Birthday Week {PHFR}

~PRETTY~

Trees are budding, plants are sprouting and berries are ripe and red on our holly tree.  I learned that the word Lent is from an Old English word meaning Springtime.  How appropriate that nature also knows it's Lent!

~HAPPY~

My son, ZJ, and I shared a moment together over chips and salsa at his favorite Mexican restaurant for his birthday lunch.   He couldn't make me any happier!

My sister and brother-in-law suffered through many an early morning wake-up call from their three adoring fans during the past week's visit.  Mornings are so much more fun when Auntie is in town!

~FUNNY~

Despite the solemnity of observing Ash Wednesday yesterday, nature did not show much restraint and sent us the most beautiful sunshiny day we've had in a while.  I also received my favorite magazine in the mailbox, Phylis Hoffman's Celebrate.  It was the Easter issue and I had high hopes of sipping some afternoon coffee, soaking in the sunshine and paging through this visual feast.  However...

I wasn't the only one who wanted to spend some free time on the deck.  I never did get around to opening that magazine!

~REAL~

Phew!  I have baked up a storm in the past week!  Here's the rundown of what we made:

1.  Red Velvet Heart Cake with Cream Cheese frosting for Valentine's Day

2.  Apple Pie for RW's 10th birthday

3.  Brownies for ZJ's 9th birthday

4.  Raspberry Poke Cake for RW's birthday party

5. Chocolate cake with Chocolate Buttercream frosting for ZJ's birthday

6. Chocolate Truffle Tarts for Baking With Julia Bake-along.

This week I'm letting the Girl Scouts make dessert!

Despite all the baking we kept the parties ultra simple.  Each boy only invited four friends over for outdoor sports, indoor games followed by pizza and cake.  Three hours for each party and done!  After this wild week of celebrating we are all satisfactorily exhausted and grateful for nights without obligations so we can enjoy the weather and get into bed early.  

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Birthday Week {PHFR}

Chocolate Truffle Tarts {Baking With Julia}

Instead of six mini tartlets I made one large chocolate tart simply because I only have one large tart pan.  Even though there were several steps in making this recipe, overall I thought it was easy to make.  Studded with chunks of white chocolate, milk chocolate and crumbled cookies (I successfully substituted Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies for the biscotti due to nut allergies), this elegant dessert tastes like a very sophisticated brownie.  Pop over here to get the entire recipe for yourself!

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Chocolate Truffle Tarts {Baking With Julia}

The Day After Valentine's Day {PHFR}

~PRETTY~

75% off flowers at the grocery store the day after Valentine's Day = Hello Daisy! 

~HAPPY~

Another great thing about the day after Valentine's Day is that it marks the day that I first held a son in my arms ten years ago.  Happy Birthday RW!  I never would have imagined that you would grow up to be so witty, funny, cuddly and fast.  I also would never have imagined a child requesting an apple pie instead of a cake for birthdays but I am happy to oblige!  Dad and I love you the world!

~FUNNY~

KC has discovered the deliciousness of a "'tella sandwich" aka Nutella sandwich.  One slice of bread folded over a swipe of chocolate-hazelnut spread which he only eats from the middle out to the crust (thus the mile wide chocolate evidence on his face).  Doesn't it make you happy to see your little ones munching on something they love?

~REAL~

Lately I feel like I am living in a scene from the movie The Birds.  At various times of the day the sounds of hundreds of squawking blackbirds penetrate even closed windows so loudly that I am drawn to look outside to see what is going on.  Either the entire flock of birds has perched high above in the tippy tops of our trees or they have descended en masse  onto the lawn, pecking at the ground for their latest meal.  I tried to sneak up to snap a photo and scared them into flight.  As long as they stay in the trees and out of my house we'll get along just fine.

The Day After Valentine's Day {PHFR}

iPhone Camera Creativity

Have you ever tried to use your camera phone to take artistic photos?  I have been surprised at how interesting the photos can be using such a small camera.  Try getting in closer to your subject than you would normally ever do.  Allow the camera to refocus itself on the small object and snap yourself a surprise.

