Monday Musings--Our Lady of Lourdes, 2013

"In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary.  Don't let her name depart from your lips; never allow it to leave your heart, and that you may more surely obtain the assistance of her prayers, don't neglect to walk in her footsteps."                                   --St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Right now...the boys are playing with some of Adrian's new Star Wars toys around the coffee table.  It is noisy, as they tend to get so excited and animated that they all end up talking at once.  I have a load of laundry ready for the dryer, cream on the counter to churn into butter, tea steeping on the stove for kombucha and I need to start breakfast soon...

This weekend...was lovely.  On Friday I baked Adrian's birthday cake--and it fell flat.  Yuck; inedible.  I am quite good with breads and such, but when it comes to making cakes from scratch, I seem to lack the knack for it.  So Saturday morning, there I was baking another cake from my "old standby" recipe for chocolate cake.  Not as yummy, lacking eggs and butter as it does, but I made up for the lack with the butter cream frosting.  Too sweet for my liking, but the kids go for it.  We celebrated after lunch and were joined by my mom, which was very nice for me, and by one of my nephews, which was very nice for the kids.

Mass was lovely yesterday, too.  Fr. Bill Casey, CPM, was the celebrant and gave a wonderful homily on the vocations crisis.  It is something weighing heavily on the hearts of the Fathers of Mercy, as this is the first time in anyone's memory that there are no novices at the Generalate [an aside to Catholic moms out there with sons who may be considering a vocation:  the Fathers of Mercy are wonderful, and we who attend Mass there love our novices and treat them like our own sons!]  After Mass we picked up a few groceries and headed home for a quiet (well--it's never really quiet here with 6 kids) afternoon and evening. Bret made ice cream--probably for the last time until Easter, and I made some homemade Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup to deal with colds around here.

Some plans for the week:  Although I pretty much have plans in place, I want to put my Lenten plans down on paper to keep handy.  A number of the resources I've gathered over the years are on my blog, and perhaps tomorrow, if I have time, I will post with links to them.  I find that if I start looking at everyone else's good ideas, I get overwhelmed!  There are just too many wonderful ideas out there, and I find that unless I keep things simple, I simply fail.

I hope we will make a few Valentines today after school, but Valentine's Day has never been much of a thing around here...I am afraid that for the most part I associate it with the "seasonal" aisle at Wal-Mart...commercial and a bit tacky.  An opportunity for the sellers of cards, flowers and candy to make a buck.  So again, we keep it rather simple, with a few cards made, maybe a little window decorating and some sugar cookies or a cake.  Since it falls during Lent this year, it will be even simpler, as we will be forgoing the heart-decorated baked goods...

If I can find some time for myself, I would like to...spend a little time looking at my Pinterest boards for some gift ideas for Easter and upcoming birthdays.

I am grateful for...Una beginning to feel better; Gemma sleeping better the past few nights so that consequently I am sleeping better; friends and family; the little tree outside my kitchen window that allows me to watch the birds gather while I do dishes.

Some special prayer intentions for this week:  To enter into the season of Lent with empty hands and a humble heart, asking that I be given the graces I am most in need of; for my family's health (my sister is trying to get her colitis under control now that her regular medication is no longer effective--an Ave on her behalf would be deeply appreciated); for my nephew, Matthew; for vocations to the priesthood, and especially to the Fathers of Mercy.  For our Holy Father and the Church Militant...I just heard that our Holy Father is resigning as of the end of this month...my heart is breaking...