Screening & Selecting a Child Care Provider (My Nanny Diary)

Do you know the most important questions to ask when interviewing a person whom you’re considering leaving alone with your children for hours at a time? 

  
If not, you're not alone.  Most parents don't know all the pertinent things to ask and look for when selecting the right child care scenario for their family.  Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you.  

 
Below are links to some articles I’ve found that have a good set of pertinent questions to ask when interviewing the person who will be responsible for your child’s health, safety, and well-being while you are at work.  Each list is specific to the type of child care scenario sought after, so some of the questions overlap.   

An Extensive List of Pertinent Interview Questions for Finding the Best Nanny for Your Family

A good list of questions for interviewing a Child Care Provider 

In-Home Child Care Provider questionnaire and checklist

How to Interview a Daycare Provider

A variety of nanny agencies have done well because for a fee, they will take care of the criminal and personal background checks, references, pull up DMV records, and have the individual applying to be a nanny fill out a sea of paperwork indicating her (or his) experience with children, early child development training, her preferred work environment, what licensing and training she has in CPR, First Aid, Medication Administration Training…so parents don't have to do that part of the search.  (I say she, because the vast number of nannies I know are female, but I know there are some males who have also stepped up to the plate to devote themselves to providing excellent child care.)

  
The first two nanny positions I found out of college were through a local Christian nanny agency that took care of screening applicants and then passing a brief summary of their info and qualifications along to families in their database looking for an independent child care professional.  From there on out, it was up to me to decide with and for whom I wanted to work, the number of hours per week, terms, conditions, fees, etc. of the contract we agreed upon. 

  
I was impressed by how thorough the questioning, scanning, and screening process was on the agency’s side.  As I believe should be the case, those at the agency and the parents who hired them knew enough about how important it is to hire someone who is reliable, responsible, capable, hard-working, experienced with children and infant development, and basic safety that they wanted to make sure they asked the right questions and got the necessary answers. 

  
Of course, not every family can afford to pay a fee so someone else will do the proper screening and background checks, so that is often something that falls on the parents to take care of as part of their interviewing process.

The above links can help get you going in the right direction and may very well bring up some issues and concerns that might not have occurred to you.  Also, talking with friends who have found child care they're happy with and networking with other parents in your area can help you narrow down what it is that you're looking for and may help you figure out the best way of finding that person.

In a blog post that will appear in May 2016, I will explain and give links to specific agencies and websites that will tell you how child care providers in your area rate in terms of safety and quality of services provided.

"You have a new baby sister!"

     Those were the most joyful, awe-inspiring words I've heard on Halloween.  Our Family's Happiest Halloween Ever was when my youngest sister was born while my other sister and I were out trick-or-treating with friends of ours.  (My parents left for the hospital as we were getting ready, and my grandma was at our house in anticipation.)
     I think it's pretty funny that this was the song that was blaring from my friends' father's car stereo when he got the call on his car phone.  He turned it down long enough to tell us the joyful news: "You have a new baby sister!"  We were very excited.
     It is still hard for me to believe that the little girl I've loved and watched grow into a beautiful woman is in her Senior year of college now.  I can't say it seems like only yesterday that I was giving her rides places when she was in high school, but I do have some fond memories of Driving Miss Daisy.
     Along with the story about Theresa's birthday, there's a picture of us on Halloween when she was still in high school and had requested that we dress up as Disney characters for her birthday.  I dressed as Mulan and she's Tinkerbell.
     Theresa, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and that this next year of your life is filled to overflowing with joy, blessings, and amazing memories too numerous to count. You are dearly loved!

What got you involved in Respect Life ministry?

         

    

The shortest answer to that question for me is: my parents.  

     
The following appeared this weekend on an insert in our church bulletin.  The piece was written by Ann Niermeyer, grandmother, mother, respect life advocate, and local 40 Days for Life leader (aka my mom). It is a very good explanation of some of the biggest reasons why my husband and I are also involved.      

Father Dan asked me, “What got you involved in Respect Life ministry?” – specifically working with 40 Days for Life and with pregnancy help centers to support new mothers and fathers.

     
My call to ministry was a gradual process, but I think my involvement stems from my own experience as an expectant mother. I was so happy when I learned I was pregnant, and having a baby was one of the greatest joys of my life. My husband was even more excited. He loved children so much, and he couldn’t wait for us to be parents.

