The Baptism of Jesus and a little more...

the baptism of Jesus from Wylio

Yesterday I posted about Epiphany. I was a little confused and still am, but today at Mass, things became a bit clearer. I knew that in some fashion, Epiphany also was about Jesus' Baptism. I couldn't connect all the dots because I thought all of it was connected. I am not sure, but I think that today's solemn feast is actually a distinct feast that is generally celebrated on Epiphany. It is not, this year, because of a scheduling of the Liturgical Year. Clear as mud...Why does it feel like, as a cradle Catholic, I am learning about my faith on a day by day basis. Anyone else feel this way. I guess trying to really teach it to my children I am, in fact, learning about it. So, Epiphany is the Pinnacle of the Christmas season...the highest part. And then, the Baptism of Jesus, and the beginning of his public ministry, is the end of Christmas...take down those decorations. I think we can eat more snowmen on a stick, too...totally appropriate.

Everything I Know About Parenting, I Learned From My Cat...
Many of you might remember that a few weeks ago, our cat had kittens. She is a young cat and it was an unplanned pregnancy :( We had not had the opportunity to take her for her operation; quite honestly, didn't even think she was old enough to have kittens. But she did and they were born prematurely. It was a devastating experience for my 10 year old daughter who spent a lot of time with her and then helped her with the kittens. Three kittens were born during a 24 hour period and we lost two shortly after their birth. The last kitten survived longer, possibly because she was born last and much later than the second earlier two. More likely because Tina hand fed it. Since they were so early...small and no hair...and our cat didn't really seem to have a maternal instinct, this gave the kitten a chance to linger. Unfortunately, it couldn't keep any heat, and when we finally left it alone with her mom, it expired. While she didn't seem to have a maternal instinct, Ashe, our cat, did feel possessive and she continually carried the kittens to her corner where she had the kittens. To our surprise, last week she stalked and "captured" one of Tina's toys...a small stuffed dog. I thought she was trying to eat it, like the dogs do with stuffed animals. But she just kept it. It wasn't until she tried to feed it, that I realized what she was doing...


Ashe's Kitty eats Kibbles...

Yes, Ashe likes to eat; is becoming quite fat actually. Eating is her favorite thing to do. We started to get the idea when we saw her place her kitty in her food bowl. She never really got the hang of doing it any other way and this is how all the other animals in the house eat :o)

Parenting does not come naturally to most. Like Ashe, we learn to parent by observing our own parents. The longer we live, the more ideas and models we have to parenting. That can be a good thing, if we have good models. If we don't, it can actually damage us. And, there is always books. I have reviewed two books and I will review more. However, I am going to spend some time looking at the bible as the ultimate parenting manual. The older I get...the longer I parent, the more I am convinced that the answer to most of our questions in life are found in this book. I am not wedded to a format, though, so if anyone has any ideas, please comment and tell me ideas...options...questions.