July is the cherry on the top of the ice cream sundae. It’s summer at its summer-iest. It’s when we will finally welcome the hotter days, when—if we’re doing it right—the children will start complaining about being bored, and when we will realize which popsicle flavors no one likes because that’s all that’s left in the freezer.

As it turned out, though, we didn’t need a superhero to make our eagle cheese ball.

The other day John and I went car shopping to replace our minivan. We went to a couple of dealerships to look around. At the second one, we decided to buy a car. Purchasing an automobile is not my favorite thing to do—and I know I’m not alone. Many people do not enjoy car shopping. […]

The whole grocery store trip is a different experience when I remind myself how blessed we are to have all we have – and even what a gift the time in the store can be itself.

I’ve been looking for a new shirt or two, but the styles I’m finding are so unappealing. I don’t need a shirt with a zipper or things dangling off of it. It doesn’t need to have puffy sleeves or have a longer tail in the back. But I also don’t want it to be boring. […]

~1~ Two of our nieces made their First Communions this spring—one in New England and one here in Baltimore. We missed the one in New England, but I managed to get to the Mass in Baltimore where our niece received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. It was wonderful to be with her […]

The driver had been driving a tractor-trailer. He was trying to turn into a parking lot across the street to make a delivery when the flatbed ripped into the side of our van.

Our church is under renovation, so we will be celebrating Mass in other parish spaces for a while. What I’ve been surprised to discover is how much beauty I find in the liturgies held in our temporary spaces.

The long holiday weekend came just when we needed it. We are limping our way to the finish line with the school year, and I’m counting down on the number of lunches I still need to pack.

I don’t usually ask St. Rita to intercede for me on ordinary problems. But every now and then, I come up against a problem that simply can’t be solved. I look at it from every angle and see no way through. That’s when I know that it’s time to take it to prayer—and it might […]