This post originally debuted on the blog last March, but I felt it was worth reposting.  Happy Lent all! ----- The other night, I was driving in Scott’s car listening to one of my favorite shows on XM Radio, “The Busted Halo Show with Fr. Dave Dwyer.”  (Sidenote:  BH is one of my clients and I think Fr. Dave is absolutely hilarious.  He’s got a pretty cool background with MTV and then became a Paulist Father.  His laugh is hysterical.  ...

Because I'm a convert, I have to know the reason for everything.  It's what converts do. HAPPY ASH WEDNESDAY!  I was able to attend Mass this morning - all by my lonesome - at 6:30 this morning.  I love my husband.  Fr. Danny's message was exactly what my heart needed to hear.  It brought me focus and intention. This was sweet Clare three years ago! There's a pretty great two-minute video over on Busted Halo's website that's definitely worth the ...

Yesterday I touched on how to celebrate Lent as a family.  I also strongly believe you need to do something for yourself.  Yes, you can gain graces from participating with your children, but you need to find a way to personally strengthen your own relationship with Christ. I say, dig deep.  No, you don't have to give up the world and make promises you can't keep.  Perhaps giving up sweets, which really ARE your vice, is the thing to do.  But, whatever ...

Ash Wednesday is nearly upon us and I am practically beside myself with excitement.  My heart is craving simplicity, quiet and reflection.  We have some great things in store during the Lenten season.  I'll be sharing more tomorrow about my Lenten promises , but today I thought I'd share what we do as a family. Lent can be a beautiful time of year.  So many times, I hear (and I've been the one saying), "Ugh, I really felt like I was ...

Valentine's Day was really quite lovely, but we had our doses of reality, too. Decorating the boxes and putting together the Valentine cards was great fun - for all of us.  Once we put on Cars 2, Luke was finally distracted from getting into the paint. Like last year, I used a printable, designed by Olliegraphic, for the kids' valentines.  It's great, because we can use it for more than one year and because I only print what we need which ...

Last week, Anna-Laura and I (with the expert help of Luke, Clare and Will) decorated her Valentine shoebox.  We had a really great time.  It's rare that a project gets completed without whining, crying or meltdowns.  This one was actually enjoyable - by all of us - and I loved doing it with her. I had a few Valentine sacks from last year's sale in my craft closet that we cut up and used, along with some "on sale" ribbon I ...