As we await our home study completion, there is a particular grace of waiting with Him. In contrast to our first home study process, this process has moved much more quickly and I’m finding my heart is actually experiencing the invitation to slow down even more and just soak in the gift of this time. Our first home study experience was after 5 years of waiting for our family to grow. I found myself in haste, desiring for things to move more quickly than they were and hoping in Him and yet rushing His timing. He showed us that His timing is perfect (as it always is), He couldn’t and wouldn’t hurry along the conception and life of our Caeli girl and in fact she would come into the world more quickly and sooner than typical (24 weeks).

As I heard today’s Gospel and was praying about what to write today, I realized that I was much like St. Thomas (doubting Thomas) throughout our first adoption. Full of questions, not sure if I could really trust Him, and in turn He revealed so much of myself to me as I asked questions and He repeatedly encouraged me that He knew what He was doing and to relate back to Thomas, He is who He says He is and has the wounds to “prove” it. (Just a note that Jesus never has to prove anything to anyone but He does reveal parts of Himself in His love and mercy).

In His mercy, He could choose not to reveal Himself to those who doubt, let them suffer and die without knowing Him, and yet He reveals Himself time and time again, waiting for our response of receiving that He is who He says He is and is inviting us to let Him be who He is in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. In all of this, I am moved on Divine Mercy Sunday to recognize that He didn’t have to show His wounds to Thomas and could have gotten angry, rebuked Him, and asked Him to leave His followers. Instead He chose to reveal Himself, let St. Thomas touch the most tender parts of His now resurrected but still wounded body which helped him to see Jesus was really alive and well. That is love. Tender and merciful love.

Jesus knows what each of our hearts need, His Father crafted them! My prayer for all of us is that we would become disciples who believe without seeing (John 20:29). Have a blessed second week of Easter dear friends! ❤️

Know of our nightly prayer for you! +

Thanks for your patience in my writing! These past couple weeks have been stretching. Benny was gone for the week and our sweet cat, Raya (our ray of sunshine), who has been with us for over 15 years passed away. We know that all life comes to an end on Earth and we’re grateful to have been able to be with her in her final days just loving on her as a family! This experience of remaining with her brought me to prayer and asking the Lord what He is asking of me for this Holy Week. I think this invitation could be universal as we enter into the week in which Salvation Himself entered into suffering and death.

As our cat was slowing dying, I felt Jesus with me. That is one of His endless gifts, He can remain in the tension and reveal Himself in ways unique to our human hearts, He crafted them! The reality of the hard here and the hopes in your heart. There is something really sacred about the dying and death of His creation. I took a Death and Dying course in college and it was one of my favorites. I was reminded of my own mortality, not out of a place of fear or sadness, rather an invitation to live the life He has asked of us that we may die with Him having done all He asks of us. As I was reflecting on how we walked with Raya as she died, I was reminded of one of my favorite rotations in nursing school, hospice. There is something about remaining in and holding the space to die with dignity, peace, surrounded by love and for Christians, the Sacraments who send us on our way Home with ample grace. Things Jesus Christ did not have, who is the most deserving of all of those things. Peace, dignity, surrounded by love. He was spat on, starved, stripped, required to continually pick up His cross to carry it to His death, and then was nailed to a cross in order to die a brutal death. And yet, this is love. Real, sacrificial, life-giving love.

As you’ll read in the Gospel, Jesus Himself was moving through His final days with knowledge of what He would endure and yet… chose to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, have a final meal with His dear friends, choose to share His cup with the very man who would betray Him, and had the virtue of obedience to His Father’s will to keep saying “yes” to laying down His life as a completely blameless sacrifice. The men who vowed their lives to choose Him and live for Him, denied Him and in fact rooted for Him to die a brutal death. It is really sobering when we put ourselves in the shoes of those men. As we know the story doesn’t end here, but as we head into Holy Week, it is appropriate to spend time remaining in this reality in order to more fully experience the joy of His sacrificial love and resurrection.

The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem - James Tissot

Palm Sunday Gospel: Matthew 26:14—27:66

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity
to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."

While they were eating,
Jesus took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and giving it to his disciples said,
"Take and eat; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
"Drink from it, all of you,
for this is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed on behalf of many
for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it with you new
in the kingdom of my Father."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them,
"This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken,
for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed;
but after I have been raised up,
I shall go before you to Galilee."
Peter said to him in reply,
"Though all may have their faith in you shaken,
mine will never be."
Jesus said to him,
"Amen, I say to you,
this very night before the cock crows,
you will deny me three times."
Peter said to him,
"Even though I should have to die with you,
I will not deny you."
And all the disciples spoke likewise.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples,
"Sit here while I go over there and pray."
He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to feel sorrow and distress.
Then he said to them,
"My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch with me."
He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying,
"My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me;
yet, not as I will, but as you will."
When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep.
He said to Peter,
"So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?
Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again,
"My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass
without my drinking it, your will be done!"
Then he returned once more and found them asleep,
for they could not keep their eyes open.
He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time,
saying the same thing again.
Then he returned to his disciples and said to them,
"Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
Behold, the hour is at hand
when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.
Get up, let us go.
Look, my betrayer is at hand."

While he was still speaking,
Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived,
accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs,
who had come from the chief priests and the elders
of the people.
His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,
"The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him."
Immediately he went over to Jesus and said,
"Hail, Rabbi!" and he kissed him.
Jesus answered him,
"Friend, do what you have come for."
Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus
put his hand to his sword, drew it,
and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear.
Then Jesus said to him,
"Put your sword back into its sheath,
for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father
and he will not provide me at this moment
with more than twelve legions of angels?
But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled
which say that it must come to pass in this way?"
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds,
"Have you come out as against a robber,
with swords and clubs to seize me?
Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area,
yet you did not arrest me.
But all this has come to pass
that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled."
Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Those who had arrested Jesus led him away
to Caiaphas the high priest,
where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
Peter was following him at a distance
as far as the high priest's courtyard,
and going inside he sat down with the servants
to see the outcome.
The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin
kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus
in order to put him to death,
but they found none,
though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward who stated,
"This man said, 'I can destroy the temple of God
and within three days rebuild it.'"
The high priest rose and addressed him,
"Have you no answer?
What are these men testifying against you?"
But Jesus was silent.
Then the high priest said to him,
"I order you to tell us under oath before the living God
whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"You have said so.
But I tell you:
From now on you will see 'the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power'
and 'coming on the clouds of heaven.'"
Then the high priest tore his robes and said,
"He has blasphemed!
What further need have we of witnesses?
You have now heard the blasphemy;
what is your opinion?"
They said in reply,
"He deserves to die!"
Then they spat in his face and struck him,
while some slapped him, saying,
"Prophesy for us, Christ: who is it that struck you?"

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.
One of the maids came over to him and said,
"You too were with Jesus the Galilean."
But he denied it in front of everyone, saying,
"I do not know what you are talking about!"
As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him
and said to those who were there,
"This man was with Jesus the Nazorean."
Again he denied it with an oath,
"I do not know the man!"
A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter,
"Surely you too are one of them;
even your speech gives you away."
At that he began to curse and to swear,
"I do not know the man."
And immediately a cock crowed.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:
"Before the cock crows you will deny me three times."
He went out and began to weep bitterly.

When it was morning,
all the chief priests and the elders of the people
took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.
They bound him, led him away,
and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned,
deeply regretted what he had done.
He returned the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, saying,
"I have sinned in betraying innocent blood."
They said,
"What is that to us?
Look to it yourself."
Flinging the money into the temple,
he departed and went off and hanged himself.
The chief priests gathered up the money, but said,
"It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury,
for it is the price of blood."
After consultation, they used it to buy the potter's field
as a burial place for foreigners.
That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah
the prophet,
And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the value of a man with a price on his head,
a price set by some of the Israelites,
and they paid it out for the potter's field
just as the Lord had commanded me.

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus said, "You say so."
And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders,
he made no answer.
Then Pilate said to him,
"Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?"
But he did not answer him one word,
so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast
the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd
one prisoner whom they wished.
And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,
"Which one do you want me to release to you,
Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?"
For he knew that it was out of envy
that they had handed him over.
While he was still seated on the bench,
his wife sent him a message,
"Have nothing to do with that righteous man.
I suffered much in a dream today because of him."
The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds
to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.
The governor said to them in reply,
"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"
They answered, "Barabbas!"
Pilate said to them,
"Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?"
They all said,
"Let him be crucified!"
But he said,
"Why? What evil has he done?"
They only shouted the louder,
"Let him be crucified!"
When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,
but that a riot was breaking out instead,
he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,
saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood.
Look to it yourselves."
And the whole people said in reply,
"His blood be upon us and upon our children."
Then he released Barabbas to them,
but after he had Jesus scourged,
he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium
and gathered the whole cohort around him.
They stripped off his clothes
and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.
Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head,
and a reed in his right hand.
And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,
"Hail, King of the Jews!"
They spat upon him and took the reed
and kept striking him on the head.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him off to crucify him.

As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;
this man they pressed into service
to carry his cross.

And when they came to a place called Golgotha
—which means Place of the Skull —,
they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.
But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
After they had crucified him,
they divided his garments by casting lots;
then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,
one on his right and the other on his left.
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,
"You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself, if you are the Son of God,
and come down from the cross!"
Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,
"He saved others; he cannot save himself.
So he is the king of Israel!
Let him come down from the cross now,
and we will believe in him.
He trusted in God;
let him deliver him now if he wants him.
For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
The revolutionaries who were crucified with him
also kept abusing him in the same way.

From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
"This one is calling for Elijah."
Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;
he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed,
gave it to him to drink.
But the rest said,
"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him."
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.

And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,
and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,
they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake
and all that was happening, and they said,
"Truly, this was the Son of God!"
There were many women there, looking on from a distance,
who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.
Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph,
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening,
there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph,
who was himself a disciple of Jesus.
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;
then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.
Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen
and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock.
Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb
and departed.
But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

The next day, the one following the day of preparation,
the chief priests and the Pharisees
gathered before Pilate and said,
"Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said,
'After three days I will be raised up.'
Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day,
lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people,
'He has been raised from the dead.'
This last imposture would be worse than the first."
Pilate said to them,
"The guard is yours;
go, secure it as best you can."
So they went and secured the tomb
by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard.

There is so much in this Gospel. It recounts the final days of Christ's life and much of it is heavy and then it ends, abruptly, with securing His tomb out of fear and grasping that His disciples would make a mockery of the High Priests and Pharisees. As if the story ends there !

Now that you’ve read through it once. I encourage you to read through it again and before you do, ask the Lord to reveal to you where He wants you to remain with Him this week.

Remaining with Him is a muscle, one that requires constant choice of Him over self, of remaining docile to His speaking to you, and that will reveal His presence in all things. As He has invited me closer to Him, I recognize that in remaining with Him, He can reveal more of Himself which allows us to love Him more and in fact helps us to see what it is to be more like Him. As we can see, the more we are like Him, the more we experience love, which is laying down our life for others.

Jesus, we ask for the grace to love as you love, especially when it means laying down our lives. That is exactly where you desire to resurrect and make us more like you. Help us remain with You. We are weak and look everywhere but you. Keep our eyes on You. We love you and choose to remain with You this week.

Know of our nightly prayer for you! +

So good to be with you today! The sun was shining and I’m grateful to God for another day. Laetare Sunday (means “rejoice” and serves as a mid-way mark through Lent) snuck up on me this year, and in God’s fashion of loving me, He revealed it to me as soon as I was sharing with Him that I was sad to have my husband leave for a longer work trip. His gentle reminder that He hears our hearts, that we can be grateful for the gift of those He has gifted us, and there is a cause for joy in the midst of the call to penitence in the season of Lent.

For my weekly writing, I have been offering a reflection on the weekly Gospel since Lent started but this week a grace happened that I needed to share.

Much of my writing has been inspired by my waiting for motherhood and now motherhood. Likely because God broke open my heart by not letting my motherhood look how I planned. I say this with all sincerity, praise God for His breaking my heart. Truly. If He hadn’t, I would likely still be convincing myself of my own strength or grasping/trying to figure things out without Him. Also my life would be boring and unfulfilling! With all that said, I have experienced the Lord speak through my own motherhood to our daughter so much. This past week was particularly impactful for me.

Our girl is bright. She is full of life, curiosity, and joy. She is quite fierce in what she wants and will push the boundary to see how far it will go, which is typical of toddlers, I know. I also know it is developmentally normal to show physical aggression when she doesn’t have words for what she is feeling or experiencing. As a parent, I must guide that aggression and help give her boundaries and words as she learns how to live in the world and relate to others.

Our girl was aggressive to one of her little friends this past week and this was the first time I noticed her little gears turning that she actually hurt her friend in her aggression. Later that day, while she was coloring, she brought it up. She shared that she hurt her friend and in her own way shared the details about where, who, and how. My mama heart didn’t want her to dwell on this any longer than processing it and learning from it but I could see her processing and also watching for my reaction. Before I could think about it, as if the Holy Spirit just shared what I also needed to hear, “Honey, whenever you don’t know what to do, you run to mama. We’ll figure it out together, okay?” I know she is only 2 but she followed my words, I watched her take in the words. She looked down and then at me and smiled. It was in that moment that I realized just as I was telling my girl to run to me when she wasn’t sure what to do, Our Lady was reminding me that I should do the same thing with her.

I share this because this grace isn’t just for me. While Our Lady knows each of us intimately and understands the joys and sorrows of our hearts, she is a mother to all. You don’t have to be Catholic to run to Our Lady, who raised, loved, guided, and taught Jesus! I love to reflect on that reality. She would have changed Jesus’ diapers, taught him to walk alongside St. Joseph, and shopped in the market for the family’s table with Him.

My invitation for this week is to receive the reality that you are never alone more deeply. That God loves you more than you can ever know and He made Himself a mother who knows each of us and wants to help us as any mother would, especially in times of tenderness, questioning, or fear.

Know of our nightly prayers for you! +

We had a full weekend helping and learning the ropes of being a host couple for the Diocese in a pre-marriage weekend. It was a gift to be around so many beautiful couples anticipating marriage and reflect on that special time in our life. I can hardly believe we’ll be married 8 years this July! What an adventure life with Christ can be. This week’s Gospel is a bit longer so I am going to share and reflect on a portion of it.

Gospel Reading: John 4:5-42

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him,
“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘
you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in hima spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

First, I have to note that Jesus was “tired from His journey” and “sat down at the well”. Jesus has a human body that ascended into Heaven with His beating heart and wounded hands, feet, and side. It is something we cannot fully grasp in our human hearts and minds but to think about Jesus getting weary from a journey and needing to sit for some water is just so human. It is so simple and invites us to reflect that God, could have used a water bottle! Hah. What a joy it would be to share a cup of water with Him. In reality that is essentially what this woman was invited to do. She was fetching water at a time of day that no others would be because of her behavior and life choices, and yet Jesus came to have a drink of water with her. Oh, how this should encourage us that He meets us right where we are!

Secondly, I am struck by how the Samaritan woman is encountered by Christ Himself and she immediately returns with a question of His authority and intentions, instead of a receptive heart. It is reflective of her heart that has been wounded, hardened, and ostracized. We all have places in our hearts that have been wounded, hardened, and areas in which we feel ostracized and unwelcome, or maybe we feel like Jesus wouldn’t be welcome in some parts of our hearts. This is the reality of being human and He continues to reveal those parts of our hearts to us so that we can bring them back to Him over and over again. He does in fact want to be welcomed to each part of our hearts but He is a true gentleman who waits for our hearts to be invite Him in.

As I was praying with this specific part of the Gospel, I found myself grateful for the example of her words back to Him. She immediately has reasons that He couldn’t help her or she couldn’t engage with Him. She went to the roots of the relationship of Jews and Samaritans and then moved to the technical reality that the cistern is deep and He didn’t have a bucket for water. She questions His authority and frankly puts some walls up. It made me think, is this my demeanor when He reveals something to me or makes His presence known? It requires me to reflect on my posture when He says He wants to give me more and to notice my heart movements. He is so tender with her, He invites her to deeper conversation, reveals that He knows her more intimately than any of her 5 husbands ever have, all the while disregarding the doubt and consistent questioning she brings. Finally, (spoiler alert, if you don’t know the ending I would encourage you to go read it) she recognizes that He is the Messiah and then she goes and tells everyone that Christ is here. What a beautiful witness to the healing and power of Christ.

I pray for the graces of courage, zeal, and deep love for Christ to take root this week so that we may be as bold as the beautiful Samaritan woman who chose life with Christ.

Know of our nightly prayers for you! +

Happy Tuesday! Today was another beautiful day. Our family had our final home study meeting this today! It seemed a bit surreal and was indeed fun to chat with our case worker. Next, she writes a very long document about all of the things we have talked about and she submits it to the state for review and approval. Please keep praying for all those who are touched by adoption, specifically for all the birth families we will encounter. An important note about adoption is no one considering placing their child for adoption if things are going well. Typically, life is difficult and they are asking for help and support. Praise God for their humility, courage, and deep love! If you have any specific prayer requests we can carry throughout this experience, please comment or message me. We pray for this community every night! To continue the theme of the Lenten series, I’m happy to share some thoughts about this Sunday’s Gospel reading.

Second Sunday of Lent Gospel (3/1/2026): Matthew 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

First of all, being a friend of Jesus means we are brought to places He doesn’t necessarily bring others who aren’t a close friend of His. If we have experienced this intimacy in some way, it is a gift straight from Heaven because to be a close friend of His is a gift. There is prudence in His decision to bring His closest friends. Jesus has a human body, which means He also stewarded human relationships when He was on Earth and continues to with us here.

We each make up a unique part of the Body of Christ and in relationship with Him, He shows us and asks things of us that are specific to the ways in which we were crafted in the womb, making us more fully alive! Specifically, in the reading of the Transfiguration, we find that the Lord reveals Himself in His glory to His closest friends. Not because He was prideful and wanted to show off, He wanted to show them the glory the Father gives Him to prepare and strengthen them for the reality of His death that was necessary for the salvation of the world. He eludes to His death at the end of this reading by asking for their confidence regarding what they saw that day. I don’t get the sense that it is out of a place of secrecy/shame, rather a place of wisdom knowing the world wasn’t ready yet to receive His glory and trusting that the Father would reveal this at the appropriate time through His disciples.

My goodness, this experience would be such an interesting one to ponder as one of the disciples who saw this. To see Jesus in His glory and yet know He would eventually walk to His death on Earth, not knowing when or how. To have watched Him speak with two of the greatest figures of the Bible and yet not be able to share that you had seen them in the flesh. My pondering heart has so many questions for these great saints one day!

Secondly, I receive the way in which God the Father spoke over the disciples and Jesus in the midst of Peter saying “we could make a tent” very interesting. Peter wants to provide a space for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to remain. What a beautiful sentiment and yet Jesus doesn’t even get to answer Him before the Father comes to share Jesus’ authority and identity. I took this as a reminder that we cannot remain in the glorious state while here on Earth. The Lord has crafted our human hearts for this glorious state and to be in communion with one another and He offers a taste of it here on Earth but we cannot grasp at the glorious state or try to capture it in a bottle to cling to and open when we want it. We must seek Him first and He will provide the opportunities in which we experience His glory. The glory and light were so intense that it pierced the disciples to the point of fear of the Lord and to be prostrate. My prayer for us is that we have the same response one day when we meet Him!

Lastly, I love that the Lord came and touched them saying, “Rise and do not be afraid.” He touched them! How consoling. His tender touch that could literally move mountains. The touch that healed lepers, raised the DEAD, and yet wanted to let His beloved friends that all was well and He was with them. It is such a unique pondering to recognize that God became man and knows these gestures. He came to them and knew the movements of their hearts and knew a touch would be comforting. This is a reminder that the Lord knows our hearts. We hear this so often and yet how often do we truly relate to Him in this reality? God isn’t just out there somewhere watching us all play nice or not so nice, He dwells here within us and desires for us to bring our hearts back to Him over and over and over again!

My prayer for all of us this week is to be close friends of His. That He may invite us to experience what He wants to show us with receptive hearts, letting Him reveal the details and glory instead of grasping at the understanding of what we perceive. Maybe that feels too big for some of us, so if you want you could change that to a prayer to desire to be a close friend of His! He always meets us where we are.

May God Bless You! +

Happy 1st Sunday of Lent! I’ve been looking forward to the Lenten season as it has always been timely for our family to enter into a more intentional rhythm of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. It is wild to think that just 2 years ago at this time we were holding a baby that weighed 3 lbs, had a cute little nasal cannula in her nose for extra oxygen, and beginning our Lenten season by essentially living in the NICU. I’m getting weepy writing this because to think that our sweet Caeli is the same girl astounds me. The Lord is good and He always provides for us.

As I shared last week, I am writing a Lenten series throughout the season of Lent. As I was praying about what this could look like He reminded me that a friend shared she would love a simple reflection on the Sunday Gospel and I feel that may be appropriate for the series since pointing us back to Scripture will always bear great fruit. This week’s Gospel is about Jesus being tempted in the desert and I’m looking forward to sharing what stood out to me!

First Sunday of Lent Gospel: Matthew 4: 1-11

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you'“ and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him."

I’ll admit, I didn’t get very far into the Gospel before I had to stop and meditate on a couple things. First of all, the words, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted” are radical to me. Jesus, who is God, chose to let Himself be led. Friends, the King of the Universe, Jesus Christ, allowed for the love of God to lead Him away from familiarity and into the wilderness to be tempted. If we sit with this reality, it is quite stunning as it showcases the character of Christ in His meekness, heroic strength, and firm identity of who He is and who He belongs to, the Father. He was brought to the wilderness where He didn’t have his mom or dad, his friends or extended family to pray over, with, or for Him. And He chose this. He chose to let Himself be tempted and chose to fast in order to be able to resist the temptations. At this point, no one on Earth had knowledge of the Cross He would hang upon in love for us. In such a hidden way He chose love for us in this radical choice of letting Himself be led. That choice was a choice of love. That choice was a choice of virtue. That choice was a choice of pure self-gift. A choice we are invited to follow each moment of each of our days.

I found it really interesting that Matthew shares that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, that Jesus was famished, and THEN the tempter came to Him. This is great insight to the reality that Satan comes when we are at our weakest (which likely is no surprise to any of us). In that, only the Lord can allow Satan to come close to us and tempt us, and it is always for His glory and our good, not because He enjoys to see us suffer or wrestle but because He knows that when His children choose Him in love, it is a free, total, and fruitful choice instead of forcing their hands to love Him. I find this small note about Jesus being at His weakest and then God allowing the tempter to come to Jesus as an encouragement that the moments we feel the most temptation or difficulty in remaining or choosing virtue and love means that the Lord knows the very spot (as He has experienced it to the extreme) we are in and desires to come RIGHT where we feel our weakest and are struggling to choose virtue and love.

The next thing I want to point out is that the first thing that Satan attacks is the identity of Christ. I truly cannot remember if this was a grace He offered to me in prayer awhile back or if it was something I heard in a different reflection and I apologize for that since I would love to give appropriate credit! Nonetheless, it is an important reflection point. Satan starts with, “If you are the Son of God” before diving into any of the temptations. I have been reflecting on this reality and can tangibly see how it happens in my own life. I see through the lens of this season of life with the adoption process and living in ordinary days with my husband and our girl that when paired with Him become extraordinary. We are all tempted in this life and having knowledge of God, self, and the way the Devil works (without giving Him too much attention) is vital in the battle we all fight here on Earth for Heaven. In Matthew’s recounting Jesus’ temptation in the desert, He also offers a roadmap to knowing that as soon as we hear anything that makes us question or deny our identity as children of God, we can confidently rebuke that spirit in His name.

Within the vein of spiritual warfare, we see Jesus immediately turns to scripture and clings to it as He is tempted. And interestingly enough, Satan ALSO quotes scripture. That is also an important note that the Devil does know and believe in God and can in fact use the words of Life against us or try to twist them for his own glory. This reminds me that we must ask for the grace to know His voice as His sheep.

Lastly, this scripture ends on such a comforting note, “Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” As I pray with this I just imagine Jesus falling to His knees out of exhaustion, hunger for His Father’s grace and physical sustenance, and with having fought the battle against the evil one. There in His exhaustion, I imagine actual armies of angels coming in haste and waiting on Him, tending to His heart and body. What a beautiful image that we may not have been able to see with our eyes had we been there the day Jesus was tempted in the desert but to know that the angels knew what He was enduring and could come to wait on Him is a consolation that we are never alone.

Pick of the Week:

“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

We met Garret, the artist of this piece, Bread of Angels, while we were in Medjugorie in 2021. He has such a gift for capturing grace-filled moments and showcasing the beauty of God’s creation in his art and videography. I wanted to share this piece with you since it felt timely as we reflect on how Jesus handled the temptations in the desert in the Gospel this week.

Bread of Angels

Know of our nightly prayer for you! +

Happy Ash Wednesday! These past couple days have been filled with preparation for the season of Lent, family time, and the final days of our adoption raffle. As I was praying about what to write about from this past week, I realized that so much of my heart has been steeped in our daily life and this adoption fundraiser. God meets us right where we are. With that, my daily ordinary life has been full of duty (joyful nonetheless) and this past week had graces but none became clear to share. So I will be sharing a small update and letting this past week rest and receiving what the Lord has for this week!

An adoption update would be that we had our first home study on Monday! These home study visits are full of education, questions surrounding our marriage, child-rearing, community, and finances, and renewed joy for the gift of the call to adoption. Our case worker is feeling hopeful we could complete our home study in 2 visits since we’ve been through the process already! All of this to say, our hearts and home are shifting as our girl grows, our hearts grow in preparation for a new life, and our village grows as we invite more people into the journey of adoption.

As we look ahead to this next liturgical season and of life, I’m excited to share I’ll be writing more intentionally about the season of Lent. It has been on my heart to do a Lenten series and I’m not quite sure what that looks like yet, but I trust the Lord will offer the words before my next writing. My writing may still come out on Sundays but we’ve noticed needing a shift of my writing time from Sunday afternoon since that is primetime for our family to soak in time together or to be with those we love. That may seem like quite a few changes but when we grow, changes happen, and these changes allow for stretching and more space for new growth to take root.

We pray for this community nightly and we are grateful for your continued support! If you have any prayer intentions you’d like us to keep close in this Lenten season, please message me or comment below. You are so loved!

Just a girl who jumps in puddles

We begin our home study officially next Monday and are looking forward to beginning this part of the process. It has been so interesting to reflect on our hearts this adoption compared to our first adoption. There is more peace in our movements through paperwork and planning. I think seeing and loving the soul He ordained for us in our home (Miss Caeli) also affirms that our timeline is not His and that is in fact very good. So, what is this week’s grace? Honestly, it’s not glamorous and is pretty raw. For background, we put together this raffle we debuted online with over $6,000 in prizes! We continue to be amazed by the generosity and joy of those surrounding us and we had set a goal of raising at least $6,000 with this raffle since the prizes are so amazing. This number seemed approachable in our minds because when we debuted our donation page for our first adoption without any prizes we raised about $10,000- which is absolutely incredible and the generosity and beautiful hearts that have donated continue to amaze us!

As of today with this raffle, we have raised just over $3,000 which is AMAZING and honestly makes me excited that so many people will win a fun and beautiful basket since many of them still have no entries so chances for a win are HIGH. We have 6 days left in our raffle and Benny and I have been reflecting on the funds raised and fundraiser goal. I was telling Benny tonight while we were giving Caeli a bath that I didn’t know what this past week’s grace I was being called to share since I feel like there were many but were close to my heart. He looked at me and said, “I think it’s about the grace of being reliant.” That was it. I knew it immediately as soon as he said it out loud.

We live in a world where self-reliance and the ability to do what you want when you want is celebrated, I’d actually say idolized and grasped at. The Lord has invited our family to the reality that the desire to grow our family means the pregnancy of paperwork, labor of fundraising and contractions of hearing “not yet” or “this didn’t work” or “this isn’t enough money” which leads to a lot of hidden ‘yeses’ in our marriage and home life. Now, please do not take this the wrong way. I’m not here to complain because I trust that the Lord sees our hearts and desire to grow our family and will bless it. He in fact gifts us the joy of growing our family through adoption. It is a gift to be called to grow our family in this way. We are not ungrateful for the generosity of those who have already donated as businesses and individuals/families to support our adoption. That generosity is not lost or not enough in our hearts or minds.

I’m sharing all of this because it really is a gift to be reliant on Christ and therefore the Body of Christ. We make plans, He breaks them because He has better ones. We create a raffle to help us grow our family, He blesses it with those who are able to donate and gives us hope and peace that He will provide the finances to say “yes” to the baby He has prepared for our family. We think our home study will begin at the beginning of January, He changes the plan to the middle of February. We dream about what this next sweet soul looks like or where he or she will come from and also just put those dreams right back into His hands.

See, if we clung to the ideas we held in our own heads, we’d be miserable because clinging to anything but Him makes us miserable. I think a lot of us walk around miserable because the ideas or expectations we held are not being met and while there is a reality that the Lord loves us and wants to, can, and will fulfill our hearts, it isn’t because He is a vending machine where we press a button, pray a novena, or make the perfect plans that He loves and provides for us. He fulfills our hearts with Himself. The moment He isn’t enough, we have lost sight of the whole point. This is a big temptation in the world today, and particularly I think the feminine heart.

I remember when we tried to sell our house after we had been home with Caeli for a couple months because we realized that with my not working and in hopes of adopting many more children in the coming years it wasn’t sustainable to stay in our home. We went through the process of selling our home and we had an incredible team of people help us navigate this season, which was in fact difficult. And yet, the day we were about to say “yes” to our best offer, we asked for clarity from St. Joseph and immediately (literally a phone call within minutes) things fell through for our new place. We asked for guidance, shifted gears, stayed in our home and now have an incredible roommate that is an absolute delight and gift to share life with. We made these plans that prioritized our family being together and our dream of having more babies and He made a way to keep us in our current home. Would things be okay if we had moved, of course! Either way, our call to adoption requires us to remain reliant on Him. We all have these calls in our life that require us to remain reliant on Him. We can either choose to hear them and remain in the tension of living in the world but relying on Him, or we can live and rely on the world.

We cannot limit God. We cannot limit His goodness. I should say, we should not limit God. We should not limit His goodness. I usually don’t like using the word “should” but this feels like an appropriate time to use “should”. He in fact loves to love His children and when we let Him, it is amazing what He offers as the good Father that He is. It may not be the next day or even the next year. It may not be what we planned or hoped for and yet when it arrives in His timing, our hearts overflow because He knows who we are, how He made us, and what truly fulfills our hearts.

So friends, my whole point is that being reliant is in fact a much more adventurous, joyful, free, and life-giving journey with Him. Is it safe in the eyes of the world? Certainly not. Does it make sense? Definitely not always to our eyes or those around us. Yet, we can trust that if we cling to His voice and will, we can and will always find new life, joy, and hope. Praying this for you in whatever area of life you feel poor or most reliant on Him. This place of need is a great gift and I’d invite you to lean into it with the deep knowledge that He only has what is good for you in mind and will provide for you!

Pick of the Week:

I made up this recipe after some pinterest inspiration because if you know me I don’t follow recipes, I am inspired by them and then I measure with my heart and tastebuds. This would be an awesome summer salad but even in winter our family has been enjoying it.

BLT Pasta Salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 box of noodles (penne, macaroni, whatever you like. We use Gluten Free rice penne noodles)

• Mayo (about 1/2 cup)

• Apple cider vinegar (around 3 TBS)

• Minced Garlic (to taste)

• Salt/Pepper (to taste)

• Bacon (or any protein you’d like)

• Avocado (chopped)

  • Other options for toppings: Grape Tomatoes, Basil

Directions:

Cook the noodles and bacon. While the noodles and bacon are cooking, make the dressing by combining the mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Measure with your heart and by that I mean until the dressing is tasty and a dressing consistency. Chop the cooked bacon and fresh avocado up into small pieces and toss all ingredients (noodles, bacon, and avocado) in with the dressing. Seriously so good!

Know of our daily prayer for you. May God bless you! +

This week’s grace is about how our little acts as children of God please the Father and help the Body of Christ. Caeli and I were out shoveling after some snowfall in the brisk windy day. We were grateful for the sunshine, warm clothes, and each other’s company. Caeli has such a sweet temperament. She enjoys being with us wherever we are and typically wants to be involved in all we’re doing. When we’re shoveling, that means she is also shoveling in the ways she can. She also enjoys hearing the crunch of the snow under her boots and picking icicles off of our car to see how much snow she can pick up with it to eat. I learn so much from her pure, silly, and creative spirit.

By Caeli shoveling, I mean she is using her play kitchen pan or spatula to help scoop snow into either Ben’s or my shovel. For reference, her typical scoops of snow wouldn’t even fill my hand with snow! To someone who wasn’t willing to wait for her contribution, this may seem unimportant or a waste of time. How many of us are always seeking the most efficient, simplest, most comfortable way to do things? This girl will carefully grab snow from a snowbank and bring the snow right to wherever I am to put it into my shovel to make sure I can get it back to the snowbank. The first time she did this I paused and thought, this really doesn’t make sense because she is taking the snow out of the snowbank I put there just for me to push it back. And immediately, I felt the shift of grace and moved to, but this is how she is contributing and oh how it delights my mama heart to see her want to help and be with me.

I am convinced one of the greatest gifts we give our children is of course our faith, but secondly cultivating an environment where they desire and confidently choose to be included, part of the team, and with their family. This receiving of snow into my shovel may seem so small (the amount of snow and action) and yet Caeli contributes because she thrives when she knows she is part of the team.

The concepts of community, having a role within community, and utilizing the talents the Lord has given us have been a big part of my prayer lately. Something that I’ve recognized as a mother is that when I’m willing to wait to see what she has to contribute, I learn from her and even more about her. Many motherhood/parenthood blogs or books of advice will tell you all the things YOU need to do in order to keep your child “on track” “healthy” or to become a “thriving adult”. And for who’s standard? The world’s? I just am not interested in the world’s standards. If we are called to raise disciples of Christ, we must live as them. When I take the time to wait and see what she has to offer, no matter how “small” or “big”, I am always surprised at how the simplicity of a child’s heart and mind bring greater truth, beauty, and joy to the world.

“Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Matthew 19:13-14

Reflecting on my response to Caeli’s little snow contribution has brought me to prayer. He made it clear that I can confidently and with great joy bring my little shovel with the amount of snow I can handle in that moment right to the Father, who can handle the big piles of snow and He in fact doesn’t mind that I may be pulling from a pile He already cleaned up. If it isn’t for me to move, He’ll let me know. His love makes us confident in who we are because we know whose we are. I find myself so grateful for this grace because whenever I bring what I have made or prepared or done for Him, I know He delights because He is a good father. This also invites me to maintain a spirit of tenderness, mercy, and gratitude toward Caeli and future children in order that they know they can come as they are and with what they have to offer.

Much of how I parent was shaped and continues to be shaped by our Faith, faithful families in our life, the Saints’ witness, and a book titled “Hunt, Gather, Parent”. It is one of my favorite books- easy to read, not instructive in that one size of parenting fits each child, and it allows children to be children while also inviting them to be part of the family and community that thrives when each member contributes. It is interesting how this grace directly correlates to what is happening in our family’s life with growing our family through adoption again. We have to rely on others to help us grow our family. We cannot do it without the help of others and even if you feel like it is just a Caeli sized scoop of prayer, time, or financial assistance, it matters and oh how it brings us such joy to work together to meet this new life!

When I say we are grateful, I really mean it, to the point where words don’t really cut it. We pray for all of those who read my Substack and have and will contribute to our adoption journey through prayer, time, service, or financial assistance every night.

My husband and I have loved becoming parents and when we returned home from Florida with our daughter on oxygen in 2024, we looked at each other and said, “We’re excited to do this again.” I imagine this is the joy that comes from receiving the gift of life from the Lord. This posture wasn’t from a place of wanting to hurry through the moments with Caeli as she grew and healed. It came from a place of loving to love this little soul and knowing from walking with other families that love just multiplies as more souls enter your home and heart. It doesn’t necessarily “make sense” to the world and in fact that’s quite alright. We aren’t meant to make sense or fit in this world because this is just a temporary home for our bodies and souls. We are called to follow Him courageously, simply, and joyfully which shines light from Light Himself on the beauty of who He created us to be.

This week’s grace is quite simple and in fact most grace is. Simple yet profound. In praying about and talking through what a fundraiser may look like for our adoption, we were reminded of a beautiful friend who adopted their sweet boy just last year! They put together a beautiful online raffle of prizes and raised most of the cost for their adoption. Their family inspired us to try something similar for our second adoption.

In short, we’ve been calling and messaging local and small businesses to see if they are interested in supporting our adoption by donating an item/service/goods for us to raffle off. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and love that we have received. There have been businesses that I do not even finish my inquiry for support and they are already working on a gift card or figuring out how they can support us. What a gift! As I write this, we have over $5,000 in prizes for people to win and more businesses and individuals are interested each day! I’m in awe of the Body of Christ and their willingness to help us grow our family. We are excited that through the generosity of others, those who have supported and continue to support us in prayer and financially could be blessed with a prize or cash prize! My parents owned and operated a small business growing up so I know how impactful it can be to have your business shared and we’re hoping that this will bless the small businesses!

I share all of this out of a heart exploding with gratitude. We aren’t meant to carry crosses or move through hard or joyful things alone. Benny and I picked out a Bible verse for our first adoption process and decided to pray about which verse we are called to cling to for this adoption. In talking through which verse settles in our hearts, we landed on the following:

“Ah, my Lord God! You made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm; nothing is too difficult for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

Nothing is too difficult for Him. I love that reminder. No matter what season, suffering, joy, hope, or desire you are bringing to Him, nothing is too hard. We can praise Him amidst the trials and joys. He is trustworthy and good and nothing is too hard for Him, who created Heaven and Earth.

Sweet Caeli has been helping write Thank You cards

To our sweet baby, we do not know where you are or when you’’ll be born or who your birth family is, but we don’t need to know these things to love you. Our community joyfully anticipates your arrival, and most importantly, the Creator of All Things, rejoices in the life of your birth family and yours because He makes us good. Please keep praying for the birth families we will encounter and for our hearts to remain open as we answer this call. Additionally, please pray for an abundance of blessings over all those who have already donated and will donate to our fundraiser! If you are interested in staying updated on the fundraiser, please follow along here: Mahrer Adoption Raffle Fundraiser. If you don’t have Facebook, I don’t blame you- feel free to message me on Substack so I can share more details with you! The fundraiser will be debuted on February 1st and will end February 17th (Mardi Gras) before Lent begins!

Prayer Prompt:

One of the things the Lord is working on in my heart is asking for help. This fundraiser has been a great invitation to help grow that muscle!

• Ask the Lord this week where you may be relying on yourself instead of receiving someone’s help in carrying your cross or navigating a difficult time.

• Ask for the graces necessary to receive and trust that the Lord will provide exactly what you need to handle whatever it is that feels daunting or that you feel you need to do alone.

Know of our nightly prayer for each of you. May God bless you! +

As soon as I heard this week’s grace in my heart I knew it was what needed to be shared. I’m not sure for whom but as soon as I heard the Spirit’s nudge, I knew it was important to share.

Laundry is something everyone needs to do and maintain a level of moving forward in order that the whole house isn’t without underwear. Or is just us? Hah! It is something I try to do all on one day for the week, towels, sheets, clothes, and anything else that need a good wash. If I’m honest, I don’t mind the throwing of things into the washer or even taking them out and putting them into the dryer. I find that I enjoy that process since I’m grateful for our clothes and want them to be cared for and washed well. But I really do not love having to fold them and put them away. If you know me and/or ask my husband, I am a person who is happy to live out of the laundry basket and keep a pile of clothes in a corner to pick from. Do I love this for the sake of role modeling for our daughter? Not so much. So I’ve been slowly working on the muscle of as soon as the dryer is done and I can get to the clothes, I fold them and put them away. The ones I cannot or do not have time for, I leave on the bed so Benny and I can put them away when we can.

Our home is a split level, so our living room is our main floor and we have to go up or down for bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry. Last Monday I was working on our laundry and had emptied (and put away) a basket of our clothes- yay! I tend to leave things on the steps that go up or down depending where things belong so that whenever I go up or down next I can bring it with me to put away. My husband works from home (which is such a gift) and his office is right next to the laundry room. I left the basket on the steps to go down without thinking. Our girl had gone down for a nap and I was tidying things up a bit while she rested before I rested. I needed to come down a level and as I walked past the steps, I noted the laundry basket.

Now, I have an attentive husband. A husband who is aware of the happenings of our home and is willing to serve in all ways and provide in many ways. I’m grateful for his servant and thoughtful heart as it contributes SO much to our home and I love that Caeli experiences his loving father heart. As I noted the laundry basket, I thought, “Oh, Benny will be up for lunch soon so he can grab it when he goes back down.” And then I felt the nudge of the Spirit.

“He is providing for our family and I’m headed down the steps anyway.”

Then I heard Him say, “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” Clear as day. Not loud or in my face but with a firmness that pierced my heart.

It’s like Isaiah the Prophet spoke directly to me. This reference is from Isaiah 6:8 where God asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” and Isaiah immediately responds, “Here I am, send me!” I had not read this verse recently so it caused me to stop in my tracks as I heard Him speak so clearly into my heart at home.

You can imagine my next move. I picked up the basket joyfully and brought it downstairs to where it belongs. Convicted by the invitation to allow Him to use me and to be His servant. Not out of self-reliance or striving, but in love for our family and home, to steward the gifts He has offered well.

I have been home with our girl since she was 2 weeks old (with the first couple months in the NICU). Throughout my time being home, I have noticed that a big temptation at home and particularly in the feminine heart can be to rely on ourselves and then become resentful of what we do throughout the day and night for our families. Much of what we do and how we approach what is asked of us become the heartbeat of the home. This isn’t a posture of martyrdom or pride, it is quite literally the reality of being the one called to steward the home well. We are human which means we will have days in which the heartbeat may be volatile or hurried or not as peaceful because let’s be honest, we have humans hearts, and feminine human hearts at that! And yet, I am called to cling to Peace Himself in order that the peace of our home is not touched by the volatility of my own emotions because it is protected by His grace. If we let Him, He will totally saturate the day with His peace, joy, love, and grace. I am so grateful He called me higher in the bringing the basket down to the laundry room.

It sounds so simple. So small. So irrelevant. I imagine my husband would not have minded just throwing the basket in the laundry room. And yet, there was an invitation to do this small thing with great love because why not send me, Lord? I’ve been pondering on this moment since it happened as it brings me to one of my favorite St. Teresa of Calcutta’s quotes, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” I remember when I was finishing nursing school, I was nominated to give a speech at our pinning ceremony in which we commit to the profession and call of nursing. I started with, “I’ve always wanted to change the world.” While that can be an admirable desire, sure, if He isn’t calling me to change the world in some drastic way that my pride was thinking, I am in fact not in alignment with His will and call which will always cause unrest. I think I had always imagined my changing the world would be some major finding/innovation or writing a best-selling book that changes the hearts of many. At that time, I didn’t quite understand how the simplicity of loving our families and homes well could literally change the world by allowing the souls within our home to be nurtured, loved, and most importantly directed back to Christ Himself. This all changed when our Caeli girl came along, I was called to be home to care for our home, bodies, and souls which results in my call as wife and mother to be magnified.

You may have heard the family being a school of love. These are the moments in which the Lord is teaching me so that I can pass that along to our daughter. He is the headmaster of our school and Benny and I are learning every day from Him. He teaches us so much through our life and loving each other and our daughter. These small acts of love, whether seen or unseen change my posture into daughter which in turns allows for my femininity to flourish in my spousal and mother roles.

My prayer for all of us is to do the small things with great love as St. Teresa would ask us to. Not out of counting the cost or becoming martyrs where we never ask for help or take time to care for our hearts and bodies but out of recognizing the gift of the home and people we have the gift of loving and serving. Often times, it can be hardest to love the ones right in front of us every day. It can be simple, such as putting toothpaste on your spouse’s toothbrush, cleaning up the crumbs left on the counter, closing the cabinet door, or maybe just maybe bringing the laundry basket down to where it belongs even if it seems a bit out of the way for you in that moment. Send us, Lord!

Pick of the Week:

This pick for the week would be particularly interesting to any Christian women. I’m serious when I say any Christian woman in any season of life. Whether married, single, with children or no children, this course would be impactful. I recently started working through a course called Chaos to Order. The content is slowly released but is totally self-paced in that you can do things when you can. I’m finishing the first week which is all about the Doctrine of Being a Daughter. I think all of us could use a refresher (I love the deep dive she offers) into what it means to be Daughter of the King. She offered a significant discount code for this past round of the course in order that finances not be a barrier! I’ll be praying for those who may feel the call to start.

Know of our daily prayers for you! May God bless you! +

This week’s grace is particularly special to share because I have been praying for this grace for many years. But first, a little bit of backstory! I came into the Catholic Church my senior year of high school on the Feast of All Saints in 2013. Through my time at the local Catholic high school and many conversations with Benny (my boyfriend at the time) and dear faithful friends the Lord had shown me His radical love and His presence in the Eucharist. I chose St. Monica as my confirmation saint. She is best known as the mother of St. Augustine, a great Doctor of the Church, who lived a difficult life and yet when He chose Christ soared with grace and quickly became Bishop and grew to great heights of holiness. St. Monica’s fervent prayers and tears were not wasted and only by God’s grace did her son choose Christ. My heart behind choosing St. Monica was that I wanted for my family and those I love to choose Christ and to let Him be the compass of all things in their lives, and hopefully to join the Catholic Church so they may receive the gift of the Eucharist! I knew her mother’s heart was a powerhouse for intercessory prayer and I could entrust my family to Our Lady and her intercession. There have been conversations with family and friends who are not part of the Church throughout the years that I trust have planted seeds in their heart and have taught me so much about what it means to share my heart for Christ in a tangible, real, and loving way. While this has been a continuous prayer intention in my heart for 12 years, I trusted that God would continue to pursue my family and friends in the way only He could in knowing their hearts.

Fast forward to December 30th, 2025. Yes, almost two weeks ago. I was at a chiropractic appointment with Caeli and I had missed a call from my brother. I called him back on my way home and I was curious what he would share. I can guarantee that the following words I heard from his mouth were not the ones I could have dreamed. I asked how it was going and he said, “Oh good. I wanted to call to let you know I have chosen to become Catholic.”

Cue the tears.

So much grace.

So much JOY!

So much peace in his voice.

A change in his heart that was palpable.

I screamed with joy and honestly scared Caeli a little because I could not contain the excitement! I asked more about his journey and what changed in his heart and he shared beautiful details that I will hold close to my heart because they aren’t for me to share. You see, the Lord has been after his heart for his whole life and will continue to be after his heart. (That is your and my story too!) As the oldest child in our family, my brother chose to go to the Catholic middle school and on to Catholic high school where my sister and I followed suit. We were all raised in the Methodist church and I’m grateful for the seeds that were planted and watered there! My brother married a beautiful Catholic woman who comes from a strong Catholic family. My brother and his wife have chosen to raise their children in the Faith and I just sensed that the Lord has been inviting Him deeper (as He does with all of us). Yesterday, with his wife as his sponsor, my dear brother was received into the Catholic Church under his confirmation name of St. Joseph and received communion for the first time! The absolute joy in my heart (which could definitely not compare to the rejoicing happening in Heaven or in his wife’s heart) cannot be described in words here. The mystery of the joy of grace overflowing! I had many tears and prayers of thanksgiving throughout the whole Mass and truly was left speechless as I watched how the Lord’s grace just spilled over in front of me.

I wanted to share this as my weekly grace because first of all, WOW PRAISE GOD FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL GRACE and to ask for prayers for my brother and his family as they receive even more grace in their marriage and family life. Isn’t it just incredible to see their four children watching so intently as the leader and priest of their household receives the Sacraments? This picture will forever be etched in my heart. What an incredible witness to His unfailing and reckless love.

And to point out that the Lord is never done with us. Sure, I prayed for my family and will continue to pray for my family. Sure, I asked for St. Monica’s intercession. Sure, I’ve been asking Jesus for the conversion of our loved ones, but it was not me or St. Monica or even my brother’s wife who caused a conversion. Grace is what changes the heart. It invites and allows for His love to be experienced more deeply no matter the season it finds you in. He is never done pursuing our hearts. Fearlessly and with great love, tenderness, and yet so fiercely. God is a gentleman who does not want our forced “yes” because we feel like we “should”. He wants us to say “yes” to a life with Him because we know Him, we love Him, and we choose Him. Our prayers are important for those we are praying for but they are also very important for our own hearts. When we pray, we open ourselves to becoming more like Him. To be conformed to His heart and will above our own. What a gift to be His instruments! With a wide smile, I rejoice that in His goodness, He never stops pursuing our hearts even when we shut the door on Him. Even if we choose something or someone other than Him. He just thirsts for our honest “yes” to live life with Him as the center of everything. What a good Father.

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for being here. I am continuously humbled by your presence here. The support of our readers is such a gift. We pray for you every night in our family prayer. Please keep praying for our family! May God bless you! +

I’ve just recently started attending 5:30am barre classes a couple times a week. It all stemmed from my noticing I haven’t been moving my body nearly as much as the weather has shifted. While I think less movement can be seasonally appropriate and a great invitation for intentional rest, I have also noticed that my mental and physical health needed the outlet since I can’t take as many walks or soak in the sunshine. Our roommate who is now a dear friend has been a wonderful accountability partner and it is helpful she can knock on my door if I’m running behind. Hah!

If you aren’t familiar with barre as exercise, it marries ballet with isometric movements that provide cardio, muscle toning and strength, and stretching. I tried a quick 30 minute class about a month ago and I found myself challenged in a whole new way than I have been in the past seasons of moving my body. The classes begin with bigger movements and slowly focus in on a specific muscle or group of muscles with small and consistent movements.

The initial class was difficult but almost immediately something in me shifted. I recognized a new strength in myself. After the initial introductory class, the instructor asked how we feel, and “stronger” came right out of my mouth. Outwardly, I did not look stronger. In fact I probably looked pretty tired because I had moved my body in new ways. In the past month, there have been simple things that have pointed to growth that I’ve been thanking God for the grace to keep saying yes to this challenge. Such as, sometimes I hold one position for longer than I thought I could or do the pushups with my knees up instead of down! The other day I woke up and I was still half asleep. I mentally checked in and said, “I chose to wake up and chose to show up no matter how I felt ” and always leave feeling better than when I came. Later in that class, our instructor had us moving through a set and reminded us that the small pulses of our legs behind us with the tension rope should be the size of a paperclip. A paperclip!!

Now if you are familiar with strength and toning, small movements and holding a position can actually be harder than doing big sweeping movements or pushing yourself to “max out” your new record. This is probably nothing new to people who have been working out for awhile but this image of a paperclip and reality of small consistent growth stuck with me. A paperclip is actually quite small and I was trying to make these big movements in hopes of big improvements. Not to prove anything to anyone but I found it was actually easier to maintain a bigger movement than the small focused and intentional movement the size of a paperclip. The burn increased as I slowly kept a position and then pulsed my leg the size of a paperclip and right there in the middle of barre class I just prayed, “Oh, this is how I grow isn’t it, Jesus?”

What do I mean by this? It is definitely not glamorous, linear, or easy. Growth, that is. Throughout my journey in life and choosing to follow Christ, I have found that while He does and can offer big graces, He is also (and most often) found in the small focused almost imperceptible growth. You could almost say the growth that is the size of a paperclip! I have a tendency to think I can handle more than I can or choose the big sweeping movements or changes in order to avoid the minute and sometimes painful growth that happens with small, simple, quiet, and often hidden movements. In reality, we cannot handle anything without the grace of Christ. As my life and vocation continues to unfold, I revisit a quote by St. Francis de Sales often, “It is far better to do a few things well than to start many good works and leave them half-done.” This quote grounds me as it reminds me that somedays He allows for more drastic movement or growth and He also allows for us to be refined and molded by the simple “yes” or choices we make each day to follow Him more closely and/or to choose love or patience when we really don’t “feel” like it.

If life has been feeling like paperclip growth, it isn’t because you aren’t doing something right. In fact, I would argue that in the small paperclip size choices and movements and acts of trust, you in fact are building muscles of trust, hope, love, patience, and joy. These virtues can move mountains when they are put to the test! They may seem imperceptible today but the Lord can do so much with our obedience and perseverance. Our world is obsessed with the most efficient, easiest, and comfortable option in all things. It is worth choosing to be challenged and entering into the small paperclip movements and allowing them to transform, stretch, and make us new.

My husband has been very supportive in this endeavor and I’m so grateful for him. He is always quick to remind me that an important part of exercising our muscles, especially new ones, is giving ourselves enough fuel and rest in order to keep going. His wisdom and encouragement have prompted me to reflect upon what it means to nourish our bodies and souls. Both physically and spiritually, it is vital to have time set aside to rest. Rest can look many different ways but I have been finding that the ways I rest in this season of life is very different than previous seasons, praise God! Another sign of growth!

My prayer is that you will receive and enter into the gift of paperclip size growth and to keep choosing those paperclip size moments of tension or areas in which you feel the ache of growth both physically and spiritually. This muscle of allowing Him to stretch us and build new muscle bears great fruit in many ways and some we may not see until we are with Him in Heaven!

May God Bless You! + Know of our daily prayer for you.

“When we had our children, our ideas changed somewhat. We lived only for them. They were all our happiness, and we never found any except in them. In short, nothing was too difficult, and the world was no longer a burden for us. For me, our children were a great compensation, so I wanted to have a lot of them in order to raise them for Heaven.” (Letter 192)

When Benny and I married in 2018, having been together for 5 years at the time, fresh out of college, and excited to finally be done with long-distance, we had hoped for a large family and to begin growing our family right away. With a similar heart as Sts. Louis and Zelie in their hopes for “having a lot of them (children) in order to raise them for Heaven” we hoped for this and yet He did not offer the gift of new souls in the timeline we planned. Thank you God, for breaking our plans! I can confirm that the gift of Caeli Grace was worth every tear, novena, prayer, fasting, Mass offered, and community rallying around us throughout the five and a half year wait. It is easier to say looking back because we have the gift of her sweet pitter-patter in our home, but I want to say to anyone who is experiencing and carrying the cross of infertility: He has a great plan for your family. I don’t mean that as some cliche. Your “yes” to the fruit your marriage is called to bear is important for the world and more importantly for His Kingdom. He isn’t turning His merciful and tender Fatherly eyes from the pain that this suffering creates, He offers the grace to keep carrying the cross. Do not let the Devil stop you from pursuing new life in the ways God invites you to. It may appear hidden, but it is not wasted and it is not hidden to our Heavenly Father.

With that, I’d love to share some answers to your questions about adoption and our experience! You don’t have to be carrying the cross of infertility to adopt but you will find that much of my response is shaped by our infertility since we do carry the cross. Adoption is most definitely a call unique to each family and one to be discerned and answered with an open heart and mind.

What is the actual process of adoption?

Adoption can look so different depending on who you feel called to work with (agency, consultant) and what age range, gender, ethnicity, etc you feel called to welcome to your home but the general process is somewhat universal. I will speak specifically for our family. Our second process will look very similar to the previous process. To begin we meet with an adoption agency in our state and work with a caseworker who is knowledgable in the adoption world. We fill out paperwork and submit most of our important documents to this agency to essentially show we are who we are and can financially, mentally, physically, and spiritually handle growing our family. We submit things such as our marriage license, birth certificates, current health assessments, paystubs, insurance information, bank account information, eight character references, our budget, and more. :) Once this is completed, we can begin the home study which typically comprises of 3 visits with our caseworker coming to our home in which we discuss the submitted paperwork and dig deeper into how our marriage, family, and home operates. Once we are finished with the visits, our caseworker writes a very long document that the state we live in has to review and give their stamp of approval that we are approved to move forward in becoming “active” to receive a child in our home. This process from starting paperwork to finalizing the home study took 8 months with our first adoption. We’ll see how long it takes with this adoption!

Benny and I feel called to adopt another infant and in our state of North Dakota, it is a five year wait to even begin our home study to adopt an infant within our state so we will be pursuing a national adoption through a consultant who has relationships with ethical and respectable agencies around the nation. Unfortunately, some adoption agencies don’t prioritize the best for birth family and adoptive family and instead focus on money which is so disheartening for everyone involved and honestly doesn’t uphold the dignity of the human person. In working with a consultant, we receive cases from all over the nation that offer information about baby and birth family in which we are able to give our “yes” and then baby’s birth parents choose our family or another family. In the beginning of our whole process, our consultant said, “God will not let you miss your baby” and He absolutely did not and won’t this time either!

Once we are an “active family” we are in a waiting and stretching of our hearts season. I would consider this as a time in which our family is “expecting” but my belly doesn’t visibly grow as it would in a pregnancy. It’s a hidden and very fruitful time to prepare our hearts and home. Recently, I’ve been noticing the invitation to just soak up time with our girl because I know once (God-willing) another baby comes home, our time and attention will be different. He always provides the grace and space to handle growth. I pray that my heart will continue to stretch in order that I can receive this gift.

When we give our “yes” to birth families, we typically write a letter to baby’s birth mother to let them know about why we feel called to present our family to her to parent her baby and let her know of our prayer for her. Additionally, she would see our profile book which is full of pictures and information about who we are as a family and how we choose to live and raise our children. I love that the birth family has the choice. It is vital that their desires and hopes are honored and respected. No one is owed the gift of children and I can only imagine the heart movements of placing a baby for adoption.

After the Lord ordains the placement of a baby in our home, we will have multiple visits with our caseworker in our home to ensure the transition is going well and to assist us with any needs that arise. With our Caeli, we had 7 months before we finalized our adoption due to slower paperwork within the court system and a hurricane. This would be a time of “postpartum” in which our family adjusts to growing our family. The adoption is always finalized in the court system in the state that the baby was born. For Caeli, we had a fun zoom conference with our loved ones where everyone wore a party hat and our Florida judge rejoiced with us as we officially (legally) welcomed Caeli to our family after almost a year of being with us. Caeli’s finalization day was on St. Frances Xavier Cabrini feast day and I am not surprised because I already see similarities in their fierce, loving, and fearless hearts!

Adoption is unique in that our family doesn’t have a due date. Even if we did match with a birth family early in pregnancy, babies come when they want and once birth mother goes into labor we would travel and meet her and baby when she is ready. For Caeli’s case, she was already born, so we asked that we be presented to her birth mother and in less than a week we went from a family of two to a family of three. Totally different than pregnancy! It stripped me of the preparation period of what I thought I should have done and in some ways I think it can be easier because I don’t have too much time to overthink things. There are some logistical things that can be helpful to have in the back of your mind but overall we can trust that the Lord will provide when the time comes. Looking back on finding out we had a daughter on Christmas Eve (that is a whole different post and grace!), we had to book flights, find lodging, a ride and navigate not hearing from the hospital about how she was even though we knew she was really early. It was such a sanctifying time. I remember not sleeping during this period because I couldn’t stop hoping and praying she was okay and couldn’t wait to hold her and tell her she isn’t alone, that she would grow big and strong and is so so loved by so so many.

What is helpful in supporting an adoptive family?

There are many ways to support adoptive families just as there are many ways to support families who conceive naturally. First would be to pray for them. Our family experienced quite a bit of spiritual attack in the process. Specifically, I would say prayer for protection from discouragement, fears, and anxiety and for the seeds of deep hope, trust, courage, and love to be planted in our hearts and watered in our hearts were most helpful for our family. Additionally, prayer for all those that the adoptive family will encounter such as birth families, adoption workers, medical professionals, and the sweet child.

Secondly, domestic adoptions are costly and while there is a tax credit than can offset some of the cost once the adoption is finalized, it adds up quick! Many adoptive families host a fundraiser or multiple throughout their process (Be on the lookout for ours!) and it can be so helpful for the community to support them if you are in place of financially supporting them.

Lastly, something that was so meaningful to me specifically was my sister would intentionally send baby things throughout the process or little cards to celebrate with us that we made it one step closer (finishing our application, home study) to meeting our baby. Those meant so much and were such a gift to use with Caeli once she was finally here. A reminder of His goodness and how He uses others to encourage and support us. All of this to say, if you feel a prompt to send the text that you have been praying for the family or want to drop off a meal in the waiting or asking how they need help preparing, I imagine it would be received with deep gratitude.

What is the hardest part of adoption?

This is a great question. I remember processing this with Ben when we were first receiving cases. I found myself grateful that the Lord called me to work with women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancies because it prepared my heart to remain open as I had first-hand sat across women who let the idea of adoption cross their lips as they shared the litany of reasons they couldn’t parent a baby at that time. No one chooses to place their child for adoption because life is going really well. Typically, life is difficult (physically, financially, mentally) and that means that life would likely be or already is difficult for this child. This is such a tender part of someone’s story and it brings me to the reality that the hardest part of adoption is usually the most beautiful. In the hard decision to choosing life and placing a baby for adoption, an adoptive family receives this gift of life that would not have been possible without the beautiful yes and loss of another family. There in lies a mystery of great love, courage, and sacrifice.

What are you most excited about?

I am most excited to see who the Lord has prepared for us because we really have no idea who he or she will be! That is one of my favorite things about adoption is that I have no control of who He ordains to place in our home other than offering our “yes” when He offers peace in our discernment. I often reflect on the joy of being pro-life and being open to letting the Lord’s will be done because we cannot anticipate if baby is a boy or girl, what ethnicity he or she will be, or where he or she will be born. His or her story is allowed to just unfold and therefore lets the Lord be sovereign in his or her story. I want that for their little souls and for the sanctity of our family. I also am really looking forward to seeing our sweet Caeli be a big sister and my Benny as a father to another soul. Caeli already cares for her babies by changing diapers, giving bottles, wiping their faces after meals, keeping them well hydrated with her water bottle, and feeding them. I love to watch her little mind and heart love with such tenderness.

Here is the sweet little mama Caeli caring for her baby Lucy.

Was there ever a time where one of you felt more called than the other?

This is such a good question! Particularly in the frame of infertility since trying to conceive and adopting can be difficult to discern while remaining open to the call of the Lord and processing the emotions that come with both infertility and the rollercoaster of adoption. Ben and I chatted about adopting when we were in high school and seriously discerning marriage throughout college. With that said, I think our frame of mind at that point was that we would pursue it some time after or in between having biological children. Clearly, the Lord ordained otherwise. I think the important thing to remember is by choosing to adopt we are not closing the door to conceiving naturally. Only the Lord can close doors. Our postures have moved to and have remained that while science has told us we would not conceive naturally, we know Who created science, Who gives life, and Who allows miracles to happen every day. Sometimes that miracle is through the gift of conceiving a sweet soul and sometimes that is receiving a sweet soul through the gift of adoption. Specific to your question, the year before Caeli’s adoption, we had a wild year of life changes with an abrupt job change, moving back home, my dad dying and in my excitement I wanted to start the adoption process at the end of that year. In my husband’s wisdom and in protection of our family, he said he was not willing to start until the new year in order that we have some normalcy before beginning another big life change. As I look back I’m grateful for my husband as protector and provider in his willingness to say “not right now” in order that we cling to God instead of timeline I held in my own heart.

There is always hope and if adoption is on one of your hearts, it can be worth processing together and potentially reaching out to an agency to learn more to help with the discernment. Typically, agencies do not require you to sign up to begin the process that day! If they do, I would reconsider who you are working with- hah! Pressure in discernment is not helpful. It is hard to discern something without taking action or knowing enough about the reality of the situation. For anyone in this situation, know of our prayers for you! Specifically for protection from and strength to resist the temptation from the Devil of creating any wedges between you and your spouse because he loves to do that, especially in your pursuit of new life.

Will adoption agencies reject me if I am taking antidepressants, have student loans, and don’t own a house?

Oh friend, just as there is no “perfect” time to conceive naturally, adoption agencies do not expect adoptive families to have it all together. They do have a necessary and understandable job to determine if our marriages, home lives, and mental and physical health are stable enough to handle the change of welcoming a child. All of this to say, it is possible to adopt while renting, paying off student loans (we still are) and if you are navigating any mental health challenges. If there are any mental health challenges, they may ask for an evaluation by a mental health provider if you aren’t already seeing someone to assess your mental health and how medication has impacted you. It isn’t a “are you worthy to adopt” but more of “is this home a healthy environment in which a child would thrive?” Healthy and stable doesn’t mean perfect with no challenges of difficulties!

Oh, this was such a joy to write and share! I could write for days about adoption and infertility. If you have more questions or thoughts, feel free to comment below or message me directly. I am grateful to share our experience of adoption and what He has shared with us as we have navigated it all and am open to another piece if more questions and thoughts come! Know of our daily prayer for you!

God bless you. +

I have actually written 2 pieces that I thought would be this week’s topic and now here we are the day before Christmas Eve and neither of them settle in my soul as what I’m called to share. Then the Lord in His sovereignty offered a beautiful poem by St. John of the Cross through the mother of one of our dearest friends. It became clear that I was to share his words for this week as we enter into the final hours of Our Lady carrying Jesus in her womb before the King of Kings enters the world in the manger.

Mary’s physical and spiritual motherhood have been major reflection points as we waited for parenthood and I began my own motherhood in December 2023 but always becomes more heightened in the season of Advent. I love how St. John of the Cross invites us to allow her to keep bringing Christ to the “womb” of our hearts because He can and desires to be born in us over and over again. He makes all things new and yet He loves us exactly as we are. I am grateful for Our Lady’s "yes” to receive the life of Christ as I know I would be a wreck without Him. Let us rejoice!

“If You Want”

If
you want
the Virgin will come walking down the road
pregnant with the holy,
and say,
“I need shelter for the night, please take me inside your heart,
my time is so close.”

Then, under the roof of your soul, you will witness the sublime
intimacy, the divine, the Christ
taking birth
forever,

as she grasps your hand for help, for each of us
is the midwife of God, each of us.

Yet there, under the dome of your being does creation
come into existence eternally, through your womb, dear pilgrim–
the sacred womb in your soul,

as God grasps our arms for help; for each of us is
His beloved servant
never far.

If you want, the Virgin will come walking
down the street pregnant
with Light and sing …

St. John of the Cross

May you and yours have a beautiful, peace-filled, joyful Christmas season. It is 18 days! He created us for joy, hope, and love!! May we live in these always.

This week’s grace is about our sweet girl turning two this past Thursday! We celebrated with a slow family morning and visiting the science museum with some cousins and grandparents before a special dinner out. Our girl loves cheese, trying on her shoes, and making sure her baby is fed and burped. We did a lot of those things all day on Thursday. :)

For those who do not know, our Caeli girl joined our family in December 2023. She was born at 24 weeks and her brave and beautiful birth mother chose us to parent, love, nurture, and guide this precious soul. As I ponder the mysteries, joys, sorrows, and growth that has happened in the past 2 years since Caeli was born, I have so many things to say and I’ve asked Jesus to make it clear what to share. I could write a book on how His sovereignty, reckless love, and fierce protection for His children became palpable through the whole process. Here are some things He has revealed and I’ve learned through living the blessing of being her mother.

• Science can tell you many things but God is the Divine and Supreme Physician. Also, prayer is POWERFUL. We did not know if our girl would walk, talk, eat, hear, or see when we first met her. We were told to expect a long road of unknowns (which I think is a good title for parenthood). We choose not to share any of her medical history because it really isn’t ours to share but in the mystery of what He ordains, our girl is running around, hears, sees, talks, loves to eat, and is so sharp I’m having to find new ways to keep up with her already. Some people call her growth and thriving luck but we know this is a gift directly from Heaven. We could not have walked the days in the NICU without our prayerful, encouraging, and thoughtful village. She has had one heart surgery and may need another some time this year or next, so please pray for the healing of her heart!

  

  Meeting our one pound, 12 inch wonder for the first time!

• Parenthood is a gift to receive and a great responsibility that is continuously unfolding. Through infertility and in adoption, we say “yes” to life and growing our family in very different ways than a typical pregnancy. It is often misunderstood and I’m looking forward to writing a piece about adoption in the near future. I’ve had many questions come through about the process and our experience. Being open to life can look many ways and I am certain it is always worth choosing life. We can let many things define our parenthood and I think it is vital that we let Christ alone define, unfold, and renew our parenthood in His time. To receive the gift of a child in your home is a miracle. To be called to steward your relationship with Christ, marriage, and home well in order to bring your children to Heaven is a beautiful call and will evolve as He calls you deeper!

• God adopted us. I am not a theologian so if you are, please correct me if any of what I say is not correct. God chose us and this is a mystery we could ponder for all of eternity. He chooses and adopts us through the grace and Sacrament of Baptism. We do not share His DNA by birth but we are in His family and ocean of unconditional love through His offering of Self. This reality has become more tangible having Caeli in our home and my heart didn’t know it could love as much as it does! There is always room for her unique soul and I love discovering who she is more each day. In all of that, no matter how much I love her the reality is that she is not mine to keep. There in lies the wrapping of the mystery of a parent’s love and reality that she is the Lord’s. I am called to raise her to love Him above all else. Receiving children through the gift of adoption provides a unique lens to parenthood and has broken wide my pondering of the heart of our Heavenly Father.

• We can trust that God goes before us in every part of parenthood. Whether you have children or are hoping for children, we can trust that God knows the moving of our hearts as we navigate, learn, are stretched, and rejoice in parenthood. God Himself came down as a tiny baby to be cared for, swaddled, raised, taught, and disciplined by humans. In the Church, we believe that Mary was born without sin which means St. Joseph lived with two perfect human beings. Jesus chose St. Joseph as His earthly Father and was taught, hugged, and protected by him. This Advent I have been struck by the meekness of heart and humility that Jesus possesses as He became one of us to show us the path of receptivity and simplicity of being a child of God. I often reflect on how Our Lady would have handled things with toddler Jesus. Particularly as He exercised His will (which was perfect!!) and how they lived a simple and quiet life until Jesus started His public ministry. A simple and quiet life was enough for the King of Kings.

• My daughterhood in Him has exploded in raising our daughter. This has been a common topic with some of my mom friends lately. As our girl gets older and shares more emotion and independence, I am struck that He is such a gentleman. As I bring frustrations or situations to Him, I noticed that often He just wants to delight in me. I have found that when I allow Him to delight in me, I have the capacity, joy, light heart, and patience to delight in my girl. It’s almost as if He knows our hearts and crafted us!

• Being home to love, nurture, and raise our daughter is a gift. This is time I will never get back and it is worth every sacrifice or “not right now” to travel or big financial changes. It is always worth spending time together and the refining that happens by staying home is fruitful. Anything within me, our marriage, or our schedule that hinders the peace and presence of our home must be evaluated and made new in Him out of love for our family (and it is totally worth the work).

• He is trustworthy. I know this may seem silly because of course God is trustworthy, but there are many aspects of our lives that we struggle to live in trust. There have been many moments, right from the beginning of our parenthood, that we felt shaky in our trust. Looking back, I could not have orchestrated or thought through the details that He wove together in my wildest dreams. Down to the wonderful seminarians we met in Medjugorie in 2021 who would be the ones to pick us up at the Florida airport to bring us to meet our daughter in 2023. Down to the name we had chosen for our first girl that fits so perfectly alongside her birth family. Down to finding out we had a daughter on Christmas Eve exactly 2 years to the day of finding out our more final fertility diagnosis. Down to meeting our girl on the Feast of the Holy Family. Down to being discharged on Holy Saturday after so many Holy Saturdays that felt hollow as we waited to grow our family in hope and trust. Down to flying home safely with a 6lb baby on oxygen who started at 1 pound. I promise you, He will always find a way and you will never be left alone. In His goodness He has given us so many examples of His goodness and providence to strengthen our trust in Him.

• There is an abundance of grace for the day. Also. we are not in charge (and that is actually a very good thing). He offers a surplus of grace to handle whatever happens in our day. We can always tap into this grace and He will always offer grace. This is something I am reminded of often throughout my day in different seasons of parenthood. Prayer has radically changed for me since becoming a mother and I know it is for the better. One of the fruits is the recognition that I am not in charge. While I have a duty to maintain boundaries lovingly and nurture her growth physically, mentally, and spiritually, I am not her savior. I am called to live in and model obedience to Him which allows her to flourish. This provides a freedom in my heart to be wrong and show her the beauty of knowing Who does save us.

What I really want to say in all of this is that these past two years have been some of the most exciting, joy-filled, hopeful, beautiful, sanctifying of my life. To our girl, I want you to know I absolutely love to watch you twirl to music, find the piano to play notes you find interesting, run to the crying baby in the room to make sure he or she is okay, kiss Our Lady, put chapstick on Jesus’ lips on the Crucifix in our bathroom, when you sing to me in the car, talk about Mr. McGregor (Peter Rabbit), and so much more. My own heart continues to unfold as your sweet life and personality blossoms. We’re growing together! My prayer is that you always choose Him, no matter the cost. I hope you know that your parents and family and friends love you so much but more importantly, that the Creator of the Universe loves you more than we ever could. We will fail and we already have and yet He gives us grace to grow, love, and learn with you. What a grace. It’s all a gift and I trust that He has beautiful plans for you. Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet pea.

This week’s grace happened randomly and opened up such meaningful imagery in my own heart that I’ve been praying about how to share it all. To provide some background, our girl loves the outdoors, especially the snow! She has been enjoying help us shovel and likes to use our old protein powder scoop to move the snow to new places. She looks so sweet with her little pink puff suit and rosy cheeks! My husband, Ben, has this dream to build a snow fort block by block in our backyard. We plan to invite all the cousins and neighbor kids one day to help us finish it up! Our family has been slowly building as we can in the evenings. We in fact have no idea what we are doing in building a snow fort but why not try? I think one of the best gifts we can offer our children is to be playful.

As we were finishing up with our work outside for the day, I noticed Caeli was starting to get cold and had fallen in the snow a couple times (usually my cue to bring us in and warm up with lunch). I’m happy to help her get up while also helping her find ways to get back up. As I was moving toward the door, I noticed she was standing behind me but not moving with me. In the fresh deep snow, I sensed she didn’t know where to begin. I looked back and said, “Just follow in mama’s footsteps, honey. I know the way.”

And in that moment as the words left my lips, He revealed another facet of the gift and responsibility of my call to motherhood and washed me over with the security and peace of the Father who knows the way all the time and only desires my good. A reminder that I mustn’t try to find the way without first asking Him to take the steps before me so I can know where to step and to receive the discernment to see where His feet are, not the steps of others. I delighted as I watched her attempt to step in my footsteps in the deep snow and wondered at the mystery that God was revealing a sliver of His heart for all of us, in my own love for my daughter. She navigated well until the snow got deeper and then she fell and cried, “Mama” with her hands up asking for help. My heart moved to such love and I picked her up and carried her to less deep snow where she safely made it into the house.

As I reflect on this small yet profound moment, I see that in my offering a certainty in my knowledge of the way, my daughter felt she could keep trying to take steps. She tried and she was willing to fall because she knew her mama would know the next step or pick her up when she fell. I know I won’t always know the way and if I can be a model for our children to show them what to do when they don’t know what to do, which is turn to Christ, I trust He will always provide the step. Is this not how the Father loves us? He invites us knowing well we will fall as it is our very nature but with the certainty that His children are good and can take steps, especially ones carved specifically for them by His own steps. As I pondered it all in my heart, asking Him, “What made this so profound for me?” He revealed that in His sovereignty and great love, He is always before me, beside me, and behind me. In my motherhood I yearn and have a call to protect Caeli from evil and yet I know there will be a day that I cannot walk ahead of her and must trust that the Lord has and will continue.

As I was writing this I also recognized that had Caeli only taken steps in my footsteps, there would be no new footprints in the crunchy snow! Isn’t that such a testament to the reality that we are to be one in Christ and in following His footsteps, we only go deeper (not just in the snow) and make no new footprints because He is the Way, the Truth, and Life.

I write a lot about my motherhood or simple experiences throughout the week. I want it to be an encouragement that the Lord speaks to us in such simple ways and within our vocation. Some of us are called to lead retreats, be part of religious groups, or lead Bible studies. Some of us are called to live simple, quiet lives within our homes that reveal His love in different ways than the thrill of a deep impactful moment with Him in a silent retreat. We are each uniquely crafted and that means the Lord is unique in how He reveals His love for us. My hope for my writing is that it always brings you back to the reality that the more we allow God the Father to animate us, the more our children and those around us know Him. What a blessing to be His hands and feet.

Prayer Prompt:

Take time to be with Jesus. Ask Him where in your life you have tried to take steps without Him? Ask Him to show you where you are now and if He would show you the next right step. We ask Him for the grace of sight and discernment as we await His instruction.

Pick of the Week:

This week I don’t have anything to share other than a picture of our girl sharing her party hat with her great grandma who turned 96 on Saturday! The are 94 years apart almost to the day- I am amazed by that gap. So much life happens in 2 years and I’m grateful we’ve had the gift of my grandma’s life for 96 years!

Benny and I were able to make major progress on our adoption application this weekend. It is about 75% complete! The next step is to ask people in our life to be references, collect paperwork (driver’s license, insurance information, health records, financial statements) and finish our autobiographies. Please keep praying for our family, all birth families (especially those we will encounter), and all professionals that are working in adoption. It is a battlefield spiritually since it is such a mirror for our adoption as children of God and in turn glorifies the beauty of God’s creation and reckless love.

This week’s grace may hit close to home particularly for women since we seem to be more susceptible to overwhelm. I think it is because we hold the capacity to hold so much in our hearts and not relating all of it to Christ can be detrimental. We had a unique holiday year in which we didn’t gather with family until Thanksgiving evening which freed up our Thanksgiving Day to celebrate as a family of three. We enjoyed some cinnamon rolls for breakfast after Mass and it was a slow and simple day. Our girl had just gone down for an afternoon rest and I found my embroidery project to begin working on but I found myself restless. I couldn’t put a name to what I was feeling other than the opposite of grateful on the day we celebrate gratitude. Hah! I was beginning to get short with Benny and I felt the posture of my heart change from peace and receptive to walls up and more snappy. My loving husband, who grew up with 3 sisters and having known me for 15 years could tell something was up. He asked, “Hey, what’s going on? We’ve had a great day and you seem annoyed.” I shared that I felt overwhelmed, tired, and not prepared for the next couple days and he said, “Well have you told Jesus about all this?” My only response was an exasperated, “Well, I haven’t had time.”

As soon as the words, “I haven’t had time” came out of my mouth I stopped. I was too busy to talk to my very best friend??? This was so timely as Advent drew near. If I hadn’t been sitting down already, I would have needed to sit. My heart realized that I hadn’t prioritized being with Jesus, who is worthy of all my time, and this reaction was the fruit. Sure, I had been praying my prayers throughout the day and relating some things to Him but I hadn’t sat down to listen to what He had to say or bring my attention fully on Him. Some of the tension in my heart released and I knew I needed to stop what I was doing and just share all the things I was holding in my heart with Jesus. Praise God for a husband who asked me this question and gave me the space to do just that! The overwhelm, the tiredness, the excitement for family, the sorrow of different crosses, the hope for the future, it was all happening in my heart, swirling and creating a hole of self-reliance instead of new life nourished by His reigning as sovereign of my heart.

I shared it all with Jesus, the details, the hopes, the achey parts, and as soon as I finished I could feel the peace of His knowing it all already and just wanting to hear it from His beloved daughter take root in the hole I had created with my toil and choosing overwhelm. This is a major grace, one that Satan most certainly didn’t want me to share in Advent because this season easily and quickly becomes overwhelming and misfocused to his avail.

We prepare our homes for the different weather and season, keep tabs on Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals, get bombarded with marketing every place we visit, plan and prepare food and presents for gatherings, make travel plans, and yet, I had not asked Jesus how He was asking me to prepare my heart to remain in union with Him, especially in a season that I know requires a more steadfast heart of choosing simplicity. We won’t always have the emotion of peace but peace is a Person. He is always present and He is always listening, which means that no matter what is happening, we can be in Peace. In order for Him to listen, we must stop long enough to reflect upon and share our hearts with Him. While He crafted our hearts and knows the inner movements, it is the sharing of these thoughts and movements that keeps us in union with Him. I’m hoping that in sharing my overwhelmed heart story you will accept the invitation to take the time to reflect and share your heart with Him, especially in this season. I’m finding that when I feel the immediate pull to say “yes” to more things or just getting one more thing done, I typically need to say “no” instead. Filling my schedule or time does not serve any one but the evil one who loves to keep us busy and in turn certainly doesn’t serve my family well, which is my vocation!

With all this said, Jesus simply and radically loves us. So much so that He became an innocent tiny baby who wasn’t scared to begin life around animals in a stable with their poop, food, and loud sounds. He lived a simple and quiet life with His parents that knew He was the Messiah yet did not know His plans. I’ll be spending my Advent choosing to stay in the slow, simple pace of creating a vibrant and joyful environment for our family to enter into the reality that Our Creator loved us so much to become so small in order to relate to us with a human heart. Come join me!!

Pick of the Week:

I wanted to share a resource Benny and I are digging into for organization and in our pursuing adoption again. WalletWin is run by a wonderful Catholic family who has a similar story to us. They have carried the cross of infertility through their marriage and have adopted 4 babes! So beautiful. They focus on stewarding finances well with the lens of Christ-centered living. We chose to purchase their downloadable Catholic Emergency Binder which provides a space to prompt you to think about and store all important information should there be a loss in your family. I can speak from personal experience, brains don’t work like they usually do in the midst of grief. While we don’t anticipate losing any one of us any time soon, I think the very process of filling this out will be beneficial for our marriage and provide clarity as we move forward in family decisions!

Know of our daily prayer for you!

It was almost 60 degrees today! Walking to Mass was such a treat. Today in the Church we celebrate Christ as King of the Universe. I love this feast and honestly I had nothing prepared to celebrate since we just returned home from Milwaukee and our family is sick. BUT Jesus is King and that means every day is a gift, victory is ours, and we can celebrate by resting in His sovereignty. I didn’t write last week since we were traveling but I’ve been pondering the many graces He has offered since I last wrote and the one that keeps coming on my heart has to do with fire.

I’ve always been drawn to fire. It could be because our family grew up with a lake cabin with nights full of bonfires, good conversation, and s’mores. As I’ve gotten older I’ve really appreciated watching fire dance while soaking up the warmth.

We stayed with dear friends this past week who live such a beautiful, simple, Christ-centered life. They have a stunning wood burning stove in the heart of their living room that they use to heat their home. I learned so much about how it all works. My friend mentioned that they try to keep the fire going through the day to keep the house warm which requires an attentiveness and a strong fire to begin the day so there are adequate embers for the following logs to catch fire.

As I watched her put a log on the bright embers before we left for our adventure for the day, this moment of grace hit me. When we cooperate with the Lord to maintain a bed of hot coals in our soul, the log that He allows to be added to reignite the fire within us catches more quickly and provides warmth and light to those around us.

Let’s expand this a bit since even as I pray with and write about this it unfolds more. St. John of the Cross speaks about the imagery of fire (God’s love) and a log (parts of our soul) that is stripped of imperfections by slowly burning until we are completely consumed by the fire and in turn become like Him, providing warmth and light for the world. If you have any familiarity with the Carmelite tradition, this is the beautiful and sanctifying work of seeking the face of God.

I’m in awe of His designs as this imagery is so tangible. When I think about what He has revealed about the logs of my soul, I receive that it is in His love He allows me to be burned down to embers so that there is less of me (less log in log form) and more Him (more embers which was once log glowing with love). How poetic and wildly counter-cultural! I feel it necessary to note that this doesn’t mean He doesn’t love who I am and how He created me. It is actually in His love that He purifies parts of me that aren’t choosing Him which in turns leads me to be more of who I was created to be. God loves me so much that as St. John of the Cross would say, “He wounds me with His love”. He loves me so much that He doesn’t allow me to stay stagnant because there is always more with Him and it is alway good.

To bring it back to the image and concept of the wood-burning stove, I recognize that the more we try to put out a fire that we deem not worthy of burning or being too painful, we end up with logs that don’t become embers which choke the fire and put out other parts of the embers that were glowing before. If we choke or clog up the fire, we end up with extra logs that need to be cleared out (AKA Sacrament of Reconciliation) which would allow for better oxygen flow which results in the logs burning hotter and quicker to serve their very purpose of warming and bringing light.

The love of God is warm and bright. It disperses darkness in a single spark. While our soul (once ignited in life with Christ) can remain hot for a while it requires tending to (prayer, Sacraments, sacrifice) and His watchful eye to know when to add more logs in order to maintain a bed of coals that will ignite the next log. Some logs are thicker, which take more time to burn. In tending a fire, we typically choose thicker logs once we know there is an adequate bed of coals hot enough to ignite the thicker log. I sense a parallel when we talk about choosing Christ. He allows for suffering or purification of varying degrees in different seasons which once burned to embers can create an thriving environment for the next log, big or small. I’m grateful we don’t have to decided which logs to burn. Instead, He offers and allows them to burn and in our simple and consistent yes to the burning, He makes all things new in love.

Who knew the Lord would reveal so much in the simple tossing of a log on the fire? His ways are rich yet simple. I pray that we remain receptive to being burned to embers so as to become more like Him and bring His light and His warmth to this world.

Pick of the Week:

We begin the season of Advent next Sunday! Yay! I love this season of anticipation and great hope. If your family is looking for a way to celebrate the season together, we are trying these Advent Candles for the first time this year. I love to make homemake candles and I’m eager to make these!

Know of our daily prayer for you!

Now my beginning paragraph has nothing to do with my grace for the week, but so it goes with the feminine heart in my sharing and rejoicing in all the goodness of God. This week’s grace was an important turning point for my heart and motherhood.

This week’s grace is all about my little adventurer and my adventure in our attempt to get some sillies out on a nature hike. We had never been to this trail and as soon as we pulled up I was excited because although the trees have lost most of their leaves, I was in awe of the sunshine coming through the bare trees and the crunch of the leaves, especially sweet girl jumping in them!

In total, the trail was just under 2 miles and I imagined we would go as far as my girl would walk and then we would take a short break and walk back to our car. I’ve been loving using my camera to capture simple moments that I don’t want to forget. Caeli loves to take pictures with the camera too. Don’t worry, I will share some of her beautiful work. :)

Our hike was a typical hike with a toddler: full of stopping to practice jumping, appreciating the leaves on the trees, noticing the birds flying by, and listening for the “choo choo”. What a sweet age. I have been asking for the grace to use the muscle of not hurrying through these moments because her awareness of beauty is important and has and continues to form my own eyes. We had been on the trail for about 45 minutes and I thought to check the map just to see how far we had reached to give a gauge of how far we had to walk back. It appeared that we were about half way through the trail (or so I thought). We continued on as I was thinking, “Caeli is doing well and we can just walk the other half in the same amount of time.”

So we continued on with new scenery, more jumping practice, and lots of monkey sounds (we do not have wild monkeys in North Dakota but our girl really wishes we did). I didn’t bring the stroller since our girl is fiercely independent and I imagined it would just be another thing to navigate on the trail. She would ask here and there to be carried since she was beginning to get tired and I was happy to hold her for the little stretches.

Some time passed and then it hit me. I sensed that we were further from our car rather than nearer. The sun was shining and warming our bodies and our dispositions were joyful. I decided to check the map just to see how much farther we had to walk. Lo and behold, mama made a mistake! The dot that I thought showed halfway through the trail was in fact the beginning of the trail (where our car was parked) and when I last checked we had gone essentially 1/5 of the trail. The trail was estimated to take 30 minutes-1 hour in total but I was not calculating with toddler time!

I just had to laugh. At this point Caeli was tired and wanting to be carried more than walk on her own and I could tell we were getting close to hungry and tired Caeli. I thought, “Alright Jesus. There is a reason I read this map totally wrong. We’re going to enjoy the day and offer up the rest of this walk for our friends who are expecting their babies so soon. Also, I haven’t worked out in forever so this is probably a good chance to do that. Hah! ” With that, Jesus offered the grace to carry my girl for almost a mile to get to our car. I have made the commitment (and have to choose daily) in my motherhood to model processing emotions with Jesus and choosing joy and peace in hard times because our children’s little eyes and hearts pick up EVERYTHING. Upon deciding to offer up the rest of our walk for those we love, we sang hymns all the way to our car because joy is a choice and I wanted our girl to see that when mama makes a mistake, she praises God because He uses everything for our good! He doesn’t make mistakes in who and how He made us.

When the posture of our hearts are fixed on praising God, we aren’t focused on the achey arms or the distance we have yet to go. While we are not blind to the achey arms (as this would dismiss the tension of being both soul and body) and in fact sometimes He allows the ache to be more prevalent, what we focus on will be what we experience. We praise Him and He does the rest. Life can be peaceful even when it doesn’t “feel” like it because peace is a Person and He is always with us.

I wanted to share one of Caeli’s photos she took. It is so fun to cultivate different hobbies and invite her to learn with me. My prayer is that she is always in touch with her creativity and femininity.

Prayer Prompt:

Next time you notice you made a mistake, ask the Lord to reveal how He is willing to help you navigate the next steps. I am always surprised at how close He is when I ask Him about His whereabouts and advice in difficult situations.

I would dare to say that the root of the ache of our world is lack of understanding of our profound identity in Christ. Being His beloved without being, acting, saying, or doing anything. He asks for our human heart to be given to Him over and over and He never tires of receiving. I am praying that there is a new grace of knowing His love for you and to live in and through your identity as child of God!

Pick of the Week:

Our family is attempting to reach 1000 Hours Outside this year and as the weather changes, I am learning to be more creative about ways of getting outside and adding more layers to all of us in order to keep adding hours each day! We used the AllTrails app to find this lovely trail so close to our home. It gives information about trails around the world. I would encourage you to check it out if you are someone who enjoys being outside!

This next week we will be traveling for Ben’s work and to see St. Therese of Liseux’s relics and dear friends. With that, I may not be able to write next weekend but will look forward to the next week. If you have any prayer intentions, feel free to comment below or privately message me. Know of our daily prayer for you!