{p, h, f, r} Covert Operations and Request for Prayer

I am, once again, linking up with Auntie Leila.  First off, please, please, please, please consider joining me in a very special novena that begins tomorrow right here!

Also, don't forget to enter my toddler art prize pack giveaway!!!

Pretty Happy

The children and I have been up to some covert operations!! My husband has wanted a canoe for well, forever.  Four years ago, he put an application in for a dry dock boat slip on our lake.  He figured that by the time our number came up, he would have bought a canoe.  

Well, we hadn't and our boat slip became available this week!  In a totally impulsive reaction, I bought a used canoe as an early birthday gift.  It is also a very early Christmas gift for the kids. (I usually start shopping for Christmas around now, but this is the first time that I've given a gift this early.)  I called up my partner-in-crime  brother-in-law and we headed out to pick up the canoe.

I couldn't believe how big a 16 foot canoe is!!!! Thankfully, it fit on the car, and the seller threw in oars and five life-vests--sweet.

We have since loaded the canoe onto the boat slip, but my husband still doesn't know. We are making the big reveal tomorrow, the kids are ready to burst.

Funny

On the way to pick up the canoe, we passed a local creamery that makes its own ice cream and waffle cones.  I promised everyone a quick stop in on the way back.  We got a banana split with three scoops, three toppings, whipped cream and cherries. For only $6 it was a deal.  My brother-in-law then used the boat shaped dish to teach the kids some boating vocabulary.   Does that make this an educational field trip?  ;)

Real 

The last time I was at this creamery, I was pregnant with Ashley, my sister-in-law was ready to pop with my first niece, and my dad drove us all there.  Within two weeks, so much changed. I lost my baby and my father, but I also gained my beautiful niece.  So many memories. I hadn't been ready to go back before now, but I'm glad that I did!

Most amazing view---this was one of my parents' favorite spots.

A Flying Novena

Linking up with Theology is a Verb for Worth Revisiting:

It is very late at night and I can't sleep despite a busy, busy day. My heart is heavy with the plight of the persecuted and concern for my own country and family.  In Father Apostoli' s book Following Mary to Jesus  he describes how Mother Teresa prayed what she dubbed "a flying novena."  It consisted of nine Memorare prayers prayed in succession for urgent needs.

I am asking all of you, to join me in a Novena of Flying Novenas.  We will begin on Friday, so as to gather as many prayer partners as possible.  I will post the Novena each day along with special intentions, meditations, and prayers. Prayer can move mountains and nothing is impossible for Our God.  Please share this novena with your friends and family. Let us storm Heaven with pleas of deliverance.  If my blog accomplishes nothing else, I pray that it will spread this message to pray that God has laid upon my heart.

Do you remember Flight 800?  It was the jet that exploded over the Hudson river in 1996.  I had a ticket on that flight!  My dream from when I was very small, maybe 3 years old, had been to study in France.  I learned everything I could about the language, nation, and culture. I pleaded with my mother to send me to a boarding school in France, like my heroine Madeline.  I collected every Madeline book and trinket and dreamed of one day strolling down the streets of Paris.  When I was a junior in college, my chance finally came.  I was required to study abroad for my major. My father booked me a non-stop flight to Paris and a three night hotel stay in Paris, so I could live my dream before heading to school in Reims. I could not have been happier!!  Then, the Sunday before my scheduled departure, I had a complete panic attack like no other panic attack in history. I was up the entire night wondering how I could explain to my parents that I couldn't board that plane.  I didn't know why, I couldn't explain it in the least. I still planned to go to school but I just couldn't go early, I couldn't take that flight. My parents were furious, my father tried every ounce of his power to bend my will but I just couldn't change as much as I wanted to.

In a last ditch effort to bring me to my senses, my father told me that if I wouldn't board the flight he had booked me, I could pay for my own ticket over.  Despite my very limited budget and the headache of phone calls to book a new flight, that is what I did and I instead arrived in France a day late. But, I arrived!  My mother and I watched in horror as the news footage showed over and over the devastating crash.  It took me years to get over the guilt of walking away. I would constantly wonder, who took my ticket, who was in my seat?  Did he have children? Was she a wife?  After the survivor guilt began to wane, I realized there was another side to this.  God had spared me. No matter how many times I asked why the others perished, my true answer was He chose that I did not.  I have begged God to show me why, what is my purpose, what is my mission.  I still am searching, I may never fully know this side of Heaven, however, when God keeps me awake, I have learned to "trust and obey" as the children's Bible song says.

