Mom's Favorite Brother

Thanks for coming up from Texas to see us, Uncle Keith!! What a great time we had...hope you come back again soon! :)

Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Ready or not, it's here!

Saturday Evening Blog Post

I'm fashionably late to this party, but joining in the Saturday Evening Blog Post entry over at Elizabeth Esther's blog.

Lots of great posts over there this month!

My Kind of Town?

So Houston was all about my twenties. And it turns out that Chicago, along with its northern suburb Lake Forest, was all about my thirties.

My quick jaunt to the Windy City with the girls this past weekend was an unexpected trip down memory lane. It has now been six years since we moved away from Lake Forest and I was startled by the contrast between our small-town life and what might have been, had we not moved.

There really is just no place like Chicago. I remember the first time I saw the skyline in real-life: August of 1988, coming down the Kennedy Expressway (of course), at night, cruising over that Ohio street exit into Streeterville...NOTHING could have been more thrilling to my newly-graduated, full-fledged adult (ha!), 21-year-old self. From that viewpoint, it feels like the Chicago skyline is swallowing you. It's just huge. I know I said I love the Houston skyline; well, Chicago could eat about ten Houstons for breakfast. There is just no comparison.

Chicago has this energy that is hard to describe. The restaurants, bars, clubs, shopping, people, cars--just incredible. I love the juxtaposition of old and new buildings. The rich melting pot of neighborhoods from all over the globe amazes me; really, truly, I think every single part of the world must have an outpost there. Recently I read that Chicago's Polish population is second in size only to Warsaw's, in the whole world. Last weekend on Michigan Avenue, the girls had fun checking out license plates from lots of different states, and MRD was thrilled to hear a group of people speaking French behind us at the Cheesecake Factory.

The lakefront takes my breath away; you can stand in one place and turn one way--ginormous spread of huge buildings--turn the other way--vast blue emptiness, water as far as you can see. One winter night, frosty storm waves crashing onto Lakeshore Drive splashed my car as I drove north out of the city. Speaking of Lakeshore Drive...can anyone not drive fast on it? Well, at least as long as there's not too much traffic.

Chicago traffic...now that's breathtaking. Living in our sweet little town, the kids actually thought I was making it up when I told them that in Chicago, it regularly takes more than one or two turns at a red light before it is my turn to go. Back in his days as a single guy in Chicago, Bill would often return home on a Friday night (from a week of working out of town, say, in San Antonio with his brilliant colleague and bride-to-be) and drive around for an hour or two, looking for a parking place in front of his apartment in Lincoln Park.

When we bought our first house in Lake Forest, and I retired from la vida loca de consulting to stay at home with WWD, then MRD, life was anything but simple. The airport limo came for Bill at 5 a.m. most Mondays, to take him away for the week. Even when he was working in town, his hour-long commute meant that most weekdays, he didn't see the kids. And for me at home--well, going to Target with a couple of toddlers is scary enough even without a twenty-minute traffic-fight each way! Preschool? Better sign them up at age 6 months, or they might not get a spot. And the real estate prices--don't even get me started! Sure, there are lots of wonderful museums, which I did love--but the $20 to park, not so much. Finally, September 11, 2001 came along, and the idea of life in a major metropolitan area lost its appeal, big time.

Chicago is so cool and lots of fun, but, at least for me, not so much for actually living there in real life. I think the thing that I liked so much about it, once upon a time, was that Bill was there. What fun those Chicago weekends were! :) (Have you read Pioneer Woman's steamy love story about how she met her husband? Remember how before she met her Marlboro Man, she was planning a move to Chicago, where she was looking forward to being around all those cute Catholic guys? I'm just saying.)

The thing is, maybe I should just accept that I'm a suburban soccer mom at heart. (And swim mom, football mom, gymnastics mom, basketball mom, etc.) Not to mention that here in our bucolic paradise, there's always plenty of parking. And a cute Chicago Catholic guy, right here next to me in my very own living room.

More Paparazzi Pics from American Girl

Happy Birthday, KLD!

We love our sweet 8-year-old!!

There Is Need of Only One Thing

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
~ Luke 10:38-42

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Jan Vermeer c. 1654-1656

For the longest time, this gospel story puzzled me. How could Jesus rebuke Martha for preparing and serving dinner, when her sister lounged around adoring Our Lord? "Mary has chosen the better part?" Really? Was Our Lord planning to provide some loaves and fishes, perhaps, if Martha skipped out on kitchen duty?

I'm learning, of course, that this story is about balance. Work and prayer. Work as prayer. Contemplation in the midst of work or, even, prayer in the midst of chaos--a concept every busy mom grapples with daily.

The thing is to offer all my work and all the chaos to Him. To wholeheartedly love the Lord like Mary while working like Martha. And even to pursue holiness, not in spite of my work, but through my work. As St. Josemaria says, "Your work must become a personal prayer, must become a real conversation with Our Father in heaven" and "He waits for us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating theater, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home, and in all the immense panorama of work."

In John 11:24-27 we see Martha again after the death of her brother Lazarus. She says, "I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you…. Yes, Lord…I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.” Obviously, Martha's love for Jesus is complete, and she is a great disciple of Our Lord.

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things." Perhaps Jesus' words to Martha are not so much a rebuke as a consolation. He's not suggesting that she not work; he's suggesting that she not worry. When we're busy on the outside, we can still be at peace on the inside, and always in love with our Lord, who fulfills all the deepest desires of our hearts.

For another beautiful piece of art related to the story of Mary and Martha, and a phenomenal reflection for St. Martha's feast day, check out Fr. Z's commentary from today.

Updated: Here is an AWESOME take on this post, which contradicts my above referral to "balance." Indeed, prayer comes first, and work follows from that. We must have both, but not confuse our priorities. See...I'll never stop contemplating and learning about this amazing story of our Lord!

Butterfly Garden

Water Park Bliss

JPD? JPD?
There he is!

Universal Prayer

Just loving this tonight:

Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith.
I trust in you: strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
And call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,
Correct me with your justice,
Comfort me with your mercy,
Protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
My words: to have you for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for you;
My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
In the way you ask,
For as long as you ask,
Because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
Strengthen my will,
Purify my heart,
and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,
A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch,
Those under my authority,
My friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
Greed by generosity,
Apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
And reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
Courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
Temperate in food and drink,
Diligent in my work,
Firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,
My conduct without fault,
My speech blameless,
My life well-ordered.
Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
Keep your law,
And come at last to your salvation.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
That my true future is the happiness of heaven,
That life on earth is short,
And the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death
With a proper fear of judgment,
But a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
To the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ Pope Clement XI, A.D. 1721

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We love you!

Loving Auntie Lynn!!

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU, Auntie Lynn, for coming up to visit us!




We love you SO much!