![Small Success Thursday #9]()
by Catherine | Mar 6, 2014 | Family
Here are a few of our small successes from this week:
It’s March, so that means we have 4 more months of residency! Yahoo!!!
I successfully completed Jen Fulwiler’s “7 Posts, 7 Days” challenge.
In the midst of the craziness with the house yesterday, we made it to Mass and remembered to fast & abstain.
Jane loves feeding Harry and fed him all of his peas yesterday. Sweet big sister offered to play with Harry while I cleaned up his chair. Harry loves it when Janie blows raspberries on his tummy!
So much cuteness has happened this morning! I’m calling it a success that there’s so much love around this house today.
As we were loading up to take Jane to preschool, Jane and Walt decided to sing Harry a lullaby in his carseat. I love Harry’s big grin as his big sibs sing to him.
While I was cleaning the breakfast dishes, Walt ran into the kitchen and squeezed my leg. “Thanks for being my girl, Mama. I love you.” I don’t know where he picked up the phrase “my girl,” but this mama is loving it.
Before we pulled into the school parking lot, Walt turned to Janie and said, “I’m gonna miss you, Janie!” Without skipping a beat, she said, “I’m gonna miss YOOOOOOOOOOU, Walt!”
We’ve had a lot of interest in the house since we listed on Monday, and we just *might* be done with showings. I like to say that “it ain’t over til it’s over” with the house stuff, and I probably won’t be breathing easy until we’re pulling away in the moving van, but, for now, things are looking good. Please pray all continues to go well as both parties dot our “i”s an cross our “t”s, have the inspection, and near the closing date. If I can get a little greedy with my prayer requests, please also pray that we find a home in Lincoln within our new parish boundaries. Unfortunately, there isn’t much on the market right now, so we’re hoping a home will come on the market very soon. Way to go, prayer warriors!
Your turn! What are your small successes from this week? Head on over to CatholicMom to read other small successes and share your own triumphs. If you’re using social media, use the hashtag #SmallSuccess.
![The House is Officially On the Market!]()
by Catherine | Mar 4, 2014 | Family
Yay! Our house is officially on the market as of today!
We had two scheduled showings this late afternoon/early evening. Unfortunately, one had to cancel due to a family emergency (and I pray that everything is okay!). We’re hoping the steady stream of interest will continue this week and that we’ll see an offer soon. Hopefully no one will want to have a showing during nap time!
Monty decided he wasn’t up for evacuating our house during showings because he gets carsick. Instead, he’s staying in our basement living area in his cage. He left a note for all of our visitors, and he’s hoping that they’ll give him a treat for being such a good boy.
Here’s his sign:
For a little fun, I’d love for you to place your bets on how many days our home will be on the market. Wise guys that want to upset me with guesses like 366 days need not participate! Philip guesses 8 days, and I’m going to guess 23 days so that I don’t get my hopes up TOO high. What’s your guess?
Philip’s mom is so thoughtful! She sent us a St. Joseph statue and holy card. Jane placed the statue in her and Walt’s room, and she is so proud that he’s on their dresser.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
![Busy Day]()
by Catherine | Feb 28, 2014 | Family, The Homefront
Today’s post is going to be short and sweet because it’s been a busy day. After I publish this, it’s time to put my feet up, have a glass of wine, and watch a show with Philip!
Philip was able to come home around lunchtime, and we spent the rest of the day prepping for our realtor’s visit tonight. Aside from filling out some more paperwork and discussing important details, we finalized the staging of the house.
Harry thinks selling the house is exhausting! He fell asleep on this blanket while we wrapped things up with our realtor. Sweetie pie!
It took longer than we anticipated, but it’s a relief to have the house almost 100% ready and have all of our questions answered.
I wanted to share a few shots of the family room.
After nearly six years, I finally updated the throw pillows. I didn’t realize how bad our other throw pillows were until I asked a close girlfriend what she thought. When she told me, “You should either not leave those out or get new ones,” I knew it was time! I found these cute ones at Garden Ridge.
