When the end of Advent is a scramble to the finish December 18, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window In these final days of Advent, I am way behind on my preparation for Christmas.
Finding our way through the darkness December 13, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window At this time of year, alarm clocks seem to go off during the middle of the night. But we have to get up and get the day started, even when it looks like midnight outside. So, I climb out of bed and make sure my high schooler is awake. I ask him what he wants […]
Journeying toward Christmas December 4, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window When we were waiting to adopt our older son, we had a long to-do list.
Ready or not, it’s Advent November 27, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window Maybe you didn’t even realize Advent had started. You feel like you’ve fallen behind. Advent will rush by, and Christmas will come, and you’ll never catch up.
Thanksgiving leftovers, Grandma’s gravy, and a road trip (7 Quick Takes) November 26, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window ~1~ I had thought that this would be the first Thanksgiving we would spend with extended family since 2019. By Wednesday afternoon, however, I could see that that wasn’t going to happen, thanks to a few sicknesses running through the family. My mother told me she would be happy to share the food she had […]
Start the day with a smile November 19, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window I groaned as I saw the frost on my car. And then I saw the smile.
Apple cake, a special birthday movie, and making the impossible possible (7 Quick Takes) November 13, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window We are still eating our way through the apples we picked last week, so I made an apple cake. Our house smells sweet and cinnamon, but this beautiful cake only used six apples.
We played Powerball…and now we’re rich November 9, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window Like many other people, we bought a Powerball ticket. Then we did a little dreaming.
An apple picking trip, a free turkey, and a little rutabaga lesson (7 Quick Takes) November 6, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window It has been a few years since we’ve gone apple picking. So, when we realized we had a few free hours on a sunny Saturday, we headed up to Baugher’s to pick apples.
Happy Halloween, autumn surprises, and homemade apple pie (7 Quick Takes) October 30, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window, Uncategorized Our boys won’t be trick-or-treating again this year, but we will be handing out candy, and we have two magnificent jack-o-lanterns for the front porch.
7 saints you can call on for help October 28, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window, Saints Saints are friends who are in heaven, and we can invite them into the ordinary moments of our day.
A beach weekend, St. Christopher, Snickers, and a sailfish pin (7 Quick Takes) October 24, 2022By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window ~1~ I spent the weekend at the beach with a few friends, and it was absolutely wonderful. But by Sunday morning I was looking forward to being home with my family. I had planned to go to Mass in Ocean City, Maryland, but suddenly I had the idea to break my trip in half by […]
