(one)
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for the prayers you may have said for me when I was headed out to Peoria to present on Digital Media. The day went great, despite some hiccups on the way out having to do with a winter storm and flight delays. I gotta tell you, you know how there are those people who travel regularly for work? I could not be one of those people.
But, the day was lovely.
And Sister Maria Christi was absolutely wonderful. Well, frankly, so were all the sisters I was able to spend time with. The hospitality of the moms group was amazing, including a mom named Karen who has 8 sons! 8!!!
The presentations went really well, and I was blessed by the Community of St. Jude. I told them, and the ol' husband, we might have to look for a transfer out that way so we be a part of the great things happening in that part of the world.
OH! And I got to lunch with a dear old friend, Father Adam Stimpson.
All and all, a really successful trip.
(two)
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for the prayers you may have said for me when I was headed out to Peoria to present on Digital Media. The day went great, despite some hiccups on the way out having to do with a winter storm and flight delays. I gotta tell you, you know how there are those people who travel regularly for work? I could not be one of those people.
But, the day was lovely.
And Sister Maria Christi was absolutely wonderful. Well, frankly, so were all the sisters I was able to spend time with. The hospitality of the moms group was amazing, including a mom named Karen who has 8 sons! 8!!!
The presentations went really well, and I was blessed by the Community of St. Jude. I told them, and the ol' husband, we might have to look for a transfer out that way so we be a part of the great things happening in that part of the world.
OH! And I got to lunch with a dear old friend, Father Adam Stimpson.
All and all, a really successful trip.
(two)
I can say a lot of things here, about the election.
But it's all been said.
Well, most of it anyway.
The thing is, where we are at right now, the political climate, it's all of our faults.
And Trump just might be the match that lights the gasoline that has been poured for the past 8 years.
But maybe not?
And even if he does, what's the worst thing that can happen?
Threaten Me with Heaven?
It's all they can do.
:)
(three)
Do your children create collections?
Mine do.
Of all kinds of things.
You should see their 'Disney World' collections right now.
The piles and piles of stuff they gather together.
It's kind of cute, until they fight if someone touches their collection. Then, it becomes really uncute really quick.
(four)
Obligatory Malia Paul Take
Here's the thing. Maybe it's because she's a girl. Or maybe it's because appreciation grows with each kids. Or maybe she is just really special...but I am telling you, this girl takes my breath away.
Her smile, her intense eyes, dressing her in adorable outfits... I just can't handle her adorable.
She's wearing her first pair of jeans today, with this lovely little shirt 'Mommy's Sweet <3 and honestly...I cannot take it.
That is all.
(five)
I am giving a retreat for the Archdiocese of Detroit tomorrow to prepare pilgrims for World Youth Day in Krakow. The content is mostly new, and I am excited to hang out with older young people and talk about my favorite church event. In the next five days, I will be giving a retreat and two evenings of reflection on Mercy, using Pope Francis as the teacher. We are so blessed to have this pope.
(six)
The Wilkersons are headed to Kentucky for Easter!
I am excited to see my sisters, my nephews and nieces and spend a drama-free holiday with the ones I love. Also, can you imagine a better way to celebrate the Resurrection than Raising Canes? Because I certainly cannot.
(seven)
I find adulting really hard.
The big decisions.
We are constantly discussing whether or not to stay in our house or to move. I LOVE our house. I really do. It's about 1100 square feet of awesome. But it doesn't have a dining room. And it doesn't have a fireplace. And I don't love our neighborhood. And Jesus might ask us to have another kid, which I think we are pretty open to (I KNOW RIGHT?!?!)- and 1,100 square feet might be a little small for 7 people.
But staying in our tiny house, in this neighborhood, allows us to do things I love. Like travel. It allows us to do things like send our kids to Catholic schools.
So sometimes, I think we should just stay in this house forever.
And other days, I feel like we have to move RIGHT NOW.
Schooling.
Another tricky.
I love sending our kids to the Catholic school down the road. And sometimes, I want to do it forever. But then, we look at what it's going to cost, if we send all of our kids to Catholic schools for at least 9 years. It's an overwhelming number of American Dollars.
We could move to a different house, in a different neighborhood, with a dining room and a fireplace. We could put our kids in good Public Schools. We couldn't travel as much, but we could still travel
I just don't know which path we should choose.
So, I told Aaron we should just take it one year at a time. But then he reminded me, if we want to move, it's going to take planning- so we need to figure out what we need to do.
Guys- what should we do?!?!
Adulting is hard.