I’m so proud of myself for getting bright and fun colors since I usually play it safe. They photograph well against the dark couch and chair, too. What a difference some new pillows make!
Alright, off to spend some time with Philip!
* * *
This is my 4th of 7 posts in Jen Fulwiler’s “7 Days, 7 Posts” challenge. Come on over, join in the fun link-up, and read some great blogs!
![The 1st "P" in Our Rule of Life: Prayer]()
by Catherine | Feb 26, 2014 | Faith, Family, Marriage
In case you missed it, part of my Lenten mission this year is to create a Boucher Family Rule of life modeled after Holly Pierlot’s A Mother’s Rule of Life.
Yesterday, I shared the essential tasks of my vocation and wrote a family mission statement.
Today, I’m starting my examination of the “5 P’s”
- Prayer
- Person
- Partner
- Parent
- Provider
I’ll tackle one “P” each day for the next five days.
First up: Prayer.
Holly Pierlot is right on when she writes that we have to schedule prayer “because God isn’t so obviously urgent, because he doesn’t pester us for our attention like our children or sloppy house can.” Holly suggests making a list of all of the things you think ought to comprise a healthy prayer life. For me and where I am in my spiritual journey, those things include:
- Morning Offering
- Remember that the work of my vocation is prayer and consciously offer each chunk of the day to God to “supernaturalize the day” and “tackle every task as a direct response to God, just as if he were asking you, ‘Will you go do your laundry now?'”
- Holly Pierlot has a tremendous section on overcoming sloth by offering God our efforts. She shares Fr. John Hardon’s definition of sloth as “sluggishness of soul or boredom of the exertion necessary for the performance of any good work.”
- Regularly offer God my efforts in mental prayer
- Daily Readings & Gospel Reflection
- Angelus at Noon
- Saint of the Day Reflection
- Family Prayer (Rosary, bedtime prayers, prayer to St. Joseph as our family’s patron saint)
- Couple Prayer with Philip before bed (reading from our Catechism reflection book and spontaneous prayer)
- Regular examination of conscience and regularly scheduled reconciliation
- Journaling about habits of sin and distractions from my vocation
- Mass (start small with one day each week in addition to Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation)
- Holy Hour (Share a holy hour with Philip and alternate weeks that we go)
- Formal Study (Currently working on The Bible Timeline)
After determining the things I would like to have as a part of my regular prayer life, Holly suggests actually putting them into your schedule. For me, it would look like this:
- Throughout the day: Offer chunks of time to God to “supernaturalize my day”
- Before kids wake up: Morning Offering, dedicate day to God, Daily Readings, and Gospel Reflection
- With kids at breakfast: Morning Offering and Saint of the Day Reflection
- 8:15: Daily Mass (starting with one day a week in addition to Sunday & Holy Days)
- Noon: Angelus with the children after lunch
- During children’s naptime: Formal study (Bible Timeline), examination of conscience and journaling (start with once a week)
- After dinner: Family prayer time (Rosary or special prayers according to liturgical season, bedtime prayers)
- 8:00 p.m. every other Tuesday: shared Holy Hour with Philip
- 9:30 p.m.: Couple prayer with Philip (Read from Catechism reflection book, spontaneous prayer)
A few questions for you:
- Do you have an examination of conscience that you particularly like and can share? What about a kid friendly examination?
- What resources do you use to enter into the Daily Readings? A special app? Homilies?
- Do you have a formal study that you would recommend?
- Do you have a saint of the day resource that is great for reading with children? How do you share the stories of saints with your children?
- What does your couple prayer time look like?
- Do you have any insights to share on prayer in general?
Tomorrow, I’ll take on the 2nd P: Person. That entails all of the things I need to do to keep my person healthy and ready to serve.
* * *
This is my 3rd of 7 posts in Jen Fulwiler’s “7 Days, 7 Posts” challenge. Come on over, join in the fun link-up, and read some great blogs!
