New prayer booklets for April, and other new printables for Easter and the sacraments are up in the shop, details at the bottom of the post, or see here.
If you're new around here, you can get up to speed on this particular issue here.
And the recent, not so great developments here (but also, what the husband is calling "the greatest voicemail a dad has ever been left").
As you can see, the husband is in good spirits, as always.
I have to admit to having struggled a bit. Since, despite that ONE THING, he's very well, and isn't experiencing any symptoms or side effects, he got the news on a Wednesday and headed off on a business trip on Thursday. Unsupervised for a couple days there, it was easier for my imagination to drift towards the negative. But I was so comforted by all the prayers and support offered via social media as I was sharing things there, and by my good friend who suggested we ditch the kids for Adoration and Korean BBQ, always a good combination.
For Lent this year, I've re-dedicated myself to reading In Conversation With God each morning. It's a year-long set that I've had since 2010 and have read many times, but it never fails to kick me in the gut exactly as necessary. Case in point, on the morning that we'd get the results, I read . . .
And also . . .
Gulp. I believe it, though, I really do. I do ask in prayer for the outcome I want, but always, ALWAYS first that God's will be done and that my will be conformed to God's will. I believe that no matter what happens, we will not be forsaken or forgotten by God. We will be okay, somehow. But, for the life of me, I cannot see quite HOW, and that's what I struggle with.
So it was a challenging week, waiting for the consultation that would set our expectations and next course of action. It is always better for me to keep myself busy, so I finished up a shop update that I had been meaning to do for quite a while, and got the Catholic All April booklets finished and uploaded (here as a pdf and here as a paperback).
On Sunday, we went to early Mass and headed off to see the California Poppy Super Bloom. George was VERY into it.
Perhaps you've heard that when California gets a lot of rain over the winter . . . THIS happens:
This was at a state park: the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster. It's about an hour and a half from our house. Lake Elsinore also has amazing wildflowers, but reports are that it's really crowded and that you are required to park and pay $10 per person to take a shuttle in. The Poppy Reserve was crowded, but there was a lot of turnover and we were able to park easily (we asked our guardian angels to help us out and someone immediately pulled out of a spot big enough for our beast of a van!), and the paths weren't too crowded.
If you are anywhere near here, you should DEFINITELY go. It's uncrowded on weekdays, but even on a weekend (in the morning, anyway) the crowds were manageable and totally worth it.
It is a dazzling display of the extravagance of God.
We'd been out to this same park once before, for the last big super bloom in 2008.
This also just happens to have been the last time the husband was in treatment.
One can't help but think about the fact that this extraordinary spring beauty comes only after the most cold, wet, miserable winters.
There's a lesson in there for me . . . I just know it.
In my favorite happy accident photo theme of all time . . . Jack happened to put George in a Cowardly Lion sweatshirt that morning.
And just when I had convinced myself to be okay with whatever would be, on Tuesday at the consultation, we got some really encouraging news. So, I'm feeling grateful anyway . . . and actually. 😊😂 The zapping happens a week from tomorrow, and the new treatment regimen will begin the week after that.
Your prayers are appreciated. To be all official-like, you can sign up here. And if, like me, you wonder how and why and what you do for an hour of adoration, I made this (in pdf or paperback). I've found it really useful, myself!
The rest of the new stuff is available in the shop, including the Catholic All April booklet . . .
And all this new stuff . . .
- Holy Week and Easter Booklet Bundle including 2-8 below
- Catholic All April Prayer Booklet
- A Visit to the Blessed Sacrament Prayer Booklet
- Divine Mercy Novena Prayer Booklet
- Paschal Greeting for Eastertide (He is risen! He is risen, indeed!)
- Prayer After Grace for April (O Sacrum Convivium)
- Stations of the Cross Booklet
- Holy Week Meal and Activity Planner
- Grace Before and After Meals (free!)
- Stations of the Cross Coloring Book
- Holy Week Meal and Activity Planner (only $1)
- We Are An Easter People quote
- Angelus Prayer collage
- Angelus Prayer set of six
- Eucharist quotes set of three
- Perpetua and Felicity Hairdo quote
- St. George quote from Shakespeare’s Richard III
Personalized Gifts for Those Receiving Sacraments:
- Personalized First Holy Communion Keepsake Set 1
- Personalized First Holy Communion Keepsake Set 2
- Personalized Confirmation Keepsake Set 1
- Personalized Confirmation Keepsake Set 2
Guardian Angel Prayers for kids:
And that's it for today! I've got a few other posts milling about in my brain, and I'm hoping to get them typed up soon. But the best thing about all this uncertainty is getting to live more in the moment, so we'll just have to wait and see when it happens.