Edel: How Wonderful and Beautiful!

This past weekend I was blessed to attend the Edel Gathering. I still feel like I'm a stumbling ball of nerves even as I try to put together all that I experienced throughout the weekend. So, bear with me and know that this may get a little jumbled.

Let us throw ourselves into the ocean of His goodness, where every failing will be canceled and anxiety turned into love. 

-St. Paul of the Cross

You see, my incredibly amazing blessing of a husband surprised me with tickets to Edel. When I first heard about the conference, I made it a point to tell him about how much I would love to go, but a big part of me never really thought I would attend. Little old me? Baby blogger. Commenter to all the wonderful Rockstar bloggers that would make up the majority of this wonderful event? What was I thinking to begin with??!! Attend an event where I had yet to meet anyone in person? Haha. Silly, Amanda! Trying to play an extrovert when your little introvert heart would prefer to continue to share on your baby blog the tidbits of your life from the safety of your sweet home. But, at the end of it all, I'm so glad that His Will is so much greater than mine ever will be. This gathering truly was my ocean of goodness where all my anxieties were met with a beautiful love.

From the start, I was met with warm smiles and open hearts. The dancing, the drinks, the hugs, and all the fun on Friday were filled with a love that I could never have anticipated. A love that seamlessly continued throughout the weekend.

Everything comes from love,
all is ordained for the salvation of man,
God does nothing without this goal in mind. 

-St. Catherine of Siena

To start off our amazing time together, the incredibly sweet and wonderful Hallie said that when she prayed she felt God calling her to share: It is good you are here. Through her prayerful mama heart, God hugged and loved each one of us women there. He wanted to make sure that we knew that not only is it good that we were all at Edel, but that it is good that we are where we are in our vocation. How affirming, beautiful, and needed. Because, at the end of every day, it is so very good we are where we are! This phrase, I will now forever keep with me as a little prayer. When I feel overwhelmed or tired, cranky or happy: It is good that I am are here. Come Holy Spirit. Amen.  (Because we all know that if it's the tired and cranky me, that extra request for help from Our Advocate will be needed!).

Beautiful Marion continued the amazing tone of warmth and goodness when she shared a beautiful part of herself with all of us. In encouraging us to embrace the gift we have in His Truth and the amazing Freedom that comes with His Perfect Will for us and where we are in our vocation could not have spoken more to my little mama heart. It is good that I am me. Wife and mother to my little family. And, not only is this truth good, but that there are so many other wonderful Catholic women living out their vocation too. I am not alone. It's so easy to feel lost in today's culture, especially being a mama trying to build up our own little cathedrals in our domestic monastery.

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. 

-Blessed Mother Teresa

I thought of this quote during Marion's talk. Her message and this weekend truly brought together the hugest of huge messages that we are not alone. Not only are we not alone, but we are filled to the brim with the Body of Christ that is alive and well and oh-so-good! I love what Blessed Mother Teresa says above. She's so right! It is so easy to feel like just a drop in the ocean, but God knows that our work is good and matters so very much. And, the beauty of our faith is that we find Him on the Cross and we find Him in His Glory. In our struggle or in our joy, we have each other, we have Him who holds us, and the ocean would be less if any one of us were missing.

Then there was Haley. Amazing Haley! Let motherhood change me. Do not be afraid! Oh, goodness! How many times have I wondered where the me pre-marriage and baby has gone! Listening to her share how incredibly good it is that we are embracing our path to sanctity just filled me. It filled me with the peace that Yes, being a wife and mama has changed me and this is exactly what He wants for me. Which is not only good, but absolutely amazing! Because at the end of it, I am no longer a practicing therapist. Nor am I an interpreter. My licences have been put to rest because I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit calling me to mother my family from home. These nudges are good. They are beautiful. And, they are guiding me in His Will for me. Do not be afraid.

And last, there was Jen. Wonderful, wonderful Jen! Not only are we not doing this alone, but we have the amazing Body of Christ well and alive ready to joyfully walk along with us. We are building small cathedrals in the quiet (or the crazy) of our little homes. But, the doors to our domestic monastery do not have to be closed. Edel, for many of us, is where the doors burst open. We, women and mothers, welcomed each other into our little spaces to say that we can do this together through sharing, fellowship, and prayers. And, I pray that I have the grace to share the amazing joy that I experienced this weekend enjoying, embracing, and partying along side the beautiful Body of Christ with women I know at home.

