The Way DVD

     I’d recommend The Way to anyone who is seeking answers, enlightenment, understanding, and isn’t afraid to take a look at the tough questions in life: What am I moving towards? What am I running from? And why?

     I expected the movie to be about major religious conversion, but it’s not. Actually, the movie only loosely touches on the religious and spiritual implications of the Camino and the many Christ-centered pilgrims who set out to make the trek each year. In a sense this makes the film more accessible to the masses (pun intended) instead of a good fit mainly for the Catholic parishioners in the pews.

     The Way is a thought-provoking, humorous look at how a physical journey is every bit as much about a journey inward as it is about reaching a particular destination. Having read the book Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus by Dave Pivonka, T.O.R., a while back, I was somewhat familiar with the ancient pilgrimage trail when I heard about this film.

     What I didn’t realize ahead of time is that this movie is a family affair. Not to say it’s the right choice for a family movie night if you have children under thirteen, it’s not, but the rich heritage, tradition, and strong family bonds explored in the film seem best acted by those who really do have a father/son relationship. The Way is directed by Emilio Estevez, dedicated to his grandfather, and stars as the lead Martin Sheen, the director’s own father (who was named at birth Ramon Gerard Estevez).

     The film was shot in France and Spain, where the el Camino exists and still attracts millions of pilgrims. The cinematography is quite beautiful which is immediately evident to the viewer even if the main character in the film neglects to take notice of or slow down to appreciate it.

     Four very different people from different countries, professions, and with widely varying reasons for hiking the Camino end up bonding as they each strive to overcome the challenges of the trail, which often prove to be more obvious and less treacherous than the emotional minefields within themselves.

     The special features and behind-the-scenes definitely enhanced my appreciation for the movie and the collaborative effort in making it as well as going cross-country on a bus tour to promote it.

     I wrote this review of The Way for the free Catholic book review program, Tiber River.  I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 65)

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Back to the Beach Kevin and I have had a great deal of fun playing badminton on the beach behind the cottage.  I’m fairly certain anyone who has watched us play our version of the game—no net, no boundaries, no rules, just keep the birdie in the air at all costs—has been entertained.  It’s gotten us laughing out loud.  That’s for certain! 

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Living on the Lake Again this year, I occasionally had moments of “whoa, I never would have thought it would be like this!” as Kevin and I have spent time at his family’s cottage where we first met and became friends when I was still in high school sixteen years ago. 

 

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Kickin’ it at the Cottage It’s definitely nostalgic being back here on the lake in Rochester, spending time where my husband and I first met and got to know each other.  Now that my mom’s selling her house, it feels even more like this is the one home base I have left to come and spend time with family, rest, relax, catch up, read a good book, share a meal, hear a story, and just be myself. 

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Remember when… we found out our grandmothers used to play cards together…all Kevin and I wanted was to spend time together…we stayed up all night talking then watched the sunrise…we played endless card games…I helped Kevin wash his car and let him try and pull me up on water skis…we sat for hours on “our block” at the pier talking and getting pictures of the sunset…we rode bikes to Charlotte Beach for the Wednesday night concert…Kevin threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes in order to carry me out to the boat… 

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Not in a million years would I have believed that Kevin would return to the Catholic faith in which he was raised and someday even enjoy going to daily Mass with me.  When we met, he wanted nothing to do with organized religion and was still bitter that his mother had made him go to Mass on Sundays.  His complete conversion is proof NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!      

 

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Sunday Traditions We spent another family fun Sunday with Kevin’s three sisters, their husbands, and family.  Dinner preparation starts earlier now that playing dominoes for hours has become a favorite pastime.  When we arrived at the cottage, they’d posted the score sheet from the weekend before we arrived, because it was the first time Kevin’s oldest sister Deb had ever won at the intense game of Mexican train dominoes held down at the lake.

