Filling Our Father's House

2015 has been the Year of Non-Fiction Reading. I'm not usually big on book-buying (and, honestly, for the last few years I've just re-read the same few fiction series over and over, and not much beyond that), but for some reason this year I've spent money I probably shouldn't on books that sounded just irresistible. The way non-fiction books typically go with me is: I'll start reading, be pretty interested, then hit a spot maybe a half or 3/4ths of the way through and just stop. I have a lot of nearly-but-not-quite-finished books on my shelf. (And by shelf I mean in a variety of boxes and bags in various locations in my house.) Books that I really am honestly interested in, but just...stopped reading. And this year's crop is no different - I think I have four if not five books I've started in the last few months and have yet to finish.

Anyway. I finally finished one. And it's the one I most recently started reading, too. Go figure. Probably helps that it's only 100 pages. It's called Filling Our Father's House by Shaun McAfee, and details how we can improve our Catholic Churches to invite more people in. He's a convert to Catholicism and brings in aspects from his experience as a Protestant that they do better than we tend to do. It's really just simple ideas and suggestions for Catholics to help bring more people into a relationship with Christ. This book was a very easy read (as evidenced by the fact that I, you know, finished it). It has a lot of good suggestions that are fairly easy for the average person to follow, at least some if not all. Some of them are pretty basic or obvious for those of us pretty involved and invested in our faith and our parishes already (and, honestly, most of it really should be basic and obvious - like reading the Bible, developing your relationship with Jesus, being active in your church, etc - but we know that's not the case of a lot of Catholics), but it serves as a good reminder of what we should be doing and how we might be able to improve. And for those who aren't already involved and don't know how/where/what to do to get involved, or to go deeper into their own faith stories, this book is full of great ideas.

What's great is that even though a lot of these things should be fairly obvious, he makes them all very accessible for those for whom they're not obvious. He lays out where you can go to get certain information, where you can learn more about your own faith, ways to read the Bible, and how you can get involved in fairly easy steps. So, really, there's no excuse after reading this - whether it's all brand-new information, or you have a master's degree in theology, this book shows you what to do - or renews your desire to do it. Win win!

Also, there was a very unexpected, nice little shout-out to my current employer, which was fun.

So, in a nutshell: I recommend you read this. (Yes, you.) It's quick, it's easy, and it'll help inspire you with relatively painless ways you can help invite others to come Home. (Note: Don't just read it. Do it. That goes for me, too.)

Some random quotes I underlined (which, by the way, I very rarely do, and hated to do even in textbooks back when I was in school):

"Some cradle Catholics lack appreciation for the Faith; because Catholicism is all they have ever known, they are satisfied with their level of involvement or noninvolvement." (5)

"Numerous Catholics are merely "going through the motions," unaware of the tremendous gifts they have." (5)

"In carrying out this "Great Commission," [re: Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations"] the first step is to entice people to want to be Christian." (10)

"Your story should be personal and understandable, not scholarly." (23)

"If you don't convince them that you are satisfied with your results, why would they ever join you in following Christ or in following Him more faithfully?" (23)

"Don't just offer the Faith to your listeners, but challenge them to seek for themselves." (24)

"The only thing you need to convince them of is that you were changed by Christ." (27)

"It is clear that those who will be accepted into heaven are those who know God, who have a personal relationship with Him. The question is: What does it mean to have a personal relationship with the Lord? It means that we let God be in charge of our lives, that we form a relationship with His Mystical Body, and that we get to know His Mother. It also demands that we seek a constant and perpetual conversion, serve others in love, and create disciples." (54)

"It would be fair to consider the website to be one of the most important outreach apostolates or ministries that your parish can offer." [Note: I haaaaaaaate how terrible so many churches' - and dioceses'! - websites are. It's awful.]