Linking up with http://thisaintthelyceum.org/ for the quick takes. Go check it out! And have a great week.
But it's all been said.
Well, most of it anyway.
The thing is, where we are at right now, the political climate, it's all of our faults.
And Trump just might be the match that lights the gasoline that has been poured for the past 8 years.
But maybe not?
And even if he does, what's the worst thing that can happen?
Threaten Me with Heaven?
It's all they can do.
:)
(three)
Do your children create collections?
Mine do.
Of all kinds of things.
You should see their 'Disney World' collections right now.
The piles and piles of stuff they gather together.
It's kind of cute, until they fight if someone touches their collection. Then, it becomes really uncute really quick.
(four)
Obligatory Malia Paul Take
Here's the thing. Maybe it's because she's a girl. Or maybe it's because appreciation grows with each kids. Or maybe she is just really special...but I am telling you, this girl takes my breath away.
Her smile, her intense eyes, dressing her in adorable outfits... I just can't handle her adorable.
She's wearing her first pair of jeans today, with this lovely little shirt 'Mommy's Sweet <3 and honestly...I cannot take it.
That is all.
(five)
I am giving a retreat for the Archdiocese of Detroit tomorrow to prepare pilgrims for World Youth Day in Krakow. The content is mostly new, and I am excited to hang out with older young people and talk about my favorite church event. In the next five days, I will be giving a retreat and two evenings of reflection on Mercy, using Pope Francis as the teacher. We are so blessed to have this pope.
(six)
The Wilkersons are headed to Kentucky for Easter!
I am excited to see my sisters, my nephews and nieces and spend a drama-free holiday with the ones I love. Also, can you imagine a better way to celebrate the Resurrection than Raising Canes? Because I certainly cannot.
(seven)
I find adulting really hard.
The big decisions.
We are constantly discussing whether or not to stay in our house or to move. I LOVE our house. I really do. It's about 1100 square feet of awesome. But it doesn't have a dining room. And it doesn't have a fireplace. And I don't love our neighborhood. And Jesus might ask us to have another kid, which I think we are pretty open to (I KNOW RIGHT?!?!)- and 1,100 square feet might be a little small for 7 people.
But staying in our tiny house, in this neighborhood, allows us to do things I love. Like travel. It allows us to do things like send our kids to Catholic schools.
So sometimes, I think we should just stay in this house forever.
And other days, I feel like we have to move RIGHT NOW.
Schooling.
Another tricky.
I love sending our kids to the Catholic school down the road. And sometimes, I want to do it forever. But then, we look at what it's going to cost, if we send all of our kids to Catholic schools for at least 9 years. It's an overwhelming number of American Dollars.
We could move to a different house, in a different neighborhood, with a dining room and a fireplace. We could put our kids in good Public Schools. We couldn't travel as much, but we could still travel
I just don't know which path we should choose.
So, I told Aaron we should just take it one year at a time. But then he reminded me, if we want to move, it's going to take planning- so we need to figure out what we need to do.
Guys- what should we do?!?!
Adulting is hard.
Linking up with http://thisaintthelyceum.org/ for the quick takes. Go check it out! And have a great week.
I will pray for you as you work on that retreat! I'm sure it will be a blessed and epic experience :) Good luck figuring out the house thing! My husband and I (and the boy in my belly) are in an apartment now, but we'd love to get into a house at some point, since it's a better financial deal over here to put payments towards owning a house rather than just paying a landlord. And the size issue is something that I bounce back and forth on, though we haven't talked about it super seriously yet. I've read tons of Catholic blogs and articles about small home living and putting 7 or 8 people in just over a thousand square feet, and I think that's great-but at the same time, sometimes people just need more space to spread out and not constantly be tripping over each other, you know? So I don't know; maybe list out some more pros and cons of staying in the house vs. moving, and consider rearranging furniture and/or decluttering if you stay there and have more kids? Or just move altogether? It's a tough call.
ReplyDeleteOn the schooling thing-have you ever considered moving to Wichita, Kansas? A little-known fact about it (to people who don't live there) is that it's a thriving Catholic stewardship diocese. So, if a family practices active stewardship in their parish (time, talent, treasure) then the parish pays for their kids to attend Catholic school. All 12 years of it. (parents still pay for books & uniforms, though) I highly doubt y'all would want to move to a new state for that kind of thing, but I just thought I'd toss the idea out there ;) Also, while Catholic schools are great, I have friends who had wonderful public school experiences! I think that public school education often gets a bad rap from many Catholic circles (though some of it is deserved), but if you have a good school and a strong Catholic family home life, it can be a really great thing!