Birthdays are the best July 26, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Each birthday is like a moment where you’re standing at the top of a mountain. You marvel at how you’ve reached this point, and you look up and down and around and try to imagine what will follow.
Cousin visits, the miracle of popcorn, dot-to-dots, cooking every day, and local churches (7 Quick Takes) July 23, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window It’s summertime and the cousin visits are starting! Four cousins were in town for the weekend, and four more arrive tomorrow. We live in Baltimore because we love Baltimore, but it’s nice that we have one set of grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, and two cousins who live here.
Speeding through life July 19, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window It was a long summer evening, and I had a few errands to run. Both our boys wanted to come along with me, and I always enjoy having company.As we were walking between stores, the boys saw a long open stretch of sidewalk ahead of us, and they took off running. “Wait for me!” I […]
A Reflection on the Blessed Mother: “Do whatever he tells you” July 15, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window I always remember the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel because my brother Ricky married his wife, Christina, 12 years ago that day. They had a gorgeous wedding. But John and I often laugh remembering that day.You see, their wedding was supposed to be a breeze for us. Neither one of us was in […]
Summer fun, sushi, Pokemon, Italian ice, board games, and fencing (7 Quick Takes) July 14, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window ~1~ Our sitter from last summer started back with us this week, and the boys have had a blast. They are staying busy at playgrounds, riding bicycles, baking, building ropes out of duct tape, getting snowballs, going to the library and the dollar movie, and doing who knows what else. The other day they caught […]
What’s for dinner? Just wait and see. July 10, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window When I came home at the end of a full day, our children were stalking the kitchen, looking for food. And I had no idea what I would be making for dinner.It’s a good thing I always have chicken in the freezer, I thought. As I pulled it out, though, I noticed the date on […]
Being a tourist in our own town, Pokemon fun, chili paste, the Fourth of July, and more (7 Quick Takes) July 7, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window ~1~ Do you call those flying insects that light up fireflies or lightning bugs? I call them fireflies, but my mother says they are lightning bugs. I can’t decide why I don’t use the same term she does. ~2~ I have been off from work this week and enjoying my staycation with our boys. This […]
Catching fireflies and memories July 5, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Dusk is falling as we head outside. It’s time to catch fireflies.Our boys run around the yard, chasing the fireflies as they light up and then fade into the dim evening light. Their little hands reach into the bushes, down toward the grass, and up into the sky, as they try to capture the magical […]
Conversation and a cup of tea July 3, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church When I mention my sister’s baby girl, her eyes light up with pleasure. A few minutes later when she asks about my sister, she is surprised – and ecstatic – to hear that she has a baby.
Summer in full swing, snowballs, and socializing at kids’ birthday parties (7 Quick Takes) June 30, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window ~1~ With 12 full weeks between the end of one school year and the start of the next, we have a carefully woven tapestry of sitters and camps and time hanging at home with my husband and me. This week included Bible Camp, and the boys had even more fun than they expected to—though I […]
Waiting on our hydrangea and learning a lesson in patience June 28, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window What is it about hydrangeas? I can’t say they’re my favorite flowers because I’ve said that about azaleas and forsythia and roses and tulips, and I’m obviously very fickle.But we did have hydrangeas on the tables at our wedding, lovely blue blossoms I cut from the bush in my parents’ yard and inserted into dollar-store […]
My journey from Platform 9¾: How I first encountered Harry Potter June 26, 2017By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window As a young newspaper reporter in Southcentral Pennsylvania back in July 1999, I was assigned to go to a bookstore on a Friday night for a book release party. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was coming out, and dozens of children were expected to attend—in costume and full of excitement.I had heard of […]
