by Catherine | Dec 12, 2018 | Podcast
Catch up:
- Health update
- Plans for the podcast in the New Year
- My 34th birthday, Thanksgiving, a marriage retreat
How we’re Advent-ing this year:
- “We have a lot of time with our family” – Jane
- Keep quiet calendar as much as possible
- Say “no” whenever possible and limit commitments
- Making time for silence and prayer
- Feast of St. Nicholas
- Clementine, chocolate coins, Christmas jammies, saint/faith book
- Books our kids got this year
- Dinner
- Decorating
- Slooooooooowly decorate to build up anticipation of Christmas
- Nativities
- Little People Nativity
- Fontanini Nativity – past years added people slowly, this year put everyone out. It looks like a huge party at the stable with all of the people and animals!
- Will put Baby Jesus in both nativities on Christmas morning and sing “Away in a Manger”
- Gaudete Sunday
- Hot chocolate and look at Christmas lights around town
- Christmas tree – the day we put it up and decorated in past years. This year, we put up the tree the 2nd Sunday of Advent, and we are going to decorate it on Gaudete Sunday.
- Baking
- Basket of Christmas books – wrap them up, unwrap one each day. This year, I just put them all out at once!
- Christmas morning
- Kids can come down and open stockings while we snooze
- Everyone up, warm breakfast (overnight French toast soufflé and scrambled eggs)
- THEN open presents
General Tips
- Remember: Christmas is a season, so you don’t have to do ALL THE THINGS before or on December 25th.
- Keep those reasonable expectations
- Add ONE tradition each year
- Adjust as necessary year to year. Let the tradition go when it’s not working – Christmas cards, etc.
- Philip and I like to do an Advent/Christmas recap convo before the New Year to talk about what went well, what we NEVER WANT TO DO AGAIN, etc. If we’ve had any regrets, it usually revolves around being stressed about the wrong things – usually gifts – and not spending the time connecting with each other or other loved ones
Please get in touch!
- We would love to add a service opportunity to our Advent traditions. Do you or your family have a way of adding service to the season?
- Let me know how Advent is going for you, and as always, keep sending along your book/tv/movie recommendations!
- Contact me:
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by Catherine | Nov 14, 2018 | Podcast
First, I shared my laundry list of excuses why I haven’t recorded a podcast episode the past few weeks.
My Holiday Mental Health Saving Tips:
- Healthy expectations – people don’t magically change because of the holiday
- Treat everyone in your family (including yourself) like a toddler
- Meet the primary needs (rest, hunger, affection, down time, routine whenever possible)
- Know your and your family’s limits, discuss them with your spouse, and advocate for yourselves
- Don’t agree to a family gathering in the middle of naptime
- Don’t agree to stay well past bedtime on Christmas Eve
- Clarify rough expectations ahead of time and communicate yours as well
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You can’t please everyone.
- BUT be flexible(ish)
- Get creative – on/off years, gathering the weekend before or after the holiday with one family
- Plan ahead and do things starting now, little by little
- Get Advent candles now (First Sunday of Advent is 12/2)
- Christmas cards?
- Work on addresses now
- Order card next week
- Make it fun – set aside evening to stick labels with husband while watching current Netflix binge
- Gifts
- Start creating lists of all recipients (bonus points if you’ve been jotting down ideas throughout the year)
- My goal is to have everything ordered and if possible delivered and wrapped by the time Advent starts (this year, 12/2)
- Important to remember: The kids will remember the overall feeling of what the holidays were like and not necessarily the gifts. If you’re stressed out and miserable trying to make it the “perfect” day, the kids will remember stressed out and miserable Mama instead of the picture perfectness of the day.
- Keep # of gifts limited – they’ll be getting plenty of gifts
- You can encourage parents and in-laws in a certain direction for gifts (some families want lists or explicit instructions). There’s a growing trend to ask grandparents for “experience gifts” like a fun weekend getaway with grandparents or swimming lessons, zoo/museum memberships.
