us till our dying day. But, it's also about realizing that this does not prevent us from becoming saints." (day 11, 33 Days to Merciful Love) 

With all of this said, we still don't have orders. My husband got an email on Thursday saying "We're working on your orders." (I can't even begin to explain my response to that haha!) Yesterday was a family day and the whole base was basically closed. We're going to stop by the office this afternoon and see if they arrived. We also got paperwork to close on our house. We've got to get a notary, so hopefully Monday we'll be able to do that and get those papers sent back and close on our first home! More on that later.

"God does not call us to be successful but to be faithful." ~Blessed Mother Theresa

Trusting God in the midst of a move

We are 39 days out of having to be out of Germany, and still do not have orders. Until we have orders, we can not schedule movers, schedule plane tickets, schedule hotels, etc. We're basically sitting and twiddling our thumbs. Our house is in shambles, everything piled in different corners of the den to be boxed up by men we don't know. Every other move we've done- four other moves- we have moved on our own. All of the stuff sitting in my den would already be boxed up, waiting for us to pick up the Uhaul and load it. But, it's not possible when moving back to the states. (When we moved here, we had everything in storage and the movers just picked it up and put it on the truck.)

Anyone who knows me know that this move has been a struggle for me. I know all the comments by memory. "You're going to love ID. It's in God's hands. Jesus, I trust in you. Give it to our Mother Mary." And while I know all of this, and know that I need trust God, at times, it's hard. My faith has been very lacking, and the past month has been very rough and dark for me. My heart says trust God, while my mind does what it wants, gets stressed, freaks out, plays all the 'what if' scenarios, gets anxious, and just stops trusting God, even saying I don't believe it's in His hands any more.

I realized something had to give. I realized I needed a Sacrament, the Sacrament of Confession. (I know many of my friends will not understand this Sacrament, and I really struggled with it before converting to the Catholic faith, but now, I realize it has so many benefits and is incredibly scriptural. This article explains it really well if you are interested in understanding our beliefs better.)    I finally went this weekend, and what a difference it made. It had been too long, and I think that I had not realized the impact of the darkness of sin on my life.

Aside from that, I had a friend encourage several of us to do "33 Days to Merciful Love"- a do-it-yourself retreat. It wasn't suppose to begin until Aug 27, but I just had to begin. I knew I was thirsty for something. I have done about a week, and am completely blown away. The whole first week was on trusting God. Yesterday's meditation talked about how Eve brought original sin into the world, and through her, we lost our trust in God. And that the New Eve- Mary- came to restore that doubt. We sometimes run from God because of our lack of trust, so He uses Mary to bring us back to Him. That she helps provide the grace to come back to Him.

At this time, I am at a place of peace. I'm trying not to worry, and just leaving it in the Lord's hands. It will all work out, just not the way I'd prefer. It will be stressful. But, it will work out.

Moving update

Everyone's asking, so here's the short end of where we are regarding moving. We don't know when we're leaving Germany, other than "By Sept 30". We still don't have orders (official military paperwork that says "You're moving to ID" and allows us to do things), so we can't plan movers, hotels, rentals, car shipment, cancel contracts, anything. We know they will not come until after Aug 12 at the earliest. However, we have to give 30 day notice to our landlord, so we're trying to figure out what to tell her and give her notice today.

The house we first put a contract in on came back with a bad inspection and we walked away. It was for the good. Now we have put a contract in on another house. A 1950's house that has been completely flipped- brand new kitchen, beautifully restained hardwood floors, plenty of room, nice backyard, and room to do some renovations for our own enjoyment, We are suppose to close at the end of the month, so we're praying that our orders do arrive before then. If you're the praying type, that's what our specific prayer request is at the moment.

Other than that, we're keeping busy plucking away at trying to get our house ready for movers. I've realized I definitely prefer DITY (Do it yourself) moves.I can pack all my books and pictures and make headway. With a moving company, I can't pack anything or else they are not responsible for it. So instead, I'm just making huge piles in my living room of stuff that is ready to be packed. This will actually be our first ever more where they come in and pack up all of our stuff. When we moved to Germany, we had everything in storage for a year. And amazingly, the only things that were broken upon arrival were the microwave glass and a bookshelf, so we packed well ;-) Here's hoping these movers do as well! I definitely prefer moving ourselves, and doubt we'll do another military move again unless we end up overseas again.

