Elfing Ourselves 2008

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thank God

Thank Him for
coffee with cream, cheese and crackers, and bread with butter
the internet
washing machines
and jeans with spandex.

Thank Him for
men who are kind yet strong
friends who bring soup
and little boys with blue eyes who come in with flushed cheeks and say they will never stop loving you

Thank Him for
blue skies and blue hydrangeas and blue-haired old ladies.
green acres and green lights and green tea.
purple grapes, red wine and dark, dark chocolate.

Thank Him for
good days with little sufferings
and bad days with heavy crosses.
Thank Him for days.

Thank Him.
Thank Him with every breath.

Join Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings to say thanks today and every Tuesday!

faith and fitness fun

If the imminent arrival of Thanksgiving has you pondering your food consumption, weight, waistline, body image and the like, you might want to visit my faith and fitness blog In God's Image for some encouragement. Kate Wicker and I write there about all that and more.

Today I share a very fun picture of myself nine months pregnant with my fifth child. I KNOW you want to see that. Admit it, you are tired of all these "cute" photos of me, and want to see the real Cathy. What are you waiting for?

happy birthday Lolo!

When my Lauren Elizabeth was born, her sister Rachel was only 16 months old. She couldn't properly say Lauren's name, and called her "Lolo" instead. It suited that sweet baby girl perfectly, and the name took.

We still call her Lolo. She's no longer a chubby little girl who loves chocolate and climbing on top of the fridge. Now she's a young wife, an excellent student on her way to becoming an incredible nurse. (She still loves chocolate, but as far as I know she no longer perches on major appliances.)

Lauren turned 21 on Saturday. We celebrated with a lovely dinner at Ciao, a fun limo ride and a bit of "clubbing." I'm so blessed to have daughters like mine, who want their mama to celebrate with them!

Love ya Lowell! I'm so proud of you I can hardly stand it

something to live up to

"Role models show us how to bring God's goodness into our world. Cathy Adamkiewicz my mom is my role model because she is so nice.
Because she would treat somebody the same as Jesus would. I think she is one of the best moms in the world."

John, age 9

"freedom of choice"

I know that most of my readers are familiar with FOCA -- and that they know that Barack Obama has said that his "first act" as president will be to sign it in to law.

Don't know the facts? Here they are:

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate EVERY restriction on abortion nationwide.

FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections.
FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions.
FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions.

Let's just assume for a moment, dear friend, that you consider yourself pro-choice. I respect your right to feel that way. But you need to know this: FOCA would eliminate all, and I mean ALL restrictions. So if your 13-year-old daughter gets pregnant, say by a 21-year-old man, he can take her for an abortion to cover his crime AND YOU WON'T KNOW ABOUT IT.

I know some folks who consider themselves pro-choice, and they would not allow their daughters to get their ears pierced without their permission.

Let's just think about this reasonably, shall we?

I've spent much of the last week pondering what it means to be "pro-life." I've always considered myself as such, but in light of recent events, I've realized I must become a much more active pro-lifer.

I've accepted an invitation to serve as a "mentor mom" at our local crisis pregancy center. I'm posting this info about FOCA and adding it to my sidebar. And I'm going one step further. I'm going to do something rather out of character and post a very disturbing video.

I spotted it last week at Ebeths' place and forced myself to watch it. IT IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC. Say a prayer before you watch it. If you're like me, it will be difficult. There will be tears, and you will never be the same. But if you, like me, need a reminder that you must live and breathe for these innocent babies, watch it, and be transformed.

Click here to see it.

Whatever you do, do this: find a way to help others choose life, and do it now.

my quirks

What a week! First I receive an award and now I've been tagged for a meme!

I know some of you are tired of these. If you are, just look away. I think they're fun. This one in particular is interesting, because according to Mary at Not Strictly Spiritual I am required to ponder and write about my QUIRKS! What could be more fun than that!?

(BTW, Mary is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Catholic Catechism, which automatically makes her quirky, fun, and someone you should want to get to know.)

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog
3. Tell about your six quirks
4. Tag six bloggers to do the same.
5. Leave them a comment to let them know you've tagged them.
6. No tag backs.


At first, shockingly, I was having trouble coming up with six quirks. Me, quirky? Then, as I wandered around the house in my pajamas, talking to myself, eating chips and dip for breakfast, I thought of just a couple worth sharing.

