WEBSTER'S ENTRY 4

Mother Alphonsa

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop was born to wealthy, American, non-Catholic parents. When she grew up she married George Lathrop and, together, they became Catholic. They had a child who died of illness. Her husband became an alcoholic, so Rose left her marriage. She felt that God was calling her to help people suffering from cancer. At that time, people thought cancer was contagious.

Rose's motto was, "I will see all things only through the spirit of God, thus freeing myself of personality and forgetting my existence. I will regard all things through the Spirit of Jesus Christ." This means that we should not be judgemental, but be kind towards others, like Jesus.

Rose gave up everything and moved to the poorest area in New York to nurse cancer patients. She was kind and caring to all of them. She worked for free, or without charge. So she relied on donations. To get help, she wrote an article in the newspaper, and many people were moved. One reader, Alice Huber, read it and decided to help Rose, first once a week and soon after, full time.

Rose and Alice joined the Dominican Sisters, and Rose took the name Mary Alphonsa, while Alice, Mary Rose. Some time later, both Mary Alphonsa and Mary Rose founded a new order called, The Servants for the Relief of Incurable Cancer.

Mother Alphonsa lived a busy life: running the convent, doing her daily duties as a religious nun and nursing cancer patients. She drew strength from Jesus in the Eucharist. Once, a journalist asked her where she got her strength to perform all her activities, and in reply she pointed to the Tabernacle. Mother Alphonsa did everything for God, and she did all her work cheerfully for a long time, until she passed away quietly in her sleep on July 9, 1926.

Mother Alphonsa, like Jesus, treated everyone with kindness, respect, care and without judgement. This shows how well she lived according to her rule of life. Her motto is a good guide for us who want to follow Jesus. Mother Alphonsa, in her faith and life of service is a great example for us in living a truly Christian life.

(Grade 5,
Creative Writing,
2011, Term 1, Week 4)

Purple for Penance

Septuagesima Sunday just passed. Fr Hartley says we should be treating this period (between Septuagesima Sunday and Ash Wednesday) as a mini-Lent, or a time to prepare for Lent, both exteriorly and interiorly. In the traditional calendar, preparation for Lent starts the day after Septuagesima Sunday, which is why in the traditional rite the priest starts wearing purple - to signify great solemnity, penance and mourning - just like Fr did last night.

I'm trying so hard to get into the mode, not just for my own benefit, but moreso for the kids' sake. I know this is also the time to brainstorm and plan what activities we can adopt to help us achieve some spiritual growth through Lent and aspire for a new and better life with Christ by Easter. Thank God, indeed, that there are several excellent books and resource materials available, not to mention sites and blogs online containing LOADS of great ideas!

The only thing I don't seem to have? Time. Not lots of it, anyway. But until such time when I'd get some to initiate the required preparations, I shall be praying..

PRAYER FOR HOLY PERSEVERANCE

Eternal Father, I humbly adore Thee, and thank Thee for having created me, and for having redeemed me through Jesus Christ. I thank Thee most sincerely for giving me the true faith, and by adopting me as Thy son, in the sacrament of baptism. I thank Thee for having, after the numberless sins I had committed, waited for my reentance, and for having pardoned (as I humbly hope) all the offences which I have offered to Thee, and for which I am now sincerely sorry, because they have been displeasing to Thee, who art infinite goodness. I thank Thee for having preserved me from so many relapses, of which I would have been guilty if Thou hadst not protected me. But my enemies still continue, and will continue til death, to combat against me, and to endeavour to make me their slave. If Thou dost not constantly guard and succor me with Thy aid, I, miserable creature, shall return to sin, and shall certainly lose Thy grace. I beseech Thee, then, for the love of Jesus Christ, to grant me holy perseverance unto death. Jesus, Thy Son, has promised that Thou wilt grant whatsoever we ask in His Name. Through the merits, then, of Jesus Christ, I beg, for myself and for all the just, the grace never again to be separated from Thy love, but to love Thee forever, in time and eternity. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me. (adapted)



Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi!

Tweaking

Spending a bit of time giving this page a bit of a makeover. Tweaking.. tweaking.. tweaking.. Adding this one, taking that one off.. Ugh PC must be soooo confused!!

