St. Maurice

I haven't shared this prayer with you yet. But I say it from time to time and ask St. Maurice to protect you and bring you home to me. Maybe it will be a prayer you can use as well.

 

Saint Maurice, most blessed and honourable patron saint,

you who fought so valiantly on the battlefield of faith,

steadfastly opposed the tyranny of earthly rulers,

boldly confessed faith in the one true God,

and preferred to die by the sword rather than

to betray your Lord, Jesus Christ, pray for us.

O holy martyr and loyal soldier of Christ,

obtain for us the courage to persevere in truth,

to be a light in the darkness of the times in which we live,

and to defend the honour of the Church wherever it is opposed.

Obtain also for us the grace to endure patiently

all the trials and hardships of this life,

and to carry our cross in the spirit of prayer and self-denial.

In particular we ask you to obtain for us from God the following favour:

[mention your special request].

We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.

Amen.

Today's Homily

So today's homily was about blessings. About how we constantly forget all the blessings God has given us. Father Micheal talked about how since he was diagnosed with cancer, his everyday "problems" no longer seem important to him. He goes through the day, acknowledging all the little things that used to bother or unnerve him. He said that now, seeing how precious his life has become and we never really know when we will be called home to God, we should make the most of each of our earthly days and count our blessings. I know we are always told to be grateful for the blessings we have and stop wishing for bigger and better. But he struck a cord with me today. I have been so nervous about....well...everything. Not a day goes by where I am not worried about some "problem". I worry about our house, how we will furnish it, not having a job, not finding a job, worrying about being pregnant and how that looks, worrying about how I look, complaining about being sick through this pregnancy, complaining about my sister or my family....just to name a few things that I personally consider "problems" in my life. I worry about you and I. About marriage, about loving one another forever, about raising our children...I make "problems" when I have none. I thank God every night for the gifts he gives me but yet, during the hours of the day, when I feel exposed to other people, I'm ungrateful. But then the baby moves or you call and...life makes sense. I'm so excited we are having this child. Honestly scared but I believe my fear resides solely in the views of other people. Still. I can't seem to escape it. But if it were just you and me, then I wouldn't find any hesitation and I would remember to count my blessings. I also forget at times the love that we share and how real it is. And I make "problems" for myself. But I know that we were blessed with the gift of finding each other and sharing all that we have together. We've made each other stronger through each and every task God has put before us. Why am I not more grateful for all these things? You're better at it than I am; always appreciating what you have and feeling the happiness it brings to your life. I have to stop focusing on my "problems" and focus on our blessings. We have so much and have so much ahead of us. So much more than more than half the people in this world. I have my health; you have yours; Summer has hers; and God willing so will our little one. We are blessed to have families and friends. Plus the everyday gifts. So I'm going to work harder at focusing on my blessings and less on the "problems". And I'm going to find strength in my faith and trust that God will always take care of us. I may need your help time to time to remind me but I figure, you and I are really good at reminding each other of things. ;) I hope you know how grateful I am to have you in my life. You are one of my greatest blessings, I hope you know that..

Quote

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

- Henry Van Dyke

I'm lucky to have found great love because for us, we share an eternity that other's never experience. We share a life without question, without games. It's just us. Raw and true. For better or for worse. Me and you, just us two.   And I love everything this life has to offer. 

Catering

This has been the best place I have looked at so far. We could do a sit down dinner at a decent price. It ranges betweem $25-$32/pp. Now if you multiply that for 80 (yes, that's high but I'd rather go higher then underestimate) it would be $2560. That's if each dinner was $32. $2240 for the $28/pp and $2000 for the $25/pp/ Again, 80 is super high but I figured it was better. But honestly, there weren't any options under the $32/pp that I really liked. Also, with this caterer, we can pick two entrees, two sides, and two vegetables plus a choice of two drinks (lemonade, tea, sweet tea, or fruit infused water).

My favorites from the $25/pp- Herb Roasted Chicken or the meatloaf
My favorites from the $28/pp-Beef Bourguingnon and the beef brisket

Those to me are the best for an group of people. I want to talk to them about doing a beef and a chicken. But they aren't under one category together so I want to see if they will work with me on that.

For the sides, I would go with a starch like mashed potatoes or gnocchi. We could also do salads if we wanted.

For the veggies, I would go with the roasted seasonal veggies, greenbeans or glazed carrots. They also offer soup here, which you know I am a big fan of but we can only pick two. I also want to talk to them about doing a soup and salad course separate to see how much that would cost. I just want an overall picture.

I'm running numbers now on rental stuff and it isn't too bad. It'll mainly depend on how many people who we invite and who actually come. I would like to send out a feeler in some way to get an idea. Like...email our families and friends and see who honestly think they can come. That way we know what we are looking at as a real number...just a thought.

Entrees- http://www.thriveacarryoutcafe.com/pdf/dinner_buffet_menu_front.pdf

Veggies- http://www.thriveacarryoutcafe.com/pdf/dinner_buffet_menu_back.pdf

Moooooore...

I'm never going to try on dresses again!!! I could find dresses every time I go and honestly...it's really annoying...Damn me and my indecision.... I posted pics of the dresses I found online because the girl who helped took horrible pictures but a few of the backs. Hopefully you can help me out here......

18 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

The Dunes House

This is the very first place I saw. We've already talked about it but I figured an image wouldn't hurt. There isn't much to copy and paste from so again, I'm going to add the site link and maybe you'll be able to scroll through the pictures.





http://www.palmettodunes.com/hilton-head-wedding-photos.php