I've been a Scrabble addict most of my life. I don't remember where it started, although I've always liked words, languages, spelling, etc.
I started playing online Scrabble several years ago when Ian told me about it. He got me set up on the site and explained how it worked.
Once I started playing on the ISC site, I was HOOKED!!!
I've learned a lot since I first started:
1.) I like fast games. That isn't really a 'revelation' since I find myself bored when playing drawn out board games. (Or should I say 'bored games'?!)
2.) A good game time for me is set at 6 minutes. Each player gets six minutes, plus an extra minute after the timer runs down.
3.) The first order of business when the game begins is to search for any possible bingoes I might have. *A bingo is when a player uses all seven tiles in one turn.
4.) The best way to look for bingoes is if I have any of these combinations: 'ing', 'er', 'ed'. If I do, I rearrange the tiles on my tray to see if I can combine those letters with something else to form a bingo. (Example: ITNRGAN...would be 'RANTING'.)
5.) As much as possible, it is best to find bingoes early in the game because the board is open. The more filled up the board gets, the less chance one has of finding a spot for a bingo to fit.
6.) Bingoes are important because they earn the player an extra 50 points on top of the letter value.
7.) On ISC, most players are of at least the same caliber as I am. If I see a spot open, they do, too. It often comes down to who is lucky enough to get the better tiles.
8.) Almost always, playing letters alongside another word is much better than playing them all separate. For example: if the word 'teams' is played, and I have the letters to form 'zoo', it is better to place the z in front of the a to form 'za' (yes, it is a word, folks), the 'o' in front of the 'm' to form 'mo' (another word, yes), and the last 'o' in front of the 's' to form 'os', rather than to form 'zoos' off the 's' from teams. Usually the resulting score is much higher. The exception would be if there were a triple word score available or if there were a double or triple letter score available for the 'z', which is a high scoring letter.
9.) The moment I make a play, I begin to look at possible plays for my next turn.
10.) If I notice a player is using only one tile per turn, that sometimes indicates that he/she might have a bingo and is waiting for an opening. I will try to thwart that by closing off any place that could be used.
11.) If I have a bingo, but nowhere to place it, I will pass two to three times, but then I will break it up. I have learned that to pass too many times results in a huge loss of points.
12.) If I have all vowels or all consonants, I often use my turn to change my tiles. Occasionally there is a chance to use several vowels at once, depending on the openings available.
13.) If I have a high scoring tile, I scan the board for double or triple spots. For instance, an 'x' is a high scorer. It can be placed after any vowel (except u or i) to make a word. U or I can be placed after x to form a word. Ideally, an 'x' used on a double or triple space with a vowel in front, and one behind, it results in a big score.
14.) The tiles I value the most are 's', 'e', 'a', 'x', 'q', 'z', 'h', 'w', 'r', 'd', 'j'. They are easy to play or high scoring.
15.) I dislike 'v', 'u', and 'c'. They are not easy to use in most cases.
16.) Unfortunately, there are quite a few rude players on ISC. I've had people accuse me of cheating, use profanity at me, belittle me, and ignore me. (Ignore means that they do not use any common courtesy, such as greeting me or thanking me for the game.) I will go through losing streaks, then win a game, and my opponent will say something like, 'You got lucky because you got all the good tiles.' Do I really need to hear that?
Well, with that, I'm off to play a round of Scrabble before I get to my housework!!!
HUGSxxxAnnie
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Candy
It's been a really laid back vacation week. As I said in my previous entry, I haven't been feeling up to par this week. Things have been slowly improving, so today we took a little car trip to Grove City.
There is a big outlet mall there with all kinds of shopping opportunities. I was craving their vendor's bucket of fries, but they don't sell those anymore. :( Bummer.
There is a Primanti Bros. there now, but we didn't eat there. We had to be back in time for Ian to be at work at 6:00, so we ate in the food court where we could get our grub fast.
Therese and I had a blast in the Cosmetics Outlet. I got some Clinique goodies! I gave her a couple things, and she gave me a big hug! She really loves to play with makeup and has her own little cosmetic bag filled with stuff I gave her.
My favorite purchase was a 50 cent mini rubber baby from a toy store there. I don't know why I like it, but I do. I know--I'm weird. :) I like unusual things...It is about twice the size of my thumbnail.
