1. It is 12.19pm and I am sitting at my kitchen table. My house is silent, except for the whirl of a lawnmower outside. I am go grateful for Uncle K (our resident priest/brother/brother-in-law) who comes to save the day on his day off. He took the kids out to the park and out for lunch. I am so grateful for his vocation and the ways that it helps my vocation.
2. Speaking of Uncle/Fr K...he arrived just in time to bless our first ever Mary garden! I had been search for the perfect Mary for years. The painted ones were never quite right. The concrete ones were always so expensive. I found this Mary at a Catholic bookstore. She is heavy duty plastic, but you add concrete inside to weigh her down. In front of her is a JPII rose bush in progress. Our first one died and my mom lovingly cultivated and brought be a new clipping/bush. I hope it likes it's new home better than the last one.
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3. Timber Update. We had the ultrasound. It is a beautiful healthy baby! We had the doctor write the gender down in an envelope to be revealed around DH & my birthday (end of June/beginning of July). We hope to have a cake baked by someone who will make it blue or pink for us. I am looking forward to finding out the news as a family (though we have a hunch).
Yesterday marked week 22. I still can't believe the miracle that is this little life. The doctor did our u/s and provided us with this face-on view (head on top, big belly on bottom)
This topic came up at a recent Marriage renewal program we are involved with. The question was asked, by a deacon in training, if he should say something to a woman with regularly misbehaving children who distracts him at daily Mass. I didn't realize how emotional attached I am to the topic. It is a tough subject and there is room for education on all fronts. I believe I shared this articWhy we need kids at Mass." It is excellent for the average person in the pew who may be irritated by the kids around them. He then shared this article, "How to take young children to Mass" which is also excellent information for the parent. We do try to utilize many of these techniques. Ultimately, there is always room for education. The idea of personally saying something to a particular woman or family makes me nervous. One other mom suggested his approach be something like "do you need help?" Proactive rather than reactive is a much better choice.
le before, "
5. If you missed my blog in the Mother to Mother series on discipline, here it is: Starting from Scratch.
6. My blessings on Mother's Day.
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And a beautiful "letter to my pastor" on the topic of hurting women at Mass. I loved this and shared it with a few priests. One incorporated the prayer into his homily and was thanked by an infertile woman after the Mass.
7. If you have not yet been introduced to the musical goodness of Sarah Kroger, than please, let me introduce you! My BFF is the youth minister at the Church she grew up. While visiting, bff asked Sarah to play for us. Sarah is incredibly talented and writes beautiful music. Her second album will be no exception. Check her out and if you are inspired, help fund her new project at SarahKroger.Com.
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2 comments:
My daughter did the cake thing. Unfortunately for her when she picked it up the clerk said "Oh you're here for the pink cake." It spoiled it for her. My advice is to have someone else pick up your cake just in case. It was fun for the rest of the family.
What a beautiful family, and a baby to come! I hopped over from another blog. My children have an Uncle/Fr. too. (my brother). (Altoona Diocese).
Children at mass...oh boy...! My kids are almost all grown (all but one out of the house) but that brings back memories. There were times we had to go to separate masses. Because there really is a limit on how much a child can be disruptive, not only to other people, but to the parents not being able to concentrate on the mass. And during a certain period, when we were young parents, my toddlers used to reach that limit, so for a week here or there we would go to different masses.
But mostly one of us would take the child to the foyer of the church if need-be. As time went on, we switched to a more conservative-looking Catholic church. And went to a 7 a.m. mass, as any babies we had at the time would nurse and fall asleep during mass and were very quiet. The more traditional looking church, with beautiful statues and side altars, was key in our children being good after the switch. Our earlier parish was like a boring gymnasium...no wonder kids misbehave. But this other church...a little child or baby could even look up to the ceiling and be content, not to mention gazing at the pretty statues.
That said, I was never for children's masses, especially if they took the children out and away from the parents. I found they were disruptive. It is important for children to learn at an early age, to sit with their parents. They can have their own little prayer books, etc, and little sacramentals even, such as a children's rosary or little plastic statues.
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