Regarding small groups: "There are many ways that the parish can promote such groups, but the bottom line is that they must be promoted in the first place." [Emphasis mine, because hello another pet peeve.] (82)

Talking about adoration: "What's important is going at all, praying, and being silent for a moment or two." (88)

Regarding taking a survey of talent of parishioners: "They might not know what it is they want to do, but they are itching to help out or just need to be nudged in a direction." [This came up in a discussion at the retreat I attended this month, and it's so true - even of myself, a lot of the time.] (88)

"Long after the dogma and the rites have been learned, people will either remember or forget the love of Jesus they have experienced in the months it takes to enter the Church." (90)

"We have an obligation not to keep our religion to ourselves but to share it with the world for its own good." (96)

"In this divine command, we learn just how to fill our Father's house: love God first, and let that love lead us to love one another as we love ourselves." (97)

Anyway, go find a copy and read it. It's really good. It's not enough for us to be once-a-week Catholics, even if we follow the things we're supposed to follow and do what we're supposed to do - we need to be disciples, we need to share what we know and do and love with those who don't know, don't do, don't love. It's our responsibility, it's our calling, it should be our desire and goal - though it does manifest itself in different ways and look different within different people. But we can't just sit in church one hour a week and call it good. We need to do more. Our relationship with Christ and His Church should make us want to do more. This book is a good start.

Still grateful after all these (months)

Well hey there! Betcha thought I had forgotten about this little exercise. I've just been too lazy to put it in a blog post, but here it is - nearly three months worth of things I'm grateful for! If you're bored and looking for something to read for the next two hours, look no further. Cliff's notes version: flowers, snow, sun, walks, parents, knitting, Nutmeg, family, books, etc. God has shown me a lot of things, and he's shown me his faithfulness in the small things, and he's working reallllly hard to pull me closer to him while I sort of limp along, and he still hasn't answered any of the big prayers I've had on my heart for a long time but he's answered other things, and even though I tend to take a pessimistic, negative view of my life at times, there's a lot of goodness and a lot for which I am grateful. And here's some of them.

March 9 - Today is a good day to be thankful. First and foremost, it’s my oldest nephew’s birthday. He’s 10 today. Crazy. I was there when he was born – it was my freshman year of college, but he was kind enough to arrive three weeks early while I was home on Spring Break. And for some crazy reason (maybe she just had no idea what was going on by that point) my sister let me stay in the room when she gave birth. Pretty intense. We’re all so grateful for him. And, bonus for today, it’s finally starting to get warm again. I do love winter, though this winter has caused me some…issues to have some mixed feelings about it all, but I’m pretty infected with spring fever at this point. And a desire for sunshine. It’s not just that it’s been cold a lot lately, it’s also been pretty cloudy a lot, which is unusual for these parts and hasn’t been my favorite thing. And thanks to Daylight Saving Time starting on Sunday, I got to see a bit of the sunrise this morning again (would have seen more of it had I not been lazy and stayed in bed too long. As usual). And tonight, AFTER work, I’ll be able to see the sunset. While walking Nutmeg. After work. Fabulous. Of course, my current schedule of things means I only get to enjoy that at most two weekdays per week (Monday and Friday, typically, assuming nothing else comes up), but still. At least I get those two days. And it’ll just continue to get lighter later, and by summer at least one of the two late nights I have that aren’t work related, I’ll have free again. I miss my twice-daily walks, and my sunshine-getting. So I’m pretty excited about the time change thing (though I’m never thrilled about losing an hour, but it’s worth it, for me).

March 10 - I didn't do a very good job today of being intentionally grateful. I am thankful for getting myself to start that exercise program again, even though I'm not following the meal plan well. (UPDATE: I didn't last very long. Oh well.) Maybe I'll look a little better when I go to my friend's wedding in a few weeks. Or at least feel a little bit better. Gotta have that confidence for all those singles guys I'm sure won't be there. (haha.)

March 11 - Oddly, I'm thankful today for being SO sore. One, it means I did some work yesterday. Two, because it provides me with a lot of laughs, since I have this weird reaction to certain kinds of pain wherein I laugh a lot instead of...whatever else people do when they're in pain. Of course, this makes me seem weird and crazy when I get up to go walk to the bathroom or wherever and am having to work really hard to keep myself from bursting out laughing at the pain, which would seem like I'm laughing at absolutely nothing since no one else knows I'm in pain. Fun times in the life of Susie.