We went to Here's Howe candy store. I'm going to do an article for Examiner.com on this unique place. It's on Grove City's main drag, and it has almost every kind of candy a person could want. They also sell many flavors and types of coffees and teas. We ground our own coffee--one pound for us, one for my dad (for Father's Day).
I told the kids to get their own bags and fill them up with whatever candy they wanted. The store is set up so patrons can buy candy by the pound. We got to the checkout and the cashier rang it up--$43. That's a record for us. It seems wasteful, but we're on vacation, and there are six kids. (I got some stuff for myself and John, too.) That's roughly a half pound per person, since the candy ranged from $2.25 to $5.00 a lb. (The coffee was almost $9.00 a lb.) That's not so bad, is it?
I found those little 'flying saucer' candies--the ones that taste and feel like styrofoam. I bought some after being struck with "sudden onset reminiscent mood". They tasted terrible. There is a reason these things are not popular. Why do they even make them?
The day turned out to be a very nice one. There was no pressure, we got sugar, and the whole Elliott clan spent the day together. That's the best thing about vacation, spending time with my husband and children.
On the way home, the clouds broke into a pounding rain. I've always enjoyed riding in the car in the rain. I find the rhythm of the windshield wipers and the pounding raindrops on the roof to be incredibly relaxing. Once home, we settled in and a thunderstorm passed through. It wasn't a violent storm, but rather, a gentle one with a few gusty winds and a sheet of rain that fell steadily for at least 10 min.
Now the sky is blue and the sun is shining before it sets on the horizon. The birds are all chirping and calling. I'm thankful for this vacation.
HUGSxxxAnnie
There is a big outlet mall there with all kinds of shopping opportunities. I was craving their vendor's bucket of fries, but they don't sell those anymore. :( Bummer.
There is a Primanti Bros. there now, but we didn't eat there. We had to be back in time for Ian to be at work at 6:00, so we ate in the food court where we could get our grub fast.
Therese and I had a blast in the Cosmetics Outlet. I got some Clinique goodies! I gave her a couple things, and she gave me a big hug! She really loves to play with makeup and has her own little cosmetic bag filled with stuff I gave her.
My favorite purchase was a 50 cent mini rubber baby from a toy store there. I don't know why I like it, but I do. I know--I'm weird. :) I like unusual things...It is about twice the size of my thumbnail.
We went to Here's Howe candy store. I'm going to do an article for Examiner.com on this unique place. It's on Grove City's main drag, and it has almost every kind of candy a person could want. They also sell many flavors and types of coffees and teas. We ground our own coffee--one pound for us, one for my dad (for Father's Day).
I told the kids to get their own bags and fill them up with whatever candy they wanted. The store is set up so patrons can buy candy by the pound. We got to the checkout and the cashier rang it up--$43. That's a record for us. It seems wasteful, but we're on vacation, and there are six kids. (I got some stuff for myself and John, too.) That's roughly a half pound per person, since the candy ranged from $2.25 to $5.00 a lb. (The coffee was almost $9.00 a lb.) That's not so bad, is it?
I found those little 'flying saucer' candies--the ones that taste and feel like styrofoam. I bought some after being struck with "sudden onset reminiscent mood". They tasted terrible. There is a reason these things are not popular. Why do they even make them?
The day turned out to be a very nice one. There was no pressure, we got sugar, and the whole Elliott clan spent the day together. That's the best thing about vacation, spending time with my husband and children.
On the way home, the clouds broke into a pounding rain. I've always enjoyed riding in the car in the rain. I find the rhythm of the windshield wipers and the pounding raindrops on the roof to be incredibly relaxing. Once home, we settled in and a thunderstorm passed through. It wasn't a violent storm, but rather, a gentle one with a few gusty winds and a sheet of rain that fell steadily for at least 10 min.
Now the sky is blue and the sun is shining before it sets on the horizon. The birds are all chirping and calling. I'm thankful for this vacation.
HUGSxxxAnnie
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Disappointments, camping at home, and spiked lemonade
I don't like to complain. I dislike it when others complain. So, this is not a complaint. After all, life has so many blessings in it, I prefer to look at those things instead of looking at the bad.
