Daria's 3 month old pictures

My cutie is 3 months old today!! :)

                                      

Feast of St. Anne

Two years ago, I had to make some pretty tough choices. I was living out here in California with my brother and sister-in-law and had just found out they were moving to Florida because my brother was being stationed there with the Marines. I had to decide whether I was going to move back to Colorado where my friends and family were, or move up to a little converted garage apartment in the middle of the desert so I could be closer to my boyfriend.

I started praying to St. Anne, and began a novena to her on her feast day (which I didn't realize at the time) and she definitely pulled through. After I finished the novena, it just seemed so obvious that I should stay here in the desert with my future husband and start the vocation that I had been called to. I wish I had known St. Anne sooner, she hasn't always been my special patron, but I can say that she is now.

She is an excellent model for wives and mothers and a perfect saint to pray to about relationships; Whether you are trying to find a husband or already have one.

                Novena to St. Ann

O glorious Saint Ann, 
you are filled with compassion 
for those who invoke you, 
and with love for those suffer. 
Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles, 
I cast myself at your feet 
  and humbly beg of you to take the present intention, 
which I recommend to you in your special care.

Please recommend it to your daughter, 
the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
and place it before the throne of Jesus, 
so that he may bring it to a happy issue.

Continue to intercede for me 
until my request is granted. 
But above all obtain for me the grace one day 

to see my God face to face, 

and with you and Mary and all the saints 
to praise and bless him for all eternity.  Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be.

Saint Ann, help me now and at the hour of my death! 
Good Saint Ann, intercede for me!

FIRST DAY

Dear Saint Ann, I appeal to you and place myself under your great motherly care as I begin this novena in your honor.  Please listen to my prayers and requests.

Help me, also, to begin this time of prayer with a heart open to the loving grace of God.  Give me the strength to begin a new life that will last forever.

Finally, blessed Saint Ann, I ask you to recommend me to your daughter, the most holy virgin Mary.  Through her, may I receive the spirit of prayer, humility, and the love of God.

(Recite the Prayer to Saint Ann above, followed by the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be, and the invocation to Saint Ann after each day’s reflection)

SECOND DAY

From the depths of my heart, good Saint Ann, I offer you my homage and I ask you to shelter me under the mantle of your motherly care.  Help me to purify my thoughts and desires.

Aid my decisions that all that I do may be done in love.

THIRD DAY

Good Saint Ann, you were the first to respond to the needs of Mary, the mother of our Savior.  You watched over her in her infancy, presented her at the temple, and consecrated her to the service of God.

By the great power God has given you, show yourself to be my mother and consoler.  Help me dedicate myself to God and to my neighbors.

Console me in my trials and strengthen me in my struggles.

FOURTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, you offered your daughter in the temple with faith, piety, and love.  With the happiness which then filled your heart, help me to present myself to God and to the world as a committed disciple of Jesus.

Take me under your protection.  Strengthen me in my temptations.  Show yourself to be a mother and help me to live a life of holiness and love.

FIFTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, by God’s special favor, grant consolation to us who invoke you.  Help us to grow in spiritual wealth for the life to come, and guide us in our temporal affairs as well.

Grant us the gift of continuous conversion and renewal of heart.  Help us to accept the Gospel of Jesus over and over again so that we may be ready to be true disciples in whatever situations we may experience during our lives.

SIXTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, free my heart of pride, vanity, and self-love.  Help me to know myself as I really am, and to learn meekness and simplicity of heart.

I realize God’s great love for me.  Help me to reflect this love through works of mercy and charity toward my neighbor.

SEVENTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, by the power and grace God has placed in you, extend to me your helping hand.  Renew my mind and heart.

I have unbounded confidence in your prayers.  Direct my actions according to your goodness and wisdom.  I place myself under your motherly care.

Pray that I may receive the grace to lead a devout life on earth, and that I may obtain the everlasting reward of heaven.

EIGHTH DAY

Saint Ann, you gave birth to Mary, whose divine Son brought forth salvation to our world by conquering death and restoring hope to all people.  Help me to pray to him who, for love of us, clothed himself with human flesh.

May I be guided from anything that is displeasing in the sight of God.  Pray that the Spirit of Jesus may enlighten and direct me in all I do.

Good Saint Ann, keep a watchful eye on me.

Help me bear all my crosses, and sustain me with courage.

NINTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, I have come to the end of this novena in your honor.

Do not let your kind ear grow weary of my prayers, thought I repeat them so often.

Implore for me from God’s providence all the help I need to get through life.  May your generous hand bestow on me the material means to satisfy my needs, and to alleviate the plight of the poor.

Good Saint Ann, pray that I may praise and thank the Holy Trinity for all eternity.