This week has been Totus Tuus, which is basically like VBS or Church camp if you aren't familiar with it. We've been hosting one of the team members and really enjoyed getting to know him. It's consisted of lots of driving getting him and the kids back and forth, but the kids are having an absolute blast and are so sad to know today is the last day.

I'm some how sort of keeping my head on straight, but I definitely don't do well with this kind of stress and anxiety. I'm totally accepting prayers said on our behalf that we get orders by the 15th, and that we can just stay on top of everything we need to- is there a Saint for that?? Maybe Mary or St. Anne huh? Here's to a military move!

Poland Day 5 - Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy

Day 5- We had an appointment (booked online) for 10:20 at Shindler's Factory. We paid when we got there, 50 PLN ($13-Youngest two were free). We went back and forth on taking the tram verses driving. We decided to drive. I recommend if you have the ability to figure it out and can, take the tram. It was just taking so much time to figure it out that we thought driving would be easier. Parking was very difficult to find. We found it and had to make a mad dash to get there. Come to find out, if we had been a few minutes late, it would have been okay still I think. Also, when we came out, the que was super long, so morning reservations are a good idea! I'm not sure if you had prereserved your ticket, if you could have skipped the line or not.

This memorial was amazing and very moving. It portrayed more about Jewish life in Krakow than about the factory itself and Shindler. It was very informative with good visuals and a lot of reading. Jon and I wanted to read everything, but that just wasn't possible with the kids with us. So we read opposite things and shared what was important more or less. I don't think our kids got a whole lot from it unfortunately, We walked through what was portrayed as a ghetto, reading many quotes from Jews that lived there. Jon and I definitely learned a lot more that we did not previously know about the Holocaust.

Outside the gate at the factory

Jon and I outside the gate

There are only two small sections of wall remaining of the Jewish
ghetto in Krakow. The long part between the arch wall and the cherry blossom is one part.

Afterwards, we went to the Shrine of Divine Mercy. Since it is the Year of Mercy, I felt it was only appropriate we visit here. Saint Faustina was a mystic whom the Lord appeared to in 1931 and told her to have a painting made of the image before her (of Him) and the words "Jesus I trust in you" on the bottom. When the painter did paint it, she cried, because it could not possibly portray how beautiful Jesus is.

Not in the beauty of the colour, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace.
— Words attributed to Jesus by Faustina in her diary

Here is the image with St. John Paul II before it. The image has Jesus raising His right hand in a blessing, and His left hand over his heart. From his heart flows two rays, one red and one pale (blue). The red symbolizes the blood and the blue the water.

While there, we got to go inside the chapel that houses the image, with the remains of St. Faustina below the altar. During this time, Adoration was also taking place. There is also a small kneeler with a relic, one of her bones I believe. None of us went up to look because it felt inappropriate during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

This is the basilica.

The kids with a statue of St. Faustina (or St. Caustina per lil' bit)

Kids with Divine Mercy

This is the little chapel where the image is and where we went to Adoration.

A picture of me! That never happens :)

There is also the Divine Mercy Sanctuary that was completed in 2002. This sanctuary is huge. We joined everyone in praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm (the hour of Our Lord, when He died), and then attended our first Polish Mass. Let's just say, Alleluia and Amen were the only things we understood! For a 3pm mass on a Wednesday in April it was very full.

Our feelings were that there wasn't much to see and it is a place for quiet prayer. We had planned an entire afternoon here, and with mass, probably only needed two hours. Granted, if we didn't have children who were tired and at the end of their ropes, we could have appreciated the time of praying a lot more. The grounds are beautiful for walking. The sanctuary, being post-modernism, really disappointed us and did not lend well to meditative prayer for us. Post-modernism is the complete opposite of Christianity, so it was a bit surprising and felt out of place. There were bookstores that were incredibly inexpensive. I've been wanting a picture of a nursing Mary for a long time, and got a large one for only $15!

If you missed the other posts, here they are:


Day 1: Reservations and Day 1
Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

Poland Day 4- Wieliczka Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

On the 4th day, we left the house later than intended and headed to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. This mine is 1,073 feet deep and over 178 miles long. It's massive. The mine has been open since the 13th century producing table salt, but stopped production of table salt in 1996 because of the low cost of salt. It is on the UNSECO list of world heritage sites.

Info for anyone going: They do English tours every 30 minutes. There is a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 kids, so we had to buy an extra kid ticket. I think under 5 was free. No backpacks, but there is a luggage room. Plenty of parking available. The tour begins with you getting your own headpiece that the guide speaks in. The tour lasts 2 hours, and then there was also a museum available that was included in the price of the ticket. Because our day got started so late, and we were all getting tired, we skipped the museum.

