20 years of the Pottery Tour

Last weekend, Mother's Day weekend, was the 20th year for the Pottery Tour. We have gone to it the past 7 years or so and it always proves to be a fun time. Only 45 minutes north on 35E from us, there are about 5 farms that host many different potters' art work from MN as well as many other states. This was the first year Faustina will probably remember it and she seemed to appreciate the art and, thankfully (!), she was careful with it as she looked at it. It was a gorgeous day. Bob Briscoe is probably the biggest display and they have an amazing array of delicious foods to eat for everyone, a keg of beer, and a band playing. He probably is my favorite potter. Everyone loves to see babies, so of course Benedict was a hit. And Faustina arrived sporting her dance outfit which cannot help but catch a person's eye since it is bright yellow!

Here we are at Will Swanson's farm (he is the potter sitting on the bench with Faustina and Jude). He always has little rabbits and animals for the kids to pet.

Here are a few pieces we got. We needed a few more bowls.

And then my hot pads were getting pretty grungy, so we knew we would get a lot of use out of this trivet.

Good Friday

As our family gets older, more and more traditions are being established. It is most certainly one of the greatest joys of parenthood to see our young, very young, kids learn about their faith and internalize it.

Today we spent a good amount of the day at church between morning prayers, confessions, and the Good Friday prayer service.

We also attended the prayer vigil at the new Planned Parenthood. It was a peaceful prayer vigil with meditations interspersed as people walked around praying and many many people praying the rosary. I was overjoyed at how many young people were there and involved, there were more young people than older people there.



Jude was tired by the end. He is not sleeping, he just wanted some quiet time. :)

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

Last weekend we all went to a pumpkin patch. We went on a hay ride and picked out some pumpkins for the season. Jude got his faced painted, and Faustina declined.

New Christmas tradition

For a couple years in a row now we have been getting a package in the mail from my relatives in Michigan. This special package has precious loot inside: Polish sausage! Not just any Polish sausage, mind you. This is the best Polish Kielbasa sausage obtainable in North America. And yes, I do have a significant amount of Polock in my blood... long live the Poles!

Faustina loves this sausage so much-she becomes a carnivore when we have it. Kid just chows it down. Mirabile visu.

So, on Christmas eve we snack on this sacred sausage and decorate the Christmas tree. Cynthia also makes Grandma Gail's special dinner rolls which are also excellent. It is a relaxing and fun day. We have now decided to do this every year. We also got dumped on by the snow this year so it was fun to go outside. I wrote about this here.

We have also been making egg-rolls with our friends Andy and Ruthie during the Christmas "break." We have breakfast, then we pack and roll up quite a few egg-rolls and cook them in... grease! They are really good. We are slated to do it this Thursday morning after breakfast. Nice!

Churches around the midwest

During out roadtrip through Michigan, we took to stopping and checking out the churches in the small towns. It is fascinating to see all the different architecture and art. Whenever we were in a small town we had eagle eyes out for a cross or Catholic churches. I'm confident this hobby will continue as we go on more roadtrips. I told Mike he could write a book about churches throughout the U.S. (and he is a talented writer so he really could if he wanted to)! We also stopped at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadelupe in La Crosse WI. This Shrine was quite impressive and we would be excited to go there again. They have a mini little pilgrimage/walk up to the main church with smaller statues and dedications along the way. We also stopped in Indian River, MI where the world's largest crucifix is. And it WAS quite big; the cross for the wood came from a redwood trees in California. There is much history, culture, beauty to be discovered in these churches and shrines.

Not 'too much' anymore

Right now we have a 5 foot crucifix against the wall in our basement. This absolutely beautiful crucifix has been in and out of our house over the years and will eventually go back to the Catholic Studies Department at St. Thomas. It is a large piece of art and can easily become a conversation piece when someone sees it in our small little house. People asked, "What are you going to do with it?", someone joked, "You should put it above your bed!", someone exclaimed, "That is huge!".

I am growing a special attachment to this crucifix. When Mike was gone and I was unable to go to our midnight hour of adoration, I made a mini little 'chapel' in our basement as I set up a kneeler in front of this crucifix. Years ago, maybe even one year ago, I would have said or thought, "Come on. This is too much. I don't need to kneel in front of a cross to pray. God is everywhere. This is overboard, too pious, too extreme. This is a bit silly for me to kneel in front of a 5 foot tall crucifix - it is almost bigger than me!"

Well, my thinking has changed. Images are important. Art is important. There is a grace present in these icons. Praying before this crucifix gives me the humble image of Jesus on the cross dying for my sins. He is real - here is his presence. When Mike and I were married, I was hesitant to let him decorate our house with icons, Catholic symbols, and other such religious art; now I love it. I realized that I was being a Christian...but I shyed away from a Christian culture. And this is a key realization for me: one ought not try to separate Christianity from culture. We are a Christian family, so naturally our house will reflect who we are and what we hold important. Of course we want visuals on our walls of the Lord, Mary, and the saints to be reminders for us to live good and holy lives as we strive for the kingdom of heaven.

I love going to the Cathedral because I sit in Church and marvel at the beautiful artwork and can say "Yes, this is who we are. This is a little taste of heaven.". I had the same feeling when I lived in Rome for a semester and visited the churches there. They truly have culture.

Divine Mercy Sunday - April 19th

Here's an image of the shrine in Krakow, Poland.

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us. I trust in You!

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
[recite three times, once for each member of the Holy Trinity]

Amen.

Christmas Eve Morning

New Traditions began with Faustina's first Christmas. We decorated the tree on Wednesday morning, ate the absolute BEST polish sausage from Michigan that Mike's relatives sent us and we luckily received on the 24th, Faustina opened a couple of her presents and we spent the morning enjoying each other.