What am I cooking? Good, old marinated chicken on the grill--LOVE grilling in the summer! We are also having a basmati rice blend side and spinach salad. Can't wait and neither can the kids! They love the simple and delicious!
What are my weekend plans? There are plans in the works for a family 5k Saturday morning to benefit a local Catholic family whose daughter suffers from a rare disorder caused by a virus during pregnancy. They are accepting donations for the run and strollers are welcome--count us in! I'm thinking I'll push the babies in the double jogger while GG runs/walks with our older two. Later Saturday we may meet up with friends at a park for play. Sunday will bring church and a continuation of our FIRE program (at-home catechesis). We partnered up with another family at our church and have been meeting after Mass throughout the year to catechize our 7 children, ranging in age from our youngest, 1, to their oldest, 8. We host this Sunday, so we'll feast and then settle in to learn and discuss the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the Sacrament of Matrimony. Overall, the weekend should be pretty chill and non-committal, which is a blessing during these busy summer months.
What are my prayer intentions for the day? For my friend, Red, and her husband and the precious babe she is carrying. They have an ultrasound today to rule out the possibility of a neural tube disorder. We are praying for their peace and for the health of the baby. My heart goes out to this dear friend of mine who lost her first daughter, Therese, to anencephaly. There's no question every pregnancy brings to the surface many of the fears and anxieties she experienced with Therese. God speed and bless you, Mr. and Mrs. Red! **UPDATE: the u/s went well and a healthy baby is on the way!!
What can my children do instead of watching TV? Attend Vacation Bible School! The older boys are there as I type and loving it! Though as nice as it is to give them an activity in the mornings, I am eager to get them back home and our family back to our summer home "mama camp" schedule. On the docket for next week's learning theme: SPACE (aka. Kuiper Belt, Eris, and gravitational pull studies--they are my budding scientists). To infinity and beyond...
What have I done for my marriage this week? I have been working with my husband this week to begin to re-write our Catholic Engaged Encounter talks to align with a new weekend format. We are a presenting team and give ~9 talks on a 40+ hour EE weekend. It is wonderful and exhilarating experience. We're totally pooped after a weekend, but find the ministry so worth it. We were initially bummed to hear we would have to re-write talks that are only 2-years-old, but now that we're back writing, we recognize how great the talk-writing process is for our marriage. Writing requires us to communicate, think A LOT about the ins and outs of our daily life, and ruminate plenty on the past (which usually involves recalling funny or happy anecdotes). All of this produces great fruit in our marriage!
What am I reading? The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (for a book club I've joined!)
What’s challenging me lately? I'll be frank--the budget! Since allowing GG to take over the family finances, I have relinquished control and he has tightened our belts quite a bit. This is a very good thing, but challenging, to say the least. I recognize we are blessed beyond measure, but can get very frustrated when it seems like we are always having to hold back and think so much through every expense. Perhaps this is a season of life that will be more financially scrutinizing, but it can be exhausting! Self discipline is never easy.
Something that made me think? I attended a talk on prayer last night given by a local priest in our diocese. It was excellent and part of a month-long series on prayer. Last night he introduced the prayer style Lectio Divina or "holy reading", which involves praying through scripture in a meditative-like fashion. It is a beautiful method of prayer, involving silence and reflection. We did a sample Lectio as a group and it was Divine. God was so present. The scripture we meditated on came to new light in the midst of prayer and today I am still affected by what I heard and meditated on... We have homework to pray a lectio divina every day and I can't wait! If you haven't experienced this type of prayer, I highly recommend looking into it.
