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Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review's Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family and faith.

Rita also writes The Domestic Church, a featured column in the Catholic Review. Her writing has been honored by the Catholic Press Association, the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and the Associated Church Press.

When you throw a pig party for Chinese New Year

February 11, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

When we first started celebrating the Chinese New Year, we put a plastic toy tiger on a cake, sliced the cake with a few cousins, and called it a party.

Father Pedro Arrupe, Chinese New Year celebrations, a fiery feta dip, and a lesson in humility (7 Quick Takes)

February 7, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Do you know Pedro Arrupe? He was a Spanish Jesuit, and he served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Year of the Pig!

February 4, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

The Year of the Pig, which begins today, comes every 12 years, so I’ve lived through a couple of them. But this is the first one I’ve celebrated.

Find extraordinary in the ordinary

February 4, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church

We can encounter God in the awesome majesty of a mountaintop sunrise or a scrunched bouquet of dandelion’s in a child’s fist.

Snow day art projects, spaghetti for dinner, pigs for Chinese New Year, prayer cards, and dip (7 Quick Takes)

February 1, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

It has been cold this week, though not as cold as it has been in some parts of the country. I couldn’t make outdoor play possible every day, but we did have scissors and colored paper.

Crossing a bridge

January 30, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

There’s something about the Bay Bridge.

Let the little children come to Mass

January 29, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Children at Mass aren’t Catholics in training. They are Catholics. They are already members of our community. As one of our favorite priests once said, “Children aren’t the future of the Church. They are the Church.”

Board game fun, spiritual gifts, four-day weeks, Pokemon, and homemade soup (7 Quick Takes)

January 24, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

We are at this magical age where we can play family board games with a fair amount of success.

Yummy Imperfection: Trying a Koobideh kabob recipe

January 21, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window, Recipes

I’m always interested in duplicating a favorite dish at home to save a little money—and also because it’s fun to see what we can create ourselves.

Snow days, snowman building, a reading assignment, preparing for the Year of the Pig, and more (7 Quick Takes)

January 17, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

With snow last weekend and more expected this weekend, we are all in snow mode.

The year an ice storm canceled my calculus exam

January 15, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

I was a senior in high school, and I was failing calculus. I had to be. I hadn’t understood a word the teacher had said for months, and I couldn’t recall passing a single quiz.

Excited about reading, a late Christmas gift, taking down the tree, and more (7 Quick Takes)

January 11, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Our younger son was afraid he wouldn’t find a book he wanted to buy. Then he spotted a book on a display and made a beeline for it.

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