7 Quick Takes {Take 39} Crazy weekend, Catholic treasures, dancing in bright orange costumes & new rosary! edition

-1- It is against the law of Type A personalities to have this many things scheduled on the same day!

It's a miracle that I'm not currently a heap of twitching flesh right now. Tonight, Mike's play that he's been rehearsing for for weeks with a local theater company is opening at 7 pm. Rehearsal for Henry's First Communion is scheduled for 6:45 pm, and I'm supposed to be at my final troupe rehearsal prior to the hafla tomorrow, also at 7 pm. Tomorrow, in the morning, we have Henry's First Communion Mass at 11 am, lovely party to follow back at our house, then Mike's play in the evening at 7 pm as well as my hafla at 6pm.

*collapses*

I think I'm handling this introverts nightmare remarkably well. ;-) Tonight, my mother-in-law is coming to put Anne to bed while Mike leaves for his play and I take Henry to his rehearsal. As soon as we're done, I'm dropping Henry at home with my mother-in-law to hurry and catch whatever I can of my troupe rehearsal. Tomorrow, we'll have all of the happy First Communion stuff in the morning as a family, then in the evening my in-laws are taking the kids to dinner while Mike goes to the play and I perform at the hafla. I'm going to watch Mike perform at the Sunday matinee, when my mom is coming to watch the kids and possibly take Henry to his soccer game should it not get rained out (please God, let the rain fall).

GOOD.HEAVENS. It's all wonderful stuff, but couldn't at least 1 of these things have been on a different weekend?!

-2- Henry's Catholic preciousness...

But speaking of Henry, oh my gosh, the adorable factor is just through the roof. He eagerly packed up his rosary this morning because they're praying a decade at school each day for the month of May, and he's been dutifully practicing his reading for tomorrow's Mass. His task is: Prayers of the Faithful #3. :0 He also came home from school yesterday with a short litany that he was chosen to read at the May Crowning ceremony just over a week from now. He's nervous about reading it in front of the whole school. :0

So.seriously.cute.

Mike is really excited that Henry got a part in the May Crowning and wants to attend, pleasing his Catholic wife so greatly. :) 

-3- My darling is just the cutest man in the universe...

And Mike, oh my goodness. He's in this play this weekend, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He's really thrived in the rehearsals, finding that he loves acting, and I know how important it is to have a creative outlet that you find meaningful. It makes everything else in your life brighter.

So for his part, he's playing a character that is somewhat younger than he is, and the director asked him to shave his sideburns off, since whatever silver hair he is currently sporting seems to be collected all in there. In the nearly 12 years that I've known Mike, he has *always* had sideburns, I've never seen him without them! But when I come home tonight, they'll be off for the week. :0 My husband is absolutely *adorable* and I can't wait to see him in character. *heart*

-4- Bead and sequin alert

So, I practiced in my costumes again for the hafla and I'm as ready as I'll ever be. My drum is feeling good. It's mostly choreographed, but I have segments in there of smoother music that I'm just going to improvise to. I like to improvise when I dance, it actually makes me relax more, which sounds counter intuitive for someone who usually wields a firm hand of control on things, but it's true. I'm also going to improvise my arms a lot, so that they'll be more fluid, which looks a lot better than a series of static arms (I know this based on experience :0). My right calf muscle is much improved, so I'm hoping that I can jump on it to my heart's content tomorrow evening. There will be a post on Monday with updates as to how everything went. *beams*

-5- The value of community

I've been thinking a lot lately about how grateful I am for the Catholic community that I am a part of online. From the SQPN podcasts that I listen to, to Twitter and Facebook, to this blog, I feel part of something larger, and something very, very meaningful. Exciting canonization ceremonies in Rome? I listen to and watch Fr. Roderick report in live (and I've met him in real life!). I chat with my friends on Twitter about it. I can blog about it and see how many people read my post and comment on it. I read your blog posts and get your thoughts on it. It's just so, so wonderful.

I'm very grateful to be part of a generation in which this type of communication with others of shared interests worldwide is possible. Which leads us to...

-6- "Mommy! ARE YOU THERE?!"

...it's so nice to know you'll have emotional support come morning when this is what you hear at 3:30 am. :0 Poor Anne has been sick with some sort of stomach virus, and has been at less than 100% capacity as a result. She's also at a developmental age in which she's acquiring fears of things that she didn't have before. Spider webs and loud noises have made themselves manifest of late.

I hurried to her room. I could tell she wasn't just going to go back to sleep. She was upset about something.

"Hi Honey, Mommy's here."

"My sock fell on the floor!!!"

This was obviously of paramount concern to her, but I think not feeling good and being worried about an insect getting into her room (which she had talked about all evening) had caused her to just need an extra security snuggle. I was happy to oblige.

But by time I got to bed it was nearly 4 am, and Anne was fine, falling asleep in her own bed, but do you think *I* could get back to sleep? Of course not, because that's some sort of rule for sleep deprived parents. I fell asleep close to 6 am, only to need to wake at 6:30 in order to get ready for work.

*sighs*

-7- It IS the month of Mary, after all *rosary purchase justification*

However, in exciting news, I received a new rosary in the mail yesterday, and this always heralds lots of happiness:

Isn't it gorgeous?! Yes, I know. You're thinking: "Tiffany, don't you already own about 2 dozen rosaries? Aren't your children going to be scandalized someday when you leave this earth and they have to figure out what to do with enough rosaries to outfit an entire town?!" Well. I'm just not worrying about that right now. ;-)

This lovely addition was custom crafted by the talented Allison Kinyon. I really wanted a St. Kateri rosary, and I chose the colors for a Native type of feel and voila! I LOVE it. I tracked it obsessively all the way across the country as it made it's way to me. :0 I prayed with it this morning, and I simply adore it. The beads are gorgeous and feel so nice in the hand. If you haven't seen Allison's Etsy store before, definitely have a look. Her rosaries are just gorgeous, and she will custom create whatever color palate you desire. She currently has a Pope Francis rosary listed that is to die for. Go shop. :)

All right everyone, I'm off to eat lunch. Check back in with me on Monday! And head over to Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes. :)