So far I've been able to add a few things, but I'm probably going to chop and change some more. It's fun, though.. Interesting finding nice things to add. My favourite so far: the autoplay mixpod. Love the sacred music that plays whenever I open the page now. :)

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 3

God's Faithful Servant

St Elizabeth Ann Seton was America's first canonized saint. Her rule of life was, "I am the happiest of all creatures, in the thought that not the least thing can happen but by His will or permission, and all for the best."

She was always doing things for God. As a child, she would do her chores cheerfully. Whenever she was asked to do something, she did it right away and without complaints.

One of the difficulties she faced in life was her religion, because she and all of her family were Protestants. She eventually became Catholic, but when she did she faced even more challenges. She was ridiculed, mistreated and abandoned by her relatives. She was no longer considered part of the family.

In spite of this, St Elizabeth was a woman of great charity, and helped so many different people. She helped, comforted and accompanied the poor widows of her city; she founded a group of nuns and opened a convent called "St Joseph's Order;" and she helped orphaned children by building an orphanage and school for them.

St Elizabeth Ann Seton is a very good example for perseverance and faith because even though she was despised by her family, she did her best to keep her faith strong, keep her trust in God and do what God wanted her to do.

(Grade 5,

Creative Writing,

2011 - Term 1, Week 3)

Wednesdays with Jesus

Among the innumerable gifts we are thankful for, I am particularly grateful for the privilege of assisting at Holy Mass. The Holy Eucharist is the unbloody re-enactment of Calvary, and it is THE best sacrifice we can ever offer to our Almighty Father because Jesus is the Unblemished Lamb. Therefore, more than any other prayer or act of worship, there is invaluable merits available to anyone who assists / attends Holy Mass each time. As in all spiritual things, it has been such a challenge for us to go to daily Mass; and the number of occasions we would go during the week just gradually dwindled until we could only get ourselves to Sunday Mass (except First Fridays and First Saturdays). A couple of weeks ago, however, by an act of God's grace, we were able to restart going everyday again! And I'm sure Our Lady's powerful intercession has had a lot to do with it.

Another very special gift we receive as Catholics, is the grace of Eucharistic Adoration. How truly humbled we should feel to be able to go and worship Jesus in the Eucharist where He, Himself, deigns to be truly present - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This act of Eucharistic adoration is referred to as a "foretaste of Heaven" where, if we do get to experience beatific vision, we will be adoring our Lord with Our Lady and all the angels and saints!

In a previous blogpost I mentioned that Wednesdays are our free days from schooling where the day is normally reserved for extra-curricular activities, or any other errands / tasks that need to be completed. So far, Wednesdays are such a necessity for us (moreso for me!) because it provides a good break in the middle of a busy week - perfect for getting recharged and regaining my bearings; and for the kids, a chance to keep interest levels up via other activities. However it still felt like we could be making better use of our school-free Wednesdays.

We used to go to adoration on a regular basis for a while (every Saturday evenings when we are able to go as a family), but we took ourselves off the roster shortly before Max's birth - for obvious reasons, and we have not gone back on it just yet. The other night, however, we were talking about restoring our weekly holy hour, and suddenly we got a light bulb moment, surely an inspiration from the Holy Spirit: Wednesdays!!

Today was our first "Wednesday with Jesus" and it naturally took a lot of effort, but we got there, and we were very happy when we did. After their afternoon nap, the kids and I picked hubby up from his city office and from there we went straight to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel. We were a little late, so we didn't quite make ONE whole hour. We had dinner (packed from home) at the community room and then from there we proceeded to attend the 7:10 Wednesday night Mass in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It is our fervent hope that we can make this a practice every week.

Drawing from the past, we will undoubtedly be experiencing snags and bumps along the way; but for now we shall choose to be happy and enjoy the journey. How truly great it feels to be back: to daily Mass and to having reestablished our holy hour through our "Wednesdays with Jesus." In the midst of the endless challenges God allows us to go through, it is so great to find time to show some gratitude to our good Lord. And by the countless unmerited blessings He lavishes on us continuously, this is certainly the least we can do.

