Blessed Among Men

Ethan Athanasius 3/09/12

2012-03-17T15:09:00.003-07:00

Photo Card

2012-03-17T11:58:00.001-07:00

Seersucker Blue Baby Announcements

Find 100's of cute birth announcements at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Time to Admit it...

2012-02-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

Good article. Hard to argue with this.

And Here's One for Dads

2012-01-20T09:44:00.001-08:00

Amen.

For Mothers with Only One Child...

2012-01-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

...or only two or three and even for mothers of many, this is a great read!

Help For Anxiety

2012-01-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

"The principal labor of the Christian is to believe that divine love is the length and height and depth, and that there is simply nothing above, below, or beyond it. It is our home; it enfolds us and is our utmost security both in this life, in death and beyond...Without realizing it, we often call "faith" that assent we give to our own manageable ideas of God.True faith takes us into the unknown.[to where we are afraid to go, but where God has always been and waits for us]"

--Sister Ruth Burrows, O.C.D.

Fascinating

2012-01-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

...that a baby's stem cells stay inside his mother's body for decades, healing her and repairing any damaged tissues. I have been heard more than once complaining that it just isn't fair that we mothers have the power to generate and gestate youth itself, but can't use any of it to make ourselves any younger. Well, it looks like I was wrong all along. Nature is a beautiful thing and nature's god is very good.

Ruby

2011-12-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

The boys found this ruby at the mountain gem mines last time we were there and we were told it had value so Jeremy had it cut and polished. For our Anniversary, he had it set in a gold necklace and served to me as "fifth course" by the staff at the restaurant he took me to. I love it.

Birthiversary, Fifteen Years!

2011-12-28T05:32:00.000-08:00

I wrote this post on our tenth anniversary and I would write it all again, today, on our fifteenth. If anything were different, however, it would be that the last five years have been kinder to us than the first ten. There have been many, many blessings and many joys. God has been very good to us. I feel as though what He cut roughly in the first decade of our marriage, He has been carving out the detail work on and polishing in the last five. We've suffered some, too, of course but even our hardships have had joys, or maybe I've just learned better how to look for them. Either way, I consider myself a very lucky woman to be standing by this man's side surrounded by our soon-to-be seven sons.

(Is this the ear you can't hear on?) I love you, Jeremy Temple, and I'm going to love you 'til the day I die.*

Ten years ago, today, I turned twenty-three and married the love of my life.

A less scanned-looking version of this photograph is on display in our home and there have been many times in the last ten years, when things were hard, that I have paused in front of this photograph, gazed at the unsuspecting smile of the young woman pictured there and thought to myself, "Naive, naive, naive."

And certainly I was naive. My whole married life was ahead of me. Hearth, home, children--it was all to come. My hopes and dreams were as vibrant as my youthful imagination and stood, as yet, unchecked by any reality. There were no hardships, no disappointments, no sacrifices on that day when I made those vows to love for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad.

It was later that the hardships came and they were certainly not of the worst variety-- just the usual struggles of a young couple trying to live a life of faith...trying to live in the world but not be of it... and perhaps a few hardships particular to us that God has asked us to endure.

If this is the worst of it, if this is my path to heaven--suffering with those I love, surrounded by them, and most often for the sake of them-- then I'll be the first to say that His yoke is easy and His burden, light.

Still, there have been times when I have envied the young woman in this photograph. As life has chipped away at my plans here, there at my hopes, and again at my self-vision...I have found it hard to let go of my ideals. There have been many times when I have wished I could stand as radiant and as hopeful as the young woman in this photograph stands.

But I have also learned that, for all her radiance, she is naive in more ways than one. There are indeed many things that she does not know...

She does not know the humiliations of gestating, the pains of labor, or the constraints of nursing, it is true...
...but nor does she know the joy of carrying a secret life inside her, the triumph of childbirth, or the pride of providing sole nourishment for another human person.

She does not know how much one can die to self without actually dying, I know...
...but nor does she know the life of love that is born of that sacrifice.

She does not know that humility is draining and bottomless...
...but nor does she know the peace of letting go and the dignity of being filled up by God.

