{"id":45001,"date":"2014-03-21T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=45001"},"modified":"2014-03-21T08:16:36","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T13:16:36","slug":"family-table-domestic-church-fed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/03\/family-table-domestic-church-fed\/","title":{"rendered":"The Family Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dining<\/a><\/p>\n

With the exception of car seats, the dining table is the only place where my husband and I have been able to hold a captive audience. During the school year, we have a mere three hour period of togetherness between the return from school and onset of dinner, activities and bedtime. Throughout the week and within these three hours, we carefully balance homework, gymnastics, piano practice, a chiming doorbell and frequent peace talks with as much downtime<\/a>\u00a0 as possible. Then we sit down to eat, where after a brief blessing, there is the occasional mumbling of protests \u201cI don\u2019t like cheese anymore, I can\u2019t stand ketchup, this lemonade has too many bubbles in it.\u201d \u00a0But my husband and I look around and realize everyone is there, we love each other, and life is good.<\/p>\n

The table is an especially important place in my home, since food translates directly into love with boys. Crazy as it may sound, \u00a0often the biggest accomplishment of my day is timing a healthful meal and setting a simple table for my family. \u00a0But it is a ritual of love that I perform each weekday and everyone knows at 5:30 pm we sit together there. We converse, encourage listening, and remind the boys to ask to be excused and clear their plates when dinner is done. Technology is not invited to the table, and we always keep one chair empty for Jesus, which is occasionally filled by a hungry neighborhood friend. \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0We find that when we’re together there, the floor is ours as parents, and we\u2019ve paved a rough road for that privilege. \u00a0I hope we can always depend upon this space and time for connection as a family, even if the frequency of eating together becomes less over the years.<\/p>\n

When my husband first requested that we make an effort eat together every night as a family, I was slightly irritated by his expectation. \u00a0I thought \u201cman I got a baby throwing bowls on the floor and wiggly boys who care little for eating and even less for sitting. I just want to have a late dinner JUST US, please?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0But he promised me we\u2019d get through it, and many cups of spilled apple juice later, we did.<\/p>\n

At first it felt oddly formal to me, even though as a child I remember sitting down at the dining table as a whole family on weekends and special dinners, since Dad would only get home from his commute at 7pm on weekdays. But my husband is able to work remotely from home, and we try to take advantage of that blessing. \u00a0Even if food is devoured in five minutes flat (which with boys, it can happen). \u00a0We still get to talk about a current event, discuss our faith, share a funny (or sometimes sad) story, learn random trivia and if nothing else, brush up on some manners (burping is not an olympic sport, for the record).<\/p>\n

Even if I get nothing else right on any given day, if I can see my family around that table, I will be thankful. Because in the grand scheme of things it shouldn\u2019t matter when or what we eat, or how our dining table appears, or even if we\u2019re on speaking terms, so long as we\u2019re together, and keeping a seat open for Jesus in the midst of all the ups and downs of family life. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the exception of car seats, the dining table is the only place where my husband and I have been able to hold a captive audience. During the school year, we have a mere three hour period of togetherness between the return from school and onset of dinner, activities and bedtime. Throughout the week and… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[2289,2288],"class_list":{"0":"post-45001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-dinner","8":"tag-family-time","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":177662,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/whats-your-myersbriggs-thanksgiving-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":45001,"position":0},"title":"What’s Your Myers-Briggs Thanksgiving Style?","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"November 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh,\u00a0Thanksgiving, you marvelous holiday full of gratitude and food and love, you've come a long way from your origins in 1621.\u00a0You used to be based on the idea of celebrating a bountiful harvest with a feast among friends and neighbors. In Christian tradition, this included praising God for His countless\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31168,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/12\/celebrating-catholic-schools-in-the-diocese-of-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":45001,"position":1},"title":"Celebrating Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Austin","author":"Jason Elizondo","date":"December 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We got news of a really cool event that is coming up as part of \"Celebrating Catholic Schools Week\". If you are a fan of Catholic schools, the Food Network, The Catholic Channel then this is for you. If you're not a fan of any of those then I'm sure\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CDA_logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/CDA_logo-e1356879267327.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43070,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/christmas-eve-bust-cake-candles\/","url_meta":{"origin":45001,"position":2},"title":"It’s Christmas Eve: Bust out the Cake & Candles!","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"December 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas Eve only means one thing: a baby is about to be born! The excitement is crackling in the air. Can\u2019t you feel it? A birthday to celebrate. A new life to love! Many of my most favorite family traditions center around Christmas Eve. Yes, we attend Mass, have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"christmas eve, blog_01","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/christmas-eve-blog_01-300x147.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34153,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/01\/what-fajitas-taught-me-about-faith-and-catholic-education\/","url_meta":{"origin":45001,"position":3},"title":"What Fajitas Taught me About Faith and Catholic Education","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"January 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Before we cancelled cable, the Food Network was one of my favorite channels. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Giada at Home, Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I can still see the butter dripping off Paula Deen\u2019s spoon. There was one episode, however, that piqued my interest in both Catholic schools and cooking.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"gbm-sf__medium","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gbm-sf__medium-300x243.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":181178,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/in-the-spirit-of-advent\/","url_meta":{"origin":45001,"position":4},"title":"In the Spirit of Advent","author":"Ablaze Ministries","date":"December 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year during Advent, the Johnson clan leads a church-wide food drive.\u00a0 We ask our church community to draw a family from our sister parish in downtown Houston and pray for them, give them boxes of food, and maybe get them a present or two.\u00a0 Then two Uhauls get filled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Advent-CCFM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Advent-CCFM-550x366.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Advent-CCFM-550x366.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Advent-CCFM-550x366.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50895,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/09\/dont-read-blog-enjoy-labor-day-unplugged\/","url_meta":{"origin":45001,"position":5},"title":"Don’t Read This Blog: Enjoy Labor Day Unplugged","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"September 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We live in an overstimulated society. Between TV screens, phone screens, computer screens, tablet screens, phablet screens, laptop screens, and movie screens, are brains are just plain ol' overloaded. Just for fun, think back to your last work day. How many hours were spent looking at a screen? What about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sleeping dog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/photo-3-179x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}