Vacation Part 4

Turns out we only got rained out one day, and Wednesday (between restaurants of course) we got in a great hike up to a bluff with yet another beautiful vista.  MPD, who pretty much morphed into a wild beast for most of this trip, didn't go for the backpack--he started shrieking and head-butting the back of Bill's head when we began the hike--so he and Bill stayed behind.

Overall, the rained-out, flat-tire, too-many-restaurants, late-night-fax machine, vacation-with-a-screaming-toddler turned out pretty great.  We're looking forward to camping* for two whole weeks next year! :)

*I, of course, will be reserving the "mommy-and-me" hotel room again.  MPD and I are just too young and too old for such extended tent-sleeping (especially together!), according to me!!  :)

Truth is not Democratic

Right now I'm reading and loving "Founded on a Rock:  A History of the Catholic Church" by Louis De Wohl.  It is fascinating, and reads like a page-turner novel--even shorter and more accessible than "Triumph" by H.W. Crocker, which is also excellent on the same topic.  I can't recommend Louis De Wohl's books highly enough--most of them are historical novels about specific parts of Christianity--my favorite author right now, I would say.

Anyway, here's an excerpt from his description of the early days of the Church in the Roman Empire:

"Such was the view of many well-educated Romans.  The Christians were fanatics for insisting that their God alone was a god.  Why could they not be more tolerant?  After all, other people also had a right to their beliefs, and if some preferred to believe in Isis or Apollo or even the Gallic horse-goddess Epona, or all of them and a few more, why not acknowledge them at least as existing gods, equal to anybody else's?  Why not at least show them respect and courtesy?

'Pagan philosophies were there for the choosing, too.  You could be a Stoic, an Epicurean, or a Cynic...Every philosophical school maintained that it was the sole possessor of the truth.  And thus Pontius Pilate, when Truth incarnate stood before him, saying, "Whoever belongs to the truth, listens to my voice," answered with a skeptical shrug: "What is truth?" and half an hour later condemned a Man he knew in truth to be innocent, to a cruel death.

'Truth, of its very nature, must be intolerant.  Christians believed in the truth.  Therefore they had to be intolerant of what was not true.  Jupiter, Athena, Isis and all the rest were no more than figments of men's imagination.  The Emperor was not divine and therefore must not be worshipped.

'Truth is not democratic, it does not depend upon a majority vote.  The whole world can be wrong and one man, opposing its opinion and belief, can be right.

'Christian intolerance seemed intolerable to the tolerant pagans.  So the tolerant pagans proceeded to kill the intolerant Christians...only to find that with each new persecution the number of Christians increased instead of decreasing.  If on the other hand Christians had been "tolerant," they would have become merely one more sect in the pagan world."

Studying history the past couple of years with the kids, I've found the infinite number of occasions of history repeating itself to be quite startling.  It's comforting, really, that the forces of good have continued to prevail, even through times far more hopeless and scary than ours.  Thy Will Be Done!!

Watch out, World Cup

FINALLY, JPD's doing soccer for real.  He LOVES it--so much better than tee ball for him.  Way too much standing around going on in tee ball, of course, and in soccer he gets to run run run the whole time.

 

 

 

I love watching the pre-K league, where the players' biggest challenge is remembering for which goal they're supposed to be aiming.  In addition to that complex athletic concept, JPD tends to disregard the other players' team affiliation--as in, he will steal the ball from any other player, any time, even his own teammates, including knocking them down whenever necessary.  Who knew soccer was a full-contact sport?

JPD's league is all pre-K, so it includes 3-year-olds as well as 4-year-olds.  Some of the players in the league are so tiny, they look more like MPD than JPD--honestly I think some of them might be wearing pull-ups on the field!

Now, I am certainly quite guilty of over-scheduling my kids in organized activities.  As this blog clearly shows, there is hardly any shortage of extracurriculars around here.  And I couldn't wait to sign my first child up right away...I remember being so frustrated with the sports options for 3-year-olds back in Lake Forest.  When MRD was born, I decided that 16-month-old WWD needed "his own thing," so I forced Bill to take him to parent-tot swimming lessons early on Saturday mornings.  They both hated it!!