My memories of those years are filled with baby showers and cute little clothes, peaceful nights rocking and nursing, reading and singing to my babies. Each one was such a cherished blessing to our family. So my heart goes out to mothers who do not experience that. I find it so difficult to imagine how it would be to face a pregnancy with so much fear and hopelessness – all alone, scared, and feeling like there was no one there for me, so terrified that I saw no other choice but to have my child aborted. And then the days and the years that follow that painful decision  -  and the hurt.

Finally, when I learned about the sheer numbers of abortions – they overwhelmed me. Over a million each year in our country alone – 5,000 a year in my city of Richmond, Virginia. All I could think of to do was to pray. So I joined with others who pray for an end to abortion. And praying led me to discover that the first person transformed by those prayers – was me! God changed my heart first, and then encouraged me to remain and pray that others would have a change of heart, too.

I invite you to join us in praying these 40 Days for Life – pray for a change of heart, pray for our healing from abortion, and pray for an end to abortion. Thank you.

Imagine!  Anticipating the birth of a child with excitement and joy....  How sad that the attitude conveyed much too often in our society today is negative.  Our society seems to spend more energy in trying to avoid pregnancies than in celebrating them.  Indeed pregnancy is often treated as an “illness” to be avoided and for which the only “cure” is abortion.  This is the attitude surrounding our young people today. 
                                   We owe them better...join in the prayer!  – Fr. Dan

Abortion is the leading cause of death in the United States.   Prayer is the cure.   Save lives.

40 Days for Life is happening NOW around the world.

Find the prayer vigil location nearest you.

Children Shouldn’t Be Crash Test Dummies (My Nanny Diary)

Children by their very nature will manage to get themselves into a dizzying number of dangerous situations of their own concocting, so it’s best not to give them an easy way into trouble and becoming another statistic or sad story in a “What to Expect When You Don’t Childproof Your House” type series of books—as it will take several volumes to document and describe all of the illnesses, injuries, accidents, including but not limited to: gaping head wounds, cuts requiring stitches, burns, poisoning, a sudden supposedly accidental loss of limb, and/or other households little shop of horrors tales from beyond the crib and the crypt. 

Childproofing 101: The Rule of Thumbs

For the safety and well-being of children, it’s absolutely necessary to be proactive about childproofing and safety concerns.  The worst way to find out something should have been done is after someone is seriously injured because it wasn’t.  There are so many different basic childproofing things that need to be done, and they vary from one house to the next.  What's more, the basic baby and childproofing needs for your little one can be much more extensive than the lists of some other mothers.  This is by no means a complete or exhaustive list.  It's merely a jumping off point (pun intended) like everything that's in your house will become if it hasn't already.    

Before your child can roll over, install plug covers on any outlets at floor level in rooms where you will let them play.  You will be amazed at how quickly they can get from one part of the room to another when they get on a roll (literally).

Put gates at the top and bottom of staircases once your child can roll, but way before he or she is crawling.  It will help you preserve whatever sanity you have left when they become more mobile and will boldly explore in all directions. 

Any heavy furniture, shelves, etc. that may tip over should be tethered to the wall.  You can be certain that when climbing capable your child will try to get something out of reach by scaling whatever they need to in order to reach new heights. 

If there are more children than there are adults the majority of the time, then there needs to be two to three times more childproofing done, and/or your place will need to be up to Department of Social Services Standards for Child Care Centers if you intend to make it through the baby and preschool years with a below-average number of trips to the pediatrician's office and/or emergency room.

If an older sibling does it, their younger siblings will learn from them possibly/probably sooner than the first child learned it and do it as often as they can if they receive a high level of alarm from parents or caregivers.  This factor is multiplied with twins and multiples.  What was okay when you just had one little one running around is NOT necessarily safe when you have two or three young ones.

A funny-in-retrospect true story to prove toddlers are smarter than you think, so watch out!

When one of “my little guys,” who resembled a little old man when he was using his walker/push toy, shuffled up to the huge wooden door and pushed on it with his toy, presumably to see if he could get it to open.  I laughed and jokingly said to him that, “maybe if you got a running start…”  That was my first mistake.  I underestimated the kid, who I knew could understand what I was saying.