The tour was amazing. You got to see different statues all made out of salt, walk through the mines like the miners, even along the tracks they used. There were 3 artificial lakes made for the tour, but they were cool. There was a small chapel we got to walk through. At this point, we learned there were 26 chapels total throughout the mines (Hello Catholic country!) Then we got to see the most beautiful of chapels that was huge and beautiful. My husband and the kids loved touching the walls and licking their fingers, and that's how we kept the 2 year old happy. It tasted just like you'd expect salt to taste.

An example of some of the statues and scenes in the mines

Some of the support beams within the mine. They were massive.

More statues... You could touch all of this and lick your fingers and taste the salt.

The mines

There was a very large church inside. It was all built out of salt and absolutely amazing.

The altar in the church. The chandelier is even made out of salt. 

Family in front of the salt altar.

In front of the salt statue of St. Pope John Paul II.

An amazing Last Supper picture carved into salt.

Mary in the chapel.

Afterwards, we ate lunch at the mine with some traditional Polish food that was yummy- Periogies, Cabbage leaf rolls, and bigos (sauerkraut with sausage). It was fun to try these foods! They also had a kids play area, so we let the kids play for 15 minutes, then headed out of the mine. I also purchased a few bath salts, foot scrub, and body scrub for super cheap.

By this point, it was already 4pm. We had wanted to visit Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a Catholic shrine that sees tons of visitors each year. It is 8 miles from where St. Pope John Paul II grew up, and him and his father spent a lot of time here. He even went back many times as Pope to walk the paths and pray alone. I totally recommend this place for Catholics, especially with children. There is the main Basilica, and then tons of chapels all over the hill. Here is a map (notice you can move the map to see all of them) We walked to a few of the chapels,but not many since it was so late. It was incredibly peaceful and quiet, even with the kids. They loved running through the woods, trying to find the next chapel. It was nice to give them that freedom, while we walked along quietly meditating on God's creation and getting the chance to view some of the chapels. I can completely see why the Pope would sneak back here to walk and pray. Most of the chapels weren't open, but you could still peak in. We are unsure if they were closed because of the time of day/time of year or are always. We got back to the car, made sandwiches for dinner, and headed home.

The main Basilica.

Basilica from a different angle.

My baby girl and I in front of the church.

The girls taking a peaceful moment to teach their baby sister a prayer.

An example of one of the small chapels. They have outside amboes and the kids loved getting up in them.

Who is this handsome young man??

sweet sisters

Us girls with Saint Pope John Paul II. No doubt about it, Poland loves this great man.

Part of the beautiful grounds.

This is love.

If you missed the other posts, here they are:


Day 1: Reservations and Day 1
Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

Poland Day 3- Old Town, Krakow

Day 3- Polish love color and it's very evident in their churches and pottery. We did not take pictures inside of the churches, as it wasn't allowed, but I did include some links to beautiful images I found online.

First we walked through the gate, then through the Cloth Hall. Nothing too exciting even though this is aparently a very popular destination. Lots of stalls of vendors selling junk we didn't need or want.
St. Francis Basillia (?)  Included a 10 min audio guide for free that was really well done and told a lot about the church. The kids all got one as well, and really enjoyed it and it helped them. This church was beautiful. No pictures inside, but you can see an image of how colorful and gorgeous it is here. Then we got to go to adoration with the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

Then we went to St. Mary's in the square. Walked in and Mass was still going on. Therefore, we went to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Then we went back to St. Mary's. There's an entrance to the church to pray, then there's an entrance for tourists who have to pay. We went in to pray. We got to walk through Holy Doors while here. During the year of Mercy, if you walk through Holy Doors, say the Creed, think about the Lord's Mercy, pray for the Pope's intentions, and receive the Eucharist, you get a plenary indulgence. We were able to do all but receive Communion. This Church was beautiful from what we could see. We stayed in the prayer area and prayed and looked around while praying. We weren't that interested in paying to see the rest. We also got to go to adoration here. There is a famous altar piece that is beautiful and I believe was lost/stolen during WWII, but we did not pay to go see it up close. Again, as you can tell, lots of color.

Afterwards, we sat in the square for a while and heard the trumpeteer of Krakow. Legend has it that the firemen would climb the tower and blow the bugle to sound a fire alarm, or if an enemy was attacking. Once, when the city was under attack, a man sounded the alarm, and was either shot by an arrow, or had his throat slit mid-melody. So to this day, they stop in the middle of the tune.  The kids loved listening to it. It plays in each direction.

