Out-Foxed

 

Mr Fox made good for breakfast yesterday! 

We see this guy downtown at the church many mornings. He usually goes by at about 7:30. I had parked in a different spot and I came through the churchyard and looked across the street and there he was! I thought he had gotten into someone's trash, because there was a little bundle at his feet, but as it turned out, it was a rabbit! I took a couple of pictures and he was totally fine with that, and then he picked up his meal and trotted down the sidewalk, as if he had been out doing the shopping and was heading home. I love that we have these creatures showing up in our little town!

Of course Cora doesn't have such concerns....

Happy Easter!

 

Easter was so amazing!!

We went to Easter vigil Mass and it was so beautiful!! 

We had five priests con-celebrating! 

Fr Jude sang the Exultet, and he has such a deep, musical voice. He is from Camaroon, and I could listen to him speak, or sing, all day.

We saw 10 new members of our Communion! Eight baptisms and two people making a profession of faith. 

The whole Mass took three hours, and I didn't even notice the time!

What a gift this Easter season is! 

So many graces and so much joy!

Thank You Jesus!

"Our" Tree

 

Ah! We are seeing the most beautiful bursting of Spring!

We have a Cherry tree outside our front door, and she is blooming like crazy! 

I had to take pictures.

The temperature has just been perfect this week. It is going to be in the 80s today. Wow.

Holy Week

 

The past few days have been busy with getting things done around the house; the first mowing of the yard, for instance, and getting caught up on paperwork. I am also trying to read a chapter or two each day of all the books that I have to finish for my various courses. I have almost finished "Fulfillment of all Desire" again, and there is "The Way of Imperfection" which is very good, and another of Fr Gallagher's books. Those are for this last year of the School of Spiritual Direction. In the Fall I am going to attend another course at the TOBI called Poets for the Kingdom : The Sacramental Stories of Lewis and Tolkein. I am so excited about this one! 

I am reading the Ransom Trilogy right now, and I get to read The Lord of the Rings again! I will have to start the writing portion of the certification soon, but I want to finish my SSD course up first. 

We are also really enjoying the Catechism in a Year with Fr Mike Schmitz. I just love what he brings to the understanding of Church Teaching, and I just love the Church more and more all the time. 

Another thing that has got my attention right now is that Fr Henry is still at the hospital. He had his surgery and they had moved him to the rehab, but yesterday, while he was working on his Physical Therapy, he had a seizure. That was extremely disconcerting. It sounds like they are admitting him to the hospital while they run tests. He looked pretty tired last night. I am so sorry that he is going to miss Easter at his place with his friends. 

We are going to have Easter brunch and then go down to see Father in the afternoon. 

It is so beautiful out! I have been taking walks and it is just glorious! I am energized by the warm weather!

Tenebrae

 

Tonight we attended the Tenebrae Service at St Patrick's. It was really beautiful. 

It is an evening of meditation and reflection on the last words of Jesus on the Cross. 

The church is gradually darkened as the reading and reflections are read, and the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the Altar. 

What an amazing gift we have in our Faith! 

Father told a couple of stories from when he was growing up in Uganda and it really made me appreciate the gift that we have of being able to worship without fear. I hope that continues. I pray for a blessed and grace filled Holy Week.

Happy Birthday Cora!

 

Cora turned two today!

She had a pretty great day all in all things considered.

I took her down to Petsmart, because she needed a nail job and she won't cooperate with me. It is amazing what eight pounds of determined pup can accomplish. She even gave the groomer a run for his money!

Then we went and picked out a couple of toys and some treats for the Luna and Comet. 

We came home and I gave her the squirrel that we bought, and she proceeded to rip it's face off. 

Around 3:00 we went over to Danielle's and had a little birthday party. Danielle had made a couple of little cakes and they were a big hit! 

After that we took them all to the dog park and they got filthy, so Cora got to come home and have a bath, which is not her favorite....But she's officially a princess, after such a day!

Catching Up

 I didn't realize how long it has been since I put anything on this page! 

I have been a very bad blogger! 

I went to Texas to spend time with the family and be with Lucy at her Confirmation and I didn't even blog about it. 

So..

Molly had a birthday! She is now well into her teens! What a sweet girl, and what a lovely bunch of friends she has! She is also playing soccer, and I was so happy to get to go to a couple of her games. Laura says that Claire is playing now also.

Dad and I went down to New Braunfels to look at a few houses. We found one that was just perfect, and I really wanted to put an offer in, but after talking to Tim, and praying about it, we realized that the timing just wasn't right. Soon, we hope! There are houses to be had, for sure. 

The weather was really nice the whole time I was there. It stayed in the 70s and 80s, and it was delicious. 

Cora and her friends really enjoyed the dog park!

Lucy was Confirmed on Sunday the 5th and it was just wonderful! The church was filled with families! That is a very healthy parish! There were about 100 young people there to receive Confirmation, or Confirmation and Communion! The Cookes were a very big part of the Liturgy as well. The boys were servers, Grandpa Paul was the Deacon, and Andrew was an usher. I was Lucy's sponsor! What a blessing! 

I was able to attend daily Mass a few times and I got to Confession once while I was there also. 

We played cards, went to Ju Jitsu, had a puzzle night with some of the ladies, ate a lot of really good food, and did some good works while we were at it. 

Then I came home and Spring arrived!

Saturday was the feast of the Annunciation, in honor of our Lord's Incarnation!