7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 79)

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Catholic, Reluctantly is the intriguing first book in the John Paul 2 High Series.  Of the John Paul 2 High characters, some actually try to live out their Catholic faith while others are Catholic in name only.  The different personalities and varying levels of understanding the Catholic faith intellectually and spiritually create a considerable amount of tension and challenge those involved to figure out where they stand and why.  The highly controversial struggle over whether it’s most important to keep the letter of the law and/or to live by the spirit of the law comes out in a slew of tricky circumstances…Read full review.

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Prayers Please There are a number of people who have been on my heart and therefore in my prayers this week.  I ask that you would join me in praying for (Emeritus) Bishop Walter Sullivan who has been diagnosed with cancer and has gone into hospice care, a single mom with no family in this country who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, a friend who lost her husband last year and in a couple weeks will be helping to put on a Rachel's Vineyard retreat for the first time without her beloved spouse.  I'ts also been on my mind and in prayer often that God will be close to those who are mourning the loss of loved ones, especially around the holidays.  

           

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Captian Vivi to the Rescue!  Thursday, Vivi informed me that we needed to “go rescue Princess Mommy in Trisha's car." I let Jess know, and she didn't seem to be in harm's way. I love when kids use their imaginations (as long as Vivi doesn't actually head out the door without adult supervision while wearing only a short sleeve shirt, a pull-up, shoes on the wrong feet and carrying her purse with the little monkeys on it.)

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For Faith & My Babe  This week I'm grateful for faith that remains no matter how down things get or hopeless they feel, and for a husband who manages to love me despite how selfish and gloomy I can be at times. I pray for all who don't know God is always with them and loves them unconditionally no matter what.

  

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Visits with Grandma Kevin and I went to visit Grandma and take her outside on such a beautiful Tuesday. Since I still have the scar from my last adventure with Gram when Mom was out-of-town, I wisely waited for my husband to help me with the ridiculously heavy, strangely-rigged wheelchair this time.  For the record, if I ever live long enough to be in a nursing home, I hope that I’m as appreciative as my grandmother is for visitors.  I know she misses my mom, who’s been in Australia for the past couple weeks, but she thanked me every single day for coming to spend time with her in between asking me when I thought Mom might be coming back.       

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Don’t Dump Grandma! When I attempted to take Gram outside on my own and we hit a pothole of sorts on the pathway out the main entrance, she slipped out of her wheelchair.  I was horrified then and for the rest of the evening, even though she had so much padding on her heavy recliner-like wheelchair that the extra padding slid down to the ground before she reached it.  She wasn’t hurt (not even a scratch on her) or even alarmed.  She just told me matter-of-factly that she thought she’d need help getting back up.  When Mother Paul came out to check on things, Gram also calmly told her she thought she would need help getting back up.  I loved Mother Paul’s response: “Ya think?!”  I felt awful and was a wreck from the time I left Gram pretty much for the rest of that night, but fortunately Gram was perfectly fine.

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Advent: What are we waiting for? Here is a great short video on the true meaning of Advent set to a cool beat along with seven solutions for a successful Advent. 

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

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 26)

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Why the New Missal Will Be Good for the Mass by Fr. Robert Barron is a very beautiful description of the reasons for the changes in the translation of the Roman Missal and examples of how much this more poetic version will add to the heartfelt prayers of the Mass.  Such huge changes can seem daunting, but I believe Fr. Barron is absolutely right: this is a richer translation of the Latin that will make us more attentive to what we're praying, and that the best approach is to accept this as a positive change.

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There will be no turkey. Kevin and I have missed out on three Thanksgiving meals in the past 5 days because we've got the stupid virus going around. We had crackers and Sprite/Ginger Ale as our main Thanksgiving meal. Even with that, this still wasn't by any means at all the worst Thanksgiving I've ever had (which is a clear indication that our family has had some pretty horrendous Turkey Days over the years).