He was young enough I didn’t think he’d take what I said to heart and have the reasoning power to execute it, especially on a huge, heavy nine feet tall door built in the 1800s.  Wrong again.  He looked right up at me when I said that, then looked over at the closed door.  I always kept this particular door closed once the boys were mobile if I was the only adult present.  This was my sturdiest back-up so as to keep the two toddlers from gallivanting about the dining room, living room, front entryway, and downstairs bathroom, as well as the really big main staircase, none of which were fully childproof.  

 
This cutie backed up from the door a bit further than he had been before, and the little skunk moved as quickly as he could in jeans that were a tad big for him and a somewhat unwieldy walker back over to the door and rammed it even harder this time.  I was initially amused at his cleverness and persistence until the huge, heavy door opened. 

     
The important lesson learned here is that if you’re going to give a kid some pointers, even jokingly, thinking he won’t listen or use them, that’s when he’s most likely to awe and distress you with his cleverness and comprehension.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 101)

                                                                                 

                                               

-1-

Happy Mother’s Day!  I’ll be praying extra for mothers and “other mothers” this weekend.  I’m grateful to my mother for so much and admire her quite a bit, even if I’m not as good about thanking her specifically for being present, sharing her passion for the faith, the pro-life movement, reading, but I truly appreciate who she is and how she’s loved my sisters, family, friends, and me as unconditionally as possible. 

     This will be my mom’s first Mother’s Day since her own mother passed away in January.  I’ll also be remembering friends who have recently lost their mothers and will be more aware of their absence this weekend. 

-2-

Sooooo Big! This will be my sister’s first Mother’s Day with a big beautiful baby boy in her arms.  Ezra, at a mere 2 months old is already in the 100^th percentile for height at 25.5 in. and the 99 percentile for weight at a whopping 16.5 lbs! 

                                                                                                 

-3-

Tangled All three girls are fascinated by shoes.  The twins enjoy chewing on them and playing with the laces.  Vivi has, of course, already graduated to putting on shoes that are much too big for her and walking around in them pretending she’s Mommy, Daddy, or me.  Lately Vivi’s made it a habit to “tie” my shoelaces when I’ve taken my shoes off.  Her “tying” has become more complicated.  It actually took me a couple minutes yesterday to undo what she did so I could put my shoes on, tie them the more traditional way, so I could go outside and take the cover off of the sandbox for her.     

-4-

Same Silliness, Different Day Vivi and her sisters love playing with blankets, one in particular that’s in their living room is often made into a hiding place, a makeshift tent, a blanket, a beach towel, etc.  Sophie’s been putting a blanket over her head, then turning around and flailing her arms until it’s no longer covering her face.  Once she’s free, she starts the process over with as much gusto as the first time she did it.

-5-

Context Clues "Mickey Mouse got ripped,” Vivi said.  I laughed thinking of this in terms of bodybuilding and how he’d become Mighty Mouse, though I know she was just stating a fact about the sticker she’d just put upside down on the page then tried to remove.

-6-

Wishin’ and Hopin’ There are a number of books I read that I don’t have to write reviews for and devour in between reading and writing about other books.  One of these such reads I picked up at Goodwill when I did my spring/summer shopping a few weeks ago.  I was thoroughly amused by Wishin’ and Hopin’ a novel by Wally Lamb.  The narrator is a 10-year-old fifth grade boy at a Catholic school in 1964.  The thoughts and observations of this kid are priceless and wildly entertaining.  I’m certain that my dad and his brothers pulled some of the same tricks on the nuns who ran the grammar school they attended as students in this class do.  I was not only laughing out loud, I was reading parts of it to Kevin and telling friends about it, too
     

-7-

Mixed Tapes  Kevin and I were watching a movie this week in which the friends and couples would exchange mixed tapes they’d made for each other.  This brought back memories of when I was in my last year of high school and college when Kevin and I would make mixed tapes for each other.  Kevin had a recording studio, high quality equipment, and a large music collection.  I had a light pink Panasonic boombox with a recording feature on it.  I did the best I could to record songs from the radio, other tapes, etc. on the tape I made for Kevin, but it came out more like a ransom tape in that the cutting, pasting, differing volumes, and styles were rather shocking.  The best part, which Kevin and I still laugh about, is the time when he was listening to the first mixed tape I made him, and he practically fell off the loveseat, because one song was so much louder than the one before. 

