How Sweet The Sound

My two favorite Dads

2011-06-19T11:20:00.005-04:00

My kids' dad and my lovin' husband, last Saturday at a family party.

My dad, on a trip to the Smoky Mountains in the late 1980's.

At least it was better than last year...

2010-05-23T21:47:00.002-04:00

Since cake seems to be our default dessert for important feast days, I made yet another cake for Pentecost today. I was planning to make something a little more elegant than this, last year's effort:

So I thought I'd put strawberry halves on it to look like flames. Unfortunately, the boys remembered the cookies on last year's cake, and wanted cookies again. At least this year's cake was somewhat better:

Has it really been that long?

2010-05-23T21:45:00.002-04:00

Oops, has it really been five months (exactly) since I've posted on my blog? Yikes!

One More "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

2009-12-23T12:27:00.003-05:00

I'm always a tiny bit sad at the end of Advent, because I love "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

Here is a lovely Croatian singer, a former pop star named Tajci singing a truly haunting version. I especially love the Hebrew chant in the middle, weaving together the coming of Christ with the

Jewish roots of our faith. We saw her perform here a couple of years ago, and it was so beautiful.

Santa Lucia

2009-12-13T15:21:00.004-05:00

I'm not a bit Swedish or Sicilian (two cultures with devotions to St. Lucia), but my memories of Santa Lucia go back to way before I was Catholic. Back in the seventies, when public school teachers could still mention God in the classroom, my beloved first grade teacher (are you out there, Mrs. Dobler?) decided to teach us about Santa Lucia. Mind you, this was in a public school. Anyway,
she told us she would choose the girl with the birthday closest to Christmas to "be" Santa Lucia, and that was ME! I got to leave the class, and go into the library where my beloved teacher and the librarian put a long white gown on me over my clothes, and a crown with unlit candles on my head. I was then given a platter of peanut brittle (okay, it's traditionally rolls, but they used what they had) to pass out to the class. This scenario would never happen in a classroom today for a variety of politically correct reasons (too religious, sexist, non-inclusive, etc.), but it's a special memory for me. If you've never heard of St. Lucia, she was an early Christian martyr who angered her betrothed by giving the family fortune away to the poor. He apparently wasn't a Christian, and he ratted her out to the authorities, who put out her eyes, and eventually put her to death by the sword. She's the patron saint of blind people, and is often shown holding her eyes on a small plate. To honor St. Lucy, and bring back a lovely memory, I'm baking this braided St. Lucia bread from Karen Edmisten's blog. I'll let you know how it turns out.

A Blessed Thanksgiving to All

2009-11-26T11:04:00.002-05:00

Uncle Jack and Christy

2009-11-24T12:03:00.002-05:00

My Mom's Uncle Jack is a great guy. One of the family members that reminds me of fun family reunions, when he would always greet me with a big hug and a cry of "Hi Gracie!' I always feel that he's glad to see me again. He's also a pillar of the small community he lives in, and still plays golf and volunteers. We visited Uncle Jack at his country home a while back, and the boys loved playing with his frisky, somewhat ornery dog, Christy. Uncle Jack says she's bossy, always imposing her will on Luke, his grandson's dog. They're both herding dogs lots of energy, so they loved running with the boys and fetching balls. Uncle Jack's property is on a hill looking out over farm fields and woods. Being a country girl at heart, I was happy soaking up the beautiful surroundings. We love you, Uncle Jack!

This is encouraging...

2009-11-03T20:14:00.001-05:00

30 Day Cooking

2009-10-03T10:17:00.004-04:00

This fall I'm working two very part-time jobs, in addition to teaching four kids at home. One job entails working from 3-5 p.m. three days a week, and the other job is one day a week from 6-8 p.m. The other day I had a head-smacking revelation that, duh, cooking dinner is really messing up my already complicated life. This may be partly due to the fact that Jim is working late almost every night during his department's busy season. A few years ago, my friends were talking about 30 day cooking, and I didn't pay much attention. I think now is the time for me to give it a try. The idea is so simple, although I'm not so sure about the execution. It involves spending a day cooking and freezing the bounty of your labors, to be eaten over the next month. Not being crazy about doing anything for a whole day, I'm going to start out small. I found this book at the library, which should help in getting started.

My plan is to cook as many meals as I can in half a day, and freeze them for the days when we're just too busy to cook. I also hope to prepare extra batches on other days, also to be frozen.
The worst part is going to be cleaning out not only our small kitchen freezer, but also the small chest freezer we have in the garage. I also need to clean out the pantry and cupboards, since I'll have a lot more ingredients to put into them. I'd love to hear if other people are doing this, how it's going. We'll see how it goes...

Cupcakes As Art

2009-08-28T20:20:00.005-04:00

My daughter Mary created this lovely "Starry Night" from 2 dozen cupcakes. The

how-to came from this fun (but probably fattening) book:

How cute is that?

Her ten year old brother, Sam, was inspired to paint this today. Interestingly, they both made their creations while I was out of
the house. Hmm, should this be telling me something?

The Perilous Peach Pit

2009-08-26T22:19:00.003-04:00

I love ripe, juicy, fresh peaches. The juice-running down-your-arm variety.

Slicing through one this afternoon, I actually cut through the pit, too.

Here's what the inside of the pit looked like.

