Seven Quick Takes vol. 106

Hitting you up with seven relatively quick ones.

{one}

This week was one of those plugging along kind of weeks. Where you're keeping your head above water, keeping everyone clothed and fed, maintaining a modicum of house-ly hygiene and...you're still really exhausted. I don't know why this is noteworthy, because it's not, but sometimes don't you wish you had a more elaborate reason for why you're exhausted??

{two}

Of course, there's always damn daylight savings time!

{three}

Sometimes I dream of a land where I don't get asked superfluous questions for completely unnecessary requests every 3.7 seconds by five little people. I wish I could just flip a switch and hold Question Period, get everyones needs attended to, then have a five minute break. It seems like a fairly simple idea, but no matter how much I natter on about it they just don't seem to get the concept. It's like a constant barrage of talking and by lunch I honestly start telling everyone, no more talking! It doesn't work much either but it does lead me to need a break from talking, somehow. So people need to have quiet time, and go play outside, and just give me a few of not being talked to. Also why I don't want to talk on the phone anymore, or why I think I'm turning into an introvert. 

{four}

There is a wonderful Advent journal available from Blessed Is She that you should think about getting if you're looking for something to help you along with prayer and entering in to the mystery and preparation of Advent.  If you order soon you'll have it for the beginning of Advent, which believe it or not, begins the last Sunday of November this year. I think having a physical reminder to pray makes it easier to focus and pray during the day. Any help is great in this department if you ask me! 

{five}

Have you seen this amazing art installation at the Tower of London paying tribute to those who gave their lives in World War I? I think it's incredible. The poppies themselves are gorgeous, but to see the sea of them spilling from the tower walls is so impressive and poignant. 

World War I is a time in history that has always been so incomprehensible to me. I can't fathom that much loss over such an ill-fought, terribly planned, and unjustified war. I'm reading a novel right now that takes place in World War I that I'm actually enjoying, but it's still staggering to think it took place 100 years ago. I would love to be in London this Remembrance Day.

{six}

Did you watch Death Comes to Pemberley these past two weekends on PBS? I really enjoyed it and thought it extremely well done. I liked it better than the book, which you all know I panned fairly mercilessly, but the adaptation does a much better job at creating tension, moving the story along, and maintaining the mystery. I don't want to give any spoilers away...BUT...Elizabeth and Darcy may have had a sex scene...soooo what do you think about that?! 

{seven}

I have decided I'm just going to pick someones whole week of meals this weekend from Nell's cool link-up. I am sick to death of expending brain time on what to make for dinner, I want someone to tell me, give me all the ingredients and then I'll cook it. The actual cooking part I have no problem with if I turn up my music loud enough to block out screaming children. It's the coming up with something every day that I despise. So someone is going to be the lucky winner from Nell's! Also; go link up so I can steal your recipes.

Hope you all have a wonderful week-end. We're expecting snow and really cold temperatures by Monday so I'm effectively battening down my mental hatches for cabin fever. 

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What I've Reading Lately...

I've been reading some good books so I thought I'd share with you, because you know I love to talk about books!

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

I really liked this one, guys. It's a dramatic, touching story about marriage, family, loss, and dealing with tragedies in life you could never imagine. But the author succeeds in making the story readable by creating an atmosphere that is completely engaging. I especially loved the sense of place that is created; how the Australian island, the lighthouse, the ocean, become vivid while reading. The plot itself follows a veteran of The Great War who becomes a lighthouse keeper after he returns to Australia, he thinks he can only deal with the ramifications of the War through being alone but falls in love with a woman who changes his life. I won't give the rest of the story away because I didn't know anything about the plot, but couldn't put the book down once I was a few chapters in and I cried multiple times until I finished. (There is a trigger warning to go along with this book however, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who has dealt with miscarriage or infant death - there are scenes vividly described, and I cried buckets.)

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I admire and love Patchett's writing. She has a unique style that creates a world unto itself, but at the same time brings strong themes and ideas of how love and relationship impact different lives. This novel is the fantastical seeming journey of a research doctor to the depths of the Amazon. She searches for a research camp in hopes of finding her colleague who has gone missing among a tribe of natives who have no end to their fertility. There are many strange things that come from this, and though the main character sometimes grates the nerves, the story is so foreign and original you can't help but want to know what will happen to the characters, the research, the natives themselves. A whole other-world experience.