Of course WWD did not need "his own thing" when his little sister was born, especially not his own extracurricular thing.  Now my vast mommy wisdom on this subject is that when it comes to extracurriculars, less is more, especially when they're little.  The value of little kids sports is really just social--kids to meet friends and parents to have fun with parents.  This is good stuff, but is it more valuable than just sharing family time at home with your mom and dad, hanging around the house, doing domestic stuff, going on impromptu Saturday outings, reading books together, and all that stuff that organized sports replaces?  Well, yes and no, of course--each family must decide this for themselves, and for each child.  My take on it now, at child #5, is certainly different than it was for child #1.  After 10 years and 5 kids, we're much more settled with friends and schools, and there's a lot more going on at home for the little ones that when we were only a party of 3.  But still I say less is more...the years go by so fast....so much fun stuff, so little time, right?

Strength through Suffering

I love this article, called "The Son of Man must suffer."

"In his divine wisdom... God preferred to bestir us rather to a deep and poignant awareness of our vocation as members of a crucified Christ. Hence, our weakness in doing good is intended to throw into sharper relief the sublime power of Christ, a power that enables us to support a life that is divine by grace in a vessel that is fragile, in a body inclined to sin and evil. The root of inclination to evil persists, and this provides us with opportunity for striving and conquering. Furthermore, in Christ lies the clue to the mystery of suffering. The adequate explanation must be sought in the contemplation of Christ crucified; only in the light of his suffering can we find the real meaning of human suffering...
'A soul lifted by suffering, like Christ on Golgotha, above the things of earth turns to heaven and away from all that is not God...
'When a soul suffers out of pure and disinterested love without regard to itself, it is more useful to the Church militant and to the whole world than when it is engaged in a most brilliant and successful apostolate. Souls are saved by dying for them. It was not by his words, nor by his miracles, that Jesus saved the world, but by giving his life...
'To allow oneself to be crucified by suffering with Christ is to grow in the likeness to God. Who are the saints that regret having suffered? Suffering passes; having suffered, never."

~ Fr. M.M. Philipon, O.P.

And check out Erin's great post today on how all this relates to motherhood.

Friday Quick Takes

I have been trying to get up a "Quick Takes" post for the past couple of Fridays...but things are "taking" around here faster than I can write about them. So here goes...and do check out Conversion Diary for more fun Friday takes.

~ 1 ~
We sold the house! Well, at least we have a contract...here's hopin' all goes well from here. In fact, we had two offers before the "For Sale" sign went up in our yard. Of course, in this so-called down market, with our new home already bought, and Bill's job in a state of semi-confusement, this is nothing short of a miracle. I mean it. St. Joseph ROCKS, I tell you! We got a little "St. Joseph Home Sale Kit," with a little plastic statue and some suggested prayers. I couldn't bring myself to bury him in the dirt--much less upside down--so I just put him on the mantle. I think he likes it up there!

~ 2 ~
JPD has been having a hard time going to school. Once he's there, he's fine, but he has been spending at least half an hour screaming for me each Tuesday and Thursday when I drop him off. Poor baby! You'd think by the 4th school-goer I'd have this all figured out, but I have so many different theories in my head about it that I'm just stumped. Part of me wants to just say "scr*$%@ it" and keep him home, while another part of me thinks that after all, this is my brave guy who will leave me in a heartbeat when we're at, say, Target and I want him to stay right by me! Plus I know they are doing lots of great stuff there, it's only two days a week, and three of his siblings are in the classrooms right next door and across the hall. Because it's such a small school he also has lunch and recess with the older three as well. Tuesday I tried letting him walk in with MRD instead of me, thinking that it would distract him from saying goodbye to me--THAT was such a disaster that I actually had to drive back up to school half an hour later to coax him into the classroom!