1. I can't sleep without first applying Lip Smacker (preferably strawberry.) In fact, I'm known for applying some sort of lip product before all life events, both major and minor.
2. I ALWAYS "read" magazines from back to front. My mother tells me my grandmother used to do this also, so I obviously can't help it; it's hereditary. I've also been known to read blog posts this way.
3. I hate going to new restaurants. I'm always afraid the food will be bad, the service will be slow, or worse, something horribly inappropriate, like a drag show or table dancing, will occur while I'm sipping my merlot.
4. Despite the fact that I am always telling people to put away their shoes, I have a habit of leaving mine all over the house.
5. I never, and I mean never, balance my checkbook.
6. I love two things that most women hate: going grocery shopping and having my picture taken.

Since I'm now on a quirky roll I'm going to add a seventh: I claim to be a rule follower who is always obedient, but I'm constantly breaking rules. See, I just did it! I added an extra quirk when I wasn't even asked to! And I do all sorts of unconventional things like homeschool, use NFP, have seven kids, and tap dance and sing in plays even though I have no training or talent.

It's fun to be quirky.

Want to be share YOUR quirks? I'm breaking another rule. Consider yourself tagged if you read this. I'm too lazy to tag you myself. Let me know if you play along and I'll write something nice about you.

it's a major award!

I'm feeling quite spiffy this morning as I just received my first ever award for this blog!

Cassie at Blessed Life showed me the love with this meaningful award. Thanks, Cassie! You are a peach!

This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.

The rules to follow are :
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to other 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Wow! 15 is a big number! I don't know if I read 15 blogs regularly. This got me to thinking about the blogs I do read and why I like them.

I like blogs about the Catholic faith, because they challenge my spirit. (I enjoy blogs by Christians from other traditions too -- I'm always inspired by their love of Scripture.) I like "Mommy blogs" -- particularly those from young, enthusiastic moms who are excited to be mothering. (They motivate me to be a better mom myself.) I LOVE humorous blogs, because I need more laughter in my life, and reading them makes me feel funny. (Not funny weird, funny like I'm so amusing.)

I like lady-like blogs, because they inspire me to be more feminine. I like nostalgia, because who doesn't want to feel like a kid again? I like blogs that mentions good books, because words are my life. And I like blogs by men, because, well, I love men and how they think.

I like any blog that dwells on food, wine or chocolate, or that features beautiful art or photography.

I even like blogs with opinions different than my own.

So I'm a rather eclectic blog reader, but truthfully, I tend to flit around so much that I can't say I've committed to 15 blogs. So I'll just mention a couple of my favorites (they certainly exemplify the aforementioned values!) and pass this award on to them.


Kate Wicker because she's a kindred spirit
Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings because she makes me feel funny :)
Kelly at Soul Pockets because she's a beautiful mom and a real-life friend
Kelly's husband Dominic because he's smart
Mom to Five Minnies because she's an awesome photographer
Kim at Dog and Pony Show because she's SO sweet

because I know you need a laugh

I laughed out loud TWICE in the last two days due to these two commercials.

Enjoy.

from the childhood shelf

Have you ever wanted to run away from home?

No, not now, because your spouse and kids are driving you crazy. I mean, when you were little, did you want to pack up a suitcase with the essentials (teddy bear, crackers, and Things With Which to Survive) and head off to somewhere "better?"

I used to dream of going someplace exotic like the seashore or better yet, a tree house. These fantasies were no doubt fueled by this book, one of my childhood favorites.

My boys have the day off from school today, and Luke just packed up a suitcase and announced he's "walking and swimming to Hawaii." I'm with ya, son.

It made me think of this book, which survived my many readings to land on my kids' shelf. How I love it.

"So we packed our bag with sweaters and socks
and scarlet leaves and gold
and a frog who was a particular friend
and precious stones that caught and held the sun."

Pure poetry.

Makes me want to pack a suitcase and go exploring.

Don't worry. I'll be back in time for dinner.

awe and wonder

I had one of those experiences today, the kind that will be locked forever in my heart.

I got the first glimpse of my grandbaby!

I've included a copy of the ultrasound pic, and though you may think it looks like an alien frog, I think it looks like the most beautiful baby ever.

All looks well, but please keep Rachel, her husband Chris, and our little Peanut in your prayers!

just another prayer post

Are you sensing a theme?

If you believe in coincidence you could claim one now -- I happened upon this prayer kick-start that will get us all all praying a bit more in the month of November.

The pithy, quirky Ironic Catholic takes things seriously at NaPraGoMo -- a site dedicated to getting us to add 15 minutes a day to our prayer time. (NaPraGoMo? It's a spin on the popular NaNoWriMo, at which writers are encouraged to knock out a novel in a months' time. This time the crazy acronym stands for National Pray to God Month.)

The widget is on my sidebar for your clicking pleasure, but hey, why not visit there, sign up, and add it to your site?

The beautiful photographs and succinct meditations got me thinking about prayer and -- GASP -- actually praying.

Give the site a visit -- and don't forget to pray for me.