An Easy + Lovely Blessed Brunch

Recently I hosted a Blessed Brunch in my home and I received quite a few questions from women such as "Is it easy to do?" "What are the expectations?" and "Who came?" These questions came from local friends and strangers online but there were a lot of them so I wanted to share what my experience was like in case you, too, have been looking to build some friendships and were wondering if a Blessed Brunch was the way to do it.  

To begin, I went to the Midwest Region Blessed Is She Facebook group and asked if there was any interest in my area in having a BIS group to meet over the summer to do one of the Mystery Studies with me. When I learned that women were interested I signed up on the BIS website to host a Brunch, which I then publicized on my personal Facebook page and in the Midwest Regional Group. I thought a Brunch was a nice way to kick-off the Study but a Blessed Brunch can definitely be a stand alone thing.

And then Blessed Is She did a lot of the work for me. They put the link to sign up for the Brunch on their page and emailed me with info every time someone signed up. With each email I received I would then contact the woman who had registered, telling her how happy I was that she was coming; reminding her of the date, time, and that lap babies were welcome; and sharing my address with her.

The day before the brunch I did my shopping, some cleaning, and some prep work. I bought paper plates and plastic cups, orange juice (I bought two but only one was drunk), creamer, and some chocolates. I used paper napkins that were left over from my son's First Communion, our regular forks, and coffee cups. I borrowed white tablecloths and a long folding table from my mom. I cut some flowers from my yard, cleaned my bathroom and kitchen, dusted my living and dining rooms, and vacuumed.

The morning of my husband loaded up the kids and off they went for about three hours. I brewed some coffee, set out ice water, put on this Spotify playlist, and set out these Encourage Scripture cards. Now, Blessed Is She emails the host a sign in sheet for the guests, a suggested prayer to lead others in, an outline for the brunch so you know what to do when, and suggested discussion topics but I wanted to do something a little extra. Upon their arrival, I invited my guests to go through the Scripture verses and choose the one that spoke to them the most. Then, at brunch we went around and introduced ourselves and shared with Scripture card we picked and why. It allowed women to share parts of their stories that they wouldn't have otherwise and I'm so glad the Holy Spirit put that idea in my head. I then invited everyone to take home their card to frame, tape to their mirror, or stick in their Bible. 

I don't share that with you so you feel like you need to do something like it too but so you know that it's okay to vary a bit from the provided script! If the Holy Spirit nudges us to do something we should follow!

We did use the discussion questions that were provided by Blessed Is She but there was also lots of time to just chat and get to know one another. Just about every age and stage of woman was there - single, married, pregnant, postpartum, grandmother, working, stay-at-home, small family, adoptive mom, big family, and on and on. Some of the women I know very well, some I know casually, and some I met for the very first time. It was so nice to have such a great mix!

Because I knew I wanted to do one of the Mystery studies I set out my copies next to the sign-in sheet. I also put out some holy cards and the chocolates for women to take if they wanted. In the last twenty or so minutes I invited everyone interested in doing a Study to sign in and look at the Studies to get a feel for which one they'd like to do. Then we closed in prayer. Everyone packed up their items and it was done. It was a wonderful morning! Everything ran smoothly and next week we will begin our Summer Study of the Luminous Mysteries.

The Blessed Brunch almost ran itself and was such a wonderful event. If you are interested in starting something in your area I would really encourage you to pray about it and then take the leap if God is calling you to do it! You won't regret it!


PS - If you are interested you can join a Blessed Is She Regional Facebook group here and you can sign up to attend or host a Blessed Brunch here. If you want to buy the Mystery studies for yourself you can do that here.

Heart Surgery Recovery

As soon as we shared our news that our eldest daughter, L, had two congenital heart defects and would need open heart bypass surgery people have been awesome. Like "The Body of Christ can move mountains" awesome. Like every dot, flower, and thorn painted with the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts above represents a prayer, a sacrifice, a rosary, a Mass offered up for my daughter, and those are only the ones that were submitted online. But every time we take a long look at that painting I am overwhelmed by the goodness of others and the way God is glorified by your works. 

The first Tuesday night in May Resa, L, and I sat around our dining room table with L's godmother, Katie, making invitations to their angel penguin birthday party. The next morning, with invites in the mail, I was sitting at my weekly moms' group when I got the phone call from the pediatric cardiologist's scheduler: there was an opening for surgery a week from Thursday. Did we want L to get it? We wanted L's surgery to happen before my c-section so we said Yes and then our life changed gears super fast.

All the potential party-goers were contacted and told that the birthday party would not be later in the month but in three days. The school, whose principal had already said L's last day could be whenever we needed it to be, was told that her last day would be in a week. We made arrangements for L to receive Anointing of the Sick before the surgery, for someone to be with our other kids, for Travis to be off work, for all our "i"s to be dotted and our "t"s crossed. 

