Archives

Letting Go and Letting God

By Sarah McDonald I am a planner. I like to have a schedule and know what is happening when and where. I still have a written calendar as well as my phone-based calendar so that I can make additional notes as necessary. Plus, I still think I remember better when I handwrite it. On March […]

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Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread

By Sarah McDonald You know what was one of the most surprising elements of this quarantine for me? The early bread shortage. Sliced bread supplies were scarce, and there were limits as to how many one could buy at a time. There are seven people in my house, one of whom is a 9-year-old boy, […]

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A Quarantined Easter

By Sarah McDonald Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we would find ourselves here: ordered to “stay-at-home” through April, missing out on the celebration of the Sacred Triduum and Easter in our church parishes and unable to celebrate the great high feast with extended friends and family. This may go down in […]

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Living Lent Simply

By Sarah McDonald With a house full of children, we try very hard to find simple joys in life. One thing, however, we do not do simply is eat. My husband and I LOVE to cook, trying new recipes or changing up favorite ones to make them our own. I consider some of my proudest […]

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“No House is More Beautiful than Ours”

By Sarah McDonald When I was a little girl, I dreamt of how I would decorate my house for Christmas. I knew exactly what I wanted with white lights, garland, and crystals sparkling. Well, all of my grandiose ideas of elegance came crashing down this past Christmas as I looked around my child-decorated house that […]

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Why We “Have Faith in Catholic Schools”

By Sarah McDonald I went to Catholic school. My entire family went to Catholic school. Same for my husband. Growing up it was odd to me when someone didn’t go to Catholic school, and I bet for many of you readers it was the same growing up in the metro New Orleans area.

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Recognizing Each Child’s Individuality

By Sarah McDonald One of the most amazing things about parenting is getting to see how different and special each of your children can be in his or her own way.

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Why We Wait to Decorate

By Sarah McDonald As I drove through town the week before Thanksgiving, I noticed not one or two but several homes decked out with their Christmas decor. 

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My Top 10 Things Families Can Do to Observe Advent

By Sarah McDonald When I told my children last year that Advent was supposed to be observed like Lent, I think I saw literal terror in their faces.  Imagine my little ones trying to compute how the secular holiday season compares to Lent, the season of prayer, fasting,and almsgiving. Honestly, it’s hard for me to […]

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An Attitude of Gratitude

By Sarah McDonald Just recently, my dishwasher broke. As I unloaded dishes (with heated on food) into my sink to rewash with my 1-year-old crying at my leg, let’s just say, I was not a happy camper. But, as I washed two nights worth of dinner and breakfast dishes for my family of seven after […]

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The Heavenly Chorus of ‘Mom’

By Sarah McDonald My baby recently turned 1 year old. It’s hard to believe that my sweet “Happy Face,” as I call her, has reached the milestone. Along with her first birthday came a few other milestones: first steps and the addition of “Mama” to her baby vocabulary. Of course, there were the occasional “Mamama” […]

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