The school year ended and I had high expectations for a week of vacation with my family. It arrived this week, but because I have been hit with two different physical issues, I am taking Motrin every 4 hours and sitting around in my P.J.'s. All the while, Therese's eyes look at me with betrayal burning guilt through me. We were supposed to be spending time at Waldameer, her favorite place on earth. And the beach. And shopping in Pittsburgh. In her defense, I would have felt the same way if I were nine years old. And I see that she wants to cooperate. She made macaroni and cheese with Daddy last night so I didn't have to cook. She also cleaned the house up and washed her own hair.
The other kids aren't so much trying to make me feel guilty. They go with the flow and understand better that things sometimes happen that are beyond our control. Thank goodness for that.
Part of me would like to sit here and cry. After all, I waited and planned for a long time for this vacation. I needed it desperately. I do believe that it's better to let go and accept it rather than fight it. The end result won't change, but I will feel better in the long run.
Maybe we'll set up a tent and camp at home tonight...we can still roast marshmallows and tell scary stories, even if it isn't in the wild...you know the saying about making lemonade when life hands you lemons.
Here's a glass of lemonade for you--maybe I'll spice it up a little with a splash of whiskey--hahahahaha!
HUGSxxxAnnie
The school year ended and I had high expectations for a week of vacation with my family. It arrived this week, but because I have been hit with two different physical issues, I am taking Motrin every 4 hours and sitting around in my P.J.'s. All the while, Therese's eyes look at me with betrayal burning guilt through me. We were supposed to be spending time at Waldameer, her favorite place on earth. And the beach. And shopping in Pittsburgh. In her defense, I would have felt the same way if I were nine years old. And I see that she wants to cooperate. She made macaroni and cheese with Daddy last night so I didn't have to cook. She also cleaned the house up and washed her own hair.
The other kids aren't so much trying to make me feel guilty. They go with the flow and understand better that things sometimes happen that are beyond our control. Thank goodness for that.
Part of me would like to sit here and cry. After all, I waited and planned for a long time for this vacation. I needed it desperately. I do believe that it's better to let go and accept it rather than fight it. The end result won't change, but I will feel better in the long run.
Maybe we'll set up a tent and camp at home tonight...we can still roast marshmallows and tell scary stories, even if it isn't in the wild...you know the saying about making lemonade when life hands you lemons.
Here's a glass of lemonade for you--maybe I'll spice it up a little with a splash of whiskey--hahahahaha!
HUGSxxxAnnie
Monday, June 6, 2011
Shhhh...it's a secret...
Yummy is all I can say as I enjoy a cool summery treat...wanna know what it is? And how many calories? (Surprisingly very low calorie!)
It's only about 75 to 100 calories per serving. I'm not overly fussy about measuring food. I just estimate when I dole out a serving.
So, what is it? Its my Berry Medley Parfait! It is deliciously sweet, cold, and satsifying.
I buy a 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed berries (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) from WalMart. (Really cheap, too, Somewhere in the $2 to $3 range.) Scoop out about 4 tbs. of fruit, place in bowl. Mix in half cup of non fat (or low fat) whipped cream or Cool Whip. Ta-da! Sit back with a good book, a fan blasting on you, and imagine you're sitting on the beach!
I like to eat the berries as they slowly defrost. The blueberries are really good when they're still frozen. The strawberries are difficult to eat until they soften up a bit, though. :)
Another wonderful idea is to take a tall glass of water, add 6 icecubes, and about 6to 8 frozen berries. They enhance the water's flavor without adding calories. It is a delicious alternative to sweetened drinks. (Or artificially sweetened stuff that I'm not sure is all that good for you.) You can experiment with different types of fruits--stores carry frozen peaches, too! I have not yet tried that, but I have a bag of peaches in the freezer, so one of these days, I'll give that a shot.
These frozen berries are awesome on plain breakfast cereals, too!
Let me know if you guys like these ideas!
HUGSxxxAnnie
It's only about 75 to 100 calories per serving. I'm not overly fussy about measuring food. I just estimate when I dole out a serving.
So, what is it? Its my Berry Medley Parfait! It is deliciously sweet, cold, and satsifying.