Now that I'm here. The Monday after this glorious conference. I can say, the ocean of goodness that I experienced this past weekend at the Edel Gathering truly did cancel so much anxiety and convert it to amazing love, peace, and goodness. Holy Spirit was truly kind and sweet, nourishing and loving little me the entire weekend through so many faithful and beautiful women. Beautiful women who met me with smiles and warm hearts. There was an openness here that I've never seen before. I met so many wonderful women, and I'm so very grateful for that. Not only am I grateful for meeting all of you, but I'm also grateful for the Fiat that you all had to say for this conference to truly transpire.

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 

-Romans 8:28 

Now, here's where I go off on a little tangent. While at Edel, I started thinking about sweet Sister Kathleen who I have mentioned time and time again on this blog. All I could think of was her beautiful presence and what made her so incredibly beautiful and Christ-like (which makes sense that I would start thinking of sweet Sister because there was such a presence of Christ throughout the conference.).The verse above is one that she would often bring me back to. Along with Romans 8:28, (which I had actually hashtaged on an instagram photo prior to seeing that Romans 8:28 was part of Mass Readings on Sunday! Hello, Holy Spirit! Again! Thank ya very much!), gratitude, wonder, and awe were always focused on during our time together.

While I was at Edel, gratitude, wonder, and awe were all permeating in the eyes, souls, and sweet smiles of all the wonderful women embracing each other in love all weekend. The gratitude we all were feeling gave way for Our Lord to allow the greatness of wonder and awe to work in us. The tears of someone opening their heart to listen to the Holy Spirit work through all the amazing speakers and encounters that we had with each other were just the beginning. All the tears, for me, represented the goodness of wonder and awe. But, not only wonder and awe for the event and all that transpired, but wonder and awe for the One who loves us more than we'll ever know. Wonder and awe for how He pursues us with such a strength! Us mothers. Us women. In our homes. In our families. In our work. And, in our play. How could we not cry in all those moments that He was seeking to love us? Through every talk, through every comfort, through every new friend, He was yelling from the rooftops that He loves us. And it was overwhelming in such a good and amazing way.

Continuing on my Sister Kathleen tangent, every time I went to meet with her for spiritual direction, wonder and awe, mixed with a lot of joyful gasps is usually whet I was met with. And, I'll always remember when I spoke to her of spiritual dryness or the distance I felt with my Lord. She responded with a *joyful gasp* and followed it with, "How wonderful it is to be loved by Him so much that he would give you the grace to see the distance!", and how in that mere grace, "You should behold how much he truly loves you and is fiercely pursuing you in your dryness. How wonderful and beautiful!"

Oh, sweet Sister. Only you would see the goodness of my dryness! But, I guess my point in sharing this is that in my attending Edel this past weekend, through the Holy Spirit working through so many amazing women open to His Goodness, I was able to see my God not only see little me, but also to see how incredibly true it is that He is always pursuing me with a love that I will only truly be able to fathom when in Heaven.

With that, I say, thank you. Thank you so very much, to all the women I met and did not meet (I really am much more shy and introverted than I realize! Ha.). Thank you to Jen and Hallie for your amazing courage and goodness! You said Yes to Him. And, even if it felt overwhelming. You said your Fiat in a way that built Edel on a foundation of amazing love! That foundation opened the doors for us all. So, thank you! And to all the women present (all who helped from behind the scenes, with emceeing, attended, and who did not attend but were with us in spirit), thank you for your openness to His love for you! Because of your courage to say Yes to Him and the Holy Spirit, I have been able to see my sweet Lord love little me in such a sweet way. A love that said He sees me still and that He will never stop pursuing little old me with a great great love. That it is wonderful that I am me. It is wonderful that I am here. In my vocation. In my motherhood. And, that I should not be afraid, but that I should continue to boldly walk where He takes me. Because where ever that will be, it will be good that I am there.

I also want to say thank you to my husband. Through your desire to help me know the love of Christ and because of your obedience to the nudge you got from the Holy Spirit to purchase me a ticket to Edel, I was able to experience an overwhelming amount of love and goodness. My heart and soul were beautifully filled. Thank you for being such a vessel of His love for me. xoxo!

