John

Our good family friend, John, passed away Friday evening.  We were supposed to have some folks out for dinner but when asked if I'd sit with John so his son and wife could have a short break after weeks of caring for John through some pretty intense moments I cancelled our plans, knowing it could be one of the last times I was able to spend time with John.  I was enjoying the quiet, able to read without interruption, when I decided to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  Choosing holiness isn't something that comes naturally to me and embarrassingly, I don't know the Chaplet well, so I first had to download an app.  Shortly after finishing the Chaplet, John's breathing changed so I did a few things to comfort him, then knelt by his bed and held his hand and prayed, at first silently, then aloud as it quickly became apparent these were his last breaths.  

While it was not what I'd have chosen to do on a Friday night, I feel so incredibly privileged to have been a part of such an intimate moment in a loved one's life.  I pray that John is now dancing with his bride, Mary.  He was so looking forward to seeing his beloved wife once again.  

John, you will be missed!  Every time I have a glass of wine, I'll remember you!

College Search #2

After Michaela decided to attend college at Carroll I breathed a sigh of relief.  There were a lot of benefits ~ she'd still be at home (no emotional goodbyes), the school seemed to be striving towards a stronger Catholic identity, it was a good education, she would still be able to ski and ride horses and do the things she loved, etc.  After a couple months the bloom was off the rose in more ways than one. Then, Michaela headed to the SEEK Conference with her cousins.  Upon her return she kept stating that she wanted "more."  Shannon and I told her that if she wanted more, she needed to spend time in Adoration, asking for guidance in defining what "more" was.  Solidly.  Concretely.

So she did.  Then a few incidents happened at school that compelled her to reach deeper, search further.  Her mother, being lazy and knowing the work transferring colleges would entail, laid down an ultimatum for God because He hadn't made it clear enough what His will was already.
"Write it on the wall, Lord.  You know how thick my head (and heart) are."

And so He did.

Michaela and I made several phone calls to a couple colleges that she had been considering prior to her earlier decision.  A couple weeks later we found ourselves bombing 90 mph eastward to visit University of Mary in Bismarck.  While not perfect, to see that there are faith-filled souls striving to live our Faith without apology filled my heart with joy.  Then, there is Benedictine College....just visiting with the transfer counselor there has been an edifying experience.  This truly-Catholic-college search is so enjoyable I actually want to keep calling around just to speak to the admissions departments.  Pathetic, I know.

A friend commented that it filled her with sorrow to know what Carroll could be doing to be a light in a darkening world, yet wasn't.  I absolutely agree with her.  However, I find the light and energy emanating from those schools that are willing to be a light in the darkness so encouraging.  It's much more encouraging than the disappointment and sadness that I feel for Carroll.  I simply pray that Carroll becomes a school that I want my kiddos to attend.
It could happen....and that would be exciting!

Meanwhile, we are praying that Michaela ends up where God wants her to be.  There is definitely a compelling interest in Kansas due to the fact that Steven is there, but we have discussed that that would not be a great reason to choose where to attend college.  I'm trusting the He will guide her decision this time and as long as she keeps leaning on God, He will make the path clear.

We stopped in Beach on our way to Bismarck ~

The water tower is one of my favorite memories of Grandma's house.

As a child, we spent Easter here at Grandma and Grandpa N's.  It was fun to show Michaela and Katherine the cemetery and where we walked down the seemingly endless, red, dirt roads, and where we'd hang over the fence to feed the horses, and St John's church (it's almost synonymous with the song Jesus Christ is Risen Today) and the tiny grocery store and the retaining walls we'd jump off much to Grandma's dismay, and of course the aforementioned water tower.  

Such good memories.

Once, Mom and Dad sent me with my two uncles from Helena to Beach.  The entire family was coming out a week or so later, but since the uncles were driving through earlier, I got to go with them.  Oh to be at Grandma's by myself ~ there was Dairy Queen and hanging out with Grandma and as many donuts as a girl could eat!  It was discovered that I didn't pack my swimsuit and Heaven knows a girl can't run through a sprinkler without a swimsuit, or so Grandma thought.  Into the car we piled to drive to Dickinson, which certainly wasn't a short drive especially in those days, to buy a swimsuit. I'm not sure how I lucked out in the grandparent department, but both sets treated us all as though we were their favorites......or maybe it was just me!  

University of Mary is outside of Bismarck, up on the bluffs above the Missouri River.