O memoriale mortis Domini
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini
Praesta meae menti de te vivere
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

(excerpted from Adoro Te Devote by St Thomas Aquinas)

Benedictus Jesus in sanctissimo altaris Sacramento!

Narnia Fever

Earlier in the year, my eldest sister and her son, Patrick, visited and stayed with us for about a week and a half from Melbourne. Because we had spoken about it previously, hubby took Patrick and the two boys to the movies to watch Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The movie was part of a sequel, but we've never seen any of the prequels, so we hired the old ones. And we enjoyed them immensely: the enthralling plot, excellent special effects, exciting scenes, lovable characters and breathtaking landscape made for a truly engaging cinematic experience, both for the young and the old.

Well, apart from the wonderment experienced from watching the movies, it seems our household has officially caught Narnia fever. Our kids have been swept up in it for quite some time now. They cannot stop talking about the characters, role-playing, reenacting particular scenes, etc. In fact they've each assumed a character in the movie, i.e. Webster is Peter, Roadrunner is Edmund, Curlytop is Susan, Brighteyes is Lucy, and even Bobbles is referred to as Prince Caspian! For a time, LL got into it, too and coming home from the office, he would bring back some Turkish delight for the kids, but only 'til they got tired of the sticky stuff. :)

Being the opportunist that I am (well, at least when it comes to the kids' learning), I just could not pass this opportunity up to milk some sort of benefit out of it. So we reviewed the movies and discussed how the self-sacrificial love by Aslan, his death and coming back to life and the events in the land of Narnia thereafter was an analogy to Christ's Passion, Death, Resurrection and the redemption available to His disciples who persevere in following Him. It was also a noteworthy parallel that the witch, all dressed in pure white and offering treats is much like Satan who always presents himself looking like a good, harmless being, constantly luring us into a sinful life with sugarcoated temptations.

Also, I thought I'd strike while the proverbial iron is hot, and take advantage of this phase; so I jumped online and ordered Narnia books! I found a handsome leatherbound blue "Chronicles of Narnia" hardback book and several "I Can Read" - Level 2 versions of the different chapters of the story for our developing readers. I was also very happy to have found a 7-volume Chronicles of Narnia full colour boxed set which were equally attractive to our Narnia enthusiasts. Great addition to our growing library, indeed. When our books finally arrived the kids beamed with wide-eyed amazement. Days later the children are still reading them, and the books are a constant feature in read-alouds by the bigger to the littler kids. Besides, I don't think a book report or two and some reading comprehension exercises would do my students any harm, do you?

Whilst we normally refuse to let secular movies have too much of an impact on our kids, Narnia is one of a few exceptions. And, just like most movies that come out of Hollywood, I was initially skeptical and hesitant about letting them get caught up in it at all. But having seen the movies, and having appreciated the parallelism it had to our Christian tenets, we have become quite tolerant and even supportive of this Narnia preoccupation that the children currently have. Besides, like everything when the novelty wears off, I'm sure this will be another one they'll eventually get over or outgrow. For now, we will take comfort in the fact that the Narnia movies/stories are at least clean for little eyes and harmless for little hearts.

Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and as conducive to good health. From this it is clear that those who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter -- those who thus fail to correct sinners -- actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life. - St Basil the Great

Don't you long to shout to those youths who are bustling around you: Fools! Leave those worldly things that shackle the heart - and very often degrade it - leave all that and come with us in search of Love! - St Josemaria Escriva

St Valentine's Day

Just like all first days of the schoolweek, our Mondays are usually packed: new lessons, etc. and today was definitely no exception. So for the feast of St Valentine, we decided to make something to share as a nice dessert after dinner: St Valentine shortbread. But because I had little to no time for it amidst all preparations for the Monday night Mass at our little chapel, I decided to allow only minimal involvement from the kids during the majority of the preparation. Nevertheless, when it came to the cutting, it was all hands on deck! And the result was... not bad at all! Happy St Valentine's Day to all!