So with all of that, FORWARD and ONWARD to building our little cathedrals! And, again, Thank you for blessing me so abundantly and helping my Savior to let my little mama heart know that it is good that I am here. Here in my marriage. Here in my motherhood. Here in my vocation that He has called me to. It is good.

We should realize that those things which run counter to our own plans and likings are graces one and all. The Will of God permits them for us; they represent His persistent following of us. We should embrace them, make the most of them, pay the little price that they entail. His Will must always over-ride ours. Little sacrifices are all we are able to bear; let us be faithful in accepting them gladly with our Mother's help. We have only this life, and perhaps only a short one, in which to prove our love. If we make the effort, Jesus and Mary will help us to carry it through. If one saw things truly, how one should be grateful and rejoice at every physical weakness, tiredness... These are our slight share of Christ's sufferings and graces.

-Venerable Edel Quinn 

Venerable Edel Quinn, pray for us. 

(Also, seeing how I am not the extrovert I wish I could be in big crowds, I failed to take any selfies with any of the wonderful women I had never met before. I am now kicking myself for this! But, I guess this just means I have to make sure to attend Edel 15 so I can have a do-over in this little hiccup. *wink-wink*, husband. <3 i="">

5 + 4 Birthday Favorites

I mentioned a few weeks ago about how I felt I had the best birthday ever. Ever. EVER! this year. And, I definitely stand by it. The weekend was filled with sweetness starting from the day prior to my birthday and ending the night after my birthday, making for a full weekend of goodness.

At the end of my actual birthday, my husband told me he thought it'd be a fun idea to write down on paper what I was thinking during various events on my birthday. I nodded and thought it a sweet gesture, but then come Sunday he became a bit more persistent.

At the end of it, we ended up taking the pictures. It took me awhile to get it down on writing. For one, it's hard to capture everything I was feeling because of me being me - wordy, can't find the words, spaghetti thought process, etc. etc. etc. But, I did it! Messy handwriting and funny strange pictures and all. For the sake of remembering, I'm really glad we did it. For the sake of organizing this post, I'm really really glad we did it. And, for the sake of the amazing surprise he had planned out for me that included me taking these pictures, I'm definitely glad we did them!

Onward to the birthday fun that started on Friday and continued on to Sunday!

--1--
Family and Friends. Sweetness & Love.

I was so blessed in this department throughout the weekend. For one, my parents and in-laws were so generous in gifting me with gift cards and some shopping fun along with really sweet cards. They love me and I couldn't be more grateful for all the different ways they share that love with me.

And, not only am I blessed with some amazing family, I am blessed to know some of the sweetest and most thoughtful people. For example, a dear friend sent me these cookies from Tiff's Treats on Friday in hopes to kick-start my birthday weekend. Her gesture was such a gift and blessing that definitely contributed to my birthday weight gain (If you've never heard of Tiff's Treats, they deliver cookies fresh from the oven! Yes, fresh! Delicious! And, still warm!!!)

See, last year, my birthday was spent mourning the loss of a cousin who I loved very much. So having my friend send these cookies to help the fun begin was just what I needed this year (Something I know she was aware of.). It's things like this that make my heart swell with goodness.

Also, I'm happy to report all cookies were devoured by myself, my husband, and the boys by Sunday night. Yes, all two dozen of the 4 glorious types of cookies. All. of. them.

Onto Birthday morning!

--2--

Cronuts and Time

I had cronuts for the first time ever and they were a happy dance in my mouth! Amazing! Exciting! Nutella! Strawberries! Maple Bacon and sprinkled sugaaaa! Yes, Happy Birthday to moi.

And, tack on some more birthday pounds. Worth every bite!

I am always saying the way to my heart is food. It's true. It is very true. And, for the most part, I have no shame.

These sweet friends found their way over to enjoy the amazing taste bud dance party. They thought all was pretty fantastic too.

Funny story: The sweet ladies that were incredibly sweet. Yes, double sweet they were! The kind you want to take home with you so that maybe their sweetness will rub off on you...or something like that. Anyhow, they made the awesome Happy Birthday donut below for the birthday person. The reason the story is funny is because I'm 85% sure they thought we were celebrating a little person's birthday and not my 31 year-old person. The birthday was for this donut (now, cronut.) loving adult.