I buy a 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed berries (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) from WalMart. (Really cheap, too, Somewhere in the $2 to $3 range.) Scoop out about 4 tbs. of fruit, place in bowl. Mix in half cup of non fat (or low fat) whipped cream or Cool Whip. Ta-da! Sit back with a good book, a fan blasting on you, and imagine you're sitting on the beach!
I like to eat the berries as they slowly defrost. The blueberries are really good when they're still frozen. The strawberries are difficult to eat until they soften up a bit, though. :)
Another wonderful idea is to take a tall glass of water, add 6 icecubes, and about 6to 8 frozen berries. They enhance the water's flavor without adding calories. It is a delicious alternative to sweetened drinks. (Or artificially sweetened stuff that I'm not sure is all that good for you.) You can experiment with different types of fruits--stores carry frozen peaches, too! I have not yet tried that, but I have a bag of peaches in the freezer, so one of these days, I'll give that a shot.
These frozen berries are awesome on plain breakfast cereals, too!
Let me know if you guys like these ideas!
HUGSxxxAnnie
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Summer!!!
It's been some time since I've blogged! The past few weeks have been overlapping events and other duties for us here at the Elliott house!
I'm thankful that it is now summer vacation! I love that I can have some measure of control over my life for a couple of months. (Although I will still be taking Ian and Jake to their respective workplaces.)
It is a drag to have kids bogged down every night with hours of homework. Then there's the early bedtimes, the early wake up calls, taxiing them all over timbuktu, and spending every weekend involved in school projects. (That is the worst. There's never much time to recharge the old batteries.) Our school district is horrible about assigning projects in the middle and high school levels. It takes so much precious time away from the hard to come by family time. I have grown resentful over the years. It gets expensive, too--we go through ink cartridges like they're water. Those things ain't cheap, either. I would think our school board and teachers might take that into consideration.
Yesterday was a busy day. Maria was finished with school on Thursday, Tony had morning rehearsal for Commencement, JohnPaul and Therese had a half day. I took Therese to Mass before school, dropped her off at school, then picked up Maria.
We went shopping for a couple of hours...Pat Catan's--a favorite place to browse--bought some fancy ribbon...then went to Auntie Anne's for a warm oven baked pretzel...browsed at Rue 21, then went leisurely through the whole antique store. I got her a miniature vase and a gold wooden shoe (knick knack). She and I like antiques. We topped our trip off with iced coffees; but poor thing! She had a reaction to the toppping on the whipped cream--it was a mix of cocoa and cinnamon. She's allergic to cinnamon. I thought they just used plain cocoa on it!
In the afternoon, I picked up JP and Therese and we went to get pizza. We had a combination lunch/dinner so we could get ready for Tony's graduation.
The graduation ceremony was very nice. The only complaint I had was the chaos following. I remember the same kind of thing after Ian and Jake's graduations. I would think that the school faculty would work to straighten things out so they'd run smoother. If there had been a fire, there would have been a stampede, and people crushed. If I was in charge, I'd dismiss the people in attendance row by row. Instead, like a zillion ants going in all directions, people take off. Everyone is in a hurry, yet no one is getting anywhere! It's a bit like trying to pour a gallon of water thru a straw.
Tony took off for Miranda's afterwards, then spent the night at Eddie's. Now he's at Tyler's party. I bought a cake to celebrate if he ever decides to stay and hang out awhile.
HUGSxxxAnnie
I'm thankful that it is now summer vacation! I love that I can have some measure of control over my life for a couple of months. (Although I will still be taking Ian and Jake to their respective workplaces.)
It is a drag to have kids bogged down every night with hours of homework. Then there's the early bedtimes, the early wake up calls, taxiing them all over timbuktu, and spending every weekend involved in school projects. (That is the worst. There's never much time to recharge the old batteries.) Our school district is horrible about assigning projects in the middle and high school levels. It takes so much precious time away from the hard to come by family time. I have grown resentful over the years. It gets expensive, too--we go through ink cartridges like they're water. Those things ain't cheap, either. I would think our school board and teachers might take that into consideration.
Yesterday was a busy day. Maria was finished with school on Thursday, Tony had morning rehearsal for Commencement, JohnPaul and Therese had a half day. I took Therese to Mass before school, dropped her off at school, then picked up Maria.
We went shopping for a couple of hours...Pat Catan's--a favorite place to browse--bought some fancy ribbon...then went to Auntie Anne's for a warm oven baked pretzel...browsed at Rue 21, then went leisurely through the whole antique store. I got her a miniature vase and a gold wooden shoe (knick knack). She and I like antiques. We topped our trip off with iced coffees; but poor thing! She had a reaction to the toppping on the whipped cream--it was a mix of cocoa and cinnamon. She's allergic to cinnamon. I thought they just used plain cocoa on it!
In the afternoon, I picked up JP and Therese and we went to get pizza. We had a combination lunch/dinner so we could get ready for Tony's graduation.
The graduation ceremony was very nice. The only complaint I had was the chaos following. I remember the same kind of thing after Ian and Jake's graduations. I would think that the school faculty would work to straighten things out so they'd run smoother. If there had been a fire, there would have been a stampede, and people crushed. If I was in charge, I'd dismiss the people in attendance row by row. Instead, like a zillion ants going in all directions, people take off. Everyone is in a hurry, yet no one is getting anywhere! It's a bit like trying to pour a gallon of water thru a straw.
Tony took off for Miranda's afterwards, then spent the night at Eddie's. Now he's at Tyler's party. I bought a cake to celebrate if he ever decides to stay and hang out awhile.
HUGSxxxAnnie
Monday, May 23, 2011
I am ready for the white padded room!
So, yeah, I've been exposing some things to the world that I've rarely talked to anyone about...
Nobody has commented, so methinks perhaps you're all thinking, 'She's loonie!'. I can't blame you for that. If you told me this stuff, I'd probably not believe it. The only reason I believe is because I had a one -on -one encounter with it!
After I had written about John's fasting, I promised to write more details.
John was not raised Catholic. In fact, he wasn't raised to believe much of anything. His parents were mismatched (I don't know why they ended up together, frankly) and didn't stay married too long. His mom attended a Methodist Church once in awhile and migrated to services at the Salvation Army later in her life. His dad was very anti-Catholic. If he had lived long enough to see John and I get married, I'm sure he would have pitched a fit.
I never wanted to push John into being brought into the Church. I believe that is a decision that only he could have made. I did make certain things clear to him when we were dating.
The first thing was that if we were to get married, there would be no use of artificial birth control, which is sinful. (To those Catholics who don't know that, yes, it has never been permissible to use. I realize that, sadly, many Catholics don't know that.) Number two, I hoped to have a large family. Number three, our children would be raised Catholic.
John is easy to get along with and he had no problem with any of these things. In fact, his heart was in the same place that mine was. He told me he wanted a large family, too, and he would not impede me in how the kids were raised.
We had a Catholic wedding, complete with a Mass, but he could not receive the Eucharist with me. One must be Catholic to do so. I remember hoping that some day we would be unified in faith.
Ten years into our marriage, he approached me one day and informed me that he was about to enter into the RCIA program at St. Bart's. (Rite of Christian Initiation.) I was really glad he had come to the Church because I felt that it could only draw us closer to each other. We have always had an extraordinary closeness, but I had prayed for this day to come, and was very thankful.
The following Easter, he was brought into the Church and I was his sponsor. When Ian, our eldest son, received his First Communion about a month later, John was able to receive, too.
The unusual mystical happenings had begun the previous Christmas eve at bedtime...1994.
Being that we were parents of a newborn, as well as a toddler, a four year old and an 8 year old, that day was very exhausting. I had promised myself that I would pray a rosary on Christmas day, but after the kids were all put to bed that night, I fell into bed like a lump of clay. It was only 9:00 but it felt like midnight. I had been up most of the night before, helping 'Santa Claus'. I hadn't had a full night's sleep in months anyway because I nursed my babies, and Maria woke up often several times most nights.
As I drifted off to sleep, I remembered the rosary. I turned my head to look at John, who was in the same shape that I was. His eyes were closed and I could tell by his breathing that he was falling asleep. "John, I forgot to pray my rosary."
One eye popped open. His drowsy voice answered me. "I'll pray with you if you would like." His hand fumbled on the nightstand, trying to locate the rosary beads I had given him on our last anniversary. At this point in time, John had been in the RCIA program for about three months.
