Category Archives: Family

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: Mass for Immigration Edition

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 21, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s almost 1 a.m. It was a long day and I’m finally getting to blog this.

I am thinking… about what I’ll be doing with Daniel in a few hours when I have to get up.

I am thankful… that I got to go to the Mass in Recognition of All Immigrants at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

In the kitchen… nothing at the moment but I’m pretty sure there will be something cooking/baking tomorrow.

I am wearing… my Momcat shirt and running shorts.

I am praying for… the children being deported after being separated from their families and sent north to cross the border to escape the poverty and violence of their home countries.

I am going… to Target tomorrow for some things.

I am wondering… some things about the call processes we’re currently in at the moment.

I am reading… In This Mountain by Jan Karon. It’s a hard read for me because Fr. Tim is dealing with serious depression and I know it all too well.

I am hoping… I sleep restfully tonight.

I am hearing my “Bach and Chant” playlist on iTunes. Currently, it’s the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles.

Around the house… it’s silent as everyone else is asleep including the kitties.

I am pondering… too many things in my heart which is why I’m up blogging.

A favorite quote for today… “If you are interested enough to have read thus far you are probably interested enough to make a shot at saying your prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord’s Prayer. Its very first words are Our Father. Do you now see what those words mean? They mean quite frankly, that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending. Because, of course, the moment you realise what the words mean, you realise that you are not a son of God. You are not being like The Son of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a bundle of self-centred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.” — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

One of my favorite things… quiet. It’s a rarity with a five year old boy.

A few plans for the rest of the week: working with Daniel on school stuff as well as whatever errands are thrown into the mix.

A peek into my day… *cues the “What I Wore on Sunday” script*

I got permission to join Jon and his dad for the Mass at the cathedral on Sunday afternoon and his dad pulled some strings to get me into the “reserved” seating. I knew that receiving the Eucharist at Mass would be off-limits to me as a non-Catholic so I made plans to go to a normal worship service where I could commune this morning wearing my outfit from last week (which has been washed since).

My Sunday morning worship attire.

Dress and camisole: Kohl’s
Shoes: Naturalizer

When my father-in-law told me that I’d be sitting in the reserved section, I thought that it meant that I’d be able to get a seat in the sanctuary instead of being in the overflow outside on the plaza. (I’m on Cipro at the moment so direct sunlight is no bueno until Wednesday.) Little did I know that I’d be up on the raised part of the altar platform in the front row of one of the sections with the “ecumenical guests”. Even more surprising to me was when I was introduced with the “ecumenical guests” by name and people were applauding for me as well as flashbulbs going off. (I joke about marrying into the “Lutheran mafia” because Jon is a 4th generation pastor; but my father-in-law *IS* a big deal in the ecumenical community and this was a rare look for me into his world.) I leaned over to the diocese’s ecumenical officer who was sitting next to me and told him that I was so NOT worthy of this. His answer: “Yes you are.”

Me outside the cathedral with the cornerstone.

Shirt: Kohl’s
Slacks: Kohl’s
Shoes: Naturalizer
Sunglasses: Nike (they’re prescription ones — one of the best investments I’ve ever made)

The Mass was amazing. It was half in English and half in Spanish and I was thankful to be familiar with Catholic liturgy because I’m probably the only native Californian who doesn’t speak Spanish. (I can read it passably but I can’t understand it when it’s spoken.) It was definitely “smells and bells” worship with a very zealous thurifer (the person swinging the thurible with the incense). The priest proclaiming the Gospel was so clouded in incense that he looked hazy from probably 10 feet away where I was sitting. The archbishop preached half in English and half in Spanish and it was an excellent sermon. There were also the relics of St. Toribio Romo González who was martyred in the Cristero War with some ranking Knights of Columbus guarding the statue with the relics in it. (They did not have their swords but they still looked pretty impressive.)

The tapestries from where I was sitting.

At the end of the Mass, the archbishop came to greet all of the “ecumenical guests” and speak with us individually. I’m glad I asked how to address him before that point (answer: “Your Grace”) and I was flattered that I was able to meet him. The picture above was taken afterwards once people were leaving — it would have been offensive to take pictures during Mass.

My necklace.

The story of my necklace: A family friend and her family were missionaries in Afghanistan in the 1980’s and the beads are the famous blue glass of Herat. She doesn’t have any daughters or daughter-in-laws so she made me the necklace from the beads for my 30th birthday in 2010. It’s the equivalent of receiving the family jewels and given my heart for the Afghan people (and for their food), I was honored to receive it.