- Some of your parents or in-laws might be on-board with this idea. If not, let them give gifts how they want. You might be a minimalist and get stressed out by the number of gifts you’re hauling home from the various family gatherings. Don’t let this dampen the holidays. If gift giving is a certain family member’s love language, let them do their thing. If the worst that happens is having to make a return or letting that thing come and live at your house until it gets ignored a week later, then so be it. It’s not worth hurting that family member’s feelings.
- Do a toy purge ahead of time with the kids to make room for new gifts.
- We tell our kids that it’s time to donate things when we get to the point that they’re no longer picking things up and we’re spending more time picking things up than playing.
- No need to feel guilt for donating things that are fairly new. Don’t feel guilty exchanging gifts for things your family will actually use or can enjoy together.
- Revisit the family’s gift-giving approach between adults or for nieces/nephews/grandkids if it’s no longer working
I’ll share more about how we approach Advent and the Christmas season over the next few weeks!
Get in touch!
- What are YOUR holiday mental health tips and strategies? What did I forget? Do you have anything you want to add?
- Share your “Shine a Light” stories, let me know how the gratitude challenge is going for you, and as always, keep sending along your book/tv/movie recommendations! You guys haven’t led me astray yet!
- Next week, I’ll have my husband, Dr. Philip Boucher, Catholic dad and pediatrician extraordinaire on the show to answer your questions! Please send whatever parenting or pediatric-related questions my way, and we’ll try to get to all of them on the show next week.
- Contact me:
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by Catherine | Oct 24, 2018 | Podcast
Today, I thought I’d “Shine a Light” on two awesome things that happened in our parish family this last week.
Before I got to that, I gave a quick update on my spiritual challenge to cultivate a spirit of gratitude. How’s the challenge going for you? What areas do you notice yourself struggling with gratitude?
My 2 “Shine a Light” stories from this week:
- Aiden, a second grader in our parish, who got an opportunity to live out his dream to serve on the altar
- A surprise spiritual bouquet from my daughter’s third grade class for myself and my baby that came at a perfect time
What are YOUR “Shine a Light” stories?
- I want to hear you share about something awesome happening in your parish, school, or local community.
- Do you have a great priest, sister, school administrator, teacher, or lay person that’s blessing your family?
- Did your family experience an unexpected grace or blessing that you want to share about?
- Please send those stories my way! It’s my goal to share at least one story each episode about something happening in your community that you’re thankful for
- I hope this is a way for us to shine a light in the darkness when our Church can use all the light it can get
- I look forward to hearing your stories and sharing them on a future podcast
Get in touch!
- Share your “Shine a Light” stories, and keep sending along your book/tv/movie recommendations!
- You can e-mail me at podcast AT catherineboucher DOT com or find me on FB or IG
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by Catherine | Oct 17, 2018 | Podcast
I asked my spiritual director to help me come up with a daily, practical way to work on cultivating a spirit of gratitude.
His challenge to me (that I’m passing along to you!):
- Choose a time of day that is generally interruption-free
- Take the time to relax my mind and body!
- Relax muscles from toes to the top of my head (contract muscles and relax them, count to 5)
- Focus on breathing
- Inhale: Come, Holy Spirit
- Exhale: Fill me with Your Presence
- Choose 2 things to be grateful for that day, and then:
- Be more consciously aware of that thing
- Work on gratitude for that thing
- Journal about it if that’s helpful for you. I’m going to mark down my 2 things each day and then journal about how the previous day went. This will help me to reveal patterns/habits/triggers and mark down moments of growth where God worked through me
- Examples
- Marriage: Struggling with nitpicking husband.
- Choose to be more aware of his acts of service
- Verbally thank him for everything I see him doing
-
- Parenting: Two-year-old being extra clingy and not letting me focus on my to-do list
- Choose to be more aware of her affection for me and desire to be with me
- Show her that I receive her love by putting aside my task
Get in touch!