The morning of L's surgery everyone got up early and headed to the 7am Mass. We had been given special permission for L to receive a very teeny tiny bit of Holy Communion. Fr. Julius prayed for L  at Mass and asked everyone present to pray for her throughout the day. In fact, a friend of our's had arranged with our priests for there to be all day adoration with a special request for people to pray for L. Parishioners would be at our church until 7pm praying for L and during the school day each grade took a turn before the Blessed Sacrament to pray for our daughter. 

Immediately after Mass our family headed over to the parish school and waited in the gym. Our pastor had arranged with the principal for there to be an all-school assembly immediately following Morning Announcements so that the whole school would be part of the prayers offered during L's reception of the Anointing of the Sick. It was awesome. Our family stood with her on that gymnasium floor as Fr. Julius administered the Sacrament. 

We then headed over to the Children's Hospital of Illinois, Travis, L, and me. From the tremendous outpouring on the blog, Facebook, and Instagram we knew that people were praying for us all over the country and world, and when combined with the powerful experiences at our parish we knew that we were being absolutely covered in prayer and graces. We were afraid and anxious but I can say with confidence that those prayers helped to bring us peace and calm our concerns. We were bowled-over by how many had pledged their prayers and we walked into the hospital knowing that you all were with us as we went.  

Some of Travis' students had made a special blanket for L when they heard about her surgery and as she waited for her surgery she wrapped herself in it. It was covered with hearts, the symbol of love, and anchors, the symbol of hope. I loved it. 

As we waited in the pre-op area we were again blessed in a special way. The hospital is a Catholic one, and in more than name only. The people who update loved ones throughout the operation process are from the chaplain's office. The man who just happened to be assigned to us is also a deacon at our parish's sister parish. He was able to give us a special blessing and as he prayed over us the nurse stopped what she was doing to pray with us, crossing herself when we were done.

After waiting for about an hour, playing Uno and chatting the whole time, it was finally time to go. Different doctors and nurses and specialists had come and gone the whole time, each chatting with L and reassuring us as they explained everything that was going to happen. When it was time for her to head to the OR she gave us hugs and kisses and she walked away from us, hair in a cover, love and hope wrapped around her, Cozy Heart Penguin in her arms, and a smile on her face. 

Travis and I went to the waiting room, getting updates along the way. The worst 

was when the deacon called us to let us know that L was on the bypass machine - meaning her heart was no longer beating. Crazy and horrible and amazing and terrifying, if you can imagine.

Surgery went incredibly well and they finished in just under two hours. We were walked up to the PICU (peds intensive care unit) but had to wait for a bit longer than expected to see her because she was having such a hard time coming out of the anesthesia. When the surgeons finally came out to talk to us they explained how happy they were with how the surgery had gone - they were able to use the hole in her heart as a short-cut to thread her veins through so it could finally be attached in the correct place. They used part of her heart sac to plug the rest of it up and ... all's well that ends well. But it's also just craaaaaaazy.

That first day was pretty tough. As she fought to come out of the anesthesia she was in a lot of pain and incredibly confused. At one point she yelled out, "Help me, Daddy!" and it was literally one of the worst moments of our lives because there was nothing we could do to help our baby girl. There was a chest tube to make sure fluid didn't collect around her heart, but it was what caused her the most pain and discomfort. She threw up several times because of it - can you imagine how painful that would be with a broken sternum?! 

But the nurses were rock stars. They took such great care of her and did everything in their means to make her comfortable. The whole cardiology team was just amazing and we were so grateful to be at one of the best children's hospitals in the country - just 20 minutes from our home. 

Over the next few days she napped. Once they removed her chest tube (and the pace maker wires) she started to feel much better. She moved from her bed to the chair, then her bed to the bathroom, then from her bed all the way down to the other end of the floor and then out to the roof-top garden. She rested there, then walked almost the whole way back until the nurse insisted that she ride in a wheelchair the rest of the way. It was twenty-four hours after her open heart surgery! The nurses said it was the longest walk they'd ever seen in a patient at that state in the game. Eventually she regained an appetite. I read aloud to her and we watched the live action Cinderella. Her uncles visited, along with her godmother and grandmother, mormor and grandpa.

I love this picture of me, 9 months pregnant, brushing L's hair for her and putting it up in a bun as she requested. She was so worn out she fell asleep while I was doing it, but it was so good to have something tangible I could do for her. 

Our sleeping beauty.

L, resting in the roof-top garden. She's wearing her super hero shirt, a gift from Trav's co-workers. 

Saturday morning breakfast.

Sunday, Mother's Day, L was given clearance to come home. After the surgery she had to cough a lot, clearing her chest, and her Cozy Heart Penguin - a birthday gift from her Mormor - was her go-to object to hug during the coughing. It was also used to soften the feel of the seat belt against her incision. 

