7QT: Lent Prepping, College Searching, and Rosary Praying

TGIF and all that jazz...

1)

Lent is coming next week!  I am going to read this book throughout lent, do you want to join me?

A Lenten Journey with Mother Mary

This book is broken up into short daily readings, with a weekly theme, that will be so easy to pick up and read.  I need easy!  Right at the beginning of his book, Fr. Looney says not to worry if you miss a day here and there, which immediatley put me at ease.  I always miss a day during my Leneten deeds, and then feel like I can't go back and catch up, and I just stop all together.  He's giving us permission to be human!  I'm excited to discover how to make my examinations of conscience more fruitful; learn powerful new methods of prayer; and gain an unwavering trust in Our Lord’s love and mercy.

From the Sophia Institute website, this book promises to teach:

The keys to praying silently so you can hear God’s voice
The three ways Mary works to convert sinners
How specifically to pray for the healing of a broken heart
Why and how you should pray the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
How a Marian apparition is judged to be worthy of belief
What Mary teaches us about praying for the dead
And, finally, Our Lady’s wise and consoling words for persons with debilitating diseases, for families struggling to conceive, and for couples struggling to heal their marriages.

I'm excited to dive in!

2)

For the family, I bought this download (for only $1.00) for all nine of us to fill out.  Hoping to do it this weekend and then hang them up during Lent as daily reminders :)

 3)

We have been taking JP on college visits this week.  He went to Providence College, Johnson and Wales University, and Mass Pharmacy College.  So far, nothing has really tickled his fancy, but we are learning a LOT about the college admissions process, requirements to Physician Assistant programs, and how important high school courses and grades are.  It's overwhelming, as this is our first time around, and the worry of it all - finances, finding a good fit, keeping his faith - is constantly on my mind.  He is still strongly leaning towards Franciscan University, but we are checking out a bunch of options so he doesn't have any regrets about picking his parents' alma mater.  As a parent, I can't tell you how well I will sleep if he attends Franciscan.  It is so different from the other schools I have seen.  I promised God that I would do all I could to get my kids to Heaven one day, and sending them off to a liberal/party/faithless college goes against everything I believe in.  I see so many young adults that head off to college, choose a successful career, but lose their faith.  What kind of success is that?  Not the kind that matters.  I really hope God can work some magic with the financial part of it all!

4)  

We watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood about Mr. Rogers, and it was really good.  I'm a big Mr. Rogers fan, having grown up watching the original show (my mom said she would only let us watch that show everyday because it was on while she was trying to cook dinner).  The documentary about him, Won't You Be My Neighbor, was also excellent.  After watching the movie, we both had the feeling of wanting to be the kind of person who truly makes other people feel they are the only one that matters.  So hard to pull off in this fast-paced, addicted-to-our-phones culture.  But still worthy of the effort.

5)

My parents rented a vacation timeshare on the Cape this past week, and we went down to visit for a day.  We swam, played volleyball and raquetball, went to a candy store, shopped at Trader Joes and then out to eat with a groupon.  It was a nice family day with no sports/practices/lessons!  We are all on break this week from school, and I don't take our time together for granted like I used to...they grow up so fast!

6)

We're doing some other fun activities on this staycation...ice skating with Maggie's friends, skiing with the parish for our oldest three boys, and bowling with the others.  We are also getting a lot of tasks checked off our to-do list: renewed my license, returned things to the store, grocery shopping for some upcoming birthdays, working out, doctors appointments, etc.  All the stuff that's not very vacationy but hard to fit in while working.  

7)

I had the pleasure of saying the rosary with Kristin from Many Hail Marys At A Time, and we talked for a little while after...actually it ended up being about 10 minutes!  It was like chatting with an old friend, as Kristin and I have a lot in common!  We both have seven kids, our MBA, and work full time while trying to keep the faith.  On her instagram, she says the rosary every morning at 6:45 central time with different guests.  The rosary only lasts in her story for 24 hours, so I videotaped the video on my phone - hence the horrible quality.  But I wanted to keep the memory, as awkward as I was ;)

That's all I've got, folks!  Happy Weekending!  Go see Kelly for more :)