When your baby turns 3, you… …Think about selling the exersaucer. It’s been sitting in your attic for 2.5 years and regardless of what the future holds, someone else could be putting it to good use right now! …Sleep through the night on a fairly consistent basis. On the nights when you need to wake up with a child who is sick or has a bad dream, you feel like a zombie the next morning and wonder how you ever... Read more
I have a joyful anticipation of little league season (and spring soccer!). The days will be longer, the air warmer, and those playgrounds are waiting! And yet, youth sports with a larger family can present it’s own set of challenges. So here is my guide for surviving and thriving in youth sports. Read more
My little June baby does not fit many of our hand-me-downs, so I am getting to buy some baby boy clothes for the first time in about 10 years! I love Carters for cotton basics that wash and wear well, and I love that you can often buy them on sale and gain coupons for the next purchase, I think they are doubled on Tuesdays, but I am going to check before I purchase. Anyway, I just got an email... Read more
I am not following the format, but here are a few things rattling around in my head: 1. I have loved reading to my kids over the past six weeks or so. We have read Heidi and The Little Princess, and now we are starting Tom Sawyer. With the latter two, I was moved to tears at some times by the beautiful messages of books which were favorites from my childhood. I was even reading from my own copies —... Read more
I have posted this Lenten hymn here before as it is one of my favorites for Lent. I especially like the third stanza: More sparing therefore let us make The words we speak, the food we take, Our sleep and mirth,–and closer barred Be ev’ry sense in closer guard. My diet is already so limited by my baby’s needs that I can’t really spare any additional calories by foregoing food this Lent. However, the same cannot be said for the... Read more
We are back! We arrived home last night after a straight 15.5 hour drive and all I could think was — that went great!!! Of course there were a few hiccups, but what a wonderful time of family memories and warmth. The good — The price! We saved money by driving, and staying off Disney property. The trip was literally 1/3 to 1/2 of the price because of these two choices. Just to give you an idea, you can rent... Read more
Today on Public Discourse, in her piece “Our National Sex Day“, Caitlin Seery aptly describes how our national day set aside for thoughtful romance has been degraded: Valentine’s Day is here again, as stores have been telling us for the past month, with piles of red-cellophane-wrapped chocolate and heart-shaped doilies in every window. This holiday–once an opportunity for husbands and wives to show their love and affection for each other, to bring back some of the romance that so easily... Read more
Here is a post full of “101 Practical Fasting Ideas For Lent” at One Catholic Life. But please read the disclaimer at the top and prayerfully consider what your soul needs to grow this Lent! H/T: Renee Read more
If you know me, you know that I love a good excuse to declutter. I have been thinking over the past few days about whether I would gear up for the now-traditional 40 bags in 40 days, a major Lenten decluttering project. As I looked around my closet this morning, I realized that I need to take this in a slightly different direction. After 4 years of valiant decluttering (and a fun basement flood to help us along), I think... Read more
Good morning, friends! As Ash Wednesday approaches, I’m thinking about what I will use for spiritual reading during Lent. Every year I have done something a little bit different, but my format is almost always the same: I try to read for about 15 minutes, then prayerfully reflect for a period of time, and then write in a journal. Some years I have focused on reading through a particular part of the Bible, reading a few chapters a day and... Read more
Building Cathedrals
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In