Last night's lesson? Don't put your phone down in your car in the dark.

Here's what I did. I had a mug of tea with me on the way to a meeting at church. It was in the cup holder and I still had an inch or two left when I went inside. When I came out I did not think about the tea. In the dark, I tossed my cell phone into the cup holder where I usually keep it in the car. That is, I usually do this when I do NOT have a mug with tea already in the holder!! I didn't even bump the mug with my hand. I had completely forgotten about it.

Suddenly I noticed the light came on on my phone. I picked it up to see if someone was calling.

Why is there liquid dripping off of my phone??!!! AHHHH! I suddenly realize what I did. I tried to dry it off with Kleenex. It seemed OK. But this morning it's dead.

My daughter said to put it in a bag of rice for a while. I thought, why not? So that's what I'm trying. Any other ideas?

March for Life Pix

My dear friend Nan who lives in Arlington, Virginia, for several years now has opened her home to us when my daughters and I come for the March for Life. This year, since the March was on Monday, we had the weekend to spend time sightseeing and visiting with her and her family.

Here we are at a cupcake shop in D.C., across from the National Portrait Gallery. The cupcakes were yummy! ( I was taking the picture.)

We visited Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington . What an amazing leader he was!

The night before the March Nan's living room turned into an artist studio as the girls and I made our signs...
We had wait list tickets for the Youth Rally and Mass and were blessed to be able to get in. There were many bishops and hundreds of priests concelebrating the Mass. It was very inspiring. A message was read by a bishop from the Holy Father.
We managed to figure out our subway route. (quite simple, actually :-)
And here we were at the end of the March. I had tried to contact my good friend Sally from Ann Arbor who was at the March with her family. Shortly after this picture was taken we "accidentally" ran into each other. It was so much fun. Sally and I are always discussing politics and there we were together in front of the U.S. Capital.
Here at Nan's kitchen table I was reminded of the verse from the Canticle of Zachariah.

"In the tender compassion of our God,

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet unto the way of Peace."

On the way to the Washington March for Life!!! Having fun with my daughters :-) Looking forward to meeting Anne in Washington tomorrow!

If any of you are going to the March email me. Denise?

Well, I just got back from Curves. Pretty proud of myself for going after dinner. That hardly ever happens. But I'm starting to feel kind of old and I realize I really need to keep the old body moving. You know?

Jim went back to Dallas last night. It was so wonderful having him home for a month. What a blessing. I miss him terribly. I know he's at a wonderful school but does it have to be so far from Michigan? I mean really. It's a 20 hour drive!! But I do believe it's where God wants him to be. And what an education he's getting. I'm a little jealous. :-) He has another break in mid-March that he'll come home for. It won't be that long.

We're going to the March for Life in Washington again this year!! I will drive there with my two youngest girls and my oldest daughter, Anne, will fly in from Atlanta to meet us there. We are really looking forward to this. Anyone in the Washington area going to the national march??

I'm trying to get back in the habit of blogging regularly.....

A few of my favorite Christmas images...

I can't just turn off Christmas. I could never take the tree down on January 1. Good heavens. that would be way too early for us. We ALWAYS keep it up until at least Jan. 6, the traditional Feast of the Epiphany before it was changed to a Sunday.

But now we're past the Baptism of Jesus and our tree is still up. We're even still turning the lights on. LOL I know. Christmas is officially over. But it's so pretty. What's the rush? Plus my husband's knee and back have been hurting and he is usually the one to get the boxes out. I meant to get them out today but still haven't gotten to it.

So here are a few of my lingering Christmas images....

Stockings on the mantel beneath the Nativity scene.

Another little Nativity scene. I love how the light shines on the Baby Jesus. So precious.

And this one? Well, just happened to notice how pretty these ornaments were looking. And "Hope?" Well, can't we always use that reminder...

