Dear friends ~ I would love your car seat reviews. I have an almost 3 year-old who is tall for her age, and weighs about 33 lbs. We have a hand-me-down 5 point-harness convertible car seat that just isn’t working anymore. I think that the harness straps are pressing down on her shoulders, and there isn’t enough padding. She is always complaining that her back hurts when she sits in her car seat, and with an 820-mile (one-way!) road trip... Read more
On today’s great feast day, I wanted to share with you a bulletin excerpt written by Fr. John Connelly of Sacred Heart Parish in Newton, MA – he is a dear friend of ours and always writes very thoughtful columns. For the Feast of Christ the King, he gives us all a little history lesson and reminds us of where we stand today. It was in 1925 that Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King. This action... Read more
I have to say, I love Red’s list, and I love her “get it done while staying sane” attitude towards the Holidays. When I look at that list, I realize that there are really so many things that need to get done to prepare for a family Christmas celebration. I have streamlined my list quite a bit, and I try to do some things early, but every year I wind up in trouble by mid December. One of the main... Read more
“What’s Wrong With This Picture” activities are among my older kids’ favorites. So we especially enjoyed a real-life version when we finally located our unsupervised toddler last night right before bed. (1) newborn baby sister’s pacifier compromised–check (2) destruction of electronic equipment in progress–check (3) destruction of self imminent (treacherously high up the stairs and ready to dive)–check I am Toddler. Read more
Patheos has given us a writing prompt for the month of November, to consider in gratitude someone who has helped us along on our journey of faith. I am lucky to say that I could write a month long series considering the important roles that my mother and father, my grandparents, aunts, friends, and of course the builders have played in my life in faith, the important ways that each one has helped me to understand my place in this... Read more
It is happening to me – I am getting sucked in. I want to know every detail of what the e-mails between GEN Petraeus and his hottie biographer, Paula Broadwell, said. I want to compare Mrs. Petraues and Paula Broadwell and understand why he cheated. This is like watching the fallout of a nasty accident on the highway, but so much more personal. Ever since I read about the extramarital affair of a man whom I had previously respected greatly,... Read more
Christmas really is just around the corner, and like it or not, trying NOT to think about Christmas will not make Advent a more holy season in your life. As our family has grown we have desperately searched for a system that will make Advent a time of joy and spiritual preparation, not a time of intense insanity and panic. So here's our Christmas Prep Checklist. Read more
I have vivid childhood memories of my parents hosting dinner parties: clinking ice cubes at cocktail hour, mom’s fancy perfume, dad’s laughter, and delicious smells wafting upstairs from the kitchen. Once we were old enough, my sister and I were allowed to come downstairs in our pajamas for a little while to say hello to my parents’ friends, and then we would run back upstairs and pretend that we were adults hosting our own party. Now that I am, in... Read more
Similar to Mary Alice’s lovely sentiments, I found the following piece from Kirk Martin uplifting and encouraging in the wake of the election: “You Lost the Election. What are YOUR next 4 years going to be like? 50% of you are really happy about the election. 50% of you are disappointed. And it’s okay to feel those emotions. But at the end of the day, I refuse to give power over my life and emotions to the election of a man... Read more
This week I have spoken with several friends who are worried. They are worried about sick children, aging parents, and the political results. They are worried about small business, climate change, about power outages, and in a very broad way about the values of the country in which our children will be adults. These worries are very real, whether they are immediate or distant. I was worried, too, and feeling quite powerless, or ineffectual, as I was driving my huge... Read more
Building Cathedrals
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