So, please join me on this mission.  It may be the one for which  I have asked for 20 years!  " Speak LORD, Your servant is listening!"

God bless!

7QT Giveaway week #1

Around Christmas time, on Facebook, there was a "pay it forward" challenge circulating. My sister posted an invitation to join the challenge and she would randomly bless you with a gift some time during the year. I signed onto hers and then posted the same challenge on my page...however, out of the ten people who should have volunteered to join on, only two signed up!  So, for the next eight Friday's, I will be sponsoring giveaways of some of my favorite things and highlighting some of my favorite businesses. This are simple giveaways to bless one of my readers, no strings attached and I receive nothing in return other than the pleasure of making one of you happy!  So, this is week one.

1

I really, really, really like books.  So, my children have hundreds and I have read hundreds more from the local library.  I have a few tried and true favorites. Today I am going to share with you my new favorite series.

2

Some of our collection

It's important to surround our children with beauty and goodness. In the board book department, I have found books that meet this criteria few and far between.  Then I discovered the Mini Masters series of books.  I purchased a stack for Little Man for Christmas, an extra couple just because, and then another for Easter. We now have most of the set, but I think that new ones have been released recently.

3

When Cowgirl was a baby, Baby Einstein was all the rage.  Everyone wanted everything Baby Einstein. While I liked some of the products--particularly the Cds--most of it seemed to be missing something. I appreciated the inclusion of fine art, but there always seemed to be a disconnect between the pictures and the prose--or the lack of prose.  One of my favorite features of Mini Masters is how a dear little story is woven into the pictures of paintings. The pictures are tied together so well.

4

I also enjoy that each book contains a wide array of examples of each artist's work. For instance, Monet' s book of course has the painting of the famous bridge and water lillies, but also includes his painting of turkeys. I never knew he painted turkeys!

5

The books are well constructed and able to withstand whatever a busy toddler can throw at them, such as throwing them!  The pages are high gloss and easy to clean. All the features that a mom appreciates.

6

Lastly, I must say that they are not just for young toddlers. I have used several in my preschool art class where the average age is 4.5 years. The children really enjoyed the stories and studying the various works of art. I feel that it made the art more accessible to them.

7

Here's the giveaway! One of my blessed reader will win a box set of Mini Masters books, toddler crayons, and toddler markers.

Comment below for one entry
Share with friends for an additional entry (tell me where in the comments)
Sign up for updates from Veils and Vocations for a bonus 3 entries!

Contest closes April 24, 2015.

Linking up with Kelly, please keep her family in your prayers!

Have a Blessed Easter!!!

From my family to yours, sincere wishes for a blessed and joyous Easter. God bless!

My favorite song for Easter morning.

{p,f,h,r} The Holy Week 2015 Edition

Linking up with Auntie Leila.

Pretty

We had a very pretty tea, but also pretty quick.  With a wiley toddler, everything needs to move along before he gets into too much trouble. In fact, we ended up skipping rereading the Gospel passages because Little Man ate almost half the strawberries by the time we finished saying Grace.  Buddy is pretty funny. He waits all year for these wine spritzers They maybe have a tablespoon of wine in each glass, but he spends the rest of the year telling everyone that he loves wine....that can be REAL interesting.

Happy

Buddy was so happy to lose his first tooth. He has been trying to wiggle one out for two months ever since the dentist said that he would lose a tooth soon.

Funny

For how rascally that little guy is, he amuses himself well. We had an egg dying party on Palm Sunday evening with some of my husband's family.  Little Man lost interest in watching the eggs get dunked in cups, so he just sat down an looked through his books. He's been known to sit for a half hour just turning pages and looking at pictures. However, he won't let you read to him, everyone must have their own book and read to themselves...lol.

Real

I'm not sure why I thought scrubbing the kitchen on Wednesday would mean it would be clean for Easter. This floor has been swept no less than ten times since yesterday morning.  We won't even discuss the French door--fingerprint central!  I know someday, all too soon, I will miss having them around, but I don't think I will ever miss the endless mess they produce.  My favorite Facebook meme is "Cleaning a house with kids in it is like trying to brush your teeth while eating Oreos." So true!

Holy Thursday Liturgical Tea

A few years ago, inspired by Jessica, we began having a Holy Thursday Liturgical Tea.  It was surprisingly simple to pull off and made a real impression on the children.  I am busy preparing for today's tea and thought I would share some of our plans.

