The last two Sunday's have gotten away from me with a family trip to Lake George and then a bachelorette party in Bermuda, but today I made it back to church. The mass today was focused around escaping vanity and refocusing on being more Christ like. I always sit after mass, when Punky is alseep and the house is quiet, and try and apply the homily to my parenting and marriage. Those are my two most important jobs and I'm always trying to take a step back and see how I can improve.

The Alaskan Assassin and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last month. I thought that is a sign of a great marriage. Longevity. Now, I'm thinking the fact that we have stayed together that long is not the successful part. Our marriage is successful because we are better, more loving people because of the marriage. I've learned how to be more giving of my time and gifts to members of our community by watching him. He has learned how to slow down and enjoy our little family moments from me. Our ten years ( 14 really) should be celebrated because being husband and wife has become our means of salvation for each other.

As far as parenting goes, what are the signs we are doing it right? Our littles have a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, adorable clothes on their backs, and a fabulous school to go to. That sounds like we are successful at parenting, but that's not parenting, that's providing. Which we are good at. But, seeing how my children shared and played nicely with all the children on vacation felt more like we are heading in the right direction. Watching The Felon teach his sisters to jump in the pool and swim, feels closer to our goal. I hope to help our littles find their talents and then guide them into using them to better the world.