Hey, how'd that almond get in the middle of a peach pit?" Did you know that peaches and almonds are related, and that there is a small bitter almond in the middle of a peach pit? Did

you also know that said bitter almonds contain cyanide? I didn't know this when I put the nut in my mouth, but the bitterness did make me spit it out, fortunately. Unfortunately, I had swallowed a small amount. I freaked out just a little bit upon reading the bit about the cyanide

on the internet. Then, just to demonstrate how neurotic I am, I called the poison control number.

The lady told me (pretty casually, I thought, while I was panicking) the small amount I had

eaten wouldn't have any effect. The experience shook me up, but we all learned something

new about peaches. I'll never look at a peach pit the same way again.

Cup Stacking

2009-08-09T21:48:00.002-04:00

Okay, it's not official cup stacking, but I never cease to be amazed at the cool ideas kids can come up with. Besides, it kept 'em busy for about 20 minutes!

Fun Cleaning

2009-08-07T12:01:00.003-04:00

Cleaning up the yard (especially the slide) can be fun! This was Paul's idea.

I was grateful for the 20 minutes of cooperative activity this provided. Plus, of course, the

clean slide.

2009-08-04T14:01:00.002-04:00

We loved this classic diner we stopped at in Goshen, IN on our recent Garden Tour, the

South Side Soda Shop.

We saw this logo:

on the front door, and thought it was just their endorsement of the Food Network.
But it turns out that our favorite Food Network host, Guy Fieri, taped a segment there for

his show, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, a couple of years ago. We didn't get the Food Network

back then, so we missed the episode, but now it's one of our favorite shows. Here's the video:

I've got a thing for soda shops. I wish someone would organize a tour of those!

I didn't actually get any ice cream because we were so hungry, we just needed some hot food. The cheeseburger and fries were
great, and I took a trip back to the lunch counters of my childhood by drinking a cherry phosphate.
Check out my daughter's account of the trip, but please overlook her grammar. I think she does it on purpose.

Amish Country Garden Tour

2009-07-29T09:34:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday, I took my mom and daughter on a little day trip to Amish country in Northern

Indiana. We took part of the Quilt Gardens Tour, a collection of gardens that are made to

resemble quilt blocks, thus combining two of my favorite things, quilts and gardens. There were

other favorite things along the way, like exploring cute little towns, and eating in a cool retro

soda shop. Here are some highlights:

Mom and Mary posed inside the Nappanee library. The old exterior facade is now a beautiful interior wall in the renovated building. Breakfast consisted of coffee, and a chocolate chip scone at a local coffee shop. Yum!

This was the first garden we found in the small town of Wakarusa, IN. A cute little burg with a fun old-fashioned candy store, The Wakarusa Dime Store, home of the world's biggest jelly beans.

After a LOT of wandering around on the outskirts of Elkhart, we finally stumbled on the next garden, this lovely flower basket
pattern. It was right next to this grand home:
This is Ruthmere, an elegant 1908 mansion which is open to the public for group tours.

The final garden we visited was the prettiest:

It was located at a funny place called Linton's Enchanted Gardens, a garden and landscape center outside of Elkhart. I have to say I've never been to a garden store with a petting zoo before, but they had one. Too bad the boys weren't with us. They would have gotten a kick (or

peck) out of this guy:

His name is Philip Diller, and he's without a doubt the funniest looking chicken I've ever

seen.

My Junk Food Picks

2009-07-24T08:42:00.004-04:00

For some reason, maybe because it's summer, I just feel like posting about something utterly silly, irrelevant and useless. Like
fast food. Now let me say, we rarely eat at fast food places anymore, largely because of the monetary cost, but also due to
the high fat content, and general junkiness. I AM NOT ADVOCATING A FAST FOOD DIET!!! Having said that, sometimes I have a yen for a Big Mac and fries like you wouldn't believe. So here are my picks for the best fast food restaurants, in several
categories, and I welcome anyone else's opinions on the matter.

Best Hamburger: Hardees' hamburgers taste like they just came off the grill. However, a Hardees restaurant can be hard to
find. We only have one in our town. As I already mentioned, I also have occasional cravings for

a Big Mac from McDonald's.

Best Fries: I have three favorites (although, as I said I hardly ever eat them). First place goes to Chick Fil A's waffle fries.
In second place are Penguin Point's nice fat crinkle fries, which I haven't eaten in years, but I just know are as
good as ever.
And the fallback third choice is McDonald's fries. Don't even mention those horrid french fries they have at
Burger King. Arby's curly fries are okay, but they have a nasty oily aftertaste. (Sorry, Burger King and Arby's!)

Best Chicken: Hands down, the best chicken anywhere is Chick Fil A. Please watch this video for a little musical
commentary.

Best Subs: Well, if you want a healthier sub, Subway is pretty good, but if you're splurging, and want something tasty,
Quizno's is the best I've had. I have to admit, though, that I haven't tried all the sub places out there.
Arby's Italian sub is okay, but the quality is inconsistent.

Best Shakes: Ooh, that's a hard one. Chick Fil A has great handmade shakes, but I also love Steak and Shake's.
And what about Dairy Queen? I've only been going there for ice cream my whole life. I still don't
think their shakes come up to Chick Fil A and Steak and Shake, though.

Best pizza: Pizza Hut has good pizza, but far and away my favorite is Pizza King's Royal Feast

pizza. It doesn't cost lots of money for nothing. Which is why we only eat it at other

people's houses.

