Blessed Because I am His. My Catholic Retreat Experience

This weekend I had the chance to simply be. Be with amazing women who each are beautiful and uniquely the Lord's. I was on a retreat with women from my Church. The theme of the retreat was, “Blessed Because I am His.” It was a beautiful weekend filled with love and sisterhood, each of us bearing witness to how Christ works uniquely in each of us through the many gifts he bestowed on us. We focused on how each and every soul including our own, is His; because we are made in his likeness by Him for Him. I feel blessed because I am His. My Catholic retreat experience was in a word... wonderful. 

God wants us to share these gifts. His gifts aren't meant to be kept hidden within us, we are meant to share them.

Having a weekend spent focusing on our gifts was wonderful. It was exactly what I needed because I needed so much to hear it. I generally don't have a hard time sharing my gifts with the world... Except as it pertains to my creative writing.

I have such a hard time sharing this aspect of myself, it can become crippling to my writing. Weird I know, considering the medium through which I am sharing this story. However, the two for me, are entirely separate and unrelated. I need to remember they aren't. They both come from God and He wants me to share my gift for story with you. 

We are sanctified with his Grace. I am His, and He lives in all of us.

Having the opportunity to sit and focus my attention on this simple fact was so fulfilling. I left this weekend feeling as though my soul got a bolt of Grace and now I'm ready to take on whatever life sends my way, (including this new story I began outlining last week.) That's the amazing thing about stepping away from our imperfect mundane lives to reflect. One can return to her flawed life and realize how perfect it really is.

During the course of the weekend, we were treated to three lectures.  

One discussion was on the topic of the Holy Spirit given by a Sisters from a local parish, the topic focused on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how we use these gifts as daughters of the Holy Spirit. I never once thought of myself as being a daughter of the Holy Spirit, but after this discussion, I am confounded as to why I hadn't. I'm going to add it to my catechist toolbox, even though it is SO obvious. Every time I go to Mass, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist the priest prays the Eucharistic prayer and basically tells us this fact...

Have mercy on us all, we pray, that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the blessed Apostles, and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be co-heirs to eternal life...

I suppose I always related the "co-heir" to being a sister of Christ but considering the Trinity... Yep. I totally get it now. Which is why I love being Catholic. There is always something new to discover and learn about my faith.

The other two discussions were given by Brigid Hogan. She writes for the Blessed Is She website. I was so impressed by her spirit and her lecture. She said something in one of her lectures which really resonated with me. She referred to saints as "following her around". I loved this, and have certainly had some saints following me around lately, one who I had begun to think on in particular. Just in case your curious they are: Joan of Arc, Therese of Lisieux, and St. Francis De SalesI'm going to speak more on them later in the week.

I had the chance to get to know Bridgid a little bit over the course of the weekend. She is a beautiful soul, and I was so inspired by her passion for her students. She's teaches reading and literature at a school in D.C. where many of her students are immigrants and who've not had the most consistent education. I asked if she could use some new books and she said, "Always". She had me at "reading and literature" but mix in the whole immigration and underserved kids and I'm on a mission to get her kids some new books! Bonus, I get to use some of those God-given gifts! Yay me! 

What happens at Retreat...

We celebrated Mass twice on Saturday and Sunday, and both homilies were moving. The first focused more on the Psalms. It much reminded me of Psalm 100.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness;
            Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the LORD Himself is God;
            It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
            We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
            And His courts with praise.
            Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the LORD is good;
            His lovingkindness is everlasting
            And His faithfulness to all generations.

During our Sunday Mass, one of our priests from our home parish came to celebrate with us. He is one of those elderly priests who crack a lot of jokes, but in doing so always manages to impart some wisdom... He is quite the character and I always enjoy his homilies.

This time, he told us of a man from one of his parishes he was assigned to in his youth, who when as a new priest to this parish, was confronted by a cantankerous man who demanded he "get rid" of all the people whom he considered unsavory and unworthy of their charity. Of course, this would never happen, instead, Father chose to work on helping the man see these "freeloaders" for the people they were...

