Thought for Today

There's nothing like having children to shove the Greatness of God right in your face.

Small Successes - Vol 2

I wasn't going to post about this today, not feeling very successful and all, but then my husband said something that made me rethink it. So my one small success is...

Tonight at dinner, as we sat down and were beginning to say grace, Tom began by saying "Father" and then Alexis continued by saying, "Son, Holy." I was in total shock. She has been attempting to do the sign of the cross with us for a while now, but I had never heard her actually try to pray, except to say Amen. After finishing our praying, seeing the shock on my face, Tom said, "See, you must be doing something right." That's when a light bulb went off in my head. There are more important things in life that we teach our children than potty training, how to make their beds, and cleaning up their toys. If we can teach our children the greatness of God and His infinite love for us, then we can truly call ourselves successful.

Create Your Own Holy Water Fonts

I found this link over at First Heralds. I think it's such a great idea. I've been looking a little bit at fonts, because I think I want to put them in our new house, and this came along at the perfect time. It's wonderful because I can get Isabel involved. She's pretty aware of the fonts at church, even though some days she doesn't seem as interested.

If you haven't visited First Heralds yet, it's a new blog "helping toddlers and preschoolers learn about the Catholic Faith." They have some wonderful ideas for May. I'm so excited about this blog because I need all of the help I can get.

So Strange...

It's just after 10 and I'm in bed. And it's quiet.

How does that work, you ask? Well, the baby is sleeping and Tom and Isabel aren't here.

They're gone.

They flew to Texas this afternoon. Tom has a class over the weekend and he took Isabel with him, partly to give me a little break, and partly so that his family could see her. His family only lives about 2 hours away, so various members will be driving to see them throughout the weekend. Tom's mom and grandma will be with Isabel the whole time while Tom is in class. So it works out for everybody.

After Alexis and I dropped them off at the airport, we ran to the grocery store. Then we came home, ate lunch and napped. (I took a teeny, tiny one.) This all seemed pretty normal. But then Alexis woke up. It all started feeling a little strange. Having only one child. And I think Alexis missed Isabel. She played differently. She wasn't as content without me. Maybe she was just having an off day. When the magic hour rolled around that I normally am so anxious for Tom to get home, I knew he wouldn't be coming home. Dinner was kind of flat. Alexis is cute and all, but not much of a conversationalist. I put her to bed early because she didn't get all of her normal naps in today and she has been sleeping in with the time change. Then I took the trash out for pick up tomorrow (a small "adventure" since I don't usually do it) and then I packed a care package for my brother.

I've been looking forward to the quiet all week, but it was strange. Tom has taken Isabel on a trip like this before, but I was pregnant at the time and very sick. I used the time to rest, relax and regain some energy from all of the throwing up I had been doing. So today was very different. Although I am grateful to have a break from a two year-old's constant questioning, there is a definite buzz of family life that I am already missing. Who would have thought that it would happen so fast?

I have lots of things I need to accomplish while they are gone and hopefully, Alexis will cooperate.

Oh, and husbands...when you go away and take our firstborns with you, it would be appreciated if you would call as soon as you landed and not make us hunt you down to make sure everything is okay. Just a thought.

.

Crazy Woman

So there was this crazy woman at Mass today. She brought her 2 little girls with her. The older one started out ok, eating her snacks and coloring. Then the baby started fussing so the woman took her out of her carrier and tried to rock her every time she stood and bounce her on her knee when seated. Then the older girl started to act up. There was no one seated immediately in front, behind, or next to the family, much to the mother's relief since both of her children obviously had colds evidenced by the constant wiping of their noses by the poor woman. So with no one near them, the older girl decided to test her boundaries...exploring the pews in front and behind, climbing all over her mother who was still trying to comfort her baby, and asking for more envelopes to put in the offering baskets. And both of the girls decided that their voices should be heard like everyone else's who were singing, although the girls didn't choose to sing at the same time as the rest of the church. I think the final straw for this poor mother was when her oldest daughter stated loudly that "I POOPED" while everyone was so quiet as Father prepared the Eucharist. Not one time, mind you, but making the declaration several times. To add insult to injury, a woman a few pews in front turned to ask if she could help, thinking that a diaper change was necessary. Ahh, but the mother knew better...Anyways, the offering woman, kind as she was, had two little girls of her own, though slightly older I am guessing, and was quite obviously about to have another. This only made the embarassed mother feel worse. And one final twist of the knife, as the family was moving to the end of the pew in order to go receive the Eucharist, the mother stopped the older daughter, telling her she had to wait her turn and let the people in front go first. This is when the little girl dropped very dramatically back into the pew yelling "Father JOE!!!" as if our priest might save her from her horrible mother. So I ask that you please pray, and pray hard, for this poor, crazy woman.


Oh, wait...that's me!