![Put It To Work 17]()
by Catherine | Mar 2, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for the week:
- For the family of Baby Cora Grace as they mourn her death
- For blessings upon my brother David as he celebrates his 39th birthday this week
- For a special intention
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week–especially tonight at my holy hour. Please share your intentions in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
I hope you have a great week!
![Abandoning Your Lenten Resolution Doesn't Make You a Failure]()
by Catherine | Feb 25, 2015 | Faith
Last Friday, I sat down with my cuppa coffee for my morning prayer time, and I nearly spit out my first sip when I read that morning’s first reading:
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw. (Isaiah 58:3-4)
My first instinct was to laugh. At that point, we were just a few days into the Lenten season, and I was already starting to rethink a few of my Lenten resolutions. Some of it had to do with listening to Fr. John Riccardo’s Ash Wednesday homily. He said if we want to make this the “Best Lent Ever,” we need to remember what the purpose of Lent is: to arrive at Easter Sunday looking more like Christ. Period. If we don’t arrive looking more like Him, all of our resolutions and sacrifices will have been a waste. Instead of giving up chocolate, Fr. Riccardo challenges us to sit before God’s presence in humble prayer and ask Him to reveal to us the area of our lives where we are most resistant to change.
It made me think of many of our self-imposed fasts during Lent (no sweets, no coffee, no pop, no television, no Facebook). Sometimes they bring out the worst in us and are actually more of a punishment for those around us than for ourselves! If we are grouches to our loved ones without caffeine for a few days, that might be tolerable, but maybe God is looking for something else. Maybe it’s time to rethink the self-imposed fasts that are “your own pursuits” and are not of Him. If our Lenten resolution is resulting in “quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw,” it’s not what God is asking of us this Lent. Maybe it’s time to lighten the load, change it, or abandon it altogether.
Is your Lenten resolution somehow softening your heart and making you look more like Him? Great! Persevere to Easter Sunday–and beyond!
If your Lenten resolution is taking you off course and causing more conflict in your life,
- STOP
- Pull a U-ey (Anyone else say that to make a U-turn?)
- Ask Him to reveal what you’re supposed to be doing instead
Are you struggling to know whether or not your Lenten resolution is a good one? Meditate upon this verse: “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16) When are discerning whether or not we are doing God’s will, per usual, Peter Kreeft has some fantastic advice. One of his five principles in discerning God’s will is to look for the fruits of the Spirit:
Look for the fruits of the spirit, especially the first three: love, joy, and peace. If we are angry and anxious and worried, loveless and joyless and peaceless, we have no right to say we are sure of being securely in God’s will. Discernment itself should not be a stiff, brittle, anxious thing, but—since it too is part of God’s will for our lives—loving and joyful and peace-filled, more like a game than a war, more like writing love letters than taking final exams.
If your original Lenten resolution is not bearing fruit, don’t be afraid to completely abandon it! You won’t be some sort of Lenten failure. Well, you will be a Lenten failure if you abandon your resolution, throw your hands in the air, and leave it at that. “Fine! That didn’t work out. I guess I’ll just try again next year.” Instead, slow down long enough to spend some time in silence. Kneel in front of a crucifix, gaze into our Lord’s eyes, and ask Him what part of your heart you need to soften to look more like Him by Easter Sunday. Then, ask Him how He is going to soften your heart and what you can do to make that change. And, hey, there’s no expectation that you’ll have that part of your heart completely softened or healed by Easter Sunday. He just wants you to take that first step toward Him today–toward love, joy, and peace.
So, who’s with me on Day 1 of (re)New(ed) Lenten Resolutions? Here’s to being unrecognizable on Easter Sunday!
![Abandoning Your Lenten Resolution Doesn’t Make You a Failure]()
by Catherine | Feb 25, 2015 | Faith
Last Friday, I sat down with my cuppa coffee for my morning prayer time, and I nearly spit out my first sip when I read that morning’s first reading:
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw. (Isaiah 58:3-4)
My first instinct was to laugh. At that point, we were just a few days into the Lenten season, and I was already starting to rethink a few of my Lenten resolutions. Some of it had to do with listening to Fr. John Riccardo’s Ash Wednesday homily. He said if we want to make this the “Best Lent Ever,” we need to remember what the purpose of Lent is: to arrive at Easter Sunday looking more like Christ. Period. If we don’t arrive looking more like Him, all of our resolutions and sacrifices will have been a waste. Instead of giving up chocolate, Fr. Riccardo challenges us to sit before God’s presence in humble prayer and ask Him to reveal to us the area of our lives where we are most resistant to change.
It made me think of many of our self-imposed fasts during Lent (no sweets, no coffee, no pop, no television, no Facebook). Sometimes they bring out the worst in us and are actually more of a punishment for those around us than for ourselves! If we are grouches to our loved ones without caffeine for a few days, that might be tolerable, but maybe God is looking for something else. Maybe it’s time to rethink the self-imposed fasts that are “your own pursuits” and are not of Him. If our Lenten resolution is resulting in “quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw,” it’s not what God is asking of us this Lent. Maybe it’s time to lighten the load, change it, or abandon it altogether.
Is your Lenten resolution somehow softening your heart and making you look more like Him? Great! Persevere to Easter Sunday–and beyond!
If your Lenten resolution is taking you off course and causing more conflict in your life,
- STOP
- Pull a U-ey (Anyone else say that to make a U-turn?)
