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I shared recently over on Instagram how I was planning to intentionally rest over the holidays, while the shop remains closed. It's so easy to neglect my well-being through the busy season as a small business owner. I shared more about how my to-do list was shifting here. This sparked a separate conversation about the supplements I take and the ways I've been taking a more holistic approach to health. I did a deep dive into the naturopathic world a couple of years ago and the more I learn, the more I want to know. It just makes so much sense to me, how God would be so gracious to give us exactly what we need on earth to thrive. I'm by no means an expert and this is not medical advise, I'm just sharing things that have worked for me and my family in hopes it might help you too! **This is not medical advice. Please consult a doctor before taking anything new** 3 Ingredient Immunity Boost Your Kids Will Beg For! Ingredients 1/4 tsp acerola cherry power (whole food vitamin C) 1/2 tsp elderberry syrup (1-3 year old), (1 tsp for 4+) -best if you can find local! 1 tsp raw unfiltered honey (best if you can find local!) (optional) 1 drop of D3 drops (for kids) or 4 drops of D3+K2 (for adults) for added immunity boost, especially if you live in a climate where you're not getting a lot of direct sunlight! Directions: Combine all ingredients and enjoy! notes: Cherries are naturally tart tasting. You may add more honey to cut the tartness to your family's liking. If your kids don't want a spoon full of the syrup, you can dissolve it in water and juice to put in their bottle. I find it easier to combine the acerola powder to liquids this way as opposed to adding it directly to liquids. This is a whole food natural powder and will not dissolve completely like synthetic vitamin packets. Barbara O"Neil's FLU BOMB Ingredients: 4 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon freshly crushed ginger (or ginger powder as a substitute) 1 teaspoon freshly crushed turmeric (or turmeric powder as a substitute) Juice of 1 whole lemon 1 teaspoon honey (more can be added to taste) 1 drop eucalyptus essential oil* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder (start with 1/4 teaspoon and work up to 1 teaspoon if sensitive, will burn but subsides quickly) 1/2 cup water Directions: Combine all ingredients and simmer on the stove for 10-15 min Strain in to a glass jar, pressing out as much liquid as possible This makes 3-4 servings that can be taken list a shot or mixed with hot water like a "tea", the solids can also be consumed if desired store in the refrigerator and consume within 24 hours for highest potency Fermented Garlic & Honey Ingredients peeled garlic cloves raw unfiltered honey Directions Fill a mason jar (or any glass jar with a lid) about 3/4 full with peeled garlic cloves Fill the jar with honey. Let sit in a cool place for at least a month (longer the better). Flip and stir the jar every now and then to make sure the garlic stays coated. You can take a spoon full of honey, eat the garlic (or both) at first signs of illness. It has a pretty mild taste! The jar should be good for a year, maybe longer Antimicrobials If something is an antimicrobial, it means that it's effective in fighting off and killing viruses, bacteria, AND fungus. When there is infection in the body, regardless of the type, you want to be incorporating as many antimicrobial substances as you can. And when it comes to natural remedies, I like to through everything I have on had at it, as first signs of illness and incorporate them as I see fit NATURAL ANTIMICROBIALS garlic (see my "wholeness" highlight on Instagram for a delicious garlic dipping oil recipe) mullein garlic oil drops for ear ache oil of oregano (not essential oil) -warning: this stuff is potent! easiest to take 1-2 drops with a spoon full of honey and swallow fast! also available in capsules honey -raw and unfiltered is best olive leaf extract (comes in capsules, and throat spray that's great for sore throat!) eucalyptus essential oil tea tree essential oil more to come!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve faced situations that, although in the moment felt like there could be no good outcome, God always pulled through. Recently, after exhausting my own abilities and resources, I brought a situation such as this to Lord. What came up was my fear of instability, as the nature of farming and a self-employed small business is anything but stable. As always I was met with gentle compassion and unwavering faithfulness. I reluctantly handed over this fear, which I realized carried over to more areas of my life than just this one. Then I heard him say, “Enough. I will give you enough”. No more. No less. He will give us enough, and that is all we will need. enough orders to pay the bills, enough of a crop yield to come out ahead, enough children to fulfill his plans for our family, enough time to spend with him in prayer, enough diligence to run a business, enough patience to be a good mom, enough virtue to be a good wife. The amount the Lord gives is the precise amount we need — enough to satisfy us, but not take away our dependency on Him The path to heaven is seldom a path of excess. It is a path that requires complete trust in the Lord's provision. He is calling us to a child-like dependency- something that gets more and more difficult the farther away from childhood we get. I’m grateful for this little bit of instability, because where there is too much comfort, there is no need for dependency on the Lord, and it is precisely through this dependency that we'll find eternal life (Matthew 18:3).