![The 1st “P” in Our Rule of Life: Prayer]()
by Catherine | Feb 26, 2014 | Faith, Family, Marriage
In case you missed it, part of my Lenten mission this year is to create a Boucher Family Rule of life modeled after Holly Pierlot’s A Mother’s Rule of Life.
Yesterday, I shared the essential tasks of my vocation and wrote a family mission statement.
Today, I’m starting my examination of the “5 P’s”
- Prayer
- Person
- Partner
- Parent
- Provider
I’ll tackle one “P” each day for the next five days.
First up: Prayer.
Holly Pierlot is right on when she writes that we have to schedule prayer “because God isn’t so obviously urgent, because he doesn’t pester us for our attention like our children or sloppy house can.” Holly suggests making a list of all of the things you think ought to comprise a healthy prayer life. For me and where I am in my spiritual journey, those things include:
- Morning Offering
- Remember that the work of my vocation is prayer and consciously offer each chunk of the day to God to “supernaturalize the day” and “tackle every task as a direct response to God, just as if he were asking you, ‘Will you go do your laundry now?'”
- Holly Pierlot has a tremendous section on overcoming sloth by offering God our efforts. She shares Fr. John Hardon’s definition of sloth as “sluggishness of soul or boredom of the exertion necessary for the performance of any good work.”
- Regularly offer God my efforts in mental prayer
- Daily Readings & Gospel Reflection
- Angelus at Noon
- Saint of the Day Reflection
- Family Prayer (Rosary, bedtime prayers, prayer to St. Joseph as our family’s patron saint)
- Couple Prayer with Philip before bed (reading from our Catechism reflection book and spontaneous prayer)
- Regular examination of conscience and regularly scheduled reconciliation
- Journaling about habits of sin and distractions from my vocation
- Mass (start small with one day each week in addition to Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation)
- Holy Hour (Share a holy hour with Philip and alternate weeks that we go)
- Formal Study (Currently working on The Bible Timeline)
After determining the things I would like to have as a part of my regular prayer life, Holly suggests actually putting them into your schedule. For me, it would look like this:
- Throughout the day: Offer chunks of time to God to “supernaturalize my day”
- Before kids wake up: Morning Offering, dedicate day to God, Daily Readings, and Gospel Reflection
- With kids at breakfast: Morning Offering and Saint of the Day Reflection
- 8:15: Daily Mass (starting with one day a week in addition to Sunday & Holy Days)
- Noon: Angelus with the children after lunch
- During children’s naptime: Formal study (Bible Timeline), examination of conscience and journaling (start with once a week)
- After dinner: Family prayer time (Rosary or special prayers according to liturgical season, bedtime prayers)
- 8:00 p.m. every other Tuesday: shared Holy Hour with Philip
- 9:30 p.m.: Couple prayer with Philip (Read from Catechism reflection book, spontaneous prayer)
A few questions for you:
- Do you have an examination of conscience that you particularly like and can share? What about a kid friendly examination?
- What resources do you use to enter into the Daily Readings? A special app? Homilies?
- Do you have a formal study that you would recommend?
- Do you have a saint of the day resource that is great for reading with children? How do you share the stories of saints with your children?
- What does your couple prayer time look like?
- Do you have any insights to share on prayer in general?
Tomorrow, I’ll take on the 2nd P: Person. That entails all of the things I need to do to keep my person healthy and ready to serve.
* * *
This is my 3rd of 7 posts in Jen Fulwiler’s “7 Days, 7 Posts” challenge. Come on over, join in the fun link-up, and read some great blogs!
![Creating Our Boucher Family Rule of Life: Getting Started]()
by Catherine | Feb 25, 2014 | Faith, Family, Marriage, The Homefront
 |
| Holy Family, pray for us! |
In case you missed it, part of my Lenten mission this year is to create a Boucher Family Rule of Life modeled after Holly Pierlot’s A Mother’s Rule of Life.