Ha, they then asked if they could take a picture to post to Facebook since this was the first time someone had a "birthday party" at their place. I'll take that for my 10-seconds of fame.

If you are in the Dallas area get thyself to Jaram's Donuts! You won't regret it!

The time that my friends shared with me was special. I'm grateful they came out. I felt very loved, again, and hope they know that I love them a whole ton too!

That love goes to all the ones that spent time with me and the ones that couldn't but called or wished me a happy birthday. There was so much love had throughout the day! Love tank was FULL!

--3--

SLEEP

Pretty sure my face says it all. Who are we kidding. Napping, for me, is tough! I used to be a champion napper, but then came the little ones and life. Now, I nap with one eye open awaiting to hear a cry or "Mamaaaa, I awakkkee nowww!!!....I neeed to go potteeeee!!!"

Birthday nap did not happen. But play time with my beautiful family did!

--4--

Play & a Flower

My oldest has gotten into picking flowers for me every time we go outside (which is daily). My heart overflows! I love receiving flowers and his gesture is just the sweetest. I hope he never stops loving me in these little ways. 

 

Playtime was filled with smiles. slides, and fun.

Just look at that face!!!

My oldest is getting so big! I can't believe he'll be 3 in a couple months!

I loved having some play time with my boys. They were happy. Their happiness makes me happy. It fills me too. In ways I never knew possible. The weather was perfect and being outside makes me happy. Plus, I got to swing on the huge bench swing outside our patio. Bench swings also have a special place in my heart.

--5--

Girl Time & Uninterrupted Conversation

You read that right. I had uninterrupted conversation on my birthday. My husband was amazing and watched the boys while I met up with two friends to get our nails did. It was fun. Nourishing. And, relaxing.

If you know anything about me, relaxation and down time are key for me. I love it. I can sit and read all day long inside and out if I have a cozy corner and tea or coffee with me. Doing nothing is productive for me. If that makes any sense to anyone. 

Point being, it was nice to sit and talk while drinking a warm cup o' joe.

--6--

NOM NOM

That's right, more food! And, not just any food, SUSHI! I love sushi and we found our new go-to place. Everything was wonderful. Delicious! Amazing! And, Happy!

The boys loved the chopsticks, potstickers, cucumber salad, and teriyaki chicken.  I take that as a major win.

Sushi, not so much. Just couldn't get past the seaweed.

But, that's okay, because that just means more for mama.

Sake is another major favorite of mine and it was yummmm!

Unfortunately, after dinner I ended up with a migraine. The legit kind that leaves you in the dark only being able to get a whisper out of your mouth. It was tough! 

It had been pretty windy that day and I had had a small headache throughout the day that I kept ignoring forcing myself to be present and happy. Little headaches. No biggie. Big migraine. No bueno. 

However, we ended up talking to my parents that evening (whisper tone for me, volume on low) and my mom suggested taking a zyrtec. I did, after I had taken two tylenol which did nothing for me. Within an hour after taking the zyrtec my migraine had passed and I was feeling alright. That was my Saturday birthday miracle.

Onto Sunday!

--7--

Champagne & Relaxation.

Sunday was filled with relaxing, family time, and Mass. It was a good day. It always is a good day. But a day with Mass and a massage are extra good days!

My amazing brother got me a gift card to a nearby spa for a massage over Christmas (He's amazing, huh?). So, because life happens and we are now in April, I was able to use it for my birthday!

I say it was perfect timing. Give me a massage on my birthday for the rest of my life and I will be quite the happy woman. Massages are my friend and I hope we keep it in the lifelong category.

--8--

Ladybug kisses and Blessings.

After the massage a little ladybug decided to land on my arm. As I was walking out of the spa all I was thinking about was how wonderful God is to have loved me so abundantly throughout this weekend.

I took the ladybug kiss as a sweet kiss from Above giving me a, "Yes, I do Love you more than you will ever know."

Okay, so you would think that the birhtday awesomeness would have ended at 8. I sure did. I was happy. I mean the kind of happy where you start doing random happy sighs often because you keep getting lost in the I'm-so-happy-thoughts. But, there's more!

--9--

Surprise.

Remember when  I said the amazing guy below had an additional surprise that shocked me into tears and absolutely zzzzzzzzero words? Yes, the incredibly handsome one below. 