 

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Summer’s Over or so it seems since we’ll be heading home tomorrow from our last vacation this year.  It’s hard to believe that these three months are already gone.  Kevin has to work on Labor Day, and I start my new nannying schedule on Tuesday.  We’ll be praying that everyone has safe travels and a blessed school year!

 

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

“What do You want of me?” Part I of IV

     Ever since I first saw “Teresita,” an original play written about Teresa of Avila and read the poem “In the Hands of God” by the renowned saint and Doctor of the Church, I have begun framing my discernment around that same question repeated in her poem: “What do You want of me?” 

Then and Now

     Spending time back at the cottage where Kevin and I first met over sixteen years ago has raised a lot of questions for me, for both of us actually.  Obviously our lives have changed quite a bit since we first met at the cottage when my mom and sisters rented the other half of the cottage from where Kevin lived with his dad, the real Harry Potter. 

     Births, Baptisms, anniversaries, deaths, memories, and recent life events have reminded us of these occurrences and made us slow down and take stock.  In many ways, Kevin and I aren’t where we thought or hoped we’d be by this time in our lives, in our marriage, in our families, our careers, though we have grown considerably since we first met in ways only the Lord could have brought about.
     When looking around and seeing others who are raising children, buying and fixing up their houses, getting a promotion at work, taking the next step towards their religious vocation, and or those who are working hard towards some other admirable goal the Lord has placed on their hearts, Kevin and I have sometimes wondered what’s next for us .  Where do we fit into all of this?  Are we mostly who and where God wants us to be?  Our visions for the future were so different when we started out, but some of the most fervent prayers and deepest passions God placed in us have come to pass. 

 God’s timing, not ours

     Despite practically every sort of opposition possible, Kevin and I through the grace of God have remained a couple since I was in high school.  We entered into the gift, covenant, and sacrament of marriage nearly eight years ago (September 4, 2004), and have weathered many storms together since then.  Kevin has lost both of his parents.  I’ve lost my father.  We’ve faced extremely difficult health, financial, spiritual, and emotional challenges that have tested us in ways we never anticipated.    

     What I begged for the hardest while we were still dating, for Kevin to return to the faith in which he was raised and have a direct relationship with the Lord, God has granted in truly miraculous ways that continue to amaze and astound me. 

     We have a deep love and appreciation for faith, family, and friends.  We take great joy in being around children.  We try to use the resources and talents we’ve been given to help others.  We still enjoy LAUGHING TOGETHER! 

     Our lives are not what we thought they would be, but perhaps (we hope) they are closer to what God wants them to be. 

Our prayer: Lord, help us to turn to You for guidance, insight, and inspiration as to whom You want us to be, what You would like us to do, where, how, with and for whom.  Your plan for us as individuals and as a married couple is so much greater, more loving, and beautiful than anything we could come up with on our own.  The prayer you put in my heart many years ago still seems like the perfect one to pray: Plant Your will in our hearts and make it our deepest desire and most fervent longing. 
     Here are the other three parts of this reflection on our ongoing discernment as a couple: Part II, Part III, Part IV.

Divine Love Made Flesh: The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrament of Charity

Divine Love Made Flesh: The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrament of Charity is a masterfully written reflection on the Eucharist as source and summit of God’s love and the focal point of every disciple of Jesus Christ. 
     
Honestly, I love any book that inspires me to draw closer to the Lord just by reading it.  This one serves that purpose very well.  Divine Love Made Flesh is definitely a work that describes the Sacrament of the Eucharist in a way that makes it clear that the Passion and Death of our Lord was/is the most loving, perfect sacrifice.  The work of redemption takes place in the present each time Mass is celebrated, because the True Presence, Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity exist in time and space for us to consume and be transformed by. 
     
Through incorporation and explanation of the teachings on the Eucharist given to us by Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke guides the reader to a greater understanding of the necessity of the Sacraments, the most central of which is the Holy Eucharist.

     

Reading this book has motivated me to find and read the original papal documents the author used (translated into English since my Latin is very limited) in creating this beautiful treatise on the significance of the Eucharist, the prominence it ought to have in the life of each Christian, and the ways in which we are to become Christ for one another through our participation in the Heavenly Feast.

