The Baptism! (With the blessing of Saint Joseph in particular!)

 My youngest grandson was recently baptized Michael Joseph, in St. Joseph Church, on the Saint Joseph River, in St. Joseph County, on the FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH!!!! Yes! He will go by the name "Joey."

 Mom Esther dressing Joey in his family baptismal clothes. Both his mother and father were baptized in these.

 Joey, ready for the sacrament...

 Receiving the waters of Baptism as his godfather, Uncle Jim, stands by.

 It was a beautiful Baptismal font. Heated water!

 Parents and godparents, Uncle Jim and Auntie Ruth.

 There were many families present. And a lot of little ones. I love the little hand on the right in this picture.

 Joey with his parents and grandparents....

                                    Auntie Elle, Uncle Jim, Auntie Mary, and Uncle Paul.

Fun brunch with family and friends afterwards...

 Uncle Zach giving Joey his first chiropractic adjustment.

Ok. A rare photo of me with my brother and sister who both came in for the event. One from Lansing, one from St. Louis.

  

Great Uncle Rich becoming quite taken with his new grandnephew.

 Great Aunt Maryanne with Joey and the little angel doll she made for him.

 Joey with Auntie Anne as Mom looks on.

 Triptych of the Nativity, a baptismal gift from Uncle Jim, the godfather...

 Joey with his mom and maternal grandfather...

 Cousin Blaise. If you look closely you can see he's trying to fill his father's shoes. Big shoes to fill!

 Joey with his Uncle Paul who is in the Air force and flew in from the west coast.

 

Auntie Liz with boyfriend Jonathan. 

 The three generations!

 Michael Joseph, Sr.,  Michael Joseph, Jr., and Michael Joseph, III

 Saint Michael and Saint Joseph, pray for them!

Haven't written in this blog for a while. I've been busy. Busy with life, exercise, homemaking, prayer and reading, enjoying my two young grandsons, and trying to stay fit. It's amazing how the days fill up.

I'm trying to exercise every day. I wear a Fitbit and pretty regularly hit the 10,000 steps a day target. I'm also enjoying two, sometimes three, Pilates classes a week. Pilates is strengthening my core muscles (and all my muscles) while increasing range of motion in my joints. It feels really good.

Why spend time on fitness if what I really want to be doing is writing? Well, as I said, I have two young grandsons. I want to be able to keep up with them and stay healthy and strong enough to enjoy them for a long time. For me, that's a really important reason. I also want to stay fit to enjoy all the other wonderful aspects of life. I want to keep going!

Since the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit it's important to keep the temple in good repair, right?

I'm not an exercise person. It's not one of my favorite things to do, by any means. But I do thoroughly enjoy how I feel afterward. Maybe that's always the reason people like to exercise-- for the feeling afterward? I don't know.

So how to get to my writing....perhaps organizing my time better would help. I could make simpler, easier meals. Maybe get some help around the house....I'm working on it.

After finishing the above thoughts, I took the dog for a walk and it occurred to me that finding a time to write is not a matter of finding. It's a matter of making the time. And if I make the time only to discover that other essential priorities in my life are not being met, then maybe it's time to discern whether God wants me to write right now. Maybe it's just not the right time or priority.