     This week I’ve been listening to one of the 1432 CDs Kevin made for me while we were still dating.  Good times.

                  

Check out Jen Fulwiler’s tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday at her tremendously popular blog Conversion Diary. 

Curtain Calls and Lights Out (My Nanny Diary)

 Bop Until You Drop

Lately, Vivi has often requested I play “Bop Until You Drop” song for us to sing and dance to.  Her sisters get into it as well.  They bounce dance to the music and find it thoroughly amusing when Vivi and I dance around, then suddenly drop to the ground. 

    
I couldn’t help but smile this week when the girls were playing with two of the Boppy pillows (typically used for nursing and later for propping babies up into a sitting position) while we were listening to “Bop Until You Drop.” 

    
All three girls love music and dancing.  Sophie tilts her head from side to side when she hears even the slightest hint of a melody.  It cracks me up when she really gets into it because she looks like she’s imitating the motions of Stevie Wonder.  What’s even funnier is when she is bee-bopping around and moving her head so much she tips over.

Curtain Calls 

In the past couple weeks, I’ve had some new experiences with household items and persistent, curious kids.  Vivi had her first "curtain call" the other day during her nap/rest time.  Clearly she was opting not to nap or rest.  I often hear her making noise in her room when she’s decided she’d rather play than rest, so I wasn’t alarmed when I heard her moving around. 

    
A number of times she’s removed all of her pillows, bedding, cuddly stuffed animals, books, (basically everything but the fitted sheet on her bed) to the floor or, on a couple different occasions, into her closet.  The first time she moved everything into her closet during naptime, I opened the door and had a brief moment of panic when I didn’t see her or any of her bedding.  I then remembered she has a closet she can get into.  I opened the door and there she lay sound asleep on top of her pillows, blankets, and furry friends. 

    
When I walked into her room the other day, of course, the first thing I noticed was that the purple drapes and the rod were on the floor.  I was not pleased, but I at least had the peace of mind to ask her if she’d gotten hurt when they came down and save the “we don’t pull on the curtains” talk for later.  She said the “candy cane” (aka curtain rod) hit the top of her head.

Lights Out

Livie’s walking around quite nimbly for a little squirt who’s only 10.5 months old.  Sophie was very determined to practice freestanding the other day.  She’s working on her balance and aspiring to be careening around the living room soon and very soon.  There are plenty of things for the girls to pull up on and play with, but they naturally are most interested in getting into areas and items that aren’t suitable for them to use at all and/or bang up on.  Sophie swiftly pulled the floor lamp down on herself last week.  Fortunately, it only got her leg, and Livie was far enough back, it didn’t knock her lights out, either.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 92)

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Our Newborn Nephew I'm being patient. Guess I'll have to wait until this weekend to meet Ezra Lewis, our newborn nephew. After 36 hours of labor and still not having slept at all Wednesday night, Mary and Jordan haven’t been up for visitors. They just want to sleep in their own bed. Hopefully, Ezra is tired from the move as well and will join them in a much-needed snooze.

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Cardinals & the Conclave It’s a beautiful thing that the cardinals know enough about this process and its importance that they didn’t even mention setting a date for the conclave, yet.  If you would like an accurate report of what’s going on, who’s saying what, and how the process works, then be wise and check out a credible source for Catholic news.

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Help Save Aquinas and More Since February of 2010 one of the awesome companies for whom I have been writing and posting my reviews of their books, movies, and music is Aquinas and More.  If you go to their Tiber River review site, you’ll see Top Reviewers, and I’m one of them.  There are many reasons I have written and posted 52 reviews for this company over the past three years.  Here are a few more reasons to help save their company from closing: they’re the only Catholic company that 1.)  has registries for seminarians and military chaplains 2.)  Our Good Faith guarantee  3.)    No products from China 4.) Get Imprimatur information on books offered on their website.

  

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Creative Writing for Kids Monday I subbed at school in a 1-3 grad Montessori classroom, and since the teacher knows me and has asked me to come in for her before, she gave me free reign to do some fun creative writing with the kids in the afternoon.  I had them pretend that someone had asked them to write a mystery chapter book.  I had them each answer a series of questions and thereby create their main character, main conflict, setting, and point-of-view, then start writing.  It was really fun to see the kids so excited about what they came up with and eager to share with others their ideas.  Their teacher asked me if I’d like to come back and do some more creative writing with them.  Of course, I’d love to!