- Ask Him to reveal what you’re supposed to be doing instead
Are you struggling to know whether or not your Lenten resolution is a good one? Meditate upon this verse: “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16) When are discerning whether or not we are doing God’s will, per usual, Peter Kreeft has some fantastic advice. One of his five principles in discerning God’s will is to look for the fruits of the Spirit:
Look for the fruits of the spirit, especially the first three: love, joy, and peace. If we are angry and anxious and worried, loveless and joyless and peaceless, we have no right to say we are sure of being securely in God’s will. Discernment itself should not be a stiff, brittle, anxious thing, but—since it too is part of God’s will for our lives—loving and joyful and peace-filled, more like a game than a war, more like writing love letters than taking final exams.
If your original Lenten resolution is not bearing fruit, don’t be afraid to completely abandon it! You won’t be some sort of Lenten failure. Well, you will be a Lenten failure if you abandon your resolution, throw your hands in the air, and leave it at that. “Fine! That didn’t work out. I guess I’ll just try again next year.” Instead, slow down long enough to spend some time in silence. Kneel in front of a crucifix, gaze into our Lord’s eyes, and ask Him what part of your heart you need to soften to look more like Him by Easter Sunday. Then, ask Him how He is going to soften your heart and what you can do to make that change. And, hey, there’s no expectation that you’ll have that part of your heart completely softened or healed by Easter Sunday. He just wants you to take that first step toward Him today–toward love, joy, and peace.
So, who’s with me on Day 1 of (re)New(ed) Lenten Resolutions? Here’s to being unrecognizable on Easter Sunday!
![Family Rule of Life: Routines, Charts, and Checklists — Oh, My!]()
by Catherine | Feb 24, 2015 | Faith, Family
This Type A geek is beyond excited to share this post with you! Who doesn’t love some good charts???
After examining the 5 P’s (Prayer, Person, Partner, Parent, Provider), it’s finally time to jump into pulling our Family Rule of Life together. As you may remember, I first read A Mother’s Rule of Life last Lent when we were in a different house. I had to rework our schedule and adjust our routines to reflect life in our new home with everyone at their current ability to help. (I will revise our Family Rule again in the fall when we start a new school year.) Putting together the schedules and routinizing everything was simultaneously the most difficult and most rewarding part of this process. Now that I’ve had these schedules in place for a few months, I am thrilled to share them with you.
First, a few caveats:
- Don’t Compare: Remember that these charts are specific to my family’s home, each family member’s ages & ability to help, and our schedule. It looked very different last year, and it will continue to morph over time. What works for us now won’t work for us in a few months, and it probably won’t be what works for your family’s unique needs. I’m just sharing our routines to give you a sense of how to pull your family’s unique Rule together.
- Baby Steps: Don’t try to take it all on at once. That’s a recipe for discouragement and a whole lotta anger! It took me a few months to figure out the basics, and we are still making adjustments as we go. The most important part is making a decision to get your framework in place and take it one day at a time. I make revisions to these schedules and timeframes on a regular basis.
- This is the Ideal: While we aim to accomplish these tasks everyday, sometimes life happens. The beauty of this system is that having a routine allows us to be more flexible. When the home is maintained, it’s easy to take a day off when someone gets sick or there is a family emergency. Then, we pick up the slack as best we can, redistribute tasks, or just abandon them until next week. If you’re finding that your routines are more of a burden than a blessing, that’s probably a sign that you need to lessen the everyday load.
So, what are these routines looking like at our house these days? (All of the links take you to previous blog posts or Google docs of our household routines that I have shared. I took a few screen shots to show you what they look like, but you should open the Google docs themselves to print higher quality images.)
Prayer Routine
I addressed a lot of this when I talked about the “P” of Prayer. Before I could look at other aspects of our family’s schedule, I had to make time frames available for regular prayer–personal prayer, couple prayer, and family prayer. If I didn’t carve out time for prayer first, I knew it would be difficult to find the time during our busy days. Here’s what I came up with:
To learn more about how I came up with this routine or the why behind it, read about my prayer routine here.
The Daily Timeframes and Routine
After carving out time for prayer, I could come up with our daily routine. I keep this daily routine on the side of our refrigerator, but I no longer need to reference it since I’ve been following the routine for a few months. The kids appreciate having a schedule they can rely on.
To help get the kids used to their role in the daily routine, I created some picture charts for their bedrooms. They have one set for their morning jobs, and another set for their bedtime jobs. Now, they are used to taking care of all of these things on their own.
Jane’s morning and evening jobs (Pink for AM, Purple for PM)
With the routine in place, I created a list of all of the household tasks I want to accomplish on a daily basis. I kept this list in my binder on the kitchen counter to reference until I memorized it. Now, it has become second nature.
Weekly Household Routine
With the daily routine in place, I made a weekly calendar accounting for all of our regularly scheduled weekly, bimonthly, and monthly commitments. This included things like a shared holy hour, preschool, playdates, date nights, mother’s helper, Mass, family meeting, spiritual direction, GodTeens, Philip’s call schedule, book club, kids’ activities (art class, swimming lessons, etc.), dinner club, Mother’s Sabbath, confession, etc. For our privacy, I’ll keep that one to myself. To create this chart, I made seven columns to account for each day of the week and put each regularly scheduled event with its time in the appropriate day. I keep this chart on the side of our refrigerator. I learned that routinizing everything as much as possible reduced my mental clutter. So, that meant finding regular pockets of time to make various events happen. Philip can have guy time on this day of the week, I can blog during this afternoon, we can host playdates these mornings, etc.
With the weekly routine created, I was able to take into account our day-to-day commitments in creating my weekly home maintenance routine. This chart is the workhorse that keeps our home maintained on a day-to-day basis.
