Ember Friday

Today is both an Ember day (traditionally a day of fasting, abstinence, and prayer for good priests) and the first Friday of June. First Fridays in general as well as the whole month of June are dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so today is an especially appropriate day for devotions to the same. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is approaching on June 19th, two weeks from now, which is the day chosen by our Holy Father to begin a "sacerdotal year" in honor of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney. (n.b. indulgences are available - see here ;)

Our kids have been wracking up the milestones this week. First, I came home one day to discover that Maria had learned how to sommersault. "Winter-peppers" are the next challenge. Today she received her first tricycle. One of the families here that is packing up for the move to Trumau had no further use for it, so I brought it home for Maria. She was crazy excited.

Thomas, meanwhile, has begun to eat (relatively) solid food. He loves that rice cereal, and it took him no time at all to get the hang of eating with a spoon.