This started out as a Quick Takes on Friday but I never seemed to get more than a couple minutes to myself to sit and write so Friday went into Saturday and then Sunday and now back to Monday. Since Monday is my Online Daybook day, I’ll just make this a Leftovers Day – a little bit of this and a little bit of that to round up the past week or two.

To share some blogging love,  I’m linking up with Kelly for Friday’s Quick Takes and with Jenny for Daybook Online Journal.

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Grateful for…

• The warmth of the sun.
• Flowers blooming everywhere.
• This quiet time right now.
• My mom’s phone call this morning. Hearing her voice always makes me smile.
• The grace of Confession. (No wonder I feel so zen.) 😉
• The grace of Holy Week.

Praying for..

• That I make the most of this Holy Week.
• For my FIL’s continued recovery and that he’ll get strong enough to visit our home for Easter.
• For all caregivers, especially of their own loved ones.
• Those who are ill, especially for those fighting cancer, and that Brian remains cancer-free.
• Those who are hurting, suffering or are far from God.
• All pregnant moms, those trying to get pregnant, those who have lost their babies and for moms contemplating an abortion.
• Some special intentions.

Pondering…

(I wrote this part of Friday.)

It’s been another long week and I need something to get my mind off the horrors in the news – the pilot that killed himself and 150 passengers, the women that sliced into a pregnant mom and stole her baby, the authorities that refused to charge the woman for murder because the 7 months old baby wasn’t a “person” and countless other infuriating and heart wrenching stories. WTH? I can’t help but get cynical and feel jaded about all this, but then God always sends me a ray of hope to remind me that as screwed up as some things may be, there is always hope and a light ready to shine in the darkness.

Just the other day I was running errands and waiting in line to get out of one shopping center to go across the street to the next shopping center. All the cars were at a stop as we waited for an older man who was in a wheel chair (he was missing a leg) trying to cross the street. He was really struggling so one of the guys waiting at the intersection jumped out of his car and ran over to the guy and helped him get across the street. In the meantime, traffic was backing up and I was waiting for people to get impatient and start honking. Or I thought there would be that one idiot driver who always thinks he’s above waiting so he swerves in and out of traffic to get through. But no, everyone waited patiently as the guy pushed the man across two intersections and then they waited until the guy was able to run back into his car before anyone moved. Everyone just nodded to each other in solidarity and moved on without incident.

It was such a simple thing but it brought tears to my eyes to see kindness and patience displayed. What is that line from Cinderella? “Have courage and be kind.” So right now I must combat these evils with courage and kindness, remembering that the little things done with great love (united by God’s grace) can move hearts and change lives.

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Around the House…

Truthfully? There is a never ending mess and I’m gathering up my strength to tackle it. See that pretty kitchen scene in the photo below? There are so many dirty dishes on the sink you can’t see any of that! The kids are in school until noon on Wednesday. After they eat lunch that afternoon they get a chore list and spring cleaning begins!

Family Chit Chat…

Last week I was crazy busy helping plan and execute our school’s Father-Daughter Dance. It was rather ironic that I spent so much time planing a dance that both my daughter and her father swore they could not attend since they hate dancing. Thankfully, I talked them into going and at least making an appearance, especially since these young years are so fleeting!! 😉

To prove my point, here is Bella at her first FDD in kindergarten. In eight short years, now Bella is in 7th grade. 🙂

Brian was in high demand that week. On the feast of St. Joseph it was Daddy’s Day at Matthew’s preschool. He made him a jar filled with candy kisses (which Brian wisely took to work) and a tie with his favorite thing he loves to do with Brian. Matty will literally stand by the door every evening holding two light sabers waiting for Brian to come home. I have to explain to the poor little guy that Daddy needs a few minutes to unwind before he can unleash his Jedi powers. 😉

Speaking of Matthew, this morning I took him to his school admissions test to see if he’d be able to attend Pre-K at the big kids’ school. He passed. Yay! That means for one year I will be able to have all the kids in one school. I’ll have a student in 8th, 2nd, K and Pre-K. I’ll still be running around with three different school schedules (and various activities/speech therapy) but at least school will be in one location, until the following year when Bella started HIGH SCHOOL!! (Excuse me while I pass out….)

