Wordless Wednesday: Big News!

 

Loving Our Swimmers

We are so proud of our swimmers!  The last regular meet of the season was this weekend, and everyone brought home at least one ribbon.  MRD loves breaststroke and is just starting to show some impressive progress in the butterfly.  WWD is a fly guy all the way, and he also swims free and sometimes breaststroke.  KLD likes breaststroke, but this week she won a 4th place ribbon for her Individual Medley, which consists of one length each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.  Way to go, K!!!

And here's MPD, taking a break from cheering for the swimmers.  When you're the 5th child, you gotta nap whenever you can, I guess!

Prayer After Mass

"Lord, Father all-powerful and ever-living God, I thank Thee, for even though I am a sinner, Thine unprofitable servant, not because of any merit of my own, but in the kindness of Thy mercy, Thou hast fed me with the precious Body and Blood of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that this Holy Communion may not bring me condemnation and punishment but forgiveness and salvation.

May it be an armour of faith and a shield of good will.  May it purify me from my vices and put and end to my evil passions.

May it bring me charity and patience, humility and obedience, and growth in every virtue.

May it be a firm defense against the wiles of all my enemies, visible and invisible, and the perfect quieting of all my evil impulses, bodily and spiritual.  May it unite me more closely to Thee, the one true God, and lead me safely through death to everlasting happiness with Thee.

And I pray that Thou will lead me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet where Thou, with Thy Son and Holy Spirit, art to Thy Saints true light, total fulfillment, everlasting joy, and perfect happiness.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.  Amen."

~ St. Thomas Aquinas

Quick Takes Friday

~ 1 ~

Yesterday, I french-braided MRD's hair!!  I have always been really lame at doing hair.  My hair is--well, a whole lot of nothing, and for my whole life it has been my nemesis. :)  I love french braids, but I have never had the patience to do them.  And yesterday I just did it!  It really turned out pretty good too!  Talk about a small success! :)

~ 2 ~

Last week I went to the doctor because I have been feeling quite bad lately.  Tired, headache all the time, random parts hurting, did I mention tired?  I was so thinking that she was going to laugh and say "Welcome to middle age, honey!"  But it turned out that my blood pressure was incredibly high--higher than ever, even during my pregnancies. 

The doctor told me to cut down on sodium, cut out caffeine, and take a walk daily.  (Oh yeah, I remember exercise...)  Not a huge crash diet, not an intense workout regime--just walk every day and cut out the venti lattes.  Imagine that.  And you know what?  I have, and I feel great already. 

~ 3 ~

MPD is really starting to talk!  Our sweet little guy says ma ma (of course), da (of course, again), more, all done, bye bye, uh-oh (he loves that one!), ball, milk (sort of), hot, and other words that I can't think of right now.  We have also been baby signing just a tiny bit with him--I've always wanted to do this with my babies, but he's the first one for whom I really stuck with it--and he can sign "more" and "all done."  It is so cute!  Also, of course, he understands just about everything we say, it seems.  I love this sweet age, and he is also getting quite feisty and strong-willed, which means he fits right in around here of course!

He also LOVES doggies, and whenever he sees one, he barks at them.  It is such a crack-up! 

~ 4 ~

Alert the media:  This week I made a dinner that every single member of my family loved and asked for second (or more) helpings.  It is hard to please 100% of the crowd at any given meal around here!  It was my mom's old recipe for King Ranch Chicken, which I served with rice and fruit.  When I was growing up, we always loved it too (except I remember it was always a bit too spicy, but I used mild instead of spicy tomatoes, so it wasn't.).  Of course, I had to only have a small taste, now that I'm limiting my sodium. :)

~ 5 ~

Yesterday, both older boys got buzz cuts.  WWD always gets one--the shorter the better for that guy--but it was JPD's first real buzz.  He closed his eyes for the front to get cut, then when he opened them and saw himself, he said "I look just like W!!"  So cute.

~ 6 ~

WWD's summer basketball finished up this week.  I must say that we are so proud of him!  He has worked hard and really built his ball-handling, shooting, and overall game skills so much.  He even scored, like, over 20 points per game in the last few games!  The coach and some of the other parents even mentioned to Bill at the last game how good WWD is looking on the court.  Sssssh--I can't let him read this or he'll never have any humility! :)  Bill tells him to be like Larry Byrd--no showboating, all business on the court.

