My Nephew Was Born . . . but He Took His Sweet Time About It
Introducing Brendan Gerard Tierney, Mary Jane's opposite day cousin!
He was born on August 9th, twelve days past his due date, after twenty seven hours of labor!
He joins his mom and dad and proud almost one year old big brother Luke.
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support for my brother- and sister-in-law. This has been a crazy journey through infertility and adoption and surprise pregnancy . . . to arrive at Irish twin-dom.
I know many, many of you have struggled or are struggling with infertility/subfertility/pregnancy loss. Our family prays for you every day.
It's the Feast of the Assumption Tomorrow . . . but it's not a Holy Day of Obligation This Year
We'll still go to daily Mass, because we almost always go to daily Mass together as a family on Saturdays, but I never like it when they waive the obligation for Saturday and Monday feasts, because that just means our parish offers fewer masses and it's harder to get to one.
I don't really have a "thing" for the Assumption. I think we'll do popovers for breakfast, because THEY RISE TOO! Huh? Huh? Get it?
It's Been Crazy Hot . . . but We Live near the Beach
AND our Iowa relations have been visiting. So, double reasons to hit up the beach, and dip Mary Jane's toes in the Pacific.
The middle two are my nieces . . . Can YOU spot all ten cousins?
Some of Us Went to a Red Carpet Hollywood Premiere . . . of DinoTrux
My sister is a rock star, so when my Netflix Stream Team pals offered my kids the opportunity to go to a big time Hollywood premiere, SHE agreed to take them. (So I could stay home. Whew.)
They had a great time.
They liked the show (you can tell by Bobby's gape-mouthed watching).
And REALLY liked the swag.
The whole series is available to stream on Netflix as of today. I can't vouch for it myself but Bobby and Gus say: "It's, um, about friendship, and . . . cooperation, kinda. And there's a bad guy t-Rex guy with a wrecking ball tail, then later he has a chainsaw tail, and they chase him away but he keeps coming back. He's against sharing, but the rest of them do share."
So . . . check it out?
But wait, you say, I don't HAVE Netflix. How will I watch this show about dinosaurs that are, inexplicably, also trucks and so be a hero to my children? (AndalsoIwanttowatchGranHotel. BecauseitsallanyonetalksaboutonFacebook.)
Well, I just happen to have THREE three month memberships to Netflix streaming to give away.
To win one, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post telling me what YOU would most want to watch on Netflix.
It's Kinda Sorta Back to School . . .
Because of the general upheaval around here of a new baby and some life changes (more on that below), I'm not 100% sure when we're starting school this year. Maybe after Labor Day. Jack's starting then, for sure. (More on THAT in another post.) Maybe Thanksgiving?
But I'm trying to be ready as usual. So we bought our uniforms for this year. I found really cute French Toast uniforms at Costco that were an amazingly good deal, so . . . yay. That's sorted. We like uniforms. It's okay with me if you don't. More on that here.
However you're schooling your kids this year, you're going to want to catechize them, right? Right.
Well, my soon-to-be-bishop, Fr. Robert Barron, asked me if I could do him a favor (well, his people did . . . but STILL), and I'm the kind of gal who does what her bishop asks her to do. So here it is. It's a pretty great deal for you guys, too.
One of you gets to win one of THESE (a $300 value!) . . .
Just leave a comment on this blog post telling me who in your life would benefit from this great resource!The Catholicism Pilgrimage Journal represents a new approach to catechesis in which adults and children encounter the teachings of the Catholic Church in an interactive and communal way. using the 10-episode series and this journal, families, parishes and schools can now offer younger generations an encounter with Christ by way of the rich, sacramental display of the Faith presented in this program.
This approach encourages cross-generational conversation, faith-sharing, and learning that will not only bring adults and children closer to one another, but will bring them closer to Christ. Our hope is that the program contributes to the Church in a new and comprehensive way. Viewing and discussing the Catholicism series will deepen the faith of viewers of all ages as they encounter the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Church as it has been expressed over time and is lived out all over the world.
Catholicism Pilgrimage Journal Set Includes:
This program can be used by:
- CATHOLICSM 5 DVD Set
- Pilgrimage Journal Adult Leaders Guide
- 50 Postcards
- 10 Pilgrimage Journals
Each episode is divided into two parts with corresponding written materials for each part. Each lesson is structured in the same way:
- Catechists in a religious education setting, for enrichment and to supplement regular curriculum.
- Facilitators in parish setting, where adults and younger people are participating together.
- Parents with teens or pre-teens at home.
- A Learning Goal with corresponding Bible verse
- Activities for viewers to do before the session
- Space to take notes and write down questions and thoughts during the session
- Discussion and reflection questions, as well as other activities for the viewers after the session
(If you want to enter both giveaways, just leave two comments. The winners will be announced ON THE BLOG on Tuesday the 18th, so be sure to read my boring recipe post scheduled for that day or you won't know if you won!)
We Bought a House . . . Almost
We have an offer accepted on a house. THE house. The one from last month. We lost it to another bidder, but then it fell out of escrow. It's been quite a roller coaster of emotions. We're currently paused on . . . hopeful.
We got the news that the seller had accepted our offer ON our fourteenth anniversary. Which was pretty awesome. Here's Jim actually taking the call.
But we could use your prayers that the bank will approve the deal, because it's a REAL fixer-upper. Like, it was built in 1920 and doesn't have any outlets in the bathrooms. And it's got outbuildings on the property, but they're full of dead bees. (Kate, don't tell Jake. Jack and Bobby were so sad. "Mr. Rhodes could have MOVED them.")
There will be photos, once it's really ours. Hopefully. But until then, check out this LA Times article that indicates that our soon to be house was really living it up circa 1991.
MARY JANE!
I can't leave you without some baby photos, so here ya go . . .
Three weeks old!
Happy weekend all.