Today is Dec. 13, Saint Lucy Day. We named our youngest daughter Lucy. Our oldest daughter mockingly suggested the name Lucy when I was pregnant with our ninth child. My husband’s head snapped up and he said, “That’s it! That is what we will call her.” My daughter was appalled, “Dad I was kidding. You can’t…… Continue reading 7QT Friday: St. Lucy Day and Our Lucy
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Small Success Thursday: What is Success?
Every Thursday, we stop to recognize all the moments where we’ve allowed ourselves to cooperate with God’s grace, and all the moments we recognize when God’s grace poured forth even without our willing cooperation. As I thought about which 3 small successes I would write about this week , the question arose in my mind,…… Continue reading Small Success Thursday: What is Success?
7QT Friday: Gratitude and The Altar of Success
As the American Thanksgiving approaching, many writing prompts have been focused on thanksgiving, happiness and gratitude. For me laughter has always been my way of laughing off tragedy and focusing on the bright side. I laugh, a lot. Some people might question my sanity when I laugh so hard that I almost fall off my chair,…… Continue reading 7QT Friday: Gratitude and The Altar of Success
A Pin Prick: An Arrow of Light Pierced Through the Lie
An image which described my struggle to surrender control, was a wagon wheel suspended over a deep chasm. My large family of 10 stood on the rim of a wagon wheel, while I crouched on the hub, frantically turning this way and that, grabbing all the broken spokes, desperate to hold the crumbling structured together.…… Continue reading A Pin Prick: An Arrow of Light Pierced Through the Lie
Catholic and Living it!
As the temperatures start dropping, with frost warnings beginning in Canada this post is in celebration of the natural beauty which surrounds us. For me gardening lifts…… Continue reading Catholic and Living it!
3 Truths for My Children
A loved child can change the world If my children could remember only three things to take with them into their adult life, what would I want them to be? 1. I love you, believe in you. Let that love be your foundation and your springboard into life. 2. God loves you, just as you are. Relax in that…… Continue reading 3 Truths for My Children
Listen
“I just gave you that book to write to keep you busy in between appointments; your real work is all these interruptions.” The biggest stumbling block to truly listening, especially to children, is our self-important business. Henri Nouwen SJ, a Jesuit author and university professor, complained to God about all the undergraduate students who knocked…… Continue reading Listen
If I Am the Heart of the Family, Why Was I Not Missed?
I have always heard that the mother is the heart of the family, especially a stay at home mother with a crew of kids, who also helps with a hobby farm. So Why was I not missed when I spent hours locked in the chicken coop? You must first understand that even if this was a…… Continue reading If I Am the Heart of the Family, Why Was I Not Missed?
Becoming a Mother
When God called me to be a mother and not a missionary or a contemplative, I was disappointed. I longed to surrender my whole life to God as a consecrated nun. Little did I know that mothering WAS my path to His heart. Outwardly, my life is diametrically opposed to anything I could have imagined…… Continue reading Becoming a Mother
7 Quick Friday TAKES
Useful for every Mum, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, Grandma, Grandpa and Godparent, House guest, Friend….
My Seven Year Old Teaches Me How to Influence a Two Year Old
In our large family, my children discovered how to interact with each other, without my constant intervention. In fact all my children have wonderful people skills today because they lived in a house with ten other very different personalities who all shared one full bathroom.Just imagine the tact it required to squeeze any sink and mirror time in the bathroom if…… Continue reading My Seven Year Old Teaches Me How to Influence a Two Year Old
Interviewed by IBILLIONLOVESTORIES.COM
Sat, 02/23/2013 – 20:26 — Paul Cody Imagine Sharing and Cherishing the LOVE of 9 children raised on a Hobby Farm in southern Ontario, Canada ! When people look at Melanie Jean Juneau their eyebrows shoot up, their mouths drop open and they sputter, ”YOU had 9 children?? This is because she is 5’ 1” and weigh ∞
Sunday Snippets
meet my first grandson and second grandchild, Declan- Celtic for The Good One. he is tiny but perfect and looks exactly like his Scottish grandfather and dad! My posts this week: Root Our Children in Love The Vacuum Cleaner Syndrome
A Large family’s house
Yes, I was called to have a large family. We were obedient even though we are considered poor in this society. God has control over our fertility. And so He has showered us, not with material blessings but JOY and a sense of new life. Picture a large, 1886, quaint house with all sorts of quirks. A window…… Continue reading A Large family’s house
The God Led Life =Joy
Outwardly, my life is diametrically opposed to anything I could have imagined as a teenager. Yet this strange life I find myself living has brought me more fulfilment and joy than I ever could have imagined. At sixteen, I was still an avid reader, who loved school. As expected, I completed an Honours Degree in English Literature. By 23,…… Continue reading The God Led Life =Joy
Nine Kids= A Magical Christmas
Christmas for our large family was magical It was still dark outside, way too early for my husband and I; we had worked on Christmas Eve set up till 2:00 am. We couldn't even pry our eyes open but we were smiling with contentment as we listened to the excited whispers and giggles of the… Continue reading Nine Kids= A Magical Christmas
“But Jesus is in There!!!”
I was preparing dinner one afternoon, when five-year old David came running up to me with a serious look on his face. He was always full of energy and mischief but he also had a delightful spirituality that was not taught but inborn. Once again, David had another theological question for me, “Mum, does Mary live in…… Continue reading “But Jesus is in There!!!”
A Mother’s Paradigm Shift
Babies might be tiny but they NEED a lot of undivided attention. Even though I was an acrobatic, multi- tasker, my new role as a mother forced me to evolve and adapt. Once I became a mother, I suddenly found that I had to devote 12 to 14 hours per day solely to nursing, burping,…… Continue reading A Mother’s Paradigm Shift
joy of nine9 