Well he had one more picture for me to see on Sunday evening when he wanted us to go through all my birthday pictures taken throughout the weekend. He was insistant that it'd be a nice way to finish off my birthday weekend. He wanted us to look through all of them, even the ridiculous pictures of me holding up silly thought signage.

See, while I was putting Linus to sleep, the wonderful man I am married to was busy editing a photo. He wanted to surprise me. He wanted it to be the last piece of birthday goodness I saw because he knew it'd be the ultimate cherry on top my already amazing birthday.

It's the surprise I've been dying to share! So, without furthado...

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CAN YOU BELIEVE IT????? I couldn't either. At first. At. All. I was choked up and teary and huffy and all kinds of I-don't-believe-this contorted face. Sitting there, with him, playing back all the conversations we had back when the conference was first announced by Jen and Hallie. Thinking back to the conversations we had leading up to the ticket sales. Remembering all the conversations we had sprinkled throughout the mere 24-hours of ticket sale. All. That. Time. He had a plan. A plan to love me. A plan to surprise me!

Surprised I was! I had so many emotions happening at once, but I immediately started to feel slightly guilty because of the cost and we just bought a house and...and...and...

I started thinking that I didn't deserve to go. I mean, little old me. I just stay home. I don't even "work". How have I earned such a treat? All these society-derived mean thoughts started flooding me. Then my husband just looked at me, after I had been crying, quiet, and obviously processing and said, "You deserve this." Open tear flood gates, uh-gain.

I told him what I was thinking and he told me how much he valued me. How glad he was that I get to go to this conference to be with other women who are striving to live out their vocations of motherhood and marriage according to His Will the best they all can. He's excited for me to meet and mingle with so many wonderful women of faith that I've met over the web through blogging and that I get a chance to be nourished through all the wonderful speakers and amazing fellowship. 

He's right. And, I'm grateful. Grateful for all of it. And so much more!

And, I'M SO STINKIN' EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Linking up with Hallie over at Moxie Wife today for Five Favorites. Hallie, I know I stretched it but I've been dying to share and there were just so many favorites! PS Can't wait to meet you and everyone else going! Yay!)

WIWS: Birthday Weekend

Back for another round of What I Wore Sunday. This past weekend was my birthday weekend! I have nothing but good things to say about the whole weekend, too. I mean, it truly was kind of amazing! And, I love when  my birthday falls so close to Holy Week and Easter! So, not only is it what I wore for my Birthday weekend Mass but also for Palm Sunday!

My birthday fell on Saturday, but with some friend love, family love, and lots of husband love I was able to celebrate from Friday through till Sunday. It was definitely the best birthday yet!

For Mass on Sunday, I wore this spring dress. After taking the pictures I regretted wearing this dress because everything about it says Easter. So, don't be surprised if I'm not posting my Easter outfit only because I will be wearing the same dress again!

Dress: Macy's 2013 (birthday gift from my Mom)

Shoes: Nine West (Christmas gift 2012 from my Mother-in-law)

Glasses: Nicole Miller (few years ago)

Jewelry: James Avery (a good 4 years ago)

As for the birthday goodness, I have full intention of sharing how absolutely wonderful it was, but I will have to do it in installments. Given that we had a three day celebration I want to be able to fully grasp and share the amazing love I felt.

For now, though, here is a little glimpse of fun from Saturday. This was right before we headed out for dinner. Got a few selfies with my oldest and a fun picture of Linus and GeekMan.

I'm excited to share in these next posts, all the fun that was had over the weekend. But, because I feel sort of guilty about not having yet posted about Linus' birthday party (that happened two months ago) I will be posting on his birthday celebration first and then follow through with sharing my birthday weekend and some EXCITING news (And, just in case anyone thinks EXCITING news always equals new baby in my belly, I'm telling you that there is not a little one within me at this time. Not yet, anyhow. :))!

Stay tuned, friends and family! And, head over to Fine Linen and Purple for more lovely outfits!

Lent: Do you wish to rise?

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.

-Saint Augustine

An answer to our prayers.

Someday very soon I do want to write the story of our new home. It really is a beautiful one that we have been blessed with. So many little things happened that just showed His Hands holding and guiding us. Our home has been prayed in for years. It has been taken care of and loved by the previous owners. And, even though it was built in 1967 it is in much much better shape than so many other homes that we saw while searching. 