She does not know how overwhelmed she will be or how inadequate she will feel...
...but nor does she know the courage she will have or the occasions to which she will rise.

She does not know that she probably won't accomplish everything she hopes to...
...but nor does she know the value of what she will accomplish.

She does not know how much the man beside her will change...
..She has no idea what a loving, kind, and appreciative husband he will prove to be. She does not know that she could not have chosen a more devoted father for her children or more perfect partner for life. Though she loves him with all the depths of her heart, she does not know that the trials of life will make her heart grow deeper and thus, ten years later, she will love him even more profoundly.

So it is that the older I get, the less envious I am of the young woman in this photograph and the more she becomes a sweet symbol of youthful idealism and unblemished hope. God bless her, dear thing. For her, I wish a life as rich as mine.

*Reference to It's A Wonderful Life
Photograph: taken by my sister, Helene.

Do you have more children than you have room for?

2011-12-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

Consider yourself blessed. Isaiah does.

H/T: Daria Sockey

All He wants for Christmas...

2011-12-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

Illuminated Ink

2011-12-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

We're coloring O Antiphons today.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-19T05:39:00.000-08:00

28 Weeks

2011-12-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

Heading out to a Christmas concert.

Double Birthday

2011-12-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

Alex turns 11 and Micah turns 3

Ha!

2011-12-12T08:20:00.001-08:00

Jacob: Whenever it says "Holiday" it means "Christmas" so why don't they just write "Christmas?"

Overheard

2011-12-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Zachary: Mom, did you know Bach learned to play piano from his older brother?

Me: Really? So then, will you teach Micah?

Zachary: Umm...it's just that his parents passed away first.

Me:Oh...

Highlights of a Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T14:23:00.001-08:00

We're playing a Thanksgiving game that we found in an activity book that uses candy corn as currency. So simple and so fun.

Helping in the kitchen and putting on his best "southern", Jacob: I'll get out the pee-cons, Y'all!

Mixing pumpkin pie ingredients, Alex: Mom, this looks like art!
Nicholas, licking his lips: It smells like art.

When many of the leaves I was making for the pumpkin pie crust weren't turning out, Zachary: Don't worry, Mom, nature works this way too. So many baby turtles hatch...so few make it to the ocean.

A breeze blew in, dropping temperatures by just the right amount to make baking pleasant and the kids chased leaves in the backyard all afternoon.

Stinker By Day

2011-11-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

Our Night Owl

2011-11-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

Cooktop!

2011-11-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

We finally got our new cooktop installed, just today! It's been a long and crazy journey involving waiting a long time for a certain stove that never became available due to manufacturer problems, but in the end we had our counter cut larger and got this 36" cooktop with five burners to replace our four. I love it! Also, our new microwave is pictured here. The store compensated for our frustrations by giving us a great deal and we are thrilled the cooktop is here in time for Thanksgiving. There was a while there, we didn't think it would happen. Thank you, everyone, who sent meal ideas. We managed these last two months with some difficulty. I'm so happy to be done with skillet and crockpot cooking!

Gluck Ducks

2011-11-21T16:20:00.001-08:00

Ducks from this afternoon's art lesson. We're using the Gluck DVDs. It's been fun.

The War of the Vendee

2011-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

My nieces and nephews are in this fantastic looking film by Navis Pictures (you can see two of them at the 25 sec. mark). Also, several friends. We can't wait to watch the whole thing.

Kids in Collards

2011-11-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

A neighbor gave us some collard greens. Good to eat...or hide in.

I Want to be in That Number

2011-11-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

Miscellaneous saints by miscellaneous kids.
Artists include: Alexander, Jacob, Zachary and Nicholas.

Friend Feed

2011-11-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

Google Reader stopped hosting its "shared items" option. So, the badge in the right margin where I have been linking to interesting articles around the web has changed to Friend Feed. It isn't as good as Google Reader and the lack of sharing means that I am reading around the web less as well, but it is better than nothing. So, if you had been following my Google reader, please join up with Friend Feed. Follow me here and share what you've been reading with me. I appreciate it!