Then we headed to Wawel castle, with a stop in St. Peter's and St. Paul's. We got to pray in the Blessed Sacrament chapel while here. As we were exiting, they had some very graphic anti-abortion pictures. We ended up having a long discussion about abortion. We weren't exactly ready, but it opened up the door.

We finally arrived at Wawel Castle. We were too late to visit the treasury and other things (That are free on Monday, but only until 1pm), but we were fine with this. We then went in Wawel Cathedral, where yet again, we got to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. It was just after 3pm, the time of our Lord's Death, so we lead the kids in a decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Their attention spans were done at this point in the day, and we were lucky to get one decade!) We could have paid to see the crypt and bell tower, but we decided not to. We later regretted this when we found out John Paul II said his first mass in the crypt. We also could have paid for an audio guide, but realized it after the fact. I love audio guides, so was a bit disappointed. Truth is, by this point in the day, we were pretty tired and warn out.

Afterwards, we walked out of the castle and down to the Vistula (the river). There is a legend of a dragon in the dragon's cave that Hannah knew all about and wanted to tell us about, so we went down to find the cave. It was closed up, but there were some awesome rocks to climb. The kids spent a good 45 min climbing them and having a blast, while I sat with our stuff and people-watched. Then we headed back, grabbing ice cream on our walk to keep the kids walking without complaining. Eggy burritos for dinner with discussion of concentration camps, Oscar Shindler, and how everyone is important and God made everyone for a reason (The kids' conclusion after discussing more about the camps). Then baths and bed for exhausted kids.

A daddy and his girls

The Cloth House in the background

St. Mary's Basilica. The tower on the left is where the trumpeteer still plays every hour.

Wawel Castle

How Beka rolls on vacation.

Wawel Cathedral. So many different styles for one church!

Yes, she just had surgery two weeks ago. She looks so grown up with the side ponytail!

Our family with St. Pope John Paul II

Climbing on the rocks of the cave of the fire-breathing dragon

It breathes fire about every 5 minutes. 

Day 1: Reservations and Day 1
Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

Poland-Reservations and Day 1

Knowing that our time in Germany and Europe is ending pretty soon, I set out in January to plan one trip we'd been wanting to make-Poland. I wanted to get to Krakow before World Youth Day, so I planned for April. I knew it'd be rough, because I had a personal trip planned for the end of April, but we went for it anyway.

Things we did before we left-made reservations at Auschwitz and at Shindler's Factory, an apartment in Krakow, and hotels in Dresden and Boleslawiec. I will not share the Krakow apartment, as I would not recommend it. But I will share hotels.

Dresden apartment was wonderful. Easy parking behind the hotel that was suppose to be €6, but we were not charged. It had an optional kitchen, but we did not know this when we booked the hotel. Their website does have information about it though. We had this booked for 5, and asked for a cot for the 2yo. There wasn't a cot, but the bed was plenty big for the 3 girls to share, and our son had a single bed alone. There was also a couch that looked like it could fold out. Apparently breakfast may have been included, but again, did not know this, so we had cereal in our room for breakfast.

The Boleslawiec hotel, Hotel Ambasada, was a fancy hotel with a huge super king bed, and 4 single beds. We really enjoyed it. It included a nice huge breakfast.

Important things we packed, that I'm sharing because it's good info if you stay in apartments-kitchen scrubbies and soap, kitchen towels and washcloths (because they always seem to give ONE kitchen towel for you to use all week!) and a few regular washcloths because Europeans don't use them apparently. I wish we had packed a few extra blankets and towels, as our apartment was crap and lacked on linens (not even really enough for the beds, but we made do) and only gave us 4 towels for 5 days. Note to self, you get what you pay for. I don't recommend the apartment where we stayed.

Day 1-We got on the road by 10am, which was my goal. We drove to Dresden and checked in to our hotel. It had great parking behind the building and was very nice and cozy. The ONLY complaint was there was no coffee in the room. :) We drove in to the downtown area, parked in a garage and attended Mass in the Cathedral in Dresden. It was Divine Mercy Sunday, the day that 8 years ago, I entered the church. Mass was in German, but we understood enough of it to follow along. Jon had downloaded the readings on his ipod, so we all shared the ipod to know what the readings were. Afterwards, we walked around until we found somewhere to eat dinner- an american style restaurant called "Alex". It was decent, but took forever and our food was not made the way we ordered, We left after 9pm to head back and get some sleep for the next day of driving.