In the photos above, I followed the prompts from Liz Lamoreux as part of the Create Space on-line class I am taking.  She suggested we take our cameras on a creative walk and find something tiny, fading, surprising etc...  I was surprised to see a baby bud on the branch of our maple tree.  My son's baby face peach fuzz lit up in the light through the living room window while we watched Thomas the Train together. I caught the reflection of my iPhone in my sunglasses while waiting in the school drive up line.  Down on my knees in the mulch, a mini universe appeared in the moss along the air conditioning unit.  In our front yard a fading camellia flower drooped sweetly on the evergreen branches.  In the evening light of the lamp, my son and I snuggled together on the sofa, exhausted after three hours spent in the walk-in clinic that afternoon.  

When I am short on time to sit with my paints or to write in my journals, taking a photograph which captures an emotion as well as an image fills my creative tank in a new and simple way.   Being able to share the photos on Instagram is a way of connecting with a creative community and being inspired at the way others see the world through the lens of their cameras.

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iPhone Camera Creativity

Italian Date Night {Menu Plan Monday}

A rarity in our lives, my husband and I actually went out to dinner without our three sons on Saturday night!  Our school has begun a new Parents' Night Out Movie and Pizza party once a month.  The kids bring their sleeping bags and settle in to watch a movie in the school cafeteria complete with popcorn, pizza and their friends' company.  This past weekend the movie was Dolphin Tale and my sons loved it so much they want to watch it again as a family.

This Saturday we were craving pasta so we went to a little local shop that was made famous when Guy Fieri stopped in to sample the legendary stuffed meatballs.   The owner is a native of Naples, Italy and is actually more of a pastry chef than a cook.  We started off with a bowl of giant, fresh mussels in a garlic wine broth.  I could have been finished eating right there they were so delicious.  The beautiful coffees and a slice of chocolate dipped raspberry and lobster cream cake was a sweet ending to a lovely, snowy evening.  It was an early Valentine's Day treat for us.

Since our family has moved several times in the past decade, we rarely take the time to locate a babysitter.  However, one of my new year's resolutions this year is to make a point to at least have one date night a month with my husband of nearly 15 years.  At this busy stage in our lives and with how often he travels, we can go weeks without having time to sit alone together and really discuss the direction of our lives.  We both recognize that so little time for us can potentially create an emotional distance and thankfully, neither one of us wants that!

THE MENU THIS WEEK:

MONDAY~ Spaghetti Amatraciana  with steamed green beans (never did make this last week!)

TUESDAY (Valentine's Day) ~ LO spaghetti and Red Velvet heart-shaped cake

WEDNESDAY (RW's 10th Bday)~ Stuffed Green Peppers and easiest apple pie

THURSDAY~ OUT to celebrate boys' birthdays

FRIDAY(ZJ's 9th Bday)~ Paulie's Salmon and garlic mashed potatoes

SATURDAY~ OUT Basketball team party

SUNDAY~ Pizza for Boys' birthday party

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Italian Date Night {Menu Plan Monday}

Worth a Read

Happy Sunday.  May I send you over to Elizabeth's to read her personal story of dealing with pregnancy, cancer and how the Tim Tebow bill has put her family in the New York Times?  It is well worth the read.

Weekend Clicking @ In the Heart of my Home

Worth a Read

My Prayer Corner ~ A Sacred Space

Do you have a collection of items that have special meaning to you?  Are they scattered to various shelves, drawers and tables throughout your home?  Part of our homework for the Create Space on-line retreat this weekend was to gather our meaningful, inspirational items and put them all on one location which we could call our sacred space.  Liz recommended a few basic items to get us started: a cloth to cover the table, a candle, bits of nature, a photo, artwork and anything else that held soulful meaning to us.  Here is what I hunted and gathered to create my little prayer corner in our master bedroom.

The illustration of the woman on the beach is by Becky Kelly, one of my favorite artists, the nest symbolizes my three sons and, of course, Holy Mother Mary holding baby Jesus, embodying my highest calling ~ gentle motherhood.  I received the icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the mail and thought it was particularly beautiful even though I don't know much about the meaning behind it.