March 12 - Oh Jesus, you know how difficult this is for me today for whatever reasons. But thank you for the opportunity to go on a nice walk this morning, with lovely weather and the overcast skies I enjoy so much. I needed it. And thank you, too, for the Yo-Yo Ma prelude that played on the radio on my way into work this morning. I generally enjoy the classical station, but usually it's just nice music I don't really know, not favorites I love. This was a wonderful exception, and it was a balm I needed. And then I got a migraine, but leaving work to take a 3 hour nap helped, and I'm thankful I was well enough just in time to get to choir practice.

March 13 - Today, I'm thankful for not having a headache (best part of headaches is the feeling once they go away and you realize it's not there anymore). Also thankful for cool mornings that smell like spring rain, and for my family. And, Jesus, I'm so thankful for your amazing love, for your mercy and your forgiveness which I desperately need on a daily basis. You alone know how much I don't deserve it. Thank you for loving me anyway, and giving me infinite chances while I'm still on this earth, and for continuing to draw me closer to you even when I keep trying to pull away. Thank you for having patience with me even when I complain about all the things you haven't given me.

March 14 - Today I got to spend good time with Mom dress shopping - which was surprisingly not terrible. Malls are terrible, and we went to two, and shopping is terrible in general, but I enjoy my mom a whole lot and felt good overall (which is sometimes a rare feat when clothes shopping is involved). I even found a couple of dresses I felt good in. one I bought for general dress-wearing and/or Easter specifically, the other I didn't (yet?) because it's expensive and I'm not sure where I'd have a chance to wear it again after Peter's wedding. But it's so pretty. We'll see. And then after we got back from shopping I had the house to myself for a couple of hours, which is always nice, and ended up watching Raiders of the Lost Ark on our 24-year-old taped-from-TV VHS, because I'm cool like that. Man, commercials used to be so much better than they are now.

March 15 - Today was a great day, full stop. Laetare Sunday = pretty instrumental music during communion by the Hansons (aka Philharmonic people who are awesome), and I felt pretty (hi, I'm vain sometimes), and then I met up with my Wednesday small group friends to go hiking at Garden of the Gods, which was all kinds of delightful because the weather was so fantastic. Great company, great weather, great views, and also Nutmeg. Highly enjoyable. and in the evening I had another few hours by myself. (Boy do I want to get my own place, but then I also wonder if I'd become unhealthily reclusive. I just like being by myself sometimes.) Such a good way to end the weekend and so many things for which to be thankful. OH! Also! I thought I had lost my favorite rosary, one that used to belong to my grandmother, including her rosary case that has a picture of Madonna of the Streets on it - my favorite Marian picture - and thought it might have possibly fallen out of my purse at the mall in Denver while we were shopping and I somehow didn't hear the loud clunk that would have resulted from said fall. I was looking through my purse as frantically and thoroughly as I could without being disruptive during our adult RE class after Mass on Sunday, then gave up, said a quick prayer to St. Anthony to help me out, and committed to emptying out my purse as soon as I got out. So when I got in my car afterwards I took out a few items, and almost immediately found the case and rosary near where I had already looked. Those things always make me chuckle. Thank God (!) for St. Anthony's intercession! :) He always seems to work overtime for me.

March 16 - Once again, thankful for the lovely springy weather. Delightful. Also somewhat thankful for potentials, maybe changes, though I'm not really sure yet if I am actually thankful about that. But I guess it's nice to have maybe potential possibilities? Jury's still out there. And sunshine! Definitely always thankful for that. And for flowers that are starting to bloom and grow, just like Edelweiss (haha). I'm grateful for the sunshine that will still be out after I get home, and for the re-institution of my evening walks to catch the sunset (at least on Mondays and Fridays for now, until closer to summertime when some of my evening activities will be suspended). Oh, and I'm thankful for people who post three-hour-long movie score compilations on youtube, and thankful today specifically for this one which had Legends of the Fall (my favorite track from that score), followed by the main score for Band of Brothers (one of my favorite scores).