I realize there are many other options now in fast food, but I'll leave those for someone else

to critique.

Now go eat some vegetables.

Birthday Boys

2009-07-06T11:47:00.006-04:00

It's Paul and Patrick's birthday today! How can it be eight years already since these two

burst into the family scene? Or rather, were snatched by the doctor into the family scene (I

had my one and only c-section with them because of medical issues)?

Their birthday breakfast of choice? The seldom-eaten-at-our-house-and-therefore-a-treat Toaster Strudel of the blueberry
variety. Yum!

All Movied Out

2009-07-01T23:30:00.003-04:00

I can count on one hand the number of movies we've seen in theaters this year. We've seen two.

And both of them were today. Normally, I wouldn't take my kids to see two movies in one day. Heck, normally I don't take them to see any movie. The Rave Theater shows a free kids' movie

every couple of weeks, though, and today's feature was "The Tale of Despereaux", which my boys and I

enjoyed greatly, what with all those creepy rats, a valiant mouse, and a princess. Okay, the boys

weren't all that impressed by the princess, more by the creepy rats and the humor, which was refreshingly not as gross as most of today's kids' movies.

Tonight we went to a local outdoor theater, and it was FREEZING. Well, actually, it was about

63 degrees, but there was a wind tunnel feel to the place, so it's a good thing we wore warm clothes. We saw "Kit Kittredge" for the first time. Yes, I'm aware that it came out a few years ago.

What you must realize is that we don't get out much, so to us, it was like new. It was also free.

I love free movies! Having read all the Kit books when Mary was about ten years old (she has the doll, too, thanks to my mom), the plot was very familiar. I really didn't expect to like the movie that much, but it was easily the best of the American Girl movies, and was very entertaining. Thus ends my exciting review of two older, though new-to-us, movies.

Our First High School Graduate

2009-06-11T10:35:00.002-04:00

We're proud of our recent graduate!

Baby O

2009-05-30T09:42:00.002-04:00

Congratulations go out to my friend/college roommate, LSM, and her husband PJM on their beautiful new daughter, Baby O! After years of being childless and trying to adopt a Down's Syndrome baby, they were blessed on May 17 to bring home Baby O from the NICU. You can follow their family journey at Ups and Downs of O.

In Memoriam

2009-05-24T20:28:00.003-04:00

Teresa

2009-05-21T13:25:00.004-04:00

Did you ever have a friend who was so much more than a friend? A friend who had a profound influence on your worldview and way of life? Teresa was such a friend. Although she and her family moved to a different state a couple of years ago, and we didn't keep in close contact, I prayed for her every day. Because Teresa battled breast cancer for the last five years. On Monday, she lost the battle. I continue to pray, but mostly for her husband and four young children.

Teresa changed our way of life; we never would have considered homeschooling until I met her, and my Catholic faith has grown much deeper through her example. Never one to hang back from reaching out to people, Teresa called me several years ago, asking if I'd like to join a prayer group she was starting at our parish. We didn't know each other, but she had seen me at Mass, and wanted to invite me. I often looked to her for spiritual guidance, and just to have fun. She had

an amazing sense of humor and fun-loving spirit, even while living with cancer. May God grant her eternal rest, and I know she will be interceding for me and for many others.

On a lighter note!

2009-05-03T13:55:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Ruth at Just Another Day in Paradise, who put this funny video on her blog. I wanted to share it with you. Tim Hawkins performs a lot of other

hilarious songs, but since we have a family member who works at Chick Fil A, this really tickled us.

2009-05-03T13:42:00.004-04:00

Blogging has been on the back burner for some time now for me. In fact, I haven't done much since St. Patrick's Day. Part of the reason is the ongoing struggle within myself as to how much information to make "public". Our family recently came through an intensely personal and painful situation in dealing with the death of my mother-in-law, Barb.

We found out the day after St. Patrick's Day that she was ill and in the hospital. Over the next few days, we learned that she had an aggressive liver cancer, and very little kidney function. Jim and

I spent much of our time at the hospital for the next week and a half, along with Jim's stepdad, and sister, and brothers, all of us aware that nothing could be done. Two weeks to the day after she

was admitted to the hospital, Barb passed away. We had known of her illness for 13 days.

It's so hard to put into words what Barb meant to us. The best I can do is to share what my mom

wrote on her blog:

Barb

I lost a lovely friend tonight and we lost a part of our wonderful Ft. Wayne family. Her name was Barbara Shaffer and she was elegant, generous and fun. Elegant because she always seemed to know what was tasteful but not stuffy. Generous with her wit and inclusion. She entertained people who needed entertaining. Barb was fun with a beautiful smile and good natured zing. I will think of her every time I look into my Ft. Wayne grandchildren's eyes . They are so like hers. She was their grandmother too.

Urgent for the Protection of Religious Freedom!

2009-04-08T19:53:00.002-04:00

An important piece of legislation protecting pro-life health care professionals is soon to be rescinded. The federal legislation protects doctors and nurses from being forced to perform, assist in, or refer for abortions. The Department of Health and Human Services is taking comments from the public until tomorrow(!), April 9, on this subject. Unfortunately, the pro-aborts will be flooding HHS with appeals to rescind the legislation in the name of "access to abortion". Please go here to read more about this and to send an email letting your voice be heard to protect pro-life health care workers, hospitals, and ultimately, religious freedom.