Let the Saints Begin

2011-11-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

So I picked up some paper and paints yesterday. While Jeremy and I installed our new built in microwave, the kids got drawing. We have over 30 saints drawn in pencil. Tonight, we'll get out the pens and watercolor and I'm hoping we'll get to join in to make a few of our own. Here is JPII by Alexander.

All Saints/All Souls

2011-11-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

My kids are begging to do this again. They had a great time painting with us, loved getting other kids' saint cards in the mail and made a few lasting international pen pals with the kids who wrote contact information on their cards. I think we will participate. You should, too.

But All Saints was yesterday and today is All Souls. My husband packed the kids up after dinner and headed out in the dark to a cemetery to pray for all souls. I just love being Catholic. Blessings to you and your families these holy days!

2011-11-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Me: I need someone to swat flies.

Jacob: Oh no, I'm no longer a bounty hunter. Fly guts are not for me.

Boy

2011-11-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

I announced it on facebook, but I know I have a few readers here who are not on facebook, so I thought I'd mention here that baby Temple is another boy. We're very happy as this will be more than convenient and also, we rather like boys.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

Cop and Jail Bird

Napoleon

Hamburger

Panda gets into the candy.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

Pictures will be coming, but for now go read my sister's excellent, "Don't Trade Halloween for Reformation Sunday." My sentiments exactly.

GE Recall

2011-10-25T11:12:00.001-07:00

Thank you, CMW, for letting me know that GE issued a recall just today on their exploding cooktops. Do you have one of these? Turn it off and call GE.

2011-10-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Seeing his brother's hot chocolate...

Micah: I want that! I want sugar coffee!

Recent Listening

2011-10-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

The Whipping Boy

BLEG!

2011-10-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Help! It looks like it may be a month or more before we have a new cooktop in place. The problem is that a replacement will need a downdraft like the one we are replacing. There are limited options with this feature and the one we want would be a special order. Additionally, our microwave is on the fritz, only working every once in a while. A repairman is coming for that today, but the part may take some time to come.

In the meantime, nobody in this house is willing to go without eating so I need meal ideas...grill, crockpot, electric griddle recipes to feed a large family. Can you help? Send me your family favorites. Thank you!

2011-10-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Micah: Can I have some (something unintelligible)?

Me: What?

Zachary: He said, "Can I have some ceremonies?"

Me: What does that mean?

Zachary: You know, like royal ceremonies with fancy things.

Me: Why would he want that?

Zachary: Why wouldn't he?

Gold

2011-10-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Jacob: (Walking around with his hands full of Pyrite from the mountain mines) I'd be rich, if only I were a fool!

Kaboom

2011-10-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

The last morning the Laurences were here our cooktop exploded at breakfast. Thankfully, nobody was hurt but ceramic glass shards flew everywhere. Very exciting. When we started to look for a new stovetop, we found reviews of this one (GE Profile) and discovered that it has been exploding on others as well, many others (14 out of15 reviews). So, if have one of these, be warned. We're very thankful nobody was hurt. Jacob told Father T about it after mass this morning and he said a prayer of thanksgiving with our family and asked angels to continue to protect us. That's the best insurance there is. We'll be replacing this with a different brand. Any suggestions?

Duke Gardens

2011-10-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Grandfather Mountain

2011-10-08T17:53:00.001-07:00

Linville Caverns

2011-10-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

Tweetsie Railroad

2011-10-08T15:26:00.001-07:00

2011-10-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

View from the house we rented.

2011-10-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Look who came to visit! We had so much fun.

Back From the Mountains Part 1

2011-10-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Quick Note and Update

2011-10-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I just wanted to pop in here and say Thank you to all who sent prayers my way for the morning sickness. I am happy to say that I am doing well. In fact, I've been doing great. I haven't felt sick at all now for a whole week!

And there's more than just feeling better. I'll write more soon and maybe post a few pictures of the fabulous last two weeks I've had. Truly, it's been like a dream. You'll see why when I get to posting pictures. Thank you again. Your prayers worked!

15 weeks 5 days...