In the end, the man began volunteering (though he still grumbled a lot) at the soup kitchen. Over time, this man's character and attitude changed so much that a representative from each of the groups he found distasteful on the Father's first encounter with this gentleman, served as a pallbearer to his wife, at her funeral. Isn't the God wonderful how He works in all of us? God is good!

We said the Rosary a few times. What did you expect? It is a Catholic retreat after all.  Would it truly be a retreat without praying the Rosary..? (This catholic mom says "No".) We also had Adoration. Adoration isn't something I really learned about as a child. I don't know why. Either my parents never took us, or our parish really didn't hold it. I'm thinking it's probably the former rather than the later, but either way, as an adult, going to Adoration is something I look forward to.  If you're unfamiliar with Adoration, check out this post from Life Teen: A Beginner's Guide to Adoration.

The retreat was held at the Roslyn Retreat Center in Richmond, Virginia. It is a beautiful property. I awoke our first morning there and felt as though I'd awoken in a Jane Austen novel. If I didn't have to attend Mass, I'm pretty sure I would've gotten lost among the fog and hills. 

In the evening we relaxed and shared stories. We sipped wine, snacked on cheese and sweet treats, and played Bingo. We also raised money via silent auctions and raffles for the seminarians of the Archdiocese for Military Services. We were able to truly witness how amazing we are and how God works through all of us. 

Baby's First Birthday Pictures

Ellena marked her first birthday last April, but in June we took our baby's first birthday pictures because the weather was finally warm enough to capture what I had envisioned. 

When we announced we'd be having a baby girl we went to Lake Barcis in Italy and posed on a dock there, so I was hoping to include similar elements in her first birthday pictures, with the idea to sort of recreate this photograph every year until she turns 18 (or for as long as she'll willingly cooperate ha, ha, ha!)

We took her to this gorgeous park we discovered aptly called Newport News Park,  located in Newport News, Virginia. It's a huge park with many things to do, and it happened to have a little bridge which was the perfect setting  for this shot. If you're ever in the Hampton Roads area of southern Virginia, do check out this park, for a nice day out.

I know I've said this before, but I still smile, when I use the phrase, "my daughter", in a sentence. It's so surreal, sometimes, because I really thought I was done having babies and I was so happy to be a "boy mom". My boys are such a joy, and they keep me on my toes, and have showed me sides to myself I don't think I would've discovered if I'd only had girls. However having a daughter after two boys is something of a wonder. We're all in love with her and totally captivated by her. 

I took photos of Ellena wearing a bow, and one of the birthday hats I made. You can read about her birthday hat in my post titled, How to Make a First Birthday Party Hat

I found the dress she wore in a consignment shop, here is a similar dress. I'm pretty sure it's a ballet dress. Under she wore a pair of ruffle bloomers and gold sandals. We accessorized her outfit with a pink bow and a giant balloon. 

Boho Themed Baptism

Ellena was baptized into the Catholic Church on a lovely Sunday morning, on the feast day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, at our little military chapel.  The day blossomed into a perfect warm summer day, full of sunshine and blue skies. After we came home for a boho themed baptism luncheon.

Scroll down to the bottom of this post, for links and things...

After her baptism, we came home for a lovely and simple bohemian themed lunch. You know I love a theme, so I decorated our dining area with dream catchers I made using doilies and ribbon.All the ladies wore flower crowns I made and after lunch, we dined on a delicious homemade (from scratch) vanilla bean cake "naked" cake I made. I'm so not a baker, but I do try.The cake recipe I used can be found here: Vanilla Naked Cake. Do add the fresh raspberries... it's sooo good. I decorated the cake with fresh roses and peonies.Directions on how to make a flower crown can be found here, or you can always buy a flower crown. This is a cake stand similar to my rustic live edge serving platter I really like these dream catchers. Had I seen these prior to making my own, I totally would've bought these instead. This one has gold dipped feathers just like the ones I made. These come in a four pack! Seriously! I could've saved some cash! I purchased this rustic cake topper from the Etsy shop, Seaside Sass. These glitter ones are cool too and they come in a bunch of different colors!

