A Baptism Party

On Sunday we baptized our 12 day old baby Grace. There is always a dilemma when it comes to this event. On one hand, I have a newborn and I'm are exhausted. On the other hand this is one of the most significant events in my child's life. So, do I have a party or not? I always start by thinking we'll keep it simple and only invite a few people, but that is never where I end up. Therefor on Sunday we hosted brunch for 60 of our closest friends after the baptism mass. When you work at FOCUS' HQ almost everyone you know is Catholic and many of those friends have big families, so getting to 60 attendees is really easy. I wish we could have invited more!

Here is what I did to cater to my own likes (aka, things that won't stress me out too much) and to make it manageable. And I must mention that I had both my mom and mother-in-law in town, so they were a huge help!

Decorations:

Decorations are the part I actually enjoy about entertaining, so I tend to go a little overboard. I adore personalized printouts, so I purchased and printed cupcake toppers, a banner and water bottle labels from Little Apples Design on Etsy. To personalize that banner you'll need to purchase this as well. They all turned out so cute!

Pink ribbon was used on my new cake stands. I really like these stands because you can coordinate them for every occasion by easily switching out the ribbon color. I spent months looking for them in every possible location around town, but in the end my mom bought them online and surprised me with them for my birthday, such a great 30th birthday gift!

I quickly threw together a slideshow, put it on a jump drive, and we had that running on a digital photo frame throughout the day. It was great addition that only took 10 minutes.

Finally, I bought these accordion lanterns from Michael's with a 50% off coupon. Super easy and only $7.50! I will definitely use them again for her 1st birthday party!

Food:

For the food I didn't cook or bake anything. I went to Costco. It was awesome.

Yes it would have been more awesome to have a ton of home baked goods, but nobody would have liked me by the end of the party if I had done that.

And I did look like a hero until my secret was revealed. "No, I didn't make the mini tiramisu, but thanks for thinking I'm superwoman."

I (and my mom, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and daughter) DID however make parfaits. These were the best! We layered defrosted frozen berries and vanilla yogurt in wine cups and then right before serving added granola on top. This made me feel better about serving a ton of carbs. We also served mini quiche for some protein, but by the time they were done baking I was busy socializing, so I didn't get any pictures of them.

At the end of the day I was tired, but happy. (I stole that closer from Bean's latest composition for writing class.)

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

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A Catholic Birth Blessing Party

Have you every heard of, or been to, a Catholic Birth Blessing? Well if not, let me briefly fill you in. A Catholic Birth Blessing is kind of like a baby shower, but instead of the momma to be receiving physical gifts, her friends shower her with spiritual gifts. While it can be kind of awkward to have a baby shower for subsequent births, it's not at all awkward to gather with your friends to celebrate and pray for the upcoming birth of your next addition!

My dear friend Elizabeth graciously offered to host a birth blessing for me last weekend. It was such a wonderful way to get excited about this little blessing that has managed to squeeze her way under my ribs and to spiritually prepare for my upcoming labor and delivery. I loved having the chance to gather with many of my friends one last time before I enter into the cave of newbornland. We reminisced about past labor stories, contemplated the joy (and sometimes the agony!) of newborns, and most importantly prayed for this life-changing event that is about to take place.

So, are you ready to host a birth blessing for your friend who recently announced that she has a bun in the oven? I've got you covered. Here's what you need to know.

There are three basic elements to a birth blessing: prayer, food, and friends.

Let's start with prayer, since it's the most important one. BTW, you can totally incorporate these things into a baby shower and completely cover a first-time mom both physically and spiritually!

After we all gathered in my friends living room everyone was given a bead and a slip of paper to spend a few minutes writing down their prayers for mom and baby... which happened to be me in this particular situation.

Then we began the formal prayer portion of the blessing, which is a blessing that has been approved by the Catholic Church for laity, so don't worry you're not doing anything crazy, new-agey here. It goes like this:

Introduction
All: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Leader: Sisters, let us bless the Lord Jesus, who in the womb of the Virgin Mary became one of us. Blessed be God now and forever.

