Cottage Blessings

Catholic Exchange today

Please take a look at Catholic Exchange today for "Sowing a Seed."

The Family Face

A piece I wrote called "The Family Face" is appearing on Catholic Exchange today!

: )

A Dance in the Rain

is appearing at Catholic Exchange today. This piece means more to me than ever now that my mother is so very, very sick.

Although my mother is confined to her bed, if she had her way, she would be dancing in the rain.

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While we are on the subject of the right to life, please take a look at Mary Ellen Barrett's heartfelt The World Needs Wildflowers.

About that mid-life crisis

I am happy to say that my article, Mid-life Crisis Averted, is appearing over at Catholic Exchange today.

Still, it should be noted that the troubled man looking off into space in the picture is not my husband. If anything, that guy must be "the graying executive behind the wheel of a brand new Porsche."

What is bothering him, I wonder. It's hard to say. Perhaps he just found out he can't make the payments on the Porsche.

Maybe that's how he lost his shirt.

; )

The Perfect Storm

I can't thank you enough for the enormous outpouring of prayers for my mother, not only here on the blog, but on friends' blogs, at the 4Real Message Board, and in our local homeschooling group. My mother is so very grateful for your prayers and said they are the most important thing to her right now. Her condition continues to be very serious, and she remains in intensive care with little to no movement on her left hand side. She is capable of conversation and easy to understand, although she has forgotten a great deal and struggles to remember, asking me to repeat the children's names, for example.

The reason I called this update "The Perfect Storm" is that I realized my mother's illness came at the exact time she would get the most possible prayers from faithful readers online. It just so happens that a condensed version of the story about Patrick on the cablecar appeared in Catholic Exchange's Touched by Grace column, causing quite a few people otherwise unfamiliar with this blog to click through. Lisa Hendey, founder of CatholicMom.com was kind enough to post a link to the Spoon Saints craft on CatholicMom's Halloween page, bringing many new visitors. Also, thanks to Lisa, Saints of the Season, the first installment of a new column on Living the Liturgical year appeared at CatholicMom.com.

This very unusual and temporary increase in traffic here was perfectly timed for more people to read the prayer requests and storm Heaven for my mother.

Deo gratias!

The Unicorn

Please visit Catholic Exchange today for The Last Unicorn, the third in a series on Catholic family life.

Many, many thanks for all your kind comments on these pieces, by the way. I appreciate it!!!

A Postcard from the California Cottage

A faulty internet connection and unfamiliar laptop prevent me from going into detail at the moment, but I am writing from our temporary home on the west coast. Daddy had business here, so we packed the whole gang, trading in the roaring waters of the Atlantic for the undulating gray green of the Pacific. Needless to say, it has been an adventure!

If you have a moment, please be sure to visit Catholic Exchange today to read A Promise Delayed, the follow up to last week's piece, A Promise Kept.

Many thanks!

This Is Lissa, Hacking into Alice's Blog

Alice doesn't have internet access today, but I couldn't resist popping in here to let her readers know that her beautiful piece, A Promise Kept, is a featured post at Catholic Exchange today!

There is already a lively discussion going in the comments over there. Leave it to Alice to give us all "something to ponder and discuss!"