We couldn't believe that just three days after having open heart surgery she could come home! As soon as we arrived at our house the very first thing she asked to do was go outside and sit on the swing. Once again: crazy. 

Early on L had a lot of limitations. She mostly napped that first post-op week, took pain meds, and was sore. Many people gifted her with books and crafty things and so she colored, molded, sketched, created, and read. Since she could not lift anything over 5lbs, be in public, or do anything that might lead to a fall she could not run, dance, skip, do stairs, ride her bike, swing high, use the slide, climb anything, attend school or Mass, and so on. But a friend from church dropped off the hula hoops her daughters used to play with - 20 some years ago! - and L became a master hooper! Thank God - literally - that Chris was moved to bring those hula hoops over because they were *just* what L needed - something physical, something new to master, and something that was allowed by the surgeons. Several times a day she'd walk around our house, hooping as she went. She'd hula hoop for minutes - over 8 minutes straight once - and even do the chicken dance while hooping! 

With special permission from her doctors L was able to attend the last day of school, two weeks post-op. As a family we went to the all school Mass and she got to sit with her class, though she had to wear a face mask and she carried her cough-buddy penguin. As a special treat she made heart-shaped sugar cookies for her classmates, which she and her daddy took to her class after the Mass. She chatted with her friends and was able to thank them for their prayers. 

At this point L is able to swim, slide, swing, run (with shoes - no flip flops!), and do most of her usual activities. She cannot roller skate, ride her bike, climb trees, or play contact sports until November (so that her sternum is not re-broken) but otherwise she is free to live her life. One of the beautiful things about this time is that L has really fallen in love with reading. In the past the only books she really read were the Junie B. Jones series but now she's been plowing through the Lemony Snicket books, has started the Narnia books, and has read The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and a few others along the way. 

Over and over again I have said that how well L is doing is a testament to the power of prayer and modern medicine. To everyone who sent money or gift cards or presents or prayers: thank you! Our family was so well cared-for during those difficult hours, days, and weeks and we are so grateful. Learning that L had heart issues was terrifying and we were so scared about the surgery. I admit I was angry at God for giving us another hardship to endure. But on this side of it I also have to admit that we had it easy. L had one surgery, it went well, her incision has healed well, and she has a 99.9% chance of going on and living a normal, healthy life - free to do whatever she wishes - once her body is completely healed. So many heart kids have repeated surgeries and they and their families truly are suffering for a long, long time. We had a community of loved ones supporting us. We were blanketed in prayers. Our daughter is healthy and alive. We are so fortunate and honestly, looking back at the tantrums I threw in prayer I am embarrassed. We've had it so easy. May God comfort and restore those who have not. 

And once again I very sincerely want to say Thank You to everyone who has prayed for us, cared for us, and gifted something to us. I am slowly working on sending out Thank You cards and I'm really hoping that in the chaos that was our life we didn't leave any of the gifts off our record log. Please know that we are so grateful - to God and to you. 

Spiritual bouquet embroidered by Jenna from Call Her Happy

Shopping for Clothes Doesn't Have to Be Depressing (especially for curvy girls)

A true fact: 
I have a black, knee-length, tube skirt that my college room mate gave me from her closet. In college I was a size 8-10-12 (depending, you know) but it had an elastic waist. It fit me perfectly and I loved it. I still have it. I am now a 16-18-XXL in yoga pants but the skirt still fits me and I still wear it. Why? Because the elastic gave way but my girth holds it up. Sad, but true.

Another true fact: 
There are so many perks to losing all this baby fat but in the meantime it just sorta sucks to dress my body. It is probably true that no matter your size there is something you dislike about your body (even if you look fabulous) and clothes shopping can be hard for most, if not all, women. I have a barrel of a mid-section and other XL sized things. Let's just say it was a lot easier to buy clothes and then look and feel cute when I was a 10.

Which leads us to this:
A woman I know with a similar build to mine mentioned she owned a couple of dresses from something called LuLaRoe. I did not know what she was talking about but I really loved her dress *and* I loved that it fit her curvy body.

So then:

When my friend Megan told me she was selling LuLaRoe clothing I reached out to her to see if she'd want to partner with me and my blog because shopping for clothes is depressing but not when you *know* that the clothes will fit and look good. I had seen Megan look great in the clothes, but I had also seen the items on my curvy friend, the models of all shapes and sizes on the website, and other friends and acquaintances. I felt really confident that, unlike the weekly offers for sponsored posts I turn down, this one would benefit my readers (especially those built like me!) and stay true to what I'm trying to do in this space. 

Megan + me

So with no further ado, here's my shopping experience:
I made plans to get together with Megan. She explained her inventory, sizing, and showed me where I could change. And then I went for it. Everything I tried on I photographed. There were Nopes:

 and Maybes:

The one on the Left could actually be titled "Regret" because I wish I would have bought it. It looks like a cool 1950's kitchen counter, doesn't it? I might have to go back and get it. I love it. 

