![7QT: What I’m ________ing]()
by Catherine | Jul 23, 2015 | Family
7 things I am currently ________ing:
-1-
Reading
Heather King’s conversion story, Redeemed: Stumbling Toward God, Sanity, and the Peace That Passes All Understanding
So. Much. Truth. Heather’s writing hurts me exactly where I need to hurt. Have you ever encountered a writer who did that to you? I read Heather’s story, and I realize, “I need this hurt to convict me; not just to hurt, but to make me want to change.”
Sometimes the prodigal’s jealous brother needs more healing than the prodigal. Rachel Balducci shared at Edel that motherhood helps her to work on her humility. The lower she stays to the ground in humility like a child, she says, the less likely her puffed up pride will cause a big tumble.
It’s a beautiful thing to read Heather’s journey from brokenness toward healing and forgiveness. I admire her courage and humility in this spiritual memoir.
-2-
Watching
Underwater Dreams
I suppose it’s not an -ing since I only watched it once, but I’m still thinking about the film and its message.
The movie chronicles a rag-tag high school underwater robotics team from Arizona. Despite their poverty and lack of resources, they were able to win the national robotics competition, defeating MIT and several other universities. After the team wins the competition, the documentary follows the team members’ lives. Despite their natural aptitude and hard work, their undocumented status makes it difficult for them to flourish.
The film got Philip and I talking about immigration and what our country needs to do to fix the problem presented in the film. Should illegal immigrants receive in-state tuition? Should it take 10 years for a young man who wants to join the U.S. Army to become a citizen? I won’t pretend to have all of the answers, but I do know this: too many Americans take the opportunities made available to us because we were born on this soil for granted.
Still chewing on a lot of it and praying for wisdom for our country’s leaders. Both of the major political parties need to make compromises to heal this wound.
-3-
Listening
This Inspired Life by Kristin Sanders (podcast)
I’m so glad to have found yet another podcast put out by a faithful Catholic. I started listening last week and started all the way back at Episode 1. I’m 10 episodes in, and I’m definitely keeping this podcast on my playlist. Kristin interviews various guests in the Catholic world, and the topics are wide ranging. To give you an idea, in the first few episodes, Kristin and her guests have discussed: talking to kids about sex, creating an Etsy site, women in the Church, child development, loving as Christ loves, and adoption. Kristin isn’t afraid to ask difficult questions (the ones I really want to hear the guests answer!), and she allows them to unspool their complete answers. The podcast doesn’t feel rushed at all. It feels like a casual conversation with a good friend over coffee. This Inspired Life is my new laundry folding and dish washing soundtrack!
-4-
Listening
Building Bridges Podcast with Cristina Trinidad & Jenna Guizar
Building Bridges just started last month, and I’m so glad I discovered it via a Catholic Women Blogger’s group. I had the opportunity to meet Jenna at Edel, so it’s fun to get to hear her chat it up with Cristina on the podcast.
I’ve only listened to 2 episodes of Building Bridges, and I’ve really been enjoying it. Episode 1 was an introduction to Cristina and Jenna. In Episode 2, the girls interviewed Charity Craig who blogs at The Wounded Dove. Charity shared with the girls how God was able to take her husband’s affair and turn it into a gift of healing. When faced with her husband’s infidelity, her first instinct was to be angry. Then, God helped Charity to consider what parts of herself she needed to work on to help heal herself and her marriage–not that she was responsible for the affair (that was her husband’s choice), but that she knew she had parts of herself that needed fixing. Through God’s grace, Charity and her husband were able to reconcile and are happily married. Charity’s story is a beautiful look at how marriage can mirror God’s faithfulness when we go astray.
Looking forward to listening to more!
-5-
Exploring
Lincoln’s wonderful trail systems
-6-
Savoring
My boy who still likes to play dress up and imagine
-7-
Anticipating
Philip’s ribs that he’s making for dinner club
Salted
Rubbed
Vacuum Sealed
Ready for their bath
In the immersion circulator to cook to juicy perfection for a few days
Get in my belly! Gotta love a man who can make some delicious ribs!
* * *
To read more 7QT posts, head over to Kelly Mantoan’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum!