To create it, I considered which days of the week I would have the most motivation and how much time I had to commit to various household tasks. I looked at my room analysis I mentioned in my Provider post. There, I had listed all of the household tasks that needed to happen in each room on a daily (weekly, monthly, seasonal, or annual) basis. I found a day of the week to make each task happen. I had to use some restraint in creating this weekly home maintenance routine. I was tempted to keep adding tasks to each day, but I had to remind myself that I could lessen the load by making some tasks only monthly requirements.
I wanted the chart to be a quick reference tool, so I limited the words to focus on rooms or areas of the home. Some rooms required more tasks than others, so I separated them by numbers (Example: Kitchen 1 and Kitchen 2). During my “training” period with this new routine, I had a list of what needed to be done in each room during the weekly clean. I kept the list on my refrigerator during my training, but it’s in the family binder now that I have it memorized. When I couldn’t remember what “Kitchen 1” meant, I referenced this list.
A peek at the room by room weekly chores
The first few weeks of the weekly household routine were difficult because they required some deep, deep cleaning. Once I had the first few weeks under my belt, it was back to maintenance mode. I realized that I had so much more free time on my hands! The house was cleaner than ever, and I was doing only the tasks assigned to that day to maintain things. With my daily tasks routinized, I was finding large, regular pockets of time for the fun stuff–playtime, outings, prayer, blogging, other hobbies. The structure and cleanliness in our home brought about an overall peace that we hadn’t previously felt in our new home. We had achieved it in our old house, but it took us awhile to find it again here. With our routines in place, it came back, and we are so glad to have found that peace again!
Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Tasks
After creating our weekly household routine, I had remaining items on my room by room analysis that needed to be done. I created separate lists for monthly, seasonal, and annual tasks. To make sure these tasks are actually getting accomplished, I keep them in our family binder and reference them each week during our Family Meeting. Then, I look at the week’s calendar and find pockets of time to hammer them out. I delegate the tasks that I need Philip to do, and I make notes to call the appropriate businesses for routine household maintenance. I also reference the ongoing repair/project list at our weekly Family Meeting to see if we can tackle a project that month.
A peek at the annual household tasks, separated by month
* * *
That’s it! It all sounds perfect on paper, but it takes a long, long time to work it all out in practice. (Holly Pierlot recommends giving yourself a year and writing all of the charts in pencil. I’m too lazy to recreate them, so I just type them up the first time and make edits when necessary.) Remember, I first started working with our Family’s Rule last year, and I’ve had to rework it since moving. I’m only a few months in with this new system, but it is already bringing a lot of peace. I hope these charts are a good starting point for you. Read Holly Pierlot’s longer descriptions of how to create your own routines for your family’s needs in A Mother’s Rule of Life. Her questions and checklists were invaluable in creating our Family’s Rule. Let me know if you have any questions!
I’ll conclude the series next time with a few notes on how to stick to a Rule once it’s all on paper and some words of encouragement.
Questions for you:
- How do you keep your home maintained? Do you have a system in place that is working for you?
- What is preventing you from bringing order to your home? What practical step can you take this week to reduce the chaos?
![Put It To Work 16]()
by Catherine | Feb 23, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for the week:
- For continued blessings upon my parents’ marriage as they celebrate their anniversary today
- For blessings upon Philip as he celebrates his 30th birthday this week
- For Baby Lourdes’ healing and her family’s strength
- For my renewed commitment to be fully present to my family
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week. Please share them in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
I hope you have a great week!
![The 5th “P” in Our Family’s Rule of Life: Provider]()
by Catherine | Feb 19, 2015 | Family
Sorry it has taken me so long to circle back to this series. I was on a little blogging hiatus for Jane’s birthday/birthday party, Marriage Encounter Weekend, and kicking off Lent. It feels good to be back!
In case you’ve missed the previous three posts in the series, I’m revisiting our Family’s Rule of Life (based on Holly Pierlot’s book, A Mother’s Rule of Life). Basically, a Rule of Life is an examination of your vocation and its essential duties so that you can put them into a proper schedule. After my introduction post in the series, I jumped into what Holly Pierlot calls the “5 P’s”:
- Prayer
- Person
- Partner
- Parent
- Provider
I’ve already looked at Prayer, Person, Partner, and Parent. Today, we’re looking at the 5th and final “P”: Provider. As Holly says, “the fifth P is really just about providing an orderly stage upon which all the drama of loving relationships must occur; we want the actors to focus on the performance, not on a messy, disorganized set.” Today, we finally get to what I think is the fun stuff–putting together schedules, checklists, and establishing routines to keep our home a mini-paradise.
A Changed Mindset: From Overworked Servant to Custodian of Creation
As you might expect, Provider is all about providing for our family’s physical needs and being good stewards in managing our family’s resources. As a stay-at-home mom, there’s a big temptation to allow caring for our family and financial concerns to take over. Examining our roles as providers is all about making sure we’re being as effective as possible without allowing our obligations to take over our lives physically or financially.
To do that, Holly Pierlot writes that we need to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of our work in the home. When we take off the glasses with which the world views our job at home, we can find countless challenges for our minds, bodies, and souls instead of a life of drudgery. Working at home is only as monotonous and (un)challenging as we allow it to be!
I love Holly’s section in this chapter about our role as “custodian” or “manager” of creation just like Adam and Eve in Genesis:
What we have, be it a little or a lot, has been entrusted to us, for a twofold purpose: to preserve what we have and to administer it profitably. Thus, not only are we to ensure that our home is cared for and kept in order, but we’re also called to improve it, to make it meet the real human needs of our family. We don’t have the right to neglect our duties here, but are called to manage these resources, for they really belong to God.