March 17 - Today's a lot of similarities to yesterday, I suppose, but that's ok. Those potentials are still potentialating. I'm also thankful today for yummy food (and, even though it's a little pathetic, having a mom who makes it for me, because if it weren't for her I'd eat either nothing or the same old boring unexciting thing every night). Also thankful for a fun new TV show (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). It's not perfect, and there are jokes in there I wish weren't, but it's funny and the main character's heart is good. Though I am a little disappointed in her hearty endorsement of and encouragement for divorce of one of the other characters in a later episode. Oh well.

March 18 - I'm thankful today for good articles that are uplifting and wonderful. I'm thankful for productive meetings at work. I'm thankful for Matt Maher and his new CD, which is excellent. And I'm thankful for Jesus, because who needs a reason!

March 19 - Thankful for St Joseph today on his feast day! Also thankful that he's so awesome this is a solemnity, and one that usually falls during Lent, giving us a nice little break from the penitential season. He is pretty awesome. And I'm thankful today for my dad who is named after him and is similarly awesome! Also grateful today for beautiful Good Friday music we practiced at choir this evening, because man. It's a tough day but those mournful songs are absolutely moving and are such good reminders of what Jesus did for us.

March 20 - Grateful that today is FINALLY Friday. Glad to be able to relax a bit this evening, and go on a nice evening walk. I love those walks.

March 21 - Thankful for Palmer Park! It's the best. Grateful for a good cleaning of my bathroom and a little bit my bedroom (which is more difficult because of the boxes piled therein, thanks to not having my own place or places to put my things). And VERY excited today to have started four different blankets! Three baby (for no one in particular, not yet, anyway) and one regular (for someone in particular). Also thankful for a ridiculously huge yarn stash that I'm probably never going to knit through, unless I live another 100 years or something.

March 22 - Today is Sunday which means I'm grateful, as ever, for Mass, which is the best. Thankful for coffee (mmmmm so good), for knitting, and for doing both while watching campy Tremors on our new limited-cable TV. Hadn't seen that movie in years and years, and it was dumb but enjoyable for some reason. Thankful again for Palmer Park, and for getting to go to a good talk by a good speaker on the truths of marriage from a secular/non religious perspective, followed by about half an hour of adoration (which wasn't on the schedule until just today, because I didn't know it was available at the church that I only recently found out has confessions on Sunday evenings, which is awesome. Adoration happens for several hours up to the time when confessions become available. Fantastic and perfect). SOOOO thankful for the sacrament of confession. It is so great. I love it so much. so very much. And I ended the day with some more knitting, and I will just never get sick of being thankful for knitting.

March 23 - Today, my list consists of: Jesus (yes. Forgiveness, mercy, love, acceptance, challenge, perfection), Nutmeg (I am so very grateful for the gift she is. She's so sweet and cute and just makes my heart so very happy, and I love being able to make her happy), peace, and hope.

March 24 - I got my tax return! Much more quickly than last year, in which I had encountered the same problem as this year. So that's pretty fantastic. And again, thankful for Matt Maher.

March 25 - It's the feast of the Annunciation! This is a great day. And again, a solemnity in the middle of Lent, and yay. Thankful for some short-lived snow today, and for a manager who's invested in me and my needs. I'm so thankful for my parents, too. They're wonderful.

March 26 - Today is my Friday, and I'm very grateful for that, also because it means traveling tomorrow to go to a wedding! yay! Grateful for Jesus, and for my fun coworkers, and for not going crazy. (Yet.)

March 27 - Today I flew to Dallas to go to a wedding, and I'm thankful for window seats and exit row seats (especially when I get the two together!), and for audiobooks (managed to listen to the entire audiobook of The Princess Bride over the course of the day), and for ample knitting time because I got to the airport early (I love flying out of CSprings because the security line is never more than like three people, and today they didn't even make us take off our shoes or take laptops/liquids/etc out of bags like normally has to happen, so I got through security within approximately three minutes), and then knit the whole flight which was actually surprisingly short, and then once I got to the airport I had a few hours to kill before another friend I was driving to the wedding with flew in. (aaaah! so many prepositions in incorrect places!) Knitting makes any day more delightful. I don't know how people travel without it.

