melted smoosh

dear sweetpea, your vocabulary has exploded this month! it's so much fun (and a little bit scary) to find out how much you absorb. and you get so tickled by the fact that you can communicate with us. you're a woman on a mission to understand the world, pointing to objects and squealing "zat?! zat?!" ("what's that?"). sometimes you try to repeat their names, but often you just move on to the next item in your line of sight.  you now say thank you ("day doo"), cuckoo ("tu-tu"), cookie ("goo-kee"), star ("stawww"), milk ("mee"), shoe ("soo"), and sock ("saw"). and you still love to talk on the phone. you mimic our facial expressions and inflections while you talk. and you've started shaking your finger and telling Kaiser "no, no, no!". can't imagine where you've seen that before... you love finger-painting and playing with water. and you

photo credit from Catholic Tradition the husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus, Saint Joseph is also the Patron of the Universal Church. his feast day is celebrated by the Church as a Solemnity (an honor shared only by St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John the Baptist). and on a more personal note, my own husband, Nicholas Joseph, celebrates one of his name-days on March 19.  The reasons why St. Joseph must be considered the special patron of the Church, and the Church in turn draws exceeding hope from his care and patronage, chiefly arise from his having been the husband of Mary and the presumed father of Jesus..., Joseph was in his day the lawful and natural guardian, head and defender of the Holy Family.... It is thus fitting and most worthy of Joseph's dignity that, in the same way that he once kept unceasing holy watch over the family of Nazareth, so now does he protect and defend with his heavenly patronage the Church of Christ.  (from Quamquam Pluries -

we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a potluck brunch for our church moms group. we had a great time visiting together, and the kids played for a few hours while we talked. most of our kids are toddler-age, so maybe next year we'll attempt some crafts or themed activities! we kept it simple this time with green decorations and beaded necklaces. and we feasted on corned beef hash, sausage breakfast strata, green blueberry muffins, fruit salad, Irish soda bread muffins, maple bacon pancake bites, and shamrock cookies!  Irish Soda Bread Muffins - recipe from Taste of Home Sausage Breakfast Casserole - recipe from Cooking on the Side Deluxe Corned Beef Hash - recipe from All Recipes.com Collect for the Day: O God, who chose the Bishop Saint Patrick to preach your glory to the peoples of Ireland, grant, through his merits and intercession, that those who glory in the name of Christian may never cease to proclaim your wondrous deeds to all. Through our Lord

i wasn't actually named  for St. Katharine Drexel, so it may be going out on a limb to claim her feastday as a nameday. but nameday or not, March 3 gave us a great opportunity to remember this devoted American saint, who faithfully used her wealth, skills, and personal connections to serve others. born in 1858 into one of Philadelphia's most affluent families, she took a special interest in Native Americans. her life was profoundly changed in 1887 when she met Pope Leo XIII and suggested that he send more missionaries to minister to the Native American tribes. he replied by challenging her to take up missionary work herself.  photo credit New York Public Library she took his words to heart, and joined the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh (who founded the hospital where i work today!). a few years after taking her vows, she formed a new religious order called the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. the Sisters founded dozens of schools and mission centers, focusing on provi