The rosaries were made of pale blue crystal beads, on a silver chain. I propped myself up and placed our small creche on the bed with us. Half-heartedly, we began to recite the prayers, and I tried to meditate on the infant in the manger...keeping myself from dozing off was almost painful.
After a couple of minutes, John, who was slumped up against the headboard, leapt up. He flipped on the lamp next to him and thrust the rosaries under the light.
"Annie! What are these rosaries made of?!" (I thought he had lost it.) "Austrian crystal and some kind of silver metal." I replied.
He motioned for me to come over and look at them. He showed me the links on the chain. "Not silver anymore. LOOK!" I examined the chain. As we were looking at it, it was turning gold colored.
I grabbed them and said, 'Let me see!" The next thing we knew, we were both kneeling next to our bed and praying with great emotion.
The next day when my parents were at our house, we explained what had happened. My mom has a deep faith, but isn't one to look for signs. I wouldn't say that she scoffed at our story, but she seemed to think maybe there was a logical explanation.
She was looking at the beads up close and said, 'You know what would be even more spectacular?! If these beads turned gold! That would convince me." As we continued to examine the beads, we saw something curious. One bead, the 3rd bead on the 3rd decade, glimmered under the light. We turned it and realized that the blue had been replaced by gold--not the entire bead, though. Just three connected facets of it, which were all golden. They formed a heart shape.
The 3rd decade in the joyful mysteries of the rosary is the Nativity of Christ, Christmas! (This all happened at Christmastime.) Later that day I called some local jewelry shops to ask if they knew of anything that could explain what had happened. NO ONE could explain.
John and I talked at great length about this and the other occurrences. We came to the conclusion that God had a purpose for these things. As a married couple, we had felt all along that we were being called to holiness.
We felt (and still do) that God wanted us to strive towards this goal and be the best spouses and parents that we could be. We have always taken this to heart. The wonderful mystical happenings seemed to come at times when we must have needed a small boost to encourage us.
The times that John and I were touched (by the Holy Spirit?) (in my earlier blog entries) we felt united beyond our wildest imaginations. There truly are no words to describe this because there is nothing worldly that compares. This left an indelible memory on our souls. It was like God said, "I am sealing you with my love." We were joined to each other and to Him in these episodes.
More to come later...time to start dinner...
HUGSxxxAnnie
Nobody has commented, so methinks perhaps you're all thinking, 'She's loonie!'. I can't blame you for that. If you told me this stuff, I'd probably not believe it. The only reason I believe is because I had a one -on -one encounter with it!
After I had written about John's fasting, I promised to write more details.
John was not raised Catholic. In fact, he wasn't raised to believe much of anything. His parents were mismatched (I don't know why they ended up together, frankly) and didn't stay married too long. His mom attended a Methodist Church once in awhile and migrated to services at the Salvation Army later in her life. His dad was very anti-Catholic. If he had lived long enough to see John and I get married, I'm sure he would have pitched a fit.
I never wanted to push John into being brought into the Church. I believe that is a decision that only he could have made. I did make certain things clear to him when we were dating.
The first thing was that if we were to get married, there would be no use of artificial birth control, which is sinful. (To those Catholics who don't know that, yes, it has never been permissible to use. I realize that, sadly, many Catholics don't know that.) Number two, I hoped to have a large family. Number three, our children would be raised Catholic.
John is easy to get along with and he had no problem with any of these things. In fact, his heart was in the same place that mine was. He told me he wanted a large family, too, and he would not impede me in how the kids were raised.
We had a Catholic wedding, complete with a Mass, but he could not receive the Eucharist with me. One must be Catholic to do so. I remember hoping that some day we would be unified in faith.
Ten years into our marriage, he approached me one day and informed me that he was about to enter into the RCIA program at St. Bart's. (Rite of Christian Initiation.) I was really glad he had come to the Church because I felt that it could only draw us closer to each other. We have always had an extraordinary closeness, but I had prayed for this day to come, and was very thankful.
The following Easter, he was brought into the Church and I was his sponsor. When Ian, our eldest son, received his First Communion about a month later, John was able to receive, too.
The unusual mystical happenings had begun the previous Christmas eve at bedtime...1994.