March 28 - Thankful for friends today! And weddings! And weddings of friends with friends in attendance! And actually getting to dance at a wedding for once (with not-relatives/not-old men)! And Notre Dame, which brought us all together in the first place. And the fact that Texas is already in the midst of spring, and is very green, and there are azaleas here and they are blooming and I SAW them. Among other pretty flowers.

March 29 - Grateful for church, and for the fact that the Mass is the same everywhere, and for the opportunity to go. Also thankful for safe travels today! And for wonderful parents who were willing to drive up to DIA to pick me up, because they're awesome and I love them.

March 30 - Grateful tonight for an unexpected night at home (canceled plans were to go to see Cinderella, which I do want to see, but this week is crazy with things every night and just the opportunity to walk Nutmeg and do laundry is a blessing).

March 31 - Chrism Mass! My choir sang at this Mass tonight and it might be the first time I've actually gone to a Chrism Mass. It was beautiful (including the music, heh), and I love seeing the sight of all those priests and deacons and seminarians. Wonderful. And complete with lots of lovely smells of incense and holy oils, etc. Yes.

April 1 - Today is a day I'm actually thankful not to be on facebook, because I hate April Fools' Day. Pranks are one thing, but I hate the blatant lies that pass for jokes these days. And all the fake pregnancies and whatnot, sometimes it's just oddly painful. So. Good for that. Also, I'm glad for all the flowers that are starting to bloom and show signs of life.

April 2 - Today is Holy Thursday, and I am, as always, grateful for the beautiful Mass of the Lord's Supper that we celebrate today. I love this particular Mass so much (along with the entire Triduum). I love being Catholic. *contented sigh.*

April 3 - Good Friday, and I am just so very grateful for Jesus and his sacrifice for us - for ME. Everything about today is truly, truly good. In addition to the powerful Good Friday service this afternoon (including the music, which, oh my, Good Friday has some of the most hauntingly beautiful music ever created. Most of which was not created recently). Also, this evening I watched The Passion, and while of course I've seen it before, when watching it today I kept thinking about how he did all of that for me - for everyone, obviously, but also just and only for me. If I were the only person, he still would have done that. Kind of takes on a different light when meditating on that unbelievable fact.

April 4 - Thankful for new Catholics baptized/confirmed at the Easter Vigil this evening, all around the world. Heaven rejoices!

April 5 - Everything about Easter. So much good with today. My choir sang at the two Masses this morning, which revitalized my spirit after a somewhat disappointing Easter Vigil (aside from the fact that it was Easter Vigil and everything included in it). We sang good music, even if the congregation didn't seem to participate much, and the liturgies were beautiful, and everything was grand. And today also included good family time, and of course the annual viewing of The Ten Commandments (with a brief intermission to watch Call the Midwife, yay!).

April 6 - Today I'm thankful for waking up early. I'm trying to get myself to get out of bed at 6 or so, because I have a lot of things I want to try to fit into my pre-work morning, and getting up at 7 just doesn't work. I managed to do it today (almost), and it felt good. We'll see what happens tomorrow! Also, tonight I went to see Cinderella with my mom and SIL, and it was delightful and fun. Despite my cynicism.

April 7 - Thankful today for Matt Maher and for spring.

April 8 - Haha. Um. Today I'm thankful for discovering the rather camouflaged poop on the floor before stepping in it...

April 9 - I kind of failed at this today, but...thankful for being in choir? I feel like I'm not very much of a contribution to the choir, but I enjoy what we do and being able to be part of it.

April 10 - Thankful that today is Easter Friday in the octave which means it's a solemnity which means meat! Which further means going to Garbanzo for dinner after my late shift. Yum. Also thankful for a good day at work today including a positive interaction regarding Catholicism (which is fairly uncommon at this job - if it's ever mentioned by people on the phone, it tends toward the negative).

