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Sweet Little Hearts Valentine's Card

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Sweet Little Hearts Valentine's Card

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Refrigerator, Gallbladder Surgery and Lent

Last week, our refrigerator started making the loudest noise. The repairmen said the compressor was failing and the cost to replace it would be about the same as a new refrigerator, so we are going to get a new one. Unfortunately, the one we wanted (a Whirlpool Gold side-by side) was unavailable right away, so we are still waiting. It was scheduled to be delivered this weekend, HOWEVER....


James had to be taken to the ER the other day and was in great pain. Turns out he had gallstones and an extremely inflamed gallbladder. They discovered this Thursday but were unable to remove it until Friday am. He is recovering nicely, but still in the hospital. We hope for him to get out by lunch tomorrow. He's eating solid foods and walking around and has no pain with painkillers. He's also on IV antibiotics, which is why they want him to stay another day.

Now, on to Lent. I decided that I would attend daily mass for my Lenten offering. There are services at my parish at 6:30 am and at 5:15 pm. I am opting for the earlier one to ensure that I am able to attend. I get home right after the girls are getting up. I did miss Friday because James wasn't here, but will get back to it on Monday morning. The sun is rising while I am at Mass, and it's nice looking through the stained glass windows at the sun rising. The services are short and simple, but I feel as if I am getting more out of them that way. When the priests or deacons are taking less time on a homily, they certainly work on packing it with meaning.


The other day, the gospel reading (Mt 6:7-15) discussed the Lord's Prayer. Deacon George spoke about the difficulty in translating the line "Give us this day our Daily Bread." It was translated based on context clues. About 100 years ago, a market list for a housewife was found in the ancient Greek. The translation for one of the items was "enough bread for the day" and the Greek words were the same as those in the ancient scripts with the Lord's Prayer in them. So, what we are asking God for is to give us enough. Not extra, just enough. Here we all are, trying to get EXTRA, when there are people out there who don't have enough. It really makes a person think....

Ash Wednesday

And today begins the Lenten Season. Pray. Fast. Share.

This year, rather than giving up something for Lent, I'm trying something different. I plan to attend daily Mass. And most likely, the early service. So I guess I AM giving up something...time...and sleep. I started out today with the Ash Wednesday services at 8:30 am. But hereafter, it will likely be at 6:30 am. There is a 5:15 pm service, but that won't always work for me. As you can see, I was quite covered with the ashes this year. I think there is something in the ashes that I am allergic to, as well. So, maybe I'll end up with a cross-shaped rash on my forehead?

I will try to update on my daily Mass attendance and Lenten reflections this year.

What are YOU doing for Lent?

Christmas pictures

The girls have new Christmas dresses and we took them to get pictures made. It's really hard to see how grown up Sarah is looking, but she's still just 10 and very much a kid!

Robotics is keeping us busy!

James and I have taken on coaching 2 FLL Robotics teams. Sarah is on one of them. None of the kids have prior experience, and neither do we, but we've learned a lot! We didn't do great at our first tournament, but we didn't place dead last, so that's good, right? Here's some pictures of the kids at the competition table and one of the end result of a full day of competition!

Agent RoboLeopards at the competition table

Flaming RoboLeopards at the competition table

Fall school pictures of the girls

Sarah age 10, 5th grade

Julia Age 4, pre-K