Let me know how it goes! What areas/things do you need to cultivate a spirit of gratitude for?
As always, you can find me on FB or IG or e-mail me at podcast AT catherineboucher DOT com
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by Catherine | Oct 9, 2018 | Podcast
***LITTLE EARS WARNING: We talk about the HPV vaccine and some sensitive material in this episode***
I apologize that I didn’t have an episode ready for you last weekend! I was too sick to record, and I didn’t have my life together enough to let you know. Thank you for bearing with me! I hope to resume weekly episodes going forward until Baby arrives in March.
This week, my husband, Dr. Philip Boucher, played my special guest. He answered questions from you listeners about all things parenting and pediatrics. Thank you for all of your wonderful questions! In this episode, he answered questions about these topics:
- HPV vaccine (What is HPV anyway, and how is it transmitted? Is the vaccine just for girls? Does it promote promiscuity? My child isn’t sexually active, so why should they get it? What about the side effects I keep hearing about?
- General vaccine questions: Who decides what the recommended vaccine schedule should be? Are vaccines a large source of income for doctors?
- Anxiety in young children, especially boys (What’s normal and what’s not? When do I need to make an appointment? How can I help my child with anxiety?)
- Bedwetting with older kids. When should I be concerned? What’s attention-getting/discipline-worthy? When do I need to make an appointment with the pediatrician?
- General guidelines–what warrants a trip to the doctor and what doesn’t?
- Food allergies/sensitivities: Can parents cause the sensitivities by avoiding certain foods or delaying introducing them?
- Does he (Dr. Boucher) judge moms that use formula? I. Love. This. Question. 🙂
A few links/resources mentioned:
Let’s connect!
- I love hearing from you! Do you have any follow-up questions to today’s conversation with Dr. Boucher? I’d love to hear them and have him on again in a future episode to answer your questions!
- Please send any of your questions, topic suggestions, book/TV/movie recommendations my way! As always, you can find me on FB or IG or e-mail me at podcast AT catherine boucher DOT com
- If you haven’t already, please give the show a rating/review on iTunes! Let’s keep growing the While You Were Folding Community!
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by Catherine | Sep 26, 2018 | Podcast
My last podcast episode dropped July 11. We had made the decision to move forward with a new adoption agency to adopt a baby from South Korea. I promised to be back in September with new episodes, but I was going to take time off from the podcast so that I could focus on adoption paperwork and the start of the new school year.
Well…God decided we needed a little PLOT TWIST!
In today’s episode, I share all about our exciting news, how our family is responding to the change of plans, and what we’ve been up to since July.
Links/Resources mentioned in this episode:
Next Week:
I’m going to have my husband, Catholic dad and pediatrician, Dr. Philip Boucher, come on the show! I’ve received a lot of questions for him about pediatrics-related stuff. If you have any questions about pediatrics or parenting that you’d like him to answer, please send me your questions! You can e-mail me at podcast AT catherineboucher DOT com
I love hearing from you! Please send your questions, topic suggestions, book/TV/movie recommendations, and summer sanity saving tips my way. As always, you can find on FB OR IG or e-mail me at podcast AT catherine boucher DOT com
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by Catherine | Aug 25, 2018 | Uncategorized
Ever since we announced our pregnancy, we’ve gotten a lot of questions. I thought I’d type up a quick summary of your FAQ in case some of you were wondering them but didn’t feel bold enough to ask.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! But what about your adoption? Are you still adopting?
If a prospective adoptive family discovers that they are pregnant during the adoption process, they must immediately disclose the pregnancy to the agency. We contacted our agency as soon as we discovered we were pregnant. We agreed to keep our file on hold until I reach 12 weeks. At that point, the agency will close our file. You cannot pursue adoption and be pregnant at the same time.
Did you plan this?
In a word? No. I posted this to Facebook a week and a half before I took a pregnancy test. I didn’t know it then, but I was already pregnant. God was laughing.
How did you react?
