St. Anne. What kind of person was she when she was on earth? I imagine she was a hard-working, prayerful mom, who tried each day to run a home full of order, as well as, spirituality.  So with St. Anne as my inspiration, I decided I wanted to do a monthly link-up that centers around the Domestic Church!
This would include any post about Catholic decor, crafts, and activities we can do with our kids, home-school ideas, organization, or any other post that can help Catholic families find a more faith-filled-center in our everyday life.
So grab your tea and a comfortable chair. Then share with us what works for you and your family and check out what other Catholics have to share with you. Hopefully, you’ll find something that can help you and your domestic church!

I plan to open this link-up on the 22nd day of each month and it will be open for 10 days.
So add your link below…

A personal Update:
About my Domestic Church and this Summer…..
Many of you know very little about me. I’m not really a secretive person, I just don’t like to talk about myself, but I feel I need to talk about myself just so no one panics at my future absence…

Almost four years ago my husband and I moved into a country home. A dream this farm girl had since the day we bought our first home in the suburban city. But to obtain that dream we bought a home that was in crazy bad shape!! In order to get the land, we sacrificed a nice house.
To quote my second born, “Do we have to live in that dump?”
Now, our first two homes were in need of repair, and my husband did an awesome job remodeling them, so this move didn’t sound too bad. Well, little did we know what we were doing! The past 4 years have turned out to be a huge struggle; the house was far worse then we thought!!!

 Day after day we fixed plumbing problems, replaced broken windows, siding, the roof, cleaned out all the hidden trash that was left to rust and rot all over the land, and we painfully remodeled each and every holey, moldy, room! The house was also a bit small. All 10 (now 11) of us have been eating and homeschooling around a dining room table made to fit 4 people with no elbow room to speak of. So we decided that even though the existing house was still in bad shape we needed a larger dining room and a few more bedrooms.

We started an addition 1 1/2 years ago. My Handy Hubby has been doing much of the work to save money and he’s still working on it. At that same time, my health was getting worse and I have had 3 surgeries and a baby (c-section). Because of home construction, a new baby, and my surgeries I’ve felt this past school year was not the best. But God has been pushing us along and things are starting to look-up! The addition is almost finished!! The house is starting to feel like home. And since my surgery in January I’m a new woman!! I’ve gotten so much accomplished in my domestic church!! I hope to finally be able to unpack my wall hangings and decorate this home the way I’ve been hoping to do for the past 4 years.
During this summer I hope to hit things hard and fast! So, with all my plans in mind, I’m taking a vacation from blogging for a month (maybe more).  What do I have planned?

  1. Finish out the school year and win it back!! 😉
  2. Help my Handy-Hubby finish that addition!
  3. Move into that new addition (Our tiny dining room will become a kitchen extension, the living room will be our new dining room, and the new addition will be a bigger living room. Plus the two new bedrooms!!! Yah!!
  4. Plant a garden!!!! Finally!!!
  5. Clean our 30×100 foot shed. Toss out all the former homeowners’ stuff and some of ours too! Wooo, that will be fun!! 😀
  6. Finish cleaning up all the junk the former owner left laying all over the land!
  7. Build a deck?!?! Or is that too ambitious?!?
  8. I could go on, but I think that if I finish all that I will be doing really well!!!!
So I will be a busy bee for the next few months!!!
I will not be posting in the next month, after that, I’m not sure.

Please pray for me! May God grant that I finally get my life back in order and hopefully my domestic church will feel more like a domestic church again!

Thanks for any and all prayers.
Until later, God bless.
~Jen-Marie

Now it’s time for a Link-up Party!!!

 I do plan to open this link-up on the 22nd day of each month and it will be open for 10 days. 

The Rules:
  • Please, add a post about Catholic decor, crafts, and activities we can do with our kids, home-school ideas, organization, or any other post that can help Catholic families find a more faith-filled-center in our everyday life.
  • Link to me on your blog/post so others can come and join in too! You may use one of my buttons if you like, or just make a text link of your own.
Crafolic.com ~ Catholic Crafts and more!

10 Comments

  1. Jennifer, I will definitely be praying for you and your family. Wow, homeschooling with a baby is tricky enough and you have all of those other things going on as well. Wishing you much success on your list!

  2. I am also praying for you! You have a great list of things to accomplish but don't wear yourself out. I am not a homeschooler (but I am a wannabe) and I read often that during certain seasons of life, formal homeschooling is not done as much. Think about your projects as your homeschooling and relax! 🙂 I'll see you again next month!

  3. Hi Jennifer, I hope that everything goes well in your renos and projects and everyone stays safe and healthy in all that you need to do. As Catholic moms we must always remember to keep our vocation at the forefront of our lives for that is what pleases God – joyful obedience to His will and not our own. May the Lord bless you in all that you do. Blessings, Kalei

  5. Hi Jennifer,I knew about your health and surgery but didn't know of your cramped quarters and numerous \”house projects\”! You are amazing to be homeschooling in such a tiny space as well as coming up with so many great ideas for faith formation. So happy that you're feeling great and totally understand your need to take time out and get your house and yard into shape. You must be a pro at patience and perseverance!! Take a break… we will miss you!

  6. I will miss your posts, especially since I am a new follower… however, I hope you have a wonderful, productive summer! The \”I Spy\” sheets have been a hit! Peace and prayers, Annita +JMJ+

  7. Hi Jennifer,Good luck with all your projects! We will miss you 🙂

  9. God will give you an abundance of grace for putting your family first Jennifer! May it be a fruitful time away from blogging and thank you for setting such a good example of putting family first. And what a wonderful link-up I might add, St. Anne is my patron and I look forward to sharing on your link-up! God bless,CeAnne

  10. Dear Jennifer, you and your family will be in my prayers! I know you will do great in all your projects! You will be missed! I hope I can add my posts soon. blessings!!

Leave a Reply