First of all, what in the world is a Rule of Life? As Holly Pierlot defines it, a Rule of Life “consists primarily in the examination of one’s vocation and the duties it entails, and the development of a schedule for fulfilling these responsibilities in a consistent and orderly way.”
So, before I get started on creating a schedule, I need to determine 2 things:
- What is my vocation?
- What essential duties does my vocation entail?
1. What is my vocation?
To determine my vocation, I considered what I call the proper order of relationships. First and foremost, I am a Child of God. Second, I am a wife. Third, I am a mother. I am all of these things, but it is essential that I keep them in this proper order.
2. What essential duties does my vocation entail?
I could go on and on listing all kinds of duties for my vocation, but I need to pare it down to the essentials to make our Family Rule effective.
- Child of God: Sustain a regular prayer life, frequent the sacraments, attend Mass, and show my love of God through my love of neighbor. I also have the responsibility to care for myself (personal prayer, recreation, good nutrition, exercise, rest) so that I can perform all of my duties well.
- Wife: Holly Pierlot quotes Blessed Pope John Paul II as saying that love could be defined as “availability, acceptance, and help.” As a wife, I have the duty to: be available to my husband (spiritually, physically, intellectually, creatively, emotionally), be accepting of all of him, and to be a helper instead of a hindrance on his journey to sainthood. In order to fulfill my duties as a wife, I need to keep my relationship with Philip second only to my relationship with God, but above all other relationships–even our children.
- Mother: I can’t sum up my duties as a mother more succinctly than Holly Pierlot did in her section on parenting. She says that parenting “is a call to form persons. We’re called to bring God to our children’s spirits, truth to their minds, health to their bodies, skill to their hands, beauty and creativity to their hearts, and in all this, virtue to their wills and sanctity to their souls.” To be my children’s primary educator means remembering Pope Pius XI’s wise words that, “Education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be, and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created.” In sum, it’s my job as a Christian mother to foster my children’s relationship with God so that they can: hear His voice calling them to their specific vocation, receive the graces to live it out well, and glorify Him through their lives as a preparation for their eternal reward with Him. Ultimately, my job as a mother is to raise my children to become saints.
If those are only the essential duties I have as a Child of God, wife, and mother, I have A LOT to do each day! Now that I have my essential duties listed, we need define our family’s mission (what we’re doing and why) before we create a schedule. That will help our family to maintain our focus and purpose as we go about our everyday lives. Philip and I worked together to create our family mission statement. Here it is:
The Boucher Family is domestic church whose mission is to know, love, and serve God. Our aim is to live intentionally as Jesus’ disciples, propel one another to sainthood, and joyfully share our love of God with others.
I love our family mission statement! It really pares it down to what we’re supposed to be doing everyday. I’m printing it off and putting it on our refrigerator. Maybe someday I can get it beautifully painted on canvas to be hung in a prominent place in our home. (Any crafty friends out there know of a way for me to do this?)
Now that I have my vocation’s duties outlined and our family mission statement written, I need to draft our family’s schedule. In order to do that, I will be examining what Holly Pierlot calls the “5 Ps.”
- Prayer
- Person
- Partner
- Parent
- Provider
Tomorrow, I’ll focus on the first P, Prayer.
Until then, I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. Heck, I want to have a book club to discuss everything I’m uncovering in A Mother’s Rule of Life! What are the essential duties of your vocation? If you had a family mission statement, what would it say? Are you fulfilling the essential duties of your vocation? If not, what practical changes can you make today? What is keeping you from fulfilling your essential duties? Are you preventing someone else from fulfilling his/her essential duties?
If you’re interested in creating your own Rule of Life, read A Mother’s Rule of Life and visit Holly Pierlot’s website for some great resources.
* * *
This is my 2nd of 7 posts in Jen Fulwiler’s “7 Posts, 7 Days” challenge. Come on over, join in the fun link-up, and read some great blogs!
