Working backward, today we were invited to enjoy pork chops, beans, potatoes, and mac and cheese at Pam and Leo's. My sister-in-law CAN cook! We saw all the littles ones. Got the bad knews that Li'l Sugar Plum wont be able to stay with us anymore. She has allergies, we have dogs. Allergies and dogs...not a match. Bummer, Dude.
Yesterday we went to meet Ronnie's great grandson!!
He looked so perfectly nestled on Ronnie's chest.
I held him for a really long time. I just couldnt let him go. I actually wanted to put him in the Jeep and bring him home.
We held the little guy so long he got hungry. Here he is telling his mom, "I'm so hungry, Mommy." And, of course, Mom was able to calm him and get him fed.
After a good little meal, he decided he was ready for a nap. His daddy put him in his little swinging bassinet and he nestled in and cut some zzzz's.
Be still my heart.
So, in honor of this sweet little boy, todays Sunday Song is a bed time prayer.
I wish they would play it every Sunday before Holy Communion. I could sing it to myself in my head, but golly, my singing is so bad...even in my own head.
But, non the less, this is my prayer every Sunday, "...with thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for You."
Wishing you a beautiful Sunday full of joy, peace and love!
We started out with Mass at Holy Cross. Our first Easter Mass there. We are both starting to feel very much at home there.
My brother and sister-in-law went to visit her Louisiana family, but all their kids came by and Mike made some ribs on the pit. Baby Girl, Baby Boy and Honey Boy all hunted eggs. Mike even played a game of Chutes and Ladders with the twins.
It was a beautiful day.
Last week Mom and I picked up the twins from pre-k and took them to the park and McDonalds.
We had a good time with those little tykes. It was nice to get Mom out. She watched as I climed the jungle gym with the kids and pushed them on the swings.
Then we decided to go to another side of the park.
Mom gave them the Easter present she bought for them. They were so cute because they kept saying, "We really like our presents Grandma!!" So sweet. And like every Grandparent, it meant the world to her that she pleased them.
Now that all the Easter fun is over we decided we would try to clean out the little room.
I got sidetracked by a project so we didn't get very far but we should be able to complete either the project or the room by the end of the weekend.
I would like to finish this post with a song I intended to post yesterday, but the day just passed by too quickly.
This song reminds me of what I call our church home, the church where we prepared for marriage, where Ronnie received his Sacraments and where we were married. It was such an incredible time in our lives and this song always takes me back.
Last one...I promise.
I pray every one has a wonderful, peaceful, safe week!
Well, as you have probably noticed, this weeks blog posts are reflections on Christ.
I pray you have enjoyed these posts.
I share today's post only to share our faith with you.
But, just in case you aren't into that, you might want to wait to check back til, oh say, the middle of next week.
For those of you that are still reading, I hope you enjoy this explanation of what Holy Thursday means to those of us that are Catholic and why this day is so special to us.
"Except for the resurrection on Easter, Holy Thursday is possibly one of the most important, complex, and profound days of celebration in the Catholic Church. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and the institution of the sacrament of the priesthood.
During the Last Supper, Jesus offers himself as the Passover sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb, and teaches that every ordained priest is to follow the same sacrifice in the exact same way. Christ also bids farewell to his followers and prophesizes that one of them will betray him and hand him over to the Roman soldiers.
Around the world, Bishops and priests come together at their local Cathedrals on Holy Thursday morning to celebrate the institution of the priesthood. During the Mass, the bishop blesses the Oil of Chrism that will be used for Baptism, Confirmation, and Anointing of the sick or dying.
At this Mass, the bishop washes the feet of twelve priests to symbolize Christ’s washing of his twelve Apostles, our first bishops and priests.
Later that night, after sundown – because Passover began at sundown- the Holy Thursday Liturgy takes place, marking the end of Lent and the beginning of the sacred "Triduum,” or three, of Holy Week. These days are the three holiest days in the Catholic Church.
This Mass stresses the importance Jesus puts on the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water, a symbol of baptism. Also emphasized are the critical importance of the Eucharist and the sacrifice of Christ’s Body, which we now find present in the consecrated Host.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the faithful are invited to continue Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the night, just as the disciples were invited to stay up with the Lord during His agony in the garden before His betrayal by Judas.
After Holy Thursday, no Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil celebrates and proclaims the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ."
And quite typical of Texas weather. If I look out our french doors to the back yard I see the beautiful sun rising. If I look out our side door to the dog run, there are some dark, moody looking rain clouds. Which will it be today? Sunshine or rain. Sunshine I hope.
Well, it is the week before Easter, Holy week.
I love Lent and Holy week. Both can serve as sort of a reboot to our prayer life. I especially love Holy week. It is a time of gratitude and thanks and solemn reflection for me, a time for me to really try to grasp what he went through...for us.
Maybe the Lenten season whizzed past you. It went pretty quickly for me.
