In spite of my husband’s best play off beard efforts, the Eagles did not deliver the NFC championship. It was an interesting experiment, being married to someone with facial hair, and I am glad that he will be shaving tonight, though I would have liked to see the all-Pennsy Super Bowl. This season I have embraced my family’s devotion to the birds and come to appreciate the governor’s post game comments, but I must confess that I will be glad... Read more

I’ve been deeply moved lately by the number of times I’ve heard young wives–both secular and Christian–speak along these lines: “My husband and I are going to wait another 3 or so years before having a baby, until I’ve finished X and had a chance to do a little Y. And my husband doesn’t want a baby until we’re in our 30s anyway, although he’ll be a wonderful dad someday. But if we got pregnant of course we’d be happy... Read more

Anyone who lived through the glorious 80’s is sure to remember Saturday Night Live’s Hanz and Franz, offering to “pump… YOU up”.    Dana Carvey and Dennis Nealey were an Austrian pair of body builders who often poked fun of others for lacking shape and fitness.  Pretty hysterical. Nine years into this 21st century with the SNL spoof long gone and America continuing to drift into shapelessness, who are we to look to for physical fitness motivation?  Who can inspire... Read more

It was Socrates who said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Kat’s last post illustrates this beautifully. A few months ago I began to notice a change in a friend….a good change. I mentioned it to my husband, and he agreed. Our friend shared with my husband over the holidays that a few months ago he started journaling daily, at the advice of a priest. This time of daily reflection coincided with a remarkable change in his demeanor. Sometimes... Read more

Over the past couple of days I have had two experiences that have caused me to reflect on human imperfection, God’s abundant grace, and the absolute necessity of a strong support network for all of us as parents! Let me share my stories and then my reflections: On Sunday morning, our family attended a new parish because we had an event to go to in the area, and we were also interested in seeing what this particular church community was... Read more

I have a 4 lb beef rump roast in the refrigerator that will begin its day on Wednesday in my crockpot. But how to cook it…? There are plenty of crockpot recipes out there that get the job done–you know, you throw in aromatic, fresh ingredients in the morning, flip the knob, and by dinner time you have a soft heap of something with an unremarkable flavor and a borderline-repulsive consistency. Like bad leftovers. Winter is crockpot season, but mine... Read more

When these are under your tree: And this hangs on your tree: And this is how you celebrate your birthday: Trouble is brewing… Read more

You can bet there are plenty of young ones!! We had a grand time visiting with Red and her three kiddos last week.  There were 6 children total.  And the whole time I kept thinking, “I can’t believe Mary Alice has this many ALL the time!”  Lots of love to my beloved Red and to all the other procreating Builders.  At this juncture, not one of us is pregnant for the first time in 7+ years.  Ladies, let’s get on... Read more

Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. On this very special feast day, let our hearts long for nothing but to hear Our... Read more

Bella started this morning at a local church preschool (“playschool” is more like it), three mornings a week, and wow was it a smashing success. We’ve waited… and waited… and waited… and she and our family are SO ready. She loved every second, and we’ll just continue taking school decisions one semester at a time! Bean and I had a long-overdue morning milkshake date at the train restaurant, and then we rode escalators for 30 minutes at Bed Bath and... Read more