Wednesday, March 25, 2009

We're going to see/hear David Brooks at UST

One perk of Ben being an alumn, he gets invited to attend lecture series. This one looked too good to pass up. Brooks is speaking about the age of President Obama. Not his age in years....!!

Maddie's Book Recommendation


A Series of Unfortunate Events

"...is a very interesting series because it is also somehow a mystery and usually the author is always making up things that happen to himself that describes what is happening to the B. children."

Baby Ferber news

A note from happy mom Nadine:

Hi Fam,
It was an unexpected surprise but I heard the baby's heartbeat and my Dr. even did an ultrasound today. Some of you know I already posted a pic on facebook but for those of you who don't check facebook, I've attached the ultrasound.
The Dr. says everything looks great!!! The baby's heartbeat was beating a mile a minute...and he was swimming around like an Olympian! It was all very exciting!
I am so happy because I've been so worried about the little babe. It was great to see Baby Ferber and hear him :) Thank you all for your prayers!
Love you!!
Hugs & Kisses
Nadine

Monday, March 23, 2009

Lint vs. Lent

Izzy was trying to distinguish these two words today. Thought it was kind of funny.

Love Bytes by John Buri

http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-bytes

Find regular postings by Dr. John Buri related to love and relationships. Great for thinking about and they reflect the current cultural trends and studies.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

I Just Love This Picture

Our week without dad

Girls have adjusted well with dad out of town this week. They are sticking to their chores (with encouragement); spending a lot of time listening to the "Chronicals of Narnia" radio theater; staying on task with homework; and looking forward to a couple birthday parties this weekend.

We also continue to memorize our Lenten prayer together at dinner and need a little extra push for that morning prayer routine we started and Ben kept going. Maybe tomorrow morning?!

That time change really seemed to throw us off and this morning was the first that the girls woke up in time to do the normal things to get ready for the day.

I don't remember the last time a time change didn't impact us for at least a week.

Looking forward to Sunday evening with the man of the house back in the saddle.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A Prayer for Lent

"Father in heaven, the love of your Son led him top accept the suffering of the cross that his brothers and sisters might glory in new life. Change our selfishness into self-giving. Help us to embrace the world you have given us, that we may transform the darkness of its pain into the life and joy of Easter. Amen."

We started memorizing this prayer as a family as part of our morning prayer together. It jumped out at me on the cover of a parish bulletin last year. I kept it and really love that we are using it this year!

We have really been inspired by the focus our new parish has placed on Lent: A Season to Change Our Hearts. For the sake of the world, we need to grow close to the Lord in actions, words, thoughts, etc. We like how this focuses not just on ourselves, but more on how we can change in order to work with the Lord in building His kingdom. One way the church encourages this is through small slips of paper we can take home with us after church each week. This week's call is to "Call to mind those who have hurt me and pray for them each day. Jesus exhorts us to pray for our enemies. When we do, we should pray not to change them but simply for their well being. It is almost impossible to bear ill will for someone we have remembered in prayer.

We also got a small box from Lumen Christi to place on our dining room table so we can donate money we save from simpler meals to go towards our sister parish in Chimbote, Peru. These funds will cover some costs for an elementary school there.

All in all, a good start to Lent: more purposeful, more focused, and more participatory.