Since then we've talked about "marching bravely right into the classroom," and being strong and brave because he knows I'll always come back. Also, I told him that if he can make it into class seven times without crying, he can have his Power Rangers Halloween costume to wear around the house(do the math--pretty sneaky of me, right?). And finally, yesterday it was his turn to bring snack, so he had to go to school, right? And...he did it! No crying yesterday morning! Stay tuned...only six more school days until Power Rangers!!

~ 3 ~
Homeschooling is not quite dead around here! This week JPD and I made a tornado in a bottle, which was QUITE exciting.
And this morning we spent a lot of time on alphabet-writing, at his insistence. He is quite determined to read so he can get in on all the reading that goes on around here, especially our beloved Redwall series. WWD is on, like, book 10 in the series, and JPD has been thoroughly (as in, over and over) enjoying the animated DVDs.
The nice thing about homeschooling a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old is that pretty much everything we do counts as school--not that anyone's counting! :)

~ 4 ~
Not one to miss out on the homeschooling action, MPD worked hard this morning on puzzles and block-tower-building, as well as...drumroll...potty training...yes you read that right. We can laugh about this together in a couple of weeks when I give up, right? Actually I have two opposing theories about potty training: "Early--before age 2," and "Whenever," which has been my strategy of choice for the first 4 kids. But according to Montessori birth-to-three theory, the sensitive period for "toileting" is actually about 18 months, when kids can walk and are just becoming aware of their bodies' need to go poopy and pee. Well, on his way to the bath one night MPD just marched right up to the potty (it comes up to his chest, of course) and pretended to go, just like JPD does. He's also taken a big interest in his potty chair. So I'm going for it--who knows, maybe I'll get this parenting thing down the 5th time around, right?!!

~ 5 ~
I do miss "real" homeschooling, especially having more time with the older ones. But I must say that this fall is off to a great start. They're all settled happily (KLD more or less--she'll never admit to being happy, I think) in school, our afternoons are packed with extracurriculars, but just the right amount, and I am happy as a clam just doing my domestic vocation--making dinner, having down time with the little guys, organizing my homemaking processes :) and so on (yeah, yeah, blogging and meeting Bill for lunch a few times a week--the real story!). I'm hoping that I'll get things around here running smoothly, get us moved into the new house and settled, then pick up homeschooling next year again, possibly just for WWD's 6th grade and JPD's kindergarten. Of course, this time last year I never imagined that we wouldn't be homeschooling right now, so planning that far ahead seems a bit moot! Thy Will Be Done!!

~ 6 ~
Speaking of "Thy Will Be Done," this week KLD looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said "Mommy, we're not going to have any more babies, are we?" I laughed and said "What makes you say that, K?" And she said "Well, if you're too..." And then I REALLY laughed!! Because I always joke around about being "too old," although of course it's only a semi-joke. I told her that no, I'm not too old, but that when a mommy is in her 40s sometimes her body stops making babies as often as before. So we just don't know what God has planned for us. And of course that's the truth, but I was just cracking up!! Sweet Miss K just wants a baby sister so much, if nothing else to even things up around here! She can't stand being in the minority! :)

~ 7 ~
We close on the new house next Wednesday; I can't wait!!!

Retro Thursday

Hiking with their Dad, October 2005 (the last day I had a whole day alone--ha ha!!):

Book Review: "Masonry Unmasked: An Insider Reveals the Secrets of the Lodge"

Among his many hobbies and community service projects, my grandfather was a Mason.  All I ever knew about it was that: 1) because of him, I got to live at the Scottish Rite Dormitory for girls during college in Austin (which was great), and 2) there were some dressed-up guys doing some unusual chants and ceremony at the end of his funeral.  That's it. 

