Quick Takes Volume 70

~1~

Remember the foot problem I had over a year ago?  Well, I stupidly plopped down on my foot with my leg bent under me about two weeks ago.  A few days later I started having problems with my hip and my foot.  I came to the conclusion that my hip, which has been bothering me since I was pregnant with Katie was the culprit.  So now I'm seeing a chiropractor for my hip.  I was convinced last time around that my hip had nothing to do with my foot pain but now I think otherwise.  Within a day or two of my hip hurting me my foot and different areas of my leg were having issues.  My hip joint feels like I have a huge rubber band around it.  

~2~

The kids have a nice long weekend for Memorial Day.  Madeline is off today and Monday and Ellie is off today, Monday and Tuesday.  My parents came up this morning and took the girls back to their place for the night.  They've been wanting to take Madeline and Ellie for the night for a few months but our schedule has been so jam packed that there was never a good time.  Oh and my mom brought me some flowers from her garden.  Aren't they pretty?  

~3~

Did you see that Pope Francis wants us to be annoying?  Man, I've got that in the bag!  Ask my brothers, ask my parents, ask Bryan.  Of course, being an annoying Catholic could take a bit more skill, and I'm not talking about being the person who says the prayers three words ahead of everyone else at Mass...someone in my parish already has that job.  If you're not sure how to be an annoying Catholic in a good way, take a peek at this awesome article that tells you how to become annoying in eight easy steps.

~4~

Bryan sent me this picture because it amused him.  I took a look at it and told him that I think most kids wouldn't get what this says.  I just asked Madeline if she knew what this was and she had no clue.  Her best guess what it's a guy who's name begins with an E.  Guess this is one for us old folks.

~5~

 

They're shaking things up at our parish again.  One of our favorite priests has just been reassigned to a nearby parish.  I'm disappointed.  I've got a bit of a priest phobia and he was the only priest I've ever felt completely at ease around.  We're going to miss him.

~6~

A few days ago I was trying to take care of some VBS stuff on my laptop while Katie played.  She was being really quiet which any mom knows is not a good thing when you're talking about little ones.  So I called her and she comes over to me munching on a tortilla shell.  Where'd she get it?  Oh, it was in the trash.  Awesome, right?  I gave her a new one that wasn't in the trash so I could put the one she was eating back in the trash.  She was still eating it when we got to the parish office a few minutes later.  Let me just tell you they thought the story of my George Costanza wannabe was hilarious.  My deacon friend told me it would have made a great picture for Catholic Charities.   I'm glad they were all amused.  So yesterday I caught her up on the kitchen table scavenging for food again.  This time she was picking sesame seeds off the table from the previous nights dinner.  Sigh.

~7~

My sister-in-law sent us some new ultrasound pictures of our niece or nephew who's due this Christmas.  Bryan decided to draw a stick figure on the baby.  When he first drew the picture the baby was backwards, but I didn't realize that he did it.  I thought my sister-in-law had texted us another picture so I was marveling over how cute it was that her doctor's office draws a stick figure over the baby.  Bryan thought it was hilarious that I didn't realize that he did it.  So he flipped the stick figure and colored it blue since it wasn't easy to see in black.  Isn't my little stick figure niece or nephew adorable?  And he or she already knows that Auntie Karen is going to go nuts buying cute clothes.  

Theme Thursday: Bodies

Forgive me for saying this but I found this week's theme to be a bit odd.  My first thought when I saw this theme was "Dead bodies?"  Nice, I know.  That's just where my mind went.  But I don't have any bodies hidden in a basement or storage locker so you'll just have to deal with pictures of live bodies this week.  Besides, you don't really want pictures of corpses, do you?  I hope not.

So I thought about what kinds of pictures I could post.  Temper tantrum bodies, grumpy I didn't do it bodies, getting into trouble bodies, bodies sitting around doing nothing, and active bodies.  So I decided  to go with active bodies.  Might as well since they're a bit more fun to capture.

Visit Clan Donaldson for more Theme Thursday pictures.

Book Review: Francis Man of Prayer

When I was presented with a chance to review Mario Escobar's Francis: Man of Prayer
 I was pretty excited.  The more I learn about Pope Francis the more I like him and I was very eager to learn more about him by reading a biography about him.  Now I have to say I was a bit surprised to see that a Christian publisher had published a book about the Holy Father.  Of course, after having read through the book I realize now that alarm bells probably should have gone off in my head after my initial surprise at a Christian publisher doing a biography on a Pope.  But I thought the best of the publisher and agreed to review this book.

The book started off great.  It gave a nice background on Pope Francis before he became Pope.  I was able to see past what I perceived as quaint descriptions of Catholic practices.  I know that Protestants don't fully get Catholicism so I wasn't bothered by some of their descriptions that missed the mark.  But then I delved further into the book and the more I read the more I became convinced that this book was pure anti-Catholic garbage.