Valentine's Day takes its origin from St Valentine who died on February 14 in about the year 270; and resultantly this celebration was started to honour his martyrdom. He was a holy priest who was apprehended and imprisoned as a result of assisting the Christians during the persecution under Claudius II. While in jail, St Valentine is said to have converted 46 members of a guard's family to Christianity, and when the emperor Claudius found out about this, he ordered St Valentine to be tortured and put to death.



St Valentine is the patron of love, young people and happy marriage.



Sancte Valentinus, ora pro nobis!

WEBSTER'S ENTRY 2

ALL FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

God created us because He loves us and wants to be with us in Heaven. Our final destination is to get to Heaven with God, but to get to Heaven is not easy to achieve because we have to live holy lives.

It is easy for religious to live holy lives because from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, their day is full of prayer and other acts of piety. Some of them are cloistered and are not surrounded by distractions as we are. We non-religious, on the other hand, may find it hard to live holy lives because our days are full of ordinary activity, and we are always tempted by the devil by almost everything in the outside world. But St Bernadette Soubirous provides us with very good advice.

When St Bernadette became a nun, her brother joined the army. One day he sent her a letter about how difficult being a soldier was because it was hard to find time to pray and do other spiritual activities while performing his duties. She sent him back this advice: "If every morning you say, 'Dear God, I will endure everything for Thee,' you will have earned as much graces as a cloistered monk." The same goes with us. We may not spend long hours in prayer, but we can offer all our actions to God and He will give us the grace to do even better.

These days it is hard to win graces, but it is certainly not impossible. If we follow St Bernadette's advice, we will be able to offer up all our actions to God, ordinary or extraordinary, get more graces and maybe make it to Heaven one day.

(Grade 5,
Creative Writing,
2011 - Term 1, Week 2)

Our Lady of Lourdes

After the last two that have included wonderful, grace-packed events, we had another great week to be thankful for. Everyone has been steadily working at school, with no major happenings (good or bad) out of the ordinary to note, except for the highlights in our liturgical journey.

Whenever we celebrate the feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes, one word seems to resonate, even for many days after: PENANCE. This year's celebration was a good one, as we were able to discuss the whats, hows and whys of penance as the kids watched and re-watched a couple of versions of the story of Our Lady of Lourdes (as she appeared to St Bernadette Soubirous in France in 1858) through the week. Curlytop (turning 5 this year), in particular, asked several times what penance meant and what we had to do it for. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to the kids about how important it is to "do good" and offer up sacrifices in propitiation for our sins and the sins of others - the heart of Our Lady's message in Lourdes, as in all of her other apparitions around the world on different occasions. One brilliant thing about this particular exchange was that it happened in the car - where all the kids HAD to be listening!

Apart from the movies, other activities undertaken to focus the week on Our Lady of Lourdes included constructing little "hand grottos" made out of laminated pictures and recycled plastic bottles which made them quite effective as candle holders. We started the craft activity on Wednesday, being our non-school day; and they were all done by Friday, Our Lady of Lourdes' actual feastday. Although we wanted to use them for candlelit singing of Ave Maria on Friday evening at our backyard grotto, we could not fit it in, as we opted to go to Mass, followed by holy hour with our Eucharistic Lord (exposed) and beautifully concluded with Benediction.

In addition, we were invited to attend an extension of the celebration at the St Stephen's Cathedral (City) the next morning (Saturday), which consisted of the recitation of the Holy Rosary, Holy Mass and a procession. The two boys were asked to be at the lead, so they were so excited to be able to use their grotto candle holders.

What a beautiful end to a productive week, indeed. After Candlemass and St Blaise's feastday last week, and this week a memorable celebration for Our Lady of Lourdes, we eagerly await more special days in the liturgical calendar to enrich our faith and family life throughout the year!! Laus Deo.

Regina sine labe originali concepta, ora pro nobis!

WEBSTER'S ENTRY

HAVING FUN WITHOUT SINNING

St Don Bosco was a priest who took in homeless boys. He always reminded them "You can have as much fun as you like as long as you don't commit sin." He was always concerned about leading his boys to Heaven, so he did his best to keep them on the path to holiness.

One example of a person who accepted this rule of life was St Dominic Savio, a boy-saint who is famously known for his motto: "Death, rather than sin." He died at the young age of 15.