2011-09-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

...and STILL dealing with morning sickness. I'm better than I was, much better, but still quite queasy every single day. If you have a spare one, please say a prayer for me. First, think of the hungry and dying and those in purgatory, pray for the sick and suffering, for the unborn and for the pope's intentions. Pray for this country and for your children, the poor, the lonely and those who have nobody to pray for them. Pray for purity and peace in this world, for an increase in religious vocations and for the fidelity to Christ of the priests we have now. Pray for your enemies and for the grace to forgive. Pray for your parents and in gratitude for all the blessings you have received and when you're done with all that if you have any prayer left in you, please offer a short little prayer for me. Thank you.

Live and Learn: Exciting Oven Fire Edition

2011-09-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Did you know you have to clean your oven by hand before using the "self clean" function? Well, you do, especially if the bottom is coated in olive oil. We had an exciting oven grease fire this morning and the auto lock prevented us from opening the door to put it out, which probably saved our home if not our lives as we read later that opening the door would have been the worst thing we could have done. It went out on its own after we turned the oven off. And I'm sure my freaking out in front of it helped a great deal, too.

All that's left now is lingering smoke and my legs feel like jello. I panic well. It's a gift. My husband, on the other hand, has all the nerves of a cucumber. In fact, he's the one who saw the fire. "Oh," he says casually,"there's a fire in there." I thought he must be talking about a child's drawing or something as nobody would talk so calmly about a REAL FIRE! "Well, one of us needs to stay calm," he told me later. Yes, and apparently the other of us needs to panic.

Good Point

2011-09-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Jacob: Mom, you can't really pick peppers that have already been pickled.

From the Mouths of Babes

2011-09-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

little Boy: Mom, I understand how God loves all His children, even those who don't believe in Him. I love all my toys, but some of them don't know that.

Overheard

2011-09-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

Zachary: Nicholas, not ALL protein is in peanut butter.

Nicholas: I know. Some is in ham.

Why do Catholics Have Big Families?

2011-09-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a simple answer.

Oops...

2011-08-31T10:06:00.001-07:00

Sorry. I'm so used to closed comments that I didn't even think about opening them on my last post, but you kindly reminded me so now they're open.

Also, I have to tell you that we showed the strip of ultrasound pictures to Micah and explained that it is a baby, his very own little brother or sister. He smiled, looked over them, pointed at one and said, "This one, please."

So Micah picked this kid out.

Hello World!

2011-08-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

Baby Temple waves at the camera.

We're very happy to announce that Baby Temple will be joining us in early March. I've been feeling pretty rotten, which was a very reassuring sign throughout first trimester. If ever I felt better for even a moment, panic would set in. I'm happy to be moving out of that now and starting to feel better without the panic. It was so wonderful to see this little one on ultrasound and hear the strong and steady heartbeat this morning. Thanks be to God!

More Word Mix Ups

2011-08-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Zachary: Mom, what's a "veal?"

Me: Veal? That's deer meat.

Zachary: Eeew. Veronica wiped Jesus' face with veal?

Updated: Oops, funny. I guess that's VENISON. Veal so everyone knows, is baby cow. Still gross.

2011-08-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Little Boy: Mom, what does "ee-fish-en-see"mean?

Me: Efficiency? It means something done easily and with little waste.

Little Boy: Hu? What does that have to do with the fish in the sea?

Little Stinker

2011-08-19T08:55:00.001-07:00

Jacob is hammering away at the piano, trying to compose something original.

Zachary: What is that, Jacob? Ode to nothing?

LOVE this!

2011-08-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Matt Archibold's piece in the Register...You Can Never Afford Them.

Tire Swings at an Apple Orchard

2011-08-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

First Fruits

2011-08-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Maybe you remember when we planted two pear trees in honor of Micah's birth.

Micah has grown. The trees have grown. These are the actually the second real crop we've picked this year. They are amazingly delicious. The best pears I've ever tasted.

Kittens Week Two

2011-07-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

They're learning to walk.

Zachary: Mom, the kitties are making the first big steps for kittenkind.

