Monday Musings--8 October 2012

Right now...nearly 7 a.m., just getting light.  Una is online doing her history course and Gabriel is dozing on the sofa.  I think someone is in the bathroom.  The house feels really chilly this morning.

This weekend...was a whirlwind of activity centering on Adrian's First Holy Communion.  On Friday and Saturday I mopped floors, baked three cakes (I had two failures due to what turned out to be a baking powder fail), and cut hair on four boys.  I bathed little ones, grated cabbage for coleslaw, made batches of lemonade and iced tea, decorated the cake...both days found me completely wiped out at the end of them.

Yesterday was, however, perfectly wonderful.  Adrian awoke so excited, and was so happy to put on his suit and get ready for Mass.  He received his missal and the rosary I made for him before we left the house.  He went to confession and after communion he remembered to pray for a number of people and intentions.

After Mass there was a procession and crowning of the statue of Mary in front of the Chapel of Divine Mercy in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary.  Una had been asked to crown the Blessed Mother and was terribly nervous, but managed to look very calm and composed, even going up the rather tall ladder to crown Our Lady.

Once home, we had family come over to help us celebrate.  The kids played with their cousins and the adults chatted and it turned out to be a cool but sunny day in spite of the gray chill of the early morning.  In the evening, after cleaning up, we sat down to watch For Greater Glory.  What a wonderful ending to a perfectly lovely day!

Some plans for this week:  bill-paying, necessary phone calls, order yarn for a few Christmas gifts, do school and just pretty much take it as easy as I can after the last weeks madness.  I do think I would like to make a batch of yogurt and some granola.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to...work on a cardigan for Gemma I have just started and cast on another hat.

I am grateful for...Adrian's joy in receiving Our Lord; a perfect Sunday; my family and my faith; confessors who take their time and offer much good spiritual direction; fresh eggs, butter and milk.

Some prayer intentions for this week (and what a long list it is!): for Gabriel, who has been having pain in one knee every morning, so that walking is impossible until he lies with a heating pad on it for a while.  Seems fine by afternoon, and then is bad in the morning again. My first thought is arthritis, since Gemma has JRA, but with Gabe the pain is more in the back of the knee..tendons?  I don't know.  For my friends Cindy and Dale, and for their children and first grandchild, Aiden Christopher, who was just born at 30 weeks, but who is a strong little mite and at just over 3 lbs is breathing well on his own!  I am praying for Rylee, for Matthew and for the soul of my dad, who passed away four months ago today.  And I am praying for this country and the elections.  I can honestly say that although I will not vote for Obama, I don't feel so great about voting at all this year.  I feel that there are some very important issues that are being completely overlooked and which need to be addressed. Such are the inherent frustrations of a two-party system...

Something that makes me smile:  this great kid's gappy grin.