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In the Kitchen…

I haven’t planned this week’s menu yet. Yesterday I had an enchilada marathon, making meals for us, my inlaws and a friend with a new baby. My helpful hint? Forget rolling the enchiladas individually. Instead make it like a lasagna. Soo much quicker and easier! Tonight we’ll have leftovers and the rest of the week’s menu I’ll figure out later. 😉

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Watching…

(If you are not into the zombie thing, skip down to “Listening to.”) 😉

I am super behind on The Walking Dead because ever since Brian got tired of the show (a couple seasons ago) I have been watching it myself after he goes to bed. But lately, I have been too tired to stay up late so I have at least 5 episodes sitting in my DVR, including the finale! SO I think this weekend, I will have a TWD binge. Until then, no spoilers!

Photo Credit – CW

However, there is a zombie show that Brian and I started watching together. If you are into zombies and a fan of Veronica Mars (and you don’t hate The CW) then you should enjoy the new iZombie. It has such a VM feel because Rob Thomas is one of the developers of this comic book turned TV show. The main character Liv (you may recognize her as Tinker Bell from Once Upon A Time) was turned into a zombie and now must function in the real world as one of the undead. She gets a job at the morgue, where she has access to a brain buffet. However, one of the side effects of eating brains is that she gets glimpses of their memory, and for those who were murdered, she also sees clues to the people that murdered them. Finding a purpose in her undead life, she helps the police solves these crimes by posing as a psychic. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, and I was skeptical, but it works. 🙂 Do you already watch? What do you think?

Listening to …

I’ve really been enjoying the Kaiser Chiefs lately. I love their song Coming Home from the album Education, Education, Education & War.

But I was even more excited to hear their newest single Falling Awake and added it to my walking playlist. I love the 80’s new wave vibe. Although the concert footage makes me miss the days I went to shows and concerts. These days the closest I get to a concert is listening to the boys sing in the back seat. Now that I think about it… that’s pretty priceless and more than a fair trade. 😉

Reading…

For my spiritual reading…

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life

For my fiction reading…

Okay, I landed out watching the movie before I finished reading Insurgent and I liked not having the spoiler alerts in my head and knowing what was going to happen next. So now I can go back to the book and get all the details that were left out of the movie. (I did enjoy the movie a lot, BTW!)

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Here are the last few posts.

Can you say blogging slacker?? I love to write but finding the time.. so hard! I did get one guest post for Fumbling towards Grace out last week for the feast of The Annunciation.

• I am the Handmaid of the Lord (Guest Post)

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Kelly took care of a nice list so I don’t have to. 😉

Bloggers Be Writing ‘Bout: Holy Week

by This Ain’t the Lyceum.

And Kendra ALWAYS has a perfect post for any time of the year. This week get Easter book suggestions and a lovely Easter print!

A Little Peek inside Our Easter Baskets

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Here are some Instagrams I’ve taken this past week.

1. Day 28 of #holylens – WATER.

2. I made our traditional St Patrick’s Day meal – tacos with lots of green guacamole. Ole!

3. Day 29 of #holylens – I can HEAR a little voice say, “No, Bobbi. You don’t actually need a Poky little puppy book and the marching plate.”

4. Day 30 of #holylens – St Joseph is one of the patrons of our HOUSE. Happy feast day!) Painting at the Carmel Mission.)

5. Day 33 of #holylens – The fragrant smell of this FRUIT is like a touch of summer on this drizzly spring day.

6. Day 37 of #holylens and #onlyonething – The male DESCENDANTS of our family make sure we have plenty of protection around the house. I found these guys guarding my desk this morning. I AM a bit biased, but I think they rock.

7. Day 38 of #onlyonething – I BELIEVE we can learn a lesson from nature. Take note, new mamas, don’t feel bad about retreating and just focusing on you and your baby.

8. It’s a wild Friday night as we string medals for the upcoming Big Sur marathon. (It’s a project with Bella’s class.)

9. Day 39 of #holylens – I had to GATHER my strength to get off the couch and out the door but I’m glad I did. #nofilter #worththeeffort

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately! What about you? What’s currently happening in your life? What are you reading or watching these days?

Have a happy Monday!  😉

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