It’s the Month of the Rosary, and there’s nothing like a giveaway to make my list of favorite things.  Have you entered YOUR name over at CatholicMom.com?

Speaking of CatholicMom.com, in my latest column, I share some of my favorite rosary resources. (Note: this list was written before I read The Rosary Workout.  That definitely makes the list too!)

A birthday girl, chocolate all over her face:


An official cutie patootie birthday babe, big smile and hair askew:


A brand-new two-year-old, on the stairs:


She’s two and she has style:

What better way to celebrate a birthday than to meet a celebrity? No, it wasn’t MY birthday, but it might as well have been, because meeting a hero, an inspiration, a mentor…well, it was a treat.  (It was all I could do not to pee my pants, truth be told.)

While I’m on the topic of Danielle Bean, her books, My Cup of Tea and Mom to Mom, Day to Day (which I reviewed here), are a few of my favorite things.  (Yes, she graciously signed them for me.  *happy dance*)  Want to learn more about them?  You can get the skinny here.  If you don’t already own them, put them on your Christmas list, your birthday list, your Mothers Day list, whatever it takes to get them in your hands.  You won’t be sorry.  In fact, you might just find that the down-to-earth advice and counsel and encouragement will lift you up and make things seem brighter and more possible.  You can also find Danielle every day at Faith & Family Live, which is one of the only websites I make sure I visit every day (or every other day, depending on how computer time shakes out in my world).

Today’s list of favorite things wouldn’t be complete without this guy:

Makes my heart go pitty-pat just looking at that picture, which was taken by my best friend’s husband at a parish picnic a few years ago.  He’s quite a gift from God, this Prince Charming of mine, and as we start a weekend of celebrating two years with our littlest one, I know I’ll find myself looking at him and smiling.  How can I not?  🙂