As my fourth baby has learned to crawl over the past few weeks, I watch her launch out across the living room to grab toys and explore. After scurrying several feet away, she will turn her head back to where I sit cross-legged on the floor and return to me, climbing into my lap to rest her head on my chest or pat my cheek with her chubby palm before going on her next tiny adventure across the … [Read more...]
Why Mary Has to Hold the Cards: Thoughts on the Annunciation, Assault, and Free Will
In Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Annunciation, we see the angel Gabriel visiting Mary in her bedroom. He stands tall while she shrinks back on her bed. Her face is difficult to read. Is she deep in thought? Or is she paralyzed by fear? The image is deeply unsettling and it’s hard to ignore the fact that it looks like we are witnessing an assault on a young girl. This is problematic on so many … [Read more...]
Our Lady, Stella Maris….Over at To The Heights
I'm over at Olivia's lovely blog, To the Heights chatting about Our Lady while Olivia enjoys sweet moments with her new little one! "Star of the Sea, or the Latin version of the title, Stella Maris, speaks to the idea that Our Lady is a sparkling light of hope for Christians. Our Living Hope, Christ Our Lord, is made flesh through her. But her role as a channel of God’s grace is … [Read more...]
A Mother’s Love, A Mother’s Fear
It was the night that we brought our firstborn home from the hospital and I was crying like my heart would break. I had a wonderful natural birth, no complications, and a beautiful healthy baby boy. Everything was perfect. Then a storm rolled in. Not a soothing rainstorm, one of those eerie, harsh Texas storms that turn the sky an odd, unsettling color. Our front door was blown open with a bang … [Read more...]
Getting to Know Mary (And a GIVEAWAY from Trendy Traditions! NOW CLOSED)
Daniel and I both agree that getting to know the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most grace-filled aspects of our conversion to Catholicism. It was not so long ago that the idea was absolutely unfamiliar to me. I grew up in the Protestant tradition which, in my experience, completely ignored the Mother of God except during Christmas time when we were sure to mention that she was “just a regular … [Read more...]
January 2012 Reads
Now that we're really settled into life with two kids, my sleep-deprived mind is getting back into the swing of reading for pleasure. In January I finally finished Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. It was a beautiful clothbound Penguin edition, see? I am more than mildly obsessed with these Penguin editions and my wonderful in-laws gifted me several for my birthday last year. Can't imagine a … [Read more...]
