Preparing for the Season of Lent

Tomorrow is the start of Lent, so we celebrated Fat Tuesday with pancakes for supper. Wheat-free, soy-free, dairy-free pancakes, of course. Since I was going all out, I made three different recipes and we ranked them. I think we have found a winner! I'll post recipes, reviews and photos of that later.

But tonight I want to share this idea. I have pinned more than one prayer wall/list/bucket idea on Pinterest. I really like the idea of a visual reminder of the people and things we are praying for, to help the kids learn to pray. I especially like the idea of using something during Lent.

Today I was talking with the kids about Lent and how we would remind ourselves of the sacrifices Jesus made for us by giving something up (no TV one day a week), doing more for others (not sure what we'll take on there), and by praying more.

Then I realized that the Valentine's wall cling I had yet to take down would make the perfect prayer wall. Tonight I moved it to a more prominent spot in the kitchen, and used a dry erase marker to start our prayer list.

 

Tomorrow I will have the kids talk about who and what we should pray for and give thanks for, and we'll fill it out more completely.

This wall cling is made by Hallmark, and I bought it the day before Valentine's Day at Wal-Mart on sale for about $5. I'm sure you can get them even cheaper now.

I wish you all a prayerful Lent!

© Trippin' Mama 2012

An Easter Blessing

A week ago I asked for your prayers for my Uncle Tim who was deathly ill. I am thrilled to report that he is on the mend and the doctors are discussing moving him out of the ICU. As it turned out, he didn't have influenza. He has gram negative strep in his lungs. If he had this in any other part of his body, it would be called "flesh-eating disease."

Uncle Tim is off the ventilator now, but still receiving oxygen. He is still receiving dialysis to help clean the sepsis out of the blood, and because in the course of this disease his kidneys shut down. He could regain kidney function in 4-6 months.

The doctor says Uncle Tim danced with the kiss of death twice. His recovery is beyond amazing. It truly is miraculous. What an amazing story of new life this Easter season!

Uncle Tim has a long way to go still, but he's here to make the journey. So thank you to all of you who said a prayer or sent a positive thought our way. Our prayers were answered.

Say A Prayer

Tonight I'd ask that you all say a prayer for my Uncle Tim.

Tim is my mom's baby brother, and he's critically ill. He went into the hospital a couple days ago with Type A and Type B influenza. He now has full-blown pneumonia, tachycardia (heart rate of 130 beats per minute), a 105 degree fever, staph infection and sepsis. This morning they started him on dialysis when his kidneys began shutting down. Things don't look good.

Uncle Tim is just 60. He's a runner and generally in good health. He still teaches and coaches at a high school back in North Dakota. I don't know if he can pull through this, but I know that prayer can work miracles.

So please take a minute to say a prayer for my Uncle Tim and for his siblings who are now making increasingly difficult decisions as his condition worsens.

And toss in a prayer for the people of Fargo, North Dakota, who are in the midst of a blizzard on top of the flooding. That blizzard also is keeping my parents from getting to the hospital in Grand Forks to see Uncle Tim, so a break in the weather would be good for everyone.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

A few years ago I made this little quilt. (Back when I had time to quilt.) You can see that I truly am a word person -- I even put them on my quilts.

The saying, "Bloom where you are planted," is a favorite of mine. It is a daily goal for me.

The goal is to do more than merely survive from one day to the next. To bloom is to thrive in whatever circumstances you find yourself in. It is to be better, try harder, continue to always grow. It is to flourish.

In addition to being a goal, this is often my prayer. It is a prayer for help in getting through a difficult day with a sense of humor, for remembering to revel in holding a child close without thinking about dishes that need to be washed, for realizing that too soon I will miss these days when my children were small.

I hope you are blooming wherever you are these days.

Children of God

At last, I'm able to get to this post about the boys' baptism. On Saturday, October 11, we had the three boys baptized at the hospital. With cold and flu season soon upon us, we won't be taking them out much, and a church baptism probably won't happen for a few months. While they were all doing well, we wanted to be sure they were baptized, just in case. We will have a Conferral of Rights ceremony later to publicly welcome them to the church.

Wendy, one of our many wonderful NICU nurses, brought Alex up to my room for the occasion. She also served as official photographer, so we are able to share these photos. It was the first time we had the three boys all together since delivery, so it was a special time for all of us.

Father Richard said this is the first time he's ever baptized triplets, even after 15 years in the priesthood. He was probably as excited about the event as we were. Thanks to my friend, Jane, we had three beautiful little white blankets with crosses on them to serve as the babies' baptismal garments.

A Catholic baptism is a very beautiful ceremony, and it includes praying the "Our Father." If you've been following my blog, you read in an earlier post how Jeff and I pray the "Our Father" every night for our children, because it includes the prayer that never fails: "Thy will be done." I must admit that saying those words out loud while looking around the room at three strong, healthy boys -- greater blessings than we ever could have hoped for -- brought tears to my eyes.

My dad is holding Samuel Joseph, my mom is holding Alexander Steven, and I am holding Isaac Thomas. They were all baptised with water first. (Yes, that's a bottle of Ice Mountain Fr. Richard is holding -- I asked if it was the church's preferred brand now. It was blessed on the spot, so it's legit.) Then they received the oil of Chrism. The rest of the traditional ceremony, including the lighting of the candles will be done at the church when they are a little older and stronger.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com