We Were Liars by E. Lockart

This book has been touted as the YA book of the year, but I can't help feeling somewhat disappointed by it. It's well written, describing the summers of a teenage girl who has had an accident and is piecing together the memories of what happened before her accident. Of course, the teenage girl spends her summers on a private island off Nantucket with her wealthy extended family so the cast of characters includes her mother, aunts, grandfather and mysterious cousins and a love interest. It's a good book if you're looking for a quick, creepy mystery story filled with a good helping of teenage angst.

Momnipotent by Danielle Bean

I have a feeling that this book would have been far more impressive to me if I had read this with a group of moms. The writing is straightforward, approachable, and perfect for the busy mom who doesn't have a lot of time to read for herself. The way Danielle Bean brings together important theological ideas from St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body with mothering is really superb and necessary for Catholic moms today, but I felt that reading it by myself I just breezed through it. This is a perfect gift for a new mom, a great book to read with a mom's group or just with a friend, and will encourage any mom in any stage of motherhood.

Emma by Jane Austen

I'm running a wee bit behind with The Motherhood and Jane Austen book club, so I just recently finished Emma. I love Emma for all the usual reasons; her wit, Knightley's dashing brilliance, the matchmaking, but what strikes me the most in Emma is the theme of truly loving and accepting those in our lives. I love that Emma loves and cares for her father, not out of duty or obligation, not in blindness to his faults, but because of his weaknesses and love for her she has a deep, tender love for him. I love that the book wants to show us that people in our lives no matter how much they drive us crazy deserve our love and respect all the time, not just when we feel like it. I need to be reminded of this often, but Austen's genius is that she reminds me in an entertaining, thoughtful, and completely enjoyable way.



And linking up with the Jenna for 5 Faves, because there are conveniently 5 books here...

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 105

I promise these will be quick-but go to Jen's to check out the best of the best.

{one}

Happy Halloween everybody! I've never been a huge halloween person. Don't get me wrong, we always had a great time as kids trick or treating, and I dressed up as Nancy Drew several times, but it was more of a last minute excitement fuelled by the promise of free sugar, not true holiday excitement. 

{two}

And then, one Halloween 5 years ago I had a little baby on Halloween night and now October 31 is really special. I can't believe Luke is 5. What?! He was literally my cute, pudgey, squeezy, little baby boy yesterday. And now he's a hilarious, ridiculously energetic, sweet boy with a lightening ability to figure out how things work, from the display lights in drugstores to heavy machinery. We all just love him!

{three}

After Luke was born I was really concerned his birthday would be a drag on Halloween, but clearly as a young child it just means that Halloween falls on his birthday, or happens because of it. Basically, it's great. It might become annoying in later life, but let's hope not! Luke's always been thrilled everyone gets to dress up on his birthday because it's one of his favourite things and it all just seems to work. This year everyone picked another superhero and I went out and bought costumes yesterday. Hey, I'm not even feeling guilty about it because once they can all actually help make a costume I'll begin to care and maybe put in a little creativity/work. But now it's enough work to squish them and a snowsuit into a pre-fab superhero costume.

{four}

I cannot wait until they all dress up as favourite book characters. I'm going to con the girls into Amelia Bedelia, Anne of Green Gables, and Hermione on a yearly basis. Could I get away with one red wig for all of them??

{five}

Yesterday as I was trolling for 70%-off Halloween costumes I had to restock on diapers and noticed this charming display of condoms alongside the diapers at Superstore (think Target, but Canadian, and more focused on groceries). Now, I know they've been there before, and if Superstore didn't have the cheapest diaper prices when they put Huggies on sale I wouldn't get them there, but yesterday this really riled me up. Is this a conscious decision to put contraceptives beside baby products? Do they completely miss the contradiction these two products put together project? "Use these condoms so we can sell less diapers." Basically I just was so offended. So I waited in line at customer service for the manager to be called. As I stood there in my righteous anger I suddenly recalled that I've never complained to a general manager about anything. I'm Canadian, we don't complain, sure I correct the checkout lady if a price is wrong, but not complain. I got a little terrified, but I complained nonetheless and used the word "offended" quite a few times. He basically blew me off saying he had to put the condoms somewhere, and although I wanted to head off on a diatribe of actually you don't because there are natural alternatives to rubber contraceptives....I just said, well then put them in the pharmacy section please away from the products that are meant for the products of non-sterilized sexual relations. But not exactly in those words. I know Superstore's do this across the country, but if no one complains they'll just keep doing it, so maybe if you're shopping there you could complain too next time! You'll probably do a better job than me.

