Happy Monday everyone!

Some housekeeping items this morning: I just posted an automatic response on my email that I won’t be able to accept any more name consultations for a short while — I’m so backed up! I need to take some time to focus on the consultations I already have — I currently have eleven in the queue, which isn’t the most I’ve ever had pending, but the beginning of the school year is totally swamping me, and it takes me a good day (at least) to pull together a consultation that is ready to email to the parents — that’s after doing the research, which sometimes takes a couple of days. I love doing consultations, you know I do! But when I have a bunch that I still have to do, and I get more coming in daily (how I love that you all have such trust in my thoughts/ideas/suggestions!), and my 2yo is following me around crying, “Mommy! Need hold you!” and my 6yo is asking for help with homework and my almost-12yo needs to be picked up from his after-school activities and the other boys are beating each other up and I’m trying to cook dinner and be present to my darling husband when he comes home from work … well, I know you know. And I love you all for your beautiful hearts and for totally getting me. ❤

I admit I’m also thinking of changing from a donation-based model to a fee-based model for consultations. So many of you have been so wonderful and generous with your donations, and I’ve been humbled and honored more than once that it seems you’re giving your own “widow’s mite”! And I love that the names we’re talking about are the names of our faith, and how much you all love Jesus and Mary and the Saints and the Church — I’ve often told people, when they gasp that I don’t charge for consultations, that I just don’t see how I can ask for money to share such beautiful information! And yet … we’ll see. I’m thinking about it. It’ll make it easier for me to spend time on them, and many of my family members and friends have good ideas about how to structure such a model so that it retains the ministry aspect that I so love and believe in, including a financial aid allowance.

On the up side, I’m going to try to do a little more Instagramming and Tweeting — they’re so easy to do! It just takes minutes to post a photo or write a tweet, you know? I also have to catch up on my name reading, which I’ve woefully neglected (and I think my consultations are showing that — I’m feeling a little bit like I’m offering the same ideas every time) — I recently bought Mary’s Flowers: Gardens, Legends, and Meditations by Vincenzina Krymow (Vincenzina!) and I can’t wait to dive into it! I never followed up on my question to you all about whether I should buy the off-putting-title-but-otherwise-drool-worthy Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Names: For Pagans, Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, Mages, Shamans & Independent Thinkers of All Sorts by K.M. Sheard (I was sort of surprised that you were all in favor!), but I’m ordering it today (I’ll definitely be putting a cover on it, and maybe that holy water suggestion too 😉 ), and I still want to do a review of Duana’s book The Name Therapist: How Growing Up With My Odd Name Taught Me Everything You Need to Know About Yours as well as  African Saints, African Stories: 40 Holy Men and Women by Camille Lewis Brown and Ablaze: Stories of Daring Teen Saints by Colleen Swaim. I also have a bunch of things I want to post of my own that I haven’t been able to get to, including two spotlight requests; I also pitched an idea to Nameberry ages ago that I still have to make good on; and a bunch of other things, most of which will have to wait until I’ve caught up on the consultations, but one is an exciting guest post that I’ll be putting up tomorrow! I can’t wait for you all to read it! And I’ll be posting an extra consultation on Thursdays for the next three weeks for families that had interesting dilemmas or situations that I thought you’d all benefit from seeing (as I did).

I hope you all stick with me as I try to shake things up a little so they settle down better! I would love it if you’d think to include me in your prayers, and you and yours are always in mine. ❤ St. Anne, please pray for us!

You guys! I’m so so sorry I’ve been so quiet! Once again I’m backed up on emails and consultations! Tomorrow’s the last day of the first full week of school, and we’re doing great in that regard — we’re chugging back into the routine, I’ve been on top of all the things I need to be on top of children-wise — and I had two writing deadlines in the last week as well (they always seem to fall just when everything else does!), and a million other tiny little things that add up to a lot, and everything else has fallen by the wayside. If it makes you feel any better, my laundry is also a tragedy, as is the house in general. 🤦

I always hope to get caught up on the weekends, and I usually do — hopefully this weekend’s no different! I hope you’re all doing wonderfully well!

I’m determined to catch up on emails today, so don’t despair if I haven’t heard from you! I’m about a week behind, so if you emailed longer ago than the 12th and you’re still waiting to hear from me, please let me know!

I have some birth announcements to share, so get ready for some beautifully named babies!!