Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real: #2

~Pretty~

Progress on the highchair! I really like the bright red! I sanded the most worn parts of it, but Anthony would be in high school by the time I managed to strip the entire thing. So spray paint it is! I was inspired by Rosie on Like Mother Like Daughter. She did the same thing to make a really sweet highchair for her little boy. I'm still in the process of sanding down the tray. I want that to be stained and poly-ed rather than painted so I can scrub it well all the time. Even that little piece is taking me a really long time to sand.

~Happy~

"Mama! I'm going pee-pee in the potty!" That's exactly what is happening in this picture. You'll just have to take my word for it, as that little drape of t-shirt is what makes it legal to post this photo. We've been encouraging Anthony's interest in the potty. He does do very well and he's so proud of himself! I haven't figured out out-and-about pottying yet, as public toilets are just too big and, well, gross. He really does need a potty seat with that tiny behind, but carrying one with us seems rather impractical especially since we walk a lot of places, and, well, gross.

~Funny~

Ryan was reading the paper Sunday morning and not really paying attention to Anthony and me. (You know, "Hun, should I make pancakes or waffles today?... ... Ryan?" "Sure.") So I drew our family on his toes. He didn't really react to this until the coffee you see in his hand was at least half drunk.

~Real~

This is how the housework really gets done around here! I do give Anthony the dustbuster and let him crawl around with that for a few minutes in the afternoon sometimes while I am doing my quick spruce-up before dinner. Yes, I have found yet another way for parents to use technology as a babysitter! But he likes to think he's helping, and soon enough he will be!

Yard Sale Finds

These photos are from a few weeks ago. I uploaded them and began a post, which I never finished in favor of the one for Katie's wedding and Sr. Victoria Marie's profession. So here they are now. $5 wooden highchair! I'm going to refinish it for Anthony to use. His current highchair is a nightmare to keep clean. Food gets in the little cracks and crevices of the padding, and UNDER and INSIDE the pad, which of course takes about ten minutes to take apart and another ten to put back together. Using it without the pad is not possible. It's probably technically an antique, as it came with a guide to carseat safety with this photo in it:


But that does not mean that I will be afraid of spray painting it.


I also got a huge bag of random fabric for a dollar. Here are some of my favorite prints:

And my very very favorite, is a crib skirt of this adorable bunny toile! It was crammed in the very bottom of the bag! I can make either four placemats or six napkins for Easter, as sadly part of it is badly stained. But look how cute!!!!!

Two Vocations Begun

“The first duty of the consecrated life is to make visible the marvels wrought by God in the frail humanity of those who are called. They bear witness to these marvels not so much in words as by the eloquent language of a transfigured life, capable of amazing the world.”

~Vita Consecrata 20~

My two sister-friends Katie and Mary Beth (a.k.a. Sister Victoria Marie) both entered into their holy vocations this summer: Katie as a married woman and Mary Beth as a professed sister. They both are amazing!

Katie’s wedding was lovely. If you have been following her blog you know all of the hard work she put into the preparations! And of course she was the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, and Chuckie was a very happy groom! But what struck me more than anything on the day of the wedding is how both Katie and Chuckie knew it wasn’t about them. Everything about the wedding Mass from the way they knelt in the sanctuary to how they followed the time-honored tradition of laying flowers before the Blessed Mother’s altar, paid full attention to the Mass, how the groomsmen prayed the Rosary together beforehand, even choosing a Mass that doesn’t allow for “personalization” beyond inserting the names of the bride and groom spoke to their profound awareness that that this day was completely a gift from God. The mood of the day was certainly one of joy and thanksgiving, but also a deep appreciation of the solemnity of the vows they took, humble acknowledgment that they would need graces to take them every step of the way together, and childlike confidence and trust that those graces would be freely given. In all, a perfect wedding!

The above quote was from the program from the Mass for the Rite of First Religious Profession. Humility was certainly a theme for the sisters’ first profession as well. This was their wedding day, too! Just the fact that Sister Victoria Marie had to share “her day” with fourteen (!) other sisters and had limited invitations as a result must have been a humbling experience. It was also a beautiful ceremony. When the novices traded their white veils for the black of penance and mortification was especially moving. Despite this somber description, Sister Victoria Marie is absolutely radiant. It’s immediately obvious that she is exactly where she is meant to be.

Thank you two for being such amazing women of God. Your faithfulness has constantly inspired me in my own vocation, to give myself more completely and to trust more fully in God. It has been a privilege to witness His work in your own lives, and to call you my friends.

"Hi Daddy!"

Ryan’s gone to Switzerland for ten whole days for work. I got to talk to him on the phone for a long time this evening, even though it was 2:30 AM there! It brought me back to our engagement days, when he was in Cincinnati for the summer and he’d call me every night. He’s having a wonderful time it seems, checking out medieval villages and churches, taking in breathtaking views of the Alps and whatnot. You know, European stuff. ;-) I’ll see if I can persuade him to do a guest post of his travels after he comes back next Saturday.

Anthony and I are missing him a lot for sure. This is his third trip already this summer, and the longest. Ryan called tonight right before Anthony’s bedtime. I always turn on the speaker phone so he can talk to Anthony. Anthony will “talk” back and be all excited; it’s really cute. But today, he said, “Hi Daddy!” !!!!! Ryan and I both heard it distinctly, so I know it wasn’t my imagination. Very often he will sound like he’s saying certain words, but really it’s just the inflection of his voice is very good, if you know what I’m trying to say. For example, he’ll say, “I did it!” when he succeeds in stacking up his blocks or something like that, but it’s really more like, “Ah didi!” He’s very consistent with it and I’m positive he really means, “I did it.” This was the first time he spoke two words together clearly.

Our little boy’s getting so big! This picture is from today when we were playing with the camera:

I think he understands the concept of the camera taking his picture, but doesn’t understand the idea of smiling for the camera yet.

This is from a year ago:

Maria Goretti

Four years ago today my husband asked me to marry him. Today is also the feast of St. Maria Goretti. I'd always prayed to her for purity in our dating days; I remember my high school youth minister giving us a "Prayer Before a Date" card that asked for her intercession. But today what struck me about her martyrdom was not that she died to protect her purity, but that she would not submit to being raped out of love for her attacker! She said, "No, Alessandro, you will go to hell." Even as he was stabbing her, she was thinking of the good of his soul. That is a saint. (A more complete bio can be found here. Also check out Alessandro's page!)

St. Maria Goretti showed extraordinary Christian love for the man who she knew would kill her, and sacrificed everything in trying to keep him from committing a mortal sin. As a wife and mother, I have a great responsibility for the souls of my husband and son, but so often I am lazy and not willing to sacrifice even twenty minutes for prayer for them. St. Maria, help me.