{six}

My kids always want the same cakes for their birthdays even though they can pick anything. Luke's picking chocolate cupcakes with green and orange icing for the third year in a row, which doesn't seem too appetizing, but we'll go with it. 

{seven}

The general mood around here this week...

This week was really gloomy weather wise around here, as well as windy and cold. It did not help my overall mood much. It made me just want to curl up every afternoon with a British television show and crochet. Which I did most days this week. I'm caught up on Downton Abbey, and there is plenty of questionable soap opera-like plot twists everywhere! But no spoilers I promise.

And check out the giveaway for the SoulCore dvd, it's on till Sunday!

Hope everyone has a great All Hallow's Eve tonight, and a great weekend celebrating All Saint's and All Soul's!

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The Perfect Workout for the Prayerful, Stay at Home Mom: SoulCore

I've been meaning to write about the SoulCore workout for about six months. But...things. If you're like me you don't get excited about the terms "working" and "out" being put together; or it's not so much that you find exercising difficult so much as sitting on the couch watching Downton Abbey while eating banana bread sounds like a lot more fun. There is also, naturally, not enough hours, minutes, seconds in the day to get everything done on your endless list, or the energy to get out of the house and exercise.

But what if we could combine a solid yoga/pilates/stretching/Jillian-like workout with praying? We could do two things at once, ladies! And as if by an answer to prayer I read about SoulCore and knew I had to give it a try.

I first heard of SoulCore as a yoga-like workout that is done while praying the Rosary. I was really curious how this would all be done. Would it be boring repetitious exercises done quickly while bleating out fast Hail Marys? Would it be boring as all get out? Would I not be able to pray because the exercises were too hard? Would the exercises be too easy and make me fall asleep while only getting through a decade?

I plunged in by ordering the workout DVD for the Joyful Mysteries. Firstly, I found the exercises to be challenging and a great whole-body workout. The 55 minute DVD definitely incorporates familiar yoga and pilates movements, but with each prayer there is a new exercise presented. Although this may sound like a slow paced workout to hardcore fitness fans, it works remarkably well, and as each decade functions like an interval your body comes out feeling great instead of exhausted by the end.

Photos taken of my tv? Oh, yes.

Obviously I'm not a fitness expert, so I found most of the exercises themselves to be at a great level of challenge without the possibility of hurting myself. I love feeling my whole body being stretched and toned, and have always liked yoga and pilates at the moderate level that I've attempted them.

But what I was most impressed by was the approach towards prayer that was presented in the workout. The fitness instructor simultaneously leads us in prayer and exercise without coming off as flippant, new-agey, or boring. I really appreciated the thoughtful prayer at the beginning and end of each mystery; a beautiful approach to the Rosary is shared, and a great focus placed on the virtues and fruits of each mystery while making them personally applicable.

As far as praying while working out, I was blown away by how my prayer was effected and enhanced by movement. We all become so used to simply sitting or kneeling while praying that being active while in prayer really brings about a different dimension to our expression. I was shocked by how my physical movements helped me focus on my prayer, how different positions revealed different spiritual attitudes, and how I felt differently about the Rosary as a whole from anything I have experienced previously.

The best thing about this workout is clearly the ability to bring about two goods in our life especially when we're feeling maxed out in both the areas of our own physical fitness and prayer. Most times that I use this DVD I don't go through the whole workout, usually two or three decades at a time, but even when I just make time to do 10 minutes and pray one decade I'm amazed at how relaxed I am afterward and how it gives me a great boost to how I feel about my own personal prayer time. These reasons may be a bit superficial, but we can all fall into ruts so easily when we have little time for personal prayer in our busy days, and sometimes a boost is what we need to realign our attitudes towards ceaseless prayer.

SoulCore has now come out with downloadable versions of the Luminous and Glorious Mysteries for only $5 and I really encourage you to give it a try if you're looking for an at-home workout that's not only challenging but brings focused prayer to your day. There's nothing like offering up your shaking muscles and non-existent ability to do push-ups in prayer!

This review is entirely my own and I haven't been compensated in any way, I just really like it and think you will too! Today I'm giving away a copy of the Joyful Mysteries DVD Workout, but if you can't wait to see if you win, hop on over and download the workout for the Luminous & Glorious Mysteries! Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 104

Just checking in with Jen and Seven Quick ones, because I miss everyone when I take a week off!

{one}

Strike a pose or what?

