The Call: Golden Sunset — Jessica

Our last Texas sunset for awhile…

Response: Claddagh Ring — Cheryl

My aunt/Godmother (on the Irish side of my family, not the Italian) gave me a silver Claddagh ring when I was in high school. It wasn’t long after Dennis and I started dating (the summer after sophomore year in college) that I asked him if I should turn my ring around. I had to explain how the Claddagh ring “works,” but he quickly said, “Yes.” A few years later, I lost my silver ring and Dennis replaced it with this gold one, but not before I had bought him a gold one of his own.

The Call: Blanketed in White — Cheryl

I listened for the muffled silence
Of a world blanketed in white,
But the wind was louder.

The Response: Smile Like This — Jessica

I took a few minutes today to take some shots of the two youngest. While they are very willing models they don’t always listen attentively or follow directions very well…luckily the results are still pretty cute.

The Call: Screens — Jessica

Our family has a love/hate relationship with technology. We are all more hooked on our tiny screens then I care to admit. But at the same time, it is also the medium through which we maintain relationships and develop friendships with our distant family and friends.

It is a mixed blessing.

Response: A Handwritten Note — Cheryl

In third grade, Anne and I became friends. She got married when we were juniors in college, and I was her maid of honor. A few years later, she walked down the aisle as my matron of honor. Now we don’t see each other often enough, but still keep in touch.

Linda is Anne’s older sister. Growing up, I was always a bit awed by her and her life in “faraway” New Hampshire. She’s still in New Hampshire (which no longer seems at all far away), and I’m back in Maine. Thanks to the technology that gives just about anyone access to the internet, Linda and I have grown into friends in our own right. We regularly correspond via email, share favorites through Pinterest, and even shared tea and muffins and great conversation here, together with my kids, back in October. The joy of receiving a handwritten note in the mail, though, is something special, and the one I received today from Linda put a big smile on my face.

The Call: Little Mouse and an Important Reminder — Cheryl

Unfortunately, the fact that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus — God Made Man — can easily get lost amid the trappings of the holiday season. My family and I try to keep Our Savior front and center, but our efforts often seem like they’re just not good enough. I’m thankful that God constantly gives us opportunities to try a little harder at living a faith-focused life.

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jesus.

The Response: Kids’ Table — Jessica

Little people dance around the table cloth set on the little table for the little kids’ Christmas Day dinner. This was the table for the littlest of the little kids…the ones that still needed mom to cut the turkey.

Merry Christmas!

The Call: No Room at the Inn — Jessica

Seating at Mass tonight is limited to 1700. 1700! That’s a big church and that’s a lot of people. And what happens when the limit is reached? Are people turned away?

Response: Staying Home from Church — Cheryl

On Christmas? Yes, the girls (Bridget, Stella and I) are here at home while Dennis and the boys are at Christmas Eve Mass. We girls have gotten walloped with a cold/flu thing: fever, body aches, sore throat, cough, chills. Thank goodness for Magnificat.

The Call: Sweet Enough — Cheryl

At the first of the year, I decided it was time to cut back on the sugar in my coffee. I started by measuring out a teaspoon’s worth for each cup. After a week or so, I switched to 3/4 of a teaspoon, and so on, until I was down to just a tad of sugar in my morning joe. On Ash Wednesday, as I was about to grab the sugar bowl, I stopped. “Why not give it up completely for Lent?” I asked myself. I haven’t had sugar in my coffee since.

The Response: Sparkle — Jessica

It’s very close to Christmas…a tad too close for comfort!

The Call: Ginger — Jessica

Returning to Houston, I’m shocked by how green everything is. Virginia was already brown and grey so this is a pleasant switch.

Response: Genuine Cobra — Cheryl

I can’t imagine that Mom bought this wallet for herself. It was surely a gift. I like the rich green, and the feel of the snakeskin is kind of cool. I don’t carry it around, though. It stays in a drawer, holding on to my weekly allowance money.

The Call — Christmas Albums

These records say Christmas to me, but even more than Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, or Bing Crosby singing “Silver Bells,” I hear my dad crooning it.

The Response: A Journey — Jessica

One of my favorite childhood poems, it was startling to see her name on the road sign. But then it was also surprising to realize that the poem was a kind of record of true events.

The Call: Lunch on the Road — Jessica

Lunch at Bryant Stadium at UA while my oldest son did the tour.

Response: Cookies, Please — Cheryl

Stella’s go-to meal is brown rice bread: “Two slices, toasted, with peanut butter, the crusts cut off, like a sandwich.” Given the choice, though, she’d take cookies any day.

The Call: Seeds — Cheryl

Every spring, the kids and I pick out many, many packets of seeds, dream about the veggies our garden will produce, and then … never follow through enough to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

The Response: Land and Sky — Jessica

Driving through the US and away from the city reveals how much empty land there is…like a garden.

The Call: Master List — Jessica

Packing for a ten-day trip for nine people is all sorts of complex. And for someone as organizationally-challenged as myself it is also difficult. Gotta run — I’ve got at least three more loads of laundry before I can pack the suitcases…

Response: Supplies — Cheryl

I’m sure Dennis thinks my system for wrapping gifts is much too complex, and he’s probably right. Thankfully, we found a great system for getting many gifts wrapped and out the door today. Dennis took care of the paper; I added tags and ribbons.

The Call: Kisses in the Snow — Cheryl

The answer seemed to satisfy her, or else she yielded to the power of his voice. He bent down, feeling in the obscurity for the glassy slide worn by preceding coasters, and placed the runner carefully between its edges. She waited while he seated himself with crossed legs in the front of the sled; then she crouched quickly down at his back and clasped her arms about him. Her breath in his neck set him shuddering again, and he almost sprang from his seat. But in a flash he remembered the alternative. She was right: this was better than parting. He leaned back and drew her mouth to his.

—Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

The Response: Missing Her — Jessica

Many Christmases ago when my second son was only two, Hallmark was pushing a cute bear couple that had magnets in their noses and looked like they were kissing — the “Kissing Bears.” Nicholas decided that he HAD to have them and, dutifully, Santa made sure that they were under the tree. The pair has been together for all these years, making an annual appearance at Christmas time. It seems, however, that the current toddler has hidden the missus away and we can’t find her anywhere. The poor guy — he looks so forlorn without his kissing partner.

The Call: Christmas Cheer — Jessica

It’s clear to me that it has been a long and tiring weekend.

Response: Night Snow — Cheryl

It’s clear to me that Henry loves being outside — no matter what the weather.

The Call: Blue Beauty — Cheryl

Each year, I’m stunned by the simple beauty I can create with Christmas lights and crystal or glass.

The Response: Tomb of the Unknown — Jessica

Today my daughter’s American Heritage Girl troop went to Arlington Cemetery to help out with the annual Wreaths Across America. It was quite a moving event and I was stunned at the size and scope of the crowd.