Lay first the foundation...

For now, I'll just grab some tidbits from our journey and say that here in the Dallas area the dirt is known for causing foundation issues even in the most newly built homes. I think it has something to do with the dryness of the soil. That aside, the home we bought actually has a solid foundation and has never had any work done prior (Yay for us!). The large majority of houses we saw had issues to varying degrees. If they didn't it was because they were built within the last 7-10 years or so.

There cannot be any other virtue...

It's crazy to think of all the damage that can be linked to a non-solid foundation. So many things can easily go wrong while building a new foundation at the start and throughout the years! There are a number of things, like: what if it wasn't built in a timely manner, was it tended to after the house was built, was it built during a good or bad season, too humid, too dry, to thick, not thick enough. All things that can be carefully managed through, but also things that can so easily alter the future of the home - from the floors all the way up to the roof. The reality of poorly built foundations has never been so visible till we started looking for our home.

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.

-Saint Augustine

In hindsight, we are forever grateful that we did not pursue any house with major foundation issues to close, even though we know they can all easily be lived in because there are ways to mend all related issues. Honestly, we were so close to buying a home that ultimately was a structural mess because of the foundation, but with a lot of prayer and trusting, we moved on and found a home that exceeded our expectations. Prayers were answered beyond what we could have imagined!

Humility is the mother of many virtues because from it obedience, fear, reverence, patience, modesty, meekness and peace are born. He who is humble easily obeys everyone, fears to offend anyone, is at peace with everyone, is kind with all.

-St Thomas of Villanova

All this to say, it got me thinking a lot about foundations. Not only physcial, house-related ones, but also our spiritual ones.

St. Augustine and St. Thomas of Villanova share some beautiful words about humility (of course!). The foundation, our foundation needs to be firm. It needs to be tended to. It needs to be solid and withstanding so that it can remain firm in Him - no matter the weather, no matter the soil, no matter whatever conditions may come. Foundations are important and no easy task!

The more I seek to solidify my foundation in humility, I realize that humility can be grasped and grown in me little by little. Through stepping stones of service and love, my foundation can be tended to so that it may also withstand time. It's not an overnight thing. It's a work in progress. A work in progress that makes more sense in my sleepy-mama brain by keeping it simple, keeping it little, keeping it broken down by my daily tasks of love that my heart strives for.

When I see the saints sharing that humility is foundational to growing in all other virtues, it makes me look at my Lenten journey through a different lens. A lens that has helped me realize the weight this particular virtue has on all the hopes that I have for my Lenten season. The wisdom of the saints makes me realize that just like our new home was built strong and well enough to withstand time, we also have our spiritual foundation of humility that is wildly important to the structure of our wholeness in Him. If I want to rise with Him, I need to start at the bottom. Something my heart knows but doesn't remember on the day-to-day.

Little by little. Humility. Service. Love. Obedience. Fear. Reverence. Joy. Patience. Modesty. Meekness. Peace. Jesus.

St. Augustine & St. Thomas of Villanova, pray for us.

Linking up with Cari for Theme Thursday! And, thank you Abbey for the meditation prompts! I'm really enjoying your Lent-stagram project!

Motherhood at His Feet

During Mass about a month or so ago, I was able to have some quiet moments. They were filled with the kind of quiet that pierces your soul (something that is harder to come by these  noisy days of late). During these little moments I found myself gazing upon His Feet on the Cross. Those moments were precious to me for a number of reasons, but mostly because they reminded me of the many an hour I spent in Mass or Adoration gazing upon these very same Feet during my non-kiddo years.

It is up to you, wretched sinner, to humble yourself as this happy penitent did so that you may be rid of your wretchedness. Prostrate yourself on the ground, take hold of his feet, soothe them with kisses, sprinkle them with your tears and so wash not them but yourself.  

-St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Back in my younger days, when I would gaze and meditate upon the Cross I would always ask our Lord to use me. I wanted to be His Servant. Sharing His Love. His Goodness. The same Love and Goodness I had felt my whole life through all the beautiful vessels He blessed me with. I wanted to be a vessel for Him. So, when I found myself, prostrated or kneeling before Him, I would mostly gaze at His Feet. I felt so much peace there. So much love! And, it truly was sanctifying, as St. Bernard pointed out. The prostration, the kisses, the tears truly did wash me and not anyone else. 