Although it is a sure path to holiness, it is difficult to follow this rule of life in these modern times. Some of the things that make it hard are: bad toys, violent/impure books, games, movies and magazines, TV, internet, video and computer games etc. It is also tempting to commit sin when you are with bad company or friends that participate in sinful activity, or activities that are occasions of sin.

Just because it is hard, doesn't mean we have to give up. We have to persevere because if we keep on trying, we will get to Heaven someday. It was Don Bosco's advice to his boys that to fight temptations, we should receive the sacraments of reconciliation and communion frequently. He recommended always practicing good confession and receiving communion worthily.

Trying to avoid sin while you are having fun is not easy, but it is a good way to achieve holiness. Seeing that St Dominic and many others made it to Heaven through the guidance of St Don Bosco, we too can persevere and follow their examples. Thanks to St Don Bosco, young people like me can make it to Heaven one day!

(Grade 5,

Creative Writing,

2011 Term 1 Week 1)

Fun and Faith-filled Wednesday

Schoolyear 2011 for us started on Monday, January 31 (feastday of St John Bosco), a week later than regular schools in Queensland. Schooling is CHAOTIC, to say the very least. Good thing 9-week-old Bobbles 'cooperates' and sleeps through the morning which is when the bulk of the schooling is usually done. At this stage it is a matter of "doing what works at a particular time," as we are still in the process of establishing our schooling routine (i.e. if we ever do); but so far so good, thank God indeed.

Wednesdays are always free days for us, and this works out very well because it gives us a much-needed break after 2 days of schooling, and it provides a good opportunity for going on trips to the museum, pilgrimages, doing liturgical craft activities, cooking sessions, or whatever else.

Yesterday was our first field trip of the school year, and I decided to take the kids to a little museum in Samford where we were amazed by the variery of displays ranging from period clothing to old musical instruments to antiquated appliances, tractors and manual tools used in the home, in the farm or on automobiles. Webster especially thought the old washing machine was "cool," although he first referred to it as a cement mixer before he was very kindly corrected by one of the museum staff. We also saw an old building (Provisional School) which housed old school items such as desks, old chalk boards, maps, school bells, books, etc. The kids tried their hands on using the old writing tablets. Webster also pointed out to me that there was a "funny globe" in one of the shelves that had Australia on top and Russia underneath. It was apparently an 'upside down globe' having the southern and northern hemispheres interchanged. Though I did not expect much from this trip, the kids got a lot of enjoyment out of seeing lots of historical stuff. They wanted to stay much longer, but I had to cut it short as we had to go to Christian Supplies to pick up the carton of candles we ordered earlier in the day to be blessed by Father at Candlemas that evening.

CANDLEMAS

In celebration of the beautiful feastday of Our Lady's Purification (Presentation of Our Lord), we attended the Traditional Latin Mass which included blessing of the candles for use throughout the year, a procession, and of course, Holy Mass. The little chapel was full-packed this year which made it extra special, moreso for Fr Hartley. We saw a few homeschooling families, so the kids were very happy to celebrate the occasion with friends. Being Bobbles' first Candlemas, he stayed awake for most of it, though slept through some parts. ;D






ST BLAISE'S THROAT BLESSING

Being the vigil of the feastday of St Blaise last night, we also received a blessing of the throat from Fr Hartley, using candles he blessed during the preceding ceremony. This is a beautiful tradition that the kids have grown to like, and are able to associate to the story of when St Blaise (as a bishop) was able to cure a child (brought in by his mother) seriously choking on a fishbone, just through prayer and the use of 2 blessed candles crossed in the middle.









Yesterday was certainly a day filled with fun as it was with graces. As children of God, we are called to be both salt to the earth and light to the world (Mt 5:13-14); and on this occasion of the Purification of Our Lady (the Light-bearer) and the Presentation of the Lord (proclaimed by St Simeon as THE Light of the World), we thank God for a very challenging but fruitful week for all of us. We thank Him especially for giving us this blessed opportunity of being able to form and educate the kids at home, right where they belong. ♥♥♥

Schooling 2011

I have found my patron saint for this year's schooling: St Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron saint for Catholic schools. She was a teacher who was a Protestant before converting to Catholicism. She is such a great inspiration and example for homeschoolers because she herself homeschooled her 5 children. Even before she became Catholic she had a great love for the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady, and had a great reverence for the priesthood.