A Poem by Simeon

2011-07-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

A Plane Song

A sputtering engine and whirring propeller,
A plane jumps alive
And patrols the blue and sunny skies
And blazes the shining gun,
And blazes the shining gun, my friend.
While like the pilot brave
Strong, the true plane soars to serve
Great America on the wind.

This poem is the result of an assignment from Margot Davidson's brilliant language program for seventh grade, Lingua Mater.

Quote for the Week...

2011-07-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

We know by faith that Christ is in our own family. It is he whom we foster in our children. When you tell your child a story, when you play a game with your little son, you tell a story, you play a game with the Christ Child...A woman too weary for articulate prayer will find that for her the best of all prayer is the unspoken act of faith in Christ in her children.When she knows that she is setting the table, baking the cake for the Christ Child, her soul will be at rest...Awareness of the presence of the Divine child draws us off from every distracting and destructive preoccupation, such as self-pity, anxiety, irritability, the morbidity which leads us to dwell more upon our own sinfulness than upon the beauty of God. In the wonder of this awareness, we are able to accept the humiliation of being ourselves.

--Caryll Houselander, Selection taken from this month's Magnificat.

Kittens: One Week Old

2011-07-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Kittens!

2011-07-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Tipsy gave birth at 2:00 this morning to Cannon Ball, Moonlight, Trousers, and Otter. Mother and babies are well. The boys watched the birth of the second two as Tipsy gave birth in their bedroom and the squeals of the first two woke them up. They have been taking excellent care of Tipsy ever since. It's very sweet to watch, Alex, for example stroking Tipsy's head asking in a gentle voice,"Who had babies? Who did? Who had babies?"

IVF

2011-07-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Creative Minority Report's piece IVF. A Modern Horror does a fine job highlighting many of the evils of IVF and encourages couples to seek medical help that is moral and effective. I have just completed my internship as a Creighton Model FertilityCare Intern and am pleased to announce that I am now a Practitioner. If you, or someone you know is looking to conceive and is seeking a highly effective and moral alternative to Artificial Reproductive Technology, please find your local practitioner by searching here.

Of Gods and Men

2011-07-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

We finally had the chance to watch "Of Gods and Men." It is a very powerful and very beautiful film. I recommend it highly, if you haven't seen it yet.

Of Course You Are

2011-07-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Jacob was furiously and secretively filling his pockets with things from my school supplies and my husband's toolbox.

"What do you have there, Jacob? Uh, no. Why are you taking these new paintbrushes outside? And is that a box cutter? That isn't safe. And where did you find this screw? Does it belong to furniture? What is all this for?"

Deflated, Jacob put everything back and sighed, "We're making dragon footprints."

2011-07-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Referring to Micah's great love of watching home videos of himself.

Zachary: Mom, Micah is Micah's greatest fan.

Souveniers

2011-07-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

Nicholas: Mom, do you know what I keep looking at?

Me: No, what?

Nicholas: All my seashells because they remind me of the fun we had at the beach.

One More...if you'll indulge me...

2011-07-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

Rag Time Man

Malaguena

2011-07-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Zachary plays a Spanish dance song.

In Dreams

2011-07-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Jacob plays "In Dreams" from Lord of the Rings

Back From the Library

2011-07-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Audio Lineup...

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

The Kite Fighters

The Twenty-One Balloons

Across Five Aprils

And Another...

2011-07-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

...audiobook finished.

The Bronze Bow

Must get a new one for our drive to the beach!

Baby Bunnies

2011-07-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

We found three baby bunnies in the garden. Here are two of them.

Have I Arrived?

2011-06-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

The dynamics in this household have shifted. With my oldest son now larger and stronger than I am, it suddenly feels as though there are three adults and five children in the house. Those are much better stats to work with than two to six. I feel the difference. Yesterday, we headed out to the museum and my oldest son navigated directions from the passengers seat. At the museum he took full responsibility of the youngest child, carrying him about on his strong shoulders, freeing me up to walk around and actually look at things. I know, can you believe it?

And today at that big box mart with the red circle for its logo, the boys unloaded the cart for the cashier and then put all the bags back into the cart without being asked. The clerk looked at me and said, "You have...(your hands full? No...) a lot of help." I do, I do have a lot of help.

