Random Quick Takes - Vol. 1

Fridays can get busy and I seem to keep missing "7 Quick Takes Friday." Thus, I introduce, Random Quick Takes. :) I realize part of Quick Takes Friday was to keep posting something on a regular schedule, but clearly that part of the plan just wasn't working out for me. So here we go!

1. I've been house sitting on Beacon Hill for the past week and a half and have another week and a half to go. The "commute," if you can call it that anymore, is wonderful! I'm typically not much of a cat person, but I must say I rather enjoy the two that I'm watching. Marc and I have nicknamed one "Crazy Sal," but I don't remember why. They are both kind of scaredy cats, especially Sal. Murcey is less so, but still has his moments. And usually when I get Sal to engage with her kitty toys, Murcey scares her off. So things are going well, although they did not start off that way. The first night of three week stay left me with a broken car window and a ransacked car. I hope the loose change (less than 50 cents I'm sure) was worth it, buddy! And please, next time, help yourself to my Lighthouse Catholic Media CD's. I was a little disappointed you didn't take any.

2. 40 Days for Life has been up and running for 16 days now and already 174 babies (and their mothers and fathers) have been saved! I have participating at the Seattle site conveniently located just down the road from where I work. It sometimes hard to put in an hour when it's soooo early in the morning or I feel like I have so much to do, but it's always worth it in the end and it turns out I'm just a big baby when I'm thinking "it's hard." An hour of my day given to pray for the conversion of hearts and to actually save lives is really just as much a gift to me as it is to those who are helped. That being said, I have skipped a few days this week because I've been sick. I'm looking forward to getting back out there this afternoon!

3. Speaking of life, I believe I have mentioned on here that I am chairing St. Vincent's Respect Life Committee. It's been a great experience so far. I'm definitely learning and a bit intimidated at times, but I'm really excited to be both a part of the group and leading it too. We have some amazing people on our committee and it I really enjoy working with them. This last weekend, we hosted coffee and donuts. October 4th was one of three Sundays still open for serving. The other two dates were not until later on in 2010. Shortly after signing our group up, I realized that October 4th was Respect Life Sunday. Thank you Holy Spirit! He made another big move for us in what at first seemed like an annoying situation that left me frustrated, but sometimes you just have to trust. Our third coffee and donuts, after the 11:30 AM Mass, was cancelled because of a Confirmation meeting in the hall. This is the biggest coffee and donuts! After putting a few emails out to cancel on our volunteers for that hour, someone in the office spoke with Father about compensating a loss with two tables in the narthex after all five Masses. This gave us the opportunity to reach even more people with the addition of our presence at 5:00 PM Mass on Saturday and 5:00 PM Mass on Sunday. We had fetal models, tons of resources, and 12 week precious babies to give out. It was a hit and definitely a huge blessing to have the 11:30 coffee and donuts cancelled. It gave me hope to see so many people respond positively to our materials and to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit at work with our group.

4. I haven't said too much about work lately. Nannying is going wonderfully and I still love it. This fall brought a lot of changes. There was the recent addition of Baby Xavier to my Wednesdays (also known as my "boy day") as well as schedule, number of kids, and dynamic changes due to school starting. Veronica started kindergarten this year in a class that goes a full day, 5 days/week! Eleanor and Madeline are now in preschool half-day, 3 days/week, and little Georgia is even at preschool/daycare 2 days/week (although, I don't work with the Skov family on those two days). I know basically have Georgia alone on Mondays and Fridays after school drop-off and Madeline alone on Thursdays (until we grab Eleanor to go to music class). It's weird going back to a one kid world!!! But it's also fun to have one-on-one time and build our relationships in a different way. I've also picked up some hours Wed. morning with Xavier, while Felix and his mom are at co-op, and another little brother, Christopher joins us too. Whew! It's almost like I have a whole new job, but really kind of a lateral promotion with different responsibilities. I also value my time with Veronica even more before and after school, usually spent reading Narnia books. :) I'll still see Eleanor for a full day on Tuesday, but as she is my first in this bunch, she's kind of my nanny baby and I miss seeing her as much. All is well though and it's so fun to watch the kids growing up!

5. The Young Adult Women's Group started a bible study a few weeks ago and it's going amazingly well. We even have had six new people join us. I've really made a place in my life for scripture in the last year and have realized what I've been missing out on, but I still have so far to go. I'm excited to be in a structured study with an amazing leader and others who are trying to figure out the whole reading, praying with, studying scripture thing. This sums up how I'm feeling:

When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
--Jeremiah 15:16

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And I think I'll eave it at 5 takes for today. :) I hope you all are well! Please remember me in your prayers!