In big time breaking news -- the husband and I got away for 3 whole nights sans kiddos for the first time in 2 years last week!! Cue parade, balloons, confetti, married people high fives.

 I'll let you in on a little secret: it's really hard to get babysitting for 5 kids for more than a day. Especially when you've got a kid in diapers, a kid who is "potty trained" and three kids who are extremely active and in your business 24/7. 

BUT! The stars aligned, we divided the children amongst grandparents and skeedaddled.

{two}

Guess who only brought her cell phone as a camera?

We hemmed and hawed, three nights away doesn't seem like that long to shell out the exorbitant money to fly somewhere, but we hadn't gone anywhere out of Alberta for 4 years and thus choose Seattle due to it's easy flight time, the ocean, and copious fancy restaurants. It was also warmer than here, but weren't able to coordinate our sacred babysitting dates with an NFL game which was another thing on our list...because we are weird Canadians.

{three}

I love cocktails I don't have to make myself!

We stayed downtown and since we only spent two full days in the city, spent all of our time down there and found lots to do. We also went to amazing restaurants which is something we both like to do, but never really get the chance since we live in the middle of nowhere. I think it's safe to say that Canlis was the fanciest restaurant we've ever been to and we had the greatest time. Then practically rolled into our silent, luxuriously clean, hotel bed in a food-bliss stupor. 

We ate at other great places, and I had 9 types of seafood, completely decimating my competition (my husband), and it all tasted like oceanic heaven! I also may or may not have consumed a dozen or so cocktails...but I lost count...

{four}

I'm short, so this seemed like an appropriate angle somehow.

We found the weather warmer than even our very mild, thus far, October and enjoyed feeling rain again! Our first day ended up being beautifully warm and sunny so we headed to the top of the Space Needle and had great views which we really loved. We are dutiful tourists, but no regrets. 

I also fit in a little shopping, but didn't buy out the Anthropologie like I wanted to. We ended up having drinks at the rooftop lounge at our fancy hotel in the middle of the afternoon. Completely free of thinking about what we would feed the offspring in a few hours. And surrounded by only adults! What?!?

{five}

Friday we explored Pike Place Market, which was a mere 4 blocks from our hotel, and it was so much fun. I think I could have spent all day in there, because it's a maze and I very well could have gotten lost. My favourite part was the literal miles of gorgeous flowers, all insanely cheap. You just never see that in Alberta or Canada, (well, maybe some parts of Canada) but I loved them and it pained me not to buy 6 or 10 bouquets.

I also had the greatest eggs benedict with crab, ate my heart out at a French bakery, and didn't even sell out to have a Starbucks at the original location.



{six}

I've got hundreds of grey photos with little black fins poking out, these were the best of the bunch.

We leisurely explored the market for so long that I completely lost track of time. I didn't realize it was almost the middle of the afternoon, and I sure as heck wasn't paying attention to when boat tours were leaving from the waterfront. But...my husband was! Isn't that shocking?! Obviously not because he was the one who wanted to go on a boat tour because he hadn't been on the ocean for a few years. We ended up strolling up to the ticket office with five minutes to spare on their one tour of the day - which I thought was a great coincidence, husband planning and forethought aside.

The boat tour began in Lake Union and took us through the locks into Elliot Bay, or Puget Sound, I always get the two confused -- but the ocean. It was a fun little boat tour, it was also nice to be on the water and inside while it was raining out. The husband reeked out over the technological advances in the hundred year old locks, and I saw the Sleepless in Seattle house, it was a great time.

Then as we were curving around the bay, going back towards downtown, the captain of the boat spotted whales, and before it even had time to register in my brain I looked out the right side of a boat  and saw an orca cutting through the water! We all rushed out onto the deck and saw the orca swim north alongside the boat, popping up out of the water every 50 feet or so. I was shocked and amazed along with everyone else in the boat as the tour guide said that she'd worked for over 4 years on this boat and had never even heard of orcas being so far south in Puget Sound, let alone seeing them herself on a tour!

Soon, we saw a mother whale with a smaller baby swimming alongside her near the front of the boat. They were really quick close, and since the boat had to kill the engines we were just floating alongside of them. Then someone would spot another fin peaking out in the distance, then another, then another whale close to the boat, three, four! We probably saw at least 10 whales over the course of half an hour. It was so surreal and amazing, I've never seen whales in the ocean before, let alone so close for so long. They felt so much bigger than I expected, and I had images of them destroying boats and ripping apart small mammals in my head. But really, they're stunning in the flesh and I still can't believe we saw them. It was a definite highlight!