April 11 - Sooo thankful to sleep in today. And for knitting. And for my dad, who is awesome.

April 12 - Thankful today for our beautiful Mass, and the wonderful readings today, and for watching an episode of the beautiful Catholicism series during our adult ed today, and then going to brunch with my friend, and then going back to church for a little while because it's Divine Mercy Sunday so they had confessions and adoration starting at 1pm until the Mass at 3. I didn't stay for the Mass, but I did get to spend some time with Jesus, and I miss regular adoration and hope that soon there'll be a perpetual adoration place closer to where I live and/or work.

April 13 - Grateful to find out today that I got approved for a (slightly) different schedule - moving everything up half an hour. Still not too early, but early enough that I can make it to the very last chiropractor appointment one day a week. So that'll be pretty nice. (Also, it'll allow me to get to the 6pm daily Mass on days I don't have other evening things, which is great because trying to go in the mornings just isn't working too well.)

April 14 - Today I'm grateful for being supported, both by my awesome parents and at work.

April 15 - Thankful for my sickness not being terrible.

April 16 - Aaaand...today I'm thankful for being sick enough to take a needed sick day. :)

April 17 - Thankful for the upcoming opportunity for a new role at work. Also grateful for a good TV show I enjoy with my parents (BBC, obvs, because they have the best stuff). Foyle's War. Check it out.

April 18 - Grateful for relaxing, and for the movie Ben-Hur.

April 19 - Thankful today for Mass (as usual), a good walk with the dogs, and parents who are awesome.

April 20 - Sooo grateful that lilacs are starting to bloom!

April 21 - Thankful for little yellow flowers (teeny tiny flowers!) and for a long Palmer Park walk.

April 22 - Thankful for a yummy dinner, and for an awesome podcast that made me even more grateful for Jesus.

April 23 - For no reason, today was just a really good day, and I'm very grateful for that. Also, I got to go to an early (by a day) screening of Little Boy - they bought out a whole theater to show it tonight. Good movie. Almost made me shed one tear.

April 24 - Pizza! Friday! Weekend alone with just me and the dogs!

April 25 - Thankful for clean things. Feels so good to have things clean, and even the act of doing it is just...good. And satisfying. Grateful for my legs today, which kept me upright even when the three dogs tried to pull off my arms chasing a bunny they saw.

April 26 - Today it's clean sheets. Mmmm. What a great feeling. Thankful for pretty sand lilies, and for my Colorado wildflower book that helps me identify the pretty flowers I see and love. Thankful for another BBC show, which I also enjoy with my parents, Call the Midwife. Good stuff.

April 27 - Today is a beautiful drizzly day and I'm grateful for that, and for the walk I got to take in it in the morning.

April 28 - Grateful for yummy quiche. I love quiche a semi-inordinate amount, but I'm ok with that. (Especially when it's quiche with BACON.) Grateful for my late-morning workdays, and the Palmer Park trips that often ensue on those days.

April 29 - Thankful I haven't yet gone crazy today. As always and forever, thankful for my at least once-daily walks (which probably go a long way to that first item on today's list).

April 30 - Thankful I was able to go on a nice late-evening walk after choir tonight, and that it's still semi-light out after 8pm these days, and that I could fill up my car today for $25 (after a dollar off per gallon discount).

May 1 - Grateful for today's morning walk after the rain, and especially for the resulting smell in the air of rain mixed with flowers mixed with scents that are reminiscent of camping.

May 2 - Today (and tomorrow) is retreat day! I haven't been on a retreat in a very long time. And we're retreating at Golden Bell, up in Divide, which is easily one of my favorite spots in Colorado (but then, aren't they all). (No. Denver is not. And eastern is not.) Thankful for the storm(s) we had while up there, especially the one that threatened us while we had some prayer time outside - thunder all around us, seemed like it might rain at any time, but it didn't! And Jesus was there in that, and it was great. Also, it was a nearly (or fully?) full moon, which is awesome when you're in the mountains. And there was a campfire. And Jesus. And confession. And adoration. And loveliness.