     
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Divine Love Made Flesh. This is also a great online Catholic store for all your religious shopping needs, such as gifts for Confirmation and gifts for a baby baptism.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 64)

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Baab Baby Baptisms took place last Sunday at the 5:30 Mass.  Livia Marie and Sophia Jane Baab were brought into the Catholic Church with several family members and friends in attendance.  I am Livia’s Godmother, and Kevin’s Sophia’s Godfather.  To see pictures and read more about the blessed occasion, click here.

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John Baab’s New Beginning This Thursday, August 23, 2012, our dearly beloved brother in Christ moved in to St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore.  Kevin and I are really excited for our best friend as he embarks on this next step in answering God’s call to serve the people of the Diocese of Richmond as a priest. 

    We love you lots and are sending an abundance of prayers your way while trusting that now is the time.  Continue living in obedience’s to God’s love and His Will, and we have no doubt you will continue to be an important vessel for the Lord’s mercy, compassion, healing, and forgiveness.   

 

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A Slice of Friendly’s Wattamelon roll is to me what a madeleine was to Proust, at least when it comes to savoring the summers of my childhood.  My parents, sisters, cousins, and I used to walk from my grandparents’ house to the Friendly’s up the street to get ice cream.  Our favorite was their signature wattamelon roll, only available in the summertime.  This delectable dessert is the perfect combination of watermelon flavored sherbet with chocolate chips in it surrounded by a white arc of lemon sherbert with a thin layer of green on the outside.  When we were stopping by for take-out, we’d settle for a cone of their wattamelon sherbert with chocolate chips in it. 
 

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Vacation: epic fail Kevin and I couldn’t help but laugh Thursday evening when we realized that in the past two days, we’d been to Advance Auto twice and had our one meal out at Wendy’s in the land of amazing independently-owned burger joints.  No swimming, no indulging in foods available here only…My mother would be appalled!   

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From Prayer to Right There Kevin and I were greeted very warmly at daily Mass on Wednesday evening by Rosemary, a faithful prayer warrior who befriended us last summer.  When she’d been praying during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament that very afternoon, Rosemary had thought of us and guessed with a bit of sadness that she probably wouldn’t see us again this year.  She was so joyful to see us a few hours later that she could barely contain herself.       

 

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Make new friends, but keep the old…is a good line from a song, and a wise suggestion for life.  A renewed friendship with a classmate of mine I met for the first time in fifth grade at St. Mary’s School has been such a wonderful blessing!  Laura (then Muller) Stapleton and her husband Jeff have become dear friends of ours over the past three years.  Interestingly enough, Laura and I are much closer now and have more in common than we ever realized back when we were wearing blue plaid uniforms.  I find it very promising that God keeps people in our lives or reintroduces them at a later date when He knows they’ll help bring us closer to Him.   

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Sixteen Candles It’s hard to believe that it was sixteen years ago that Kevin and I first met at their family’s cottage.  I had just finished my sophomore year of high school and an exhausting move when Kevin and his dad befriended my mom, sisters, and me.  Only the Lord God Almighty could have orchestrated what would happen over the next sixteen years.  Our relationship, our vocation discernment, our marriage, Kevin’s return to the Catholic Church…are all proof that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Baab Baptisms, Glowing Godparents, & the Light of Christ

 Livia Marie and Sophia Jane Baab were baptized last Sunday evening at 5:30 Mass at St. Michael the Archangel.  As is often the case for a special event, the Baab clan, the Crocker contingent, plus friends took up the first three rows at Mass and then some.  Their parents Carl and Jess brought the twins and their 2 and ½ year old Vivi into church for the sacrament.  The first order of business was to change the cuties from their comfy Onesies into bright white dresses with an ample amount of tulle and tiny beads. 
     