Now go see Holly and the other pretties at Fine Linen and Purple.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Answered Prayers, Cat Drama, and Science Geekery

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Answered Prayers. Do you see the precious child on my sidebar? Yep… Brett. His adoption is fully funded now and his prospective parents are ecstatic. They head overseas later this month to meet him. I’ve been praying for this for two years now. My deepest thanks go to Becki who has loved him so incredibly much for these last two years, partnered her prayers with mine, and convened a panel of a bunch of us to find him a mama about two months ago. Girlfriend brought his FSP from $7612 to $14000 with her advocating for him and her networking. I’m grateful that she could succeed where I couldn’t.

— 2 —

Happy birthday, Nicholas! Dwija at House Unseen blogged about the first anniversary of her son Nicholas being born into Heaven. I unfortunately have at least a few blogging friends who have lost children and many of them never cease to surprise me in their joy, even on really painful days for them. This is one of those occasions.

— 3 —

Prerequisite baseball take. The Giants are one game behind the Dodgers and it popped up on my Twitter tonight that Lincecum was about to “no hit” the Padres again. I started obsessively refreshing Twitter and found nothing. It turns out that they weren’t playing tonight and the tweet was just letting people know that the specific game from this year was on CSN. Oh well… it was worth a shot. Hopefully, the Giants will flatten Miami and the Dodgers will start cellar-dwelling again so Jon can stop gloating.

— 4 —

Congratulations Marie and Brian! Mi amiga Marie of Catholic Coffee Talk is getting married this weekend in Ohio. Go leave her comments to congratulate her. Do it now!

— 5 —

Cat drama. On Tuesday night, I came in after sitting on the porch and talking to my mom on my cell phone to find out from my mother-in-law that Edda had sat at the door and meowed for me for a good 15 minutes. (Someone is a bit of a mama’s panther.) Last night, we had one cat fight after another with FOUL language uttered. Today, Freya went out and refused to come back in. We eventually ascertained that she was hiding under the water tanks and mother-in-law dispatched Jon with cat treats to go get her. No luck. She crawled under my car and after I got something to poke her out, she ran under the fence into the backyard. Eventually, I sat down 5 feet from her on the back steps and the little monster surrendered but it was unnerving, especially after she vanished for a day or two a few weeks ago.

I just went to go see if my in-laws’ orange tabby patch male cat Arthur (referred to by me as “the citrus cat”) was ready to come in and the Birman that adopted my in-laws decided to waltz into the house. He saw Edda and hissed at her but I informed him that proper Birmans do not use such language. (It’s a very strange cat-centric household.) He jumped up on one of the tables in the living room and allowed himself to be petted and cajoled into staying. (There is no doubt as to who the superior creature is here.)

**UPDATE** Arthur is in and the Birman went back outside after sitting and howling at the door for 5 minutes straight. (He’s an in/out cat and has so far escaped being eaten by something so I’m hedging my bets.)

— 6 —

Geekdom. In one of the black cat groups on Facebook, someone asked if our cats like boxes. Someone replied, “My cat is called Schrodinger!! OF COURSE SHE LIKES BOXES!!!”

I think my brain just exploded. #sciencegeek #catlover

— 7 —

Prayer request. If you’re following along with the whole “special intention” thing at home, keep praying and add on that I need help praying to forgive someone. Please and thank you. 🙂

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 14, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 14, 2014

Outside my window… muggy and humid and hot. It feels like the Midwest instead of southern California. It rained on us a bit when I was at Trader Joe’s earlier.

I am thinking… about the issues we’re having in finding an ABA program down here for Daniel. The school is required to provide one but it might not be in this school district so they’re having to make a referral. And no, homeschooling is not an option. We’re already dealing with a home teacher and I’m having to figure out how to structure her time so that it’s actually useful. I have the patience and temperament of a drill sergeant which is why I didn’t become a teacher in the first place. Additionally, I’d prefer not to have to get a Master’s in Education focusing on ABA in order to educate my kid correctly so I’d really rather find people who already have the training.

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law who made me vegan chocolate-peppermint cupcakes yesterday and who is doing everything in her power to support what I’m doing with Daniel. I am seriously blessed to have her and my father-in-law.

In the kitchen… I finished up my scampi from Saturday night for lunch today. Dinner has yet to be decided.

I am wearing… my Run for Courage t-shirt and jeans short.

I am praying for… a special intention, grace to forgive certain people, wisdom to know how to structure Daniel’s days at the moment, for friends who are dealing with a lot right now, and for Hevel’s safety.

I am going… to hopefully go visit my boys this week with tuna so that their new mommy can get them acclimated to her. (Tuna will bribe them to come out.)