May 3 - Lilacs at Mass! Specifically, being sprinkled with holy water with a lilac branch. Awesome. I'm typically not a plants-for-holy-water person, but when you're at a retreat and it's lilacs, definitely great. So grateful today for Duz, also. We're not promised anything, so every day is awesome.

May 4 - Duz's birthday! A year ago we didn't expect to celebrate this birthday with him. Grateful to have Tom and Sophie come over for a little while in the evening.

May 5 - Thankful for all the great Catholic books I've been reading this year. I've bought...kind of a lot. But they're GOOD. Today I finished Filling Our Father's House and plan to write a little more about it here soon.

May 6 - Thankful that God let me hear Bolero on the radio this evening, driving home in a cloud of disappointment, frustration, irritation, and annoyance. He is good to me. And he also gave me a great walk in the evening post-rain air, complete with a super beautiful sunset.

May 7 - Thankful for my morning walk today (seriously, broken record, does it even count anymore?) and specifically for the lots of deer we saw, the pretty flowers and water droplets, and Nutmeg being so sweet and cute. And later on in the day, a delightfully awesome hailstorm complete with several inches of hail! And lightning and thunder. Fantabulous. (And now, a few hours later, sunny and clear.)

May 8 - Today is Friday! Enough said right there, right? But I also got to have dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in...far too long. And I got to give her the blanket I've been working on for her since early 2014. Better late than never? Well, I started it at the same time as I started Tom and Sophie's, and theirs took precedence (and more time) since it was a wedding gift. This was just...for her. No particular reason, except she had asked a long time ago for one. And it worked out that it's almost a birthday present! So. Good times all around.

May 9 - I got to sleep in today, and that's why I love Saturdays and why I dislike the fact that hiking typically requires early wake-ups on Saturdays (since it's the only day I have to sleep in and be lazy, really). But once we get back into hiking season, I hope I get the chance to complain about waking up early on Saturdays, because that will mean I'm going hiking. Also, today I got lots of knitting time and that's always something to be grateful for.

May 10 - Today, as it's Mother's Day and also a day that ends in Y, I'm thankful for my mom. She really is the best. Sorry, everyone else's mom.

May 11 - Oddly thankful for phone calls today. But only one, and only because it was a fun call with a friend that involved a lot more laughter than I've had in far too long.

May 12 - I won a t-shirt at work today for being an overachiever, and I love being rewarded for being an overachiever. It doesn't happen much these days.

May 13 - After about a month off for various reasons, my small group finally met again tonight, and it was good to see them all again. AND, oh, and, on my drive after work, my current favorite song Shut Up and Dance came on the radio, and then when it finished I switched to another station right before it started playing THERE! So. That was a pretty awesome five minutes.

May 14 - The dandelions this morning were frosted and pretty and just surprisingly enchanting, and I took lots of pictures and I'm grateful for flowers. Always.

May 15 - Friday. Friday. That is all.

May 16 - Thankful for new pens! (Last year I had gotten a free pen somewhere, and it was my favorite pen ever amen the end and then eventually it ran out of ink, as pens do. I finally went to find some more, and lo, I am so happy.) Also got to see some friends today I don't see very often, which was nice, and we got pizza for dinner, and pizza is just the best. For entree meals. Along with quiche. Pizza, quiche, ice cream, and coffee. That'd be my last meal choice if I ever got on death row.

May 17 - Sunday. Mass. I love Jesus.

May 18 - Super thankful to realize that I only have TWO DAYS of work this week! Today, Tuesday, and then I don't come back until next Tuesday thanks to Memorial Day! (Back in November or December, when they opened up this year's calendar for time off requests, I knew I had to put in days for this weekend since it's a holiday weekend and those go quickly. So, since I didn't yet know the plan of how things would happen and when, I just put in Wednesday through Friday. And then when I decided I wouldn't be going out to Kansas until Friday, I just left it and decided to give myself a two-day staycation. Win win. I hate taking days off, especially for no reason, because I hate missing things, but really what am I going to miss? It'll be nice. Woot. It'd be even nicer if it didn't rain the whole two days so I could at least go out to Palmer Park once, but either way. There will be movies to watch and knitting to do. And dogs to snuggle while trying not to worry about leaving them with someone else for a few days.)