![7QT: What I'm ________ing]()
by Catherine | Jul 23, 2015 | Family
7 things I am currently ________ing:
-1-
Reading
Heather King’s conversion story, Redeemed: Stumbling Toward God, Sanity, and the Peace That Passes All Understanding
So. Much. Truth. Heather’s writing hurts me exactly where I need to hurt. Have you ever encountered a writer who did that to you? I read Heather’s story, and I realize, “I need this hurt to convict me; not just to hurt, but to make me want to change.”
Sometimes the prodigal’s jealous brother needs more healing than the prodigal. Rachel Balducci shared at Edel that motherhood helps her to work on her humility. The lower she stays to the ground in humility like a child, she says, the less likely her puffed up pride will cause a big tumble.
It’s a beautiful thing to read Heather’s journey from brokenness toward healing and forgiveness. I admire her courage and humility in this spiritual memoir.
-2-
Watching
Underwater Dreams
I suppose it’s not an -ing since I only watched it once, but I’m still thinking about the film and its message.
The movie chronicles a rag-tag high school underwater robotics team from Arizona. Despite their poverty and lack of resources, they were able to win the national robotics competition, defeating MIT and several other universities. After the team wins the competition, the documentary follows the team members’ lives. Despite their natural aptitude and hard work, their undocumented status makes it difficult for them to flourish.
The film got Philip and I talking about immigration and what our country needs to do to fix the problem presented in the film. Should illegal immigrants receive in-state tuition? Should it take 10 years for a young man who wants to join the U.S. Army to become a citizen? I won’t pretend to have all of the answers, but I do know this: too many Americans take the opportunities made available to us because we were born on this soil for granted.
Still chewing on a lot of it and praying for wisdom for our country’s leaders. Both of the major political parties need to make compromises to heal this wound.
-3-
Listening
This Inspired Life by Kristin Sanders (podcast)
I’m so glad to have found yet another podcast put out by a faithful Catholic. I started listening last week and started all the way back at Episode 1. I’m 10 episodes in, and I’m definitely keeping this podcast on my playlist. Kristin interviews various guests in the Catholic world, and the topics are wide ranging. To give you an idea, in the first few episodes, Kristin and her guests have discussed: talking to kids about sex, creating an Etsy site, women in the Church, child development, loving as Christ loves, and adoption. Kristin isn’t afraid to ask difficult questions (the ones I really want to hear the guests answer!), and she allows them to unspool their complete answers. The podcast doesn’t feel rushed at all. It feels like a casual conversation with a good friend over coffee. This Inspired Life is my new laundry folding and dish washing soundtrack!
-4-
Listening
Building Bridges Podcast with Cristina Trinidad & Jenna Guizar
Building Bridges just started last month, and I’m so glad I discovered it via a Catholic Women Blogger’s group. I had the opportunity to meet Jenna at Edel, so it’s fun to get to hear her chat it up with Cristina on the podcast.
I’ve only listened to 2 episodes of Building Bridges, and I’ve really been enjoying it. Episode 1 was an introduction to Cristina and Jenna. In Episode 2, the girls interviewed Charity Craig who blogs at The Wounded Dove. Charity shared with the girls how God was able to take her husband’s affair and turn it into a gift of healing. When faced with her husband’s infidelity, her first instinct was to be angry. Then, God helped Charity to consider what parts of herself she needed to work on to help heal herself and her marriage–not that she was responsible for the affair (that was her husband’s choice), but that she knew she had parts of herself that needed fixing. Through God’s grace, Charity and her husband were able to reconcile and are happily married. Charity’s story is a beautiful look at how marriage can mirror God’s faithfulness when we go astray.
Looking forward to listening to more!
-5-
Exploring
Lincoln’s wonderful trail systems
-6-
Savoring
My boy who still likes to play dress up and imagine
-7-
Anticipating
Philip’s ribs that he’s making for dinner club
Salted
Rubbed
Vacuum Sealed
Ready for their bath
In the immersion circulator to cook to juicy perfection for a few days
Get in my belly! Gotta love a man who can make some delicious ribs!
* * *
To read more 7QT posts, head over to Kelly Mantoan’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum!