My cycles are pretty textbook, and we’ve become *quite* familiar with my patterns since we started charting for NFP (Natural Family Planning) during our engagement. We switched to the Marquette Method of NFP to help us feel more confident during the postpartum phase after Dorothy was born. We were confident with the method. I had recently started taking new medications for hormonal acne that could change my cycle. When I was a few days late in July, I thought that maybe the acne medication was altering my cycle. “But that’s really weird for me to be this late….Maybe I’ll just take a test. It’ll be negative, but just to be sure…”
I was so confident that I wouldn’t be pregnant, that I took these on a whim an hour before we were leaving for Mass…on July 22…the first day of NFP Awareness Week and the 50th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae, Blessed Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical expounding on the Church’s teaching for married love and the transmission of human life. Again, God is hilarious!
Something happened in the seconds I waited for the results. I thought, “You know, this would be awesome. We’ve been trying to adopt for nearly two years now.” I started hoping for a positive. I glanced down to see the results.
And then I laughed! I took a few more tests for good measure because, well, they’re not 100% accurate, right? I immediately took the tests downstairs to find Philip.
How did Philip react?
The kids were playing in the family room, and Philip was coming upstairs. I waved him over and tried not to get the kids’ attention. I discreetly showed him the tests. He smiled, shook his head, gave me a huge hug, and said, “I knew exactly what you were going to tell me when you waved me over!” When you’re an NFP couple trying to avoid pregnancy and you know you’re a few days late, I suppose it’s not much of a surprise when your wife frantically waves you over with a sheepish smile.
Side note: We were both surprised when reviewing our chart to see that this is a DAY 5 BABY. That’s all I’m gonna say about THAT! God really wanted this baby. 🙂
Are you sad about the adoption?
It’s been a long road. We started the adoption process when Dorothy was shy of a year old because we knew it would take a few years. We were nearly done with our dossier to China when China changed their rules. Then, during our required wait for Dorothy to turn 3 to submit our application to China, we decided to pursue adoption from South Korea instead. We were literally two documents away from being ready to submit our application to South Korea when we found out we were pregnant.
I wouldn’t say that Philip or I are sad about the adoption. We were surprised by the news, but we both described feeling immediate joy and peace when we found out that we were pregnant. From the beginning of our adoption journey, we said that God would open the doors that needed opening and close the doors that needed closing. Back in July 2017, I wrote:
This is all a very general and broad overview of the process as we understand it. Only God knows how it will all play out! Meanwhile, we are doing what we can as we have time and are leaving the rest up to Him. We keep reminding ourselves that it is impossible for us to “miss” the child that God intends for our family. We are contentedly focused on the children God already blessed us with, and we plug away at adoption stuff in the fringe hours.
Will you still adopt in the future?
We hope so! We still think our family is called to adopt. Unfortunately, as we’ve learned these past few years, adoption is a tough, long road to haul. Having 4 biological children eliminated us from a lot of countries for international adoption. Having 5 biological children limits us even more. South Korea’s limit was 4 children already in the home.
For now, our focus is on this biological baby that God sent our family. We will likely revisit adoption as we approach this baby’s first birthday.
How far along are you? When are you due? How are you feeling?
I’m between 10 and 11 weeks along, and I’m due around March 20th. We discovered during my first ultrasound that I released an egg from each ovary. Although only one egg was fertilized, each egg created a (painful!) cyst to support this pregnancy. I typically struggle with extreme nausea during pregnancy, but the increased hormones have made this pregnancy especially difficult. Aside from school drop-off and an OB appointment, I haven’t left the house in a month. Nonetheless, ever since our miscarriage with Therese, I’ve grown to find comfort in the nausea as a sign of Baby thriving. Baby is doing great, so we are thankful! Philip and the kids have been wonderful, sweet helpers. We appreciate all of your prayers and support for us as we prepare to welcome our newest family member!
by Catherine | Aug 9, 2018 | Uncategorized
I can’t think of a more perfect Gospel to bring comfort to those hurting in the Church.
“upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
No matter what kind of hell we messed up human beings try to bring into the Church, Jesus promised us that the Church simply cannot and will not end. Period. He entrusted Peter with the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. He gave Peter the authority to be His vicar on earth. He entrusted Peter and the Apostles with the sacraments to bring healing and Communion to His Church. He knew He was going to suffer and die on the cross, that He would rise from the dead, and that the Church needed leadership until His Second Coming. He didn’t leave them orphans; He sent Peter and the Church the Holy Spirit to guide them.
And you know what?
Jesus did all of that knowing that we’d do our best to screw it all up.
But He still chose us to be part of His plan.
And He promised us that the powers of hell will never prevail against the Church.
Praise You, Jesus.
Just a few verses after Jesus entrusted Peter with the keys of the Kingdom, Peter started refuting God’s plan for bringing salvation to the world. Upon hearing Jesus say that He would go to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed, and rise, Peter said, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
Do you understand the magnitude of what was happening here? Peter was actually trying to prevent Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection from coming to fruition. His love and allegiance to Christ became all about him and his feelings. (Never mind that a few chapters later Peter’s feelings would lead him to deny his beloved Christ three times.) It was all about what Peter wanted instead of Peter trying to figure out if it was somehow what God wanted.
So what does Jesus say to Peter? “Aw, friend, I know you love me, but it’s gonna be okay.”
Nope.
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Two things:
- He called the guy He entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom Satan.
- We become obstacles to God when we think like humans
If Peter, the guy Jesus Himself entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom can get called Satan, then of course the rest of us are capable of trying to bring hell to the Church. I certainly am. All the live-long day.
The Church wouldn’t have such a PR problem if it weren’t full of humans.
But there’s great, great news! It’s not our Church. (Again: Praise You, Jesus!) It belongs to Him. And we have to stop thinking like humans if we’re going to stop bringing hell to His Church.
As a mother, I cannot even fathom entrusting my children with the Church the way Jesus entrusted us with it. As much as I love my children, I don’t let their sticky fingers touch my pristine wedding gown. But isn’t that exactly what He does for us? He allows us, His children, with our sins to do our darnedest to mar His Bride, the Church. He allows broken, imperfect men to participate in the ministerial priesthood. Their soiled hands administer the sacraments. They distribute His literal Body. And you know what the best part is? The sacraments are not dependent on the holiness of the priest administering them. (Again: Praise You, Jesus!) In spite of their failings, the accused priests we keep hearing about in the news were still baptizing its newest members into eternal life, extending God’s real forgiveness in reconciliation, uniting couples in holy matrimony, feeding us Jesus in the Eucharist. Their failings are indeed a scandal, but they can never alter the Truth of what the sacraments are.
God never needed us. He chose us. And we let Him down every day. But He still chooses us. And perhaps He’s being glorified more because His Church has lived on for more than two thousand years in spite of us.
So what about the latest muckity muck happening in the Church? Well. It’s rotten. There’s plenty to have righteous anger about. I like to imagine table-turning Jesus confronting the individuals inflicting so much damage upon His Body–especially those entrusted with leadership positions.
But we have to make sure our response isn’t governed by emotions. We saw where that got Peter. Let’s put on the mind of Christ.
We can be angered and scandalized by the news, but we don’t need to fear what’s coming. No matter what hell remains to be uncovered, it cannot and will not ever affect the truth that this is Christ’s Church, and the gates of hell will never prevail against it. We should and must do what we can to ensure that the kinds of abuses that have taken place do not continue. It’s time for the sleeping giant (aka the lay faithful) to wake up and embrace our role as the universal priesthood of the Church. We must protect our most vulnerable and prevent further damage from taking place. But beyond doing everything humanly possible, we know sinful humans remain within the Church. So long as humans remain in the church, it will be a hospital for sinners instead of a museum for saints. But we can rest in the knowledge that it’s not up to us to keep it afloat. The Church is His. When Pope John XXIII went to sleep, he famously prayed, “It’s Your Church, Lord. I’m going to bed.” Let’s follow his example.