Being that we were parents of a newborn, as well as a toddler, a four year old and an 8 year old, that day was very exhausting. I had promised myself that I would pray a rosary on Christmas day, but after the kids were all put to bed that night, I fell into bed like a lump of clay. It was only 9:00 but it felt like midnight. I had been up most of the night before, helping 'Santa Claus'. I hadn't had a full night's sleep in months anyway because I nursed my babies, and Maria woke up often several times most nights.
As I drifted off to sleep, I remembered the rosary. I turned my head to look at John, who was in the same shape that I was. His eyes were closed and I could tell by his breathing that he was falling asleep. "John, I forgot to pray my rosary."
One eye popped open. His drowsy voice answered me. "I'll pray with you if you would like." His hand fumbled on the nightstand, trying to locate the rosary beads I had given him on our last anniversary. At this point in time, John had been in the RCIA program for about three months.
The rosaries were made of pale blue crystal beads, on a silver chain. I propped myself up and placed our small creche on the bed with us. Half-heartedly, we began to recite the prayers, and I tried to meditate on the infant in the manger...keeping myself from dozing off was almost painful.
After a couple of minutes, John, who was slumped up against the headboard, leapt up. He flipped on the lamp next to him and thrust the rosaries under the light.
"Annie! What are these rosaries made of?!" (I thought he had lost it.) "Austrian crystal and some kind of silver metal." I replied.
He motioned for me to come over and look at them. He showed me the links on the chain. "Not silver anymore. LOOK!" I examined the chain. As we were looking at it, it was turning gold colored.
I grabbed them and said, 'Let me see!" The next thing we knew, we were both kneeling next to our bed and praying with great emotion.
The next day when my parents were at our house, we explained what had happened. My mom has a deep faith, but isn't one to look for signs. I wouldn't say that she scoffed at our story, but she seemed to think maybe there was a logical explanation.
She was looking at the beads up close and said, 'You know what would be even more spectacular?! If these beads turned gold! That would convince me." As we continued to examine the beads, we saw something curious. One bead, the 3rd bead on the 3rd decade, glimmered under the light. We turned it and realized that the blue had been replaced by gold--not the entire bead, though. Just three connected facets of it, which were all golden. They formed a heart shape.
The 3rd decade in the joyful mysteries of the rosary is the Nativity of Christ, Christmas! (This all happened at Christmastime.) Later that day I called some local jewelry shops to ask if they knew of anything that could explain what had happened. NO ONE could explain.
John and I talked at great length about this and the other occurrences. We came to the conclusion that God had a purpose for these things. As a married couple, we had felt all along that we were being called to holiness.
We felt (and still do) that God wanted us to strive towards this goal and be the best spouses and parents that we could be. We have always taken this to heart. The wonderful mystical happenings seemed to come at times when we must have needed a small boost to encourage us.
The times that John and I were touched (by the Holy Spirit?) (in my earlier blog entries) we felt united beyond our wildest imaginations. There truly are no words to describe this because there is nothing worldly that compares. This left an indelible memory on our souls. It was like God said, "I am sealing you with my love." We were joined to each other and to Him in these episodes.
More to come later...time to start dinner...
HUGSxxxAnnie
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Roller Coaster Ride...
My last post focused on my spirituality...
Read on...where I reveal so much more...
To recap, I had opened the door to my inner life and shared some rather unusual experiences I've had...
Well, hold onto your hats...
When my mom was going through a terrible health trial, in 1995, I had four very young children. Ian was 8, Jacob-5, Tony-2, and Maria--still an infant...
Mom had a heart attack. When she was hospitalized, she was put on the blood thinner, Heparin. We didn't know that she has a rare clotting disorder. She lost almost all her blood volume internally before the doctors figured out why she had spiralled downward rapidly. My mom, always so lively and energetic, clung to life by a thread. She was barely stabilized after receiving a huge blood transfusion, and then, the unthinkable happened.
Someone ordered that she be put back on Heparin! A few days into her fragile recovery, where she teetered on the edge of life's cliff, she plunged towards death again. That night, all alone in her hospital bed, she rang the nurse. The nurse told her to 'quit complaining'! Mom was dying. She gathered up all the strength she had left and made a phone call to my brother. She barely could get the words out--'Call Dad.' My dad, who spent almost every moment with her had gone home to sleep for a few hours.
