Outside my window… it’s a beautiful day! The sun is shining, and it should get up to a lovely 74 degrees today. I’m planning on heading outside to work on the yard, starting with cleaning up all the cupcake crumbs all over the deck… 🙂
I am thinking… about the kindness and generosity of the Catholic Community online! Thank you to all of you that have contributed towards the gifts for Charlotte, both the crib and the spiritual bouquet of prayers and advice, through the Virtual Baby Shower I am hosting here at Shower of Roses. There is still plenty of time to contribute towards the gifts and participate in the games! I’ve added a banner link to the top of the blog which I will leave until June 24th, so you can easily find your way to all the fun.
I am thankful for… the gift of blogging and all of the very real friendships that are formed online.
From the kitchen… lots of cupcakes! The children loved the baby rattle cupcakes that I made for the Baby Shower, and my girls asked if they could please decorate the rest of the cupcakes, to enter into the competition. I’ll post some pictures soon!
Learning at Home… we are wrapping our school year up this week! Right now my children are working on reading the last chapter of Exploring Creation with Botany
Living the Liturgical Year at Home… Pentecost Sunday is coming up this weekend. I have all sorts of ideas and suggestions in the archives, including the Pentecost Windsock that we made last year!
I am creating… a summertime plan. Which is looking almost identical to last year’s! 😉
I am wearing… Bella Bands!
I am reading… The Monastery Garden Cookbook: Farm-Fresh Recipes for the Home Cook
Pondering these words… which are from today’s reading in Small Steps for Catholic Moms
Noticing that… the Name that Baby Game turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be… I’ve been enjoying seeing which baby you all this is me!
Towards personal care… I finally broke out my Walking DVD’s
find make the time? This morning sickness has made it so difficult to get up early, and when I am up early, exercising is the last thing that I’ve wanted to do… Hubby says that we should probably invest in a treadmill, and he is probably right.
I am listening… to Snuggles and Rose playing together. Those two have so much fun together, at least most of the time!
Around the house… piles of clothing waiting to be sorted… This job seems to keep getting harder and harder to do each year, and I have been putting it off. After reading the “Act” for today, following the “Think” (Saint Quote shared above) and the “Pray” (short prayer), I am going to get started on those piles.
I am hoping… that I might be able to make a quick trip to California this weekend, to attend the funeral and burial of my dear childhood friend’s baby, Abigail, who was born into heaven on June 1st. My heart is breaking for Amy and her family…
I am praying… for Art & Amy, and their two other daughters, as they grieve the loss of sweet little Abigail. May Our Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around all of them, and May Our Dear Lord comfort them in this difficult time.
One of my favorite things… brown paper packages, tied up with strings!! My mail man has been dropping of little packages quite frequently over the past few weeks, and I feel so completely BLESSED to have such wonderful, thoughtful friends here online!
I haven’t posted about all of them, but we received a lovely care package from an old college friend (filled with items from the John Paul II Cultural Center in DC which recently closed), some products from Monastery Greetings and Arma Dei (for review at Catholic Cuisine and here), a beautiful St. Sylvia doll (as a pregnancy gift from St. Luke’s Brush!), an adorable Matroyshka Doll and lovely scarf (arrived yesterday from Megan, who purchased them on a recent trip to Russia!), and today the mailman just left a sweet picture book called Baboushka: A Christmas Folktale from Russia (a gift from Dessi!). Thank you all!
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Last Fencing Class for the session, this afternoon.
Last Day of School!!
Start preparing for an upcoming camping trip!
Have our last Good Shepherd’s Garden Party and Celebrate Pentecost!
A Picture thought I am sharing:
Lovely Daybook. Perhaps your being nudged toward Sylvia? I love the virtual baby shower and seeing the wonderful Catholic Community come alive!
I always love reading your Day Books.:) Have a great week and beautiful Pentecost celebration!
Perhaps, but I am thinking this baby might be a boy, even though another girl (due at the same time of year as our last baby girl) would be so much more convenient! 🙂
In the meantime, I am definitely going to add St. Sylvia to the list of saints that I pray to for intercession!
Ooh, how do you like the Belly Bands? And do they help with lower back support as well? I saw them and thought they might feel good on aching pregnant lower backs, because I saw a product that looked similar years ago that specifically said it relieved lower back pain.
A camping trip sounds so fun – we still have never camped as a family yet; it's been an idea to try at some point! Have fun!!
Prayers for your friend's family on the loss of their sweet baby.
I love the Bella Bands! I bought a during my last pregnancy and they were so helpful. I especially loved them AFTER my pregnancy – when they worked as a great tummy cover for nursing! (I really don't like nursing shirts, and so I'd just wear the Bella Band under my regular shirts to cover up. I don't remember thinking that they helped with my back, but I never really thought about it either way. I suppose the extra support would help some!
We are all looking forward to camping, especially the kids! I prefer "camping" in a cabin or yurt (so much easier!), but the older boys are bringing along their tents anyways this year. We'll see how it goes! This trip will be with friends, and later in the summer we will probably go tent camping as a family.
Thank you so much for the prayers for Amy and her family!
Brother Victor-Antoine's book I think is a revision of an earlier version. Is it full of photos of the foods? I'm curious to know!
Love the St. Sylvia! I have never heard of her before. I need to get some Bella Bands for after the baby. I just broke out the DVD's too and gave away our treadmill… too bulky and ugly. If they made something I could fold up and slide under my bed, I'd be interested.
Sending hugs across the miles for Amy's family.
How sad. We will keep Amy in our prayers. Nothing is easy when you have lost a child.
Yes, a treadmill is my greatest help. I bought my neighbors during a garage sale for $35, its actually ugly and makes loud noise but one its in the basement dark room and it works. I let the kids use it with me in the room. But it really is nice to have a place to walk/run in my pj's since all I can do in the morning at 6am is just get my socks/shoes on and head down stair. If you need a great motivator for walking.. check out our summer walking challenge starts on Sunday for 12 weeks and raise some money for the unborn: http://hairbows4life.blogspot.com/2011/06/walk-for-their-lives.html
Have a Blessed Week!
love my treadmill. I got a cheap used one at a sports resale store for $100. If it broke after a few weeks, I wouldn't have lost that much. but it has held up now for over a year, so I say money well spent. so glad I didn't spend hundreds or throusands on a new one until i new for sure if I would use it enough and what I would like and not like. my husband installed an ipad mount for me right above it on th wall and I can watch various shows on it while I run. I love the virtual shower. Sorry I have not been as active, I have been so busy lately. hence my blogging/posting absence as well. much love.