Keep bringing all of the muck to the Light. Bring it to the authorities. Bring it to the Cross for Christ to transform it. Allow Him to bring healing to the victims, to the perpetrators, and to all those scandalized by the failings of our imperfect members. May we never abandon Jesus because of Judas. Jesus, renew Your Church, draw Your faithful ever closer, and cleanse Your Bride. We refuse to leave You.
66 After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. 67 Jesus said to the twelve, “Will you also go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.
by Catherine | Jul 11, 2018 | Podcast
An adoption update! In today’s episode, I shared:
- Our history with wanting to adopt, our previous application to adopt from China
- Our decision to withdraw from our previous adoption agency and no longer pursue adoption from China
- A quick overview of how international adoption works in general
- The bad news: We have to start all over again (again)
- The good news: We’ve done it before, so we’re pros!
- The awesome part: Why we decided we are pursuing an adoption from South Korea (Check out our adoption agency’s information page to learn more about adoption from South Korea.)
- preserving birth order (our adopted child will be our youngest child and, God-willing, have younger biological siblings in the future)
- shorter timeline because of our goal to have at least one more biological child
- time between application and match (aka referral), averages between 6-12 months
- child is usually 18-30 months at the time of placement (aka homecoming)
- strong foster care system
- excellent medical care provided for child, accuracy of medical records sent to adoptive parents for deciding on referrals & continued communication
- possibility of relationship with birth parents
- our children are encouraged to join us on the trips there! (2 short, week-long visits involved)
- What does all of this mean for us right now?
- We are trying to complete all of our paperwork ASAP (goal: dossier submission in September)
I’m hitting pause on the podcast until September to focus on our adoption. I’ll be back in the fall with new episodes and interviews.
Please keep in touch until then! As always, you can e-mail me at podcastATcatherineboucherDOTcom or find me on Facebook or Instagram
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by Catherine | Jun 27, 2018 | Podcast
Sorry I missed you last week! We decided to skip town and head to Kansas City while our house’s main floor is getting a remodel. That picture is our family at Worlds of Fun as we waited out a rainstorm that never ended.
Trip recap:
New favorite thing: Donuts and drinks on the parish playground after Mass. Kids play, parents catch up. Everyone wins!
What I’ve been reading:
Book Buddies With Jane & Friends
- If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back to Episode 013 Starting a Kids’ Book Club
- We have our next meeting this weekend to discuss Lisa Hendey’s book, The Mystery at Midnight ( from her Chime Travelers series about twins who go back in time to solve mysteries about saints)
- Listener Sheila contacted me to say that her daughters started their own book club this summer! They already met once and are hoping to read 3 books this summer.
Catechesis programs for little ones: What do you know about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd? How does your church reach the little ones?
The Well-Behaved Child by Dr. John Rosemond check discipline system
- 6 Checks (keep track on dry erase board in kitchen)
- Checks 1-3 are warnings (“buffer zone,” limit this for older kids)
- Check 4: Lose dessert
- Check 5: Lose screens
- Check 6: Go to bed 1 hour early
Amanda wants to know how I get the kids to “work it out”
- In response to my annual summer PSA on FB to the neighbors, letting them know that they’re going to hear a lot of screaming from my house that they haven’t been hearing all winter
- Summer rules
- Bodies have private parts that stay private
- Keep your body to yourself
- Tidy up before you leave
- Work it out
- Walt’s 1st grade teacher taught them: Unless there’s blood, barf, or a bathroom emergency, you can probably handle it.
- Talk to the person you’re having a problem with. Talk to them again. And again. Ask friends for help if you need to. Come to an adult if you really can’t work it out or if it’s an emergency.
- When they come to tattle, whine, or get me to referee I say
- That doesn’t sound like an emergency. That sounds like something you need to work out with _____. Come back if it’s an emergency.