The girls actually did well with the transformation, though, you could tell they were wondering why they had this sudden excess of somewhat itchy material all around them.  Vivi was as cute as could be in her little dress.  Jess made sure she was wearing the colors chosen for each of the girls: blue toenails for Vivi, pink fingernails for Livia, and a purple dress for Sophia.  The color coordinating began mainly in order to make it easier to tell the twins apart.  Livia is usually pretty in pink while Sophia is precious in purple. 
     
Luke (Carl’s brother), and I served as Livia’s Godparents, while Amy (Carl’s sister) and my husband Kevin served as Godparents for Sophia.  The twins slept through most of Mass, up until it was their turn to be brought into the Catholic faith at the Baptismal font.  The holy water poured on their heads and the singing and clapping that followed woke the sleeping beauties at least temporarily.  Kevin and I were so overjoyed we could hardly stand it!  Livia is my first Goddaughter.  Kevin’s Godfather to his niece Andrea and now also to Sophia. 
     
Here is an excerpt from our letters to the Baab twins on the day of their Baptisms: “Your parents asked Kevin and me if we would be your Godparents the evening we had a welcome home party for your uncle Luke, after he returned from serving our country in Afghanistan.  That was also the evening your uncle John announced that he’d been accepted into seminary.  We had lots to celebrate and were very excited we’d get to play a special role in your spiritual lives!
     
Baptism is only the beginning of a lifetime of learning about God’s love for you, for all of us.  We already see God in you, as you’re clearly a dearly beloved daughter of His, a true miracle. The abundance of grace and countless blessings the Lord showers upon you and your family through this Sacrament of Initiation will be seen in the days, weeks, and years to come.”

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 63)

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An instant knowing  Last Friday, Kevin and I attended the wake of Dr. Martha (Marty) Muguira, a friend’s mother who had a very rough battle with cancer.  The evening and anticipation of it brought back a lot of memories for me as the funeral home was the very one where I with my dad and uncles at the age of eleven to give my nana one last kiss goodbye.  When I went in the room where we got to say our final goodbyes before she was cremated, as per her wishes, I knew immediately that she wasn’t there.  I was absolutely certain that her spirit, her soul, what made her my favorite person in the world was no longer in her body.  At the age of twenty-seven, I went into the same funeral home with my mom to say one last goodbye to my dad before he was cremated.  Again, upon entering the room, I knew in an instant that he was no longer there.  Just the shell, his body was left, but that he was no longer in it, that his spirit and soul still existed, though outside of their earthly physical form. 

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A Heavy Heart The anniversary of my father’s death was August 10 and his funeral was August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, so of course I would have been thinking about him anyway, but having reminders of the few years before he died and the hours leading up to his last breath, were that much more poignant and frequent over this past week. Kevin and I have both wondered what are we here for in the grand scheme of things, and it’s scary and depressing to think that my dad died at the age of 54, something none of us would have predicted. 

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A Strong Will to Live In thinking about my nana, my dad, my uncle Bob, Kevin's parents, and in hearing and reading about our friend Chris’s mother, Marty Muguira, I have seen and heard about people who have faced tremendous suffering in body, mind, and spirit, and yet who have fought hard to keep going.  I wonder about the timing of things, why some people live a seemingly short time and others live so much longer.  My grandmother has survived and thrived though she had the same life-threatening cancer that Chris’s mother died from.  She’s alive at 88, and still has a very strong will to live.  She’s a woman of faith and hopes to join loved ones passed in heaven ultimately, but she hasn’t given up despite unbelievable obstacles.  After being told she only had a number of days to live, she later was kicked out of hospice, because whenever the nurses went to visit her she was off playing cards or on a field trip, watching a movie, or something, so they figured she was no longer as sick as she had been.  She’s a miracle, but seeing her lately, I know that her body and mind are winding down even if her spirit is not giving up, and her will to live is as strong as ever.

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We’re in the bulletin! A dear friend of mine who is a professional actress and director as well as an aspiring Carmelite nun has written and will be performing a truly moving original play at St. Benedict's in the church Sanctuary at 3:00pm this Sunday and at 7:00pm on Monday called Teresita. She wrote and is performing this play in order to raise the funds to pay off her debt from getting her Masters in Divinity, so she can enter Carmelite Sisters by the Sea in Carmel, California, a cloistered community who has already accepted her as a postulant.  No reservations or tickets are needed.  Admission is free and open to all. A love offering will be taken up.

     This review I wrote of the play is featured in St. Benedict’s bulletin this week…This original one-act play written and performed by playwright, actress, and director Michele Morris is one you won’t want to miss! Read the whole review and get more info here.

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What did you just say?! A snippet of recent conversation with our friend Michele Morris over some really yummy ice cream.  The actress unplugged.

Kevin: Do you have his e-mail? I know it’s Celtic dodge something…

Michele: Bump-baaah-nananah!  Manah-manah! (Muppet style)

Trisha: Tom Jones (I add trying to jog Michele’s memory and bring her out of Muppetland)

Michele: Manah-manah…what?…huh?…I heard Celtic dodge…but you were just rambling.

Kevin: So I was the one rambling?

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Congratulations and celebrations are in order!  My best friend from high school Holly Moskowitz passed her boards this week, so now it’s official.  She’s a nurse practitioner.  I knew you could do it and that your hard work and dedication would pay-off.  Congratulations, my dear! 

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Saying Seeyasoon to our favorite brother in Christ.  It’s hard to believe that now is the time for our dearly beloved brother John to leave for seminary.  He’ll be moving in to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore to begin classes next week.  We’ll miss him lots, but we’re confident that this is how he’s being called to glorify the Lord and bring others closer to Him.    

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Perhaps You're Dehydrated?!

     Dehydration and exhaustion are the two primary suspects in some quite humbling situations this week.  I’m hoping that my ATM episode has only gone viral within the specific bank where I deposited a check yesterday.  I have used numerous ATMs over the years without incident, but this was not one of those times.  First off, I didn’t pull up close enough to the machine which usually isn’t a big deal, because I can still reach the buttons and touch-screen if I take my seatbelt off during the transaction and lean out of the window a little.  In this particular instance, I had pulled a bit too far ahead and was also out a bit too far, but someone had already pulled in behind me, so I resorted to removing my seatbelt and doing my best contortionist move to reach the ATM.  When that position became too painful to sustain, I admitted absolute defeat and opened my car door, so I could step partway out of the car, making it even more obvious dehydration and serious need of a nap were robbing me of my ability to deposit a check without a deposit slip as easy as it sounds.  I would like to apologize sincerely to the poor individual who pulled up behind me, especially if he or she is more inclined to get angry instead of laugh hysterically at a ridiculous predicament.  

Where’s my snack?

     This morning, I packed myself a yummy, kind of healthy snack for the day: an apple, carrots, sugar snap peas, string cheese, and a single serving bag of chips.  I put all of these items in a plastic Kroger bag, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where I put it. 

     In my defense, I did have quite a bit to carry to my car and take into school this morning including several canvas and plastic bags in addition to my purse (which my husband refers to as my suitcase or small minivan), water bottle, etc.  The good news is that without my carefully packed snack and before having eaten my lunch, I was able to deposit a check this afternoon at an ATM without even having to remove my seatbelt.  Of course, this is when there wasn’t anyone behind me to witness it. 

     So, if you find a Kroger bag with my snack in it, help yourself to anything that hasn’t gone bad, put the rest in a compost pile, and please recycle the bag.  And if you have seen the footage of me and my ATM ineptitude yesterday, do me a favor and send it to me.  I’m ready to laugh about it now.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 62)

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Three years ago this morning: my mom, sisters, husband, and brother-in-law rushed to my dad’s place in the middle of the night to say goodbye to my father, who less than a month after his 54^th birthday breathed his last. Lord, thank You for Your love and perfect plan for each one of us. Help us to live each day to glorify You, bring others closer to You, and live out the love You have given us. Dad, we love you and still feel loved by you, and take great comfort knowing you are in Heaven experiencing God’s pure love.