I am wondering… how to teach certain things.

I am reading… A New Song by Jan Karon.

I am hoping… the house cools down. My mother-in-law just turned on the A/C so that should help.

I am looking forward to… finding out where God is calling us to go next.

I am hearing Daniel and his teacher working on counting. I’m having to intervene and make him actually say the names of the numbers because otherwise he’s not getting any speech connection or practice.

Around the house… laundry going and my mother-in-law is probably cleaning something.

I am pondering… too many things to list.

A favorite quote for today… “The Christian idea of marriage is based on Christ’s words that a man and wife are to be regarded as a single organism—for that is what the words ‘one flesh’ would be in modern English. And the Christians believe that when He said this He was not expressing a sentiment but stating a fact—just as one is stating a fact when one says that a lock and its key are one mechanism, or that a violin and a bow are one musical instrument. The inventor of the human machine was telling us that its two halves, the male and the female, were made to be combined together in pairs, not simply on the sexual level, but totally combined. The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude does not mean that there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to try to get the pleasures of taste without swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out again.” — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

One of my favorite things… Trader Joe’s Iced Tea-Lemonade

A few plans for the rest of the week: speech therapy for Daniel on Tuesday morning, lessons with his home teacher Tuesday – Friday, and various errands.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Sunburns, the State of Affairs in Israel, and Getting Brett Funded

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Everything is fine. To those who emailed me about the strange comments on my last Quick Takes, everything is fine. Yes, fine. You might want to re-read my comment policy. (Hint.)

Also, thank you to everyone who emailed me and offered to go defend me on the other site. It would not have been appropriate (or needed) but I appreciate it nonetheless.

— 2 —

Get this kid fully funded! You know the precious boy on my sidebar? Yes, Brett.

Brett

He has a prospective mama and papa going to Eastern Europe to meet him. The problem: they need to be fully funded before they go. As I’m sitting here and typing this at 10:56 p.m. PDT on July 10th, they need $590 until his FSP reads $14,000 and they are fully funded. Can you help? Even $5 or $10 will do the trick. Click here to do so.

— 3 —

The O.C. Today, I headed down to Orange County to visit my sister-in-law and my incredibly cute nephew Patrick who is 13.5 months old. We met at the Beach Club and Lagoon by the lake in her town and it was pretty cool — the outer part was sandy like a beach but within a swimming pool. (Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures.) While she and my father-in-law talked, I took Patrick for a “walk”. He’s at the stage where he’s pulling himself up on furniture and coasting along so I had him standing up with his feet on the ground and my hands holding onto his. He was able to confidently take some steps and when his mom wasn’t praising him, she got to (hopefully) have a decent conversation with her dad. It was fitting, given that I was sorting papers from the last three years into treatment/therapy/IEP binders yesterday and I came across all the PT notes from three years ago when Daniel was learning how to walk.

Daniel and Jon had an incredible time in the lagoon. I think the cutest part was when Daniel started splashing Jon and Jon started splashing him back.

— 4 —

Oooooooh burn! Anyone who has seen pictures of me (or knows me in real life) will attest to the fact that I’m incredibly fair-skinned with freckles. Since I moved back down to the land of endless heat, the place where I part my hair has been getting fried if I spend any measurable amount of time (say, 20 minutes) outside. I was amazed that it didn’t turn red and blister today. It might be because a.) I finally have enough of a tan there that it isn’t burning or b.) I sprayed it well with sunscreen. I’m leaning toward B myself.

— 5 —

Prayer request. Things have been moving along with the special intention y’all have been praying about since the end of January. I can’t talk about it but all I’ll say is that it’s an unexpected place and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep praying.

— 6 —

The sitch in Israel. My friend Hevel of Kosher Kola has been blogging about the situation in Israel… in person. He’s posted a few pictures showing the alert for rocket attacks against Tel Aviv. Say a prayer for his safety and the safety of those on BOTH sides of the conflict who are in danger of being civilian casualties.

— 7 —

Quiet weekend. I have no plans for the weekend other than hearing Jon supply-preach on Sunday. I’m kind of liking not having any plans – it makes things easier down here.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 6, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 6, 2014

Outside my window… cooler. It was 96F in Claremont today. I hate July in the desert…

I am thinking… about the organizing of all of Daniel’s therapy notes, IEP’s, goal paperwork, ABA reports, etc. that starts tomorrow for me.

I am thankful… that I have a really good relationship with my in-laws, especially my mother-in-law. People have commented upon meeting us that they’re kind of shocked that we’re not mother and daughter. (She’s been my “other mother” for 14 years now — we’d better be getting along well.)