{seven}

Forced smiles never hurt anyone.

Although it was a quick trip, it felt so great to get away a little, to feel like real live adults. And because we live in the middle of nowhere, staying in the middle of a big city just walking around exploring is our idea of a perfect couple days break from our littles. It's also such a treat to just wander, not worrying about who needs to eat or go to the bathroom, who needs to nap, how long it'll take us to get dinner. We drank in the afternoon, ate dinner after 6, saw a movie in theatres together  for the first time in two years!

Overall a great success! And we only got to half the great things the wonderful Caitlin recommended for me when I peppered her with all the Seattle-related questions. If you're looking for great recommendations you should really harass her and tell her I sent you.

Thanks for putting up with me and trip related blather, have a great weekend!!

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I Want To Build A Living Church

A few weeks ago I piled the kids into the car and drove a few miles down the road to have a picnic in the shadow of a beautiful country church. Our area is dotted every few miles with small, simple, yet beautiful churches that were first built by the Ukrainian, Polish, and other Eastern Europeans who settled the area over a hundred years ago. They were settlers who left horrendous political conditions, many were peasants who were treated as property by the rulers of the land that often changed with the winds. These pioneers came to a vast, empty country with harsh weather and little resources other than their own hard work and ambition to finally create their own lives. They traveled across this enormous country, dug through snow and ice, chopped, ploughed, planted and lived a difficult but free life in a new country a world away from where they were born. Along with this courage they brought their faith, and although they lived very simply they would band together with their nearest neighbours to construct a small, log church where a priest could visit whenever possible to give them the sacraments. Miles from the nearest community, there would be a tiny, sacred space built by farmers that showed how much they valued their faith in God who gave them a life fraught with suffering and hardship, but remained with them. The churches appear from seeming nowhere in farmers fields, pastures, or a clearing in the woods, like sprouts of spring flowers in a wilderness.

When I first moved to this area I worked with seniors and I remember one man telling me about building the town's Catholic Church in the early 1960's. He remembered figuring out difficulties involved with digging out the basement, assembling the framing of the walls of the church during violent winds, hoisting the roof trusses. He recalled these memories with a fond pride, a feeling of real accomplishment in tangibly helping build the Church where he could. A humble, small-town church which a bishop named Karol Wojtyla would one day visit.

I couldn't help but be moved by the romanticism of physically building a Church. Helping to make something substantial and visible that revealed your beliefs to the world. A task done to build up God's church on earth in a physical, real world. What a life accomplishment to look back and remember building a house of God. Images of the craftsmen who worked their whole lives building Chartes danced in my head.

But now the majority of these beautiful testaments to the first settlers of this country are empty. They are barred, boarded, and locked up. Many have been desacralized by the dioceses and have fallen into disrepair, victims to our harsh winters. The sacred spaces meant for worship go unvisited, unseen. People maintain the property surrounding the churches, but within there is no life. They have become just shells of a once living and active faith. Within two generations the faith that sacrificed to build a community church out of what little resources were to be had have been abandoned and forgotten by the communities of their descendants.

Every time I pass such a church I feel simultaneously inspired by the faith that once existed, and sorrowful for the absence of that faith today. I imagine the people who built those churches as they hauled logs to erect the walls, how they must have dreamed of adding the beauty of an altar, a special crucifix, a stunning icon. I see the family events that must have been celebrated there, the baptisms, the weddings; but also the grief and mourning of the deaths of small children, parents who died of illness, victims of farm accidents. Through all the workings of life the people would have gone to that church, a humble space in a wide, empty prairie which contained Christ the King in the Blessed Sacrament. They would have participated in the Mass along with the angels there in those echoey and draughty structures. The grace of Almighty God would have flowed to those people there through baptism, confession, marriage, anointing. Priests would have lived a life a sacrifice and difficulty to minister to these isolated areas, to people who spoke different languages, and in the burgeoning towns and communities. These churches represent that faith which was present in those people's lives and lives lived in faith.

I still think of the romanticism and privilege it would be to build a church. To hammer and nail or stack bricks or sculpt or design a testament to God here on earth. However, now when I think of building a church it occurs to me that I am indeed building the Church, through forming the little souls of my children that make up the Body of Christ. I'm forming immortal bricks who can choose to live a faith I pass down to them. These living pieces of the Church have incalculable potential. Their precious lives matter to God right now and as they grow and hopefully learn to live and love the faith my work in building will live on.