I thought it was pretty just for the record.

The buildings could use some improvement, 

but like Katherine said, "I'm not going to school for the architecture."

I loved the chapel ~ and the fact that they have a large chapel on campus.

Michaela was stoked that they had an indoor track, and it's open 24 hours a day.  

Like she'll run in the wee morning hours......ha!

Max thought the sunshine was magnificent ~

But froze in the pool ~

Bubbles and the hot tub were more up his alley.

Thanks for the trip, my daughters.  It was a fun little jaunt!

Lent

I find the season of Lent so incredibly peaceful.  That's not to say that our house is the picture of tranquility, but I find deep peace in allowing life to slow down ~ simple meals, more time devoted to prayer, purging my life of extra stuff that accumulates around me.  Shannon has joked that he's afraid that he may be tossed out some year during the great Lenten cleansing.  I do get a little aggressive at times, but that would certainly never happen.

As a family we give up sweets, then each of us chooses an extra sacrifice suited to our spiritual needs and growth at the moment.  This year we also included finding a saint to intercede for us, assisting us in our journey towards holiness.  Thank you, Father David and Maria , for inspiring us!

While Shannon and I were under the impression that almost every Catholic fasted during Lent, we've found this to be not so true.  While I'm certainly not criticizing others' choices, this recent realization forced me to think about the purpose of "giving up" something for Lent versus doing something more for God.

While in Costco recently, Nickles was making his case for the cookie sample offered, "Mom, I'm sure there's no sugar in those cookies."

In the middle of my explanation of why we were going to forego the cookie, a friend from church who was standing nearby interjected, "We don't give up sugar and those kind of things for Lent, otherwise all we do is obsess about what we cannot have."

While I was deeply appreciative of her insight, and totally know all about obsessing about a Snickers bar, Nickles certainly didn't need support for his argument.

This statement, this "adding something in" versus "giving something up," I pondered at length prior to Ash Wednesday.  After reading the Catechism as well as the Bible on fasting, I realized that we are all called to prayer AND fasting, AND almsgiving especially during the Lenten season.  As Shannon pointed out, we aren't simply giving something up for the sake of giving something up.  It is a fast. And a fast is different than simply trying to eliminate something from our lives because we think we should.  We are bending our will and uniting our human passions to those of Christ.  Will we fail and stuff an M&M in our mouth that we happened to discover while cleaning our son's closet?
More than likely!
But then we refocus and march on.  We shouldn't give up before we even try.

Is Lent a perfect opportunity to "add something in" for Christ?
Absolutely.
The "adding" is our prayer. The "giving up" is fasting.  And for almsgiving our family typically donates the money saved from what we fast from.  Donuts on Sunday, Arizonas for midday pick-me-ups, cold showers, meals....they all add up to a tidy little sum at the end of these 40 days.
Prayer, fasting, almsgiving ~ we are called to all three as difficult as that may be to do!
And as difficult as that is to explain to a five-year-old, that is what our family is striving for this Lent.

Our Crown of Thorns ~

We remove toothpicks as we make sacrifices.

Hopefully, the toothpicks will be gone by Easter.

        

 

February Funnies

The older boys were sitting around the table playing Apples to Apples with some new friends. The definition they had was "dirty."  Eric played his "lawyer" card, much to the other boys' dismay.

"Wait a minute! Our Dad is a lawyer and he's a good man!" 

I had some quick talking to do on that one.  Thankfully, their mother found it hilarious.  

While playing Trouble, Nickles informed me, "We're going youngest to oldest.  Me first."

Dom, Nickles and I were playing Chinese Checkers and Nickles was a running monologue. I kept trying to redirect him back to the game, but he was playing by his own rules.  He announced to no one in particular, "Mom just can't stand the sound of my voice." 

I hadn't expressed that, but he was incredibly intuitive that night!

Max's favorite place to play is the bathroom.

Yuck. 

Of course I swallowed my disgust to snap a couple pics. 

His siblings have discovered that if they stick something on Max's forehead, 

he'll wear it proudly til it falls off.  

This has included produce stickers, Easter egg stickers, floor protectors (from the bottom of a chair).....and the list goes on. 

My new friend ~ Captain America meets The Lone Ranger

I couldn't help sliding the Smirnoff into the picture.

Nickles' little friend doesn't find him nearly as hilarious as he thinks he is.

"Dude, you're downright weird."