My son made his first penance on Saturday and I was blessed enough to also grab a few moments in the confessional. Our family is going through a pretty intense time of transition, and so, among other sins, I confessed a serious lack of trust in God. Trust is a real struggle for me. Most especially, and perhaps not surprisingly, I struggle during times of change or uncertainty. It is very hard for me to let go of control. So... Read more
On Tuesday afternoon my kind mother in law was at my house, planning to stay through the evening while my husband and I went out to eat with an anniversary gift certificate. I was out picking up one and dropping off another, as I often am from 3-5 pm these days, when I got a gentle text: Alice, is there a plan for dinner? Sheepishly I called her back. Um, no, there is no plan for dinner. I’m pretty sure... Read more
Since it’s been awhile since we have had a “Thoughts for Thursday” post, I thought that I would do a “Thoughts for Wednesday” post today – enjoy! Just for fun, here is a picture of me and Texas Mommy from this past weekend – she was kind enough to meet me at the last minute while I was in town visiting my parents, and we had so much fun chatting and catching up! What am I cooking? Spaghetti and meatballs…Yum!... Read more
Confession: it turns out that I was more “addicted” to Downton Abbey than I thought. It doesn’t help that my husband still wants to watch, and so in addition to leaving the show, I am also leaving our date nights! Just like with smoking, drinking or any more sinister addiction, giving something up takes levels of self control, but you can change the situation to help yourself. First, I told my husband very firmly that not only was I not... Read more
With spring and summer family vacations being happily planned in many homes, I thought I’d take a turn at posting on “traveling with infants” with a focus on flying. I know we’ve had a few travel posts here at Building Cathedrals – ones that are full of great tips that I will be continuing to reference as we hopefully add to our fold! – but in Pia’s first year we’ve traveled frequently and found a few things that work specifically... Read more
This winter, we have dipped our toe into organized sports. It is basketball season, and the recreation center at our neighborhood school hosts youth basketball every Tuesday night. My five and six year olds are both old enough to participate this year, so we decided to give it a try. Basketball lasts just forty-five minutes and ostensibly includes a brief practice/instructional time followed by a scrimmage against the (only) other team. It is generous to call this an organized... Read more
The Art of Presence is a fantastic piece by David Brooks. Brooks compiles the collective wisdom of a family that has suffered great trauma. He summarizes their thoughts on how those of us outside the zone of a traumatic situation can reach those within. In summary, he writes– I’d say that what these experiences call for is a sort of passive activism. We have a tendency, especially in an achievement-oriented culture, to want to solve problems and repair brokenness —... Read more
Is it just me or are norwex/microfiber cloths and homemade cleaning solution mops all the rage now? I am hearing about them everywhere! I admit I feel the urge to do some deep cleaning at this time of year. I think it is getting all the Christmas decorations packed away and seeing surfaces covered in glitter and pine needles that makes me want to shake up my cleaning routine. But do I need to run out and get Norwex/ecloth/flylady purple... Read more
My kids have been home from school today thanks to a prediction of snow here in our “southern” town. It is all rather funny because as of 4pm, we’ve had only a few flurries! It is blustery and cold outside, but reason enough to cancel school? Definitely not. Yet how were the “powers that be” supposed to know? They don’t foresee the future. No crystal ball is in sight. They make a decision based on the information given to them…... Read more
Over the years, I have posted some fantastic pictures of my family and my children. Under each one, you see a credit to Sweet Pea Photography. The photographer there happens to be my little sister Elizabeth. This arrangement has worked out quite nicely for me. I experience an important life event, like a vacation or having a baby, and I don’t have to bring my camera or worry about snapping a single photo. My sister follows me around like the... Read more
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