This Lent is super busy, getting ready for the Big & Hopefully PERMANENT Move :-) Yay finally a Home that my boys can Grow up in!  Thank You God! I can not say it enough times!!
God Blesses Us So Very Much Everyday!! I have had many hard days over the past 10 years, but it is all worth it to look at my kids & see how wonderful, healthy & absolutely gorgeous every one of them is!  My Granny Mary used to always say when I would walk in the door "You know, I was just Praying for you Jalane!", & I know she was, she had to be or I would have never made it this far.  My Granny is 97 years old, some days she doesn't even know who my Dad (her Only Son) is, but there is rarely a day she does not know who I am! I am so Blessed to have her in my life, she showed my sister & I the way to Truly Give, Truly Love & to Truly Pray.  Without this wonderful person I am not sure who I would be, but I do know I would not be who I am today without her! My Boys are so Blessed to have met her & hope someday that they realize what a gift it truly is to meet your Great Granny who is 100% Yugoslavian, I also hope that one day I will be able to explain to them how wonderful it is to have a True Angel in your life :-)
Days get so busy with Kids, school & other activities that we often fail to recognize the true Blessings we have, the Blessings that we stare in the face everyday & take for Granted.  I have challenged myself to write down One Wonderful Blessing that is a part of my everyday life each day of Lent, surely we each have at least 40 Blessings in disguise that really are not "Undercover" :-)

 I was in a Crafty little mood earlier this week, We got busy & made Crown of Thorns, an idea I got from a post on Catholic Icing 

I made homemade play-dough & helped the boys roll "snakes" then they twisted them & stuck the toothpicks in.  My Oldest shaped his into a heart 

 They are so proud of them, lol & so am I

then we made some Sacrifice Garland, idea from Karen in Mommy Land I let the kids color their own hands then I wrote on the hands for them, One hand to "Give Up" and one hand to "Do More", they each chose what to give up or do more of, I also did a set for myself & my husband.

then My oldest son & my Best Friend's daughter each made a clothespin Crucifix, idea from Crafolic , we used cardboard that I cut with a box cutter, a dryer sheet for the cloth & a yellow ribbon for the halo then I helped them to hot glue the pieces on.

 My son hangs his bracelet on it every night beforre bed now :-)

It is a busy week this week Dentist & shopping on Tuesday, Mass & pee-wee basketball yesterday-thank goodness Cub scouts was canceled, District Championship basketball (away) for the Varsity Boys tonight, peewee practice tomorrow & District Championship for Girls on Saturday Here yay :-)

This weekend we must start packing to move, hopefully to a house we will eventually own.

Making Time For The Important Stuff

Just Love Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent is such a great time to make some changes for the good, to strengthen your Faith and reflect on all of the wonderful greatness that God gives us everyday.   Lent makes me feel so refreshed & pro active :-)  

Anyway,

The Name "Boots, Mud, Basketball & God" means a lot to me, mostly because my life is full of all of these things.  With all of the activities that people have these days, from Pee-wee basketball to cleaning the house and Cub Scouts it may make it difficult to make sure you are teaching your kids to prioritize God above all else.  I Love my Catholic Faith and have found myself with my priorities out of order at times.  I am trying to instill in my boys the importance of God, the Church and all of the seemingly small acts that we do to be good people.  I fully understand why my Dad was always so tired when we were growing up, it wasn't just working, it was keeping up with everything else, but my Dad always made time for the "Important Stuff" and so will I!! :-)

Learning the Ropes

Going to try this Thing they call a Blog :-)   Today (yesterday now :-) was a full day of busy Lenten Crafting.  The Boys & I made Crown of Thorns (based on idea from Catholic Icing), some hand print garland & a couple of clothespin Crucifixes (also from link ups on Catholic Icing).  I am still figuring out how to give credit & show links on here. Pictures to come soon.  This Lent is going to be the best yet. Yay Fat Tuesday is tomorrow(today;-)
My Life is full of little daily moments, moments filled with Little Boys Boots, filled with big muddy messes, filled with activities for the Boys, but most important I am here to make sure that The Boys' Lives as well as Mine are Filled with the presence of God!