In the tradition of my mother, I try to convince my children that they will not be receiving the gifts they have asked for for Christmas and birthdays. I ask them what they would like and then try to maintain the fun of the surprise. Mind you, they do not always get what they have asked for, so there is always some doubt anyway.

I was with Mary when she first saw this hat in the department store. She loved it. She raved about it. She exclaimed that she would REALLY like to get this hat for Christmas.

I bought it later that week when she was not with me. When I later asked her for Christmas ideas and she would mention the hat I would say, "You mean like a knit hat, a warm hat?" and she would say, "No, remember the one at Von Maur? The black one with the rose thing on the side?" I look confused for a minute. "Oh yeah. That one in the junior department?" She says, "Yeah!" and then describes exactly where it is and what it looks like. I smile on the inside. I know I have convinced her that I have not already purchased it.

A week or so later I ask her again to remind me of her Christmas suggestions. She mentions the hat. For a few seconds I give her a blank look. Knowing she would not believe that I have no recollection of our last conversation, I pretend it is just coming back to me. "Oh yeah. That black one?" I ask. I have tricked her again. I can tell from her face. (Although interiorly I know she may be thinking, "Is she pretending")

When (if) she reads this post she will probably tell me she could read me all along. We'll see.

In any case, it's my little game. I think keeping a gift a surprise is half, maybe more than half, of the fun.

Some gifts are just such fun to give...

Some gifts are just such fun to give...like the one Mary is opening here.

In our family we don't give the kids cell phones until they're driving. I know most kids have them. I know they're very convenient for reaching the kids quickly. But it just seems to us that we can make do until that time. When they're younger I sometimes loan them mine.

Mary turned 16 the day after Christmas. She does not yet have her license but she will soon. So it seemed about time for her to have a cell phone.

Now for our plan. On Christmas morning, before she was up, I turned on her phone and THEN wrapped it and put in under the tree with the other presents. Jim programmed her new number into his phone and kept it near him. As I went to pick up the wrapped phone to give to Mary I bumped Jim in the knee and gave him a look as I went by.

Mary looked at the package. (Jim is secretly dialing her number.) She said, "Maybe I'll wait and open this one in a little bit." Just then the package starts ringing. Startled, she jumped, staring at the gift and then exclaimed, "No! I'm going to open this one right now!!"

Mary receiving her first cell phone call from Jim.
John showing Mary some things on her new phone.

It was so much fun. I can't believe we pulled it off.

My nephew Luke

You gotta love Luke. Here he is. My nephew. My Godson. He has his challenges. Sometimes just doing what is expected, staying within the boundaries, is very difficult for him. But he has a cheerful, imaginative and creative spirit about him.

Here he is opening a gift he clearly was enjoying-- one of Santa's reindeer's bells. (Mind you, he doesn't believe in Santa. But he still enjoys an innocent kind of pretending.)

You can always count on Luke. Often he will do what the other kids will not. For example, at our Christmas Mass we have a procession made up of mostly children bringing to Baby Jesus in the Nativity Scene baby items for our local crisis pregnancy center. Naturally, it was Luke who agreed to represent our family with the baby items in the procession.

On Christmas morning of course it was Luke who volunteered to take the Baby Jesus to the OUTDOOR Nativity Scene. Here he is coming down the stairs....
And then, without even grabbing a coat, he immediately headed outside for the manger...

And placed Jesus carefully in the manger...I thought it was so cute I was standing on the porch in my bathrobe taking pictures.
Yup, as my brother once said, "He's our Luke. No matter what he does, he's still our Luke." Yes. And we love him.

Now recall the reindeer bell he so delighted in above.

Zach (my new and favorite son-in-law) wrote the following poem (in 90 seconds) during the reindeer games.

An Ode to Santa

Dancer dropped his bell.

When I found it, I nearly fell.

Resentment, I hope he doesn't harbor

For I am the newest reindeer, Luke Barber!

I thought I would die laughing. And Luke thought it was the funniest of all! LOL