Libraries, Lent, and Love

Our family has fallen in love with the library again. This happens every two years or so.    Weekly, sometimes even twice a week, visits are a nice change of pace from nights in at home. As we head back home, Michael and I always exchange glances as we leave with an armful of books and movies, almost in disbelief as we take everything home for free.  And then, for whatever reason, the visits slow down.  And the books that you can borrow for free start to cost money when not returned.  And I get nervous about disapproving librarians so I opt to stay at home.  And then a year and a half later I get a an itch to be a bit more frugal, brave enough to face the librarians, and discover that I only ever owed two dollars and seventy cents.  

Last week I came across a wonderful book called The Story of the Easter Robin.  We've read and reread.  We've drawn robins, we've observed robins, but William wanted more.  He wanted to create a robin.

 It was perfect timing, as a wonderful Catholic mother's journal came in the mail the other day and included a pattern for a bird.  Of course, the boys wanted to make red-breasted robins, just like in the story.

Soul Gardening is a fantastic magazine that I always look forward to.  You can subscribe at soulgardeningjournal.com

I spent Katherine's nap cutting fabric scraps and sewing by hand.  If I thought about it a bit more, I would have shifted the tummy up higher to make more of a red-breasted robin, but the boys didn't seem to notice. 

He played while I worked on the wings

I don't tend to do much crafting these days, but this project had such a reward.  From the story, we learned how the kind brown robin helped Jesus by pulling a thorn out of His forehead, staining his breast red with Christ's blood.  And now, the boys have their own person reminder of the Lord's sacrifice for us, and can literally pull their birdies close to their heart and know what Love is.  Thank you, Soul Gardening, for bringing such faith and beauty into our home.

The rest of the weekend was sweet, cooking for neighbors who we thought could use a little extra help after surgery. 

And lots and lots of this: