I’m choosing this one because there are too many religious Christmas songs I love and I avoid secular Christmas music at all costs. It’s catchy and while it’s somewhat sad at the end, it’s also happy because the two are united again.
Yes, I also realize that it’s a YouTube video and not a picture but it’s a fixed image on which text is projected.
I was trying to figure out what to do for this one as I haven’t been out of the house with my camera since Friday. I was on Yahoo News trying to find some ideas when it hit me to use this picture. It’s of a bell at Mission San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. The bell isn’t ringing per se but it could.
This was obviously not taken today because the color of the paraments and banners are wrong. I didn’t make it to church this morning because I was up most of the night with a sick little bear. He has a cold and I probably should have gone in and gotten him at 1:00 a.m. but didn’t think of it. Cue a 3:00 cough-to-vomit on his blankets, me having to change linens, and give him a breathing treatment because I couldn’t find his inhaler and St. Anthony obviously had better things to do than listen to my pleading as to where to find it. The breathing treatment ended up being the better thing because Daniel would consent to curl up with me and watch “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” while the nebulizer was going instead of me having to restrain a screaming toddler who did *NOT* want his inhaler.
(Picture c/o Catholic.Org)
Lutherans view saints as people who we should emulate as examples in the faith and for this reason, I have a number of saints I love. My most recent favorite has been St. Gianna Beretta Molla because she gave her life for her daughter, something I don’t think I could do. If I were to get pregnant again, I would be a really high-risk mama and I think I’d be asking my Catholic friends to pray to her on my behalf.
The USCCB is pondering re-instituting the Friday abstinence of meat and my friend Thomas decided to organize a number of people to do meatless Fridays this Advent. He is hosting a “What I Ate on Friday” link-up and as today is a free day for the #AdventPhotoADay peeps, I decided to use this post for both.
I ended up sleeping all morning so my first meal was lunch. Wanting a chance to go someplace and read, I headed to Panera because I needed to head to Elk Grove for errands and I figured they’d have something in a bread bowl that I’d love.
I opted for the clam chowder in a sourdough boule (I am from the San Francisco Bay Area after all) and it was lovely. The penitential part came when I remembered midway through the meal that I hadn’t taken any Bentyl or Lactaid. Yeah… I ended up pretty sick from it as a result. (Thank you IBS!)
My second meal was apples and cheese, figuring that it would probably sit well on my incredibly irritated stomach.
The string cheese doesn’t bug my stomach for some reason and provides some protein.
Brett now OFFICIALLY has a mama and papa. You know my Reece’s Rainbow kid Brett? Court was held on Monday in his region and his parents’ adoption request was granted. There’s a 10-day waiting period so the verdict can be recorded (this is Eastern Europe — things move slowly) and then they can spring him. Meanwhile, they’re preparing to go to court for his adopted sister Delilah. So… prayers answered!!!
As Brett is now taken care of and will be in the States in a few weeks, I asked to be allowed to have another child for whom I could advocate as a Guardian Angel. I had seen Kaia mentioned in the Reece’s Rainbow group on Facebook and her picture stuck with me as did the words in her profile:
Kaia has pretty green eyes, what a little dolly! She should be heading to kindergarten next year, not the institution.
She is the beautiful little china doll on my sidebar. Her adoption grant is currently only $5.00 — can we increase it this week? Please and thank you. (As of midnight on 12/8, her grant is now at $15. My deepest thanks to whoever donated to do that.)
My snowflakes were a hit last night. I starched them on Tuesday using this method and as they weren’t completely dry by Wednesday afternoon, I spent some time with a blowdryer on them while exhorting them to stiffen. The blowdrying worked and the person who received them in the ornament/decoration exchange loved them. She’s a fellow crocheter so I’ll be sticking the pattern and starching instructions in her box on Sunday.
At the same ornament/decoration exchange during Ladies’ Night Out, I got a beautiful ceramic angel. It was wrapped beautifully and had a long green ribbon which immediately went into my purse. All my crazy cat ladies can probably guess the rest of the story: Edda and her siblings got extra playtime last night. It was comical to see Freya (our little butterball gremlin) going absolutely crazy and Finian (my fluffybutt) was also pretty funny.
I’m “occupying Advent”. I decided to take on blogging as an Advent discipline and am following Beth Anne’s tasks as my subjects. You can find other people’s efforts using the hashtag #AdventPhotoADay.
This is disturbing. My mom sent me a video from the Today Show about a trick thieves are using to get into hotel rooms. It disturbs me that the makers of the locks used by most hotel rooms has known since July and is suggesting band-aid solutions and not upgrading the locks free of charge. Hotels are also feigning ignorance which irritates me.
Who’s up for meatless Fridays? Thomas of Identified Catholic is hosting a link-up of what people are eating on Fridays as an effort to do communal penance during Advent. The USCCB is pondering a return to the practice and I’m participating during Advent in solidarity with my Catholic friends who are taking it on.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
I decided to use a picture of Metanoia Lutheran Church for today because there are a number of people I could use as an example of generosity.
– M has done everything she can to give me fun breaks from Daniel from taking me to the lobster feed at the Chamber of Commerce to inviting me to a Cookie Lee party she was holding. She also picks up my tab at Ladies’ Night Out if she’s there which is sweet of her and totally unnecessary.
– Our resident winemaker donates some of his wine to the church and he also gives us some when we head to visit family. (From what my relatives tell me, it’s quite good.) He and his wife also call me “Jennah” which is special.
– They designated their offering from midweek Lenten services to go to Easter Seals this year and raised $500… because they knew Daniel was receiving therapy through them.
– They support me every year in the Promise Walk and have raised a couple hundred dollars every year.