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig! (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

2009-03-17T15:04:00.002-04:00

From your friendly retriever, O'Shadow the Dog.

Recent (And Not So Recent) Purchases

2009-03-14T17:24:00.007-04:00

I wanted to highlight some fun and effective "teacher's helpers" that I've bought fairly recently:

I actually bought these big dominoes about two years ago from Big Lots. They're inexpensive, good and sturdy, and are useful for counting practice, addition, and subtraction. I made little number cards, so the boys could match a number to a domino, or make addition and subtraction sentences with the cards to match what is on the domino.

I've seen the above cards for years, but never considered using them until I saw them on Pioneer Woman's website. They're
meant to be used with a book called English from the Roots Up, but we just use the cards to

learn the Latin and Greek roots of English words. The green bordered cards are Greek, and

the red bordered cards are Latin. On the back is printed the meaning of the root, and common

English words that contain that particular root, like the photos card has the word photograph

on the back. We only learn one root per day, with a lot of oral review.

One of the most exciting discoveries I've made is this set of cards, from Picture Me Reading. They're a wonderful tool for my
very visual, picture-thinking son, Sam. Each card has a Dolch sight word (there are 220 of them!) with a picture embedded in it that give a clue as to what the word is. On the back is the word without the picture, and a sentence using the word/picture. This is really working for him in a way that phonics never has. Oh, I know he still needs to work on phonics, but now I can help him learn phonics from the words he actually can read. Being very right-brained, he thinks much better from whole word to word parts/letters, rather than the traditional letter

sounds to words to sentences.

2009-03-11T21:59:00.003-04:00

Check out the cool tees at Wild Olive. They're trendy/modern/beautiful, and have some of my favorite Bible verses on the backs.
There are ten different styles to choose from, and even better, the ladies of Wild Olive donate ten percent of profits to charity. Right now they're supporting a Christian charity that helps families who want to adopt a child, but can't afford adoption costs.

A Great Day in the Woods...

2009-03-09T22:17:00.006-04:00

sloshing through oozy mud.

It was great fun, though, watching the kids in our homeschool group...

haul a small tree through the woods,

man a crosscut saw,

watch Mr. Yoder wield a cool, medieval looking axe,

collect bucketsful of sap,

or just hang out with friends under a big loud bell.

I can only be talking about Sugarbush 2009, of course! Thanks to the folks from Merry Lea forewarning us about the right way to dress for a day in the woods, we were more or less prepared for the cold, dressing in layers with hats and boots. Except for my kids. It wasn't their fault that they outgrew their boots, and I didn't get around to buying new ones. At least they were wearing old shoes. They also learned the history of maple syrup making, toured the sugar house and learned about the evaporation of the sap, made their own wooden spiles ( little sap spigots), and got to sample the syrup itself on pancakes cooked on griddles over a fire. Yum!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-03-02T15:37:00.004-05:00

For Today, March 2, 2009...

Outside my window...

It's surprisingly cold, even for early March. Only 22 degrees, but it feels like a bone-chilling 11!

The sun is deceptively shining, though.

On our lenten journey...

Today we began learning the Angelus, after watching the video on Lenten Adventure.

I am thinking...

about the laundry, decluttering and other household tasks awaiting me, now that our

school day is finished.

I am thankful for...

the new job my 19 year old son is starting today.

From the learning rooms...

Well, as I said, we've finished for the day, but Sam is drawing a picture of ancient ruins.

I am wearing...

a very toasty warm green sweater over a pale blue shirt, brown pants and my usual

tie-up shoes.

I am reading...

actually I'm rereading Perelandra for my book group, since I read it so fast the first time.

I am hoping...

that my brother is able to get safely back to Indianapolis. He's flying in from Atlanta, and

the last I heard, they had quite a bit of snow.

I am hearing...

a very annoying, repetetive phrase my boys are quoting from "Phineas and Ferb",

prompting me to warn them that they will never, never, never again see the show if they

don't stop.

Around the house...

I finally did last Monday's declutter mission (living room shelves) on Saturday. I'm

hoping to work on cleaning out the linen closet (it's been about three years, after all)

in about half an hour.

One of my favorite things...

is watching old B&W movies from the thirties and forties while I fold laundry.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

continuing to learn about Ancient Egypt, trying to get to Mass every morning,

learning about fractions, getting ready for Sugarbush 2009! (YAY!)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Here's to March, St. Patrick's Day, and all things Irish!

Thanks to Peggy, creator of The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Random Mardi Gras/Lenten Doings

2009-02-24T14:15:00.006-05:00

I always seem to be figuring these things out (or remembering to do them!) at the last minute.

However, here are some things we are doing today:

We're finishing up reading this book:

Instead of the often raunchy celebrations of Mardi Gras found in New Orleans, it focuses on

one Cajun family and their community in a small town in Louisiana. Sam was inspired to create

this "costume" for our mini-mardi gras celebration this evening. He, Paul, and Patrick also made very fancy masks for the occasion. We're still working on the hat.

I hope to find some Cajun music (also featured in the book) online that we can listen to tonight.

No, Gumbo isn't on the menu for tonight, just chicken fingers. We don't do the traditional pancakes for Fat Tuesday, because pancakes are semi-regular dinner fare around here, so it would be nothing special. Besides, Catholics no longer give up dairy products for Lent.

