Life is a challenge, meet it!

January 18, 2021

Do you ever feel like it takes forever to journey through January?  Do you ever just have one of those days where you feel like your energy is zapped and it is only 8am? For me, I do not think this is even related to COVID...January just feels like the longest month!! Where is the sun? Where is the inspiration? 

I decided I needed to go search it out or I would have a miserable day staying in my own head!

I went into the Parent Room (it missed all of you!) and was doing a little sanitizing and saw this picture on the wall. It caught my eye in a new way (since I have looked at it everyday for the last 3 years!), and I found myself just looking at it. Like, really looking at it.

Mary has her eyes on her baby boy....she is attentive to Him and is with Him on their journey.  

It then struck me....If I think January is a long month to journey through, I wonder what it must have been like for this Holy Family?  In pondering this, I had to bow my head and think how easy I really have it. Cold, snow, lack of sun, etc., it doesn't even compare to what they must have had to journey through to get to a place they wanted to call home!

As I looked around the Parent Room, my eye then caught this picture:

"Genuine love is demanding, but its beauty lies precisely in the demands it makes." Saint Pope John Paul II

Now, if that quote doesn't give one something to ponder, I do not know what will!

It is in that genuine love we have for our children and one another, that we have the power to change the world.  Genuine love IS demanding!  It demands us to look beyond ourselves to the great good.  We just took Tabitha back to college for the spring semester yesterday.  Why it is harder on the heartstrings this time than in the fall?  Genuine love demands that we let her 'go' even though it is hard.  

All of this brought me to realize that a little inspiration would be helpful, so I turned to one of my favorite saints (Saint Mother Teresa) and found this:

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
life is a challenge, meet it.
life is a duty, complete it.
life is a game, play it.
life is costly, care for it.
life is wealth, keep it.
life is love, enjoy it.
life is mystery, know it.
life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is a sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is Life, fight for it!.”

Today, as we take the day to remember Martin Luther King Jr. who helped change opinions, attitudes and actions towards one another, let us be inspired to do all that this poem suggests.

I found my inspiration! I am ready!!

Life is a challenge, let's meet it!  

Advent Celebration Watch Party

 It was a blessing to have a Watch Party with all the families at SJB!

Here is a link to the Advent Celebration by your amazing children!

Enjoy a glimpse into our home parties...enjoying hot chocolate and cookies!!

Merry Christmas!!

Angela :)

December 6....What a Day!

 December 6, 2020

Today is quite a day!  Not only do we celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas and the 2nd Sunday of Advent, but in our home, we also celebrate Jeremiah!

We were blessed 17 years ago with a little boy bundle of joy. His sisters where the happiest to be able to have a real-live-doll to dress and push in their strollers. :) I think his whole life has been met with the need to have SO much patience that it has continued to bless him and be a virtue of choice!  

I remember being SO glad he was born as he had been two weeks overdue.  With the announcement at birth that we had a boy, I was suddenly both elated and frightened all at once.  You see, I grew up with only sisters (5 of them actually) and lived on a farm in the middle of no where...I never knew any little guys!  Now I was being given the responsibility of setting this sweet one on the right track!  YIKES!

Good thing I was not alone!

Over the years, he has grown in mind, body and soul. He has become a responsible, active citizen who does what is right even when it is hard.  He is independent and pursues what he is interested in, not worrying about what others may think of him....being kind and courageous never goes out of style!

He had the whitest hair as a very young boy, was constantly smiling, and always trying to keep up with his sisters. Jer was a welcome addition to our very girl-dominate family.   

2 year old Jeremiah

Jer, Tabi, Teresa and Sam
All the children at great-grandparents farm.

He has taught me much about being a parent of a boy, pre-teen, teenager and what we now call "a man-in-training".  In much the same way that St. Nicholas was looking out for others, Jeremiah has followed his birthday saint.

Jer with new brother, Noah.

Whether Jer is giving his time, talent or treasure, he is always looking out for others and willingly sacrifices gifts for himself to encourage and bring happiness to friends and family.  This spirit of giving has permeated our house.  

Jer has learned to love music with an incredible passion.  Much square footage is designated to his instruments...all of which he has taught himself how to play. He uses his music to encourage others and bring glory to God.  (While this can be the case, it is regularly requested that he turn his music-making down so his sibling can study.) 

Electric Drums

  

Regular Drums

Full Sized Keyboard

Cajon

Ukulele

Guitar

During these challenging days of COVID, I think it is easy to get on one another's nerves....especially in the winter months when being outside isn't always easy.  

On this 2nd Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of PEACE. 

Jesus came and brought peace and brought peace in ways that were unexpected. If we take some time to honor each other and encourage one another, we shift the focus off ourselves, allowing Him to bring inner peace.  Additionally, encouragement brings about the peace that we can have with each other, setting aside differences and resting in knowing we are all apart of the same family.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas - Happy 2nd Sunday of Advent - Happy Birthday Jeremiah!

It's a triple celebration!!

Thanksgiving 2020

November 26, 2020

Today, we have SO much to be grateful for!  While we are certainly limiting those who enter our homes, we are so grateful that our college girls are home!  No matter how you look at 2020, it has just been a different kind of year.  The 'different' of this year is something my family is now very grateful for as it allowed us to look beyond ourselves.