The author didn't just make slights at Pope Francis, he had plenty of inaccurate and off base things to say about Blessed John Paul II and our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  And there was plenty of inaccuracies regarding the Catholic Church in general.  If you're a rabid anti-Catholic then you'll likely enjoy this book.  If, however, you're a Catholic I'd suggest you steer clear of this book and pick up a book published by a Catholic publisher.  Our Sunday Visitor has recently published a biography of Pope Francis which I'm certain would be a much more accurate account of our new Holy Father.

I was provided with a free review copy of this book by Book Sneeze in exchange for my brutally honest review.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life...

I sat down this morning and realized it was Thursday which meant it was time for a new {P,H,F,R} post especially since I spent way too much time working on last week's {P,H,F,R} post and it never made it past me editing photos.  I wrote it in my head and pretty much stopped there.  Sigh.  So not wanting to use old pictures, you know, old pictures that you haven't seen, sat down and lamented to myself that I didn't take any pictures this week and I guess I had nothing interesting for this post.  Then I remembered that I might have taken one or two pictures.  More like 150 and suddenly I remembered we did actually do some stuff this week.  Sometimes life just moves so fast that I forget where I've been.

{pretty}

Ellie took this picture of Katie on Pentecost Sunday.  I was on top of things and was remembering to take pictures for a What I Wore Sunday post that never got written.

Ellie took this picture, too.  Do you like my new "super-awesome white pants"?  My old ones are too big on me so I had to get a new pair.  They're not as super-awesome as my old ones but they'll do.  I got them for under $20 at Old Navy which had me pretty excited.

{happy}

My neighbor will probably not be happy if she finds out I put this picture on my blog.  She's been babysitting for us since we moved her nearly six years ago.  Often she will come across the street and just play with the girls when they're out front.  On Monday, Bryan and I took Katie for a walk and on our way back we saw her outside shooting baskets while she had no idea we were watching her.  Once we started cheering for her she realized the odd neighbors were staring at her came over to play with Katie and the older girls.  Madeline wanted to know if she could hula hoop and somehow she ended up being challenged to do three at once.

Katie discovered that she likes to play with water.

{funny}

It's been pretty warm here these past few days so Madeline decided that it would be fun to ask Nicole to squirt her with this water gun thing that we have.  

Chances are she probably came to regret helping Madeline out since Bryan decided to join in on the fun.  Of course, this isn't the first time Nicole has found herself in a water battle with the neighbors.  Compared to the years where she's been doused with buckets full of water or shot with the hose (we have other neighbors who like to play with water, too) or even tossed in the pool this was nothing.

{real}

Spring basketball games started this week for Ellie.  This is Ellie's first time playing full court basketball.  I think she was a bit surprised that she has to run as much as she does.  She's getting used to playing.  I think the court where she plays is scenic, but the sun is an absolute killer at the time when she plays.  We're roasting on the sidelines and getting blinded by the sun.  But she's enjoying herself so it's all good.  

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Book Review: St. Monica and the Power of Persistent Prayer

For a number of years I've been drawn to St. Monica.  Her example of persistent prayer for the conversion of her husband and her son is one that I find inspiring.  Let's face it, it's frustrating to pray for something continually and come to grips with the reality that God's timeline does not always match up with yours.  St. Monica gets that and because of that I look to her as an example of patience in persistent prayer.

As I read through Mike Aquilina and Mark W. Sullivan's St. Monica and the Power of Persistent Prayer I found myself coming to a better understanding of St. Monica and how to apply her example to my own circumstances.  Drawing on accounts of St. Monica from the writings of her son, St. Augustine we learn that her persistence in prayer wasn't just a matter of patience and a determined spirit.  Readers will find that her example goes much deeper than that.  It's acceptance of God's will, trust in God, and a whole host of other virtues that transformed St. Monica as she relentlessly prayed for her wayward son's conversion.

If you are unfamiliar with St. Augustine, you will find that you come to know him better through this book.  If you are familiar with this great saint, then you will likely recognize many of the excerpts from his writings about his sainted mother.

Interwoven with the story of St. Monica are plenty of anecdotal stories about the mother and grandmother of the authors of this book.  I really enjoyed the stories about Nan and how they related to St. Monica.  It showed a modern day look at the application of the same strengths and virtues exhibited by St. Monica by the matriarch of the authors' family.

If you find yourself in the situation of praying for the conversion of a spouse or a wayward child, you'll likely find encouragement in the pages of this book and a powerful intercessor who knows well what it's like to be on the praying end of such an intention.

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 St. Monica and the Persistent Power of Prayer. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.


 

Quick Takes Volume 69

~1~

I had to laugh at myself after waking up at 7:35 and freaking out that it was so late.  For about a minute I thought that it was Friday and the following thoughts ran through my head:  1. Madeline must have missed her bus. 2. Ellie's bus was just five minutes away and she likely wasn't ready for school. 3. There was no way I was making it to Mass this morning.  I was in a panic and was a bit annoyed.  Then I looked over at Bryan soundly sleeping and wondered if I had my days mixed up.  I thought back over the previous day and realized that today must be Saturday.  Phew!  This is the first time in many weeks that I have slept past 7:30.  Funny how a time that used to seem ungodly early to me now seems late.

