Monday, October 25, 2010

Cool Apps for iTouch, iPhone and iPad

I have already told you about the St. Josemaria App for the iTouch-- it is AWESOME! J recently saved up to purchase a new iTouch-- the fancy one with video and a camera. The rest of us upgraded to the new operating system.

I LOVE iBooks! So many FREE books to be had on iBooks. I am currently reading the books the boys are doing for reports and essays on there and I got them FREE.

Now for the Catholic Apps. I downloaded the Mother Teresa App. It is nice-- it has a quote of hers every day. The Saint a Day App is great-- it tells you about the Saint of the Day and you can even email the information to a friend! I had already downloaded Magnificat and iMissal. The iMissal is great-- just love it. We actually used it at Mass this week. I had been feeling weird about bringing it to Mass, btu got over it. It is awesome.

I also brought my iTouch to Confession. The St. Josemaria App has a place for a general and and particular examination. You can type in your examinations and your answers if you like! I like to write things down.

Lastly, I downloaded Mobile Apostle. It is a neat way to find out about recent Catholic blogs and news, videos, etc.

Some other Catholic Apps that I have (my kids, too!) : iRosary, AllPopes The Catholic Directory (Mass Times) -- this one is great-- you can find Mass times at churches al over the country, Catholic TV and Catholic Bible. Catholic TV isn;t one I have looked at-- my oldest son downloaded it.

I also downloaded the Fox News App. :-)

Have a great day! I hope you can find faith filled fun on your iTouch, too!

Baseball Season is Over! Life is Semi-Normal Again!

I know I can't be the only mom who feels like a crazy woman when sports seasons are in full swing! S finished his baseball season with his team only having lost one game! They brought home championship trophies that are very cute! Each trophy has a spinning baseball on it. I'm a mom, so I think it is cute. I am sure that S thinks it is "cool".

Last week, he had this really awesome play. His coach called for a fake bunt and S did that, then quickly swung the bat back and hit the ball into outfield between 2nd and 3rd bases. He got a single. It was great. More stolen bases and a few runs.

J's football team didn't win any games this season, but he had a great time and learned a lot. The boys on the team are great. One night, his friend, N, came to eat with us and they were making faces. I said they looked like they could be brothers and N replied, "We are brothers in Christ!" Where else but a homeschool football league would you hear that!? Then, when we said the blessing before our meal, we made the sign of the cross and prayed. N replied, "I'm sorry I am not Catholic!' We laughed and told him he didn't need to be sorry! Too cute!

M's team won the playoff game Saturday and will be advancing to the State Championship game this next Saturday. He was sick all last week, started feeling better Friday. After the first quarter, he was feeling so bad that he sat out the rest of the game. He was upset about it, though.

We had several appointments last week... for sinus infections and migraines and teeth. School is going well. Week 8 and so far, we are still on track!

We are planning an election party on November 2nd. How many of you are planning parties? Red, white and blue will be the theme! Never have I ever been so concerned about the outcome of an election. I am hopeful that this election will turn us back in the right direction.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Hero for Life

Next Thursday, M will be accepting his first college scholarship award. He won the Hero for Life Award! We are so proud of him! His first scholarship-- $2,000.  Way to go!


Life has been buzzing by at the speed of light.  S had a great baseball game the other night!   He had a base hit and made it home when his teammates also made great hits.  The play of the game was when the pitcher hit S with the ball.  Sgot to first, then was able to steal second,  steal third and finally stole home!  How awesome is that?  He's really had a great baseball season.  He's given up trying to be a switch hitter.  This current coach told him the same thing that Alec told him at NC Baseball Academy about that, and he was right on the money when he also added, "What good is it if you do hit more batting left handed if all the left handed balls stay in the infield!? Stick with the right!'  Awesome response, coach!  And look at him now-- he's gotten on base.  Consistency and practice are important either way-- left or right.

J had some great tackles this last football game.  He's really turning into a great little football player.  M had some great plays, too.  M is going to miss his first football game in years-- because he is on the Diocesan Youth Advisory Council and has a meeting.  We are proud of all his accomplishments.

Open Letter to Sen Kay Hagan (D - NC)

An open letter to Senator Kay Hagan

October 7, 2010


Dear Senator Hagan,

Seven weeks ago, you promised that you would get back to me with answers. I asked questions about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on August 18, 2010. You assured me that you would get back to me. I know your office has my contact information, because I received a letter thanking me for attending “Conversations with Kay in Kernersville, North Carolina on August 18, 2010”. You had a non-response for Fox News on this matter and still have yet to respond – not even through your staff.

I have called your offices in DC and Greensboro in the last several weeks in search of a response. All I am ever told is that I will not hear back from you personally, but that Jason, who is in charge of the healthcare issues in your office, will get back in touch with me. He has not.

Why did you vote for a bill that did not fix the privacy violations in HIPAA and that created far worse privacy violations? What will you do to fix these problems? How will you ensure that the government will not have access to our private health information and the ability to use our private health information for research? HIPAA and Obamacare give the government and over 600,000 health-related organizations access to our private health information, including genetic information, without patient consent. The modifications proposed (Sept 2010) will NOT fix these privacy violations. Senator, what is your answer?

At Conversations with Kay, on camera, you said in response to my wanting the same healthcare you have, “That’s exactly what this will do.” You also said on camera, “We will have the same healthcare that is available to the public.” Please explain how Obamacare gives us the same healthcare that you are afforded. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in ten years there will still be 21 million uninsured Americans. If you say all Americans will have the same benefits you have under this new healthcare law, then why would the CBO report this statistic?

How will you insure that the American people will have recourse to fire the unelected officials the Obama administration will place to head all of the departments created in this new healthcare law? This law gives WE THE PEOPLE no recourse to vote those appointed officials out of office when we decide we do not like the policies they dictate. This open-ended piece of legislation gives these unelected officials the power to shape our healthcare policies WITHOUT the consent of the governed (We the People).

Senator, nothing you have said adds up. I believe you have avoided answering my questions because you do not have any answers or proposed solutions. You know Obamacare does not give the American people the same benefits you are afforded, and you are trying to hide from me and other Americans who ask the tough questions. We the People want to know what you propose in order to fix these problems and return power back to the people of the United States.

Sincerely,

Pattie Curran

Kernersville, NC