-5-

Just Visiting This Tuesday, our dear friend Laura, was taking care of the girls for the first full day, so I stopped by to visit.  It’s always so nice for me and the girls when we have visitors, all of whom love seeing the three cuties (of course), so I thought it’d be fun to swing by and say hi.  I ended up staying for an hour or so holding the twins, answering questions, and listening to what’s going on in my friend’s life. 
     It’s so easy to forget how much fun it can be to stop in and laugh, giggle, love on some little ones without having the larger responsibility of mealtimes, playtime, naptime, learning basic manners, gross and fine motor skills, potty training/diaper changing management to oversee.
     No wonder Kevin, Laura, and others have such a blast when they come over.  Pure cuteness, love, laughter, and none of the responsibility.  It can be a refreshing change and good way to see things from another angle. 
     I suggest parents not only have a date night, but that they also have some strictly fun, and (whenever possible) one-on-one playtime with each of their kids during the week.  We don’t forget how to enjoy and fall in love all over again with our spouse or our kids!          

-6-

What about…? I’ve gotten to ask a number of seemingly random questions, do some interesting research, and have some amusing exchanges with close friends via text and e-mail as I’m gathering bits and pieces for some of the scenes I’m working on for a young adult novel.  I had to laugh when I realized that the best person to ask about pranks would have been my dad (and his brothers).  I asked my mom, instead, since she knew a bunch of the ones he and his roommates pulled while in college.  If you’ve got any good ones that don’t involve causing permanent damage to property or serious physical harm to others, please let me know.      
     

-7-

Step Up Revolution Since I was young, I’ve loved dancing and watching amazing dancers perform.  After watching some of the clips of this movie online, I knew that Step Up Revolution would be a really mind-blowing blend of different types of modern dance. It is that indeed! It’s rated PG-13 for good reason.  This isn’t something to watch with young kids, but if you like dance, then you will absolutely love how creative, innovative, and explosive this choreography is.  Here’s the finale which is off-the-chain:

Check out Jen Fulwiler’s tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday at her tremendously popular blog Conversion Diary.

My Not So-Little Newborn Nephew

I'm being patient. Guess I'll have to wait until this weekend to meet Ezra, our newborn nephew. After 36 hours of labor and still not having slept at all, Mary and Jordan aren't ready for visitors. They just want to sleep in their own bed. Hopefully, Ezra is tired from the move as well and will join them in a much-needed snooze.  

   
My sister Mary and her husband Jordan had their baby yesterday.  Their first child (who they didn’t know was a boy until the actual birth) has been named Ezra.  The not-so-little one was born Wednesday, March 6, 2013, at 12:12pm weighing it at a whopping 10lbs 13oz. and measuring 22in. long. 

    
Baby, mommy, and daddy are doing well, though all of them are way beyond exhausted.  My mom got to hold her first grandchild last night (in case you didn’t hear the sheer delight exuding from downtown), which she’s been looking forward to eagerly ever since she found out they were expecting.  Of course, she says he’s “cute as a button.”

    
It feels very, very strange to have my younger sister and her husband be the first to have children, but apparently I did something right that has helped prepare my mom to be a grandparent to a little boy. 

    
When I nannied for “my two little guys,” they were unofficially adopted into our family.  My mom, who they referred to as “MissAnn” or “TrishaMommy” both said all as one word, was a frequent visitor and someone we went to see regularly.  At one of boys’ homes was walking distance from the Pastoral Center offices, so I’d often pack the boys up with snacks, milk, and such, and we’d walk over to the VCU area and visit my mom who worked in one of the row houses near Monroe Park. 

Seeing how absolutely adorable the boys were, hanging out with us, hearing stories about them, and looking at the pictures I’d taken, my mom readily became their “grandnanny” so to speak.  She had a photo of each of them up on her desk at work, and she’d talk about them with friends, taking the opportunity to introduce me and “the boys” to anyone and everyone. 

