• Living,  Praying

    Making Sense of Suffering

    I begin this post on a day that I am wrestling to make sense of the tragic death of a young mother — a faithful Catholic, getting ready to jump into her minivan of little kids and head off to Ash Wednesday Mass. There are no words. Please pray for her soul and for her family. I must admit my first response was “Why her”? Why does a beautiful young mother with young children who desperately need her, tragically die on the way out to Mass? It just doesn’t make sense. Her mother and father are model Catholics, faithfully living out the Gospel and serving the poorest of the poor.…

  • Favorites,  Living,  Momming

    When We Fail to Catch Our Kids

    Last week we were out of power for 5 days.  No lights, no power, no running water, no toilets — and no idea when it would be restored.  This wouldn’t have been so bad if the temps didn’t drop well below freezing most nights,  but we were managing — and I dare say — we were actually enjoying all of the quality time  spent by the fireplace and camping out in our living room. By the 4th day, we had actually found a rhythm to this simple life.  We had eaten dinner and cleaned up the house before the sun set. We had this “no power thing” down!  And as we sat down…

  • Living

    Lent Begins and Other Thoughts

    How’s your Lent going?  I know it’s only been two days — but it feels like it’s going to be a looong Lent.  Oh well — only 6 weeks to go. Yay for us! 🙁 Did you get your ashes? Check out this guy — I saw a humorous chart analyzing different ash patterns on the internet and I believe this one would fall under the category:  Father’s Revenge. Poor guy!  Anyway, my parents are in town, so let’s get right to the 7 Quick Takes:  Lenten Thoughts Edition ~1~ Yay for Surviving the 1st Strict Fast of the Year! Though I’m posting this on Friday, I am actually writing this post early…

  • Living

    Best Lent Ever — or Not — It’s Up to You.

    Ah, life — always a balancing act! This week blogging took a back seat to all the work that’s been piling up.  🙁 Anyway, I thought I’d share a few thoughts on Lent.  I can hardly believe the time is upon us  — but here we are stuffing in those last Paczki’s  — and before you know it, it will be Ash Wednesday.  Where has the time gone? Lent is usually something I just try to get through.  But this year, I want to try to do more than survive it — I actually want to find myself thriving in it.  How about you? So, without further ado, I  offer you my 7 Quick Tips for Preparing for the Best.Lent.Ever…