Hopefully, if I can get affordable wooden letters from Michael's, we'll be doing this activity. Hiding the word "alleluia" is a good way to teach the absence of alleluia at Mass during Lent.

Tomorrow we'll make a dough "crown of thorns" by making a braided dough wreath, and sticking toothpicks in it to look like thorns. Each time a good deed is done, the good deed doer removes a "thorn". The goal is to be able to remove all the "thorns" by Easter, then beautify the wreath for use as a table decoration.

These are the plans. I'll let you know how it goes.

Getting Ready for Lent

2009-02-23T23:44:00.004-05:00

Getting Ready for Lent

One thing we'll be doing is the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure program. It's FREE, just like the Advent Adventure was! Here's the info from the Holy Heroes website:

We invite you and your friends to join us for Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure - and you could become a Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure Guide.

It's free (costs you nothing!) and easy for your Mom and Dad, because all they need to do is:

Open our emails three times a week, then
Click and watch... a short video of children teaching children,
Click and listen... to children leading and explaining prayers,
Click and print... fun activities for all ages,
Click and answer... questions to see how much you've learned.
New for 2009 Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure:
We have a special way for YOU to be part of this year’s Lenten Adventure:

Send us YOUR short videos about your family traditions for Lent and Easter, about your family prayer times, or about the Saint Days during Lent--and we may select YOU to be a guide in Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure!

It's educational, catechetical, and FUN to learn what other families do to make Lent and Easter memories that will last a lifetime on earth - and fruitful to last an ever-lasting lifetime in heaven.

And it's free - did we say that?

Plus you'll get a coupon code for 20% off all the products we sell at www.HolyHeroes.com.

And when you sign up, we'll send you instructions for sending us YOUR videos about your own family traditions. We'll select the best ones to be part of Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure! That's right: you could become a Lenten Adventure guide!

Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure will help you and the children you love learn more about our faith beginning with Ash Wednesday (Feb 25) through the 40 days of Lent, into Holy Week and Easter Week, and concluding with Divine Mercy Sunday.

Join your family with Holy Heroes to learn more about:

Family traditions from around the globe that you can make part of your family's Lent and Easter
The Stations of the Cross
The Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross
How to live a fruitful Lent of prayer, penance, an alms-giving
The Rosary and other prayers and devotions that bring the faith to life in our homes
Like to sing? Sing along while you learn the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Regina Caeli, and the Stabat Mater - in English and Latin
And much more!
Sign up now, and you'll receive your 20% off coupon code and instructions for sending us your videos about your own family traditions.

May God richly bless your Lent and Easter,
Your friends at Holy Heroes

I'm also hoping to do some heavy duty cleaning this Lent through Clearing Spaces 2009. This is from Sarah at Plainsong. She's organized a plan for decluttering a different hotspot of our choice each Monday of Lent. In case you're not up on Flylady terminology, a hotspot is
any part of your home where clutter regularly collects. I have lots of those. We'll take 30 minutes each Monday to bag up unwanted clutter to be thrown away, put away, or given away by Easter. The seven hotspots I chose are the living room shelves, linen closet, master bedroom, master bedroom closet, boys' bedroom closet, basement t.v. room, and the homeschooling supply cupboard.
Oops, I guess we were supposed to start today! Oh well, I've been sick all day (see, making excuses already), and it's never too
late to jump in, so my Monday Mission this week will be on Tuesday.

Planting Time

2009-02-19T16:00:00.007-05:00

I'm blessed to have grown up with a mom who was always planting things, either in plastic trays in the house (or greenhouse, since she has one on the side of her home), or in outdoor gardens. Mom and Dad, who became Master Gardeners at some point in my childhood, also "dragged" me to various gardens throughout the country, such as Longwood Gardens, in Pennsylvania. So I'm happy to pass the love of growing things on to my
kids. Also, I have a great source of help and information available in my mom. Yesterday, the boys and Mary could wait no longer, and
"talked me into" cleaning out the yogurt cups we've been saving, finding the seed starter I had stashed away, and planting seeds.
They've been talking about it for a few weeks, but I have to admit I've been putting it off. They chose a mix of vegetables (peas, beets, and gourds) and flowers (four o'clocks, larkspur, sweet peas, and moonflower). For some reason, someone arranged the little pots around the rooster lamp in the kitchen.
Today, I moved our little seeds to a special light box my Dad had made many years ago:

It's great, because the light can be moved up as the seedlings emerge and grow taller.

I love the way doing one activity with my kids leads to all kinds of discussions. The kids wondered why I was putting plastic
on top of the cups, so we talked about how it keeps the soil moist through evaporation and condensation. How cool is that?
Science was covered for the day!

Red Envelope Project

2009-02-17T09:17:00.004-05:00

Please consider sending a message to President Obama with this simple red envelope:

All it entails is getting a red envelope (who doesn't have extra Christmas card or Valentines envelopes lying around? Write
the message on the back of the envelope, stamp it, address it to the president, and mail it empty.
You can get complete instructions and more information at
www.redenvelopeproject.org.

My Corner of the Blogosphere

2009-02-09T08:31:00.003-05:00

Jenn tagged me, so here is the spot where we blog, do schoolwork, surf the internet, pay bills, and

once in a while, play Monopoly or Uno Attack. I have to admit, I did tidy up the clutter a bit, but

there is still a lot lurking behind the monitor. I also swept off the eraser crumbs, rocks (the boys

are avid collectors), and other debris.

