There's been quite a bit going on in the world and this country and my house. Interesting stuff, exciting stuff, disappointing stuff.
It's been a while since I updated everyone on the goings on around here. And I figure you're just dying to know how the Tierneys feel about the following subjects:
1. The Feast of the Guardian Angels
We are for it.
Happy Feast Day! It's been a big week for feasts. Michaelmas, St. Therese, now Guardian Angels. I love cultivating the relationship between my kids and their guardian angels. Each morning before school, we say a Morning Offering, then the Guardian Angel Prayer, then we say good morning to our guardian angels, then we say good morning to everyone else's guardian angels. Maybe that sounds weird when you read it. But in practice I can assure you it's completely adorable.
Anyway, in celebration of the feast, I made up some printables!
Here are the Guardian Angel Prayers featuring superheroes . . .
And fairy tales . . .
And here are the fairy tale ones, with less pink . . .
You are welcome to click on the image to enbiggen it, then right click on it and choose "save image." That will allow you to print it up to 5x7, for free. OR you can click here to purchase high-resolution versions of the images. $5 gets you the Guardian Angel prayer of your choiceThe high-resolution images can be printed up to 16x20. I recommend using mpix, or you can just print it on your home printer.
Also new this week, I shared some printables featuring Mother Angelica's beautiful prayer for miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. I made them as a gift for a dear friend who lost her baby, Joshua, at 22 weeks along. Please keep the family in your prayers. You'll find the images, available full-sized, for free, on A Blog About Miscarriage.
As with all my printables, you are welcome to save the images to your computer for your own personal use. You may print the images and / or upload them and have prints made for your personal use or to give as gifts. First click on the image to bring it up in a new window, then right click on the image to save it to your computer. You may use my images on your blog, just please link back to my blog. If you would like to sell my images, please contact me first.
For LOTS MORE free printable prayers, check out my Pinterest board.
Wait, don't click up there. Click here. Or over there on the sidebar.
I love making printables! I get lots of requests from you good folks for specific prayers, but I thought I'd make things official, and offer them for sale. For the low, low introductory price of only $10, I will create a printable digital image, just for you. Have a favorite prayer, quote, poem, or house rule that you'd like to be able to print out and stick on the fridge, or have professionally printed and framed for posterity? I've got you covered.
2. The Pope
I don't know if you guys heard, but Pope Francis came to the US. There was a whole big thing. But it was AAAALLLL the way over in the tiny states in the upper right corner, so we had to make our own excitement.
Like so:
That's my Francis + Pope Francis + St. Francis . . . for your viewing pleasure.
The Pope Francis poster/mask/hat (and the St. Francis movie) is available from CCC of America, if you need one. And probably you do.
It really was cool to start our days with breakfast and a speech by the pope. It was so great to hear his voice. Thank goodness for closed captioning though, amirite?
3. The Blood Moon
And there was a thing with the moon, that seems like it happens kind of a lot lately, but they say it won't again for a while, so we wandered the neighborhood in jammies and bare feet until we caught a glimpse of it.
And it was pretty cool. But I think I can probably manage until 2033 without another one. Probably.
4. Being Thirty-Nine
*I* had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. And it came with my first ever surprise party. AND I was totally surprised. You can tell my husband knows me, because instead of sending me out for the afternoon, he just told me I should hang out in our room with the baby and the iPad. And I was like, "That will not be a problem." I came out at dinner time, and my living room was full of people!
Being thirty-nine and having a newborn means I should probably write a post on being of "Advanced Maternal Age," but I haven't been able to make myself do it yet.
I'm totally cool with my age, and I kind of want to hurry up and be forty because I just wanna rock THAT. But I kind of can't stand the idea that I'm now this noteworthy creature . . . of advanced maternal age. I'm like, WHAT?! I'm not old to be a mom. I'm not doing anything untoward to make myself have babies past when I otherwise could. I'm REGULAR maternal age. It's just that I didn't quit early.
Just to clarify, I do understand that it is difficult for many women to have children, especially their first, in their mid to late thirties. (I wrote a whole post about it!) But I just don't love the idea of being labeled as something odd or dangerous. This is just what's natural for me. I don't feel old to be having babies.
Whatever, I'm sure I'll write it eventually.
5. Mary Jane
Speaking of . . .
Mary Jane is two months old. And SUPER squishy.
Just look at all those chins. AND the jazz hands.
She is very sweet, as long as I do as I'm told. Which I mostly do. Her big brothers and sisters dote on her, especially since we ended up with a case of Butterfingers in the house (long story) and in one of my more brilliant parenting moves EVER . . . I instituted a policy that big kids can earn one candy bar for each ten diaper changes. (REAL diaper changes only.) You've never seen such excitement over diapers.
They've changed diapers for nothing in the past, and they'll do it again, but I WILL miss the enthusiasm!
6. Still Living in This House
Aww, she's a good old house. And she's still home.
It's just been one thing after another, trying to buy the new (old) house. We are in escrow, but one closing date has passed, and another. The seller is being patient with us, so far. I do think we will still end up in it, eventually. I hope. But it's not going to be easy.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
7. Jack Going to Real School
The only real drawback to still being in this house is how far away it is from Jack's new school. It's an hour drive. Each way. Twice a day.
If you're wondering how I could do that and still homeschool . . . I don't think I could. The husband is doing the lion's share of the driving, splitting time with the one other family in our part of town crazy enough to commit to a school so far away.
But, Jack LOVES it. He's adjusted better than I could have hoped for. He's on the flag football team, and ran for eighth grade class president. (The class president's main responsibility is to host movie night each month.)
If you're wondering how I could do that and still homeschool . . . I don't think I could. The husband is doing the lion's share of the driving, splitting time with the one other family in our part of town crazy enough to commit to a school so far away.
But, Jack LOVES it. He's adjusted better than I could have hoped for. He's on the flag football team, and ran for eighth grade class president. (The class president's main responsibility is to host movie night each month.)
He came in second, if you can believe it. Even with his amazing celebrity endorsement.
What If I Can't Afford to Send Them to College?
In Defense of Homemaking
I'm linking up with Kelly for the Seven Quick Takes big LINK-toberfest.
This week's question is: When did you post your first Seven Quick Takes?
And the answer is: February 22, 2013
Balloonford?: 7 Quick Takes
But THE coolest part of that post is the very first comment, from a perfect stranger living in
Korea, who is now Mary Jane's Godmother. Thanks Seven Quick Takes. I owe you one.