Choose Life

Our family is Catholic. Real Catholic. Cradle Catholics. Most of whom have never known or practiced any other religion.

I'm not saying this in a bragging way, although I am happy about this simple fact. The thing about being Catholic is that it requires more than just faith and believing. Catholicism requires action. Doing. Standing up--which can be awfully difficult sometimes. But sometimes Catholicism can be easy. 

Last weekend was one of the easy times. I joined our son and daughter-in-law, several grands, and our teen catechism class at the first Walk for Life in Central Louisiana. 

One of most cool (a grand put it that way) things about the walk is that there were people of many, many races and religions walking alongside us.  Another group of Catholics passed by praying the rosary. People chatting. People singing songs of praise and worship. People struggling to walk. 

People. Just everyday, ordinary people who share the belief that a child is a human beginning at conception.  Yes, even during gestation. A baby has life experiences in the womb. A human child, before birth or born, should have the same opportunities to live a full life as you and me.

And that's where I stood on Saturday. And it was easy to stand, easy to walk, easy to believe.

Pin It Weekly #91

REASONS TO BE THANKFUL

FAITH

FREEDOM

FAMILY

SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN

LOVE

HOPE

KIDS AND PETS

LAUGHTER

MIRACLES

WISHING YOU AND YOURS A HAPPY, 

BLESSED THANKSGIVING

After Christmas Thanks

Sophie helping with the baking.

Thank you to the many followers who visited during the busiest time of year for most families.  I know it's not always easy to get everything done, so managing to visit a few blogs is especially appreciated.  

We like to keep things quiet and slow during the holidays.  I cook a huge meal, the kids all come over for gift-giving and fun, then it's quiet again for a little while.  We'll have the boys and their families over again before I go back to school after New Year's Day, but most of our holidays are spent trying to keep quiet.

Caki checking out the desserts.

My sister Laura and her two girls are visiting for a few days.  They live in TN and try to come home a couple of times each year.  

Now that mom and dad are gone, she generally stays at my house and we spend several days traipsing around the state so she can take photos and do some of her genealogy research.  I'm interested in both but quilting is my passion.  Besides, I'm a bad photographer and genealogy is detail oriented, and I don't like details.

Pull us, we're ready to go!

The photos here are from Christmas night in the Marcotte house.  As you can see, there are quite a few grandchildren.  We're up to seven: Dusti, Alayna, Lane, Jolie, Marley, Caki, and Sophie.  

Not all of the kids are in the pics, however.  Alayna got a new Kindle reader and pulling her away was pretty difficult if not impossible.  I did get a photo of Lane playing and being silly.  He is the sweetest kid ever but a bit of a nut sometimes.

Jolie was pretty excited to get her popcorn machine.  She made a couple of batches of popcorn for us and had a blast doing so.  And the last pic is of Dusti.  


I could say she's just beautiful, but I'm her Grammay and you know grandmothers don't brag!

I hope your Christmas was a wonderful and blessed as ours was.  How awesome to have God's blessing of a beautiful, loving family and to be able to have everyone together in faith, hope and love.

Happy Father's Day

From today's first reading: 

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.

“‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. ’”        Ezekiel 17:22-24

Reading this passage as lector during mass today, I could not help but think of my father, Riley.  He was so much like the cedar tree in the reading.  A farmer for most of my life, he planted vegetables that fed the family both at the table and by bringing in money, so today's reading and gospel were especially poignant to me.  


I guess if dad was the cedar, that would make my seven sisters and I the fruit.  In my mind, the birds would be the cousins who spend summers at our house, our many friends and our husbands. 






Of course, at the time I was reading to the entire congregation. Thanks to my ADD, I managed without too many errors, but I could not think through the idea while reading aloud.  When I did have the time this afternoon, my thoughts were mostly about my dad and the kind of person he was, his love for momma and us girls, his faith and integrity and pride.  I am blessed to have known him and to have had the opportunity to learn from him.  

I miss him terribly and this weekend has taken a toll my emotions, but the hurt and grief are signs of how much he has meant to us all.  I can only hope I leave such a legacy.