Outside My Window...
It's colder again, 21 degrees, and the sound of the wind makes me think of fall or winter. Several more days of colder than normal temps lie ahead this week and I think I saw the words SNOW SHOWERS somewhere in the forecast. Please let it be warm enough for sandals and short sleeves on Easter.
I am Thankful For...
A daytime 'date' with Reed on Friday. It allowed for uninterrupted conversation, a quick lunch at a restaurant and a shopping trip in which I scored a TON of deals on spring/summer clothes for the kiddos.
I Am Thinking about...
How to best use this Holy Week in prayer, patience and charity in our household. After reading Jamie's post and realizing this is THE WEEK my soul is yearning for, I feel encouraged to somehow make the most of it.
From the School Room...
CAT/5 survey standardized testing that I scheduled thinking this was a good week to take care of it. Hopefully we can still make it work this week and get it done.
What I am Reading..
Not much. I kind of fell off with some of my Lenten reading that I had done well with at the beginning of Lent. However, I am keeping up with the daily reading in 33 Days to Morning Glory as we prepare for our consecration date on Divine Mercy Sunday.
From the Kitchen...
I am thinking about keeping suppers simple this week. Maybe a couple of days of soup and bread are good simplistic meals for Holy Week? I've got some cheesy potato soup in the freezer to use, but I also think we'll whip up Patty's Meatless Taco Soup, along with this Creamy Tortellini Soup. My mom gave us a package of homemade pretzel mix recently that I want to try and make with the kids on Good Friday.
Praying For...
A fruitful Holy Week.
Families who are missing loved ones who've recently passed away.
Those who are entering the Catholic Church this Holy Saturday.
I am Hearing...
The chatter of the three year old as she watches Wild Kratts.
Around the House...
Thanks to Tracy's post and her help via email, we implemented a new task/cleaning/helping mom chart at our house last week. So far it's working great and keeping the big kids motivated (even if it is by small amounts of money). I needed more help and found that even the smallest things, like filling beverage glasses before supper, only seemed to be done by me. Thanks to the new list, the kids have the freedom to choose which things to do each day to add up to making some money. They are finding that a bunch of small things for modest pay still turns out to be decent pocket money by Pay Day. It is a relief for me and gives me more of a chance to take on the general household needs and also just breathe a bit more.
Picture to Share...
We've never had much for decor in our small parish church in the past, but the combination of a young priest who thrives on liturgical/Church symbolism/tradition and an eager-to-do church coordinator (that would be ME), things are changing. This is the first year (that I recall) our statues have been covered the last weeks of Lent and the red was the extra effect for Palm Sunday. I found that it made me more alert to the sacredness of the week ahead and the longing for the beauty of Easter.
A snapshot of our church on Palm Sunday:
Blessings on your Holy Week, the Week That Changed The World.
Love sharing your thoughts, ideas, and days, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI too am hoping for a fruitful Holy Week...
Love the picture of your church...
Blessings for a wonderful Easter with that lovely family, my friend!
Oh....we are looking at cold and snow tomorrow too! Try explaining that an antsy four year old who has spent every waking moment outside the past few days...without a coat on! : )
Sarah, I've been away from blogging during this first year of my son's life. I'm back, and came straight here. Hope you're having a blessed Holy Week. Mike and I are using this week to reconcile some of our Lenten failures and really refresh ourselves for the Easter Season. Blessings and Peace, Lauren
ReplyDeleteIt is so cold out. that is all I can say.
ReplyDeleteBut I love coming here with all the flowers!
I love everything and anything traditional. That picture of the church is neat.
Love the picture of your church! I really really wanted to take a photo of ours yesterday during Mass. My son was serving and I wanted to catch him on the way out. No way to do that with the screaming 1 yr old without making a scene!! ha! Read 33 days last year and really enjoyed it. Reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus this year and having a harder time getting into it. Its just the format--Consoling is supposed to be a weekend retreat. The daily (but reasonable) aspect of 33 days was really reasonable for me. :) Have a blessed Easter!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel pressured to do Consoling in a weekend, or even fast. I read it in about 3 weeks I think...soak it in with little bits. You won't be sorry! I reviewed it here:
Deletehttp://makemeasaint.blogspot.com/2013/10/consoling-heart-of-jesus.html
Just fyi, you don't have to go there or anything...
I just washed our winter coats and then today, the kids were like, "Where's my winter coat?" dang weather.
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious to get rid of them! hahah!
I don't know of any churches here that veil the statues and religious articles...it would be a good lesson for everyone to learn more about it by doing it.
God bless you Sarah, have a wonderful, blessed holy week!
If it snows I'm just going to close all the curtains and not look outside until it melts. Enough is enough!
ReplyDeleteJamie - I had planned on washing and storing winter coats and snowpants too! Looks like we will need them another week or more. My mudroom is bursting with coats AND jackets AND raincoats AND snow boots AND rainboots. We have it all, for every kind of weather.
So very glad our household task chart was helpful to you and your family!
Our statues and crucifix are veiled too. There's a group of women in our church who have worked feverishly on vestments and altar cloths and violet veils. They have done some amazing work. I should post some more photos, but in the meantime I have some up on my Smug Mug page:
http://tracydunne.smugmug.com/FSSP-Minneapolis/Holy-Week-2014/n-wPtBL/
I found this talk to be helpful in understanding veiling during Passiontide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPEXP6HJxwU
Ok, enough linking!
Wishing you a blessed holy week!