May 19 - That's today! I'm thankful I'm actually planning on posting this, finally, two and a half months later. This and a few other posts I've been writing on and off for months and weeks and days and it's ridiculous. Also thankful for, well, the usual, but that's ok. And the new blanket I'm going to start on soon. I'm sort of making up my own pattern. Well, I'm piecing together parts of patterns and stitches from other things, and my stitch calendar. Good times. I love knitting. (I know, I try to keep that on the down-low.)

May 20 - Day off, whut whut! Sleeping in, hanging out, all that jazz. Goooood stuff. Also, I discovered a new show - and by that, I mean I finally started watching a show I've seen advertised on the Hallmark channel now that we have a super basic package for the year, which includes Hallmark. It's called When Calls the Heart, a show based on a book series by Janette Oke that I read years ago. About a teacher in Canada in early 1900s who falls in love and marries a Mountie. What's not to love? Anyway, the first season is streaming on Netflix, so I started it, and hopefully I can catch up to start watching the second season as it airs on Hallmark.

May 21 - Day alone! So, I'm super awesome and am living with my parents (going on exactly a year here soon, which is the longest I've lived in one place since, well, the last time I lived here, between college and grad school) - I'm extremely grateful to them, and grateful for the fact that I get along well with them aside from the fact that any time anyone lives with anyone else there will be differences of opinions and personality, etc. Anyway, that aside, I do really long for my own place, my own space, the ability to be just by myself for awhile. I might get an hour or two here or there sometimes, but generally not so much, so the times my parents go out of town or whatever, it's kind of nice. They left today for Kansas, but I'm leaving tomorrow, so I get the whole house all to myself (plus dogs). D-e-lightful. Also, yay for finishing the first season of When Calls the Heart! Only 12 or so episodes, which is sad because I want more of it.

May 22 - Today I'm grateful for an uneventful drive through Kansas, despite continuously overcast skies and occasional bursts of rain. And I'm thankful for an awesome Catholic podcast that's easily accessible and interesting, and things like that should be required listening for every Catholic. Thankful to have seen blooming yuccas along the highway in Kansas, and even a buffalo herd sighting. Thankful I made it to my destination without running out of gas, despite hitting zero on my tank several miles outside of town. Worked out perfectly! Also grateful for family and weddings!

May 23 - Thankful for love, for a new sister-in-law, and for flexibility when God has other plans (like a deluge of rain right before an outdoor ceremony is scheduled to start). So grateful for family members who traveled far to celebrate with us, even in the mud. Thankful to be able to fall asleep to the sound of rain on the roof, better than I can do at home because when I'm home I always have a fan going to help me sleep, but I never have one when I travel (which usually makes it much harder to fall asleep), so I really got to appreciate being put to sleep by the sound of the rain.

May 24 - Today, I'm really grateful for the song Shut Up and Dance because, while one nine-hour road trip alone is fine, doing it twice within three days can get to be a bit much. But that song? It wakes me up, and forces me to dance, and is wonderful, and I had made the decision to spend $1.30 to buy it and put it on my ipod so I could listen to it as often as and whenever I wanted. It was a good decision. Also, I saw the sun and real, blue sky for the first time in days and days that actually felt like weeks. Amen the end.

May 25 - Grateful today for having a day off to recover before having to start up at work again. And really surprisingly thankful for the person who, when noticed that I was wanting to turn right at the red light up ahead and he was in the right lane but going straight, changed over to the left lane so I could turn without having to wait for the light to turn green. I try to be aware of that when I'm approaching a red light and both lanes are open - when that's the case, I typically change to the left lane to allow any potential right-turners access to that lane. (If, however, someone's already in the left lane, I stay in the right lane because I like my front row.) I, however, often get stuck behind people who don't seem to have that same awareness, particularly at that light, so it was really appreciated today.

You get a gold star if you read through this whole thing.