Feast of Corpus Christi

2011-06-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all!
How can I love Thee as I ought?
And how revere this wondrous gift,
So far surpassing hope or thought?

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore!
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.

Thy Body, Soul and Godhead, all!
O mystery of love divine!
I cannot compass all I have,
For all Thou hast and art is mine!

This is a beautiful classic Catholic hymn, used by the universal Church for countless decades.

He that eat my flesh and drink my blood has everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in him. (John 6:55)

Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam. Amen.

The Teen Years

2011-06-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

We're in a new stage of parenting. The teen years have just begun here and we hope to enjoy these years with our kids. There is a cultural attitude toward teens in this country that tells us the teen years are a misery for both parents and kids. We've seen enough examples of successful parents of teens to know that it doesn't have to be this way. It takes planning, sacrifice, effort, love and grace, but the teen years can be some of the most enjoyable years with our children.

I am thankful for the example we've had both within our family and among our friends of parents who not only navigated these years without injury, but with great success. These teens we know and have known are a pride to their families and hope for our future.

I'm trying to prepare myself now for these years. In addition to upping the prayer, I'm learning all I can and these two books have been invaluable. How to Feed a Teenage Boy by Georgia Orcutt offers strategies for dealing with the amazing hunger of a growing teen boy. The sheer amount of food teens need and the demands on Mom for proving it can become a point of contention in the teen years. This book does a great job of helping parents to understand and respect their son's hunger and offers many practical ideas for meeting his needs and helping him to meet his own needs. Tips on shopping, pantry organization, nutrition and food choices, recipes, as well as how to teach a boy to cook for himself are some of the things I've taken away from this book. I will keep with my cookbooks in the kitchen and expect I will be pulling out frequently for reference and recipes over the years.

I love Dr Guarendi. His common sense approach is refreshing and his ministry has encouraged us to stand strong as parents over the years. So, when he came to speak at our parish, Jeremy and I went to listen to him and meet him afterward. I purchased "Good Discipline, Great Teens" that night and so my copy is autographed, which is nice. The most important thing, though, is the content of this book. As we enter the teen years, it is good to remember the principles of good discipline renew our commitment to parenting, and understand and anticipate new challenges ahead. This book does a great job of helping parents do all those things.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Fathers For Good

2011-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

My sister has a lovely tribute to our Dad up at Fathers For Good. Her experience of our father is exactly mine. Happy Father's Day Dad, we love you!

Hauled Aboard the Ark

2011-06-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

Deeply insightful, in Hauled Aboard the Ark, Peter Kreeft offers a humble and grateful account of his faith journey. A real pleasure to read.

Simple Prayer

2011-06-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

I can sometimes feel spiritually overwhelmed. There are many reasons for it and it presents itself in different ways but the effect on me is generally the same: God seems so far away.

It is at these times that I remember the prayer of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. In the documentary of her life, she teaches a young woman how to pray. She holds up three fingers and on the first she says "Jesus in my heart," on the second she says "I believe in your tender love for me" and on the third she tells Jesus, "I love you." Lather, rinse, repeat as necessary.

It is the simplest thing in the world, but it does a world of good.

Toe by Toe

2011-06-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

I want to mention this little handbook because it has been a big benefit to our homeschool. It is an easy to use, twenty minutes per day, systematic and explicit manual for strengthening reading skills. There is no prep work for the parent and the kids don't mind these simple exercises. My kids have thanked me for doing this with them because, they say, "It makes my schoolwork so much easier." The kids have noticed their improved reading skills and I certainly see the difference it has made. All students can benefit as it will improve reading even if the student is a good enough reader to begin with. I highly recommend this book!

NB: It is not really "Multisensory" as it claims. For me, this is actually a benefit. There are just too many reading skills to learn all of them in clay. What the manual does is ask you to gather all the skills your student didn't master in the allocated time and suggest you use multisensory methods to teach just those. Now that's practical.

Here's their website.

More Great Audiobooks

2011-06-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Johnny Tremain
The Phantom Tollbooth
Treasure Island
The Saturdays.

Next up...

