One new

Fun
Originally uploaded by kim belcher

Juliana's birthday party, which we had at Mongo's Grill in St Cloud, was a blast. I didn't do much planning ahead this time -- I didn't even make reservations -- but everyone had a great time, the food was excellent, and things were very low key. (Just right for my girl.)

Julie loved having a party, especially getting a bunch of attention from a lot of her little friends (see the other pictures on Flickr). I made the cake: a polar bear wearing a dress to match Julie's (which I found at Once Upon a Child). Thomas picked out some clothes to match it too! He made her a photo mat which I'm planning to fill with this photo. Maybe I'll take a picture once I have it printed and mounted and post that here too.

One old

I was looking at some older pictures today and was suddenly struck by this one, from July, because Paci's expression, attitude, and posture here are almost exactly like the very first time I saw her, in the humane society. I think she was sitting, not lying ready to spring up like that, but the combination of intelligence and readiness really struck me. She really looked at me just like this, like we knew each other. Look at those eyes and ears. You know you would have taken her home too.

"A hunger for the fast" at PrayTell

A brief reflection on the Ash Wednesday mass I attended this evening:

http://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2010/02/18/a-hunger-for-the-fast/