2009-02-04T15:46:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I get discouraged in the ongoing work of teaching reading to my dyslexic son. The unsure outcome and seemingly slow progress can be upsetting. I was thinking today of a young woman I've read of. A teacher who struggled mightily with her young pupil. She must have had horrible days of self-doubt and unsureness of the outcome of her efforts. I've heard that her work was often undermined by her student's parents, who didn't understand her methods at all. The way this teacher doggedly worked at helping her student learn has always inspired me. The teacher's name was Annie Sullivan, and her famous pupil was, of course, Helen Keller. I guess, at that, I'm in pretty good company.

Presentation Day and other items

2009-02-02T14:51:00.003-05:00

I really like this picture for the Presentation. I found it on Blessed Among Men, a blog which was linked to Elizabeth Foss's blog, In the Heart of My Home.

I wish I could say we're doing lots of Candlemas activities, but, well, we're not. Jim and I took turns this weekend being sick, and Jim's home sick today.

Consequently, I wasn't able to make preparations that

would've made said activities more likely.

We did read about the Presentation this morning,

and talked about Candlemas. Sam suggested getting out all the candles we can find this evening, and lighting them. Maybe we'll actually brave a candlelit procession, too.

We also read Groundhog Day! by Gail Gibbons, and the book touched on a connection between Groundhog Day and Candlemas, which I didn't know existed. The boys surprised me by deciding to draw pictures of a groundhog burrow and put them

in their nature notebooks. I'm always amazed when they spontaneously come up with an idea like that. Not that it happens that often, mind you, but I know if I said "Now, I want you to draw a picture of a groundhog burrow", there might have been groans and complaining, and they probably wouldn't have done their best. The magic of Real Learning! (Also of Gail Gibbons

books which have wonderful pictures.)

What I Did (Not) In School Today

2009-01-28T17:05:00.006-05:00

Slept through alarm; was awakened by ten-year-old son.

Noticed we received the predicted 4-6 inches of snow. This was a total surprise to me.

Prayed (among other things) that we wouldn't drive each other crazy stuck in the house.

Checked t.v. news to see how bad storm/roads were. Saw that all area schools were closed.

Tried to talk self into ditching schoolwork for the day and

a. watching old movies and eating junk food

b. cleaning out linen closet

c. working on talk I'm supposed to give at upcoming curriculum

d. going back to bed and reading Perelandra all day

e. all of the above

Decided smugly that we would have school, even though public schools wouldn't.

Let dog in and out back door 15 times.

Wiped up melted snow from dog 15 times.

Gave thanks that kids didn't want to go outside. Less melted snow to clean up. (Except

Sam who cleaned up his own melted snow at my insistence.

Prayed with the kids. Prayed that Sam and Paul wouldn't burn themselves lighting candles.

Read the final chapter of Prince Caspian to my boys.

Listened to Sam, Paul, and Patrick read their respective books aloud.

Gave Nick Government test.

Went over math with Mary.

Made and ate lunch.

Read and discussed Catechism lessons with Sam, Paul, and Patrick.

Supervised afternoon chores.

Let kids watch bake brownies, build a fire,and watch Bean's Holiday while I cleaned in

kitchen.

Realized not so smugly that we really didn't get much done.

Comforted self with the thought that school kids got no schoolwork done today.

Reminded self that we had some good discussions about faith, and what careers the boys

would like to pursue someday. They all want to be scientists.

Thanked God that we can enjoy being stuck in the house together. Except for the 18-year-old.

Fight FOCA Postcard Campaign

2009-01-25T20:24:00.005-05:00

If you're able to get your hands on some of these

postcards, please fill them out and send them to your elected officials in Congress. We received these at our church, and they are awaiting tomorrow's mail.

Or you could simply send a letter to your congressmen asking them to please vote

against FOCA. As many of us know, FOCA

is the most radical pro-abortion legislation to date.

It would remove all protections for the unborn, and make abortion so-called rights a national entitlement.

Parental involvement laws would be swept aside, Catholic hospitals would be required to perform abortions, and American taxpayers will be funding abortions here and abroad.

For more information about FOCA, click on the Fight FOCA widget in the sidebar. If you're

in Indiana, you can email representatives from the legislative action center page of the

Indiana Catholic Conference website. Please do what you can to help stop FOCA from being

signed into law.

My Favorite Book and A Close Second

2009-01-25T15:34:00.003-05:00

I recently finished reading for about the hundredth time (only a slight exaggeration) my all-time favorite book. The title is Karen, and it's a memoir, written by Karen's mother, of her family's

striving to help her overcome the challenges of cerebral palsy. This might not sound very interesting, or unusual, except that Karen was born in 1940, and at the time of her diagnoses

of cerebral palsy, it was very common for parents to put cerebral palsied children away in institutions, or even shut them away in their homes. Miracles abound in Karen's life, starting with her survival of premature birth and low birth weight before NICU existed, through her learning to read and write, and her determination to learn to walk. This is a very warm, at times funny yet

very moving story. It was on the best-seller list after it's publication in (I think) the '50's.

The sequel, With Love from Karen, continues the story of the family's struggles and triumphs.

I can't recommend these books highly enough. If you're feeling depressed, reading them will truly lift your spirits.