This year we officially have: a 5th grader, a 1st grader, and a kindergartner. Today, feastday of St John Bosco, marks our first day of school. And although we started later than the regular schools did, I'm glad I have had some time to prepare and plan for the kids' curricula for the year.

GRADE 5

Cores:
1. English (Language of God, Catholic Speller, Reading Comprehension - Stories of the Saints, Creative Writing)
2. Math - Epsilon Math U See
3. Social Studies (Australian History and Geography, Map Skills E)
4. Science (Universe in My Hands)
Non-cores:
5. Religion (Faith and Life 5, Exploring the Mass)
6. Latin (Latina Christiana II)

GRADE 1

Cores:
1. English (My First Catholic Speller)
- Reading Comprehension (Little Stories for Little Folks - Level 2)
2. Math (Alpha Math U See)
3. Social Studies (Character Building)
4. Science (Exploring Science I)
Non-cores:
5. Religion (Faith and Life 1, Image of God, Stories to Learn By, Treasure Box)
6. Handwriting Practice

KINDER

Cores:
1. Reading and Phonics (Little Stories for Little Folks - Level 1)
2. Alphabet Handwriting Practice
3. Math - Primer Math U See
Non-core:
4. Religion (God's Love Story, Who Am I?)

When you begin to study, look up to Him and think: "O Lord, how worthless this knowledge would be, if it were not for the enlightening of my mind, for Your service, or for making me more useful to my fellow men." - St Elizabeth Ann Seton

No, Really...

(Jan, 2011 - Towoomba - some 150 kms from us, after the king tide)

When one is a witness and an observer of the sudden onslaught of calamitous weather worldwide, especially, quite suspiciously, in resources-rich areas, one cannot help thinking.. this cannot possibly be mother nature. I mean, c'mon now.. But H.A.A.R.P. ?? Hmm..

Tempus Neminem Manet!!

Already? The first half of the year is over? I can't believe how time just whizzes by sometimes! Truly, time waits for no one! I mean, do you ever get the feeling that you're forever trying to get on top of things? Well, such is the story of my life. Or at least it has been these days, anyway..

For several weeks now things have just seemed a struggle to manage, timewise. First reason (or excuse), I suspect, is because we went on that trip, rather unexpectedly; and consequently having to battle that affliction we were all hit with for quite a considerable period after we got back. And second is because the first few months of the pregnancy (as it is with any) was such a trial. These things have definitely thrown me off my "groove." Now it seems that I've never really caught up with stuff, especially with schooling. We're about 2-3 weeks behind!!

Be that as it may, I fight back the urge to get stressed, though I do have lapses here and there.. :D Knowing Someone is always in control of things, and therefore anchoring all of one's hope and faith in Him will tend to make everyday challenges more bearable and this maze of a life much easier to navigate. EVEN IF it is all under time pressure!

Multae cogitationes in corde viri voluntas autem Domini permanebit. (Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.) - Proverbs 19:21

On the Threshhold of Self-sufficiency

Most of us have read and/or heard about GMO products and how bad it is for our health. Still, some of us feel somewhat defenseless, especially because 80% of what we find in the grocery stores and supermarkets these days is composed of foods that have been genetically modified. Shockingly, a large percentage of the foods we have always thought of as being "natural" (such as fruits and veggies) are intentionally altered and manipulated at the very DNA level which actually renders it more harmful to us than being healthy or helpful. In addition, besides GMO, we also find a large bulk of produce that are routinely bombarded with toxic chemicals shortly before they are harvested and transported to the shops.

Even something as seemingly harmless and innocent as milk is now considered as a "dangerous beverage" because of all the bacteria, viruses, other substances contained in it and the active hormones, antibiotics and vaccines that are given to the cows (just like pigs, chicken and other animals used for meat) that cumulatively, individually and collectively - for those who consume milk - cause several diseases, not excluding cancer!