- I let them know with my body language that I’m not engaging them on it.
- They come less
- How do you help your kids learn to work it out? Do you have household ground rules that are helping everyone to have a happier summer? Send them my way! I want to hear about them!
Please keep sharing the show with your friends! Teach them about the world of podcasts, put the show on their phones, and make sure they’re subscribed so that they won’t miss new episodes as they come out.
Get in Touch!
You can e-mail me at podcastATcatherineboucherDOTcom or find me on Facebook or Instagram
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by Catherine | Jun 13, 2018 | Podcast
This week, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Ashley Stevens about how she and her three girls thrive when her husband, Brad, has to travel for work. She share some great tips and general advice.
My weekly recap:
- Our kids are participating in the Diocese of Lincoln’s Totus Tuus program this week
- It is so much fun to finally be a read-aloud family! Audiobooks before naptime are a major hit. The kids usually color or play with their Plus-Plus tubes. We are about halfway through the Henry Huggins audiobooks. Our bedtime read-aloud is Where the Red Fern grows. We have 3 contenders for our next read-aloud, and we’d love for you to weigh in with your vote:
- Big milestone last Friday night: I took the kids to the pool by myself for the first time!
- What are your limiting beliefs? How are you battling them?
Links/Resources mentioned this episode:
- FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students)
- Ashley’s blog and ministry page, Mountains Unmoved
- Ashley’s post, “Why Are Some Mountains Left Unmoved?” where she shares about the inspiration for the name of her ministry and links to her interview on the 700 Club
- The lie of “this is the way things will always be forever”
- How Brad participates in disciplining when he’s traveling
- Favorite games to play with Brad when he’s home:
- Ashley’s blog post, “Friendship is Worth the Awkwardness“
- Making friendship connections when Brad is gone
- What makes life simple when Brad is gone:
- Making a big meal before Brad leaves and reheating each day
- Blessings/pros of having Brad travel for work
- Travel reward points to visit relatives
- Getting to watch her shows on Netflix!
- More time to work on her ministry
- Self time to recharge
- In Praise of ‘Scruffy Hospitality’
- Things “saving Ashley’s life” when Brad is gone:
- Roomba
- YMCA’s 2-hour babysitting
- The Well-Behaved Child by Dr. John Rosemond check discipline system
- 6 Checks (keep track on dry erase board in kitchen)
- Checks 1-3 are warnings (“buffer zone,” limit this for older kids)
- Check 4: Lose dessert
- Check 5: Lose screens
- Check 6: Go to bed 1 hour early
- Ashley’s “holiness hack”
- Book: He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J.
- Quote: “What can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a gift from the hands of God and strives always to do his will?”
- Turning her alarm back another 30 minutes to add to prayer time and bring peace to morning routine
Connect with Ashley!
Get in touch!
- As always, you can e-mail me at podcastATcatherineboucherDOTcom or find me on Facebook or Instagram
- Please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes to help grow our audience!
- Remember, I’d like your feedback on:
- our next read-aloud
- your limiting beliefs
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by Catherine | Jun 6, 2018 | Podcast
Last week’s recap:
- The summer chore chart is still a success around here
- Philip and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary and had a quick getaway to Palm Springs
- I’m 20 years late to the Harry Potter party. I need your opinion: Should I read the other books on paper or listen to the audio versions? Weigh in! Also, which house do you think the Sorting Hat would put me in? (Marriage tip: Don’t tell your husband would be a Slytherin!)
The Fast Food Rule:
Audiobooks and Read-Aloud Time:
Questions for YOU:
- How’s your summer going? What are your summer hacks?
- What are your favorite audiobooks (for children or yourself)?
Get in touch!
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by Catherine | May 30, 2018 | Podcast
In today’s episode, I thought I’d share about our Summer Chore Chart. This thing is already saving my sanity this summer (yes, we’re just a week in). I explained how I came up with the chart, which kid is doing what, and when these jobs are happening. It’s super simple, and it just might save your sanity this summer, too!