When we view all of our tasks at home as work for God, it changes our mindset from being a life of drudgery to being “pretty close to a moral obligation” as a matter of justice. When we are given the opportunity to care for our homes and children on a full-time basis, it is our responsibility to put in that full day’s work like we would outside of the home for another employer.
Finances, Almsgiving, and Tithing
I won’t say too much about this since there are so many resources available and books written on this subject. However, I would recommend looking at Holly’s checklist and helpful questions to get your budget in order.
Philip and I have been working to streamline our finances, clean out our files, and plug everything into our new budgeting software called You Need a Budget (YNAB). YNAB has been working very, very well for our budgeting style, and it is helping us to stay accountable to where we want and need to be financially. We’re only a little more than a month in, but it has worked very well for us. Having a budget forces us to decide what is a want and what is a need. More often than not, the constraints of our budget blesses us by making us realize, “This is not something our family needs right now.” The budget helps us to rely less on our material possessions for our comfort and pleasure and look for creative ways to entertain ourselves or connect. Maybe I’ll write more about YNAB once we’re a few more months into the program. So far, so good!
What better time than Lent to consider how your family is reaching out to your neighbors in need?
Holly Pierlot says that she gains perspective on how blessed she is by putting up a poster she made of pictures from National Geographic Magazine of people from third world countries living in abject poverty. She walks away from looking at that poster simultaneously more grateful for what she has, more determined to give more of it away, and more determined to manage her resources well.
I love Holly’s definition of tithing. She says:
…tithing is not only a means of giving God what belongs to him and exercising self-control, but is actually a real channel of grace to enable us to be satisfied with having our needs met, with a few little wants thrown in as gifts from the goodness of God
Making Our Home a Beautiful and Functional Paradise For Our Family
This is where things get really fun for us organizational Type A geeks! Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, our home needs to be our own mini paradise that is both beautiful and functional. To help us achieve that goal, Holly suggests doing a “room analysis” throughout the home. I was so excited to perform a “room analysis” in our new home. I busted out my trusty clipboard with looseleaf and answered these questions in every single room:
- What is this room’s purpose?
- What needs to be in this room to achieve that purpose? Is there anything missing? What needs to be removed?)
- How should the room be arranged to fit the purpose of the room?
Holly suggests having a “transfer room” to store all of the stuff that needs to find a home (or be donated) while you’re getting each room in order. Instead of having an entire room, I brought a trash bag and 2 huge utility totes with me. I told myself that I could only touch each object once, and they had 4 possible places to go:
- Somewhere in that room
- In my “donate” tote
- In my “relocate” tote (to go somewhere else in the house)
- Trash
That way, I wasn’t constantly leaving the space to throw things away, put them in another room, or toss in the donate bin.
Then, I created a project/repair list. I added repairs that needed to made as well as dream projects I would love to complete someday down the road. (The list is in our family binder and comes to our weekly family meeting. We choose a repair/project we’d like to work on for the week or start budgeting money toward.)
Finally, I made a list of which chores needed to be completed in each room and who would do them. I followed Holly’s recommendations to separate them by daily, weekly, (bi)monthly, seasonally, and annual chores. (I’ll share those lists and schedules in a future post.) Then, I decided when each chore would actually get done. To help get the kids used to their new responsibilities, I created laminated picture chore charts for the kids’ rooms. They have a separate set for their morning and evening jobs. The other charts stay on the side of our refrigerator for easy reference.
* * *
When I resume the series, I’ll share our family’s daily routine, weekly schedule, and chore charts (mine and the kids’ picture ones). I started revising our Family Rule of Life in November, and it has become second nature. I’ll finish out the series talking about the challenges to the Rule of Life and what Holly calls the “heart of the Rule.”
![The 5th "P" in Our Family's Rule of Life: Provider]()
by Catherine | Feb 19, 2015 | Family
Sorry it has taken me so long to circle back to this series. I was on a little blogging hiatus for Jane’s birthday/birthday party, Marriage Encounter Weekend, and kicking off Lent. It feels good to be back!
In case you’ve missed the previous three posts in the series, I’m revisiting our Family’s Rule of Life (based on Holly Pierlot’s book, A Mother’s Rule of Life). Basically, a Rule of Life is an examination of your vocation and its essential duties so that you can put them into a proper schedule. After my introduction post in the series, I jumped into what Holly Pierlot calls the “5 P’s”:
- Prayer
- Person
- Partner
- Parent
- Provider
I’ve already looked at Prayer, Person, Partner, and Parent. Today, we’re looking at the 5th and final “P”: Provider. As Holly says, “the fifth P is really just about providing an orderly stage upon which all the drama of loving relationships must occur; we want the actors to focus on the performance, not on a messy, disorganized set.” Today, we finally get to what I think is the fun stuff–putting together schedules, checklists, and establishing routines to keep our home a mini-paradise.
A Changed Mindset: From Overworked Servant to Custodian of Creation
As you might expect, Provider is all about providing for our family’s physical needs and being good stewards in managing our family’s resources. As a stay-at-home mom, there’s a big temptation to allow caring for our family and financial concerns to take over. Examining our roles as providers is all about making sure we’re being as effective as possible without allowing our obligations to take over our lives physically or financially.
To do that, Holly Pierlot writes that we need to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of our work in the home. When we take off the glasses with which the world views our job at home, we can find countless challenges for our minds, bodies, and souls instead of a life of drudgery. Working at home is only as monotonous and (un)challenging as we allow it to be!