    
My mom told me today that she’s grateful I nannied for the boys or she wouldn’t have such wonderful experiences being around baby boys to go on before Ezra was born.  Having raised three girls, she might have felt like she was unprepared for the joys of boys if it weren’t for her first two non-related grandcuties.

Already an Aunt & a Great-Aunt!

   
When Kevin and I married, I immediately became an aunt to his siblings' children, and in the past eight years, we’ve become a great uncle and great aunt.  My husband’s Goddaughter, and her husband who own a neat jewelry shop in upstate New York have two children.

    
I’m excited that now I’ll get the opportunity that Kevin had for many years before we met of watching his seven nieces and nephews grow up.  Obviously, this is the first time one of my siblings has had a baby.  We’re looking forward to being an aunt and uncle to a newborn nephew who lives in town!    

Lessons in Empathy (My Nanny Diary)

Because I've had lots of experience taking care of children of all ages, I sometimes think that I shouldn't become impatient, tired, exasperated…because I know what to expect, to some extent, and I don’t have the responsibility of raising the kids from conception to age 18.  I do feel a very strong sense of responsibility being the adult in charge of such precious, dependent, lovable, vulnerable, and impressionable people.  I can’t think of many more important vocations than being a nurturing, loving parent and/or caregiver.       

    
I know that moms and dads often feel worn out, even knowing what to expect, but I think I tend to get in trouble by falling into thinking that because I'm taking care of the kids for a designated amount of time in a day, instead of being responsible for them 24/7 like their parents, that I somehow shouldn't experience any of the same negative emotions, challenges, and such when faced with the natural struggles that ensue with teething infants and tantrum-prone toddlers.  Upon closer examination, the notion is quite ridiculous that anyone would be able to endure such situations and circumstances at length without feeling the least bit worn out, tired, confused, exasperated, and/or stressed.   

    
It doesn't really make sense to think that any job will be without conflicts or crises.  There will always be trials and days that are more problematic than others.  Ultimately, I know that beating myself up for not being Mary Poppins isn't going to help the situation or make me more relaxed.  I do know that it’s utterly impossible to put everything I’ve read and learned about children over the years into practice every minute of every day, so at least I’ve gotten that particular lesson through my head and have removed it from my unwritten childcare goals. 

A really big problem is that I tend to discount the fact that, although we don't have children of our own, we do have an awful lot going on in our lives outside of work that requires a great deal of time, energy, work, and such that isn't necessarily part of other people's lives. 

    
We each have our own crosses, challenges, and difficulties in life, and saying ours are worse than someone else's instead of just being different (while likely trying in other ways) doesn't seem to be wise or very compassionate. We rarely, if ever, know all of the factors contributing to someone's suffering, so who are we to say ours is more significant or deeper? There is something to be said about being grateful for what we're given as well as for the things we don't have to deal with, but that can be done without making light of another person's pain, be it in mind, body, or spirit. 

    
Lord, help us be compassionate to all we meet.  We often have no idea of the crosses they are carrying, the attention, love, affection, understanding or the healing they are in need of.  Open our eyes and our hearts this Lent so we are aware of the suffering around us and are willing to let You work in and through us to alleviate it.  Amen.

Advent: What are we waiting for?

In pondering the purpose of Advent, to prepare our hearts to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, I’m glad we have a designated period of time in which we’re invited to delve back into the mystery of the Incarnation, the devotion and grace of Mary’s yes and Joseph’s, too. 

    
Participating in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass, setting extra time aside for quiet reflection and prayer, and meditating on the miracle of Christ being sent among us have remained the essential ingredients in my Advent preparation.

    
Another blessing that strikes my heart on a deeper level than is easy for me to describe adequately in words is holding a baby at this time of year.  It never ceases to stoke my sense of awe and amazement that the Lord would humble Himself in order to become the most vulnerable among us.  An infant is completely dependent on others for everything.  They are love and innocence itself.  It boggles my mind that the Lord would give us the gift of free will and let us exercise it in all areas of our lives. 

    
One of the aspects of Advent that I really appreciate is that there is so much love, trust, and mystery.    

     Seven Suggestions (and corresponding posts) for a Successful Advent:

1.      Stay Awake 

2.      Seek Him Who Seeks You 

3.      Hold on to Hope 

4.      Celebrate the Season 

5.      Rejoice and be Glad! 

6.      Give the Gift of Quality Time 

7.      Wait Patiently 

Blessings Out of the Blue (& Photos too!)

