7 Quick Takes Friday

** 1 **

Ladies, I’m so excited for this weekend! Tonight we’re going to a small get together/game night at a friends house, and the best part is that it’s Mexican themed!

I’m in charge of bringing chips and guacamole and salsa. I’ve been looking for recipes. I have a good guacamole recipe, but I’m looking for a good salsa recipe, especially if it uses strawberries or pineapple, since we have a lot of those at home. Let me know if you’ve got anything good up your sleeve!

** 2 **

Then on Saturday we’re going to Brown County State Park to meet up with Eric’s family and spend a few days hanging out in the cabins and doing some hiking.

I’ve never been there, but it’s supposed to be the “hilly” part of Indiana. Woo-hoo!

** 3 **

As many of you know, we moved recently. Well, the first weekend in the house we were unloading a carload of boxes and other items. Sirius was outside. The following conversation ensues:

Atticus: “Come here, you have to see this!”

Me: “I’m upstairs. What is it?”

Atticus: “Just come down and see it!”

Me: “I’m upstairs. This better be good.”

I come downstairs and follow his voice out the back door, where I see this:

Yes. That is a dog behind the wheel of the car. He climbed in the open passenger side and parked himself in the driver’s seat. Anyone who has a dog knows they are usually sources of comic relief. This was hands-down, the funniest thing Sirius has done.

What’s really funny is that he has a bit of a history of being an escape artist, having run away and been returned three times since we’ve had him. I joked with Atticus that he’s progressing to stealing the car in order to make his getaway.

** 4 **

Last night we were fortunate to attend a training session with Fr. Tom Aschenbrener of Chicago, who has written a wonderful, wonderful, Marriage Prep program for his parish in Chicago. It’s really taken off there and is being used by several parishes there and in several dioceses around the country.

The DRE at my parish is the nun who runs the pro-life office at the Archdiocese here in Indy, and she (working with the office for Catholic Education) wants to bring this program, called One in Christ, to our parish. The hope is then that it can be piloted out to other parishes in the Archdiocese.

It’s such a wonderful program. It can be done over 3 or 5 sessions. It includes basic catechesis of (1) creation, the fall, redemption (2) what are the sacraments? (3) what is the vocation of marriage? (4) covenants and virtues (5) almsgiving and tithing (6) unitive end of marriage (7) procreative end of marriage (8) contraception (9) NFP and (10) infertility.

It’s amazing! It’s what I WISH we would have had at our pre-cana, rather than an afternoon program talking about love-languages and …. I don’t even remember what else, because it was so unremarkable. I certainly do remember that our “instructors” failed to mention that not only is contraception morally wrong, but failed to mention that the Church even HAS a teaching on it. *shakes head*

Anyway, we attended the session because our parish is looking for couples to consider being facilitators for the program and presenting one of the sessions to the couples. Someone approached us about it and we went to check it out. I guess you can tell I’m into it! I hope we’ll be able to participate in helping Catholic couples prepare for marriage in a lasting way.

** 5 **

When I was a little girl I loved the Anne of Green Gables series. You know, though, I didn’t realize until a few weeks ago at the library that there are more books in the series! I only knew of the first three: (1) Anne of Green Gables (2) Anne of Avonlea and (3) Anne of the Island! What? There are like four more books in the series!

I am now reading Anne of Windy Poplars, and have Anne’s House of Dreams up next. I feel a little like I was cheated.

** 6 **

I haven’t forgotten that I promised to write about Rome! I’m going to do my best next week to get to a post or two. I’m not going to bring the computer this weekend. I need a break from the internets.

In addition to (hopefully!) some posts about Rome, look for a surprise next week as well!

** 7 **

I hope you all have a happy, healthy Memorial Day weekend!