Family, Sabbath, #SundayFunday

When we first moved into the house, our weekends were jammed pack trying to unpack, organize, and accomplish all our home improvement projects. Nate and I tried to use our time wisely and get as much done as possible since I was useless during the week with the littles. And by the time Nate got home from work, it was bedtime. Power tools + bedtime does not work in this house. Thus the weekend became GET IT ALL DONE NOW time. 

That worked for awhile, until I began to realize it wasn't actually working for all of us. Damian, poor kid, wasn't getting to enjoy his weekends with his family. Sure Nate and I were there, but being there versus being present are very different things. He can only go to Lowes so many times... And watching us paint while watching Mary Poppins for the umpteenth time isn't exactly as exciting as it was the first 3498 times. So I decided we needed a change...

For awhile now I've wanted to be better about keeping Sunday the Sabbath and minimizing the "just another day" aspect of it. Of course we go to Mass so that helps, but other than that, there's not been much different. Awhile back when I was reading St. Therese of Lisieux's Story of a Soul, I was struck by how she described the Sundays of her childhood as little tastes of heaven. And I want that, more than anything, for my kids. So in a more modern hashtag-y kind of way, we started Sunday Funday. 

We don't always do some big, but we try to do at least something fun as a family on Sunday. Sometimes it's just going to a park or for a walk, other times we'll go to the beach or get a meal. Whatever it is, we try to do it together and make sure it's something we can all enjoy at some level. Even the babe. 

Today we just walked around our beautiful city 

and enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the harbor. If anything reminds me of what I hope heaven is like, it's walking around on a beautiful day near the water. It was nice to just laugh at Damian being a nut, 

talk with Nate,

and watch Clare try to play with her brother. It's good to take it slow sometimes. The dishes and laundry aren't going anywhere, and on Sundays, they can wait.