Maybe you would have liked to fast more or spend more time in prayer or doing good deeds. I know I wanted to.
Today, I am here to say, "It isn't too late." It is never too late. He always hears us and is always happy hear from us. Bask in His love for you.
I had left it in the car and even went out to get it so I could take some pictures.
As I went to take my first picture I saw the warning..."Internal Memory Full".
Ugh! I left my SD card in my netbook.
Hence, the lousy Android phone pics.
I actually had fun!
Usually, in these types of get togethers it seems impersonal, but last night was good.
And...I pulled off making a yellow cake with chocolate icing just two hours before the party was to begin.
I was a little nervous I would not make it, but I just kept putting thoughts of love into that cake.
I thought about the times when Mike was a little guy and would say things like, "Our going to the zoo tomorrow" instead of "we" are going to the zoo tomorrow. Adorable.
I also remenisced on how much he makes us laugh. We would never have good belly laughs were it not for him.
And then I concentrated on all the wonderful things I want for him in the coming year. I pray he will be showered with nothing but good things.
Luckily, the cake baked, cooled and got iced very nicely!
If you read about my terrible headache, then you will understand why I started my Saturday with this:
I did not wake with my headache but I sure did not want it to come back. But, you know what? The first sip tasted really different. I drank about half of it and so far this weekend I haven't had a headache.
Not only that, but I felt really good, energy wise.
I really felt like cleaning. How awesome is that???
Who the heck wants to clean on Saturday? Definitely not the this girl. But this Saturday was really different. I happily cleaned the bathroom, washed the clothes, vacuumed and mopped.
Now, those are regular cleaning activities here at Casa Causpanic but they usually arent done with a smile. ha! This extra little bit of energy is nice.
Ronnie had some alone time with the Kindle while I went to spend the afternoon with my Mama.
Salad and a green smoothie makes him smile.
Don't you just love that in almost every picture of my hubby he has a bandana on? NO? Me neither!
I didnt let him wear his bandana on his head for our Christmas picture, but we did incorporate that part of him by putting one on all the dogs. They liked it just as much as he does.
Speaking of the dogs...
They are the sweetest beggers. Maggie will eat anything. She loves popcorn and crackers. She eats almost any veggie that might fall on the floor. Jake, on the other hand, is a little more particular. Not a very good picture of him as you can hardly see his face. You can barely see the white on his muzzle if you look real close. Closer. A little bit closer. You see it??
The weekends always get us.
Yep. It was my fault. I heard Pizza Hut calling my name. Ugh. We tried to justify ordering the dang pizza by adding vegetables - onions, black olives and mushrooms.
Oh...you say those really dont count as vegetables????
Yeah, I know. Back to the ol' drawing board tomorrow. I think this week we will start with a green juice, then have our smoothie, just to see if I notice any changes.
As for now, I just want to say how very thankful I am for a wonderful weekend. We hit a couple of bumps in the road so far this year, but God is good and He never lets go of us. For this I am grateful.
May God bless your upcoming week with joy, peace and love!!
This little ray of sunshine is my great-niece. I have decided her blog name will be Li'l Sugar Plum.
We had the pleasure of baby sitting her the other day. She was so good. Only cried when hungry and she was so easy to go down for her naps. She's a sweet little baby girl.
She was the highlight of the week. And believe me...I needed a highlight.
I have not been feeling very well for about a week now.
It started about last Wednesday or so with a scratchy throat.
We spent the weekend in Corpus Christi visiting with Ron's kids and to attend a baby shower for his great grandson. Yep, Ronnie is gonna be a great grand dad. Whoop!
Anyway, by Friday, I still felt ok, but I had sinus drainage that was making me cough like a mad woman. It was mainly just annoying.
Saturday was the baby shower and I still felt fine, coughing, and now sneezing and snorting.
By Sunday, I was really feeling it. Tired, snotty and coughing so much my muscles were sore. No fever, though, thanks to God.
Thankfully, that's as bad as it got. The sneezing stopped, the coughing is lots better and the snotty-ness is better, but now, tonight, I have a horrendous, horrendous headache.
But I have a theory. I think it may be a little detox, because I feel bad, but I feel better. I have been diligent about our morning smoothie and we have been having a green salad everyday for lunch. We had lots of green juice three out of the five days this week and I havent had any coffee this week. So, that may be why I have a headache, but usually when I give up coffee the headache comes immediately.
This headache hit me after I drank my green juice tonight and I swear I could blame it on the broccoli stems. Whatever it is, I hope it leaves soon. I hope I can sleep. I hope it really is some sort of detox.
I've actually allowed my mind to wander and freak myself out a few times.
If it still hurts in the morning or returns, I am going to have to break down and have a cup of jo. I will happily take more time to wean myself off of it.
So, anyway...that is what has been going on this week.
Jennifer