We did not get to see much of Dresden, but what we did see was very beautiful. If we have the chance, I would love to go back and see more of it, and would easily stay in the same hotel.

Here are all of the other blog posts:

Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

This Year's Homeschooling Journey

This year, I have really struggled with homeschooling. I haven't found the passion I use to have. I've felt overwhelmed, tired, burnt out. It has been all school year that I have felt like this. Many people I know have put their kids in school this year. That has been hard for me as well. Yet, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we were not suppose to be doing that. I knew God had called us to homeschool, and He wasn't calling us away, just because He was calling others away. My husband so kindly reminded me that many people don't always like their jobs (in an office, etc), and I tried to find some solace in that.

I tried (That's the operative word here) to give up complaining for Lent. Ok, let's be honest. I tried to complain less for Lent. In doing so, I've really tried hard not to complain about homeschooling, or the 2yo that creates complete mayhem throughout our school day. And you know what has happened? My heart is shifting again.

I'm realizing the reasons I do love homeschooling. Like hearing H read to the toddler today. Or coming down stairs at 7:45 to find the older two are almost completely done with their individual work, and we can actually attend Mass at lunch time on a Tuesday. Or listening to them take in where Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are on a map, because that's where the Canaanites came from. Or jumping for joy because one finished Dr. Doolittle and another read Sarah Plain and Tall in one day. Or when I walk in to the living room like I did last week, and find everyone together, as they tell me "We're doing our school work". Like a picnic.

God has shown me this Lent why He has called me here, and I am where I belong. 

I think some other things have helped as well. I found out I had severely low Vitamin D, and got that taken care of. Hello Germany and the land of no sun! 

I also took on a position for an organization that I am very fond of. This organization has me working many hours doing what I love-administration work. It feels like a 'job' that I am able to do from home, while homeschooling, and it gives me that purpose that I felt I was missing. It's funny, because when approached about the job, I was very unsure, but I had a peace, I felt God was saying "If I've called you, I will make a way." And He has, and it has been one of the biggest blessings in my life this past year. 

You know the verse in Ruth 1:16 "But Ruth said, 'Do not press me to leave you and to stop going with you, for wherever you go, I shall go, wherever you live, I shall live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." She was talking to Naomi, who had a different God than her, but she was a dedicated friend to Naomi. I was reading "You Can Understand the Bible" last night and it said "Like Mary, Ruth was a kind of co-redeemer... Ruth's bond...expresses the same state of soul, the same essential core of the spiritual life, the same secret of sanctity, as Mary's fiat "Be it done unto me according to thy word." Both of these should be my prayer. Whatever God wants of me, let it be done. Even if that means homeschooling. I am so thankful and glad that He has helped me find the joy in homeschooling again, and that I am noticing more of the little reasons that I know this is where I'm suppose to be. It's still a struggle at times, but I"m definitely in a better place.  

Called to Serve

I mentioned in my last post that a common theme on my heart lately has been the things of this world and the spiritual things that truly matter. There has also been something else that I'm really working on: Being a servant. In my home. I have known for a while that my spiritual gift was serving, but had never paid attention to using that gift at home until recently.

Two weeks ago, I went on a women's retreat, where the theme was "Divine Mercy". I learned a lot from this retreat (more at another time) but one of the stories that stuck with me was this. I believe it was St. Faustina, but I could be wrong. (Told to the best of my memory)

One night, she had gotten in to her pajamas and gotten in her bed, when her roommate said "Sister, would you get me a drink?" She got back up, got dressed again, and put her boots on. There was no kitchen in their house (convent) so she trucked across the muddy grounds to the kitchen and got the sister a drink. But then she realized that she had tracked mud in to the kitchen, so she had to clean it up as well. Then she got back to the bedroom with the drink, and there was Jesus. He told her "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do for me."

This struck me so hard. All I could think of was my husband. Many times we get in bed and he asks me "Will you turn off the lights?... will you go cover the kids up?.. Will you go check to see why the child is crying?" And so often, I say these same things, and many times, he does them for me, and I don't do them for him. After the retreat, my goal was to be more of a servant to my spouse.

However, this weekend, we were so incredibly blessed to go on a marriage retreat. In doing so, we talked about our children and how they apply to our marriage a lot. I realized there are many things I don't do for our kids, because well, I don't want to. I don't like it. I'm lazy. It's boring. It's gross. I hate doing it, etc. etc. But that's NOT what God has called me to do. If my children are not the "Least of these" then who are? Oh man, I have so much work to do! My new prayer is "Lord, please remind me to be a servant to others, so in doing so I will serve you."