There is a joke in my husband's family that they "Wroblewski-size" everything.  After being married for a little while, I finally understood the joke....why get a little grill when you can get the 'Wroblewski -sized' one?  Why get a drill with only a little power when you can get the 'Wroblewski-sized' powered drill?  I remember thinking....wait until we need a deck or something like that!  And sure enough....over the course of our 25 years of marriage, we have now built two 'Wroblewski-sized' decks!

Anyway...back to Thanksgiving.  Due to Covid-19 we have not been able to visit my mom or Jim's parents as we had been able to in the past.  With Thanksgiving, everyone is feeling most comfortable to stay within their own homes so because of this, we decided we would bring Thanksgiving to them!

So, first things first: The Turkey.  One Saturday in come my boys (Jim, Jer and Noah) after grocery shopping with not just one turkey, but two of them. The turkey had just been upgraded to the "Wroblewski-size"!

This ended up being a gift in disguise.  We moved from making meals for grandparents to making meals for those who did not have the gift of others to be with during this pandemic.  We "Wroblewski-sized" Thanksgiving and spent yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving, making meals for others.  

Tabitha was in charge of pies. 

Jeremiah was the shopper (for all the things we needed last minute) and helped with the turkey, 

Teresa created the cards (aren't these gorgeous...maybe she should consider being a card maker!) and was the cranberry sauce maker, 

Noah made a delicious non-traditional grasshopper parfait.

I was in charge of the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn and gravy (I imagine our Thanksgiving meal consists of these items because it was what I grew-up growing/making from scratch on the farm).

Jim is in charge of deliveries....from Chaska, to Excelsior, to Coon Rapids to St. Cloud!

For us, Thanksgiving has traditionally been about bringing our own family together.  While we desire to be together under one roof again, this year's pandemic took us beyond our ourselves and with a  'Wroblewski-sized' Thanksgiving, we were able to share Thanksgiving with so many more than would have fit in our house!  I think this is the beginning of a new tradition!

Feeling so grateful...blessings on your Thanksgiving Day!

Apple pies in the making

Pumpkin pies

Pumpkin pie

   

Apple pie

  

Pecan pie

Making cranberry sauce

Cranberries!

Coffee: What's the big deal?

 

I have always been a proud non-coffee drinker.  

I have spent years smelling the coffee maker in the kitchen as it percolates the same kind of coffee every morning.  I remember my parents sitting in the morning, sipping their coffee and just "being" together.  They must have enjoyed it for some reason, but I never had been able to figure out why.

I just could not fathom the draw to such a drink.  

My dislike for coffee grew a little more with each of my six pregnancies.  By the time we were expecting Noah, the coffee pot had to be moved to the garage! My sense of smell was so acute that just passing by the pot (without anything in it) sent me running for the bathroom.

All that being said, in the past couple years of life's journey, the household coffee pot has grown from a 4 cup pot to a 12 cup pot.  Two years ago we graduated the coffee pot and moved to an expresso machine and at the same time I began trying a little coffee (like 2 tablespoons) with a lot of milk.  

This went well!

Over the course of months, those 2 tables spoons have grown into 3/4 of a cup!  In true confessions, I cannot handle black coffee (it is simply too bitten for me).  I have yet to learn all the language of the true coffee extraordinaire, however, I have settled into a routine of hand brewing 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds into a mug, warming coconut milk to fill the reminder of the cup and then topping it off with a tablespoon of sugar and a mound of whipping cream. This mug of coffee has become known as "Mom's coffee" and sure enough, I have children asking me to make them some as well!

I have learned to enjoy the simplicity of sitting at the kitchen table, coffee in hand, catching up and "being" with Jim on the weekends.  As the girls return from college, there is something so delightful in sitting around the living room, drinking coffee and catching up.  Maybe it is not really the coffee that is the big deal, it is the power it gives one to just stop and take a break.

I never thought I would hear myself say, "I really am enjoying my coffee today!"

Whether it is coffee or something else, I am reminded of something St. Gianna Molla said, "The secret to happiness is to live moment to moment and thank God for all the things he sends us."

Take a little time sometime soon and live the moment.  Give yourself the time to take a break.  

For me....I am going to have a cup of "Mom's coffee" and just BE.

Blessings!

St. Francis of Assisi

October 4, 2020 

Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  

A short two years ago, my daughter, Samantha, studied abroad in Austria.  One of the blessings of this adventure was her opportunities to travel around Europe.  One such outing was to Assisi!  

She shares about her journey in a journal she kept called Have Courage, Be Kind linked here and here. 

I could never know what she experienced unless I had been there, but her pictures of Assisi speak to the heart of who St. Francis was...a man of great peace and desire for God.  May we all strive for the same.

Peace!

Basilica of Santa Chiara

Basilica of St. Francis at the Tomb of St. Francis

Basilica of Santa Maria degli

Home Again!

 October 3, 2020

This weekend my college girls come home!

While the house has become increasingly active and substantially louder (girls really make a lot of noise!) I forgot how much space all of us take in a pew at Mass and I feel like I haven't stopped cooking!  But....I wouldn't change the last few hours!  There is not much to say but that this "mama's heart" is full!! :)

We did the traditional food shopping trips, they raided our pantry and spent a joyful couple days with their friend that was married on Saturday.  

Psalm 127:3-4 says “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands”. Children are blessing from God. The fifth verse of Psalm 127 says “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them”.

We are blessed!!