I love Holly’s section in this chapter about our role as “custodian” or “manager” of creation just like Adam and Eve in Genesis:
What we have, be it a little or a lot, has been entrusted to us, for a twofold purpose: to preserve what we have and to administer it profitably. Thus, not only are we to ensure that our home is cared for and kept in order, but we’re also called to improve it, to make it meet the real human needs of our family. We don’t have the right to neglect our duties here, but are called to manage these resources, for they really belong to God.
When we view all of our tasks at home as work for God, it changes our mindset from being a life of drudgery to being “pretty close to a moral obligation” as a matter of justice. When we are given the opportunity to care for our homes and children on a full-time basis, it is our responsibility to put in that full day’s work like we would outside of the home for another employer.
Finances, Almsgiving, and Tithing
I won’t say too much about this since there are so many resources available and books written on this subject. However, I would recommend looking at Holly’s checklist and helpful questions to get your budget in order.
Philip and I have been working to streamline our finances, clean out our files, and plug everything into our new budgeting software called You Need a Budget (YNAB). YNAB has been working very, very well for our budgeting style, and it is helping us to stay accountable to where we want and need to be financially. We’re only a little more than a month in, but it has worked very well for us. Having a budget forces us to decide what is a want and what is a need. More often than not, the constraints of our budget blesses us by making us realize, “This is not something our family needs right now.” The budget helps us to rely less on our material possessions for our comfort and pleasure and look for creative ways to entertain ourselves or connect. Maybe I’ll write more about YNAB once we’re a few more months into the program. So far, so good!
What better time than Lent to consider how your family is reaching out to your neighbors in need?
Holly Pierlot says that she gains perspective on how blessed she is by putting up a poster she made of pictures from National Geographic Magazine of people from third world countries living in abject poverty. She walks away from looking at that poster simultaneously more grateful for what she has, more determined to give more of it away, and more determined to manage her resources well.
I love Holly’s definition of tithing. She says:
…tithing is not only a means of giving God what belongs to him and exercising self-control, but is actually a real channel of grace to enable us to be satisfied with having our needs met, with a few little wants thrown in as gifts from the goodness of God
Making Our Home a Beautiful and Functional Paradise For Our Family
This is where things get really fun for us organizational Type A geeks! Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, our home needs to be our own mini paradise that is both beautiful and functional. To help us achieve that goal, Holly suggests doing a “room analysis” throughout the home. I was so excited to perform a “room analysis” in our new home. I busted out my trusty clipboard with looseleaf and answered these questions in every single room:
- What is this room’s purpose?
- What needs to be in this room to achieve that purpose? Is there anything missing? What needs to be removed?)
- How should the room be arranged to fit the purpose of the room?
Holly suggests having a “transfer room” to store all of the stuff that needs to find a home (or be donated) while you’re getting each room in order. Instead of having an entire room, I brought a trash bag and 2 huge utility totes with me. I told myself that I could only touch each object once, and they had 4 possible places to go:
- Somewhere in that room
- In my “donate” tote
- In my “relocate” tote (to go somewhere else in the house)
- Trash
That way, I wasn’t constantly leaving the space to throw things away, put them in another room, or toss in the donate bin.
Then, I created a project/repair list. I added repairs that needed to made as well as dream projects I would love to complete someday down the road. (The list is in our family binder and comes to our weekly family meeting. We choose a repair/project we’d like to work on for the week or start budgeting money toward.)
Finally, I made a list of which chores needed to be completed in each room and who would do them. I followed Holly’s recommendations to separate them by daily, weekly, (bi)monthly, seasonally, and annual chores. (I’ll share those lists and schedules in a future post.) Then, I decided when each chore would actually get done. To help get the kids used to their new responsibilities, I created laminated picture chore charts for the kids’ rooms. They have a separate set for their morning and evening jobs. The other charts stay on the side of our refrigerator for easy reference.
* * *
When I resume the series, I’ll share our family’s daily routine, weekly schedule, and chore charts (mine and the kids’ picture ones). I started revising our Family Rule of Life in November, and it has become second nature. I’ll finish out the series talking about the challenges to the Rule of Life and what Holly calls the “heart of the Rule.”
![At CatholicMom: Lights Out! A Lenten Challenge for Your Family]()
by Catherine | Feb 19, 2015 | Faith, Family
My monthly column at CatholicMom is about one of our family’s Lenten challenges.
Who says the magic of candlelight is just for Advent?
My husband, Philip, and I are looking for unique ways to dive into Lent as a family and as a couple this year. We came up with an idea that we think will prove to be challenging but very worthwhile: a weekly fast from electricity.
Why?
Life is so busy that we need time to just be. In a lot of ways, electricity stops us from being together. With the ability to keep the lights on at night, we keep on going as we do during the daylight hours–staring at the computer (or another screen), doing housework, checking something else off the to-do list, or leaving to run errands. Electricity has, in a way, made us slaves to our work. Instead of ending our work day when the sun goes down, we keep going without giving it a second thought. Philip and I decided our family will spend one night each week without using electricity in our house during Lent. Sitting around the Advent wreath to sing and pray is always our favorite Advent tradition. Why not carry that over to Lent? [Read the rest over at CatholicMom]
![Jane’s Lambie 5th Birthday Party]()
by Catherine | Feb 18, 2015 | Family
This year, it was all about Lambie from Doc McStuffins and everything pink and purple!
The Invitation:
Jane invited all of the girls in her preschool class and a few other close friends. It ended up being 9 girls, and everyone had a great time!
It was fun to plan a party with a child old enough to give her input on what we would do. Jane loves, loves, loves party planning! With the help of a little searching on Pinterest, we decided to make some heart wands and Lambie ears as party favors instead of a bag of goodies.