And amazingly enough, as I was working on this, this video came across my feed. Sums it up perfectly.

Material versus Spiritual

I feel strongly that sometimes, God puts a theme or topic on your heart, or in your mind. Something for you to chew on, soak up, and think about a lot, and often for you to work on. The common theme on my mind and heart lately has been the material and earthly things of this world versus the spiritual things. What do I mean?

On Sunday mornings, sitting at church, receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, my mind is on Him. I want nothing more than to walk out of that building remembering that He is in me, and that everything I do should bring glory to Him. That anything else doesn't matter. 

Then Monday rolls around. My kids are a hot mess of not wanting to do school. So I'm trying to find a new way to make the science lesson come alive, and therefore skipping religion. I need a new jacket so being the thrifty person I am, I check all these sites for the best deal. My friends are posting all of these great links on Facebook that I just have to read. Especially because many of them are spiritual things, I'm sure they'll help me improve my spiritual walk. But the truth is, these are all distractions. The posts I read, I'll usually forget within minutes of reading them. The jacket, I don't really need. And when is science more important than teaching my children the faith? These are all things that are taking me away from Our Lord. I am so busy with all of these things, I can't take the time to spend 10 minutes to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet or read the readings for the day. 

I've pulled up about 7 tabs of things I want to read from Facebook, and interestingly enough, one was about yesterday's readings. The first one really struck home with me:

Romans 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;for it is written:As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

I found it interesting that today's reading was talking about He is Lord and every tongue shall praise Him. That our soul purpose is to live for the Lord. I realized, it's not just my tongue that should praise Him, it's my actions, how I use my time. How I respond to things. 

We have some changes in the coming year. It's hard to not worry about these changes. What will happen, how will it work out, where will we end up? But, none of that matters if I'm focused on the here and now. The here and now, spiritual side of things says to pray about it and tell Our Lord "Jesus, I trust in you!" 

When I'm talking about the material and earthly side of things, it is in so many areas. Being focused on clothes, how I look, what I say, where I go, what I do, what I think of myself, the people I spend time with, etc. It's so easy to be pulled in to these things that take so much focus in our world. It's like the pinterest ladies who always have these great crafts or foods made. I look at them and want to think "Oh, that's awesome! I should do that!" and then I get so lost in the trying to do all these things, that I've lost my spiritual focus. Or I want to have everything put together, like some of these homeschool bloggers do, and that doesn't matter. What matters is that my kids are learning. Whether it's in books, or through experiences, etc. (Side note, I'm personally REALLY struggling with homeschooling right now!) 

I think back to so many of the Saints. Some were very poor, and yet, they found all their joy in the Lord, and suffered so many things to be united to His suffering. They never cared about Facebook or their clothes, the politics of this or that, the things that did not matter. They were not focused on the material, earthly possessions, but on the Lord. 

Another great example is all of these wonderful blog posts I'd love to read, because I'm sure they'll have great information or encouragement.... But what's really the point? Is it going to help me grow in my spiritual life? Will I remember it 10 minutes from now? Or is it just my way to connect with someone?  oh the irony that I'm writing a similar blog post. Truth is, it's so I can look back on this and be reminded of it more.

The reason I feel the Lord has brought this phrase to my heart lately is because I have been missing out on the real spiritual. The sitting down with my children and reading a good book together, studying a Saint together. Spending time in prayer and in my Bible, or reading a book that will help me grow. I have really made some changes in my life lately because I was doing so much "for the Lord" that I was neglecting my first priority and gift from Him, my family. I was stuck in the earthly doing that I was neglecting the spiritual loving I should be doing. I'm so busy with the planning, I'm not enjoying, like the photographer behind the camera, so busy clicking the photo he isn't enjoying the moment he's in. 

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that it's a real and difficult struggle. I have the desire to focus on the Lord and seek the spiritual things, and to not get drawn in to these things, but then I am so quickly drawn to them and forget about the Lord. It's like a diet. You know you shouldn't have that chocolate, but then, in a moment of weakness, when you aren't thinking about not eating it, you eat it. Not that they are evil or a sin, but they are distracting from God. As my husband so kindly pointed out "The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Prayers is so important in overcoming the material temptations of this world. 

This is not to say the things of this world are not important, but that it's important to keep the Lord the priority.