Well now. We haven’t been this worked up around here since Bill Cowher retired.

Can it really be true?

What will Manuela say?

Check out the latest version of Mom to Mom. How do you say “Cool!” in Polish?

Do you want one? I have 3 to give away. Just email me your mailing address. First come, first serve!

Update: All the books are gone now. Thanks!

Note: I’m re-posting this from Sunday since the interview is airing again tonight.

So glad you’re here! You can learn a little more about me on this page. If you are interested in reading more about or buying my books, you can do that here.

Those of you who are looking to connect with other Catholic moms will definitely want to browse through the blog pages. And don’t forget to check back in on Tuesday morning for our weekly Coffee Talk Tuesday where we share the big and and the small things about Catholic family life.

Even more importantly, though, come visit me at the blog of Catholic living: Faith & Family Live! is a new group blog where I write along with 4 other Catholic mom writers. We aim to be a source of information, encouragement, and support for Catholic families of all kinds — and we have a lot of fun along the way. Come join the conversation!

You can’t talk to a dissident priest, who thinks the Church has no business in your bedroom (immortal soul, si; bedroom, no). Nor even can you really talk to a faithful priest, who will be so thrilled you know what “NFP” stands for that he’ll assume you’re home free. But if you don’t talk to someone, you’re going to jump in front of a train. The truth is, sometimes NFP stinks.

Definitely worth reading the whole thing.

to Faith & Family Live! where

• Lisa is asking for your input on book recommendations
• Rachel is hosting an interesting discussion on how we should talk to our children about Jesus
• I am discussing ways to boost your energy without caffeine and
• Arwen offers a lovely look at the witness and sacrifice of infertile Catholic couples

and lots more!

Do people really jump in their cars to go pick up “free stuff” like this? Seriously?

from The Catholic Company:

The Catholic Company has undertaken a challenge, together with the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP), to send 5000 (or more!) catechisms to the poor and needy at MOP missions in Jamaica, India, the Philippines, Haiti, Uganda & Kenya. We are sending the first 500 catechisms, and hope our loyal customers will help us send at least another 4500 copies.

Check out the details here.

If you’re new here, welcome! Here’s what Coffee Talk is all about and we hope you’ll join us.

Hope your summer is going well. I am hosting a Drama Camp here at the house starting today. We should have about 25 kids here by 1:00 pm. Have I lost my mind?

And of course I need to remind you — come visit me at Faith & Family Live! eh? There are plenty of new posts over there you’ll want to check out.

So, what’s new with you? What would you like to talk about today?

Technorati Tags: catholic family life, coffee talk, catholic moms

I brought A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning along with me to the lake the other day.

That was silly. Between continual head counts, baby-chasing, and splash-fight refereeing, I never do get much reading done at the lake. I did manage to read a few snippets, though, and I realized that I have been greedily keeping this book to myself, instead of doing my part to share it by recommending it to others.

I think I have always figured that everyone knows about this book already. But I’m sure some don’t. Especially those who aren’t homeschoolers might not be familiar with it, but I think there’s plenty for all kinds of mothers to glean from the pages of this gem of a book.

“Companion” is a good word for the title of this book. Ever since my ever-wise older sister recommended A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning to me, this book has been a regular and much-appreciated companion to this homeschooling mom.

I probably only pull it out once or twice a year, but each time I do, it rejuvenates me. Andreola is not Catholic, but she is a Christian who takes her faith and her motherhood seriously. In gentle, persuasive style, she convinces readers to try to be better mothers, to be better wives, and to nurture happier families. With chapters on nature studies, sibling bickering, Shakespeare, music, habit-forming, child training, and “mother culture,” this book is the perfect one to pick up as a means of inspiration and encouragement at the start of a new school year or any time a mom feels burned out and overwhelmed.

Yesterday, after a day where it felt like my children’s tempers and impatience were feeding my own, these were exactly the words I needed to read while watching my children swim and play in the lake:

Virtues, like flowers, grow in the sunshine. You can cultivate them or draw them out with love and reason, but you can neither force nor whip them into existence.

Amen to that. Homeschooler or not, Charlotte Mason devotee or not, if you are a mother, you’ll want to get yourself a copy of this lovely “companion.”