An icon of the holy family my sister brought me back from Greece, a Peaceful candle which represents my soul's greatest desire, blue glass bottle with Faith jewel from my best friend years ago, and a small silver bowl I received after attending the house blessing ceremony at our friend's  home.

The large seashell reminds me the ocean nearby and my rosary looked like the pearl inside the shell.  I am always drawn to crosses and have several around the house.  I moved this beaded one to my altar space because it is so colorful and signifies the need for creativity and beauty in my life.

My favorite thing about this sacred space is the pouf I found at Tar-jay.  It is so comfortable and allows me to sit with my feet crossed in front of me yogi style without my legs falling asleep!  

The table I used is actually an old pressed wood shelf so there is a second shelf underneath.  I decided to place my Bible, rosary guide, prayer journal and whatever book I am reading for spiritual inspiration.  Right now it is The Jesuit's Guide To Almost Everything by James Martin, SJ.  The book is such easy, conversational reading and is a good starting place if you have ever been interested in taking up the practice called The Examen.  Here is the basic formula for the daily practice:

1. Become aware of God’s presence.

2. Review the day with gratitude.

3. Pay attention to your emotions.

4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.

5. Look toward tomorrow.

(From Ignatianspirituality.com)

Doesn't that seem like an appropriate way to spend some time in one's sacred space?  I think I will make an effort to at least do this when I have time to sit on my pouf!

The little corner by my side of the bed now feels like my own private world ~ a tiny spot just for me.  (Although I will admit that my boys also love my pouf and have tried to use for everything from a giant beach ball to an exercise ball.  I finally had to make it off limits unless the user is actually sitting on it!)

Even a candle set in a place just for you to enjoy can become your own private altar. I have this candle beside my computer.  I light it in the morning and it makes my blogging time seem like a holy practice of reflection and love.  Maybe over the next few days you'll come upon small items that you wish to bring together, to set aside intentionally for your reflection and to light your own candle in honor of your loving Creator and His beloved creation. 

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My Prayer Corner ~ A Sacred Space

Little Giant {This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


{moments of grace} @ Suscipio

Little Giant {This Moment}

A Love Note {52 Photos}

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A Love Note {52 Photos}

Sunsets and Emergency Rooms {PHFR}

~PRETTY~

The sunsets lately have been spectacular ~ big strokes of fiery orange or delicate pink and purple swirls.  As I drive the boys to their evening basketball practices I have been known to swerve wildly off the road to capture the spectacle on my cellphone such as this moment above.  (Picture my boys sighing deeply in the backseat anxious just to get. to. practice. already!)

~HAPPY~

Can I just tell you how blissfully peaceful Liz Lamoreux's blog has been for me in the past two months?  So much so that in light of my word of the year - create - I took a leap of faith and signed up for her Create Space on-line retreat.  It runs for the next five weeks and has already blessed me deeply.  This is a doodle I did in anticipation of the opening ceremony on Sunday.  (Tomorrow's post will feature our first week's assignment which was to create a sacred space in our homes so stop back to see mine.)

~FUNNY~

I must be 39 years old or something because I have noticed a slow decline in my vision over the past year.  This week I was reduced to wearing these magnifying reading glasses while reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown.  No matter how cute they may be, they reminded me of my Grandmother and I had to chuckle to myself about this crazy process of turning into old people a little bit more everyday.    

~REAL~

We spent a long, long evening in the ER on Thursday.  KC (in the red) slipped horrendously while goofing in the bathtub and I thought he may have fractured his femur.  He absolutely refused to walk on it for the four hours we endured in the ultra-boring and ultra-busy ER.  My husband arrived directly from the airport and held my hand as we worried about growth plates, casts, not being able to walk etc... 

 Luckily for all of us, the x-rays turned out fine and lo and behold...

he walked out of the ER at 11:00pm.  Thanks be to GOD!

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Sunsets and Emergency Rooms {PHFR}

KC and Me {Wordless Wednesday}

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Wordless Wednesday

KC and Me {Wordless Wednesday}