Friday Evening

Carl and Jess invited us over for pizza at their place.  This was definitely a blessing for numerous reasons.  It gave me a time that I’d have to finish working at my mom’s to be somewhere else, solved the what to have for dinner dilemma, and, best of all, gave us an opportunity to spend some down time with five of our favorite people (Carl, Jess, and their three young girls, whom I have the privilege of nannying three days a week).  We had an enjoyable evening, which included watching an episode of the Dinosaurs TV show on the Terrible Twos.  We used to love watching that show with my dad.  He found it hilarious, especially the part where their infant always refers to his father as “Not-the-Mama.”     

Friday Night

Kevin and I went to pick-up ice cream from our dear beloved brother’s favorite place, Gelati Celesti’s before we went over to the house to see him and his friend James.  John and his friend came to Richmond for a whirlwind (less than 24 hours in town) trip from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, to serve at the special Mass when nineteen men in our diocese were ordained as permanent deacons.  It was great to see John in person for the first time in two months. 

Saturday Evening

We went over to see Purity, the woman our friend James connected us with over a year ago because he knew about our involvement in 40 Days for Life.  She came to town this past weekend with her nearly one-year-old son Nathan and her mom (who’s been here from Kenya for a few months) to visit family and friends.  Sunday morning, we met Purity, Nate, and Esther for breakfast.  Of course, we had to get a few pictures. 

     
Purity’s mom has to go back to Kenya Oct. 22, and she won’t be taking Nate with her as was originally planned.  I can completely understand how Purity can’t bear to part with her son for an indeterminate amount of time while she saves up money working at her job here. 

The great news is Purity has moved closer to where she works, now has a full-time job working a normal five days a week schedule.  She’s found affordable childcare nearby.  She and Nate look like they’re doing great.  Visiting with them reminded me that we never know how God might work in and through us when we’re willing to be vessels of His love. 

     
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we gathered at my mom’s house for Purity’s baby shower, which was a really fun party with plenty of Kenyan food, company, and traditions.  It was definitely a joy-filled occasion, blessed with love and reinforced with prayer.    

Sunday Afternoon 

One of my Christ Renews His Parish sisters had us over to her home for a delicious lunch and a discussion of the book Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo.  I hadn’t seen Leslie, the hostess in several months, and brightened just to see her warm smile again.  We sat out on their back deck eating soup and catching up.  We watched a show that Leslie had recorded in which Colton Burpo, the boy who went to Heaven when he was extremely ill earlier in his life, appeared with his parents for an interview.  Two other guests on the same show were an orthopedic doctor who had a near-death experience that completely transformed her from being a lukewarm Christian to a true prayer warrior.  The third guest was the now teenage girl who painted the picture of Jesus that Colton Burpo said looks like the Christ he saw in Heaven. 

     I stayed for a little while after everyone else left, sensing Leslie wanted company.  We sat on the front porch and talked.  It reminded me that it’s been almost three years since the two of us paired off to go on our Emmaus Walk when we made our Christ Renews His Parish weekend. 

Sunday Evening

Kevin and I usually go to 5:30pm Mass on Sundays and reserve most, if not all, of a row when we get there.  Carl, Jess, Vivi, Livi, and Sophie usually sit with us, and we want to make sure there’s room for everyone.  It means a great deal to me to sit with loved ones we know well at Mass.  It’s even better when some of those loved ones happen to be irresistibly cute and cuddly.  As she often does, Vivi spent much of Mass on my lap or in my arms.  She gave me lots and lots of her spontaneous hugs, the little snuggle bug.  She did a modified version of running from across the room into my arms, by opening her arms and mouth wide, then gripping me in a tight hug.  Very cute!  . 

I finally couldn't help but burst into tears when Kevin took Vivi's hand when he walked up for Communion.  Seeing them holding hands pierced my heart as I will probably never get to see my husband hand-in-hand with a child of our own.
After Mass: Gwen and Laura, two very loving, caring people came over and gave me great big hugs!
     Lord, thank You for the many loved ones You have brought into our lives who bring joy, laughter, and hope.  Help us to be an encouraging, warm, supportive presence to others, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, when sowing in tears and harvesting while rejoicing.  Amen.