The heart wands
I used:
- Wooden dowels (cut in half and sanded the edges to make them smooth)
- A whole bunch of pink and purple ribbon
- Pink and purple felt
- Hot glue & hot glue gun
To make them:
1. Cut your pink and purple ribbon so that it dangles 2/3 down the dowel when tied around the dowel
2. Secure your ribbon knot with hot glue
3. Create a stencil of 3 different sizes of hearts. Cut out hearts in pink and purple felt. Glue your dowel on top of the largest heart.
4. Hot glue the medium and small hearts to each other. Then, glue those hearts on top of your wand to cover the ribbon. Allow the ribbon to hang down and out the sides.
Finished wands:
Jane and Walt had fun “fishing” with extra dowels and spools of ribbon while I assembled the wands
The Lambie ears
I used:
- A dozen white satin headbands I ordered from Amazon
- White and pastel pink felt
- Pastel pink satin ribbon
- Hot glue & hot glue gun
This “Marie Felty Ears” tutorial from Disney was my inspiration. I rounded the ear edges and positioned them downward to make them more like Lambie. After attaching the white ears, we cut out small pink pieces of felt to glue in the middle for the inner ear. Can you see that amazing husband of mine helping with this project? It was a fun chance for us to chat and work on something together.
Then, I assembled the pink bows. For each bow, I cut 2 6cm strips of ribbon and glued them in the middle. Then, I bent them in the middle and stapled the two parts together.
I applied hot glue to the top middle of the headband to attach the bow. Once it was attached and dry, I secured the bow and covered the staples with a small piece of hot glue.
The Menu (Selected by the birthday girl)
- Pizza
- Fruit Salad
- Cheetohs
- Pink cupcakes with pink frosting
The Cupcakes
I had help decorating the cupcakes from my two assistants
I found this Doc McStuffins cupcake topper free printable and printed them off.
After cutting them out, I stuck the pictures together using double-sided tape on bamboo forks.
The Party
The day finally came for Jane’s big party! Jane had been planning the big day since August, so she was pretty pumped. The girls had a ball running around with their heart wands and wearing their Lambie headbands. A few of them kept asking me, “I get to keep them?!” Harry even wore a set for awhile!
The girls mostly kept themselves entertained, but we had a few fun games like limbo and put the Band Aid on Stuffy (another character from Doc McStuffins). The girls were especially excited to watch Jane open her presents. They all gathered around her and said things like, “Oh, that’s so cute!” It felt like a mini bridal shower with the girls passing the presents around, fawning over them, and telling Jane how excited they were for her. So sweet!
Jane especially loved this hand drawn picture from her friend’s big sister. Isn’t that adorable???
The cupcakes were a definite success
Walt got a tad tired toward the end of the party and wanted the girls to stop playing dress-up. This is what it looks like when your house is overtaken by giggling preschool girls around your nap time. 
We got all of the kids to sit on the stairs with their Lambie ears and heart wands before parents started arriving to pick them up.
The best part was Jane telling me after all of her friends went home, “Mommy, it was everything I dreamed it would be!” I’m so glad, sweetie. I love you!
![Jane's Lambie 5th Birthday Party]()
by Catherine | Feb 18, 2015 | Family
This year, it was all about Lambie from Doc McStuffins and everything pink and purple!
The Invitation:
Jane invited all of the girls in her preschool class and a few other close friends. It ended up being 9 girls, and everyone had a great time!
It was fun to plan a party with a child old enough to give her input on what we would do. Jane loves, loves, loves party planning! With the help of a little searching on Pinterest, we decided to make some heart wands and Lambie ears as party favors instead of a bag of goodies.
The heart wands
I used:
- Wooden dowels (cut in half and sanded the edges to make them smooth)
- A whole bunch of pink and purple ribbon
- Pink and purple felt
- Hot glue & hot glue gun
To make them:
1. Cut your pink and purple ribbon so that it dangles 2/3 down the dowel when tied around the dowel
2. Secure your ribbon knot with hot glue
3. Create a stencil of 3 different sizes of hearts. Cut out hearts in pink and purple felt. Glue your dowel on top of the largest heart.
4. Hot glue the medium and small hearts to each other. Then, glue those hearts on top of your wand to cover the ribbon. Allow the ribbon to hang down and out the sides.
Finished wands:
Jane and Walt had fun “fishing” with extra dowels and spools of ribbon while I assembled the wands
The Lambie ears
I used:
- A dozen white satin headbands I ordered from Amazon
- White and pastel pink felt
- Pastel pink satin ribbon
- Hot glue & hot glue gun
This “Marie Felty Ears” tutorial from Disney was my inspiration. I rounded the ear edges and positioned them downward to make them more like Lambie. After attaching the white ears, we cut out small pink pieces of felt to glue in the middle for the inner ear. Can you see that amazing husband of mine helping with this project? It was a fun chance for us to chat and work on something together.
Then, I assembled the pink bows. For each bow, I cut 2 6cm strips of ribbon and glued them in the middle. Then, I bent them in the middle and stapled the two parts together.
I applied hot glue to the top middle of the headband to attach the bow. Once it was attached and dry, I secured the bow and covered the staples with a small piece of hot glue.
The Menu (Selected by the birthday girl)
- Pizza
- Fruit Salad
- Cheetohs
- Pink cupcakes with pink frosting
The Cupcakes
I had help decorating the cupcakes from my two assistants
I found this Doc McStuffins cupcake topper free printable and printed them off.
After cutting them out, I stuck the pictures together using double-sided tape on bamboo forks.
