Hi! I am Michelle Fritz, a cradle Catholic who is on fire for my faith! I try my hardest to allow my faith in God guide all my words, actions and decisions. I definitely fail more times than I succeed but I know God is patient and kind and is willing to keep picking me up each time I fall.

I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Mike, for almost 30 years. Together we have 11 living children and again as many little Saints waiting in heaven for us. In our openness to life we have encountered much loss but even more joy than we could have ever hoped for.

I homeschool our children. We have chosen an eclectic way of homeschooling… using a little bit of every method and finding what works best for each child.  Over the years it has been a learning process for both the children and myself! But, we make it work and our children are thriving and growing in knowledge and in spirit. My motto is that I am raising children for Heaven, not for Harvard. We hope and pray our children will want to continue on to college but for us school is not just a vehicle to teach those basic educational skills. Reading, writing, math, spelling… those will come when the child is ready. We teach those skills but most importantly we teach our children life skills that we know will take them far- how to relate to others; how to treat them with love, respect, and dignity; how to find the good in life and in others; how to live a faith-filled life in a very faithless world; how to give of ourselves when we have so little to give; and how to be good and loving people. If our children make a difference in the lives of others and in our world then the education we strive to provide will be successful.  Life is not measured by the diplomas on your wall but by the love you give and receive. Those diplomas mean nothing if you are not a good person.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Theology; both from Saint Leo University. I get to use my education in a variety of ways as I am the High School and Middle School Youth Minister at my church. It has been an incredible journey in this position. Each day I get to share my faith with the kids and they in turn share theirs with me. It’s amazing how much I have learned from them.

In addition to faith and family I hope to share our journey through the many medical issues we encounter. I suffer from both Acute Intermittent Porphyria and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Our children suffer from heart, kidney, and bowel problems as well as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, food allergies, deformities of the chest cavity, asthma, dyslexia, and both long and short term memory issues. To say we have battles to fight is an understatement but we face them with faith and trust in the excellent doctors who have come into our lives over the years.

I hope you will enjoy reading here. I started this site as a way to share our family and our faith with others. I have blogged at my personal blog for 12 years now. I plan to bring some of those stories here to share. I love going back and reading what my children said and did. I cry when I read the struggles we have been through, particularly in losing our babies, but I am overwhelmed at how far we have come through trust in God. He has seen us through the darkest days and nights in my life.

If you’d like to read more about my Catholic faith and my journey, I also write at two Catholic websites- Catholic Sistas, carries a little piece of my heart as I was part of the original start up and have watched her grow and become a living force of her own. I am so proud of what we have accomplished; and Catholic Stand, where I have contributed among many theological powerhouses. I am blessed to be a part of both sites and often feel unworthy to write for either!

I hope you will stay and read a while as I share our life with you. I am trying to balance family life with all the wonderful ways that God calls me out into the world to spread His love. I love my life, I love my faith, and I love my family. God has been so good to me and I am so very thankful.

Have a beautiful day and thank you for stopping by!

Need to contact me? You can reach me by email at Talesfromthesideofthetub@gmail.com

Find me at Facebook @ Tales From the Side of the Tub

and on Instagram @ Tales From the Side of the Tub

and on Twitter @ Tales from the Tub