Longing for Spring

2009-01-24T11:30:00.006-05:00

Every year I seem to start longing for spring a little earlier in the winter. Thankfully, the darkest part of the season is slowly giving way to a more spring-like light, helping to lift my mood (everyone in our family tends toward SAD right after Christmas). Watching our amarylis grow has helped bring a little spring into the house.

(someone forgot to put away the Nesquick as usual)

For some reason I'm not able to post the final picture of our beautiful amarylis, so I'll add it later.

Faith & Family Live! : Powerful Pro-Life Ad

2009-01-19T15:43:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Anne for sharing this:

Faith & Family Live! : Powerful Pro-Life Ad

Posted using ShareThis

Happy Birthday to Dawn!

2009-01-12T20:56:00.003-05:00

Dawn is one of my favorite bloggers, a fellow Catholic homeschooler (although her blog and homeschooling put mine to shame),
and a great organizer and nature lover to boot!

Star and Crown cookies

2009-01-05T18:18:00.002-05:00

It seems that I'm always trying (and usually failing) to cook, bake or create something to celebrate a feast day or Holy Day. I
must admit that I didn't even remember yesterday was Epiphany until we got to Mass. We did manage, though, to bake cutout sugar cookies of stars and crowns. Thank goodness our oven was fixed a few days ago!

Happy Epiphany!

2009-01-04T11:47:00.005-05:00

Our priest, Father Widman, put the following in the bulletin for this week:

'To many, the Twelve Days of Christmas is a delightful and nonsensical rhyme set to

music. Considering its historical origins, the song had a very serious purpose when

it was written and meant a great deal more than a simple repetitious melody with

pretty phrases and a list of very strange gifts.

In England, during the period of 1558 to 1829, Catholics were prohibited from any

practice of their faith, private or public. To avoid persecution and certain death,

Catholic leaders created this musical allegory as a teaching tool to instruct young

people in the meaning and content of the Christian Faith. The hidden meanings, listed

below, were understood by those of the Christian Faith.

Partridge in a Pear Tree = Jesus Christ, Son of God

2 Turtle Doves = the Old and New Testaments

3 French Hens = Faith, Hope, and Charity (the Theological Virtues)

4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels Which Sing the Song of Salvation

5 Gold Rings = the Five Books of the Pentateuch (first five books of OT)

6 Geese a Laying = the Six Days of Creation

7 Swans a Swimming = the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (I've also seen it as

the Seven Sacraments)

8 Maids a Milking = the Eight Beatitudes

9 Ladies Dancing = the Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit

10 Lords a Leaping = the Ten Commandments

11 Pipers Piping = the Eleven Faithful Apostles

12 Drummers Drumming = the Twelve Points of Doctrine in the Apostles'

Creed'

I know some people refute the historical correctness of this story, but I still find it fascinating. My only question, which I guess I should askFather about, is why would Catholics feel the need to

make a secret "catechism" of beliefs that all Christians in England at that time would have agreed upon. Whether the Twelve Days of Christmas was really written in this context, or not, the symbolism makes it much more meaningful.

sporks

2008-12-31T14:06:00.002-05:00

You know it's "Christmas Break" and your kids have been watching way too much WALL E

when you hear a conversation about sporks:

Sam:"I really want a spork, don't you, Mom?"

Patrick: "If I had a spork, I'd put it in the fork section (of the drawer)."

Paul:"If I had a spork, I'd put it where the spoons go."

I guess twins just have to assert their differences.

2008-12-24T10:52:00.001-05:00

2008-12-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

What we woke up to this morning

2008-12-19T14:17:00.005-05:00

There are limbs down all over our street, but thankfully we haven't lost power. Unfortunately, several thousand people in our county alone are without electricity.
We're spending the afternoon watching holiday movies, and attempting to bake cookies in our toaster oven!

Beautiful Advent Reflection

2008-12-19T08:14:00.002-05:00

My friend Nancy had this beautiful reflection on her blog:

Reflections on Mary's Advent
"It must have been a season of joy, and she must have longed for His birth, but at the same time she knew that every step that she took, took her little son nearer to the grave.
Each work of her hands prepared His hands a little more for the nails; each breath that she drew counted one more to His last.
In giving life to Him she was giving Him death.....But Christ is life: death did not belong to Him....That is what it meant to Mary to give human nature to God.
He was invulnerable; He asked her for a body to be wounded.
He was joy itself; He asked her to give Him tears.
He was God; He asked her to make Him man.
He asked for hands and feet to be nailed.
He asked for flesh to be scourged
He asked for blood to be shed
He asked for a heart to be broken.
The stable at Bethlehem was the first Calvary.
The wooden Manger was the first Cross.
The swaddling bands were the first burial bands
The Passion had begun
Christ was man........"

The REED of God by Caryll Houselander

Concert Time

2008-12-17T21:18:00.003-05:00

Last night we went to Sam's first chimes concert. He is the fourth from the right. It was Sam's

first experience with performing since he was four years old, so he was excited. After the concert,

big brother Sam had the opportunity to show little brother Paul how to ring the chimes. Paul's

looking forward to next year, when he can be in the chimes group, too.

Something great for Advent!

2008-12-02T09:22:00.002-05:00

Thanks to my friend Jenn, I've signed us up for Advent Adventures, a free internet program from

Holy Heroes. We'll receive an email for each day of Advent with a lesson plan, a short video,

coloring pages, puzzles, and other great helps for Advent.

