What I've been reading this Lent

 
  This Lent I've taken a sort of two prong approach and it has actually worked out really well. I got and have been using the Blessed is She journal which based around reflecting on a word inspired by the daily readings; reading the daily readings is something that had fallen away as more little people filled my home and day ~ and one I'm so glad to have returned to.  Often it worked best for me to read the readings in the afternoon and take the rest of the day to reflect and actually journal in the evening once everyone was tucked in for the night.

  The second part was a commitment to be intentional about reading about and reflecting on a saint featured in A book of Saints for Catholic Moms.  Initially it took me awhile to appreciate Lisa Hendley's wonderful book. I did like the format of biography, reflection, quotes from the saint, followed by a scripture passage and suggested activities; and the idea of spending the week with a given saint. Reading it straight front to back felt a bit dry, however once I went 'off-roading' so to speak and just let the book open at random I came to really appreciate the wonderful range of people the author chose to feature. Among the fifty-two are many I knew, such as Saint Joseph, Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Joan of Arc, but many more I'm meeting for the first time, such as Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Zita of Lucca, and Saint Sebastian.  Each is presented with attention paid to both their successes and failures. But what makes this book so much more than a collection of saints' biographies are the useful reflections that Hendley includes and the questions to ponder, building on the particular cause or charism of the saint being profiled. While these are aimed at mothers, the author does include suggested activities for the entire family to do, as they learn more about each particular saint.

   Another nice feature of the book are the indices in the back where Hendley lists all the saints first alphabetically, then according to their feast days and patronages, and finally by whether they could be considered companions of the heart, mind, body or soul.  With so much information the reader might meet the saints in the order they are presented in the book, at random, or according to a particular intention or struggle of the moment.  I'm truly happy to have this book in my library and look forward to mining its depths more and more over the years.

Linking up with Micaela of California to Korea

What have you been reading this Lent?

A different kind of Friday

No Quick Takes here today; as I've written about before March 27 th holds a special meaning in my family and so I'm taking a break this week.

7 Quick Takes hosted by Kelly of This Ain't the Lyceum

Last year's Milkshakes and Memories

Quick Takes #176

1. Happy First Day of Spring!! We actually have snow in the forecast for today but it did warm up enough a couple days this week to get me excited. I made the concious decision last fall to not plant any bulbs and just see what came up in the spring. Regretting that a bit now as there are no crocuses poking their way out in my yard and that is by far one of my favorite signs of spring.
2. Feast Days; Unfortunately my oldest was sick yesterday so we kept things low key for the St Joseph's Solemnity focusing largely on giving thanks for the fathers in our lives and especially the one we live with.  Saint Patrick's Day included a yummy dinner cooked by Dr Daddy and dancing to some Irish faves.
3. Newest update on my formerly picky eater; being offered fish sticks last Friday declared them Delicious!! Tater Tots got a 'meh' so clearly I still have worked to do, but progress!!
4. Shout-out to our lovely host and her wonderful post this week sharing some of her best tips for dealing with writer's block.
5. And Caitlin fell victim to the GI bug last night. Silver lining; nothing sweeter than watching a toddler go from a whimpering mess to happy cherub by simply getting cleaned up. Once we had her in clean pjs she snuggled in close and proceeded to start her favorite game of asking where everyone in the family is at the moment.
6. Two prayer requests: firstly that neither of the grown-ups get it; it is a busy weekend of presenting at Pre-Cana and hospital duty for Dr Daddy and soloing on the homefront for me.  Best if we could avoid the bug.
7. Secondly for the couples we are presenting to; this will be Part II of the program and Part I was filled with quite a bit of blank stares that give the impression that those attending are just marking off the time till they have met this requirement. If you would pray that Divine Spirit would open their hearts a bit and that we presenters are able to plant some seeds which will in time bear fruit as to the beauty of the Church's teaching on marriage. Thanks!!

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's!

Fave Five: Irish Music

In honor of St Patrick's Day I'm posting my faves a day early and highlighting some of my favorite tunes from Isle of Erin.

1. Be thou my Vision

2. Wild Mountain Thyme

3. Into the Mystic

4. Morning has Broken

5. How Can I Keep from Singing? (which may not be Irish but Enya is!)

What are some of your favorites??

Linking up at Melody's Harmonies

Quick Takes #175: Some of our favorite things

1. Life continues to be crazy but turned suddenly warm this week and we broke out the bikes to enjoy for however long it lasts.
2. New Favorite thing: Modern Mrs Darcy Daily Kindle Deals ~ love, love, love having this brilliant, well-read blogger peruse Amazon and let me in on some of the best deals.
3. Hide & Seek is a new favorite game for Caitlin; with the cute quirk that she always hides in the same places ~ under the dining room table or behind the rocker in her room.
4. Favorite post of the week: Ana of Times Flies on Motherhood
5. Lisbeth very much enjoyed (and her parents) survived her birthday party at Charles Fromage.  It was much louder than I expected but much fun was had by all.
6. President of the Pontifical Council for the Family Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia was in town this week to work on details for Pope Francis's visit and the World Conference of Families including picking the official milkshake of the conference! 
7. Weekend plans include catching up, cleaning up, welcoming home Dr Daddy from his travels and perhaps watching one of the fine Irish films recommended by Kendra.

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QTs

Photo Dump: Williamsburg

   So back in December we misplaced the download cable for the camera and for some unknown reason my phone stopped talking to the Cloud and so this here blog has been sadly lacking in pictures.

This past weekend my better half somehow got the phone to talk to the computer and so Pictures!!

Please pardon me as I play a bit of catch-up:

  First up some pictures documenting a wonderful day Charlie and I got to spend in Williamsburg when my mom treated us to some couple time away while we were down celebrating Christmas with my family.

Governor's Mansion

 College of William & Mary

 Many of the homes and shops were decorated for Christmas as they would have been during a Colonial Christmas when Williamsburg was still the capital city.

 Capital building with a glimpse of a period tour guide.

After a wonderful dinner we got to enjoy seeing all the homes and shops lit up.

And one more view of the Governor's Mansion before we left.

Quick Takes #174; Snapshot of a 7 year old

It seems appropriate as she is now 7 to dedicate this week's 7QT's 

to 7 random things I don't want to forget about Elisabeth now

1. While she holds the title as my pickiest eater (to date) of late Elisabeth's has been on a try random fruit and vegetable kick; having recently tried kiwi, mango, and zuccini and only the kiwi was declared no good.  Helping out more and more in the kitchen and watching Becky Crocker and Nerdy Nummies videos by the dozens on You.tube.
2. Currently wants to be a palenotologists, and asked for a couple of reference books for her birthday because "There is so much to learn!!"
3. Continues to be very into Legos and building; requested the Elsa palace for her birthday (so far unavailable) and in a day put together the Rapunzel tower she was given. Hello Kitty is still very much a favorite!!
4. While still mostly watching kid fare has recently discovered HGTV with favorites being Rehab Addict and Property Brothers. Will also happily watch Fixer Upper with me.
5. Math continues to be her favorite subject and she is a whiz. Some struggles with reading but gaining confidence ~ books from the library alternate between dinosaurs and Fancy Nancy.  
6. Loves gymnastics and is limber like no ones business; forever trying out new twists and jumps off various pieces of furniture. Is also discovering basketball thanks to a clinic organized by a classmates mom.
7. During the wintery weather she has been all about cleaning off our cars including climbing up onto the roof to clean that off ~ and then engaging whoever she can in snowball fights.

Don't forget to head over to Kelly's for more of this week's 7 Quick Takes!