![The Diocese of Lincoln Presents: Date Night]()
by Catherine | Jul 19, 2015 | Faith, Family, Marriage
I’m thrilled to be sharing an upcoming event with all of you!
This year, the Diocese of Lincoln’s Office of Family Life and Evangelization began hosting a monthly “Date Night” for married and engaged couples. It’s a chance for us to get a night out on the town, eat some complimentary hors d’oeuvres, hear a great speaker, and meet others who are fighting the good fight.
This Friday, July 24th, our friends, Mary and Joe Mulka, are the guest speakers presenting at Date Night. Philip and I met Mary and Joe through our parish when we signed up for GodTeens. I think I died when I realized their names are MARY AND JOSEPH. Never again would I forget! Could they be any more adorable? They are a wonderful, faith-filled couple, and I hope you can come to hear their message.
Mary and Joe
The Mulka Family
This Friday’s Date Night topic is family prayer, and Mary and Joe will be talking about their own experience. It will be an opportunity for couples to hear how a real family is weaving prayer into the craziness of daily life. As Mary told me, their talk, “is based on our testimony and how we came to realize that prayer and communication is essential in marriage and then flows into our family life. It is more based on personal experience then theological information.”
I am so grateful to Mary and Joe for stepping out of their comfort zone to reach out and share a little glimpse into what trying to live out the faith looks like in their house. How cool that the Diocese is providing us an opportunity to get to be in the same room as so many like-minded couples who face the same day-to-day struggles and are persevering together!
Catholic author Matthew Kelly likes to call the Catholic laity (non-clergy) a “sleeping giant.” There are far more members of the Church that are not priests or religious brothers and sisters, and most of us are floundering in our call to live as intentional disciples of Jesus. As the sleeping giant, most of us don’t realize the power God is giving us to transform our culture through the gift of our vocation to marriage. All of us (not just the clergy and religious!) are called to sainthood.
Kudos to the Diocese of Lincoln’s Office of Family Life and Evangelization for creating this monthly Date Night to awaken the sleeping giant. Not only will we walk away with some practical advice and tools, but we’ll be reaffirmed knowing that we’re not alone. We’ll be encouraged to better live out our vocation of marriage in our unique, irreplaceable roles as husbands and fathers, wives and mothers.
If you haven’t already, pick up the phone and call your sitter for Friday. You won’t want to miss this one! We’ll see you at
Ploughshare Brewing Company (16th & “P”) at 7 p.m. for some fun and fellowship! If you can’t make this one (boooooooooooo!), the next scheduled Date Night is Friday, August 14. For more information, click
here.
![7QT: On the Homefront While I Was at Edel]()
by Catherine | Jul 16, 2015 | Family
When I thought about leaving town for the Edel Gathering last Friday through Sunday, I didn’t worry for one second about leaving home. We had Jane when Philip was in med school, so the kids got used to not having Philip around much. Now that he’s in practice and has a more normal schedule, they’ve gotten used to having special time with Daddy.
I left for Edel early Friday morning (Philip took the day off to be home with the kids), so I ended up telling the kids Thursday night before we put them to bed that I was going to be out of town for a few days. Even though Philip and I have taken quite a few long weekend trips away from the kids, this was the first time I was going to leave them by myself. It felt WEIRD. I know they love me, but I was anticipating a, “Welp, see you later,” like they gave me on their first days of preschool. These kids don’t struggle with separation. Not this time, though. I’m going to blame exhaustion and the heat on their very emotional reaction. Jane started crying, that got Walt crying, and then Harry got in on the action. “But, Mama,” Jane said, “you better teach Daddy how to do all of the things you do!” It was like she forgot how he has always helped with everything around here (and more often than not does a lot of it better than I do!). Exhaustion tends to get the best of the Boucher girls. Philip really is THE MAN when it comes to his parenting and general domestic skills.
Fair warning: This is going to be one of those annoying posts when I’m that girl who goes on and on about how awesome her husband is. You’ve been forewarned!
So, other than cry their eyes out (not even a tear), what did they do while I was away? Well…
-1-
Friday morning, Philip invited his sister, Maddy, to join him and the kids on a trip to Omaha to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo.