~ 7 ~

Did you know that it is Natural Family Planning Awareness Week?  Check it out!  There's also an NFP link on my sidebar-----------------> I have only recently really learned what NFP is all about, and I must say that I find it downright amazing!  Who knew that you actually can pinpoint when you are ovulating--so there is no need to pump your body full of loads of hormones, or use artificial methods to distort the true meaning of marital love?  :)  And it works for getting pregnant as well as for not getting pregnant!  As you might have guessed, I am hardly an NFP expert, since I've never actually used it, but I think it is really cool, and I think everyone should know about it.  A little sex education that could do us some good, I say!

The Big Show

This week was the girls' water ballet show at our pool.  When we first joined the pool and saw that they had water ballet, of course we thought, "Are you serious?"  It is really cute and the girls have fun learning a water dance with their friends! 

 

Every year the show has a theme; past ones have been Disney tunes, and "Summer Lovin'" which was all summer songs.  This year was "Walking on Sunshine."  I never would have imagined they could come up with so many songs about walking or feet or shoes, but there are a lot!  KLD's was "Walk the Dinosaur" and MRD's was "Walk Like A Man."

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Our celebration dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise...

We love Grandma and we're so glad it's so easy to see her on her birthday and every other day--instead of going all the way to TX!!! :)

Retro Thursday

September 2003, when my three pretty-big kids were still pretty little:

Road Construction Ahead

MPD is 16 months today! We love you, big boy!

Splash Park and Tee Ball

What a great combination, don't you think?

Am I comfortable?

"The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness."

~ Pope Benedict XVI

Magnificent Magnificat

                         

Little Magnificat, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways!!  It almost feel like I'm cheating or something to get to review the Magnificat magazine for the Catholic Company.  I love this little book, and I can't even think of enough good things to say about it.

At daily Mass, I used to see the "regulars" following along with the readings in a little missal-like book, and I always wondered what it was, and whether they were in some club that I didn't know about.  Well, now I know (I'm still working on becoming a "regular" myself!).  As it turns out, they are probably Magnificat subscribers.

I have been reading the Magnificat regularly for almost a year now, and this beautiful little book makes it so easy to follow a structured daily prayer regimen.  For each day, it has prayers for the morning, Mass, and evening, including hymns, psalms, Scripture, and reflections from wise writers both ancient and current.  Short saint biographies appear around the saints' feast days, and there are also longer insightful articles for each  month at the beginning of each book and in-depth explanations of one or more pieces of liturgical art.  There is truly something for everyone, as you can read just a little of it, or all, according to your time and interest.

Magnificat also has greatly added to my understanding and appreciation for the Church's beautiful liturgical year.  The liturgical calendar for each month is included inside the front cover, and after consulting the Magnificat's morning reading, I can always announce to the kids at breakfast something like:  "Today is St. Benedict's feast day, you guys.  Did you know that he started Western monasticism?"  And they think I just know all this stuff.  Of course, from reading the Magnificat, now I do. :)

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Want to get in on the book review fun?  Check out the Catholic Company's great reviewer program!

3v3 B-Ball

WWD is playing basketball in a 5th grade 3v3 league this summer and he is loving it.  Bill says that things are getting pretty aggressive on the court :) and WWD is in his element with that, I think.  3v3 is great too because they never stop the clock--just keep playing straight through--and of course the guys get much more ball handling in 3v3 than in their regular team play in the winter.  He is playing with and also against some of his teammates from the winter season, and I think he likes having things mixed up a bit.

William really loves basketball, and his height makes it a good fit for him.  His other most-favorite sport is football, with golf and swimming in the mix during the summer.  He has now abandoned soccer and hockey--these things have to be narrowed down at some point, right? :)  We are so proud of his hard work in sports--and I just never cease to be amazed at how much he LOVES LOVES LOVES to play!  He's obsessed (in a good way--I think!)!!

We love you WWD--and how did you get to be such a big kid already?!

St. Gianna: A Modern Day Hero of Divine Love

                            

Ever since hearing about St. Gianna, I've wanted to learn more about her life and about her remarkable sacrifice of love.  So I was quite excited to choose "St. Gianna Beretta Molla:  A Modern Day Hero of Divine Love" as my first book to review for the Catholic Company.

The story of Gianna's life and death provides a huge inspiration and assurance that the saints are not at all holy people in the distant past, with whom we in the modern era have little in common.  She was certainly a devout and very holy woman, and she also comes across as someone who you might know in real life as a smart, talented person and a warm, devoted friend and family member.  Gianna's life reminds us that we truly are all called to be saints, and her blessed self-sacrifice is the perfect antidote to our modern-day tragic culture of death.

