I'm worn out... eyes are burning from looking at the monitor the bulk of today... and I'm also a bit brain-dead and losing efficiency with my work, so I'm heading up to bed.

But before I do, I thought it'd be fun to share a little news coverage that came in today's Belleville News-Democrat for the event/project Suzanne has been working on for the last several months that takes place this coming month in Alton... a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debate in Alton and a national conference and gathering of a group of Abraham Lincoln impersonators/re-enactors.

In fact, at one point in April (April 11-13), there will be no less than 70 Abraham Lincoln lookalikes in Alton. Almost anywhere you turn in town, you'll see a blast from the past in a stovepipe hat.  Dinners, one-act dramas, historical re-enactments, and trolley (or Segway) tours of historical sites are just some of the opportunities on the agenda to re-trace Lincoln's footsteps and re-live part of American history around Alton next month.

Read all about the festivities here.

See a full schedule of the happenings here.

Today was a wonderful day for our little family. We had gone to 4 PM Mass last night and had the morning off from music ministry (as happens the last Sunday of most months), so we executed our little plan to wake up and head to Sacred Grounds for brunch (later than we thought, in fact, since it was pouring down rain and both of the boys slept in until 8 AM, which is perhaps a record for them.)

At Sacred (perhaps our favorite little place apart from our home and church), Thomas had his usual short stack of pancakes and cup of whole milk.  Suzanne and I each enjoyed our own serving of the huevos rancheros with eggs and a small slice of corn bread, washed down with OJ and coffee.  Matthew enjoyed the environment and the company.

After brunch, Matthew and I dropped Suzanne and Thomas off to get their hair cut with Lindsay, then headed to Target to knock out a little shopping list of household expendables.  After the haircuts and Target, we all went to Kohls and picked up a few clothing items for the boys and ourseslves. Then we headed home, where Suzanne graciously let me head out to knock out a ton of backlogged side project work that I have.

So here I am, back at Sacred, wrapping up my 7th hour (or so) of work, also wrapping up a nice, flavorful dinner of a hummus wrap and tropical red tea.  I'm about to head home to do some more work (probably over a pot of coffee) and head to bed with the family.

I have a bunch more that I want to link to and blog about, so if I have time later tonight, I will, but if not, I'll get to it in the next day or so.

Notably, though, almost all of the squash plants poked through the soil today, reaching out for the light and for future growth.

God bless.

Not much was accomplished in the garden today, since I started out the day getting Thomas and myself ready and taking him with me to the grocery store.  We were in dire need of a cart-full of produce, some formula for bottles for Matthew, and eggs.  The eggs contributed to a breakfast of french toast (one of our favorite weekend breakfasts.)  Then I headed out to do some catch-up work before a meeting that Suzanne and I had at Father Pat's rectory about Why Catholic. Then Mass, then I made a spectacular (if I do say so myself) dinner of lime-garlic-catfish soft tacos with fresh guacamole, chipotle salsa, and lettuce, served with a side of black beans.  Then Thomas and I went for some boys' time at Starbucks. He sweet-talked them (through many "food, please... food, pretty please, sugar on top..." trips to the counter) into some free samples of food that made his night.  Then I brought him home just in time for Suzanne to feed and put Matthew to bed while I bathed Thomas and put him to bed.

But even though I had a busy Saturday, the plants keep doing their thing... the spaghetti squash sprouts are just starting to poke through the soil and every one of the varieties of lettuce keep growing like weeds.  I imagine that within a week (or not much more) I'll have to figure out a way to move the lettuce outside in a protected way.

The bird feeders in the side yard provide a real treat in the yard.  Suzanne has really started to fall in love with the smaller birds that head for the bird feeder further out with the thistle seed.  She's commented on them several times.  Thomas loves the big birds that come to the feeder closer to the dining room window.  I've started to notice a rhythm in the times of day that the birds come to feed.  It's almost as if they actually have set "meal times" that they drop by and visit during, and they surprisingly fall closely in line with our own meal times.  Call me crazy, but it at least seems that way.

Today the Church celebrates "Divine Mercy Sunday", a beautiful feast that's relatively new in the Church's life (although it's been going on for several years in various localities, it was just made a part of the Universal Church's life in 2000 when Pope John Paul II declared it as such.)  It's a beautiful thing, in my opinion, to reflect - on the Second Sunday of Easter - on the boundless mercy that Christ has on all of mankind.

Also making this weekend special is the fact that this is the weekend that the Church proclaims the Gospel of "Doubting Thomas" - the Gospel (and Father Doody homily) of which led us to name our oldest son "Thomas."  Of course we look at it from the point of view of the faith that Thomas exhibited in his proclamation of "My Lord and my God!"  (And the fact that he was actually the only apostle who wasn't scared into locking himself in the upper room.)  But I suppose that's another entry for another day...

The fun has started - in the last few days, I've started to get all my seed-starter trays filled up with soil mix and seeds and get them set under the grow lights here in the basement.

It's appropriate, I suppose, to start this whole project (the garden AND the blog) today, the Spring Equinox.  Welcome, Spring!  We're ready for your warm breeze and sunnier days.

It's also appropriate, too, since today we begin the Easter Triduum of the Church - the Holiest three days of the year in the middle of the Holiest week of the year.  Tonight is the Mass of the Lord's Supper, where we recall the Last Supper and the great gift of the Eucharist that Christ left us as His everlasting presence.

Two years ago, I started seeds in December, hoping for the early-blooming, cooler-weather flowers come March or April.  They came, but not nearly as strongly as I would have hoped.  This year, I'm skipping the early bloomers and going for the hearty summer flowers and vegetables.  Two years ago, my garden all but met its maker when I left for a few weeks for a scouting conference and the friends & family that I had entrusted with its watering didn't quite make it happen.  This year, I'll be here all year, coaching the plants along and giving them the TLC that they need when they need it.

In the same way, I have high hopes that my journal can take this opportunity to move from the dusty, seldom-used pages of my leather-bound notebook into this virtual space where I spend most of my waking hours.

I know that I'll find deeper meaning to life and love as I raise these seeds and share their beauty - and fruits - with my family in the yard this year.  And I say a silent prayer that God does His part and helps me - and them - in this endeavor.