In the kitchen… just cleaned it. My mother-in-law made a peach/raspberry cobbler today with the peaches off of her tree. I’m not a fan of cobbler but it smelled pretty good.

I am wearing… my preeclampsia survivor shirt and black running shorts.

I am praying for… discernment, some special intentions, Daniel’s school time to go well this week, for another call for Jon, and for healing for various people.

I am going… to Target tomorrow to pick up the scripts they couldn’t fill today because of computer problems.

I am reading… A New Song by Jan Karon. I finished Out to Canaan yesterday.

I am hoping… the weather is much much cooler tomorrow.

I am looking forward to… finding out where God wants us next.

I am hearing my mother-in-law’s Mints and Roomba running. It sounds (and looks) like “Robot Wars” going down in this house.

Around the house… laundry to fold once I get Daniel to sleep.

I am pondering… aspects of the human condition.

A favorite quote for today… “There are two kinds of love: we love wise and kind and beautiful people because we need them, but we love (or try to love) stupid and disagreeable people because they need us. This second kind is the more divine because that is how God loves us: not because we are lovable but because He is love, not because He needs to receive but He delights to give.” — C.S. Lewis (from today’s email — I’m on a mailing list in which a piece of his works appears in my inbox every morning)

One of my favorite things… Daniel asleep.

A few plans for the rest of the week: “school” for Daniel Monday – Friday, speech on Tuesday, and various errands sprinkled throughout the week.

A peek into my day… Felicity (one of my in-laws’ cats) asleep in the laundry I have to fold.

Felicity *helping* with laundry

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Independence Day, GetRather.Com, and The News from Here

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

A better way. Someone decided to send me Elena’s post on the recent Supreme Court decisions. (To those who are doing this: cut it out. I’ve got better things to do with my time and my energy than block you on here for trying to start a flame war.) Rather than expressing my true feelings on what she has to say (which I will just say are not complimentary to her), I thought I’d tell y’all about a better way that removes the issue entirely: go to GetRather.Com and download the version for your browser of choice. You can put in the terms you want to not see in your Facebook/Twitter feed (for example: Hobby Lobby, Tea Party, Abby Johnson, Matt Walsh, and Obamacare) and the app/add-on will either mute those specific statuses/tweets or replace them with something pleasant like pictures of cats. You’re welcome.

— 2 —

Orphans. Do you see this precious sweetling on my sidebar? Brett (the little boy on my sidebar) needs a mama. If you think you might be his mama, click on his picture with all possible speed. Currently, I’m crocheting a baby blanket to raffle off to raise money for his grant.

— 3 —

Read this. Hevel posted some pretty poignant Quick Takes related to the kidnap and murder of 3 Israeli teenagers by Hamas. I highly recommend reading them.

— 4 —

And while we’re at it… Can I just say to those who have published screeds on how Bowe Bergdahl is un-American because he *might* have deserted (it has not been definitively proven) that y’all suck? I mean, seriously, people are acting like they would have preferred that he shot himself which truthfully, he could have easily done given the level of depression and mental illness he was suffering. I’ve read accounts from both sides of the coin (both “right-leaning” and “left-leaning”) and the behavior described leading up to his disappearance was clearly suicidal behavior.

As tomorrow is Independence Day, I will definitely say that I’m glad to have a commander-in-chief who doesn’t leave anyone behind, regardless of how much crap people will give him for it.

— 5 —

Independence Day plans. There’s a festival and parade in the town where I’m living but it’s supposed to be 97F here so I’ll probably stay indoors until things cool down significantly in the evening. There are a number of civic fireworks displays visible from my in-laws’ porch so I’ll probably watch those. (I live in a tinderbox so setting off my own is soooooo not happening.)

— 6 —

Update on Freya. The day after her return, the little deviant jumped onto my father-in-law’s bed, chased his obese orange tabby patch cat Alyssa off the bed, chased her around the room and under the bed, and finally into the closet. Freya then cuddled up to my father-in-law, offered to help him eat his torta (as he was telling me this, her tail was on the dirty plate), and spent the day kissing up to him. She helped him nap, helped him with setting up some speech-to-text software (which now has commands for “Freya” and “meow”), and tried to supplant Alyssa at every turn. We are hypothesizing that her time away was for “plotting and conniving” rather than the “mental health day” suggested by my mother-in-law.

— 7 —

Show Kelsey some love. Jon’s cousin Kelsey is headed to Lithuania for a year as a missionary. She’ll be working at LCC International University as a residential director. If you’d like to show her some love, here is one of her fundraising updates.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.