In the end I left with four pieces I absolutely love. You'll have to excuse my 8 year old photographer, but I thought some "here I am, in real life, really wearing these clothes" pictures would be appreciated.

This is the Irma tunic (totally covers my butt!) and some LuLaRoe leggings. The Irma is a size XL.

Here I am trying it on during my shopping trip. Please note I am wearing the aforementioned black tube skirt.

Another shot of the super comfy, super pretty leggings. These are the "Tall and Curvy" size.

The Randy shirt. I love this one - it is so totally my style. This is an XXL.

The Carly dress. This is a L and I love the way it fits me. 

If you've never shopped with LuLaRoe before here's what you should know:
The patterns are crazy. Like some of them are cray-cray, pretty much ugly. And some of them are absolutely beautiful. And what I think is ugly you will think is beautiful and so on, but the catch is the company buys the fabric, cuts it into a variety of items and sizes and then that's it. The inventory is always changing.

You can't order online - you have to find a consultant. You can get a feel for what LuLaRoe might have, and you can definitely see the pieces in the collection (like the Carly dress, for example) but you will never know what your consultant will have until you get to her online or in-person sale.

Many of these clothes will easily transition with a woman before, during, and after pregnancy. There are so many creative ways people wear these clothes. I commented to Megan about a couple of items that weren't very nursing friendly and she then explained ways people style the clothes so they are compatible with breastfeeding. I was impressed.

At least for me, shopping the inventory racks was a lot of fun. Megan had a good selection of size L, XL, XXL in all her shirts, skirts, leggings, and dresses. She was honest with me in her feedback, just as quick to tell me what didn't look good as to tell me what did. I was able to try on a lot of items, trying out patterns for the fun of it, and getting the chance to figure out sizing on my body.

The leggings are worth the hype. Really. They are so, so, so soft - it was an experience putting them on for the first time. (ha! ... but true!) Can you buy cheaper leggings? Yes. Yes, you can. Will the quality and comfort be as good? Not that I have found. Put them on your Christmas wish list. Buy some for your daughter / niece / best friend. They are amazing.

I said this before but it bears repeating: These clothes are styled in a way that I can wear them and feel pretty while I parent my kids and live life but none of my cracks show! Or as my high school dean said at the all school assembly the first day of the year, "No boobs, no butts, no bellies."


So, my honest opinion: the buzz that surrounds LuLaRoe is legit. If you can make it to a Pop-Up Sale, do it! And better yet, if you want to get a new piece, my friend Megan is offering 15% off your entire purchase when you order from her. She's got brand new inventory on her FB page right now. Head on over and claim your item on her Google Form. When you do be sure to use the coupon code aknottedlife15 to get your 15% off. Also, because the inventory is always changing Megan wants to be sure you can get something you really love so the coupon code is good through October 31st.

Megan's LuLaRoe Facebook Page
Megan's LuLaRoe Instagram

Happy Shopping!

Seven Quick Takes for Your Friday Afternoon

1 - Ahhhh... The Head and the Heart have a new album and this is the new single and I just love it all. (Remember the time Blythe interviewed her brother Kenny - the pianist in THATH - for my blog? It was a good one.)


2 - So who watched Kathryn's Blessed Is She workshop, Raising a Holy Family: Toddlers Through Teens last night? I was so excited to see it - Kathryn has spoken at my parish's mom group before and she was amazing. Her wisdom, her humility, her Texas twang - all of it! Unfortunately I had to miss it...


3 - ... because of freakin' Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Two of my boys have it now and I'm sure Jofis will come down with it, too. I'm holding out how that Baby Tee, the girls, and Travis and I will be safe. For some reason this strand is taking down adults, too, and with school and back to school events beginning next week for half of this household I really hope it's all said and done asap.


4 - But back to happier things and Kathryn... I'm throwing a Star Wars themed birthday party for the boys later this month. Basically I am just gonna do what Kathryn did for her Star Wars themed party. Why re-create the wheel, right? I did just buy this Darth Vadar costume (affiliate link!), one in small and one in medium. It will serve as birthday presents and Halloween costumes, and it will end hours of fighting to our days! My boys love Darth Vadar, not Han Solo, not Finn, not Chewie. Darth Vadar. Oh well.


5 - Here's a quick tip: Got beer you don't like? Use it to cook your stew meat or roast in. It has worked for us every time. In fact, the more we hate the beer the more we love the gravy!


6 - One perk of being a blogger is being able to send flowers for free to a friend as part of a company's incentive. It's true - and you can think what you want of me. I was so grateful
to FTD for sending me this gorgeous bouquet of flowers and letting me send some love to Nell with the same arrangement. She has been a great blogging buddy - she cheers me on and gently corrects and directs when needed. She has opened her heart and home to me and has done so much in service to Blessed Is She and Catholic bloggers everywhere.

