Surprise!

 Remember when my C was trained to serve at Mass? And we scheduled him for an easy daily Mass during spring break for his first go around? 

Well... that didn't happen. His class was leading school Mass yesterday. And he and one other gal were the only two kids in class who are fully trained. 

That is a whole other saga. The man at our parish who has trained servers for as long as anyone can remember passed away in June from a brief illness. So while there was some warning it wasn't enough to actually train someone new or find a replacement. 

At our parish, you have to be in 4th grade to serve. I don't know why. Seems arbitrary to me. But whatever. So they found someone to train the servers and he likes to do it in pairs, 2 kids at a time. And he didn't get started until November. You probably remember there are a lot of holidays between November and now. He's not very far into the list of 4th graders who have signed up to be trained is what I am saying. 

Anyway...Tuesday night we got the Mass kit out and did a practice session going through all the steps. Our friend who is in 5th grade was going to be the cross bearer and I suggested he perhaps do the candle lighting since that is something C isn't great at yet. (And I thought we had weeks more to practice.) 

Yesterday Husband and I attended a funeral for our friend's dad about an hour away and then drove like the wind in order to be back in time for school Mass. 

I am so thankful we did. He was so cute! He did SUCH a good job. And I only teared up at the beginning. 

We had a lot of people praying for us that we would make it back in time to see C serve. Because what if he becomes a priest and in his very first homily he talked about how his mom missed his first time serving on the altar?! 

Luckily that didn't happen. 

So it was a fun surprise to have him serve yesterday and we were all so thankful to be there. 

Laughing All The Way

My parents got a lot of snow last week. They were right in that MN snow storm. And they already had a lot of snow this season. It's funny because she often says "when are you all going to move up here" and I will probably point to this specific winter as a reason not to for the foreseeable future. 

Anyway, on Saturday my mom sent me a text with this message "I took this a few minutes ago. I thought the kids would like to see how deep the snow is at the this moment LOL." And yes, the amount of snow with the recycling bin for scale is insane. 

Oh what a difference 343 miles makes because  our winter has been delightfully mild. I sent the kids out to take a picture of our recycling bin next to our snow. Then sent this message to my mom: "I took this picture a few minutes ago. I thought you'd like to see how much snow we have."

And I absolutely laughed for 20 minutes about it. And seriously even looking at the two makes me chuckle now. 

Saturday night by happenstance my old Emmaus group was all in the same place at the same time. So we did a quick group hug and took a selfie to mark this momentous occasion!

Remember when M was part of the 3 Musketeers? Back precovid? Well G the little boy in the 3 Musketeers is decidedly unhappy about dressing up for First Communion. But us other moms had a secret weapon: the First Communion Friendship Suit. A's older brothers wore it in 2018 and 2020. Then C wore it in 2021. 

Now we've passed it on to G and so far, so good. He picked out a tie that he loves and we're all hopeful that the power of the Friendship Suit will make for a extra special and blessed First Communion for our buddy. 

And all three 3 Musketeers will recieve First Communion at the same Mass so get excited for the photos I've got coming in the Easter season! 

Last night I had a follow up meeting with these 5 other lovely ladies! We were the music team for our CEW retreat this year and we enjoyed each other so much. 

God sure sends laughs and friends when you need them doesn't he? Here's another few things that made me laugh lately. 

The last one was especially funny because I laughed out loud and C came and read over my shoulder and he said... "that sounds like you." 

I may look like I am super popular with my "take pictures of my friends" thing I've got going on. But please know for every picture that exsists, I have almost certainly said to Husband about how I'd rather stay home and take my bra off. (Keeping it real.)

I always have fun once I get there. But I would probably rather be sleeping. 

What's Up With Us?

Remember when it was M's birthday in October? Well, we got her some balloons from Dollar Tree as decorations. Balloons make people happy as you're probably aware. 

As of right now, one balloon has still yet to die and remains an active part of our lives. (Though clearly not as lively as before.) We were so hoping it would make it to Ash Wednesday as that is the true 4-month date. So now anything else is gravy. 

Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring you joy. Like Balloons that stick around for 4 months. 

Lent is off and rolling. Here are my babies and me after school Wednesday. Husband even came to school Mass which is quite unusual. So we all got our ashes at the same time. 

My little soup and grilled cheese haters suffered through a meatless meal they were completely unimpressed by but dang if it didn't hit the spot. And like I told them, sometimes Lent finds you. 😉

So you know how there are two bakers of girl scout cookies? Little Brownie and ABC? (It's a crap shoot, not based on geography but on what baker your local council contracts with. Little Brownie ala Tagalongs, Samoas, Trefoils, and Do Si Dos. ABC ala Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel DeLites, Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches.)

And then obviously ABC Thin Mints are far superior to the Little Brownie Thin Mints? 

Well we live in Little Brownie territory and ship in decent Thin Mints. But this year I also bought a box of Lemonades from ABC and a Lemon Ups from my local girl scout. And last night we had a taste test. 

