Small Steps, Big Steps and Our Steps and Stops...

1.  First off, some big steps for our little girl.

She went from this, on St. Valentine's Day...

To this less than a week later...

And now she's taken things to a whole new level.

2.  Secondly, you might be wondering where we've been.  The girls and I had planned a trip north to visit my friend Mary Beth.  We were classmates in graduate school, IPT Central WI 2005.  Our plan was to head north on Sunday and return home on Wednesday.

Kate and Mary Beth out for sushi!

We enjoyed time at daily Mass, conversation and cups of coffee, playing with her dog Snowflake and dining out for sushi, something Mary Beth and I have done many times though this was Katie and Julia's first.

Look at her use those chopsticks!

We also made a pilgrimage to visit The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI.  This site, where Mary appeared to Adele Brise in 1859, was recently approved by the local bishop.  I was personally moved by Our Lady's message to Adele and its relevance to today in Wisconsin as it was at the time it happened.  I am planning on posting some reflections about this part of our trip later this Lent.

3.  We'd planned on heading home Wednesday but my Uncle Dan 'Boone', my mom's brother, died and the funeral was set for Saturday.  So, rather than drive the trip back home to Kieler and promptly up north again.  We decided to make a round trip of it.  From Mary Beth's we head to Medford.

May Dan's soul and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

It was good to spend time with my family.  My mom was able to take some time off and my SIL and I spent some quality time together, too.  It was a real blessing.

4.Unfortunately, we came home and promptly got sick.  The girls battling a virus of sorts and me with mastitis, probably a symptom of the same virus.  I've recovered pretty quickly but the girls are still not on the mend.

Kate's sick spot- Notice the trash can full of kleenex.

5.  Fortunately, it was the start of Lent this Wednesday and all these things have been FUN in the Lenten sense as a friend reminded me this afternoon.  It has been a spiritually fruitful time for me. A mom recommended the book, Small Steps for Catholic Moms by Danielle Bean and Elizabeth Foss.  I must pass on this recommendation wholeheartedly.  It was Providential that I was struggling with simplicity and February's focus was, you got it SIMPLICITY!  Now, we're into March focusing on SACRIFICE.

They're small steps but they've really helped me direct my prayer and focus on particular virtues.

Ok, that's it for the moment from Kieler!