All: Blessed be God now and forever.

Leader: God, the Lord of life, by His will brings every human being into existence and He rules and sustains the life of every one of us. Our faith tells us of God's particular care over those born of a Christian marriage, since through the sacrament of baptism they will receive the gift of sharing in the divine life itself. The reason for the blessing of a mother-to-be is that she may wait her hour of delivery in faith and hope and, as the partner of God's own love, may already cherish with her maternal love the child in her womb.

Reading of the Word of God
Leader: Sisters let us listen to the words of the Holy Gospel according to Luke.
(At this point a volunteer reads Luke 1:39-45)

Intercessions
Leader: Christ the Lord, the blessed fruit of Mary's womb, by the mystery of His incarnation filled the world with His grace and goodness. Let us therefore raise our voices to praise Him and give Him our intentions.

(At this point each person reads aloud the prayers that they have written down for the expecting mother. After they have said their prayer, they add the bead that they have been praying with to a clear elastic string and pass the beads to the next person. The string of beads is later made into a bracelet for the mom to take with her to wear during labor, to reminder her that she has several sisters in Christ who are praying for her!)

After each woman has prayed over the mother and her baby the service concludes as follows:

Prayer of Blessing
All: Lord God, Creator of the human race, your Son, through the working of the Holy Spirit, was born of a woman, so that He might pay the age-old debt of sin and save us by His redemption. Receive with kindness the prayer of your servant N., as she asks for the birth of a healthy child. Grant that she may safely deliver her child to be numbered among Your family, to serve You in all things, and to gain eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

All: Hail Holy Queen

Concluding Rite
Leader: May God, who chose to make known and to send the blessing of eternal salvation through the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, bless us and keep us in His care, now and forever. Amen

Before the slips were gathered for me to take home I asked the women to write on the back of them what prayer intentions they had for me, so that I could take them with me to labor... you know to make labor pains a little more worth it :).

Finally, each guest was given a candle to take home with the instructions to light it when I go into labor, which will remind them to pray for us!

To make sure everyone knows I'm in labor the host of the party gathered everyone's cell phone number and she'll send out one quick mass text message when the time comes! (Assuming we remember to text her on our way to the delivery. I don't think I'll forget this detail, I need those prayers!)

The second element to a great birth blessing is yummy food. We had an afternoon tea, with  breads, scones, fruit, cookies, coffee, and tea. It was all so delicious!

My talented friend Ali even made some adorable baby carriage cookies.

And our third element is of course friends!

As I said, it was wonderful to get to spend some time with these ladies before I hunker down at home for a few postpartum weeks of 45 minute nursing sessions, sleep deprived nights, and potentially showerless days.

If you host a birth blessing, please let me know how it goes! I'd love to see this spring up more and more in Catholic circles, it's truly an awesome and worthwhile event!

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

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Kevin's First Book Is Now Available For Pre-Order!

A few months ago Kevin had an idea. Someone should write a book with daily meditations based on the words of Pope Francis. Then he had another idea, maybe he should be that someone. With all of Kevin's work on popealarm.com he knows that lots of people love our new Pope, his simplicity, and his get-to-the-point style of speaking and writing... so he went for it and sent a proposal to three publishers.

Within hours the first publisher contacted him asking for a phone conference to discuss his book idea and within a week all three publishers expressed various levels of interest. After several phone conversations and negotiations he signed a contract with Our Sunday Visitor and the book's first deadline is at the end of this month!

Yes, being eight months pregnant, just finishing a whole house remodel, homeschooling two kids, and having a husband who spends his nights and Saturdays working on a book has been insane. I don't suggest this kind of behavior... although I wouldn't trade any of it!

