10 Favorite Posts, The 2012 Edition

January 1 will be the fourth anniversary of this blog.  This past year has been a light one, as my posts have been particularly few and far between.  I expect this will be the case for quite a while, at least until the school year ends in June.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  We had a busy, but quiet, one here at home (Relatively quiet, that is, considering we had twelve people here including one AMAZING AND ADORABLE three-week-old baby plus two dogs), and I spent the day after Christmas doing literally nothing.  The next few days will be busier; you'll find me grocery shopping, cleaning up from Christmas, and catching up on some mundane tasks I've been putting off since before Thanksgiving.

We've seen our new nephew twice now since he was born in early December.   His mommy, my sister-in-law Jenn, has a wonderful blog called The Cookie Jar Adventures where she has been posting lots of cute photos and video of "Baby E."  Yesterday we got to spend some time playing with him, watching him wiggle, holding him, and taking some family photos with him.  Jenn posted some of their photos and memories of E's first Christmas here!  I can't wait until we see them again!

Last year around this time I published a list of my ten favorite posts of 2011.  Since 2012 has been a light blogging year (I've posted nothing since the tragic shooting in Connecticut, for instance; I've kind of been at a loss for words on that one), in the spirit of Seven Quick takes I figured I'd choose only seven of my faves from this year.  When I came up with eight and didn't want to eliminate one, I thought, oh heck, surely I can find two more good ones.   Here they are, in chronological order (click on the title to read each post):

--1--

7 Takes, 7 Choices, The 2012 Edition

Each year on January 22, Jill Stanek invites prolife bloggers to ask, "What exactly do you mean by choice?"  This was my seven-part question.


--2--

Get Thee To the Church:  St. Stephen Martyr, Washington, DC

In which Joe and I spend a night on the town, and enjoy Mass and a pretty spring walk the next morning.


--3--

Take a walk down this Broken Path

In which I, somewhat reluctantly, review a book and learn a little something in the process.


--4--

Get Thee To the Woods: A Couple of Blacksburg Parks

I like to blog about our adventures in the out-of-doors; here we explore two parks while visiting my parents for Easter.


--5--

Today

I picked this one because it was the last day of CCD classes last spring, and I really miss teaching CCD! (despite the fact that with so much going on in our lives, not teaching has been kind of nice, too)


--6--

The Marvelous Gift of...well...

Possibly my most bizarre post ever.  But there are lots of pretty pictures, and links to some cool animal sounds.  Besides, I had fun posting it.  So there.


--7--

Friendship. Loss. Rock and Roll. Gavin DeGraw. And Rick Springfield.

Mostly Gavin DeGraw.  In which I act like a teenager one memorable evening.


--8--

7 Long Days: The Alaska Edition

Lots of photos of our summer vacation.  You'd be hard-pressed to find prettier scenery, and I expect it will be quite a while before we go anywhere like this again.


--9--

Get Thee To the Church:  Immaculate Conception, Fairbanks, Alaska

The first place we went after arriving in Alaska.  Possibly the prettiest little church in the 49th state.  One of the oldest, anyway.


--10--

A Visit to Monticello:  Life, Slavery, and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom.

In which we spend a wonderful day with my parents at Thomas Jefferson's home, and I share some random thoughts.

My apologies for not including any posts this year from my other blog, Cooking Nick's Books; for one thing,  I've all but abandoned it (temporarily, I hope), plus I'm hoping to publish another "7 Quick Takes" over there highlighting some of my favorite posts (and if I can't find 7 good ones from this year, perhaps I'll include some earlier ones, too).  Maybe that will motivate me to jump-start that one again, and maybe chew on some ideas to make it better.

UPDATE:  Done.  Read it here.

Merry Christmas, and many blessings for the coming year!

And for more Quick Takes, visit Jenn's Conversion Diary blog.  And be sure to read her post; you'll laugh your head off!  Have a wonderful Last Weekend of 2012!

Get Thee To the Church: St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlottesville, Virginia

It was a spur-of-the moment decision to attend Mass here that Saturday evening.

We were in town that day for the Penn State vs. University of Virginia football game (our annual trek to a Penn State game--this year we didn't need to go far).  On our way to the stadium we saw this sign:

Sitting in a chair on the sidewalk were two Dominican friars--one of whom had a sign next to him identifying himself as "Friar 'Hoo"--smiling and waving at the fans going by.  "Hmmm,"  we said to each other; "Maybe we can go to Mass here after the game."  I was already committed to attend Sunday Mass at our home parish the next day though, to sign the Profession of Faith that the teachers and catechists in the Arlington diocese were asked to do this year.  (You may remember hearing about a few catechists at St. Ann's Parish who made such a stink a few months back about being asked to--gasp--believe and teach and live the teachings of the Catholic Church.  Oh, horrors.)  We figured we would just wait and go on Sunday.

After the game (which the Nittany Lions lost to the Virginia Cavaliers by ONE POINT, darn it), as we were walking back to the car, ominous dark clouds rolled in.  The wind picked up, and it began spitting rain.  Just as we were walking past St. Thomas Church, it began to rain harder.  We looked at each other and said, "Hey!  Let's go to church!"  We ran inside looking like a bunch of drowned rats, but it was dry inside, and beautiful, and the Mass was lovely.  (Then again, Mass is always lovely.  Jesus is there.)

As I was walking around after Mass snapping photos, a young friar told me there was a lovely chapel across the hall, and I should be sure to check that out.  That was not to be, however, because Joe and the boys balked at having to wait even longer for me.  There were sandwiches back at the car after all, waiting to be eaten.

(I think this was the chapel the young friar was referring to--from the outside.)

Before we left home that morning, Joe warned the boys that since this was the first Penn State game we've been to since the abuse scandal broke, we might see some protesters and we might have some unkind things said to us because we were wearing our Penn State clothing.  I am happy to report that the atmosphere during the tailgating and at the game was happy and festive, and the Penn State fans--and there were a lot of us--were made to feel welcome.  We even saw people from both sides tailgating together.  At Mass, Father (Friar 'Hoo) asked for a couple of volunteers to bring up the gifts.  One was wearing a Penn State jersey, and the other had on a UVA t-shirt.  Father remarked at how fitting that was.  And by the time we left the church, the rain had stopped.   It was a great way to wrap up a fantastic Saturday, don't you think?

And I did go to church the next day, and signed the Profession of Faith.  I hope Father R. didn't notice me sneaking out early...

Happy Sunday everyone, and get the to church!  (And no leaving early.)

Get Thee To the Church: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Fairbanks, Alaska

It's the northernmost cathedral in the United States.  We had passed it several time as we tootled around Fairbanks in our rented monster SUV.  On the day of our departure, a Saturday, we found ourselves at Pioneer Park, which happens to be right across the street from Sacred Heart Cathedral.  Our flight didn't leave until 9 pm, so we had plenty of time to go to the Saturday Vigil Mass, have dinner, and get to the airport.

I wasn't sure what to expect to see inside the cathedral  given how ordinary-looking it seems from the outside (Did you know the Diocese of Fairbanks is the largest in the U.S. in geographical area?  And it's the only mission diocese in the nation, and one of the poorest?). I even wondered if the building might have housed a church of some other denomination and the diocese had purchased it, but that is not the case; it has always served as the cathedral for the Fairbanks Diocese.

Inside it was simple, elegant, holy, and undeniably Catholic.

We arrived about a half hour early (the boys were eager to leave the touristy Pioneer Park; they were bored out of their minds.  I wanted to stay a little longer and check out the Indian Village section of the park but was met with resistance) and I snapped a few photos before Mass.  I didn't get very many; there were already a number of people there quietly praying, and I got several strange looks as I walked around with my camera. 

After a lovely Mass we headed to The Cookie Jar for our last meal in Alaska; then to the airport for the long flight home.  Next summer I expect we'll vacation someplace a little bit closer, like the beach.

Happy Sunday, and Happy Fall!  Now get thee to church!

(If you want to see the church where we attended Mass on our first morning in Alaska, click here.  And for some highlights from our amazing Alaska vacation, go here.  Thanks for visiting!)

Get Thee To the Church: Immaculate Conception, Fairbanks Alaska

We started our vacation by going to Mass.

After checking into our hotel in the middle of the night and catching a few hours' sleep, we walked across the flag-adorned bridge that spans the Chena River to the little church on the other side (which, as you can see, seemed to be in the process of having having the siding replaced). 

(I said a prayer for this little guy...)

I was excited to learn that Immaculate Conception Church was the very first Catholic church in the interior of Alaska.  When it was built in the early 1900s, it was on the opposite side of the river.  In 1911 they rolled it across the frozen river on logs.  (Have you ever read The Shipping News?  I couldn't help but think about the house that was dragged across the ice in that story.)  

I was also surprised to learn that this is the only church in the entire state of Alaska with lovely stained-glass windows like these. 

(Surely not, I reasoned; that must be a mistake.  But it says so right on their website. I've browsed photos of many, if not most, of the Catholic churches in Alaska, and it just might be true.  Perhaps there are some Protestant ones...)

(I just loved the pressed-tin designs on the ceiling and walls!)

The little church--about the size of Our Lady of the Valley, I would say--was surprisingly full on this particular Sunday, and a fair number of the worshippers were tourists like us.  I know this because the priest asked everyone who was visiting from out of town to stand up and introduce themselves.  (I took these photos after Mass, by the way, when everyone had already gone outside.)

We were only in Fairbanks for a couple of days, but it was clear that the people here take great pride in their city, their state, and their heritage.  We encountered some homelessness and drunkenness (in one restaurant, a man had to be escorted from the establishment for wandering in and bothering customers), but everyone we crossed paths with was warm and friendly and welcoming.

We ended our vacation with Mass, too.  I'll show you that church in another post!

Get Thee To the Church: St. Mary's, Blacksburg, Virginia

So now that it's Ascension Sunday and almost Pentecost, I think it's high time I showed you where we went for Easter Sunday Mass.

 As many of you know, I grew up in a Baptist church.  (They're getting ready to sell it--the building and the land and all the buildings surrounding it that the church owns--and move into a bigger place.  My parents fear that whoever buys it will tear it down.  I'm hoping to get down there this summer and take some photos of the church that holds many childhood memories to share with you before it's gone.)  When I was a kid, St. Mary's was located right behind my church, but I never set foot inside.

There was a statue like this one on St. Mary's original building.  It might be the same one, but I don't really know for sure.

 Sometime in the 1970's, the parish relocated to a larger, more modern building on a good-sized piece of land.  After I became Catholic we attended several Masses there, when we would visit my parents on a weekend.  I liked the priests, and the Masses were always beautiful, but the building itself was, well, not the most attractive.  It frankly didn't look much like a church, either inside or out.  (For a while the tabernacle was shoved into a "chapel" that was more like a closet with a few chairs inside.  When they got a new priest, he had the Blessed Sacrament moved inside the church, front and center.  Much better.)

Just a few years ago, St. Mary's built a brand-new facility.  It's beautiful.  THIS is what a Catholic Church should look like.

While I was walking around taking photos after Mass, a lady came up to me and gave me her email and asked if I would take some pictures of the baptismal font, because she was in charge of the Easter decorations and wanted to have some photos she could use when planning for next year.  I guess it's time I sent them to her...

Happy Ascension Sunday!  Now get thee to church!