Seven Quick Takes vol. 86

Yay! Jen's book comes out Tuesday!
And if Amazon.ca and it's epically long delivery of pre-ordered items keeps me from winning a prize...

{one}

If spring has come to where you are please say hello for me, because the weather here is far from being okay. Easter Monday was warm, sunny and beautiful - just to taunt us with feelings of spring. Tuesday was very windy and not very pleasant. Wednesday rained/snowed the entire day. Yesterday no precipitation but dreary and not warm. Today; flakes of snow and a freezing wind. It all equals un-springlike weather. 

{two}

On the windy day this week we flew the kites the bigs got in their Easter baskets. They were twitter-pated with excitement, especially Gemma to whom kite flying must be a major item on the ol' bucket list. 

It went reasonably well, as I was helping three small children fly kites from the dollar store all at once. It involved a lot of running around on my part helping the kites get back off the ground when they would inevitably crash down, so I counted it as my workout for the day. And again I thanked the good Lord that I don't have any neighbours to witness my crazed flailing about chasing kites as three small people stood very still holding string.

{three}

I'm sure I'm the only one slightly jealous of those in my Facebook feed who are in Rome this week. Just a little. No big deal. 

Ah! What a wonderful weekend to be there and be present for such an exciting day! There's just nothing quite like the excitement of a big Church celebration. Like World Youth Day or a canonization, it's not like anything else. I wish I could describe it properly because this is a terrible job of it, but it really has to be experienced in person just once, then the rest of your life when these things happen you feel the same butterflies and joy springing up even though it's happening half a world away because it really is happening for all of us, everywhere. 

Thinking about how big and awesome the Church is makes me all goose-bumpy!

{four}

I've been wanting to write something about JP2 for a while now but the more I think about it the more I don't know how to put it into words really. It's hard to explain the impact of someone you grew up with and who was your first experience of saintly holiness. That's what I think of when I think of him. I saw him twice at World Youth Days, once in Rome and here in Canada, and even from the distance I saw him from, I could feel the physical holiness of the man. I feel that was my first impression of him from my childhood as well, before I knew of what really great things he did in his lifetime and before I studied his writings later, his holiness.

Later when I studied his writings I'm fairly certain that would be the point at which I as an adult realized and appreciated that the Church was it. It was the truth, it had the answer. His writings were so clear, so vivid, so inspiring in a way that you did not experience elsewhere. He expressed the truth in so many directions. It was as if in reading him you were pelleted all over with perfect nuggets of truth in an overwhelming way.  

Sunday will be a beautiful day.

{five}

I've also been meaning to mention this wonderful book on John Paul II that was sent to me by Ignatius Press. It's a very well done graphic novel that covers almost the whole of John Paul's life. The illustrations are really vivid, and the story of his life and faith is well presented. My boys are captivated by it already, even though I think it's a little old for them just yet, but for boys ages 8 and up I think it would be a huge hit! Dom and Luke are now talking about "the bad-guy-Nazis" and "bad-guy-communists" and I overhear them having arguments over when "John Paul became a bishop after the Nazis not before".  So I'm chalking that up for a homeschool win. 

{six}

There have been some great reads this week, here's some of my faves:

A Culture of Extraordinary - This was written by Stacy London from What Not to Wear, and as I'm a devoted fan to that show I had to read it, but I was blown away at how well written this essay is on fame, our social media culture, and how we should think about it. If you read one thing this week you've gotta read this.

The Madness of Matthew Weiner - I just read this article in The Atlantic on Matthew Weiner even though it's been out for a month. The guy is more intriguing than Mad Men. Which is saying something.

How Did Canada's Middle Class Get So Rich - So I didn't know we had the richest middle class. Although I'd say it's fairly evident in my area. If you've ever wondered the difference between Canada and the States right now this is a good summation.

The Last Woman Who Ever Thought She'd Have Five Kids - Kelly's post this week was so good! And so true for all of us who've had more than 2.5 kids and the daily comments. 

{seven}

I had the most wonderful trip to the liquor store yesterday. It was the most relaxing part of my day and I wasn't even drinking any of the wares. Does anyone else go to the liquor store and end up staying for 30 minutes of blissful browsing? Is this a sign of a problem?? I had run out of wine on Easter Sunday so it was a necessary trip. I'm now stocked up on great beer and wine so come over for a drink! 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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