Maniac Magee

It's Official

2011-06-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

I'm the mother of a teen! Our kind, confident, and cheerful Simeon turns 13 today.
Happy Birthday, Simeon, we love you!

Game Ball

2011-06-03T17:42:00.001-07:00

This is Jacob's first season of baseball. The first night of try outs, he was hit by a ball from a pitching machine. It crushed his fingers against the bat and really hurt him. He all but wouldn't go back for his first practice and was afraid of the machine. His patient and dedicated coach got him started on the T at practices, then moved him to the batting cages. We met his coach and his coach's sons more than once between practices to get extra practice. Soon Jacob was slamming every single pitch at practice, but seemed to strike out at every game. Last game was his first hit, a double! Then a single later in that game and tonight he again hit both times he was up at bat, another single and double, so he was given the treasured game ball by his coach. It has been a joy watching Jacob overcome his fears, learn how to be a team player, and fall in love with a game!

2011-05-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Scalia has a racey title for this piece. I did not know that about microchimerism. It certainly does illuminate the Immaculate Conception and all motherhood in a particularly beautiful way.

Overheard

2011-05-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Zachary: Public water tastes as good as well water, but it's less filling.

Me: What do you mean "less filling?"

Zachary: Well, I noticed that when we run around at the park we have to keep going back for more water. The fountain water just doesn't fill us up as well.

Best Boys Audiobooks

2011-05-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

I love listening to audiobooks in the car with my boys. All this recent driving to baseball games and practices has afforded us plenty of listening opportunity. We've enjoyed...

Huckleberry Finn
Stone Fox
Hatchet
Old Yeller
A Year Down Yonder

Next up...

Where the Red Fern Grows

There's something so appropriate about rolling the windows down and sharing classic boy moments in literature on the way to a ball game. We're having a terrific spring and hope you are, too.

Bath Night

2011-05-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

Three Little Boys

2011-05-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

...by the Crepe Myrtle Tree.
I made them say "chicken chimichangas" to get smiles.

First Game of the Season

2011-05-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

We won...came back in the last inning from 6-1 to a 6-7 win! Sooo exciting! Simeon got a great hit. Go Angels!

Baby Turtle

2011-05-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

First Communion Day

2011-05-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

It was perfect in every way.

Picking Strawberries and Playing at the Farm

2011-04-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

2011-04-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Driving up to the baseball field...

Alex: I can't be on this on this team, right?

Simeon: No, you're too little.

Me: Too little for little league? (Simeon laughs loudly) I like that you think I'm funny.

Simeon: (stepping out of the car and closing the door) I do think you're funny, but I happen to like corny.

Holy Saturday Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T14:50:00.001-07:00

A Few Things I Love

2011-04-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was making a snack of strawberries and cream for myself when Zachary gasped, "Watch out Mom, you know how the Zachary-who-was-president died?" I didn't. "It was cherries and cream. It killed him." "Really? How would that kill someone?" "It was bad cream," Zachary said, "Just be careful." I know he wasn't really worried about me. He just remembers everything and has this overpowering need to share what he remembers when he remembers it. He'll work it into the conversation, no matter how strange it sounds. I love that about Zachary.

When I woke up this morning, my husband and three oldest had already been to Mass. As I got my coffee, Nicholas told me with a devilish grin that Dad had brought home doughnuts for breakfast and that he'd eaten two. As he said this, his eyebrows lifted and fell with alternating excitement and shyness. He can't contain his excitement but he also can't hold up under the attention his excitement brings. The result is this alternating expression I know so well. I love that about Nicholas.

The boys have been working on a "Nature Reserve" in our woods. They rake paths and put up signs made from scrapped wood and poster paint. Driving to piano this morning Jacob asked me what we have going on Saturday. "Simeon has baseball, why?" I said. "Well," he began, "it is the one year anniversary of the Nature Reserve and I was hoping to host an event there and open it to the public." Jacob may seem like just a kid with messy hair and dirt stained jeans raking leaves in the woods, but there's a whole lot going on in that mind of his. When he opens up a bit and shares some of that with me I always feel like a lucky girl. I love that about Jacob.