Undoubtedly the most solemn and quiet day of the year in the church. Since last night, there are no organs, no bells, no pianos, no choir of angels. All the hosts for Mass were consecrated last night, none will be today. Today is a day we remember that suffering, most especially from noon to 3pm...the hours Jesus hung on the cross. We contemplated letting Will watch The Passion of the Christ with us today, but opted out. Still too young, ...

Here we are, on the eve of the Easter Triduum. Holy Thursday has always been one of my favorite days of the year, ever since I started dating Scott. He took me to a Holy Thursday service and I was hooked. If you've never been, even if you're not Catholic, I encourage you to give 'er a try. I promise they won't try to convert you at the door :-)It's a beautiful Mass that includes a foot washing ceremony. The ...

Technically, Holy Week began on Sunday, but go with me.Today is the Chrism Mass, where the Bishop blesses the oils that priests use throughout the year (baptism, confirmation and the annointing of the sick). It's a really beautiful Mass and sometime, probably around 2015, I'll get to attend.The week is full of beautiful liturgies, solemn Masses, prayerful Stations of the Cross and a joyful celebration on Saturday night and Sunday morning. When it was just Scott and I, we got ...

Yea, we're those parents. We took our kid out of sport before he ever really got started. Hard to do, but the right things usually are.Being in France gave Scott and I a renewed perspective on family life, most importantly it made us reflect on this question: Are we being good stewards of the family God gave us?We spend a fair amount of time in the van - school, work, after-school activities, church, parent's day out, yadda, yadda. When we ...

I think all of you know my motto when it comes to birthdays...Go big, or go home.Well, after doing 16 birthdays, collectively, between the kids, we/I decided it might be fun to adopt a new motto...Go small, no stress.Definitely liking the new motto. Will gathered together 5 of his buddies from school and the neighborhood and we enjoyed a great dinner at Mighty Fine Burgers & Shakes. If you're from Austin, you gotta try this place. The masterminds behind Rudy's ...

It just doesn't seem possible that we hit Europe's two biggest cities on the same day - what a dream.Saturday morning, we got ourselves all packed and then headed to our last Paris stop, Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Basilica). We arose early because we heard the church was stunning just after sunrise. Boy was it ever.Here's our illegal picture. The nuns were chanting in Latin and praying and it was just so beautiful...the sounds, the smell of candles and the ...