Being confronted with this reality and the enormity of the problem, some of us might just find it easier to pretend this is not happening, and may very well choose to go about our normal lives ignoring these facts.

Denial, however, will only get us into deeper trouble. And when it comes to certain things such as the health of the family, I believe knowledge IS power. So, having gained a deeper awareness of GMO products and how much harm they do to the body, we felt we could not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. Almost immediately, we switched over to organic food. Yes we were instant converts. However, as most informed or "practicing" families would tell you, consuming purchased organic foods is not a cheap approach. But being totally convinced we could not go back on our decision, we knew we had to supplement and do something else, something a little more sustainable without it being too much of an economic strain.

About the middle of last year we converted a few of our garden patches into veggie/fruit/herb beds. We are very thankful that we got a little bit of help from a good friend in establishing our "food garden"... (Ok, ok, a LOT of help!!!) The following months were quite exciting as we witnessed how the seeds germinated and grew into little plants, then big plants, and some we inspected regularly to see them starting to grow fruits and veggies! Of course we already had fully grown guava and mango trees that yield lots of fruits on a regular basis. (Last year's mangoes were particularly big and juicy, not to mention S-W-E-E-T!!)

Among several vegetables we have been able to harvest and consume thus far are: buk choy (pechay), rocket, capsicums, chilli (fruit and leaves for tinola), tomatoes, cauliflower, sweet potato (leaves or camote tops used, so far), malunggay, kangkong, snake beans (sitaw) and others. Our calamansi tree which never gave us any fruits in the past seemingly got lots of encouragement from its neighbouring flora and decided to dance to the music and bear lots of fruits, too! Yes, we have been able to harvest baskets-ful of calamansi used to prepare jugs of vit C-loaded lemonada and some to squeeze over pancit, bistek, arroz caldo and other favourite Pinoy dishes! (The following pictures taken some months ago are of the early stages of the garden and the first batch of veggies we harvested. We have since been able to harvest so much more and mature up some seeds for planting next year; and now that winter has started the garden is going through a "transition" period. Soon we will be looking at suitable plants to grow during the cold months ahead.)

Growing and harvesting your own foods is definitely worthwhile, to say the least. Truly, there is nothing fresher, tastier and more beneficial than produce consumed a short time after picking. For us it is proving to be quite enjoyable, rewarding, convenient and healthy, especially knowing that none of them have been altered / modified in any way nor sprayed with any harmful chemicals. Besides, whilst we are careful to buy CERTIFIED organic products from the supermarkets and specialty shops, we cannot be any more certain about how organic our food is than growing it ourselves! What better incentive is there than that? Our children especially enjoy talking about the fact that this thing or that was "grown and picked fresh from our garden in the backyard." (Of course we had to make sure we only used organic / heirloom seeds to plant. And although the plants have had their share of pest infestation, we still managed to use and consume a good chunk of each harvest. Perhaps in the future we might look at using our own homemade mixture of pest spray such as garlic or vermin spray, etc. to keep the old pests under control.)

Undoubtedly, this tremendously fruitful exercise has given us a foretaste into the kind of self-sufficient lifestyle that has been beckoning us for a long time. And of course, this has been further compounded by obvious health reasons and the desire to stay as far away as we can from "franken-foods" that seem to be springing up everywhere we look. Whenever hubby and I talk about it, we cannot help our minds from wandering into the time when we are able to establish our farm in the countryside, some distance away from suburbia - where we would be able to grow an even larger range of fruits (yes, a fruit orchard sounds perfect!), beds of vegetables and herbs (both culinary and medicinal) sprawled over several acres; and of course raise some animals, too: goats for milk and cheese, a few milking cows and some for beef, a handful of pigs for meat, a pond full of fish, yabbies and other fresh water creatures good to chuck in the barbie, chooks and ducks for eggs and poultry and even several horses for the kids to ride around and play with! And what a life it will be!

This, for us, has been in the cards for a long time now, but God willing, we'll get there sooner, rather than later.

Oh well, we can dream, can't we? :D

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix; nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitabitus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta!