7 Quick Takes: ADVENTures, 2011 Part One, and My Second Ever Giveaway

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I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We spent a glorious few days with Joe's parents in Williamsburg. The weather was beautiful. Joe enjoyed a round of golf with his dad, and we all had some much-needed R&R--watching football, walking the dog, reading, video games, and we took in the new Muppet Movie. (If you haven't seen it, go. It's most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational...) It was even warm enough on Saturday to enjoy an alfresco breakfast at Aromas Cafe' in Colonial Williamsburg.

--2--

Sunday Mass with the New Translation went swimmingly! (For my non-Catholic friends, this past Sunday the Church introduced an new edition to the Roman Missal for masses in English. The new version is a more literal translation from the original Latin, and many of the prayers and responses are slightly different. The language is richer and more eloquent, and we're now using wonderful words like "incarnate" and "consubstantial.") Our choir director led the congregation in a practice round of the prayers and responses before Mass, and that was helpful. Father R reminded us throughout the Mass to say "And with your spirit," and everyone was given a cheat sheet when we arrived. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new Eucharistic prayers! I mean, "you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name." Awesome!

--3--

When we arrived home on Saturday, I decided to reorganize my kitchen cabinets. I spent a good-sized chunk of time on Saturday and Sunday taking things out, packing things I don't use into a box to send to Goodwill, and moving items from one place to another. I found about twenty or thirty brown paper bags of various sizes stuffed into a couple of drawers--I can't imagine why on Earth I wanted to save them. I had bread pans in three different places (I mean, who keeps bread pans in three different places? Joe is delighted because now he knows where to find things), and I dug out two serving trays I completely forgot I had. I was able to clear away some of the clutter that had built up on the countertops over the summer. This weekend I hope take some time and tackle the study shelves, and find places for all my Religious Education stuff, which is mostly in cardboard boxes at the moment.

--4--

I've been going over the changes in the Mass these last couple of months with my third graders in CCD. Recently I found this Mass response booklet over at The Catholic Toolbox blog. I printed it out and made black-and-white copies, and gave them out to the kids to color and take home. A few weeks ago I wrote the words to the new penitential rite on the white board, and covered up the words one by one and had the kids fill in the blanks. They loved that one, since they were competing for prizes. We only have one more class before the Christmas holidays (classes are cancelled Wednesday and Thursday for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception), and they'll be having treats, listening to Christmas music, and decorating their own personal Jesse Trees. (I'm just using the one that's printed in their textbooks, and I printed off some symbols I found at Our Sunday Visitor for them to color, cut out, and glue to their trees. One of these days I'll plan far enough ahead to make a real Jesse tree, and have the kids make the ornaments. I want to do that at home too--maybe next year!

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Now for the part you've all been waiting for--the giveaway!! I'm fast approaching my 200th post, and my three-year blog-aversary is not far behind. With Christmas coming soon I thought it might be a good time for a giveaway (And I'd better do it now before I change my mind. More on that in my next post.) What's the prize? A signed copy of Our Lady of Kibeho by Immaculee' Ilibagiza! Last spring I had the privilege of meeting Immaculee', and I bought several books that she signed for me: one I gave to my mother (Left to Tell), one is for me (Led By Faith, Immaculee's story of her faith journey, which I still haven't read), and one to share with you! We just celebrated the feast day of Our Lady of Kibeho on the 28th of November, too; had I known beforehand I would have had this giveaway earlier. Ah, well...

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To enter the drawing, all you have to do is:

1. Follow my blog. If you already follow me, leave a comment letting me know you want to be in the running.

2. Leave a comment here.

3. Share this post with your friends, either via social networking or by email. Let me know in the comment box (or by Facebook, Twitter, or email) that you've done this. I operate under the honor system! :-)

You don't have to do all three to get your name into the cup (the last time I had a giveaway, I used a Dave and Buster's mug that we acquired on a visit to Atlanta; this time I'll probably use a Southern Living At Home Rudy Reindeer Mug. They're my favorite, and dang it, they've been discontinued.) If you do all three, your name will be entered three times; if you do two, I'll enter you twice, etc. You get the idea.

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You have until ONE WEEK from today to enter--Friday, December 9. I will announce the winner on the 10th or the 11th. My goal is to get the book in the mail on Monday the 12th so you'll have it before Christmas!

Let the ADVENTures begin, and be sure to visit Jen Fulwiler's Conversion Diary blog for more Quick Takes!

7 Quick Takes, The Hodgepodge Edition

1. October has been a crazy month. We've had almost no time to sit down and relax--but we don't mind because it's all been good. Larry has been involved in two plays--one children's production called Still Life with Iris, and a one-act radio-style version of The Thirty-nine Steps for school. The performances of Iris were last weekend, and next weekend he'll be performing in 39 Steps both at school and for a one-act play competition three counties away. Some days he's literally had to go straight from one rehearsal to the next while wolfing down a Big Mac in the car. But he loves it; do you know what he said the other night? "Acting is the most fun thing to do, EVER. Except for skiing."

2. After Saturday's performance, Larry took the girl who played the lead to their school's Homecoming dance. They had missed about half of the dance; after the show they quickly changed into their nice clothes, and I snapped a quick photo of the two of them before I whisked them off to their school. I was very proud of Larry for remembering to open the car door for her. The next day I asked him if he pulled the chair out for her once they got there, and he replied, "Mom, we didn't sit down." I think they had a good time.

3. A couple of weeks ago our parish introduced the Gloria and Holy, Holy, Holy from the new translation, and do you know what? I LOVE them. The music our pastor and music director chose for them is fabulous. I'm looking forward to Advent, when it goes into full swing.

4. I know I promised to share with you some things I've been doing with my third grade Religious Education class, so here's a brief summary of some of the things we've done so far. We're using the Christ Our Life series from Loyola Press, and this year I've been trying to use the textbook more as a resource and guide, rather than having the kids take turns reading it word-for-word during class. Most days this has worked out great, and it gives me time to use other resources and plan other activities (although this past week I felt like I was rushing through the material, and wished we had taken the time to read more of the text). The kids particularly enjoy acting out the Bible stories as we read them. In the coming weeks I hope to share more details with you, including some photos; as well as some NEAT things I'm learning about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in the new Montessori preschool where I work.

5. I was surprised in the week or so that followed the death of Indy Car driver Dan Wheldon at how much I really grieved for him and his family. I can only imagine the anguish his wife Susie must be going through right now. Seeing the photos of his brothers and fellow drivers carrying his casket, and parts of the heartbreaking letter Susie Wheldon wrote to her husband in the days following his death, as well as the fond memories and photos that his friends have shared have touched me more than I thought they would. I almost feel as though I've lost a friend, even though he wasn't someone I really thought much about except when he was racing. (Click here for the thoughts I shared the night after he was killed.) I changed my Facebook and Twitter avatars to a photo of Dan, and for a few days last week I wore the Dan Wheldon hat that Larry got at a race in Richmond a few years back (which, ironically, was signed by two other drivers--Will Power and Graham Rahal--but not by Dan). Little things have made me think of him; like the orange, yellow, and white flowers I bought because they reminded me of the colors he--and his car--were sporting the day he won the 2011 Indianapolis 500, or the young man I saw last weekend who looked a little bit like him.

Some say that people will quit watching Indy Car Racing because of the horrible crash that killed Dan (which had been struggling already, and was only just starting to make a comeback) but not me. Next year the cars will be safer; they've got a brand-new model they've been testing (Dan Wheldon spent quite a lot of time driving them and was very excited about them), and rumor has it that they're going to name the new car after him.

6. My next few blog posts--hopefully I can pound out a couple this week--will be for my other blog, Cooking Nick's Books. For that one I've made beef stew, jalapeno burgers, and shrimp kebobs, and have not had a chance to share them yet. I even picked up a copy of Nicholas Sparks' new book, The Best of Me, but I haven't had a chance to read much of it. I hear it's getting good reviews, and it's number one on several different bestseller lists. And I can't wait to see what we'll be cooking!

7. We're blessed to have my parents are for the weekend. Curly and Moe had a day off from school today, and they took a trip to Washington's Birthplace National Monument. Tomorrow my brother and his wife will be here to celebrate Bro's fortieth birthday, and on Sunday we're having Moe's eleventh birthday party. My house isn't very clean; I'm sure the mostly fifth-grade boys who are here won't care, or even notice. I'll try and make sure it gets a good scrubbing before Christmas...hopefully.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to check out Jen's Conversion Diary blog for more Quick Takes!

Oh, and I almost forgot: There is just over a week left of this fall's 40 Days for Life campaign! I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to think about planning a trip to Richmond to pray at the Planned Parenthood clinic there. My friend J. and I were talking the other day about it, and we're hoping to go one afternoon next week. Click here to find a 40 Days for Life campaign near you!

Have fun trick-or-treating--if you do that sort of thing; we do--and don't forget to go to Mass on Tuesday!

Get Thee To the Church: Our Lady of Victory, State College, Pennsylvania

I've been here once before, the last time we made a pilgrimage to Joe's alma mater for a football game. Actually, it was Joe and his buddies who went to the game; I stayed behind at our friends' house where we were staying to entertain two-year-old Larry, and baby Curly. Moe wasn't even a gleam in our eyes yet. When we arrived at church on Sunday, it was crowded, and the priest invited families with young children to visit the "children's chapel" upstairs, a glassed-in balcony of sorts where there were comfortable seats, a changing table, and an unobstructed view of the goings-on in the church. Well, this would have been fabulous were it not for the families who let their kids use it as a playroom. One family in particular had two boys who clearly were old enough to know how to sit still in church, and they were crawling around on the floor playing with toy trucks, making loud truck noises. Every so often the unhappy-looking mother handed them MORE trucks. I didn't hear any of the Mass, and left church that day frustrated and annoyed.

That was twelve years ago.

It was much better this time around!

A very unusual sanctuary, but I didn't find it unattractive. I wonder if it's supposed to represent a grotto, like at Lourdes or someplace like that? (See all those organ pipes? We went to the folk Mass, so we didn't get to hear them. They played the guitar instead.)

I wasn't one hundred per cent certain that this was the tabernacle at first, to be honest, until one of the eucharistic ministers opened it up after communion. I've never seen one that looks like a golden egg.

I *think* this is their baptismal font. They've got it in an alcove in the back of the church.

I finally found the Stations of the Cross along one wall in the same area as the baptismal font.

Mass was crowded this day, too, and we ended up sitting in the front row. At this Mass, they were already singing the new translations of the Gloria and the Holy, Holy, Holy. I heard later that some parishes were already doing this, since the new translation begins in Advent when we don't sing the Gloria. I asked one of our priests about this the other day, and he said he hoped we would start using the new Gloria soon; otherwise we'll all show up on Christmas Day and be hit with something we've never seen or heard before.

(By the way, what's your take on the new translation? Personally, I love it, but at the same time I find myself feeling a little sad every time we say "and also with you," or some other phrase we won't get to say anymore. In Religious Ed, we're working with the kids to teach them the new translation, and I'm hoping to start sharing more here about the things I'm doing with my CCD class; maybe even starting this week--stay tuned for that!)

On any given weekend, Mass is the most important thing we do. Of course, it's also fun to visit other holy sites, like the Cathedral of Saint JoePa;

...or wait in an hour-long line at the Creamery Chapel;

...and, of course, to stop by the Shrine of the Nittany Lion.