As a new Lenten discipline, I’ve been wrangling my laundry crisis. It is no secret laundry and I have been in a dual for some time and I thought it a necessary sacrifice for Jesus this season. Leading up to this point, I’ve had good weeks and good days, only to be followed by periods of neglect and inactivity that have all resulted in chaos. For me, home chaos is the devil’s tool, which then breeds general sloth, apathy, and... Read more
I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that my 4 year old knows more Spanish than I do. He comes home from Spanish class and tries to teach me the days of the week, names for articles of clothing, etc., but I am a slower learner than he is. I have wanted to learn Spanish since moving to Texas 5 years ago. Has anyone had any experience attempting to learn a foreign language alongside their children? I vaguely remember the Muzzy... Read more
…All sorts of wonderful things begin to happen! For example: ~Exotic and delicious foods suddenly appear in your refrigerator, such as hearts of palm, olive tapenade, sun dried tomatoes, and jalepeno jelly. We have been eating well for the past week 🙂 ~Mommy gets a chance to feed baby in peace while Oma plays with the older kids. Next week I know that I’ll be nursing Caroline in one arm while simultaneously making peanut butter sandwiches for Christopher’s lunch with... Read more
Even with 4 children successfully wearing undies night and day, I consider myself a potty training rookie. My first was trained mostly by Grandma, in the summer, teaching him to pee on trees. My next was trained in one day by our cleaning lady. That girl trained her little sister, also in a day, using the “strawberry shortcake underwear and m&m rewards” method. Training the twin brother was a total disaster and he was in diapers until he was 4!... Read more
Gone are the days of “my dog ate my homework” and other lame excuses. As a mother with young children, I find that my excuses in everyday situations are thoroughly believable because they are way too far-fetched to have been made up: “I’m sorry we can’t return the Transformer toy that you let us borrow yesterday. Spiderman apparently trapped him in a web (the chain that opens and closes our radiator vent) and there’s no way to untangle him. As... Read more
As our dear Kat shared in her last post, the newest Building Cathedral cherub should be making his/her appearance no later than tomorrow! What joy! We already know the baby’s relative due date, but can surely have a little fun guessing the baby’s: 1) GENDER–Kat has one of each, so the odds are truly 50/50!; 2) WEIGHT–Kat’s C was 7lbs. 13oz. and little M was 8lbs. 8oz.; and 3) TIME of arrival–she’s had previous babies in both the morning and... Read more
Amazingly, our family is getting ready to welcome our next little bundle of joy any day now, and by Thursday for sure. As always, the date has crept up on us and we are just so excited to finally meet this little one! Our 5 1/2 year-old can’t wait to meet his little brother or sister, although the idea of an induction is perplexing to him, and our 2 year-old is very clingy and seems to know that her life... Read more
As Fat Tuesday drew to a close this year, I could not deny the overwhelming sense of gloom I felt. The next day was Ash Wednesday and with it meant forty long days of suffering. Really long ones. It hasn’t been easy living through Ash Wednesdays and Lenten seasons of the past. During my first as a mother, my child was 4 days old and a month premature. We had just been delivered the glowing “suitcase” for his jaundice and... Read more
A MOST blessed Ash Wednesday to you! Have you observed the phenomenally high attendance at Ash Wednesday Mass? It blows me away every single year. This morning, the pews were packed at the 8am Mass, in a parish that echoes with empty pews on Sundays. This afternoon at the noon Mass (when I was getting Bella from school), the same church parking lot was a lawless traffic jam, incapable of accommodating all the mass-goers. It’s not only the sheer number... Read more
Last year we added the Jesus Tree to our Lenten family activities and greatly enjoyed it. Having daily lessons on Christ and his life very beautifully added to the season and made it more meaningful for our young children. Might I say, this project is not for the weary! The initial work is a good bit of effort–a little sacrifice for your Lenten journey. Every week I would set out to make that week’s ornaments and find myself behind and... Read more
Building Cathedrals
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