The Party
The day finally came for Jane’s big party! Jane had been planning the big day since August, so she was pretty pumped. The girls had a ball running around with their heart wands and wearing their Lambie headbands. A few of them kept asking me, “I get to keep them?!” Harry even wore a set for awhile!
The girls mostly kept themselves entertained, but we had a few fun games like limbo and put the Band Aid on Stuffy (another character from Doc McStuffins). The girls were especially excited to watch Jane open her presents. They all gathered around her and said things like, “Oh, that’s so cute!” It felt like a mini bridal shower with the girls passing the presents around, fawning over them, and telling Jane how excited they were for her. So sweet!
Jane especially loved this hand drawn picture from her friend’s big sister. Isn’t that adorable???
The cupcakes were a definite success
Walt got a tad tired toward the end of the party and wanted the girls to stop playing dress-up. This is what it looks like when your house is overtaken by giggling preschool girls around your nap time.
We got all of the kids to sit on the stairs with their Lambie ears and heart wands before parents started arriving to pick them up.
The best part was Jane telling me after all of her friends went home, “Mommy, it was everything I dreamed it would be!” I’m so glad, sweetie. I love you!
![Put It To Work 15]()
by Catherine | Feb 16, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for the week:
- For the graces to continue to put the lessons we learned during our Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend to work now that we are back in the “real world”
- For a blessed start to the Lenten season (Ash Wednesday is 2/18) for our family
- A special intention
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week. Please share them in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
I hope you have a great week!
![Put It To Work 14]()
by Catherine | Feb 8, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for the week:
- A blessed year for Jane as she celebrates her 5th birthday this week
- A good “click” with my spiritual director as we meet for the first time this week
- A blessed Marriage Encounter retreat weekend with Philip
- A special intention
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week. Please share them in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
I hope you have a great week!
![Put It To Work 13]()
by Catherine | Feb 1, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for the week:
- A blessed year for my brother, Matthew, whose birthday is this week.
- For the repose of the soul of Philip’s grandmother, Pat, whose death we commemorate this week. She was such a special woman, and we still miss her very much.
- A recommitment to speak Philip’s “love language” (words of affirmation) this week.
- A special intention
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week. Please share them in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
I hope you have a great week!
![7QT: 7 Reasons Parish Boundaries Are a Good Thing]()
by Catherine | Jan 29, 2015 | Faith
When Philip and I were looking for a home in Lincoln, we were surprised to learn that the location of our home would determine our new parish for us. It turns out the Diocese of Lincoln very strictly enforces parish boundaries. If you live here, you will be in ________ parish. If you go a few blocks that way, you’ll be parishioners at _________. We couldn’t register in a parish or enroll our children in school until we knew where our home would be. Although it was restrictive when we were searching for a home near Philip’s clinic, we have grown to appreciate and even love the strict enforcement of the parish boundaries. Here are just a few of the reasons why I think parish boundaries are a great thing:
- Culture of Stewardship: Tuition in the Lincoln Catholic Schools is very reasonable. The greatest reason for this is the tremendous level of stewardship. Regardless of whether or not you have school-age children, you are expected to tithe. The Diocese subsidizes tuition and makes sure that each diocesan school is receiving financial support. This ensures that children throughout the diocese are receiving high quality education at a reasonable price. While we are paying significantly less in tuition for our children to attend Catholic school, we are able to tithe a much larger amount to the parish and other charities. This allows the Diocese to direct funds where they are most needed.
- Stability: As cities grow and the socioeconomic make-up changes, Catholic schools in older parts of town tend to die off and close. In Lincoln, this isn’t the case. As with all cities, there are certainly pockets of wealth and poverty, but the quality of the Catholic schools is largely consistent. Attending Catholic school is not a status symbol the way it is in other places. When there is a culture of stewardship to support the city’s Catholic schools, they thrive and have staying power throughout the city.
- Strengthened Community: We are literally surrounded on every side of our home with fellow parishioners. As we walk to and from Mass or school, we pass by the houses of the people we worship with and our children learn with. Seeing all of these people outside of church and school on an everyday basis is a visible reminder that the Body of Christ extends beyond the walls of our parish. We no longer feel like we are on some isolated island of faith between visits to Mass or school.
- Home: When we moved in back in May, we were absolutely blown away by the warm welcome we received. Literally minutes after we pulled up with the moving van, there were two women from a parish committee there to say hello. As we unpacked boxes and got settled, we started meeting our neighbors. Over the summer, we had several opportunities to meet everyone on the nearby blocks. Within weeks, we knew more of our neighbors in Lincoln than we had in 5 years of living in the same house in Omaha. If they were Catholic, they went to St. Joseph’s, too. We live just a few blocks away from our parish, so we spent several summer evenings at the school playground. We met different families every time, and they all lived within walking distance. At the neighborhood Fourth of July party at another nearby park, we met even more parish families. The parish associate pastor even walked over from the rectory to join the Fourth of July parade! The parish wisely has “welcome dinners” for new parishioners as another great opportunity to meet people. When we go to Mass, there is a real sense of community. Even though we’ve only lived here for 9 months, we see a lot of familiar faces every time. I kid around that I thought the Catholic community in Omaha was small, but that I have to be on my very best behavior in Lincoln since everyone seems to know each other. This is probably a good thing! Parish boundaries made it so easy for us to meet fellow parishoners and feel at home right away.
- Increased Involvement: Without the choice of shopping around for a parish, people seem to be more invested in their parishes involvement-wise. The feeling seems to be, “This is the parish entrusted to us because of our address, and we’re going to support it as best we can.” Without the option to jump ship, the parishoners make it a point to make the parish the very best it can be with the resources we have available.
