Prayer is the best weapon we have. - Padre Pio

I can't believe Fall came so quickly!  I wished the summer away, anxious for our vacation towards the end of July, but I find myself wanting summer back.  I really miss the kids when school starts, especially since Layne started Kindergarten.  The house gets eerily quiet.  They are my everything and my heart literally aches every year around this time ... which brings us to the title of this post.  "Prayer is the best weapon we have." - Padre Pio .... the best way to get through depression is to bring our hearts back to God in prayer. It is only when we turn towards Him that the light shines in our darkness.  Turks and Caicos was an absolute DREAM come true.  Time with family, the beach, the pina coladas, the food, the experiences, the memories made ... all make my heart smile; but coming home from such a high is really difficult.  We are faced with many challenges in today's society; social media igniting jealousy, societal influences, electronic addictions, etc. all of which steal our joy.  It is SO imperative that we pray every day in gratitude for the simple gift of life.  The simple idea that Gods mercies are new each day.  It is only when we face each day with God's armor that we have the strength to sustain all things that come our way. Padre Pio was a great example of finding strength in faith, persevering, and placing complete trust in His divine providence.  

Fall Shenanigans:

- Soccer for Layne (Orange Tigers), Dublyn (Chartreuse Tigers), and Bryce (Red Devils)
- Aggie Football (Friday and Saturday mandatory wearing maroon)
- Cross Country (Wrigley is doing really well in his first ever school sport)
- Dublyn's Golden 9th Birthday

Our next trip is Dallas for Thanksgiving!  More posts to come but for now enjoy the summer pics leading into the Fall HERE

"The baby leaped for joy" Luke 1:44

On Thursday, 40 days after Easter, we celebrated the Ascencion of Jesus.  Fast forward 4 days and it is now The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Today we celebrate the visit of Mary, with Jesus in her womb, to her cousin Elizabeth. The visit took place when Elizabeth was six months' pregnant with Saint John the Baptist.

Luke 1: 39-56 

39In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 

40and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 

41And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 

43And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 

44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 

45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”  

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,  

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;

49for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

50And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,

52he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree;

53he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.

54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

55  as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”

56And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

    

    This morning we celebrated this feast day by jumping on the trampoline as we listened to "JOY" by For King & Country. Just as John leaped for joy, we have been blessed with so many gifts that have us leaping for joy.  Each day we must rejoice, giving glory and thanks to God.

   Summer has started which means we must get caught up with Spring happenings. As usual, there was no shortage of extracurricular activities in the Craft household.  Aside from adjusting to and snuggling our newest member of the Catholic Church, Nicholas, we muddled through the following conglomerations:

 January: 

- The most magical and whimsical SNOW DAY (Nicholas' first snow)

- Layne finished out his winter Baseball league with Green Lightening at Katy Park

- Father Daughter Dance at Our Lady of Walsingham

- Girl Scout Campout and Cookie shenanigans

February:

- Houston Zoo

- Mutton Bustin' at the Katy Rodeo (Dublyn rode her sheep, Roadrunner, half way across the arena to win 1st place.  Her prize was a stunning Belt Buckle. Layne rode El Guapo and placed 3rd)

- Troops Campout @ Village Creek State Park in Lumberton, TX

March:

- Chad @ Men's Summit Retreat in Rock Springs, TX

- KYSC Soccer for all 4 kids (Wrig U12 Blue Riptide, Bryce U10 Neon Knights, Dublyn U9 Red Tigers, Layne U6 Purple Tigers)

- Visit Grandpa C in Lampasas, TX

- Houston Rodeo for Lauren Daigle

- Aggie Baseball at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (We were blessed to spend alittle time with The Moseley's and meet little miss Savannah)

April:

- Easter

- Bryce's Birthday

- Crawfish Boil

May:

- Will's Graduation Weekend in College Station.  Gig'em Ags!

- The first time dermatologists found malignant melinoma on my leg was in 1999 ... fast forward 26 years and another cancer spot formed on my stomach!  April was a tough one to get through, but I am happy to say, with the prayer intercessions of Saint Peregrine, I beat the hell outta SKIN cancer for the second time! 

Saint Peregrine please continue to intercede for my family during our time left on Earth.  Our hearts desire to live long, healthy lives for our children. I pray that we can honor the body the Lord has blessed us with in order to take care of all that is necessary to live out God's will. 

We are off to a running start for June, literally.  The boys and I ran a mile this morning and did some agility drills. I put Wrig's 7 min mile time to shame 😉We are going to try our best to have a healthy summer.  Wrigley starts his SAC Strength and Conditioning Camp tomorrow and we will head to Dallas for VBS on Friday.  More to come ... until then check out the following link for Spring Pictures.

JANUARY - MAY 2025

 

"Don't Give Up On Me" - Andy Grammar

Here is an abbreviated version of October - December ... 

Our family continues to lean into the song by Andy Grammar titled "Don't Give Up On Me," showing up for each other in every stage of life.  Whether it's in a supportive role at a sporting event, bandaging up an ouchie, snuggles just because, praying over each other, or holding a hand through a hard taught lesson, I'm grateful for Chad and the kids always showing adoration for the family and upholding the domestic church.  They showed me grace throughout the pregnancy and found ways to infuse immense joy into hearts with smiles and laughter as we rounded out the Fall season. 

We welcomed our newest blessing, Nicholas Zion, on November 21st ... Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  His middle name honors Mary's parents, Anne and Joachim, who presented Mary in the temple with two turtledoves on this Solemnity.  Since all our children are named after locations (the "Y" is just a coincidence), his middle name is Zion, after Mount Zion in Jerusalem where Joachim is from.  

Without skipping a beat, we rolled right into the Advent, continuing on with various winter activities:  

- Nicholas' first concert at 2 weeks old (Wrig's Christmas Band Concert)
- Celebrated Nicholas, Layne, Wrigley, and Mom's birthdays
- Troops of St. George, Sisters of Lisieux, & Girl Scout camping trips
- Nicholas was baptized into the Catholic church on December 28th (Will and Lilli as Godparents)

Here we are just after the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord entering Ordinary Time with the temperatures in the 30's.  We are quite jealous of all the snow in Dallas!  January started off with Grandma and Bill visiting and meeting Nicholas and celebrating Chad's birthday.  Layne is about to have his first baseball game, playing in a winter i9 league!  More of an update after the Winter season ...

Pictures of 2024 click HERE