Little Brownie Lemon Ups were a very crunchy and overtly lemony cookie. It was absolutely a lemon flavor that lingers. 

ABC Lemonades are a softer cookie and just have a hint of lemon. 

C was team Lemon Up and the rest of us were Lemonades fans. C was aghast because "If you want a lemon cookie you want it to taste like lemons, not a golden Oreo!"

For me, it was a texture thing more than anything. Nevertheless, it was a fun evening activity. 

And that's what we know heading into the weekend!

Mardis Gras

So we did have a snow day Thursday! In truth, the weather was really never that bad, though a 2-hour early out would have been smart. But you definitely don't see me complaining! I loved everything about the snow day, sleeping in, and lazy days are so so good for me. 

On Friday I got to work and the steps hadn't been shoveled yet. 

Saturday day, we kicked the kids outside to play in what was left of the snow. Because it was in the 40s and why not? 

Saturday night Husband and I spoke at a marriage thing at church. It went fine. 

And I got to hang out with my dear friend! 

Sunday I got to see another dear friend! 

I am really rocking this "take pictures with friends" thing. 

Yesterday was President's Day which was nice. I got to sleep in, go to work for just a little bit and then hang at home. Last night I went to the Teen Adoration night. 

And I am so glad that I did. I am also so thankful that there are teenagers who want to come to spend time in Adoration. 

Now it's Mardi Gras and I have no big plans to celebrate. Though we should certainly do something!! 

 

So What's Up?

I had a great Valentine's Day with my favorite Valentines! This was in fact once I was home in my comfy clothes because I wanted to be. 

They got cool gift baskets from my parents! 

And buckets of valentines from their classmates.

So that was all really great. We had a delicious Prime Rib dinner and macaroni and cheese made with heart-shaped pasta. As one does. 

For the record, we did share the prime rib because... clearly there is a lot there. Husband drove it over to our friend's house later. 

In other news C is officially an altar server! He passed his training. And oh my heart is full. 

He was really excited about it! I have him scheduled for his first Mass in about a month. Plenty of time to practice before then. 

So that's what's up. There's potential for snow tomorrow and I am kinda hoping for a snow day or a late start or something. We haven't had ANYTHING like that this year so I feel like we are overdue. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Our little homemade Valentine Factory went well and the kids excitedly went into school today. Plus it's an out-of-uniform day!

Here's a closer look at C's Valentine's and his box. 

M's box was Olaf but she took it in to school before I could get a picture.

If you didn’t know this about me, Valentine’s Day is my favorite. I love the Catholicism of the day down to conversation hearts, there really isn’t anything I don’t appreciate about Valentine’s Day. I love everything about love.

So let this be a reminder today that you are unbelievably loved. No matter how you’re feeling today. No matter if you think this holiday is ridiculous. If you’re single or married, cynical or enthusiastic: you are loved more than you can imagine. God loves you and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Furthermore, I love you. And I am glad you’re in my life. It can be hard to receive and accept love. But never for a minute forget that you are here on this Earth for a reason and you are loved. Today, tomorrow, and forever. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Catholic Schools Week Wrap Up

 Catholic Schools Week has been a fairly good one. We have been in school all week with no late starts, snow days, or anything. I thought for sure we'd get a 2-Hour Late start today for cold but we did not. Apparently, -30 windchill isn't that dire. 

I did a terrible job documenting all the theme days and events. So just go with me on this journey. Sunday was Open House! It was the first one since COVID and it was fine. Turns out I didn't miss it as much as I thought I had. This is probably because I work in the school one night a week for Religious Ed so it's not that exciting to see the work that I see once a week. I did take pictures next to their work. 

Monday was pajama day. I took no pictures. Tuesday was Sports Day! A popular theme. And my crew looked cute in purple. 

Just like everything at our school and in the nation. You know, I am not anti-sports but it really ticks me off that the majority of the "fun" activities at our school's Catholic schools week are sports-related. Dodgeball! Basketball! Volleyball! 

Wednesday was bright colors day. Just trust me they were bright colored. 

It was also the teachers vs. 8th grade volleyball game and it was awful. The gym was so loud. I was warned. Every adult took the headache meds of their choice about a half hour before. But it was absolutely deafening. Every pair of noise cancelling headphones the school had was out and there were still 20 kids in the hall who couldn't handle it for another second. 

For the 33rd year in a row, the teachers won. I actually did not play because I would not have helped that cause much. 

Yesterday was Go Make Disciples Shirts Day. 

It was also all-schools mass day. 1400 Catholic school peeps in a gym was a super cool experience. 

Some times at work especially I feel down about the lack of evangelization and our school attendance vs. Mass attendance. Then we get to a Mass setting like this and I can visibly see the good we are doing. 

Today is Spirit Day. And I took no pictures. So just go with me on it. God bless Catholic schools.