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Teresita An Original Play about St. Teresa of Avila is a lively, humorous, thought-provoking play inspired by the life of a saint who had lots of personality and a great deal of faith. This original one-act play written and performed by playwright, actress, and director Michele Morris is one you won’t want to miss!  Read a review and get more info here.

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My Little Guys are Growing up! I saw some pictures of Hank at his sleep away camp, and still cannot get over that the two little boys I nannied for starting one week after Kevin and I got married eight years ago are old enough to go to camp.  It seems like it couldn’t possibly be that long ago that I was balancing bottles, juggling snacks, and chasing Hank and JG around.  They taught me many things, and they’ll always have a special place in my heart.   

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 “What do You want of me?” is a powerful refrain in a poem by St. Teresa of Avila (which Michele Morris includes in the program for “Teresita”) has given me a lot to think and pray about.  I’m sure some news that we’ve gotten from family and friends who are moving on to new and exciting stages in life, the anniversary of my father’s passing, and the death of a friend’s mother have all gotten me thinking and wondering about what God wants of Kevin and me.  What are we here for in the grand scheme of things?  I know ultimately we’re here to love and serve the Lord and bring others closer to Him, but the specifics of that and whether or not we’re doing that effectively has been making me wonder.  So I guess Kevin and I are asking the same question, “what do you want of us, Lord?” 

 

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The French Would Be Horrified! This week as part of Trip to France Camp at school, we tasted a variety of French foods.  Of course, we had to sample at least a couple of the cheeses for which the French are famous.  For the third year in a row, the kids all preferred Gruyere to Brie, but the real kicker is that they all were eager to have string cheese sticks as well on one of the day when superior dairy products were offered.   

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What did you just say?! Kids often crack me up with the things they say, not even intending to be funny or ironic.  One of my favorites this week was when a four year old was making a keychain with wooden beads and came across one that had a hole that didn’t go all the way through, and he makes some comment to me about how it must have been an error the “manufacturer” made.  Flabbergasted he knew this word and used it correctly, I agreed wholeheartedly that was likely indeed the case. 

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God’s got it!  In wondering what the Lord has in store for us lately, sometimes I’ve felt a bit down.   A number of things that have happened today have reminded me that the Lord is indeed aware of our prayers, loves us dearly, and has a plan for our lives even when we can’t for the life of us figure out what it is.  Time with kids, a yummy lunch provided by a co-worker, prayer time, an conversation with our favorite brother in Christ John as he was leaving Little Sisters of the Poor after Mass and prayer time and as I was going in to visit my grandma.  God is good all the time!  All the time God is good!

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Teresita: An Original One-Act Play Based on the Life of St. Teresa of Avila by Michele Morris

Teresita: A One-Act Play Based on the Life of St. Teresa of Avila is a lively, humorous, thought-provoking play inspired by the life of a saint who had lots of personality and a great deal of faith.  This original one-act play written and performed by playwright, actress, and director Michele Morris is one you won’t want to miss!

     
As Michele Morris has been discerning her own lifelong vocation, she has asked the Lord many times throughout her life a question that appears over and over in her play: “What do You want of me?”  This question is the refrain directly from a poem penned by St. Teresa of Avila called “In the Hands of God.” 
     
Those who are familiar with the life of St. Teresa of Avila tend to be quite impressed by how true to form the play is in presenting the facts of this woman’s life, particularly her childhood and the time leading up to her discerning God was calling her from a life of privilege and popularity to enter a cloistered convent.  Others who don’t know as much about this Doctor of the Church are often inspired to research her after seeing this brilliant play.
     
Michele Morris portrays the young, vivacious St. Teresa of Avila beautifully.  Her interest in things of the world and contentment having close relationships with family and friends pose a number of challenges with which the playwright is all too familiar.  In Michele’s own spiritual journey, she has felt God’s Presence from very early on in her life, but it’s taken longer than she hoped or expected for her to discern what God wants of her. 