Shop this post... <3

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Picking At My Creative Scab - Is this Writer's Block?

I don't know how long it's been since I've had a story idea. A real one... The kind of idea that keeps picking at the creative scab in my brain. Some would call this writer's block. 

 

The last time I remember writing anything remotely creative I was definitely in Italy and definitely not pregnant.

 

When I became pregnant, I was pretty busy, and I had the kind of morning sickness that lasted all the time.

 

Then we moved here and my main focus was keeping my kids alive and trying to give them some sense of a cool, calm, home life... doing this with a new baby was exhausting. I was mentally and physically exhausted, so my creative outlet this year was basically crafts. 

 

Is this writer's block? Maybe, except I don't really entertain the idea of writer's block. I like to think that I haven't had any good story ideas because I've not been watering that part of my brain.

 

The part of me that writes has been a desert.

 

That is until about a month and a half ago when there before me appeared a mirage. 

I had a glimmer of an image. A tiny spark, much like the grain of sand the Queen of Fantasia showed Bastian at the end of The Never Ending Story.

 

This glimmer is a Polaroid photograph now. A little faded around the edges, but so clear and tangible. 

I need to work it. Water this idea, till it sprouts some leaves, and grows.

 

So far...

 

I have the beginning of how I think this story should begin, but I'm at a loss for a middle and the end is nowhere in my sights.

 

I think I'll keep on picking at this scab, much like I imagine Bastian continues to make wishes to grow a more magnificent Fantasia.

 

 

How to Make a Cappuccino Without a Machine

Do you wake up excited because it means you get to have coffee? I know I do. I love coffee. One of the things I miss about living in Italy is a really good cappuccino. Not having a cappuccino or a milk frother doohickey to make a cappuccino I had to get creative. You know what they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”, we’ll I needed a cappuccino one morning last winter and this was how  I discovered I could make a cappuccino without a machine.Mind blown right?All you need to make a cappuccino simply and easily without a machine or other contraption is a blender. Heck, you could probably even use a bottle for safe for warm beverages and then shake it REALLY HARD!

Here’s how to make a cappuccino without a machine:

 1. Make your espresso. I use a moka pot.2. Warm your milk (microwave or stove top is fine). I like to use 1/2 2% milk and 1/2 whole milk for a cappuccino, but you can use whatever milk you like.3. Put warm milk in blender for 30 seconds to no more than a minute. The Vitamix is great for this sort of thing because it actually creates heat when it's on high, so I don't need to worry about my milk getting too cold.4. Pour espresso into bottom of your mug. (FYI... It's really hard to take a picture of yourself pouring coffee, while simultaneously trying not to burn yourself.)5. Pour milk. Use a spatula a to gently scoop the froth into your mug.6. Sprinkle your cappuccino with cocoa powder (optional)7. Sweeten to taste and enjoy.Note - You can mix your coffee and sugar and then froth but the level of frothiness won’t be the same.

How to Make a First Birthday Party Hat

For Ellena's first birthday I made her a cute party hat. Technically I made her two, one for her simple first birthday celebration and another one with a bit more pizazz for her first birthday photos. I plan on taking her pictures just as soon as Spring decides to show its face for more than a day here in Virginia.I considered purchasing a party hat for Ellena's first birthday from Etsy. I certainly saw some pretty ones, but since we weren't throwing her a party I wanted to make her something and the hat was the perfect thing.

