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7 Quick Takes Friday

2012-02-10T23:48:00.002-05:00

one.

This 7 Quick Takes concept is growing on me quickly. I actually probably have about 87 quick takes in my head right now...just zero "full" takes. My mind is awhirl with life this week, not a complete thought to be formed. Quick takes it is.

two.

Saturday started with a 10th birthday party for Owen, and ended in the emergency room. No, no heavy partying-induced injuries, just my little Isaac with pneumonia again. Third time in 10 months that he's had it. Needless to say, we're concerned. Lots of trips to the pediatrician in our near future, to be sure.

three.

Sunday found me crying at Mass. Do you cry at Mass? I admit it, I do, sometimes even when I'm not pregnant. I don't know what it is, I think I just get caught up in it all and overwhelmed. I often feel extremely humbled at being in the presence of the Eucharist. Throw in beautiful music and the smell of incense and I turn to mush. This past Sunday I think I was just feeling fragile. It's good to let go like that, and leave it at the altar.

four.
Okay, to be clear, this is not to say I'm a blubbering mess when this happens. I'm not one for drama and I don't want anyone getting a picture of me sobbing while all the parishioners around me try to console me.
Just to be clear.

five.
My dad started a tradition with our kids from the very beginning. On each of their birthdays, regardless of what shopping Grandma may have done from both of them, he gives the birthday boy a plain white business envelope. It says on the front, in Grandpa's very distinct handwriting, their full name and Happy __ th Birthday. Inside are the number of dollars equal to their new age. The boys all know to expect this little bit of specialness and I know my dad loves providing it. It's very sweet.

six.
I now have two kids with double digit ages. One will be a teenager in a matter of months. I have taught four children how to read, and five how to use the potty. When someone asks how old the baby is, I've started saying "He'll be two in June".

Why do I feel like I should stop blinking? Right. Now.

seven.
I spent 6 hours last night with my dearest friend. We drove together to a town about an hour away to participate in a Women's Apostolate that meets once a month. We had dinner at the little cafe we discovered a couple of years ago, then met up in a room chock full of devoted Catholic women of all ages and stages, to listen to a beautiful talk on prayer from a woman who radiates goodness and hope.
Therapy I tell you. Pure, wholesome, therapy.

Hallie's hosting Quick Takes this week!

Correction

2012-02-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

I was reading Amy's latest post last night and I got to thinking. In my total condemnation of facebook, I forgot to mention one important thing: There are some really great people on there.

Really, people like Amy are one of the main reasons I stayed on there as long as I did. They use facebook as a tool for evangelizing, by talking about God and Faith, and linking to good reading material. It takes courage and perseverance to maintain that. There's another woman, from my parish, who tended to post on facebook in the evenings to recap her day. Whether she had had a great day or a trying one, she ended her comments with, "God is good, ALL THE TIME!". It was so refreshing!

So in my frustration, I was focusing on the people I needed to get away from, and in the process I threw everyone under the bus. I apologize for that!

(but I'm still glad to be off fb!!)

7 Quick Takes Friday

2012-02-03T07:31:00.000-05:00

one.

Well, I did it. Facebook and I are no longer friends (so to speak). In the end, it was not a difficult decision. Now I'm just relieved, really, which sounds kind of silly but that's the best word I can think of. It just was not good for me and I'm glad I realized it.

two.

It's not that it was such a big part of my life, I was hardly ever on there. I just don't like doing things halfway, and I had made a decision a few weeks ago to either get in or get out. So I started going on there daily, "liking" things my friends posted, I threw a few status updates out there, and I did like it. For about a day and a half. Then I realized how annoying it really is. So many people just use it as a forum for complaining continuously! I'd never before cared about someone's toe hurting or an unfortunate dental procedure, or how many people are terrible drivers... and facebook was not going to suck me into all that. And it seems the people who aren't complaining are looking for a pat on the back. I read my child a bedtime story! (yay for you?) I cleaned my bathroom! (wow.) I have my own mundane tasks to muddle through without sharing yours with you, thankyouverymuch.

three.

My sister sent me this:

She knows me better than that, but we both got a good laugh.

four.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get yourself off of facebook?! I had heard this before, but never realized it until I actually tried. After clicking around on there I finally found a way to "deactivate" my account. Okay, sounds good, so I followed the steps and had my deactivation confirmed. I decided to click back to my fb home page to make sure I was gone, and immediately got a message saying Welcome Back! You've reactivated your account! Just like that.

five.

Alrighty, let's try this again. I searched the help menu for how to delete my account, and found the steps for that. After the first step, five of my "friends" appeared at the top of the screen with the words "So and So is going to miss you!", "What's his name is going to miss you!", etc. The picture of my sister and precious nephew actually made me pause for a second and reconsider! They know what they're doing.

six.
I gathered myself back together and forged on. After passing through several more confirmations and security features, and acknowledging the threats of wiping out my very existence if I were to proceed, I was finally able to DELETE my account. Sort of. It's back to being deactivated at the moment, set for deletion in 14 days. In case I change my mind! I'm paranoid that I might accidentally click on it at some point, reactivate, and have to start all over again. These 14 days can't pass quickly enough.

seven.
Now all this is not to say that no one should be on facebook. Plenty of people make good out of it and it serves it's purpose. Just not for me!

Go visit the fabulous Jennifer Fulwiler for more Quick Takes!

Yippee!

2012-02-02T09:52:00.000-05:00

I am so ridiculously excited about this!

The lovely Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things, offered a giveaway last week for an online photography class. I entered... and I WON!

If you just scroll through this little blog of mine, you'll SEE how desperately I need this class. Let's just be real, my pictures are hideous.

(Hey - that get's me thinking... maybe this was a set up. Maybe I was offending the blogging community as a whole with my awful pictures, and they got together to find a gentle way of making me take better ones. Hmmm... either way, I'm happy!)

For anyone who remembers that I don't have a proper camera, that's another bonus to this whole thing! I've already cleared it with Mr. Smith this morning, we're getting a new one. It's long overdue. Now, to figure out which one it will be!

Can't wait to hear from Brandy at Bella Pop to set up my class! Thank you Sarah!

Quiet

2012-01-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

..."prayer was irreplaceable for her. Besides Gianna was very attentive and did not do things by halves. She committed herself to her duties completely. She had also been formed by loving sacrifice and demonstrated that she knew how to sacrifice herself for love. Gianna was a woman of few words who avoided gossip and silliness on principle. This is a family virtue -- her brothers and sisters don't like to talk a lot. However, when there was something to do, a service to perform, a hand to lend, then Gianna was always ready, available."
--From Saint Gianna Molla (emphasis in bold is mine)

How I long to be this sort of woman.
For my family, for my soul.

Would it be an oversimplification for me to suggest that this one virtue would change the world?

How lost we are, as daughters, mothers, friends, and sisters, when we can't recognize the value of disciplined, respectful quiet.

Happy Birthday Peyton!

2012-01-29T22:37:00.000-05:00

the birthday boy, the brothers, and a last-minute friend guest

the light saber cake

the decorations (by Blake and Owen), me mopping in my apron at the last minute, grandpa,

and proof that I need to double check the result when I ask that someone get a picture of the decorations.

Happy 8th Birthday, Sweet Peyton!!