My knight in jeans and a Rockies hat

Five years ago today (give or take a day or two...) I met my one and only other half, and I guess you could say that the Rockies played a very important roll in our relationship and is probably one of the main reasons that we are happily married today. How you may ask? Here's how the story goes, and excuse me if some of the facts are a little wrong, it has been five years after all. ;)

It all started at Magic Mountain. My family and some close friends took a California trip in the Summer of 2011. We took the extremely scenic and long route starting in Colorado and going up through Washington state and then down the coast and through the Redwoods. It was a lot of driving, but definitely an epic trip. On one of the days the older kids went to Magic Mountain with a big group of people from the California Church. some of which we knew and some we had never met.

Amidst all the new faces, one stuck out in particular, partly because he was tan and had nice teeth and was really cute, and partly because he was wearing a Rockies hat.  I was born and raised in Colorado, so I have been a Rockies fan from birth, and the last thing I was expecting to see was a good looking California boy wearing a Colorado Rockies hat. I immediately thought he was awesome and wanted to talk to him. I did a little bit, but found out later he had a girlfriend, so I moved on and didn't really think too much more about him.

Fast forward two years, I'm eighteen and single, and randomly my friend tells me that Ben, (The cute California Rockies fan) is also single. So without much hesitation, I got his number and started texting him, and I guess you could say the rest is history. Our next California trip that same summer, we went to his house and at that point I was head over heels and there was no going back.

I thank God that he decided to wear that
hat that day, because little did I know five years later we would be married and have a sweet adorable baby girl, all thanks to the Rockies. ;)

God and Country

With all the chaos, hypocrisy and backwards thinking that we see today within the Church and our own Country, I've come to realize there are several similarities with the Catholic Church and America. Likewise there is a parallel with being a good Catholic and a good citizen of the United States. 

When America was first established it was under God and we were given the amendments as laws by which we were to abide. It was the same when Catholicism was established and we were given the Ten Commandments. These laws were not created as guidelines or suggestions that we could pick and choose, but as solid rules that were the foundation of something great; something we must live by. The Church has always had trials and persecutions just as America has always had tyranny and disorder, but in the chaos and confusion there has always been these laws the faithful have been able to turn to. The Ten Commandments and the Constitution have kept our Faith alive and our Nation great. So what happens when we refuse to obey these laws, these fundamental stepping stones that are the foundation of everything we know and love. What happens when we then proceed to have the audacity to try changing them?

Today in our Country, the people we have elected to be in control, are using their power to destroy America as we know it.  Being politically correct has now trumped the first amendment, freedom of speech, and they are pressing harder and harder for gun control, completely violating the second amendment, our right to bear arms. In the Church the corruption is the same. John Paul II, our so called "Pope" stated, "All men belong to a pantheistic Christ who is united to each man, whether he knows it or not, by virtue of his Incarnation." http://www.traditionalmass.org/articles/article.php?id=29  He fully supported religious freedom, which contradicts the First Commandment, "Thou shalt not have strange gods before me."

These are just a few examples that show the break down of our moral and social principles.  If this continues, we will no longer be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but rather the land of the greed and the home of the slaves. Also, with regards to the Church, if we blindly follow the heretical teachings, and agree with everything they are trying to shove down our throats, we will be living a lie and walking down a dangerous road which could result in losing our souls. We should refuse to let this happen, and make a concerted effort to stop the mess we're in before it gets too much worse, 


We can we make our Nation and our Catholic Faith great again by doing our duties as a citizen and a Catholic.  We can all rise to the challenge and be a part in our community, vote for  politicians who will help in our struggle and most importantly, pray for our beloved Country. As a Catholic, we can uphold our values, follow the Ten Commandments and again, most importantly, pray.  We must be the change we want to see in the World, and by striving to do our part individually, we can mak ea difference for the whole. By prayer and sacrifice we can make our Nation and our Faith great once again. 

Daria's two month old pictures

Our two month old photo shoot didn't turn out quite as well as our one month old photo shoot. Mostly because Daria decided she hates being on her stomach now. Probably due to the fact that she can't see everything or crawl around like she already wants to do...I still got some good ones though. Luckily, she's a very photogenic baby, and she almost always puts up with Mommy Paparazzi, ;)

"Ok, I'm happy for now."

"This aint too bad."

"Now I'm getting bored..."

"Mommy, what are you doing to me?"

"I can't see anything!"

"I can't move around or get up and crawl!!"

"MOOOMMYY!! WHY ARE YOU TORTURING ME!?!"

"Ok, this is a little better..."

"Ahh, my pacifier!"

"Life is better now, but I'm still mad at you Mommy...."

"Daddy, save me!"

"You're my new best friend!