So thanks, FTD, for allowing us to #connectbetter. ;)


7 - Last but not least, Kelly's 7QTs today is so good: What To Do When Your Child Won't Stop Staring at a Person in a Wheelchair. I thought it was super helpful.

Baby Tee's Baptism!

When sweet baby Tee was not even two months old we called in the troops, headed to the last Sunday Mass of the day, and had our son baptized.

Friends and family came for the event, which was really wonderful - to look out over the pews and see so many of our loved ones. It was laid back, with kids wandering and toddling about. But the deacon didn't mind one bit, and nor did we.

Resa got a good sniff of the chrism right before it was used on Tee's forehead.

Love this moment.

And here's the godparents, our good friends Justin and Ruth, the newest little Catholic, and hubby and me. We're a happy bunch. :)

We followed the Sacrament up with a cook-out at our house.

I ended up loving the little "tablescape" I set up. A sweet little gift from his mormor. Holy water from the baptismal font. Handmade namesake peg dolls: Thomas Aquinas and Fr. Emil Kapaun. A Hatch print that Katrina sent as a "Hello, Baby!" gift. His baptismal candle. A Fr. Kapaun holy card. A rosary from his godparents. And the baptismal gown that was handmaid by my friend Sr. Marie Noelle, OP. (It's too small for my big babies so we use it as the white garment that is laid on the baby instead of the felt thingy from the parish. 

 And, of course, we had to find a way to bring our man Fulton Sheen into the day. I thought this quotes was a good one.

It was a beautiful day. We are so grateful for our faith, our friends and family, and our sweet baby Tee. 

Instagrammers you should follow, In This House of Brede, and a few other bits and bobs

1 - I heard this song on Lark Rise to Candleford, hunted it down, and taught it to my kids. It's a fun song to sing, though my husband thinks I'm nuts and typing it all out makes me feel really lame.


2 - Two years ago this August I ran a series called Instagrammers You Should Follow and highlighted the IG account of Anna Hatke. If you didn't begin following her then you really should now. Each summer she and her girls return to the storybook Italian village where her family's roots are. Sometimes her husband, author and illustrator Ben Hatke, comes too but this year it's just the ladies. And the pictures are gorgeous and magical. Follow her.


3 - And while you're over in Instagram land, I am also going to recommend you follow my friend Shana. She's just a mom and a wife and a woman who loves Jesus. She also happens to have a great sense of humor.

The funny thing is I never knew Shana before but I knew OF Shana. She was like a legend, a demi goddess. In high school one of my best friends was LB. Her older sister's best friend was Sarah. Sarah mentored LB and me a bit through a Christian youth program and we both thought Sarah was so cool. Shana is Sarah's older sister and everyone thought Shana was outrageous and amazing and the. coolest. person. ever. Ever.

So enough about 16 year old Bonnie and 21(?) year old Shana. She's pregnant and funny and lovely and real now. You can follow her here.


4 - A few months ago a friend mentioned a brush to me and encouraged me to buy one off Amazon. "It's great for detangling wet hair," she said, and I will admit I did not believe her. I think she sensed that so she bought one for me and she was 100% correct. The (affiliate link) Wet Brush is fabulous. It's not as great on dry hair, or at least not on my dry hair, but on wet hair it is better than the combs or picks I had been using. I love it for me and my girls.

 5 - Last night I stayed up until midnight so I could finish the book In This House of Brede. I enjoyed reading the novel tremendously and I sorta saw the end coming but when it got there I was... disappointed. Now let me do my best River Song impression:

Spoilers. ;)

I'm assuming that if you're still reading this take you have already read the book and so I won't be ruining the ending for anyone. So here goes: They get on a plane?! That's how it ends?! With them getting on a plane?! No. (head shake) No. (head shake)  No. (head shake)

I think I wanted to see them there, in Japan. I wanted it to end with Phillipa looking out into the Japanese gardens or something. Maybe that would be tidy, but it felt tidy having Penny and Donald there watching them board. And I don't really understand why McTurk went with them. hmmm... If you've read it what do you think?

PS - I did love Cecily and how she made her choice and how her prayer was answered. That was wonderful.

6 - One week from today I'll be leading a Blessed Is She workshop on Building Intentional Community. I'll be sharing what I've learned from leading, founding, attending, and belonging to various groups, ministries, and gatherings over the years. Personally, I found it to be difficult to find where I fit in as an adult and while I definitely haven't figured it all out I have gotten some things right while learning from few mistakes I've made along the way.

I think this workshop will be really useful if you are looking to join or form a ministry / book club / mom group / young adult group OR if you are already actively involved in one. If you signed up for the BIS Membership you will already have access to the workshop but if you aren't a member you can still watch. To sign up for the Membership click here or to pay the $15 and sign up for the workshop click here.

