When you thought I wasn't looking.....

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me good night and I felt loved and safe. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up. ♥

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking. ♥

EVERYONE influences the life of a child.

Consulting and Tutoring

After careful prayer and suggestions from my sisters in Christ and prayers from them, I decided to do part-time consulting and tutoring.  As most of you know,  I work part-time for Homeschool Connections as a monitor and I love it.  We need a second income coming in and I am praying and hoping to start up my writing career as well in the near future.  It has been a tough start to this school year and when everything levels out I will starting that again as well.

Ipieta and Irosary

For those who are tech savvy I highly recommend Ipieta and Irosary.  Ipieta has the same things the Pieta book has in an app.  Storm prayers, morning prayers, prayers for different ailments.  It has been a Blessing for me.  I rosary helps people, who are distracted through the rosary, to keep on task.  For visual people like myself, it helps me appreciate the Rosary at its fullest.  I give these two apps a 10.  You will be truly blessed by using them.


Praising Him Joyfully,
Noelle

Apps/Ipad page

I updated the Apps/ iPad page.  All these apps I use on my iPad.  I am just sharing with you all what I found effective for my kids and us.  Share it.

God Bless!

7 things to know about Autism

This is awesome press on the link:

http://www.specialeducationadvisor.com/seven-things-i-wish-someone-had-told-me-when-my-daughter-was-first-diagnosed-with-autism/

Part 2 Autism

Autism and extreme Makeover

I am no longer my own blogger

My absolutely favorite blogger at  A Holy Experience Posted this.  It applies to all bloggers so I am reposting it here:

I am no longer my own blogger, but Thine, O Lord. 

Refine me with each post how You will, rank me how You will. 

Put me to service, or put me to suffering. 

Let me post for Thee or be put aside for Thee, 

Lifted high, only for Thee, or brought low, all for Thee. 

Do with me and each post whatever you will, because You alone know best. 

Let me not strive but submit Let me not compete but care 

Let me not desire hits but holiness 

Let me be a follower, instead of seeking followers. 

Let my blog be full of Thee, and let it be empty of me. 

Let me crave all things of Thee, let me care nothing of this world. 

Let my words be worthy of the greatest of audiences: You. 

And You are enough. 

May I write not for subscribers… but only for Thy smile. 

May my daily affirmation be in the surety of my atonement, 

not the size of my audience. 

May my identity be in the innumerable graces of Christ, 

never, God forbid, the numbers of my comments. 

May the only words that matter in my life not be the ones I write on a screen ---

but the ones I live with my skin. 

I freely and heartily yield every sentence, every title, every post, every comment… or no comments… all to Thine pleasure and perfect will. 

My only fame is that I bear Your name 

My only glory is the gift of Your Grace 

My only readership, Your eyes that seek to and fro to find a heart hard after You. 

Make this so, oh Lord… 

Yahweh, You alone are my God, not Google 

Jesus, You alone are my Savior, not site meters 

And Holy Spirit, You alone are my Comforter, not comments 

So be it, today, yesterday, and every post to come. 

This is my prayer I have made on earth and over this keyboard… let it be ratified in heaven. 

New look, New attitude

Well it was time to change the look of the blog.  I am excited about things to come.  I hope you all like my new look.  I will keep you posted on things to come.

Praising Him Joyfully.

High School

I am going to start posting our journey through high school with curriculum in my High School Tab to help others, who will be homeschooling High School down the road.  Please look for it.

9/11

I debated whether to write or not about it. I have never written about my personal reflections on 9/11. Partly because even 10 years after my wounds are still healing.  So much was lost that day, our innocence, friends/family members, an attack on my Home Town.  I grew up in New York and I am proud to say I am from New York.  I grew up in one of the 5 boroughs of the city.  I had a great childhood and good friends(wink, wink to my childhood friends) 9/11 took one of my childhood friends with it, Brian Canizzaro, who was a New York Firefighter.  I live in a family that I have an uncle and cousin who are a firefighters.  It is  hard thing to watch your husband go out not knowing if he will come back that night.  That is the life they live.  I always pray for them.  Brian did what most firefighter's do that day help people.  He died a hero.  As I look at my son I realize how lucky he is to have a great dad to grow up, because a lot of father's never came home that day.

I was working at a school that day, I am a teacher, and was told to go home, which I eventually did after they showed us what happened.  They pulled people who they knew had family members in NYC, who worked in the city.  I felt numb and cried.  It was the longest ride home I ever have. Listening to the radio it was so surreal.  People were literally stuck in the city.  The military was called in and shut down the city, no incoming or outgoing traffic.When has that ever happened to Manhattan? Never in my lifetime. I went to pick up my 4 year old in preschool.  She saw my tears and asked me , " Mommy you okay?"  I told her I wasn't but I would be.  I got home to see my mom in tears who was watching my son.  She couldn't reach my dad.  The cell towers were shut down.  It was the scariest time in my life.  He eventually called and said he was on the last train out of New York that MP's would be walking the train through. My dad was working that day and to this day he still can't talk about it.  I remember it was the only time besides my wedding I saw him cry.  He loves New York; he worked there most of his life and loved the pace.  After 911, it changed all of us. Did we recover 10 years after?  In some ways maybe. We became smarter, but Wounds are still healing and may take a life time to heal.

For me tomorrow, I will pray.  We will spend time in church like we usually do in Sunday.  We are going to have a family day together.  I am very grateful to have the family I do, because I have a husband who came home that day.  My kids have two parents who came home from work that day.  I taught kids who either had both or one parent lost that day.  So I pray for them and for peace. Isn't that what Christ asked us to do?  We need to practice it and receive the grace and healing of it.  God Bless you all!