Gianna was born in Italy on October 4, 1922.  As well as being a wife and mother, she was a physician with her own medical practice.  In 1961, pregnant with her fourth child and having lost two children to miscarriage, Gianna was diagnosed with a large uterine fibroid tumor.  The only sure way to save her life was to remove her uterus, including her unborn child, along with the tumor.  Fully understanding the implications of her risky choice, Gianna opted to leave her baby and her uterus intact, having only the tumor removed. 

Throughout her pregnancy, Gianna was quite insistent that in the case of having to choose between her life and the baby's, her husband should not hesitate to choose the baby's.  Seven months later, in April 1962, she gave birth to baby Gianna Emanuela.  A few hours later she developed a high fever and extreme abdominal pain; she died one week later, at the age of 39.  In May 2004, Pope John Paul II officially declared her a saint.

This 32-page booklet tells Gianna's story completely and succinctly.  It includes beautiful pictures of her with her family.  (Imagine that we are in the age that we have color--digital, even!--pictures of modern saints!)  It includes an introductory note by her husband and a foreword by Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke of Saint Louis.  Following St. Gianna's story, the book includes some of her writings, and some prayers asking her intercession.

I found this to be a delightful book, and it confirmed my thoughts that St. Gianna is an amazing example of holiness in our own time, who can be especially helpful and powerful to us today.

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Want to get in on the book review fun?  Check out the Catholic Company's great reviewer program!

Retro Thursday

My mom, July 1988, on her 47th birthday:
We got the bike fixed up as her birthday present, and gave her a BIG surprise party with all her work colleagues, which completely surprised her.

Okay, if you insist, I'll post those photos too:

See how surprised she was, walking in the front door with an armful of pool chemicals, to find her house full of her co-workers! She was totally shocked, but she loved it. This kind of thing would make me nervous, I think--stressing about whether I left any dishes in the sink--but my mom is such an outgoing, "people" person that she loves any kind of party, any time.

I love my sweet mom so much!

Take me out to the ball game...

JPD started tee-ball this summer, and he's liking it--at least, he likes batting.  Fielding, not so much.  But really can you blame him?  The fielding action is just way too slow.

My favorite part was prior to the season, when I told him he'd be getting a real uniform (his first).

"You mean, W's uniform?" he asked, since he's used to playing "dress-up" with all WWD's sports stuff.

"No," I said.  "Your very own."  I wish you could have seen his face!!  He loves his uniform so much that he slept in it--including his hat--the first night.  We love you, JPD!!!

Pickin' Peas (Strawberries too!) and Trimmin' Trees

This afternoon our CSA farm hosted a pea pick, so the kids and I went out to pick (and eat!) bunches of sugar snap peas.  Yummy!  Today was gorgeous, as you can see, as was the valley farm field.  Everyone really got into the picking, and we also got to scavenge through the adjacent strawberry field to bring home bunches of end-of-season berries.

   

Meanwhile, back on the home front, Bill stayed home to give our trees a much-needed haircut.  The pile of pruned branches out front from his afternoon's work is taller than I am.  However, a wayward branch knocked him off the ladder at one point and he got  a concussion from his head hitting the ground--hard.  He and I made a quick trip to the E.R. this evening for a catscan, which thankfully showed that everything is okay.

While searching for the patron saint of head injuries (Blessed John Licci, 1400s), I came across this fun website that lists all the patron saints of absolutely anything you can imagine.

Happy Birthday America!

A couple of patriotic thoughts for the day:

"A general dissolution of the principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy... While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader... If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security."

~ Samuel Adams, Patriot of the American Revolution


"Mary, Queen of Peace, save us all, who have so much trust in you, from wars, hatred, and oppression. Make us all learn to live in peace, and educate ourselves for peace, do what is demanded by justice, and respect the rights of every person, so that peace may be firmly established. Amen."

~ Pope John Paul II

God Bless America!

Quick Takes Friday

Come join the quick takes fun at www.conversiondiary.com.


~ 1 ~
After we watched it for 4 months, the house we love best--but haven't made an offer on--has sold to someone else. I am a little sad, but mostly relieved. On to the next project, To Be Determined! :)

~ 2 ~
Bill's job is officially okay for now. Still pretty yucky, but no imminent unemployment. I guess this is a good thing.