No one told me the 14th year of grief might be one of the heaviest. What a random year. I really can't put my finger on why. Maybe because my son is getting older and it's hard to grasp that he'll never get to meet his Uncle Will. Maybe it's that I've been so busy lately that I haven't let myself feel any of these emotions and they're just now boiling over. The truth about grief is that it never fully goes away, it just goes out of focus. If you're new to the clue, I know that's not what you want to hear. I'm so sorry. Grief changes your perspective on the world like a camera lens can change its perspective on its subject. Sometimes grief is a distant memory, content to stay out of focus in the background of your view. As more time goes by, the distance grows wider and wider, but it's still there, blurred out in the background. Your focus is on the life you're living today. You can see the grief if you look for it, but it doesn't affect you the way it once did. The pain isn't as sharp because neither is the image. Then, every so often, your lens switches focus. The life you're living now gets a little blurry and your view is replaced with the cristal clear image of what was lost. The switch can happen suddenly, maybe brought on by an old memory or a familiar song. Sometimes you can feel the switch coming, like an approaching anniversary, but it still doesn't prepare you for the intensity of what you might feel. The strange part is, you find yourself wanting to stay in this focus for a while, because the pain of remembering feels better than the worry of forgetting it completely. Fourteen years of this grief going in and out of focus, and the only thing I can tell you is that Jesus is standing next to you regardless of what you can see in front of you. He weeps when you weep and takes joy when your pain begins to blur again. He's felt it all, more so than we ever will, and he'll feel it again with you, however many times it takes until we're all reunited in his Sacred Heart. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us . . . "The Lord sometimes makes you feel the weight of the cross. Although the weight seems intolerable, you are able to carry it, because the Lord, in his love and mercy, extends a hand to you and gives you strength.” -St. Padre Pio

So, you've gotten your order of beautifully crafted unframed Catholic intaglios and you're ready to display them in your home... now what? If you want to try your hand at DIY framing, this post is for you. I want to start off by saying that I am not a professional framer. But I have years of experience using simple and easy to follow methods that I've developed through trial and error (that's the best way to learn in my opinion!) I've made all the mistakes so you don't have to, saving you time and money. In this post, I'm going to share with you one of the methods I've used in the past for framing intaglios. It's the easiest, most inexpensive method but will still give you beautiful results! ON GLASS INTAGLIO FRAMING Most frames that you'll find in the store are not deep enough to adequately fit an intaglio inside. Rather than going through the hassle of finding a frame that will work, this method mounts the intaglio right onto the glass, opening up unlimited frame options for you, as well as background color and design. "What look will I achieve by using this framing method?" This method will work great for small (8x10 or smaller) desk frames that would make beautiful accent pieces on a shelf, end table, desk, night stand, etc. If you're looking for a more dramatic, high-end look, using larger frames in a gallery wall- STAY TUNED! I've got a part 2 to this post coming soon (and some big news to share !! ) Ok let's jump right in! Here's what you'll need: Unframed intaglio: Here I'm using the Sacred Heart of Jesus (L) intaglio Frame: I'm using these gorgeous 5x5 inch gold frames. They come in a pack of three and are less than $5 a frame! Epoxy: This Gorilla 2 Part Epoxy is the best adhesive material I've found that results in a permanent attachment to the glass. Hot glue may do the trick for you, but I can't guarantee how well it will hold over time. More options: Colored card stock or scrapbook paper. Your options here are endless! Be creative and find a color/pattern that you love! Scissors Pen (keep scrolling for a video tutorial) STEP 1: Open up the frame and take out the paper insert it came with. Use this to trace the exact size you'll need onto your card stock. Cut out your card stock to the size of your frame. Insert your card stock into the frame and secure it closed. STEP 2: Mix the epoxy. For a 2 part epoxy, you'll want to be sure that you squeeze out equal parts of both sides. Stir according to the directions on the packaging. STEP 3: Apply a small amount of the mixed epoxy to the back of the intaglio. (a little goes a LONG way here! Be careful not to use too much.) STEP 4: Attach the intaglio in the center of the glass. Make sure the easel back is facing the appropriate direction (you don't want to end up with an up-side-down intaglio!) PRO TIP: Depending on how much epoxy you’ve applied and how level the surface you're working on is, the intaglio may want to slide to one side or the other. Be sure to check it every few minutes until it's completely dried ( approx. 10 minutes) And that's it! A beautifully framed intaglio at a fraction of the price! Let me know if you've tried this! I'd love to see photos of your finished products. Don't forget to tag me!! MORE FRAMES I LOVE: SHOP UNFRAMED CATHOLIC INTAGLIOS:

Part 2: The Miraculous Message So here's where Fatima comes into the story... Infertility is full of ups and downs. On the more difficult days, I clung tightly to the rosary. Prayer did not come easily during that time, and the rosary was a way for me to pray without having to come up with the words. I also picked up an old book I had laying around called "Fatima for Today” by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, which sparked in me a new-found devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. I had never heard the messages of Fatima in such clear detail and felt so convicted to start sharing them. I decided to use my small Instagram platform to do just that, in a series of giveaways I called the “First Saturday Giveaways," with the purpose of sharing the message of Fatima with anyone who might come across the posts. I didn’t think much about this recent devotion or the giveaway series. I just felt a strong conviction that the Blessed Mother wanted me to share her message. So I did. Fast forward a couple years, and I found out that the National Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima would be stopping at our local church. (You can read more info on the Pilgrim Statue here.) In light of this new-found devotion, I made plans to attend the mass. It was such a beautiful night of prayer! The feeling in the church that night was heavenly. I knelt before the statue, and my eyes filled with tears. The gaze painted in her eyes pierced through to my heart, and in that moment, I felt like she saw me in my pain. The weight of the cross of infertility had worn my heart thin. After praying the same prayer over and over again without receiving an answer, it felt impossible to keep praying it. So I didn’t. I just sat in front of Mary and let her love me, like any mother would. I left that night with an overwhelming sense of calm, not with any particular answer, just confident that she saw my pain, and was loving me through it. A few nights later at another church in our area, my sister-in-law had also made plans to visit the statue. She brought along her 2-year-old who, like any little girl her age, had a tough time sitting still through the mass. It was finally their turn to go up to the front of the church and pray before the statue. Almost instantly, my niece became calm. As her head tilted up towards the statue, her face lit up. This wasn’t unusual since, from a young age she had always loved looking at the statues and stain glass windows in church, but my sister-in-law recalled how her entire demeanor changed, as if she was witnessing something that no one else was. They finished their prayers, and left the church. It wasn’t until they got in their car that my sister-in-law started asking her daughter about the statue… “She hug me!” my niece said confidently with a smile on her face. “She hugged you?!” her mom questioned, more than a little shocked. “Yea! She hug you too!” she answered even more confidently... (chills right?!) A week or so went by, and my sister-in-law, still thinking about the strange response her 2-year-old had given in the car, questioned her again. “Do you remember, when we went and saw the statue of Mary? What happened? Did she say anything?” She exclaimed, “Two babies!” Little did we know, the very next month, my sister-in-law and I would both conceive a child! Nine months later, we gave birth to two healthy baby boys just 5 days apart. We brought our son home from the hospital a year ago today, on Our Lady of Fatima’s feast day! The veil between heaven and earth is so very thin, and for children it’s even thinner. It was three children, after all, that Our Lady chose to appeared to at Fatima. Call it what you may, but we truly believe Our Lady of Fatima promised us that night that God would bless us with these two babies. Again and again, she reassured us that these circumstances were not merely coincidental and that her hand had been on every part of our story from the beginning. Today, I look down at my perfect, curly-haired little one-year-old and could weep with gratitude, to Our Lady and to the Lord for allowing us to experience such an extraordinary ending to our cross of infertility. Happy birth week to our two heaven-sent babies! Happy feast day of Our Lady of Fatima! And happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers reading this! And to all of you still carrying your cross, I'll leave you with this quote from St. Ignatius of Loyola: “If God sends you many sufferings it is a sign that He has great plans for you, and certainly wants to make you a saint.”

