— 1 —   This Week’s Post: Is He Just Practicing?  Either way, your response is clear!

— 2 —  Vacation Report:  We just returned from our vacation visiting family in Kansas!  We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge (which I would highly recommend!).  Have you stayed at any of these Lodges? This one is located within The Legends mega-complex next to the Kansas City Speedway.  I am not much of a swimmer so I mostly hung out and watched Gregg and our son ride the amazing rides in the indoor Water Park.

Staying at the Lodge was a surprise for our son.  We did not tell him about our lodging plans until we were getting ready to check in.  He thought we were staying at Gregg’s parent’s house the whole time (which is also fun; complete with tractor rides).  But, riding the rides and slides at the Water Park was a completely new experience for him. We even let him ride the rides by himself.  He practiced his swimming skills in the pool and is a lot more proficient with his strokes. Worth every penny!

— 3 — Name Change:  I noticed during the vacation that our son is now calling Gregg and me “Mom” and “Dad” instead of “Mommy” and “Daddy.”  Sigh.  I think riding the park rides “independently” resulted in him feeling a little bit more grown up.

— 4 —  Me and Flying:  I love it.  And, it scares me.  I literally need to remain in a state of denial while in flight.  What I mean is that while we are soaring above the clouds, I pretend that I am not really that high up in the air.  I can’t even conceptualize it.  I have fear of heights.

Oh, you ask how I can possibly have a career in Naval aviation while at the same time be so freaky about flying?  I don’t know.  I find it exhilarating and terrifying.  I pray with each bump.  I look at my child with a smile of complete confidence on my face. I answer his aerodynamic questions with ease.  “Yes, this aircraft is designed to take lightning strikes.  Oh, and it is inherently stable so it would be very difficult for it to do anything but fly straight.”  I do a lot of self-talk.  I remind myself about the infinite number of airplanes that take off and land safely every hour of every day.  But still I have to remain in denial about my actual location during the flight. 

— 5 —  Taco Bueno: OMG. This place has the best food!  We ate there twice while we were in Kansas and I am sad that the closest one to my home is an airplane ride away.  I am not sure I will ever be satisfied with Taco Bell again after eating at Taco Bueno.  Delicious!!

— 6 — Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on The Crescat for her post called “What Employment History Reveals About Your Date.”  I agree with her 100%!

— 7 — St Joseph:  Have you heard that we will be saying 5 additional words during Mass?  The new words, “with blessed Joseph, her spouse,” follow a mention of Mary in the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass and are included in three different versions of the prayer.  Yay for St. Joe!

Pope Francis said this at his Inaugural Mass:  “St. Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak, but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.“

God love and bless you!

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