I’m linking up to Kelly and totally avoiding my packing to-do list. It’s not like we leave for vacation tomorrow or anything . . . .
1.We are heading to Mackinac Island tomorrow with my in-laws. The kiddos are beyond excited for a week of cousins and being spoiled by grandparents. I’ve never been before, and can’t wait to see it, but the day before vacation is always so stressful. I am knee-deep in packing and am at that glorious stage where it looks like the luggage has exploded all over our bedroom.
2. Being that we have a 5 hour car ride ahead of us, I’m downloading the kids some shows to watch when the whining stage of the trip hits. Currently their favorite is Stinky and Dirty, a show about a garbage truck and a backhoe. I’m not sure I love it, but it’s innocent, and the trucks help each other and their friends. It’s also not super duper annoying (unless you count when my husband sings the theme song throughout the house), and that’s a road trip win.
3. Kelly’s 7 Quick Takes is awesome today. I’ve been reading her blog for years and am excited to read her book. I’m a little biased but OSV has some fabulous reads coming out this year and next. 😉
4. I have been digging into Edith Stein’s writings, and she is blowing me away. I’m currently reading (very slowly) her essays on women, and am highlighting quite a bit. But this quote struck my heart so hard I wrote it in my prayer journal as well:
“Therefore, the life of an authentic Catholic woman is also a liturgical life. Whoever prays together with the Church in Spirit and in Truth knows that her whole life must be formed by this life of prayer.”
5. I was recently asked to be on a committee at our parish that will be evaluating how the various groups and the parish as a whole is supporting building the domestic church, which I definitely geeked out about. First of all, the topic of building a domestic church is so near and dear to my heart. And second it gives me an excuse (did I really need one?) to dive deeper into Unleash the Gospel, a pastoral letter from Archbishop Vigneron which has been a catalyst for renewal throughout our archdiocese. It’s such a beautiful, practical document, and oh so timely.
6. The book manuscript is coming along. I’ve got the text in a good place (I think and hope) and have some generous friends reading it and giving me feedback. I know my updates aren’t very exciting, but if you head on over to Rebecca’s instagram page, you can see all of the beautiful illustrations she’s preparing. The newest one is for the first page of the book and straight up made me cry- she took one of my favorite photos of G and Gram and used it as inspiration for Mary and St. Anne.
7. Our little town is hyper-connected with a real small town feel. One of my absolute favorite community-building groups is our local Buy Nothing Group. Basically, this is a facebook group of neighbors, giving and sharing what they have. You can post items you have and no longer need, then someone can respond with interest, then they come and pick it up, usually on the porch (pretty much everyone in town has a green swap/bn bin). You can also write a request. For example, when we bought our house we knew that we wanted to plant a Mary garden. Except a statue for said garden is way outside our budget. So I posted on the group explaining what we were hoping to do and asking if anyone had a statue they no longer wanted or needed. And sure enough, a family had moved into a house where the previous owner had left a gorgeous Mary statue, but they weren’t Catholic. They were thrilled to pass her on and we were thrilled to have her. The other thing you can do is lend. We’ve lent out carpet shampooers and kid tights for a neighbor’s family photo and borrowed a car seat bag. It’s been a fun way to give away unused items to families who will love them and to receive things that we need and bring us joy. It’s well worth checking out if there’s a local group in your area.