Today OSV sent Kevin the cover of the book, and it is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a publication date of November 15th. You can thank us later for allowing you to get all of your Christmas shopping done in one swoop by buying a copy for each person on your list. :)

The book will have 365 quotes from the writings and words of Pope Francis, followed by reflection questions written by Kevin. When possible the quotes will line up with the liturgical calendar. For example, January 1st's quote is on Mary because the 1st is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Kevin has now thoroughly read everything our Pope has written and said since his election, as well as anything published from his time as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. Although he's never met the man, he knows him pretty well.

Please join us in praying with the intersession of St. Therese for the amazing words of Pope Francis to speak to the hearts of those who hear them via the book. And if you are feeling really prayerful please pray for us as Kevin wraps up the first draft over the next two weeks and then completes final edits around the time when the baby is born!

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

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30 at 30: What I've Discovered so Far

Today is my 30th birthday! In an effort to process this milestone I came up with a list of 30 things I've learned in the last 30 years.

1. Pray every day for 20-30 minutes. Don't just recite some prayers and petitions, but actually talk to God. Tell Him what you are thinking and feeling. Tell Him your joys and struggles. Be real with Him. Be vulnerable with Him. It's harder than you think.

2. Consistent exercise makes you feel better.

3. I don't like gardening. I want to like it, but the pay off isn't worth the effort, at least not in my backyard.

4. Children are a gift, not a right.

5. Don't compare yourself to others. Seriously, just don't do it.

6. Be generous. It's all God's money anyway.

7. I'm American. I don't like sports. That's okay.

8. Gossiping isn't worth it. I learned this one in high school and lost a lot of friends and made a lot of enemies along the way.

9. I have regrets. A life without regrets is a life that doesn't want to improve and doesn't think it needs forgiveness. I've made mistakes, said things I wish I hadn't, made decisions I'm not proud of. There are things I would do differently if I could do it again.

10. The secret to life is Jesus Christ and his Church. Despite popular belief, you can't separate the two.

11. Yelling at or belittling kids never works. And, you both feel worse after.

12.  Death is not the worst thing in this world. Yes, we mourn when someone dies and we miss them, but losing someone close to you doesn't have to consume you. The point of life is to get to heaven, when someone reaches that goal, even if the circumstances are tragic, eventually our sorrow can turn to joy.

My dad's last Birthday.

13. Dark chocolate really is better than milk chocolate.

14. I like to write. I didn't know this about myself until a few years ago, which makes me wonder what more I'll learn about myself in the next 30 years.

15. There is life after high school.

16. I'm weaker than I think I am. For some people it's important that they know they are stronger than they think they are. But for a person like me who tends to think they are super-human, knowing I'm weak is actually more beneficial.

17. Saying I'm sorry, and actually meaning it, is hard.

18. I married the right man.

Celebrating my birthday with a dinner date.

19. True freedom comes from being able to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, not from being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want to do it.

20. No matter how evil an act someone commits, they do it because they think eventually it will lead to happiness.

21. When I turned 20 I thought 30 was old. Now that I'm 30 I've changed my mind, 40 is old.

22. The only reason people don't pray is because they really don't think they need God.

23. 99% of what is on TV is a waste of time.

24. It's easier to maintain several surface friendships than it is to maintain a few deep friendships, but a few deep friendships are more fulfilling that several surface friendships.

BFFs from college.

25. Most everybody thinks their life is really busy. Busyness is all relative.

26. Love isn't a feeling, it's a conscious choice to want the best for another person and to have the courage to act according to that desire.

27. After spending three months in rural Argentina volunteering in a home for abandoned children, I learned that Mother Teresa is right, spiritual poverty is a greater poverty than physical poverty.

28. Not everybody is going to like you, no matter how nice you are. Sometimes it's how nice you are that makes them not like you.

29. Even the happiest people have bad days.

30. Have personal goals and work to obtain them. Without goals you will let life pass you by and not really experience it.

Checking off "get published" in year 29.

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On the 12th Day of Christmas

Um, Merry Christmas!

I'm squeezing in the Christmas post at the last minute. Technically it is still Christmas season for a few more days, so I'm good.