Our 2018 Summer Chore Chart
Questions for YOU:
- How do you enlist your kids’ help around the house?
- What jobs do your kids help out with that I might have overlooked?
- Do you have a unique system you want to share?
- Or, maybe you have a general summer sanity saving tip to share! Send those tips my way!
Get in touch!
- As always, you can e-mail me at podcastATcatherineboucherDOTcom or find me on Facebook or InstagramPlease find me on FB or IG or e-mail your feedback to podcast AT catherine boucher DOT com
- Please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes to help grow our audience!
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by Catherine | May 23, 2018 | Podcast
Weekly update:
- Happy birthday to Walt!
- Have you seen the movie A Quiet Place? Philip and I saw it last week, and I shared my thoughts about the film. Here’s Bishop Barron’s Review of the movie.
Main topic: This week, I shared my most embarrassing parenting moment of 2018…so far! Since it’s only May, I’ll probably have a new one by week’s end. I thought I’d share it in the hopes that it encourages you in all of your parenting fails.
Questions for you:
- What are YOUR embarrassing parenting moments that helped build humility?
- How do you stop your “I’ve got my life together” pride from helping you to learn from those moments?
- What are your favorite summer lunch recipes for big groups? Bonus points if they can be made ahead of time, in batches, or little hands can help with assembly!
Get in touch!
- As always, you can e-mail me at podcastATcatherineboucherDOTcom or find me on Facebook or InstagramPlease find me on FB or IG or e-mail your feedback to podcast AT catherine boucher DOT com
- Please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes to help grow our audience!
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by Catherine | May 16, 2018 | Podcast
It’s episode 20! Woo-hoo! Thank you for all of your support and cheerleading of While You Were Folding!
This week, I have a great episode to share with you. Jen Trausch shared about her experience ministering to the men on death row in the state of Nebraska. She shared what the experience is like, how it has changed her view of forgiveness/worthiness, and showed her how to be the Face of Christ for others.
Two of my favorite quotes:
“We just sit and talk and eat Twizzler’s.”
“It’s like a neighborhood block party with neighbors I’ve never met before.”
Links/Resources Mentioned this episode:
NAPD (Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty)
NACC (National Association of Catholic Chaplains)
The Corporal Works of Mercy
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
2267 Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm – without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself – the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.”
2306 Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death.
Evangelium Vitae, St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life
56. This is the context in which to place the problem of the death penalty. On this matter there is a growing tendency, both in the Church and in civil society, to demand that it be applied in a very limited way or even that it be abolished completely. The problem must be viewed in the context of a system of penal justice ever more in line with human dignity and thus, in the end, with God’s plan for man and society. The primary purpose of the punishment which society inflicts is “to redress the disorder caused by the offence”.46 Public authority must redress the violation of personal and social rights by imposing on the offender an adequate punishment for the crime, as a condition for the offender to regain the exercise of his or her freedom. In this way authority also fulfils the purpose of defending public order and ensuring people’s safety, while at the same time offering the offender an incentive and help to change his or her behaviour and be rehabilitated. 47
It is clear that, for these purposes to be achieved, the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.
In any event, the principle set forth in the new Catechism of the Catholic Church remains valid: “If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority must limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person”
JPay is the “email” service provided to inmates. Information for their services can be found at:
www.jpay.comArt Display: A few of “the guys,” (Jose Sandoval, Jorge Galindo, and Raymond Mata), created works of art for Jen and her dad. These completed works are on display along with information about Jen’s ministry in the parlor of First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln (17th and F St).
Jen’s book recommendations mentioned in the episode:
A recent 5-star read that I shared: 7 Secrets of Confession by Vinny Flynn
Clearly, Jen and I aren’t very good at light, “beachy” reads. 🙂 Send us your breezy summer book titles!
Get in touch! Send questions or topic suggestions my way. As always, you can e-mail me at podcastATcatherineboucherDOTcom or find me on Facebook or Instagram
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