Welcome

Welcome to the Spiering Family website. This is our new blog. For older posts, please go here: http://www.freewebs.com/jaeljud/

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Welcome Charles Thomas

JMJ

Introducing Charles Thomas Spiering.  Born February 19th at 6:26 pm.  8 lb. 12 oz.  All is well and we are so blessed to have him!  Our biggest concern is we won't be able to tell his baby pictures apart form the other children's because he looks just like them!  At least we won't lose him in a crowd of strangers, just his brothers and sisters.


Our midwife, Tierney Dovan of Marshall Midwifery is fabulous!  It is her hot-pink sleeve you see holding Charles out for all his older siblings to see for the first time.  









Thursday, February 14, 2013

A Lenten reflection from Reed of God by Caryll Houselander

.  I have been reading Reed of God by Caryll Houselander for a LONG time; I will get a paragraph read here, a page there.  I am finally getting enough of it read for it to be fruitful for me.  This thought really struck me as I was looking ahead to the beginning of Lent, and the birth of another child.



                This is another of the things to be discovered in contemplating Our Lady.  We ask Him to come and abide in us; we ask the Holy Spirit to form Him from our Lives; we believe that He does do this. 
                If Christ is formed in our lives, it means that He will Suffer in us.  Or, more truly, we will suffer in Him.
                "And He was made man."
                Our Lady saw at once what was meant in her case: supernaturally, He was made herself. 
                If He is made man in you, He will be made you. . . . 
                 And we shall thus come to realize that when we resent our circumstances or try to spare ourselves what we should undergo, we are being like Peter when he tried to dissuade Our Lord from the Passion. 
                There is one tremendous answer to the question which is reiterated to the point of utter weariness: "Why should I?"
                It is another question: "Ought not Christ to suffer these things and so enter into His glory?"



That is the question I ask myself every time I am presented with a sacrifice, even the smallest little inconvenience or discomfort.  "Why should I?"  I feel as if I don't deserve to feel that little discomfort, and I ACT like it!  I roll my eyes or sigh when one of the kids spill something or whines.  But, Christ wasn't above suffering these little trials of life.  He, of course, did NOT deserve them, but he chose to suffer them--at first through Mary in her womb and the very body that she formed through Him and for Him, then as His own human body, and now, through each of us.  

So, that is the main thing I am doing for Lent, or more properly said, that is what I am trying to let Christ do for me.  I pray He becomes me, and I Him.  My death to sin will be much less dramatic (not crucifixion and public martyrdom).  Mine will be wiping bottoms, doing laundry (that I just did the day before, but some child decides to wipe his hands on his shirt instead of using a napkin), being so tired from carrying this big belly around, but still getting up to put someone back in her bed for the 10th time that afternoon.  It will be me not showing my frustration when I have to spoon feed every bite to children who are turning their noses up at the dinner I worked so hard to make, with their tastes in mind.  These things aren't really trials at all!  But they sure feel that way to me, and I know there is nothing noble about doing these tasks, but He is so humble, he will help me, and thereby making them the most noble act for me.  He will help me bear this child, He will help me suffer all these little things perfectly.  

And, though the season has passed completely, here is our family photo from Christmas.  Here are my crosses and my salvation--I know I'm their cross, too!  And, yes, we took about 5000 photos (a little exaggerated)  and this tolerable one is the best of the whole lot.  At least everyone is looking at the camera!  




Blessed Lent.  Please pray for me! 

Anastasia--5 years old

Here is a photo of my big girl from each year of her life.  Two months late is better than never, right?

Anastasia at 10 days old:

One-Year-old.  She got that sparkle in her smile right about then: 

Two-Years-Old.  She was so young, but such a good big sister, already:

By Three-Years-Old, Aine really started to looked like herself:

 Four-Years-Old.  She was a big girl in preschool that year:

And by Five-Years-Old, she had lost her first tooth!