Friday, November 30, 2012

January's Quick Takes


Sometimes it's easy to stop blogging. Like around Thanksgiving and other holidays. The easiest way I've found to jump back in is with some Quick Takes! Fair warning: this is going to be incredibly random.

1. It's November 30th already! Happy Feast of St. Andrew! It's the first day to pray the beautiful novena. (Thanks to Becky for the reminder and the gorgeous chaplet).

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment
in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.
In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires,
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.
Amen.

2. As I was eating breakfast this morning, my cat started chasing something. Something that I couldn't see. But it wasn't just that she had the crazies, where she sprints all around the house. It's clear that something very tiny was there to chase. But she kept stopping and looking around, like she had lost it. And now I know that there's something so small that it's nearly invisible somewhere in my house. Eek!

3. November and I, we have really deep discussions. Like this week, when we talked about pee. The pee of children. The pee of cats. Pee being in really, really wrong places in the house. Yes, anywhere that is not a toilet, diaper, or litter box is the wrong place. It's amazing how something as basic and ordinary as pee can ruin a mother's day or add strain to the marriage of cat owners. I think this take will ensure that you think of us next time you encounter pee where it doesn't belong.

4. Speaking of...children, the brother and SIL of one of my best friends had a baby this week. They lost their first baby in utero to a terrible physical defect, so the healthy birth of this baby is quite the blessing. Speaking of pee (ok, I went there again), baby boy was born with only one kidney, which at this point doesn't seem indicative of any other problems. I'm hoping it stays that way!

5. Like everyone else, I was crushed to learn that Carla's son Henry passed away this week. I am so thankful that he got to know the love of a family during his lifetime on earth. Praying in a special way for his mom, dad, and siblings.

6. Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. There have been years (mostly in school) where I've observed this, and years where I missed it completely. I live near (and used to live in) a U.S. city where there are a staggering number of HIV and AIDS cases; the percentages rival underdeveloped countries on other continents. I have absolutely no answers or good ideas for this huge problem, but I finally feel connected to the problem, because I am in love with Marjorie and many of the little kids who are HIV+ on Reece's Rainbow. Let's do what we can to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. Even if the best we've got right now is to pray.

7. By the way, Marjorie just got a huge donation to her adoption fund! It wasn't there yesterday, I promise. This means other people are looking out for her too! And maybe her fund will get big enough that adopting her will be easier. Someone out there needs her in their family! Maybe you know them. Please let them know that Marjorie is waiting.
 

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary!

4 comments:

  1. I'm excited that the novena starts today. It would be such a wonderful thing to hear that someone's prayer is answered during this novena, especially now, when things are so sad with Henry's passing.

    PS
    Sounds like you have a mouse in the house!

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  2. Ooh, that PS might be true, but I hate the thought! Yes, that's a good novena. I don't think I'll be praying it this year, but I do think it's a really good one for Advent.

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  3. Eek! Not a mouse! The way she was staring so intently at the (apparently empty) space on the ground when she lost track of it, my thought went to some sort of bug. If anything is located, I will update!

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  4. It sounds like your kitty was looking at / playing with a spider. Mine play with the spiders, then they lose interest & walk away, leaving me screaming "Kill it!!!" and standing on a chair. Then I make DH come to wherever I am with something to kill it. Ewwwwww.
    Oh ... and pee! Yes! I've got something similar. Poo! One of my cats likes to poo outside the litter box, just a foot from it. It is SO frustrating. So far, I've not found any other areas in the house. Yuck.
    I'm also praying the St. Andrew Novena. I prayed it last year and really enjoyed it. My main goal is to pray it before I start getting sleepy about 9 pm. It's hard to "nap" and wake up later to pray before midnight. ;-D

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