This year we headed to KC for a very Cotter Christmas, followed by the flu and then a very Augustyn Christmas in Denver.

Kansas City brought train rides...

A visit with Nana...

Look at that joy on her face, I just love it.

Bean's 1st piano debute... 

She played We Three Kings; it was a proud mom moment.

Lots of cousin time...

These are their "Leave us alone, we are eating" faces.

Stockings...

and lost teeth! Here's the connection. She lost her first tooth while going through her stocking. Then we found it...in her stocking. It was fun.

Then there was Denver, with presents...

Of course we had gifts in KC too.

A birthday cake for Jesus...

Girls only High Tea...

I've always wanted to wear a hat with a birdcage veil (I looked that one up). 

The girls tried on about 8 combinations of hats and boas. Surprisingly I only got pictures of us dressing up. There was tea and finger foods and they were very good.

The girls also got matching pajamas...

Finally, we hit Red Rocks...

My buddy was so proud that he could fit in this little hole.

We are looking forward to our Epiphany party tomorrow and wrapping up the Christmas Season!

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Feast of St. Clare

It was an exciting day in the Cotter household because it's Bean's feast day!

This photo has little to do with the Feast of St. Clare, but it was taken today.

I probably don't need to tell you this, but we had donuts for breakfast. Done.

Then we listened to a Glory Story on St. Clare. Glory Stories are produced by a Catholic company called Holy Heros who put out some fabulous resources for Catholic families.

The story was a little intense for my sensitive girl, but in the end when everything worked out she was fine. We had some great conversations over the story later in the day, so she was definitely taking it all in! I hope to add more of these to our collection over the years.

When St. Clare's convent was under attack by Emperor Fredrick II, who was at war with the Pope, she brought out a monstrance, held it high and began to pray. Her prayers were heard and the army fled. Thus you often see St. Clare holding a monstrance.

Naturally for a craft today we made monstrances. 

I believe this is the last time I will ever give my kids glitter glue.

Finally we read the book Clare and Francis by Guido Visconti. This book was a gift Bean received when she was born from a great friend ours, Stacy. It is a beautiful book with amazing details that I am still discovering each time we read it.

St. Clare, pray for us!

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Creative Date Ideas for St. Valentine's Day

Just a few days ago I put out the 3rd FOCUS Wives' Club Newsletter and I plan on sharing some of the fun articles from it over the next few weeks. To start we did a feature on creative date nights. With St. Valentine's Day just around the corner, now is the perfect time to share them!

• Borrow a DVD from the library that teaches swing or ballroom dancing and clear the living room for some free, and possibly embarrassment-free, dance lessons. There is an easy to follow series by Shawn Trautman that we have enjoyed.

• Spend some time in your closest city with a one day bus pass. Have fun riding around the town and jump off the bus when something strikes your fancy. When you have finished exploring, hop back on.

• Head to an art museum with a clip board and pencil. Walk around until you find a work that you both like and see who can draw the best replica. If you can't get out, grab an art book at the library and find your inspiration in there. This is actually more fun if neither of you can draw!

• Grab a camera with a self-timer and go to a local park. Take as many cheesy "engagement photos" with the timer as you can think of. Kevin and I did this in the famous Garden of Versailles when we were in France.

• Go to the children's section at your library and each find a favorite book from childhood. Then search for a cozy spot to read them to each other and share why the book was so memorable.

Some of these ideas came from FOCUS on the Family Canada, so check out their full list for more.

Do you have any creative date ideas for Valentine's day?

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Thanksgiving Decorations

The turkey is in the oven, the table is set and the kids are napping, which makes for a perfect time to post some pictures of our Thanksgiving decor.

After many crafting hours from Bean our table is set with all of it's homemade decor.

Name plates with matching pilgrim look-a-likes.

Our turkey napkin ring holders in action. 

Pilgrim and Indian bookmarks for guests to take home as party favors.

Our Pilgrim and Indian hats, to be worn during the festivities, not optional.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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