7 - Finally, I wish I could hug the world. The refugees, the LBGT community, the black community, police officers, and now the people of Nice, France. How can such a beautiful world have so much pain and ugliness? I don't have any answers but I promise that I am trying to become a better person and I'm trying to raise my children to be good people - the kind who fight for justice, who stand up and speak up, who are merciful and loving. And in the meanwhile I am praying with my very heavy heart.
Jesus, I trust in You. Come, Lord Jesus.+

Member Access with Blessed Is She

Work it. That's what's coming next for Blessed Is She. Or, more specifically: workshops.

You might have caught the online workshop BIS hosted with guest speaker Haley Stewart on Living Liturgically for the Uncrafty, Busy Family. I watched it live and loved being a part of the conversation while learning from my friend. And I have good news: more are coming! And they're coming in a really amazing way.

In order to really offer the growing, blooming, thriving BIS community more, Blessed Is She is taking an exciting step and offering regularly scheduled workshops, available through Member Access. Members will have special access to monthly online workshops hosted by speakers from around the country + exclusive companion worksheets + Advent and Lenten journals automatically shipped to their homes.

The BIS Member Access is all available for $9.99 / month or $99 / year.

Hopefully you are one of the 12,000 women who, every day, receives an email with the day's Mass readings and a corresponding devotion through Blessed Is She. Hopefully you are already engaged in the Facebook regional groups where we pray for one another, plan meet-ups, and chat about books, vocations, kids, and life. Hopefully you are following BIS on Instagram and Twitter so your feeds have beauty, truth, and love in them. All of that, sisters - all of it! - has been freely given with great quality.

I know that the $10 a month fee might be hard to fit in some of your budgets (remember my chai tea?) and I do want to acknowledge that. But I also want to say that the price is beyond fair and will help to "keep the lights on" for all the other parts of the BIS ministry that are 100% free. So I hope you can make it work for you, especially because...

I'll be teaching the next workshop - the very first one to be offered to our Members!

Mark your calendars, sign up for your Member Access, and join me Friday, July 22nd at 9pm EST for a workshop on Building Intentional Community.

Wahooooo!

Find Me Here:

I am super busy in the details of this weekend's conference but I did want to pop in and let you all know that yesterday I was at Blessed Is She with the devotional. Here's a glimpse at it:

Today’s Gospel shares a good litmus test for prophets and, I think, friends.

What does a friendship bearing good fruit look like? Well, it should be rich with the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Gal 5:22)

Love: Are our friends willing and able to hope all things and endure all things for our sake, and are we willing and able to do the same? (1 Cor 13:7) Do we want the best for each other, and help one another find God’s will in our lives?

You can read the rest here.


Then today I am guest posting at my dear friend Katie's blog, Look to Him and Be Radiant. She is running a week-long series on why it's important to make things beautiful and she asked me to write about why I decorate my home for holidays and holy days. Here's a snippet:

Why do I do it? For three reasons. First, because decorations are a simple way that I can bring the rhythm of the Church's liturgical year into our home. This is helpful for me as a mom - the decorations add an extra emphasis on what we are celebrating or why we are fasting. They are a sort of visual aid for my children as I teach them about saints, Jesus' love for us, doctrines of our faith, and the culture of our catholic Catholic church. But really it's not just for the kids - even as a 34 year old woman I find it much easier to enter into the liturgical seasons, the feasting and the fasting, if I am reminded of them by my surroundings.

You can read the rest here.


This weekend I'll be on Instagram taking pictures of the conference - which you can follow with the hashtag #findingyourfiatconference. I may even pop in on Facebook and share some live videos.

How We Threw A Sacred Heart Party

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is one of my favorite feast days all year. I love celebrating Jesus' passionate love for us, His heart ablaze with His love and the signs of His Passion on display. The image of Christ holding or pointing to His Heart, showing us the mini Gospel - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." - it is so perfectly quirky Catholic and I love it. 

This year our celebration lasted all day. The Solemnity is a Meat Friday so we ate bacon and then headed to noon Mass at the local, gorgeous, Sacred Heart Church, as is our custom. More bacon for lunch and then it was time for party prep - a group of friends were coming over for dinner!

We don't have an image of the Sacred Heart so I drew one on the chalkboard that hangs in a prominent spot in our home.

It's not bad.

Then I followed in Mary's footsteps and made fruit trays like the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, seen at her blog, Better Than Eden. I made mine a bit more simply because I didn't peel an orange, just opened a can of mandarin oranges, and I sprinkled chocolate chips on the strawberries instead of melting chocolate.

To keep things easy on everyone we made the night a potluck. Everyone brought their own meat, a dish to pass, and their own drink of choice. Travis manned the grill and the kids jumped on the trampoline, played on our swingset, and climbed our Maple tree.

As the sun was setting but before a single meltdown I called all the kids to the patio. Each parent got a prayer card and each person was given a glow stick. I stood in front of the kids and talked to them about the reason for our party, about God's great love for us, about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I invited them to snap their glow sticks and to wave them and wear them as a reminder of Jesus' Heart that burns for love of us.

