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Sorry for leaving you hanging last Friday. I was going on an all day retreat on Saturday and spent Friday getting the house & the girls ready for a fun day with Dad. They all did great together – JR took the girls to the library & the park, they all 3 took good naps (Olivia, Molly & Dad) and had a ball together! Violet & I faired well at the retreat, too. It was called Trinitarian Faith Renewal and focused on our relationship with each person of the Blessed Trinity. The first person addressed was God the Father, drawing heavily from the story of the prodigal son. I have heard many reflections on this powerful story before, but got a better understanding of the older brother from the retreat leader. It had always kind of bothered me that even though the older son had been a loyal, devoted son, he was never celebrated like the younger son. Our retreat leader said that the reason the father had never “killed the fatted calf” for the older son was that the older son had equal ownership of the family’s property. There was no need for the older son to be offered the fatted calf – it was his for the taking. I had never thought about it like that before. The next portion of the retreat focused on Jesus’ life, death & resurrection and it was a good refresher, though I admit that most of my understanding of God comes from the New Testament revelations about Jesus. The last portion was the most thought-provoking for me. The retreat leader said that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to make Jesus our Lord. In other words, it is the Spirit that brings the gifts necessary to live a good Christian life (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord). It occurred to me that it is my relationship with the Holy Spirit that is most in need of improvement and I’ve decided to focus myself there for the time being. This will surely help me to develop the fruits of the Spirit I have been seeking (charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity).

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I have often wondered how I would answer the question when it presents itself – “Mama, where do babies come from?”

I loved how Danielle Bean explained to her two-year-old how he was created:

That day, when I told Daniel that God made him, saw that he was good, and placed him inside of me to grow, his brown eyes glowed. When I told him that he stretched and moved and grew until at last he was big enough to come out of the darkness and meet us, he beamed. When I described what a joy it was for us to see him, kiss him, and hold him at last, he wriggled with delight.

Every child likes to know how he began. And he especially likes to know that his beginnings were rooted in love.

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So this week it is typical Texas warm again, but last week, my goodness was it chilly! Not once, but twice in the same week, I had to bundle up my babies and head out in the bitter cold to take Olivia to preschool and pick her up. And once, I even had to scrape ice off the windshield! The horror!! It occurred to me that as much as I miss four seasons, as much as I long for cold winter days during our unending summer, I have to be honest – winter must be an awful chore. Seriously, having a bunch of babies that need to be bundled in coats, hats, gloves, boots, etc. every stinking time I need to go somewhere would probably be more than I could handle. So here’s my hat tip to all you northerners – wow, I really don’t know how you do it!!

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I must say, I found this little bit of on-line reading fascinating:

Reboot Your Brain with a Caffeine Nap

I intend to give it a try following this post (since I have foolishly spent nearly the entire time the girls have been unusually simultaneously napping writing this silly post)!

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There is a new meme that started over at Faith & Family Live called Small Successes. I admit I’m tempted to participate, if for no other reason than to remind myself each week that I am making some forward progress (even if my To Do list never gets any shorter). For this week I would have put:

1. Got Livy a really good book about going to the dentist that set her up for success (though, I would have to add that it was Daddy who actually took her back to sit in the dentist’s chair and built up her enthusiasm to the point that she happily participated in a full dental cleaning and exam – way to go Daddy!). Oh, and by the way, no cavities (for Liv & Daddy, that is, can’t say the same for myself)!

2. Maintained a fairly orderly email Inbox for the past week (and started the daunting task of sorting through 200 unread emails I’d collected over the past year).

3. Actually spent time enjoying the children for a bit of time each day instead of worrying about how much was not getting done during that hour.

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Since I’ve been writing more, it has occurred to me exactly how real this blogging thing should be. And just so y’all know, I’ve decided that while I want it to be real, I also want it to be positive. It won’t do me any good to wallow in my misery on-line and it won’t do you any good to read about it. So that’s that. The blog is a place to gather treasured memories, pictures & stories – a place to remind myself of our blessings – a happy place. Okay, group hug!

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JR set me up with my own shared items box on the right-side column (thanks, dear). So if you just can’t get enough and are dying to know the most interesting things I’ve read on the web lately, go check it out. There is a really good one in there from Jennifer at Conversion Diary on taking your kids to Church – a must read for young families. Here’s one statistic that I copied & pasted and then forgot to note the source, but trust me, it was a good one so I’ll share anyway!

Exercising for only 30 min a day, 3 times a day reduces the risk of natural death by 55%!

Isn’t that amazing? I’ve got to get myself moving more . . .

Hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes – be sure to visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!!