-2-
For lunch, they went to B&G’s, an old-school diner with legendary loose meat sandwiches and root beer floats.
Jane & Maddy
Creepy smoking clown art
-3-
Bathtime
-4-
Saturday morning trip to Pioneers Park
Enjoying their room to roam free
Posing with the statues
I love Jane’s pose with her big sun hat
Feeding the geese
I love this picture even though it distorted the kids’ faces
-5-
A stop at the nature center
Finding the Queen Bee
Checking out the stuffed animals
-6-
Jane got a goose egg. “She just hit her head on a pole,” Dr. Phil nonchalantly explained. No biggie.
-7-
Saturday night, Philip decided to have some of our friends and their 3 sweet kiddos over for dinner. He made pulled pork sandwiches with homemade BBQ, our friends brought sides, and Philip made peach crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. This guy.
Kiddie table
Sprinkler fun with friends
So, yes, I’m spoiled rotten. Philip and the kids had a grand ol’ time while I was away. These are just the things he took pictures of, but they did much, much more. I’m so very grateful for how he went above and beyond to make it a wonderful weekend for them. Surprisingly, the kids actually still missed me despite all of the fun they had with Daddy, and they greeted me with their biggest hugs and kisses upon my return. It’s good to be home, but I’m so glad they had such a great weekend with Philip.
If you’d like to read more 7QT posts, head on over to Kelly Mantoan’s wonderful blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum. (People, I’ve always been a big fan of Kelly’s, but ever since meeting her at Edel, I’m hooked. I’ll be writing more about her talk at Edel next week.)
![Sibling Bridges Falling Down]()
by Catherine | Jun 27, 2015 | Family
Who needs toys when you have siblings?
The other night, after we had gotten 2 out of 3 kids jammied up and ready for family prayer time around the coffee table, they created an impromptu game. I call it “Sibling Bridges.” Jane and Walt make their bodies into bridges between the coffee table and couch, and Harry giggles as he runs underneath.
Jane and Walt giggled so much that their little bodies were trembling as they supported their weight.
Walt thought he’d make it trickier by holding onto his jet.
Starting to lose feeling in their arms…the bridges are collapsing…
Daddy removes the bridges and declares that it’s family prayer time.
The giggling minions compose themselves and assemble around the table.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Second to a strong marriage, the greatest gift we’ve given our children is each other.
![7QT: A Few Updates and a Few Favorites]()
by Catherine | Jun 25, 2015 | Everything Else, Faith, Family
A few updates and a few recent favorite things:
-1-
We took our first-ever family vacation to Kansas City last week. We had a great, great time! More on that next week.
-2-
2 weeks until The Edel Gathering. Can’t wait to connect with other Catholic women from around the country! Counting down the days!
-3-
Philip went on a retreat for young fathers a few weekends ago. When was the last time you encouraged your hubby to take some dedicated time for himself? Philip tends to want to spend his time away from work at home with us, and it’s rare for him to seek out guy time. I’m so glad he had this opportunity to get to deepen his interior life with some awesome, faith-filled men.
-4-
What I’m reading:
The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God by Ruth V.K. Pakaluk
Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst
Laudato Si (Encyclical “On Care For Our Common Home”) by Pope Francis
-5-
What I’ve read recently that I would definitely recommend:
The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Overcoming Sinful Anger by Fr. T. Morrow
Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic by Matthew Kelly
Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light by Brian Kolodiejchuk
-6-
What I’m Listening to:
The Little House Mothering Podcast
“Catholic Youth Summer Camp” Playlist on Spotify
Good Things Radio
Catholic Answers Live (Been listening since sophomore year of college)
The Doctor is In
-7-
It’s nearly July already. I say it every year, but where is this summer going??? I’ve been taking stock if life lately and setting some new goals for the next month. I’ve been praying about which ones God wants for me and which ones aren’t worth the effort. Looking forward to sharing them with you next week.
Has your summer been going how you thought it would? Any changes you’d make now that we’re nearly to the halfway point?
* * *
If you’d like to read more 7QT posts, head over to Kelly Mantoan’s blog, This Ain’t The Lyceum.