How to make a first birthday party hat:

Gather your supplies:

• You'll need some heavy card stock 1-2 sheets.
• Glue (I prefer a glue gun for this project )
• Whatever you wish to embellish your hat with. I used ribbon and washi-tape.
• An elastic to go around baby's head. I used an old bow of the baby's.
• scissors
• ruler
• pencil
• cake plate
• perhaps a stapler or other fasteners

Trace a half circle using the plate.Mark the center bottom of the half circle (the flat side).From the center point, draw a 45 degree angle. Then going back to the center point, draw what looks like an upper lip. You can also omit this step by downloading a template - you can find them via a Google search. I developed this DIY with inspiration from this very helpful Youtube video, "How to Make Petite Party Hats", by Fancy Free. It's a great video and if you'd like some more visuals I highly recommend it.Next assemble your hat topper. For the first hat I made Ellena I used a premade gift ribbon I bought at Target. For the second hat I made one by wrapping ribbon on to itself that was roughly about 1 1/2 to inches long. then I gathered the ends and stapled them together.I covered the staples with gold glitter washi tape.Next cut out the outline of the hat.Glue your hat topper to the part with the "lip shaped" cutout.Next fold your hat into the cone shape and glue the edges.Once your hat is assembled, embellish your hat to your heart's content! I wrapped the hat in washi-tape! It was not sticking to well to the glitter paper so I had to glue some of it down. Then I wrapped the bottom of the hat in gold ribbon to match the top. I used the gold-glitter washi tape to form the number one.Finally, attach your elastic. If you don't have a baby bow, you can order some here, or even use a piece of an old panty-hose.On the first hat I made I created the number one by cutting out one I hand drew onto card stock.

Ellena's Simple First Birthday Celebration

My baby girl is a year old! I decided on a simple first birthday celebration for Ellena because she’ll be baptized this summer and we’ll have family and her daddy here to really celebrate in a much bigger way. Pope Francis says we should celebrate the day we're baptized like our birthdays and I love this idea and have begun to mark the days we were baptized in my own family. Though this celebration was a small and sweet much like our little girl; the simplicity of this first birthday celebration in no way mirrors the vast amount of joy and blessings we’ve felt since she’s joined our lives. In many ways I feel like I’ve blinked. With her father overseas this last year it’s also felt very long. It’s funny how time can feel that way isn’t it? She’s brought so much happiness into our lives, my only wish is that he would’ve been able to share in the many wonderful moment’s we’ve had with her in person. As hard as this year has been for all of us, I know it’s been doubly hard for him to have been away.  Thankfully, with God’s grace, he’ll be home soon making many wonderful memories.Yesterday Ellena and I spent a few hours visiting local bakeries in search of the perfect birthday cupcake. We brought home several for her brothers to sample and vote on the best. I placed them all on a pink cake stand to create her birthday "cake".Ellena's cupcake was a strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream. It was delicious! I'm glad I bought two in that flavor (just in case!).Though she didn't gobble it up as I expected her to. She sampled the frosting and kept making a few (oh so cute) faces. I think it was actually too sweet for her little taste buds. She hasn't had many overly sugary foods yet besides a taste of some ice cream and chocolate.I kept the decorations minimal for this simple first birthday celebration. The happy birthday banner, gifts, "one" cake sign, and her homemade party hat were it. So easy. Keeping the focus on how blessed we feel to have her here with us.Isn't this picture sweet. Ellena has some amazing big brothers. She's one lucky girl! They shower her with so much attention and affection, and often remark, how having a baby sister is so great. This really fills my heart with joy to know they love her so much.We all made wishes for her when we blew out her birthday candle. My biggest wish is that she grows up to be brave and kind. Brave because I hope she's unafraid to go after her dreams and the challenges that life will throw at her. Kind to always remember to treat everyone she encounters with respect, and dignity. To have humility and compassion for all.I still pinch myself sometimes. I never really felt like I was through having children, but we'd waited so long (nearly 9 years) before she came along, that I honestly thought this season of our lives was over. I'd already been blessed with two amazing and beautiful boys. To think that I now have a teenager, and pre-teen and a toddler still blows my mind, but it really is rather splendid. I'd have another if I could.You can see how I made Ellena's cute First Birthday Party Hat here.