Author Archive for Kim Heilman

A Look at Advent in Our Home
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A Look at Advent in Our Home

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Last Sunday we began the holy season of Advent.  Today I’ll offer a few thoughts and ideas on what works for our family to keep this season holy and prayerful. Our family begins this season with Confession and Adoration. While we never quit going to Confession throughout the year, our family has taken a three-month […]

Putting in Mom Hours
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Putting in Mom Hours

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I’ve been putting in a lot of Mom Hours lately. You know, days when one doesn’t even get a solid fifteen-minute break.  (Not to say anything of the night.) Of course it’s been busier than usual with the selling of our home and the purchasing of another, but it’s more than that. It’s the start […]

Your Friendly Reminder: Go To Confession!
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Your Friendly Reminder: Go To Confession!

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I had one of those terrible moments the other night. You know, the ones where you crush the spirit of your child and know it. It’s awful. I had just sat down with my husband to pray Night Prayer after a long, harrowing day. I was exhausted from the previous night’s insomnia, stressed about our house […]

<em>Humility Rules</em>: Book Review
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Humility Rules: Book Review

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Anyone need a good book for teenage boys?  That’s inspiring, short, and hilarious? If so, you’re in luck. Ignatius Press has just the thing: Humility Rules: Saint Benedict’s 12-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem by Brother J. Augustine Wetta. Recently a friend of mine gave this book to me, and I read it in a day […]

Slow Down This Summer
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Slow Down This Summer

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The children of their own accord made a little shrine in our trees the other day. (They affectionately call these trees, The Wildness.) They gathered lilacs and other flowers in bloom, made blue sashes with star badges, and used sticks for swords.  They also made a little flag. It was all in honor of Mary, […]

How to Survive Insomnia
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How to Survive Insomnia

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I was asked the other day if I suffer from insomnia? Uh, yes. From time-to-time anyway, and it’s terrible.  I never used to have a problem sleeping. Anybody remember those college days of setting the alarm clock for 10am? And sleeping all the way through the night, until 10am? Yeah, that’s a little pathetic, but […]

You Need a Silent Retreat
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You Need a Silent Retreat

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As we’re now in the Easter season and summer is just around the corner, I want to strongly encourage all of you to sign yourselves up for a silent retreat this year. Yep, just look at your summer calendars, and do it. Unfortunately for me, I’ll have to wait until my latest baby is done […]

How to Survive Barfing Children, Ear Infections and Other Nasty Stuff
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How to Survive Barfing Children, Ear Infections and Other Nasty Stuff

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Some of you may be wondering how it might be possible to survive sickness in your household and teach school all day? Since I am in the midst of caring for Sick Children right now, I thought I’d offer a few tips of advice.  This is mostly to encourage myself and cheer on the rest of you, who […]

A Day of No Yelling
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A Day of No Yelling

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Today is Tuesday, and I have not yelled at my children at all.  So far.  Yes, I know it’s 6am, and they’re not up yet, but hey, I’ve got to start somewhere, right? Last week I was listening to a great show on the Sin of Wrath, and it got me thinking that I should […]

A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 5
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A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 5

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Welcome back to a day in my life. This is the final part. After the children have completed their dinner chores, they usually have time to mess around for a bit until the next part of our evening begins, which is the Rosary 7pm Rosary Around 7pm, my husband calls all the children to Rosary […]

Good Friday, Allegri, and A White Easter
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Good Friday, Allegri, and A White Easter

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Today is Good Friday. Now I know that I ought to be focused on the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and I am, but I am also a mother. Therefore, I must plan ahead for my family accordingly. And this entails preparing any necessary music that my family will want to sing and listen […]

A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 4
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A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 4

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Welcome back to “A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool.” Today we pick up with Dinner Time. 5:15pm: Dinner Time After I’ve greeted my husband, we sit down for dinner together as a family.  Fortunately, our schedule allows this to happen almost every single night.  If it’s at all possible, I encourage all […]

Passion Sunday and Veiling Images
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Passion Sunday and Veiling Images

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There’s some crazy stuff in the Old Calendar that is just interesting to learn about. My husband is forever telling me this.  (By Old Calendar I mean those things connected to the Traditional Latin Mass.) For example, this Sunday is called Passion Sunday. It always falls on the Sunday immediately before Palm Sunday and serves […]

A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 3
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A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 3

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Welcome back to “A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool.”  In Part 2, I ended with Quiet Time, which is usually over around 1pm, as the children begin sneaking upstairs to see what I’m doing. At this time a couple of things happen: Outdoor Recess and Afternoon School. As the four middle children […]

A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 2
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A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 2

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Welcome back to a day in my life, which can be a bit crazy, being the mother of now 7 little children, all under the age of 12. In Part 1, I ended by mentioning Mid-Morning Prayer Time, which is where I’ll pick up today. 10am Mid-Morning Prayer At around 10am, when the children are […]

A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 1
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A Day in the Life of a Crazy Fool: Part 1

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I might be a Crazy Fool. After all, I have 6 children under the age of 12, I’m a Catholic, I homeschool, and I’m pregnant. Goodness gracious!  To most in our culture, I am a crazy fool. Why would I do such things? The short answer?  Because my heart is full of love. The long […]

A Conscience-Stinger for Lent
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A Conscience-Stinger for Lent

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Anyone want a good conscience-stinger for Lent? Recently I just reread Thomas Dubay’s Happy Are You Poor. And my conscience was stung. I have too much stuff, and my children have too much stuff. And this stuff gets in the way of knowing Jesus. And it’s time to clean house and make space for Him. Now as […]

Lent: It's Upon Us
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Lent: It’s Upon Us

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Sober up, people!  How are you going to prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The 3 Pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, & Almsgiving Prayer If you’re not already setting aside a specific time every day to pray, you need to.  I am the mother of six little children.  If I can do […]