But I've always wondered about Masonry, particularly since becoming Catholic, since apparently Masons are anti-Catholic, or something.  So I was particularly interested to read Masonry Unmasked: An Insider Reveals the Secrets of the Lodge, by John Salza, for the Catholic Company's book review program.  Finally--all the scoop I ever wanted on masonry.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in this topic.  Written by a knowledgeable insider, the book provides thorough and straightforward insight into the Lodge, including its history, ideology, doctrines, and practices.  Salza gives an excellent analysis of Masonic ideology relative to Christianity, including a convincing argument that Masonry represents a grave error against Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular.  He explores the history of the Church's opposition to the Lodge in detail.  In fact, it turns out that:

"the Catholic Church has opposed the Lodge nearly since the birth of modern Freemasonry in 1717.  Since the founding of the Grand Lodge of England...twelve different popes have collectively issued twenty-three separate condemnations of Freemasonry over a 245-year period, from the reign of Clement XII (1738) to John Paul II (1983).  If we spread the number of condemnations evenly over this period of time, we would see the Church condemning Masonry about every ten years...Rarely has the Church spoken about a topic more frequently."

The most fascinating part of the book, in my opinion, is in the chapter entitled "The Masonic Conspiracy," about the indelible impact that Masonry has had on our American society.  Like my grandfather, many Masons are hardworking, strong contributors within their communities.  Many if not most Masons are no doubt largely unaware of the darker influences within Masonry, which goes to great lengths to euphemize its broader objectives to recruits and newer members.  In addition, there is a strong link between members of our government and the Lodge; in fact, seventeen U.S. presidents have been Master Masons.  But shockingly, as Salza demonstrates, "Freemasonry has fought relentlessly to get rid of the Christian beliefs on which America was founded, and to usher in its nonsectarian worldview."  The Lodge has been instrumental in pushing the separation of Church and State, secularization of public schools, and, in fact, striving for a New World Order governed by Masonic principles--one "devoid of Christ and his Church."

If I had a criticism of this book, I'd want to suggest that I'd like to hear the arguments for the "other side," so as to understand what the Masonic response to Salza's analysis would be.  It turns out, however, that Salza plumbs the Masonic position quite thoroughly--so much so, actually, that I really don't need to know any more  arguments in favor of Masonry.  This book has truly taught me all I need to know.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Masonry Unmasked .

Maybe 11 isn't so grown-up after all...

...at least, not too grown-up to actually SLEEP with your new football and wearing your new wristbands and GB Packer gloves.  Go W!!

Happy Birthday WWD!

My firstborn child is 11 today...I guess now he is really halfway to being a grownup.  <Yikes!>  And what a birthday it was--football, football, and more football.  Last night he had a few friends over for some "tailgating" here at the house after school, then off to the high school football game with Bill. 

This morning W's own football team won their game, and we brought football-helmet cupcakes for the team afterwards.   WWD plays right and left tackle on offense, and right guard on defense--Grandma says this is just the same as Grandpa Lee played back in the day.

  And now we're watching the Longhorns beat Texas Tech...wins all around!  Now if only the Packers can keep it up tomorrow! :)

W, you loved your birthday, and I can't believe how big you are getting!  You are now 5'4" (we're pretty sure) and about 111 pounds.  I am just so proud of you I could bust!  You are so sweet, good hearted, generous, hard-working and disciplined (even though we always push you to be even more so!); you have a solid, powerful faith; you are a sweet and loving big brother to all your siblings; you are curious and analytical and want to understand everything about the world; you love reading (just like your mom!); you are helpful, honest, obedient, and loving.  I know that God has such a special plan for you, my precious sweetie boy!  (The first words I said to you when you were born--not that I can still call you that!!)

This week was 5th grade basketball tryouts and yesterday we found out that WWD made the "A" team for the travel tournament league!!  Wow!!  Basketball is going to be so much fun this winter--good thing, too, because there's going to be a lot of it. :)

WWD, we love you SO much!!!!!!!!!!

Retro Thursday

My soon-to-be 11-year-old, at his First Communion in April 2007 (was it already 2 1/2 years ago?!):

End-of-Summer Splash Park

We're not quite ready to let go of summer just yet, and Sunday afternoon we got kicked out of the house for showings to some would-be buyers, so...one last trip to the splash park!




Even BIG KIDS can have fun at the splash park, even if they're way too cool to actually change into their swimsuit first! :) (That's WWD behind that big spray--note the shoes and socks...)