Part 1: Infertility It’s taken me over a year to sit down and write this, but I couldn’t let this weekend go by without sharing our story, in honor of Our Lady of Fatima and Mother’s Day! In September of 2021, God fulfilled a promise that was given to us by Our Lady of Fatima, but the full story begins about 2 years before that. It took my husband and I a lot longer to conceive than we had hoped. And while a 2 year cross of infertility is small compared to what some couples are carrying, I wouldn’t wish one minute of infertility on anyone. The ache that exists in your heart while you’re longing for a child is something that is hard to comprehend unless you’ve felt it for yourself. Infertility is such a unique cross. It’s like living in a state of constant contradiction. Half of your heart is desperately begging God to answer your prayer, while the other half is trying to be happy with what you have and to trust in his timing. Learning to live between the two is exhausting. It presses down on the deepest desire in every woman’s heart- the desire to do what he so intentionally created us as women to do. It can leave you questioning everything you thought about yourself and the way your future will play out. It can steal every once of your joy, making pregnancy announcements and baby shower invitations feel like a stab to the heart. It is pain like no other. If you are carrying this cross, please know that you are not alone. You are not broken or any less of the woman that God created you to be. He sees the weight that you are carrying. He sees your pain, and he has not forgotten about you. It’s hard to understand why God allows such pain in our lives. But after months of disappointment, I realized that if I fixated too long on the why, I would miss the how- how he was going to use this cross for my good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I held on to this promise for dear life. Infertility must be included in the “all things." Only now, looking back, can I see the how. One of the beautiful things to come out of that season was this business. Starting a side business while working full-time was challenging enough, but had I also been a new mom? Not a chance. And now that my son is here, I can fully enjoy the life he was preparing for me in the waiting, with a job that is both flexible and fulfilling. But the most beautiful thing to come out of our cross of infertility, was this- my relationship with God became stronger and my trust in him became deeper than ever before. Infertility stopped me in my tracks and made me surrender to the Lord in a way that I would have never done on my own. You see, up until then, I had pretty much attained everything I had set out to achieve. I graduated from college in four years and got into my first choice of grad schools. I graduated with my masters two years later, got married as planned, and got a job doing exactly what I wanted to do. I made plans, executed the plans and everything just kind of fell into place... Then we were ready to plan our family, and for the first time in a long time, my own abilities were useless. It didn’t matter how hard I worked. It didn’t matter how many surgeries I had, PCOS supplements I took, fertility monitors I bought. If God said it wasn’t time, then it wasn’t time. And I had to surrender to his will like never before. You don’t know what real surrender to God looks like until surrendering is your only option. Some days were harder than others, and I can't say that I handled all of the hard days with grace, but I did realize a few things along the way: Infertility was not stopping God’s plan for my life. Infertility was God’s plan for my life, or rather that season of my life. It was part of my path to holiness, my path to heaven. And while I don't know the other crosses that may lie ahead, I do know that if they come, it's because he has allowed them to. Nothing can happen to me that is outside of the Lord's knowing. No matter how painful and desolate this world may seem, God has not abandoned us. The Lord wants the best for me, which might mean delaying good things for a time when they would better suit me. He will not let me settle for temporary and partial happiness. It takes an immense amount of humility to acknowledge that God knows what's best for us, but it is the prerequisite to fully surrendering to his will. There is purpose to every season, and he is more than willing to show us that purpose, when the time is right. Part 2 coming tomorrow.