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She really loves me!  My mom brought me a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch today while I’m nannying.  I still haven’t had turkey, since Kevin and I don’t eat meat on Fridays, but the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots were yummy!  What’s more, I have a slice of Mom’s homemade apple pie waiting for me.   

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Take it outside.  This morning after a few rounds of screaming, wriggling, wailing, I managed to get Vivi and her teething, congested little self dressed, so we could go outside for a bit.  It’s amazing how some fresh air and sunshine, a change of scenery, and plenty to look at will change a grumpy, crabby cutie into a serene, riding in my stroller, waving to the doggies babe.     

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Double wide. That’s how we rolled.  When taking care of my two little guys, I got in the habit of taking them on a walk in the morning.  I’d put them in the double stroller, bring water and Cheerios or goldfish crackers, and we’d head out.  I usually took them down the alley and up a few blocks to one of the main streets.  I’d point out the different animals, flowers, trees, and things we saw on the way.  They got to the point where they’d tell me just before they could see what was next that they knew what was right around the corner. 

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Bells ring! Two Songs!  Before we reached the church near Hank’s street, JG would point up at the bell tower and say: “Bells ring! Two songs!” since I’d told them that at noon and at 6pm the bells not only ring, but they also play two songs.  That tidbit of info really stuck in the day my husband came over and we all were looking at his watch counting down to when the bells would start to ring. 

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Reconnecting with old friends.  Last Wednesday, Holly, my best friend from high school, called and asked if I wanted to go out for lunch.  We met up at Arby’s to grab a bite to eat and catch up.  She wished me a happy birthday, as we hadn’t seen each other since my birthday.  I did the same, as I don’t think we’ve seen each other since her birthday at the end of August.  It’s nice that no matter how long you’ve been apart and how far away you’ve lived, that you can still pick up right where you left off.  Wow!  The two of us have been through quite a lot together!  Thanks God for old friends who know us well, and love us anyway.  

Check out Jennifer Fulwiler’s 7 Quick Takes Friday.

It’s a Jungle Out There!

Today a parent whose child was in my Nature Camp last week told me this morning that her daughter’s friend, also in my camp, had informed his parents he’d gone on the school bus to a jungle with my class.  Of course, the mother was a bit disconcerted to hear this, since nothing had ever been mentioned about an off-campus field trip anywhere, certainly not to a jungle. 

     
I laughed and said he had quite an imagination.  I assured her we didn’t go on a spur-of-the-moment, no-permission-slips-needed trip to the jungle.  We did, however, talk about different animals who live in the jungle, because some of the children’s foam visors to color with markers had a jungle theme. 

     
We explored nature around campus and in the classroom, but we didn’t exactly go on safari.  What’s even funnier is that, though I checked out a number of books from our school library, I didn’t end up reading a single one of Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus books I got during last week’s camp. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus series, where the class always goes on exotic field trips, and they get there by their transformer-like school bus which can morph into all sorts of cool things.  Ms. Frizzle, the teacher in the book, always has really strange outfits and seems oblivious to the fact that the excursions she takes her students on are a bit out of the ordinary. 

     
The series of books is great as a fun educational tool.  I could understand a child perhaps getting a bit confused if we read one of The Magic School Bus books and pretended to go to the jungle, but that’s quite a jump from a foam visor with a monkey, an elephant, a snake and some plants on it.  (Maybe he’ll join me for creative writing club in a few years.) 

     
Perhaps I should send home a disclaimer on the letters to parents about what we did at camp during the week.  Maybe I need to emphasize that we didn’t go on any exotic, unannounced field trips: not to visit the jungle, nor the Eiffel Tour, nor the zoo. 

     
My camp this week is called Trip to France, though no parents have brought in their child’s passport and suitcase, so I think we’re good.    

Disclaimer: Your child will, at no time while under our supervision, be leaving the school campus, the state of Virginia, or the United States of America without your expressed written permission, required stuffed animals, and a current passport.