~ 3 ~
This week we had appointments with our two new pediatricians (one for the boys, one for the girls). The doctors are awesome--the female one even has 5 kids! But here's the big news: Since his birthday in February, JPD has grown 8 inches!!! No way!!! He is now 46 inches tall, which gets me a lot of weird looks when my child who looks like a first grader behaves like the wild preschooler that he is! :)

~ 4 ~
I think I am ready to stop nursing MPD. He's not the least bit ready to stop. We'll see who will "win"...

~ 5 ~
We have two almost-empty weekends in a row! Even this weekend for the fourth, we are home, with no obligations (!), and our street is like a ghost town with everyone out of town for the weekend. It is so great to have an open schedule that I am seriously considering cutting WAY back on our summer activities next year. (I say this every year but our summers always end up more or less the same.) From reading this blog, you might think things are looking a bit overscheduled around here with kids' activities, right? Well...yeah. Per child, it's not so much, but added all together, it's kind of a lot, even though I do try to simplify and say no to things. There are just so many fun things to do, and saying no has never been my strong point! But I must say that I (MPD too no doubt) am sick of being in the car so much!

~ 6 ~
Now that we have decided not to go on a big driving vacation in August, I am hoping that we'll do a weekend camping trip up north. What am I, manic? Why can't I just stay home and enjoy some down time? But "up north" is SO beautiful...

~ 7 ~
Bill's friends from grad school often get together once a year for a fun summertime reunion. It is always so much fun, and great to catch up with everyone. Two years ago, we hosted this bash over Fourth of July. It was fun fun fun, and I can't believe it has already been two years ago! I miss everyone!

Retro Thursday

My sweet girls, May 2006:

Feminism Part 2: What Do We Tell Our Daughters?

This is Part 2 of my contribution to the sage and insightful discourse related to feminism over at Jamie's blog. Part 1 is here. For me, being half a generation or so older than Jamie, the discussion isn't so much about myself anymore per se, but about my girls.

What messages are my choices sending them? What advice would/should/could I give them, based on my own circuitous path to grownup womanhood? What do I hope/wish/pray/dream for them? Homeschooling mom of double-digit numbers of kids? CEO of a major corporation? Consecration to religious life? All of the above? Okay, well, maybe the nun thing is kinda mutually exclusive with the others, but I digress...

Recently, I have been delighted to get to know "Melissa," a friend and fellow homeschool mom who is expecting her fourth child at age 25. Talented, energetic, gregarious, mature, and faithfully living her vocation as a Catholic wife and mother, Melissa met her husband because he became smitten with her beautiful voice when she was the cantor at church one Christmas Eve. They got married when she was 19 (he is a few years older than her and had already established his career). She had started college at the time, she told me, but quit when she got married, figuring that, as they hoped for a large family and planned for her to stay home, there wasn't much point in finishing her teaching degree. She got pregnant on her honeymoon, and now has three adorable children with the fourth on the way.

I must admit, when I first heard this sweet story, my first instinct was to sign up my daughters for voice lessons right away. And wouldn't that just be a next-generation pendulum swing from my mom's advice to me to "work, work, work; achieve, achieve, achieve," in order to have an accomplished professional career? Is Melissa's path preferable--or not--to my own path of career in 20's, marriage and babies in 30's, raising big kids and spending all the money from my 20's while in my 40's? :)

What, then, do we tell our daughters? Is it better somehow to get going early with wife- and motherhood? Is career achievement important too? How does service--peace corps, mission work, volunteering--fit in? And, all kidding aside, how can I help them discern whether a religious vocation might be God's plan for them?

After all, our ultimate goal is eternal life with God in heaven. Our ultimate happiness doesn't lie with our achievements or relationships or self-fulfillment or checking adventures off a "bucket list" while we're on this earth, at all.

Taking that as a starting point, I know exactly how to advise my daughters: The key to a happy life--on this earth and forever after--is knowing and loving God. Everything else--work, family, vocation--just follows from that.

Again, I'm back to "vive la difference," because each of us must prayerfully find her own path. As far as advising my children, I will try to at least be aware of how my own experiences color my perspective, so that I can avoid imposing any of my own regrets or deferred dreams upon them. My goal is simply to help them love our Lord, and learn to discern and follow His plan for them, which will lead to perfect happiness forever.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
~ Jeremiah 29:11