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9: 9-13 Jesus paid special attention to the people in society whom everyone else had written off- the lowest of the low, those thought to be beyond help or simply just not liked very much. And he didn't just run into them by chance. He sought them out, specifically. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew, one of those on the perimeter of society whom Jesus sought out. He chose this tax collector to be one of his closest friends, not out of pity, but out of love. Jesus saw Matthew in his truest identity- a son of his Father. He saw his inherent goodness, his talents, and his worthiness. He chose to love him, not for anything he did or didn’t do, but for the love that had already been given to him from his Father. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (Matthew 9: 12) It is not the popular who need a friend, but the lonely. It is not the outgoing who need inclusion, but the timid. It is not the pleasant who need kindness, but the difficult. Who in your life could use some seeking out today? Is it a coworker? A student? A stranger in the grocery store? How can we try to see them as God does and give them the love that he’s already given? . . . "Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which He looks compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now but yours..."— St. Teresa of Ávila

While praying with the feast day we celebrated yesterday, something struck me. The Israelites had cried out to the Lord for centuries for a Messiah, and finally, after so much waiting, the birth of Mary would be the answer to their prayers. Their long and painful sufferings would soon see a finish line. Their faith in God's promises would soon prove to not be held in vein. She was the key player in the story, the dawn of their salvation. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the answer to their prayers, but when it finally happened, they had no idea... At the very moment of her birth, which would lead to their salvation, the Israelites were still praying for a savior. The birth of this young girl from Nazareth was the most pivotal point in their history to date, but at the time, they were hopelessly oblivious. It was just an ordinary day to them, filled with their normal day to day activities. They continued their work. They pastured their flocks. The children played. The mothers cleaned. They said their prayers, and they were totally unaware that the "prayer of all prayers" had just been answered. It’s the same in our spiritual lives. We are all hopelessly oblivious to his sovereignty. As we drive to work, walk through the grocery store, go the gym, sit in adoration, his plan is coming together piece by piece. In the midst of our sorrows, as we cry out to the Lord with our questions, he is either planning the answers or they have already occurred. Sometimes it may seem like our prayers are falling on deaf ears, but each time we call to him, he responds immediately, according to our best interest. The response may be a "not yet," or like the birth of the Mother of God, happen while we thought he wasn't listening. We may not see the effects right away and all of the pieces as they occur, but one day, we will look back and realize when all of the catalysts began. We'll see all of the monumental moments we were blind to and all of the miracles he worked while we washed dishes. We'll see how his Holy Spirit prompted the key players in our stories to act, and how he worked to give us the very best all along.

Each time in my life that God has invited me into a deeper surrender, he has met me with patience. He knows I need reassurance before I’m able to take a step of faith. Once, I felt him gently asking, “Do you trust that I am good?” resembling in a way the conversation he had with Peter after the Resurrection. Three times he asked, “Peter do you love me?” Peter responded, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep” I felt him press on again and again, “Daughter, do you trust that I am good?” “Yes Lord,” I responded, “You know I trust you.” “Then, surrender.” When I honestly looked at what in my heart made me reluctant to surrender, it always, every single time, stemmed from a lack of trust in His goodness… because if I truly believed that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is who he says he is, good, then I’d have no reason to hesitate. If I truly believed in his love for me and that he was working ALL things together for my good (Romans 8:28) my heart COULD surrender. freely. joyfully even. A good shepherd does not lose track of his sheep. He is constantly working things together for their good.