MPD is One and a Half !

Happy half-birthday, MPD!
You are growing up so fast! We love your sweet and playful personality, and how much you want to be a "big kid" like your brothers and sisters. I love all your hugs and kisses and what a relaxed and easygoing guy you are. You are so smart and learn new things so fast! It is so much fun to watch you learn to say new words every day, and climb on higher and higher pieces of furniture (getting up on those bunk beds now...)! You love to drive your car (you love my car even more--signs of the future) and kick the soccer ball, you love your bath and reading books and waving bye-bye and playing peek-a-boo, you love doggies SO MUCH, and we love you SO MUCH!



God bless you, my sweet precious baby!

Prayer before a Crucifix

Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart, and give me, Lord, a correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command.

~ St. Francis of Assisi

Maybe it's a Full House?

We've had each of the kids' baby announcements framed, starting in 1998 (well, actually he was born in 1998 but I think the framing actually occurred in 1999) at a tiny local shop near our old house.  For the last two babies, I had to wait until I was back in town--about 2 hours away--to drop off the announcement for framing.  I just got MPD's done a few weeks ago, as you can see above.

When the frame shop called to let me know it was ready, they regretfully added that the particular matching frame that I have always used has now been discontinued, and they have no way of getting it, ever again.

Could it be a sign?  Am I done having babies?  After all, I wouldn't want the little one to be scarred for life because his baby announcement frame didn't match his siblings'.     <he he he>

Let the Peace of Christ Control your Hearts

Yesterday's New Testament reading was an especially great one:

"Brothers and sisters:  Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.  And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one Body.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father though him."

~ Colossians 3:12-17

Very helpful for me to remember with all that is happening in the news!

Triathlon!

No, sadly, not me in the triathlon--it was WWD and MRD.  Our pool has an all-ages Triathlon each year, and it is great.  W and M's age group did a 100M swim, 2 mile bike ride, and 1 mile run, which was hard.

Whew--they made it!! :)

   

Electronic Meltdown

Bad things come in threes, right? Here are mine from the weekend (which was otherwise quite blissful as usual):

1. While doing a bit of yard work, Bill chopped through our cable. I won't notice or miss the TV at all, of course, but internet? Ouch! Email? Double ouch! (Right now I am sitting by my open bedroom window so I can pick up my beloved neighbor's wireless signal (she won't mind, I promise).

2. Today my semi-new cell phone got about one drop of water on it in our swim bag and it seems deader than a doornail. If you need to reach me, don't count on my cell phone. It's almost a mercy killing, in a way, because I canNOT get used to this stupid phone. I want a different one.

3. My camera is cold dead and I can't find the power cord. I think I put it somewhere during our frenzy of tidying up for a house showing two weeks ago. I HATE not having my camera, of course. I have already missed at least three cute pictures of my sweeties, just in one day.

I should fix #2 and #3 by getting a new camera cell phone, right? And broadband would fix #1, right? Or I could just keep sitting by the window, hope my phone dries out and then charge it back up, and look harder for the camera cable. I'm sure it's somewhere totally obvious, like in the kids' library book bag or something.

Hope your Labor Day was fabulous! Goodbye summer...hello football!

It's A Hard Knock Life

When I said we give our kids chores around here, I wasn't kidding.  And let me tell you, we start young. 

Here's a day in the life of MPD today...

Feeding the baby...

Scrubbing potatoes for dinner...

Making sandwiches for lunch...

Sweeping the kitchen floor...

Changing the baby's diaper...

Laundry duty...

 

And all worn out after a hard day's work!!

As you can see, it's not easy being a 1-year-old around here!!

We love you, MPD!!!

Retro Thursday

At the zoo with our beloved Jamie, March 2006:

Second First Day of School!

Hooray for JPD! He loved his first day!!
I hope his teacher did too. :) Why do I always feel like I should pay extra tuition when JPD is involved?! Combat pay for the teacher, no doubt!
JPD how I love you, my curious, independent, energetic, precious boy!