New Patron Saint

My baby woke up early this morning. Very Early. Many people know I am not a natural morning person, so when my dear husband kissed me good-bye this morning I had plans of rolling right back over. mmmmm, pillow... Isabella heard us talking, unfortunately, and decided that it must be time to play. "No my dear, this was not a 3-person conversation, please go back to sleep. Please?" I heard myself whispering to myself. In case Myself was awake enough to listen, because I certainly wasn't. It was 6am, after all.

"BBAAAAAAAAAA" You know how babies can talk well before they can actually talk? I distinctly heard "COME AND GET ME MAMA!" ... "NOW!" *sigh* Well, at least she sounds happy.

And happy she was! She grinned from ear to ear as I changed her diaper and kissed her belly. She babbled and cooed as I scooped her up and stumbled my way downstairs. She squealed with delight at her play table while I fired up the coffee pot. Who can be disappointed at this? Even if I did have to turn the light on because it was still too dark to play! She was playing so sweetly, crawling around, climbing to the sofa to grab at my phone, and giggling as she lunged for my glasses. Oh I love my Baby, even when it's barely light outside.
The real positive of the insane wake-up hour is that I was showered, fed, and caffinated in time to get to Mass. I have not been too motivated for that lately with her bad sleeping habits. This morning, however, it was pretty easy!

Some pray for roses from St. Therese of Liseux; I want a St. Caffeine of Java who fills my coffee pot.

Costco: Danger Ahead

Costco - it does a family good?

Originally, I had to be convinced that making my own baby food was the way to go, but ever since I started I have to agree - I really enjoy it, actually. However, after my last 2 batches I decided that I wasn't saving myself much by having to make it every weekend, and instead I needed to make bigger batches. Yes folks, that's 10 pounds of carrots and 5 pounds of green beans.

I would offer a word of caution that blending green beans into smithereens is NOT for the weak-stomached. How can something so mild smell SO bad? Anyway.

May I present the final product, stuffed into my freezer so tightly that I must beware every time I open the freezer door.

We went to Costco to get 2 new tires and a pizza for dinner. The (gigantic, of course) ready-to-bake pizzas are $10, who could argue with that? "Oh, but let's pick up some veggies to make baby food." "Great idea, let's make in quantity so I'm not doing it every weekend." "Also, we need flour with all the pizza and pretzel making we've been doing." "Oh yeah, let's get the medium-huge bag and see how quickly we use that up." "Ok." "Oh Honey, do we really need that much cereal?" "No, you're right, but let's get more pasta."

And $100 later...

Man, that was expensive baby food.

Mostly Pictures

Lest anyone be confused and think I am starting to write with actual thought, here are just some fun pictures of us lately.

Horsey rides, a classic. If you look closely at Bella you will see a large hand holding her - a hand much to big to be Sara's. Now you can stop worrying.

Don't the 2 little girls look like they're working hard together?

Rachael was propped up here, and she was very intrigued! Bella did not seem to mind sharing. We'll see how long that lasts! Rachael is working hard to catch up in size to Bella; in fact, I think she's already longer! My short and squat kid will forever envy her tall lean cousin. But that's ok; all they have to do is look at their mothers.

More sleeping pictures! Isabella was SO tired she was happy to fall asleep on my mom. You know, I still remember my mom singing lullabies to me, so it's very special to hear those same songs that I loved as she sings to my daughter. Bella seems to like our sleepy routine of singing, which is fine by me! She's too young to be a critic. :)

And now: my little 7-month-old shorty with a walker. AUGH! She is using this to help her walk across the floor, and is VERY happy about it!

She has been pulling herself up for a couple of weeks, and each day gets a little stronger at inching her way along the sofa, play table, Daddy, anything! Just a few days ago she shocked the heck out of me by walking across the floor with this. It's funny to see her, though, since she's so short. Most walking toys are too tall for her! In fact, it's her height (or lack there of) that is my saving grace - otherwise she'd be up the stairs, too!

Dear Lord, keep my joints limber and my movements swift!

Thirsting at the Well

Today was "water Sunday" of Lent... or at least the gospel was the story of the Samaritan women at the well. We had an awesome homily by the fantastic Fr. Francis Martin, a world renouned biblical scholar. He gave a great homily, about the historical aspects of the gospel, the liturgical rotation we're in this year, and the social conontations of this exchange; however, the point that really struck me was the spiritual aspect - Father talked about the THIRSTING that was going on. There are 2 people thirsting in this gospel - Jesus and the woman. Both were at the well for water, but both experienced a much deeper thirst. Jesus thirsts for this woman's heart, just as He thirsts so longingly for each of our souls! This woman thirsts for love, which is manifested in her seeking the attentions of her "5 husbands, and the one now is not currently your husband."

Biologically speaking, thirst is a survival mechanism; by the time we experience the feeling of being thirsty our body is telling us we are dehydrated and need replenishing. The feeling of thirst is often uncomfortable, but it is also manifested in other ways. Did you know that often when you feel a little hungry or munchy that it's really that you need more fluids? Stay with me, I'm going somewhere...

We all thirst for something, something that will replenish us, and it manifests in our lives as different "wants," but these wants do not satisfy by themselves. Our physical beings may long for food, for affection, for recognition, achievement. If we look deeper, we will see a thirst - we are seeking after the LOVE that will replenish us, and that is to thirst after the Heart of Jesus.

Persistence and Determination

My Adventurer spotted my camera on the chair, where I had tossed it after snapping photos of her climbing onto my lap. She did not miss a beat, she simply headed after it, eager to attain the coveted chew toy.

I’ve had the box pushed up against the chair for a few days now, to give it stability for her to pull herself up to standing, something that is the highlight of her day. Today, however, she was not interested in standing next to the chair; rather, she was interested in getting ON the chair. After-all, the camera was ON the chair, therefore she must be ON the chair. I watched with interest as she repeatedly pulled her knees up and fell over, the box rolling as she shifted her weight onto it. This did not slow her down; she had her eyes fixed on that camera! Eventually, (with Mama holding the box with her foot) Bella achieved her goal of standing ON the box and was able to grasp that coveted camera!!! She was so happy – right up until I tried to substitute for another option, but that’s beside the point.

I was watching this process with great interest – here is my 7 ½ month old daughter, who spent a good 10 minutes working hard, determined to achieve her goal. This stepping block she was using became a stumbling block at times, and yet she did not give up. She pressed on with determination.

Are we that determined to achieve our goals in life? Specifically, are we that determined to reach the Ultimate Goal, the Pearl of Great Price? 10 minutes is a long time for an infant to work that hard at anything, and yet in her little mind that camera was worth it. Is our relationship with our Lord worth it to us? Worth it enough to press on with the same determination for as long as it takes?
Too often I find myself giving in to the stumbling blocks, certain that I don’t have time to be that persistent. But God is not an easy Pearl to reach; it takes persistence and determination to reach Him.

It was also interesting to me that the same box that was helping Bella up flipped and caused her to fall; still, she did not tire of the pursuit. We have lots of boxes in our spiritual journey, don’t we? The things that when used wisely help us up, our stepping stones, can turn into stumbling blocks when used incorrectly. We can be climbing up that stepping stone, but if we turn our eyes we lose our balance and that stone becomes a stumbling block. If we fail to use a God-given talent in humility, and instead give into the pride of glory, then that talent impairs our journey to Him. God blesses us with lots of gifts and opportunities that can be either stepping stones or stumbling blocks; it’s up to us to make the distinction.

Then, with His grace, it’s up to us to keep that persistence and determination that we need in seeking our Lord.