There’s a great deal to be said about the timing of this play, the Opening night, July 16, which is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the clear blessing of the Holy Spirit in this endeavor.  Michele had been working on the play for months.  After reading and researching a great deal about St. Teresa of Avila, she began work on the one-woman play she was inspired to write and perform as a fundraiser to pay off her student loan from getting her Masters in Divinity so she’s free to become a postulant of the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea.

     
Friends eagerly supported her effort by offering their own talents to assist in the production.  What seemed like a far-off dream became a reality in the days and weeks leading up to the first scheduled performance.  A friend came forward to make her costume, another to help her with direction and rehearsal stepped up.  Soon portraits, fliers, business cards, a website, and a location for Opening night were all provided. 
I got chills watching Teresita: A One-Act Play Based on the Life of St. Teresa of Avila both at the by-invitation-only dress rehearsal and the Opening night performance.  As someone who has read and thoroughly enjoyed learning about St. Teresa of Avila over the years, I really appreciated the attention to detail, inclusion of factual events, and the spirit with which this exuberant woman’s life was portrayed.  Knowing a great deal about many of Michele’s own struggles throughout her discernment only served to make the play that much more amazing and believable.       
     
For more information about where Michele Morris will be starting August 6, 2013, visit the website for the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea. 

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 61)

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Olympic Inspiration: I love this video and song and have been playing it repeatedly this week as it's got a great beat and a powerful message:  

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Olympic Couchfuls My husband’s keen Olympic observations from the couch:

“I’m breathing harder from saying she’s not breathing hard” [than she is from kicking everyone’s tails in the 100m race].

About the Judge standing behind the female runners at the starting block: “I don’t think the guy with that hat has got a chance.”

  

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Funniest Winter Olympics Bit by Seinfeld Kevin and I absolutely love this bit, and I believe you will enjoy it as well:  "There's no bobsled; it's just Bob."

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No you didn’t!  I was glancing at the Olympics this afternoon while holding one of the twins and decided two things after one quick look at the TV: firstly, if what I was seeing on the screen was synchronized swimming, then everyone really sucked because they weren’t together at all and their heads were above the water way too much of the time.  (Turns out it was water polo.) My second thought us below. 

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Never Ever! Today I decided that there’s one thing I’d definitely never do in the Olympics (even in the event that I suddenly got into ridiculously good shape and became extremely athletic overnight): any sport where people would take footage of me from a digital video camera located underwater while I was wearing a bathing suit.  I’m quite certain that’s not any sort of vision that would bring countries together or inspire anyone to stay up late and watch just one more event. 

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Here’s Your Sign I struggled quite a bit putting on the stupid swim goggles the first and only time I attempted water skiing and took this as a clear sign this venture would not lead me to a career in water sports.  Kevin’s advice to me the first time I tried to get up on skis was “just stand up.”  It’s no wonder I never really mastered the trick.  I asked if he could tell me a little more about what I should do, but he instructed me to do one thing and one thing only, and I couldn’t do it without falling over in a matter of seconds.  I tried really hard over and over again, and though I did manage to stand up, I was never able to stay up.  In the process, my arms were almost yanked out of their sockets, and I lost a pair of goggles, which at present are likely buried deep under a sand bed in Lake Ontario.

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Prolific Poopers With all of this competition going on, I wonder who would have come in first place if an Olympic pooping competition had been held in our area among those under the age of four this week.  I know some contestants who would certainly have taken home some metals.  It never ceases to amaze me how much little people, especially babies, can produce in the way of poop when they have such little bodies.  Kate Wicker, a fellow blogger who has four young little ones had something to the effect of hazardous waste removal specialist as part of her  job/blog description until a parent actually e-mailed her and asked about how to get rid of something other than lots of dirty diapers.  Pretty funny.

I hope you don’t have a crappy weekend!

     

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.