Then as a group we all prayed the Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (If you ever have a Sacred Heart party please feel free to use the image! You can save it, insert it into a Word or Publisher Doc. Set the paper to Landscape and you can easily fit two per page.)

The kids ran off into the dusk, catching fireflies and we parents stayed in our comfy chairs, sipping rum or beer and chatting with one another. That sounds super saccharine-y so please know that about ten minutes later I spilled my drink on my lap. ha!

It was a great day, and I'm so grateful for my group of friends and for my husband who doesn't bat an eye when I say, "Let's have ten adults and twenty kids over and you can grill them all dinner!"

What I Learned About Growing Friendships as an Adult

For most of our marriage we had a variety of friends spread out in a variety of places. I had lots of mom friends and Travis had his work friends and it was nice but also lonely. While we had friends we did not have a community, and it was a community that we were really craving. 

At the time we were still living in The Dump and we knew we wanted to move. We had put our eldest in the parochial school one town over and the thirty minute, round trip drive twice a day over country roads was killing me. We lived in a town that didn't have a grocery store, a public library, a Catholic church, or even another young, Catholic family. We knew we needed to move closer to Travis' job, L's school, and all the other amenities we missed. 

But really, my family moved to different a town so we could be more active in its parish and the parish school. We saw that the parish had good priests, solid ministries, orthodox faith, and a true love of Christ, despite its hideous mural behind the tabernacle. 

Once there, I committed to the weekly moms' group - approximately 13 women who meet with all their non-school aged kids to work through a study. 

We also began regularly attending the monthly Adoration group for families.

Travis joined the Men's Group, which is basically the husbands of all the moms' group women. They sit in a workshop, drink beer, eat peanuts, and either build things or light things on fire.

I  also became involved with a monthly Moms' Night group that attracted even more women - women I had noticed at Mass or school pick up or at other events and was so grateful to get to know.

And over the weeks and months and now years I began to really know and trust many of these people. Many of their kids are growing up with my kids and while we are all at slightly different places in our lives we are all walking together towards the same goal. 

This was really great - a huge step towards what I had craved for so long. But I also noticed that I didn't know how to narrow down the large group to really intentionally foster a few good relationships. It felt rude to not always include everyone all the time but the sheer numbers were paralyzing. And then I saw something that was eye-opening for me. 

At a friend's birthday party I was sitting at a table with various women, all of whom I knew to varying degrees and all of whom have children older than mine. They openly discussed their upcoming Super Bowl party, a party I was not invited to. It was just for that group of friends, who had raised their kids together, whose husbands were friends, who had known each other for years. I didn't feel left out, in fact I felt relieved! The community that I had so badly craved for so long was possible! Other people had formed and found their places in them and I could too! Our larger group of wonderful families had already broken down into smaller groups while still remaining part of that larger community.

These smaller groups were not cliques - they are not exclusive or elite - but they are the result of a natural growth towards people with similar interests, beliefs, and season of life. 

With that new understanding I stood back and I looked at the women in my community and saw the friendships that existed already. I thought about Jesus and Peter and James and John - how they are often listed together, just the four of them, in a way that seems to say they were besties. I thought about the women I was most drawn to and realized we were already there. Our husbands were already good friends, as were our kids.

And so, unapologetically I have sought them out as individuals and as a group and in doing so the gestures were reciprocated. Little by little, but also not very slowly, my family has found its place. We have a niche where we are appreciated and cared for. We belong with a circle of friends and I look forward to many years of knowing, serving, and loving them better. I hope I am able to help them carry their crosses and celebrate their joys and successes. I hope that our friendships will bring us all closer to Christ, who I thank for answering my many prayers.

"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." 

Proverbs 27:17

A Little Post About Little Blogs

Perhaps I am clinging on to a dying breed. But I like it and one day maybe it'll be on trend again like knitting or newsboys caps, which pop up again and again.

I'm talking blogging. 

Every once in awhile a blogger will write a State of the Blog type post and... they really don't mean anything to me. Now of course those bloggers are writing those things because writing helps them think and so it's good that they are putting the words on paper, so to speak. But what I mean is that I don't get worried about if blogging is a dying thing. I will read their post and think, 

"If you need a break - take a break - live your life. It will be good." 

or

"If you don't really like blogging, it's okay to stop blogging. It will be good."

or 

"If you are maxed out then reel it in, stop trying to keep up, and get back to why you fell in love with blogging in the first place, be it the journaling, the community, the photo dumps, or because deep down you always wanted to be an essayist. It will be good."

or 

"If you love your little blog with its little following and your little creative space where you can come and go as needed then keep going. It will be good."