~2~

I don't think Ellie made the travel soccer team she tried out for a few weeks ago.  I was hoping she'd make the team but we didn't get a call from the coach yet and it appears that most if not all of the travel teams have already notified the kids if they made the team.  Madeline's teammates knew their statuses on Tuesday.   

~3~

Just as we were getting a bit of a reprieve from soccer practices and settling into a less hectic schedule Ellie's basketball game schedule was released.  She has two weeknight games a week!  We weren't expecting that.  We assumed she'd have a practice and a game like soccer.  So it looks like it will another month before things clam down.  Of course, at that point school will be done for the summer months.

~4~

Earlier this week I talked to the mom of Ellie's best friend from pre-school and kindergarten.  She was telling me that their house had sold and they were moving to a development a few minutes from our house.  This meant that Ellie and her friend would be going to the same school in September.  I let Ellie know and she was super excited.  Then the next morning when I left Mass I looked at my phone and saw a text from the mom telling me the offer on their house fell through.  Ugh!  Buying and selling a home is such an emotional roller coaster.  If you can, say a prayer that this family will get another offer on their home so they can move to the new neighborhood.  

~5~

I aggravated the problem I had with my foot/leg/hip last year when I stupidly tucked my leg under me and plopped down on the couch.  I'm trying to figure out if I need to see a doctor about it or not.  I made an appointment with a doctor but I'm wondering if I really need the appointment.

~6~

A few weeks ago I decided that I wanted new casual every day dishes for my birthday.  My Corelle disheshave been taking a beating lately.  Either my dishwasher is chipping them or the child who hastily loads and unloads the dishwasher is to blame.  Of course, it's possible that it's just the result of the dishes being used for nearly fifteen years.  I brought them when I was dating Bryan and he got his own apartment.  After going back and forth about the dishes and Bryan telling me that the dishes I was looking atlooked like dishes, I decided that I didn't want to just get rid of the dishes that I still liked and had used for so many year, but I did need to expand what we had.  After checking out the possibilities, I decided to expand our casual stonewarewhich Bryan really likes. I suppose I should mention that we have three sets of dishes (fine china, casual stoneware, and every day dishes).  I got the new dishes yesterday and discovered this morning that one of the plates was incredibly warped and a mug had another problem so now I'm working on getting that issue resolved.  It's always something!  Now that I have enough stoneware for twelve, I'm excited that we have enough of it to use for Christmas dinners on the years where I don't feel like having to hand wash the china which I refuse to put in the dishwasher after a few of my dishes came out looking awful many years ago.

~7~

I had been seriously procrastinating on the paperwork aspect of VBS.  Namely adding all of the names of the campers into the spreadsheet that I use to keep track of all the necessary information.  On Friday I spent a good part of the day transferring information from last year's VBS for repeat campers over to this year's spreadsheet.  I was about to add the rest of the kids that were new tonight when Bryan offered to type for me as I read off the information.  It was a HUGE help.  So now I have all of the registration info in the spreadsheet.  It's such a relief having all of that done.  Now I just have to focus on a few more VBS related things and I'll feel like everything is right on track.  Did I mention that Bryan is awesome?

Book Review: The Locket's Secret

About a month or so ago a teen novel showed up a my house that was quickly snapped up by my middle school daughter.  After looking over the back cover of the book she wanted to know if she could take the book to school and read it. The book was K. Kelley Heyne's The Locket's Secret.

After having the book in her possession for a couple of days, my daughter was telling me how much she was enjoying the story.  She especially liked how the main character retreated from reality into her made up fairy tale story.  I noticed that she was glued to the book over the course of several days, so I always take that as an indication that the book is pretty good.

Once I was able to borrow the book back from my daughter to take a peek inside I found out why she liked the book so much.  After reading the first couple of chapters I had a hard time putting this book down.  It's not very often that I read novels, let alone teen novels, so I was surprised that I got hooked on the book.  The story is about Carrie, a Catholic homeschooled eight grader who is going through a difficult time in her life.  Her family has moved out of state and away from all of her friends.  She's going through a difficult loss in the family and is trying to reconcile all of the emotions she's dealing with.  It's a story that will resonate with teen and tween girls.

Moms, like myself, who like to read through what their children are reading should grab a box of tissues when they reach for this book.  I'd cry, recover and read a few more chapters and find myself crying again.  I wasn't prepared for that when I sat down with this book.

Overall, I think this book is great.  It's perfect for tweens and teens.  I appreciate that the book is age appropriate for young ladies and isn't like a lot of the shamefully inappropriate novels that are geared to teen girls.  I hope we will be seeing more wonderful teen novels from Mrs. Heyne in the future.

I was provided with a review copy of The Locket's Secret by the publisher, Pauline Books, in exchange for my honest review.  You can take a peek inside this book here.  Visit Pauline Media for more information on this title.