- It’s Not About the Priest: While we are very blessed at our parish with our pastor, associate pastor, and priest in residence, Mass seems very different. The focus is decidedly not on the priest. In places where boundaries are not strictly enforced, it seems more common for people to “shop” around until they find the flavor of preaching, music, etc. that they like best. It’s not uncommon for people to switch parishes if their beloved priest moves or the music director changes. With geography determining where we will worship on Sundays, the focus is lifted from the priest and put back on the sacraments. It forces us to focus on the gift that is the catholicity (universality) of the Church–we are getting the same Jesus in the sacraments regardless of which parish we’re in or which priest is celebrating the Mass. What a gift!
- Not a Competition: Because the pastors’ boundaries are set in stone, they aren’t competing against one another to gain more parishioners. Instead, they are focusing on the souls entrusted to them within their designated areas. If you want to join a specific parish, you have to live within the boundaries. Period. This way, pastors can shepherd those entrusted to them to their fullest capacity instead of trying to compete with other pastors to increase the flock. Without the element of competition, pastors (and priests in general) seem to view each other as comrades and have a strong community built on fraternity.
Questions for You:
Are the parish boundaries in your area strictly enforced or not? Did you even know about parish boundaries before this blog post? What has been your experience?
To read more 7QT posts, head over to Kelly Mantoan’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum.
![The 4th "P" in Our Family's Rule of Life: Parent]()
by Catherine | Jan 28, 2015 | Family
In case you’ve missed the previous three posts in the series, I’m revisiting our Family’s Rule of Life (based on Holly Pierlot’s book, A Mother’s Rule of Life). Basically, a Rule of Life is an examination of your vocation and its essential duties so that you can put them into a proper schedule. After my introduction post in the series, I jumped into what Holly Pierlot calls the “5 P’s”:
- Prayer
- Person
- Partner
- Parent
- Provider
I’ve already looked at Prayer,Person, and Partner. Today, we’re moving on to the 4th “P”: Parent.
Holly packs a whole bunch of wisdom into this chapter. My favorite passage was her own definition of parenting.
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.
After I read that for the first time last year, I thought, “Wow, what a beautiful definition.”
Then I thought, “What responsibility!”
In the later part of the chapter, Holly has some great sections on discipline and developing a routine. Do yourself a favor, and read the whole chapter sometime. Today, I’d like to focus on the first part of the chapter because there is a key element Holly brings up that I think a lot of parenting books leave out: the parents themselves.
Working on Me
In a lot of parenting books, the focus seems to be on the kids–how to get them to eat, sleep, potty train, play, exercise, learn, and the list goes on and on. Very few focus on how the parents need to improve themselves as parents in order to model what their children ought to be doing. It sounds like a “duh” comment, but I think it’s so true. This chapter made me stop and realize, “Wow, I have all of these expectations for our children, but I don’t always hold myself to the same standards.”
When I looked at the 2nd “P”: Person, I came up with several things that I wanted to improve about myself. However, my list for Person didn’t include a lot of the things I need to work on in order to improve my role as Parent.
Specifically, Holly Pierlot says that we need to work on our own attitudes. She focuses on the areas of:
- uncomplaining cheerfulness
- having a willing spirit
- commitment to an ongoing conversion
- self-control
- prayer
- reliance on God
That list made me do a little soul searching.
- When I meet a task like a glass of spilled milk or a potty training accident, do I face it with uncomplaining cheerfulness?
- Do I have a willing spirit to help my daughter play with the play-doh or my son build his 1378th configuration of his train tracks?
- Am I allowing myself to plateau in the spiritual life, or am I continually learning and challenging myself to grow closer to God?
- Do I use self-control, especially in my thoughts, words, body language, or actions?
- Do I allow the busy-ness of life to get me off track with my personal prayer routine? Is prayer regularly punctuating my day? Am I using different kinds of prayers, or am I treating God like a vending machine in the sky that I talk to only when I want something?
- How has my day so far reflected my reliance on God? Would someone know that I am a Christian based on the way I go about my day? How?
Just as we are to be channels of grace for our spouses in marriage, we are to be channels of grace for our children.
Availability, Acceptance, and Help
Remember how St. Pope John Paul II defined love as “availability, acceptance, and help”? Holly Pierlot reflects that when she talks about the ways we can be available, accepting, and helpful for our children.
Availability
- Am I making eye contact?
- Do I get down on their level when we speak to each other?
- Am I spending more time looking at screens than into their eyes?
- Are we over scheduled? Am I over scheduled?
Acceptance
- Am I giving each child dedicated one-on-one time on a regular basis? (At our house, we call it “special time.”)
- Am I approaching parenting with a one size fits all approach, or am I trying to find our children’s unique strengths, weaknesses, talents, and interests? Am I accepting of each child’s uniqueness? Is my encouragement specific to them?
Help
- Am I doing what is best for our children?
- Do the kids have healthy limits?
- Are our days a good balance of work and play? (We like to call it “holy leisure”)
Questions for You:
- How would you describe your general day-to-day attitude toward parenting? Are you running on fumes?
- Revisit the list Holly Pierlot gives us for examining our attitude toward parenting.
- What area do you struggle the most with?
- Is there an area you’ve improved on? How? I’d love to hear how you’ve overcome a weakness in this area!
- How do you show your children that you are available, accepting, and helpful?
* * *
Next time I pick up the series, I’ll look at the last “P”: Provider. While a lot of it focuses on budget and financial stuff, much of the emphasis on our Provider role is an examination of where we are putting our trust and whether or not we are being good stewards of the gifts we have been given.