Each year, I set the table with a pretty olive-themed tablecloth and take out some special bowls and plates, just not the fine China.  I save that for Easter.  In addition to the symbolic foods, I include a few symbolic plates, a pewter player, green fish shaped plate the my mother-in-law made me, and my decorative Noah' s Ark plate.   The pewter plate represents the Sedar that Jesus shared with the disciples. The fish represents Christ and green is a traditional color for Holy Thursday.  Noah' s Ark represents the fulfillment of Old Testement prophecies.  

A glimpse at last year's tea.

Below is a list of what we usually have on the table for our tea:

Palms on the road-- In years past, I have made heart of Palm salad, and eaten the whole thing myself. In an effort to economize and simplify, I now just put the palms from Palm Sunday in a pretty vase as a centerpiece.

Costly Oil--I fill a shallow bowl with olive oil and flavor it with Italian seasoning, garlic, and a little onion powder. As a child, this is what we put on bread, never butter, of course that was only if there was no tomato sauce left to sop up.

Unleavened bread blessed and broken-- We are using broken pieces of Matzo crackers, but have also used posts cut into wedges, in the past.

The Blessing Cup--I make a special wine Spitzer that is mostly grape juice and water with a very little bit of red wine. The wine and water represent the blood and water that flowed from Christ's side.

Mount of Olives--A pile of olives. Any kind will do. 

Garden of Gethesmene-- Dried figs

Sleepy Apostles--Sleepytime tea

Thirty Pieces of Silver--I'm once again filling a bowl with thirty dimes that will then be donated to Mary's Meals. We have also used rice crackers, slices of carrots, and slices of string cheese.

Judas' kiss--Strawberries

The Cock Crowed Twice--I marinated some chicken cutlets, cooked them in a pan, and sliced them into strips. In years past, we have used rotisserie chicken, chicken salad, and mini chicken pot pies.

Peter's Tears--Salted sunflower seeds.  (I bought unsalted by mistake, oops!) 

Cloud of Heaven--Garlic mash potatoes, and yes, I use instant potatoes. I simply salute some garlic in oil and mix it in. The key is simplicity.

I will be back to post pictures in Pretty-Happy-Funny-Real.  Enjoy the day!

Holy Wednesday: A Day of Preparation

Cowgirl recently commented, "I don't understand why they call it Holy Week, I mean it's not like it is "Glorious Wednesday" or anything. What's up with Wednesday?"

Ah, good question.  In our diocese, Monday is set aside as "Reconciliation Monday" where every parish opens from 4-9 PM with multiple priests available simultaneously for confession.  On Tuesday, we always have reversal for our Children's Stations of the Cross. I've never been to the Chrism Mass, but hope to go someday. However, since the Chrism Mass is taking place at the Cathedral, there is nothing going on at parishes, so it makes sense to reherse on Tuesday.

And then there is Wednesday, the breather between the hustle and bustle of the early part of the week and the hustle and bustle of the Tridiuum.  I think God realized we all needed a chance to catch our breath!  Holy Wednesday is a day to prepare so we can focus more on Christ the rest of the week. It's like a Martha day before a Mary long weekend.

So, here is our plan for the day.  Wash the floors and windows! There was a time when I would do this Holy Saturday night after the children went to bed. I'm not sure how, it seems crazy, for sure!  Ready food for Liturgical Tea, tomorrow, and Easter.  Gather up outfits for the children for Holy Thursday Mass, Children's Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, and Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.  Scrub table and chairs and pick out tablecloth for Easter brunch.  Double check that I have everything that I need for Easter morning and locate the box of Easter baskets in the attic, even though they won't come down until Saturday night. (I still decorate the house and set the table for brunch on Holy Saturday night.  I think waiting for Easter decoration until it's Easter emphasizes the celebration of the liturgical calendar, not the secular one. I do the same on Christmas Eve save the Christmas tree, outdoor lights, and nativities.  Anything that says "Merry Christmas," stockings, miscellaneous Christmas themed knick knacks all wait until after bedtime on Christmas Eve.)

I'm trying hard to muster the motivation to wash my windows!  It's my least favorite chore and it is still so cold outside. We even got some more snow yesterday. We might have a white Easter even though we had a green Christmas.  At least the sun is shining, I'm hoping the temperature starts to climb.

A look at the rest of the week:

• Liturgical Tea tomorrow afternoon
• Holy Thursday Mass followed by Adoration
• Children's Stations of the Cross
• Tenebrae Holy Saturday morning
• Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening
• Easter Brunch followed by holiday dinner at Hubby's Godmother' s home.

Hope you are all having a blessed Holy Week!