So, for me, being able to kneel or prostrate myself before Him were little lessons in humility. Lessons I always was in need of. And, being before him, gazing at his Feet made me feel like I was his little girl - like a little girl curled up at the foot of her father. His little lovely. This was my little and imperfect way of loving Him best I could with who I was on that day. I also thought, if I were to be a servant, then I must learn to serve Him who first loves and serves all who I will ever meet.

These days were precious to me. And, as seasons in my life have demonstrated, these days were also numbered. Or so I thought, prior to that past weekend.

See, there is a crazy busyness to motherhood. The days seem to melt together. The long hours that seem to never end are the very same hours that disappear. There are highs and lows that are so easy to get lost in. There are good times, tough times, joyful times, sad times, and everything else in between. Now, I know that God has called me to be His servant here in our home. And, for this I am forever grateful. I have shared about how blessed I am to be able to say my daily Fiat to my vocation. But I have, at different times, missed my time with my Lord. The uninterrupted time we would have together. The little times I spent at His blessed Feet.

I say all this because I am finally starting to understand motherhood at His Feet. I am still meeting my Lord. Always have been. It just looks different. His feet are the little feet of my boys and the big feet of my husband. I can't always have this uninterrupted time with him in Adoration or at Mass, but, what I can do is meet him before my children and husband. I can still kneel or prostrate myself before the same Lord I would meet before the sacraments in the very same beautiful souls He has shared with me. He is in them. They are made in His Image.

...‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

...‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

 -Matthew 25: 34-36, 40

So, I write all this because I needed to be reminded that when I am on my knees building blocks, or prostrated before my sons so that they can crawl all over me, I am meeting Him. When I am kneeling to capture little moments on our family camera, or prostrated to play baby bear with the littles, I am meeting Him there. When I am clothing these little wigglies, I am meeting Him. Every meal I cook, every chore I do, I am meeting Him in the beautiful souls of my husband and two sons. I needed to be reminded that I don't have to be before Him in the sacraments for Him to see me as His little lovely. This is our season. His and mine. I needed to be reminded that the love that I have for Him has grown exponentially through our little family. That He is using me. That I am a vessel. That he has heard the prayers of my heart all these years, I just took a little time to gain the perspective. The perspective that I can know, love, and serve Him daily at the feet of my family.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.

-1 John 4: 11-12

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I’m writing seven posts in seven days this week (or trying to, anyway). To check out other bloggers who are doing the same, see the list here.

7QT: The W Date Night

We had a date night at fancy shmancy hotel in downtown Dallas. GeekMan's company Christmas party was last night and we had so much fun!

Here we go. Date night/Company Christmas Party in Instagram/iPhone photos:

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The fancy-shmancy place I was talking about. The weather was no bueno last night, but we were determined. Even though our babysitter backed out (we had some amazing friends who came to the rescue!) we made our way through the yucky, sleety, rainy weather. Thankfully the roads were pretty empty which made for a quick trip there!

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Oh yes! This was taken in the bathroom. Be prepared friends, there is more ridiculous to be had in the photos that proceed. I don't get out much...

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That's right! Full ensemble selfie. I loved the dress I was wearing and the bathroom really was like none other I had been in...so I thought, why not. Any dress that has pockets is a major favorite in my book!

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My sexy man. Loved being on his arm all night long. We had so much fun!

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Reflection-couple selfie! Didn't know they existed but they do now in my book. Here we are looking out at the incredible view we had.

And another couple-selfie on our way out. I blame all the mirrors that are literally everywhere just asking us to take selfies.

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Evidence that I wore heals. (For you, mom.) :) I had the hurting footsies to follow for further evidence. Ask, GeekMan. I griped.

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A nice co-worker of my husband took this photo. Memory captured! 

The crummy weather we had to look forward to once we drove to our friends' home to pick up the littles (who did so well - Thank you, Jesus!).

Quick shout out to our Guardian Angels who kept us safe all through the night. I think they have a good understanding of the reality that we just don't get out much. Gracias!! Annnnd, so many thank yous to our friends for watching the boys! You blessed us abundantly (as always!)!!!

Thanks for stopping by

&

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