I'll be honest, those little blogs are my favorite. Of course there are a few blogs with larger followings (I'm talking 5k or more FB followers) that I still read but mostly I am drawn to the smaller blogs. The ones that are pretty and crisp looking but still honest and vulnerable and fun. They are just as likely to share a burden with their readers as they are a favorite recipe or pictures of a fun party. They feel like... friends. Some of them write things I agree with, some of them don't. Some of them carry very similar crosses as mine and some of them don't. All of them are pursuing Christ and I have found that their companionship has helped me in my pursuit for which I am very grateful.

One of those little blogs has a new home and a new name and I wanted to share it with you because I'm still on "maternity leave" but mostly because Ashley is just wonderful. 

Really. She is. 

Five years ago, when we were still figuring out just who and how James would be Ashley had enough courage and compassion and charity to tell me the truth: James might not be okay. There might not be a miracle. Having a family member with severe disabilities would be hard. Her words meant a lot to me; in fact they still do. I am still grateful that God sent a person to acknowledge my fears and that she was able to speak to me in the exact language that would impact me as needed. I know that's probably weird but it was a blessing and I have followed Ashley ever since. 

So if you're looking for that kind of blogger - someone who is brave and kind, someone who can be fun and funny and honest - Ashley and This Good Life are exactly who and what you're looking for. 

And if you want to find more possibly-new-to-you blogs to love and follow, well, I'll be hosting the Sheenazing Blogger Awards again this year once maternity leave is over. 

Related Posts: 

You're Not a Big Deal and That's Okay

Blogging About Blogging

And I'm fairly active on Facebook and Instagram if you ever want to say "hi" and follow my micro-blogging. :)

Photo by Glen Carrie

Announcing the Finding Your Fiat Catholic Women's Conference

Some friends and I have been working on something behind the scenes for a couple of months now and today is the day I finally get to tell everyone. 

This summer, June 24-25, Molly Walter, Abbey Davis Dupuy, and I will be offering a Catholic women's conference called Finding Your Fiat.

We really believe it will be great. We talked about what we wanted in a conference (a fun, come as you are night out + talks given by women we know and admire who can speak to our hearts about our lives + affordable!) and then we set out to make it happen. 

We kept things simple (no vendors, no swag bags, nothing too fancy) which kept ticket prices and our stress levels low. We focused on bringing in great speakers and a yummy lunch and booked a parish hall so we could have access to Reconciliation, Mass, and a quiet chapel to pray. 

Our speakers will be amazing! Jenna Guizar and Meg Hunter-Kilmer will be keynoting and our growing list of breakout speakers already includes Annie Tillberg and Marie Miller.

Friday night we're co-hosting a Girls' Night Out with Blessed Is She and it will be wonderful. So. Much. Fun.

Tickets will go on sale soon but we wanted to share the date and info with you now so you can make plans and possibly add it to your Christmas wishlist. 

You can learn more about the Finding Your Fiat conference at our website. And I hope I can see you this summer!

Thrilling things you'll want to know, aka Seven Quick Takes

1 - It's been a long time since I've started one of these Seven Quick Takes with a song so I thought I'd come back with a sugary pop bang:

Judge away but I love this song and can't stop listening to it. You can feel bad for my husband, it's okay.


2 - I finally got my hands on a copy of As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. It was a delightful book - especially if you know and love The Princess Bride. As soon as I was done I picked up the novel The Princess Bride, which I've read before but it's a treat to re-read.


3 - I've been working on show notes for The Visitation Project. There's some new episodes up, the one on Forgiveness has my stubbornness on full display.

4 - I'm part of a wonderful group of friends at our parish. These are couples who are funny, kind, and love their faith.  Twice a month the men get together and do boy, I mean manly things. (Last month they made a Bat signal... like Batman.... while drinking beer and also talking about NFP.) The women get together once a month for a bit of wine, a bit of conversation, and a bit of faith formation. Last month was awesome  with Kathryn Whitaker Skyping in and to share tips for running your home with less stress - so good!- and this month our associate pastor, a priest from Uganda who is here getting his doctorate in education, spoke about the strengths and weaknesses of the Catholic Church in America - also so good! What awesome things do you have going on at your parish?

5 - I began watching Once Upon a Time on Netflix. I had seen some of the episodes before; I think I watched the whole first season or two on tv but then things got a little rocky for me and I bowed out. I started watching again after so many people recommended it to me while I was on bed rest, and I'm liking it. Especially now that we're out of Neverland.

6 - I also started physical therapy. I've never done PT before and I must say that so far I love it. I have horrible pain in my lower back and hips - something I've had with most of my pregnancies and something that just keeps getting worse. My midwife recommended me to a local PT place that specializes in women's care and I really like the woman working with me. My problem: poor posture and lots and lots and lots of tense muscles. I got a 30 minute massage today and it was called therapy and it was amazing.


7 - And now a big THANK YOU to Kelly for hosting every week. Make sure you head on over to This Ain't the Lyceum because she's got a wonderful give-away running right now. Good luck to you on winning it!