He raced to the hospital where he found her in the state between life and death. He demanded that the doctor be notified, against that nurse's admonishment! When they found out what they had done to her, there was another race to get blood transfused into her.
While this was happening, John began to experience odd and unexplainable things.
It was about this time, I can't recall the exact day or time, that he and I were standing in our kitchen. We were talking, when he was suddenly seized by something invisible that knocked him to his knees. I'd never seen anything like this. (And I never have since.)
He was literally in mid-sentence, when he fell on the floor, with his eyes almost up in his head. It scared me terribly. I was already shaky emotionally, and this almost threw me into a panic attack.
He nodded his head (as in 'yes'), and I realized something very unusual was happening. After a few moments, his gaze, which had been focused upwards, refocused and found me. He stood up, gathered me into his arms, and said, "God just spoke to me."
My heart pounded. "What?!" Okay, this was really WEIRD!
I waited for him to speak. I could see that he was having a hard time expressing himself, although he looked serene. It was like he had just come out of a windstorm, and needed to gather his thoughts.
"What did God say to you?" I pressed.
"He told me to fast for your mom." That moment, no food touched his lips for the rest of that day. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. He was friends with a youthful and exuberant priest and I urged him to go to him and confide this experience to him.
John had not eaten in a week, and was not showing any sign of weakness or lethargy. My mom was improving and gaining strength.
The last day of the fast was the day I suggested he speak to Fr. B. Father was rather surprised and he ordered John to start eating again, so out of obedience, he began to eat again.
Do you want to know more?...It is time for me to go to Mass, so look for the rest later...
HUGSxxxAnnie
Read on...where I reveal so much more...
To recap, I had opened the door to my inner life and shared some rather unusual experiences I've had...
Well, hold onto your hats...
When my mom was going through a terrible health trial, in 1995, I had four very young children. Ian was 8, Jacob-5, Tony-2, and Maria--still an infant...
Mom had a heart attack. When she was hospitalized, she was put on the blood thinner, Heparin. We didn't know that she has a rare clotting disorder. She lost almost all her blood volume internally before the doctors figured out why she had spiralled downward rapidly. My mom, always so lively and energetic, clung to life by a thread. She was barely stabilized after receiving a huge blood transfusion, and then, the unthinkable happened.
Someone ordered that she be put back on Heparin! A few days into her fragile recovery, where she teetered on the edge of life's cliff, she plunged towards death again. That night, all alone in her hospital bed, she rang the nurse. The nurse told her to 'quit complaining'! Mom was dying. She gathered up all the strength she had left and made a phone call to my brother. She barely could get the words out--'Call Dad.' My dad, who spent almost every moment with her had gone home to sleep for a few hours.
He raced to the hospital where he found her in the state between life and death. He demanded that the doctor be notified, against that nurse's admonishment! When they found out what they had done to her, there was another race to get blood transfused into her.
While this was happening, John began to experience odd and unexplainable things.
It was about this time, I can't recall the exact day or time, that he and I were standing in our kitchen. We were talking, when he was suddenly seized by something invisible that knocked him to his knees. I'd never seen anything like this. (And I never have since.)
He was literally in mid-sentence, when he fell on the floor, with his eyes almost up in his head. It scared me terribly. I was already shaky emotionally, and this almost threw me into a panic attack.
He nodded his head (as in 'yes'), and I realized something very unusual was happening. After a few moments, his gaze, which had been focused upwards, refocused and found me. He stood up, gathered me into his arms, and said, "God just spoke to me."
My heart pounded. "What?!" Okay, this was really WEIRD!
I waited for him to speak. I could see that he was having a hard time expressing himself, although he looked serene. It was like he had just come out of a windstorm, and needed to gather his thoughts.
"What did God say to you?" I pressed.
"He told me to fast for your mom." That moment, no food touched his lips for the rest of that day. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. He was friends with a youthful and exuberant priest and I urged him to go to him and confide this experience to him.
John had not eaten in a week, and was not showing any sign of weakness or lethargy. My mom was improving and gaining strength.
The last day of the fast was the day I suggested he speak to Fr. B. Father was rather surprised and he ordered John to start eating again, so out of obedience, he began to eat again.
Do you want to know more?...It is time for me to go to Mass, so look for the rest later...
HUGSxxxAnnie
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