Celebrating 16 years and counting and other highlights from our week (7 Quick Takes)

~1. Wedded bliss~

Sixteen years ago, my father walked me up the aisle of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, and John was waiting for me at the altar.

Our wedding day was a day of incredible joy, and I have so many wonderful memories, especially of the people who celebrated with us and made the day so special. John and I have 16 years’ worth of beautiful memories from the days since then. But I love thinking about how we started it all that day.

You don’t fully know what you’re saying yes to in that moment, but you’re so full of love and hope and faith. Then you receive God’s grace through the sacrament. It’s all so amazing.

John and I haven’t always had an easy road to walk, and there have been surprises along the way. Who knew we’d find ourselves traveling around the world twice to become parents? But I am so very grateful to be making this journey together.

~2. Sweet sixteen~

To celebrate our anniversary, John picked up Pappas crab cakes and other treats for dinner, and I made him cupcakes for dessert.

“Did you notice that they’re in the shape of a 16?” I said.

“No,” he said, as he ate a cupcake. “I just noticed they were cupcakes.”

But we were both happy. I enjoyed trying to make them in the shape of a 16, and John will enjoy eating them. That’s how our marriage works.

~3. A biscuit, a basket~

During a pandemic, you try some things you’ve never tried before. This week I decided biscuits would go well with our crockpot dinner, but I didn’t have any store-bought biscuits on hand.

So, I googled a biscuit recipe and made some.

It was so quick and easy. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to make biscuits myself before. Maybe it was because I was scared to find out how much butter is in them. But I’ve tried many more complicated recipes without hesitating. I have a feeling we’ll be making them again this winter.

~4. All about the babies~

Did you know a baby joey is the size of a honeybee when it’s born? My friend Annie tweeted that today after reading a book to her preschool class at school. Somehow, I find it fascinating.

Meanwhile, we are watching our baby finches grow. They are bigger every day—really, every few hours—and having the chance to witness this is miraculous.

The parents do all the feeding and care, and we just have to make sure the parents are well-fed. We’ll have to separate the babies from the parents in a few weeks, but for now we get to just watch them grow. The chicks’ eyes could open any day, and I am so excited for that stage, too. But I also don’t want it to go too quickly.

~5. Show and tell~

The other day during school, our younger son carried his Chromebook over to show his teacher the baby birds, and I thought it was so beautiful. Having the boundaries between school and home blur has been an unexpected blessing to me. It can be challenging too, of course, but I see some delightful interactions as we connect with one another.

I thought it was sweet when our younger son’s math teacher told him to say hi to his brother for her, and he said, “He’s right behind me!” They had the chance to wave. And I popped onto the screen one day to see how her daughters are doing.

I was telling our fifth grader that I was reading that finches recognize their owners’ voices, and he said, “Maybe they’ll get to know all the students’ voices!” I thought it was so sweet that he would want the birds to know his classmates’ voices.

It’s a small world, even during this time of strange isolation.

~6. A piece of the shepherd’s pie~

When I made shepherd’s pie this week, I made part without potatoes on top and part with just potatoes and not cheese. I figured more people would be more likely to eat it with more options.

I know there are parents who make one thing and serve it and expect the children to eat it, but that’s just not my approach. I am not going to cook four separate meals, but it doesn’t take any more effort—just a little more care and consideration—for me to make the shepherd’s pie a few different ways.

Our younger son was excited and wanted some of each—plain meat, meat with potatoes, and meat with potatoes and cheese. Our older son ate none of it. And John and I would have eaten whatever. So, it totally defeated the purpose. But it was worth a shot.

~7. Making our own fun~

We aren’t expecting Halloween to happen in the same way this fall, so we will be figuring out ways to make our own fun. As sad as that will be, I have a feeling we can make this work. The other day when I said we couldn’t go to a skating rink, our boys pushed everything out of the way in the basement and told Alexa to play 1980s rock. I have loved watching them skate around and around to songs that take me back to my own childhood.

As we head into the fall and winter holidays, we might just have to be a little more creative.

Read more quick takes at Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, and have a wonderful weekend!

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