I want to be part of building a living Church, fully alive with an active faith. I want to build a Church that understands the value of suffering; that is able to appreciate true joy even in the midst of hardship. I want to build up a faith that is knowledgable and applicable to daily life, that will be with my children day in and day out, a faith that is truly lived. I want to build up a Church that knows the intimate and ever-flowing love of Christ; that seeks forgiveness, grace, and life in the Sacraments. I want to build a church that will not succumb to the elements, that will not become soft and rot. It is a lofty goal, only accomplished through God's grace, but it will remain my prayer as I make it my life's work.

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 103

Stop by Jen's for the better takes!

{one}

If you haven't yet donated to the Lenaburg family I would love to implore you to jump on board giving a little help to this wonderful family going through such a difficult time. Mary is such an inspiring mom, and the love she has for her daughter through such a difficult time is an amazing witness to me. And keep Courtney, Mary and the whole family in your prayers!

You can also order great books with all proceeds going to the Lenaburgs over at Molly Makes Do!

{two}

My week has been fairly ordinary but in a good way because I feel I got on top of a lot of things that had gone by the wayside for a while. It's always funny to think about the ordinary days being the most important -- the routines, habits, cleaning, ordering, hugging, tucking in, repeat; because you just swear nothing exciting is happening. But it's actually really good. 

{three} 

I'm still not sure if you all enjoy my talking about homeschooling, or if I don't do it often enough. But we've done 6 weeks of school now, mostly 4 days per week and I think we've overcome the really terrible first weeks of resuming routine, school, learning, tantrums(from me), etc. Basically, I'm feeling worlds better about it all than a month ago. Common sense things like "THEY REALLY ARE LEARNING, IT'S JUST SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY LIKE CHILDREN, NOT ROBOTS." are sinking into my mind. 

And since 6 weeks have past and my husband is taking all of next week off of work, I've decided to try out the Sabbath schooling idea. It's basically the idea that you school for six weeks then take one week off instead of larger chunks of time more spread apart. (Or at least that's what I've been led to believe, I'm no expert.) I'm looking forward to a break where I'm intentional about being on a break and enjoying it, knowing we'll be back at it in a week. Sometimes the survival days off are definitely needed but you always feel like you can't really enjoy yourself because you should be doing school. So we'll see how I feel after a week!

{four}

I don't know if you've read all about the Jennifer Lawrence hoopla, but I can't shake the sad I feel about it. She's a movie star who is arguably one of the most attractive women in the world, and still feels and acts as if her boyfriend will be looking for sexual satisfaction elsewhere when they're apart. You'd think she'd be the last person to believe that. That makes me sad. But it makes me even sadder that her words will make most women and girls believe their own insecurities and false ideas of men being incapable of self control. It's all sad. 

I did however, think these two articles were AWESOME about the topic. Do read them and share them! 

Despite What Jennifer Lawrence Says Men Don't Need Nude Selfies

He Doesn't Need Your Sext: A Response to Jennifer Lawrence

{five}

Jenny at Mama Needs Coffee has really been killing it this month with her 31 Days of Understanding the Catholic Church's Teaching on Sex and Marriage. Her post on suicide and this week's celebration of a woman planning on ending her own life was really well done as was her post on why Catholics have a bunch of kids. The why in why we have a bunch of kids is probably news to people, and hey, we need to spread the news, folks! 

{six}

I've been a bit of a Synod nerd this week. I'm always fascinated by the Church's workings and this Synod so far has been really interesting to read about. So far I really don't understand all the headlines that prophesy doom and gloom, they're just talking after all. And we've got to start talking about these things on a general Church wide level to get some momentum moving from all parts of the Church at once, not just Pope Francis, not just the laity, not just some bishops. We've got to solidify things on a united front so that things on the pastoral, everyday level can start making strides to bringing people back to the Church and Christ. Keep the Synod in your prayers if you can.

{seven}

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving so we'll be rolling out the pumpkin pie and turkey! We'll also be helping(?) out my dad as it's the week he sells most of the cattle who've grazed all summer. The boys are already excited to watch Papa and Daddy chase cows and for cattle liners to rumble down the road! I'm also going to try to catch up on some Downton, crochet, and eat. So I'll be busy. 

Hope you all have a wonderful fall weekend, and Happy Thanksgiving Canadians!

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