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}
Growing up it was not uncommon to find inspirational quotes and notes throughout our home. My Mom would post tips for good habits, good living, and faithful inspiration on bathroom mirrors, the refrigerator, on her desk, and throughout the house. They were little reminders to all of us. The quotes came from a variety of sources, anything from a motivational book to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The options were endless. Now that I have my own home, I {Read More}
This year is kind of a sad one for me; it’s the first year since my daughters were born that I probably won’t be attending the annual Mother-Daughter Banquet with my grandmother in the town where I grew up. I am due to have a new baby next month and driving 3 hours and chasing around my 5 and (especially the) 2 year old and then trying to get them to settle down for bed in a strange place {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}
I have no memories of my mother playing with me as a child. She read to me a lot, we went on outings together, and we cooked together on occasion. But I can’t remember actually playing together, and I think most of my friends would say the same things about their mothers. Recently, I’ve become aware of what a huge contrast this is to my own parenting style. Since I have only one child, it’s not surprising that I spend {Read More}
The following is a post from contributing writer Dianna Kennedy. Want to know why you rarely see pictures of my house? I’ll let you in on a little secret. I stink at cleaning house. I was halfway decent when I only had one child. Now, with a teenage daughter and four children under the age of six, my house looks like a cyclone hit most days. I know that there are many of you out there like me — let’s {Read More}
I’m in the throes of children’s consignment sale season over here. I’m furiously going through my basement and closets, ironing, hanging and tagging. During the mundane task of ironing, my brain tends to wander. “What are you going to do for Lent?” I generally have a million lofty goals for Lent, and end up being about 10% successful. This year, I’m setting my sights for more reasonable achievements, and hope to clean my house in the process. It stands to {Read More}
Winter can be a really tough season for moms of young kids. I myself spend most of the winter indoors, because I have a very narrow (i.e. wimpy) temperature range that I can tolerate for any length of time. While I miss the outdoors and the warmer weather (warm weather, not hot!), I personally don’t struggle too much in the winter. I love being home, and getting out for errands, activities and my part-time job is enough to keep me {Read More}