Jesus introduced his disciples to the Eucharist before Last Supper even began. In John 6 when addressing a crowd, he taught, "I am the bread of life... Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." He gave them this teaching in a way that was straightforward and adamant, contrasting his earlier parables. When he got push back, instead of explaining it as a metaphor or symbolism, he doubled down on it, this time using a more precise meaning for the word "eat," -"trogo" which in Greek literally means "to gnaw or chew." Some of the crowd, after hearing this clarification, left, and can you blame them?? I often wonder how I would have handled this teaching, if I too was told I had to chew on a man's flesh... But the most beautiful part of this entire encounter is Simon Peter. Clearly, looking at how this whole story unfolds, we know Peter is far from perfect. But in this moment, we've got to give him credit. His faith in Jesus was unshakeable. Jesus says, "Does this offend you? (...) Will you also go away?" Peter answered him, not because he somehow had a supernatural understanding and peace about this teaching, but because he loved Jesus to no end, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” How do I respond to the hard teachings of the Church, when the world calls them offensive and unpleasant? Do I abandon Her because I don't fully understand them? Do I let my pride convince me that if my limited comprehension can't fully grasp it, it must be false? Or do I respond like Peter, who in humility recognizes that there are things of heaven which he will never fully understand while still on earth, but in his love for God, chooses to stay?

Historically, “intaglios” refer to small hand-carved stones often depicting ancient Greek scenes, European architecture and mythology. Before photography, intaglios were collected as souvenirs from trips through Europe in the early 19th century. Today, the antique stones are usually displayed in groups of ornate frames and give any space an upscale, sophisticated feel. When I initially began playing around with plaster, I knew I wanted to create something that resembled this classic look, but in a more intentional and personalized way, by incorporating our beautiful Catholic faith! I think the art in our homes should not just attempt to achieve a certain look, but also be a reflection of our hearts. How wonderful would it be if the things we hung on the walls of our homes reminded us of our eternal home? Maybe they’d spark a conversation about our faith when company comes over. Or just turn our hearts to heaven when we pass them. I now offer 50+ Catholic intaglio medallions, patron saints and devotions, that can be customized in a variety of framing options. Of course these medallions are not hand-carved from stone like the traditional ones. They don’t come from the 19th century and therefore don’t come with the same price tag. They are handmade, from pouring to framing, for each order. I aim to bring intentional and customized home decor into Catholic homes everywhere. Our homes are the domestic church. Let’s make them beautiful! I’d love to put together your custom frames (when I return from baby leave). You can start planning them Design Custom Gallery Sets or for a full look at the intaglio selection and framing options, visit Medallions.

It seemed like the 100th time I was on my knees giving it back to God. I knelt before the Blessed Sacrament and again turned it over to Him. Surrender is not a one and done deal, as much as we’d like it to be. It’s a continual and active decision. Our human instinct is to pick it back up after we’ve laid it at His feet, to check on it, make sure there’s nothing else for us to do, walk away, then run back and check just one more time. Each time I picked it back up though, I didn’t feel any more at ease about it. It was still just as heavy as when I laid it down. And I had to wonder, God did you forget about it? Why haven’t you fixed this yet? Then I heard Him whisper to my heart so gently, “Put it back down.” So, for the 100th time in that adoration chapel, I surrendered it back to Him, so frustrated with myself for picking it back up in the first place, that in an act of determination I literally opened my hands toward the monstrance. And then it hit me- only once we make an act of surrender are we ready to receive. It’s not a coincidence that the open-handed posture of surrendering is the same posture of receiving. They must coincide. When my hands are closed, either together in prayer or clenching to a rosary, I am more concerned with the things I’m praying for than whom I’m praying to. And when I forget whom I'm praying to, I'm less likely to trust the answer that I receive. Confident surrender can only come from relationship with the living person of God. When we pray in personal relationship, we know we can trust the outcome. We’re not trying to pick it back up again, because we trust the hands that are holding it. Once we truly know His love for us, we know there’s no better place in the world for our prayers to be, than in His hands. There is more to a relationship with God than just asking and receiving . There is also just knowing and loving- being known and being loved. That’s what surrender does. It reorients our hearts from a God who just answers prayers to a God that is so in love with us, he wants NOTHING MORE than to answer our prayers, or give us something far greater. Relationship must come first. Then true surrender can follow. “Put it back down,” He said. “Just rest in my love for now.”