In our house, birthdays are a big deal. It was the day God said, “Welcome to the world!” and we believe it’s a day worth celebrating. While I’ll readily agree that the definition of “big deal” varies widely, it doesn’t have to mean a loan from the bank and inviting your 50 closest friends. I learned that last part the hard way. For our first child’s first birthday, we invited 50 people to the house. I made the cakes, my {Read More}
As a convert, I’ve always been drawn to the Mass—its rituals, its words and its mystery. When my oldest turned ten, the parish sent us an invitation and encouraged us to attend altar server training. To be honest, I hadn’t really given it much thought until then. But, the idea of him participating in something as intimate as the Mass preparation intrigued me. We signed him up, and his response? “No.” My response? “Give it a year. After that, you {Read More}
The following is a post from contributing writer Dianna Kennedy. You’ll find books all over my house and filling up my Kindle app in my iPad. We listen to audiobooks in the car, at lunchtime and even when I run. Need a list of great Catholic books to add to your summer must-read list? Here are some authors that I’ve read recently or plan to peruse by the pool in the next few months. 1. Kate Wicker I honestly don’t {Read More}
In the years before we had children, my husband and I were faithful Holy Week and Easter Triduum Mass goers. There was tremendous beauty and poignancy to each of those celebrations and we enjoyed them immensely. In 2001, we had our first baby two weeks prior to Holy Thursday. His Godfather was the priest at a neighboring parish, so we attended Mass and Fr. Kevin washed Luke’s feet during the celebration. It brought tears to my eyes. Ten minutes later, {Read More}
Contrary to popular belief, Hallmark (nor the local pub) did not canonize St. Patrick. There is so much to love about this Irish man. He was imprisoned but escaped to tell people about Jesus – an evangelizer in the truest sense. Perhaps he’s most famous for using the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. The word is still out if he’s actually responsible for banishing all snakes from Ireland! As we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Patrick, I pray {Read More}
Kathryn openly shares her faith journey with compassion and a bit of sass. She’s the mom of a five, a Catholic convert and operates her own freelance graphic design business. She hails from Texas, loves Dr Pepper and wishes she owned an Italian villa. In addition to wrangling her growing brood, running carpool, enjoying date nights with her husband and managing her small business, Kathryn also writes for Austin Catholic New Media and PreemieBabies101. You can read about her adventures {Read More}
Since our first year of marriage, we’ve always written a letter to accompany our Christmas photo. Some I’ve banished to the back of the scrapbook, but most have been a complete joy to craft, write, stuff and mail to our friends and family during the holiday season. With the influx of electronic communication, I know how tempting it can be to save the money and time and not do a Christmas card at all. For me, it’s always been about {Read More}
Raise your right hand if an inner Martha Stewart lives within you. Raise your left hand if today’s to-do list is holding you back. I’m here to tell you that anybody can have a kick tail holiday dinner and not lose her mind. You just have to refocus a bit. Below I’ll share a few things I’ve learned from hosting a big brood, as well as some sample menu items from one of my favorite magazines, the master of all {Read More}
