In which the Ogre is stricken with plague and I find myself in a horror movie.  Okay. I finally feel mentally and emotionally prepared enough to re-visit the worst. road. trip. ever., in order to share it with you. Where did we leave off? Ah, yes, with my road trip quick takes. So there we were, driving peacefully into New Mexico in the sunset, feeling optimistic about reaching our goal the following day, planning on stopping in Gallup for dinner,... Read more

The three of us before leaving for Las Vegas Three years ago, the Ogre and I drove from Colleyville, TX to Las Vegas, NV. We were bright-eyed and freshly scrubbed, full of enthusiasm for the next adventure life would bring us. We knew that we were leaving all our family, all our friends, and a stable job with a nice paycheck in the dust of our little Volvo, and that the new journey we were embarking upon would be a... Read more

First, I’d just like to apologize profusely both to all you reading this, for the abnormal delay in these posts, and to Melanie, whose post was in my inbox promptly after the previous one, perfectly ready to be published. Little Liam came down with bronchitis and our days have been filled with back thumping, breathing treatments, and rocking chairs, so not much time has been left for me to even cut and paste. But at long last, here it is;... Read more

This is part 2 of Melanie’s series on how to catechize young children. This part, for me, was both amazing and humbling to read. Every sentence felt like a revelation, like I was finally understanding something I’ve known instinctively for years but never really known.  But if you’re like me, you’ll read this with a growing awareness of just how many opportunities you’ve missed. My eldest, Sienna, was on my mind throughout this reading, and I came to the end... Read more

This is the final guest blogger who so graciously agreed to help me out during our moving/settling time. Melanie blogs at The Wine-Dark Sea, and she was one of the first “big-name” bloggers to begin reading and commenting at Barefoot and Pregnant. She actually clicked through to my blog via a facebook link from a mutual friend, and as we began corresponding, we found that we have tons in common. Both Catholic mothers, obviously, but we also both graduated from... Read more

Well, we finally made it to Texas. Later this week I promise to put up a lengthy post detailing just how our two-day journey stretched into a five-day road trip from hell, including but not limited to a nearly dying Ogre, high winds, wildfires, screaming Charlotte, a broken Chi, getting lost in Albuquerque, and a certain truck stop outside of Tucumcari which gave me yet more proof that my son is, indeed, a boy’s boy. But today I have a husband... Read more

Please go see Jen for more quick takes! Thanks for hosting as always, Jen! And i apologize for the lack of link, since my phone won’t let me put one in, so if you want to go see jen here’s her address: www.conversiondiary.com #7 I didn’t expect this trip to be easy. I even thought I was prepared for it to be difficult. But let me tell you, nothing prepared me for Charlotte to turn into a Gremlin the second... Read more

Thank you all so much for your prayers for Garth. He has been found and is with friends, and I am in no doubt that all the prayers poured out for him in the past three days were instrumental in getting him out of immediate danger. You guys are so wonderful. i apologize for the brevity of this post, but I’m currently writing this on my little Droid that could as we drive through the wilds of Arizona, accompanied by... Read more

I am re-posting this from yesterday, as the situation has become even more critical. This man is in grave danger and we beg you for your prayers.  At the request of my dear sister-in-law, I’m begging each person who reads this for their most sincere prayers for a soul who is in much distress. Please go to your knees and ask God to have swift mercy and compassion on our friend Garth, that he might find the comfort and peace... Read more

This guest post is brought to you by the lovely Mrs. Darwin of DarwinCatholic. She and Darwin run one of the most fascinating websites around. They’re the triathalon-type bloggers, the ones who blog about everything from taxes, theology, and politics, to Alan Turing and Adele, with an invariable depth of understanding and eloquence of expression. If you go over to their blog (and you really should), make sure you have a hot cup of coffee or tea handy, because I... Read more