More Advent Traditions

2008-12-01T21:01:00.007-05:00

We put the first two ornaments on the Jesse Tree this morning! The readings we used were Genesis 1:1-31 (Creation) and Genesis
2:1-4 (Adam and Eve). I also read from Geraldine McCaughrean's book, The Jesse Tree.

Here is our Advent calendar for this year. Each night before bed, one of the kids opens the appropriate door, and they each get
a small piece of chocolate.

First week of Advent

2008-12-01T15:06:00.003-05:00

The Lights are Lit!

2008-11-26T22:22:00.004-05:00

We braved the cold yet again for the annual lighting of our city's Santa display, on the side of

a downtown bank building. We try to go every year, although we wimped out last year due to rain and kids with colds, and every year, as we stand there w-a-i-t-i-n-g for the lights to be lit, I wonder why we do it. There's just something fun about the expectant crowds and excitement, despite the discomfort and complaints from our children. We did not, however, join the herds

of people walking around the corner to see the lighting of the Christmas tree.

It probably goes without saying that the Corvette in the picture is not ours.

It's Grampy Day!

2008-11-26T12:29:00.004-05:00

I realize this is an unfamiliar occasion to most; in fact it's our own made up day of remembrance. Today would have been my Dad's 76th birthday. He died of lung cancer six years ago. Dad was a warm, funny, flawed but very loveable man. The kind of man who was liked by everyone he knew. He adored my kids, had a special bond with my oldest, was so excited when we found out we were having twins. I wish they could have known him as more than "that funny man in the family videos", that they could remember how he sang songs, and played patty cake with them. Shortly before he died, I told him we would celebrate his birthday each year with memories and laughter. Later today, we'll watch those family movies, look at photos, tell funny stories about him, eat his favorite pineapple upside-down cake, and those of us over seven will remember.
We love and miss you, Dad.

The List of Broken Stuff is Growing

2008-11-25T13:39:00.002-05:00

Who knew when the garbage disposal konked out a couple of years ago that it would start a trend? We didn't know how good we
had it. Since then, the dryer has stopped drying, the microwave gave out, the oven just stopped heating the other day, and our shower broke yesterday. Fortunately, we have a large basement in which to hang up clothes, Dh was able to fix the shower, and my mom had a spare microwave we could borrow. We'll have to fix the oven before holiday baking starts.
Everything else will have to wait, since Dh had to have new tires on his car. Oh, and last night, the heater in our van didn't work. I haven't worked up the nerve to tell my poor beleagured husband. I'm hoping it was a fluke. One good thing, I'm starting to thank
God every time something DOES work. So maybe that's the point.

Advent Preparations

2008-11-25T13:10:00.009-05:00

For the first time ever, I feel like I'm at least a little prepared for Advent before it starts. This week between Christ the King and
Advent gives me a chance to catch my breath, especially since I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner (one of the things I'm thank-
ful for this year!). This year, our plans include two Jesse trees, one using ornaments from our homeschool group Jesse Tree swap, and the other, a handmade tree we won from our local Catholic radio station.

Another new start

2008-11-25T00:22:00.002-05:00

Oh, how I love opportunities for a new start! As a Catholic, I'm given many of these opportunities: the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Advent, and Lent, to name some of the most important. Not to mention the usual "fresh start" of New Year's
Day. I figured since we're at the beginning of a new Liturgical year, and I've been inspired by talking to some homeschool friends, now is the time to restart this pathetic blog. Well, we'll see. And if I screw it up, there's another new start coming in January!

Sam's First Holy Communion

2008-06-22T21:17:00.006-04:00

The Exploding Computer Monitor

2008-06-22T21:11:00.002-04:00

Okay, it didn't exactly explode, but it did "blow up" with smoke coming out of the top. This is my latest excuse for not
posting anything for the last several weeks. We now happily have a new flat-screen monitor (well, a demo model, anyway).

Getting Ready to Garden

2008-05-13T14:56:00.003-04:00

Although we were all disappointed that we couldn't go to Fernwood Nature Preserve as planned due to rain, I had a much needed break on
Mother's Day. I spent the day with my mom, shopping for plants, going out for lunch, and sitting by the fire (!) watching old
movies. Yes, I said sitting by the fire. It was cold as well as wet. I did get some of the flowers for my windowbox, and other
containers, though.

camera found!

2008-05-12T11:52:00.003-04:00

Well, I found my camera, it's no longer winter, and our schedule has eased up a bit, so I'm giving this blog another try. For now.
We are working on a "Make Way for Ducklings" lapbook, and the only way I've been able to find to download (for free) duck pics
for the books is to put them on my blog. So here they are.

Struggling with the decision

2008-01-13T20:58:00.000-05:00

of whether to continue blogging or not. I'm just not sure if I'm cut out for blogging, if it fits into my crazy schedule, etc. Maybe it's just the winter blues, but I'm taking a break from the blog for awhile, til I "get it together". And until I find my camera.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord

2007-11-04T20:33:00.000-05:00

My Grandma passed away this afternoon following many years of suffering and a final stroke.
O God, Lord of mercies, grant to the souls of Your servants and handmaids, the place of refreshment, the bliss of eternal rest and the splendor of Your light.
And may God give comfort and peace to those she left behind.

Craft of the Week

2007-10-22T00:32:00.000-04:00

This week's craft is making paper plate owls. We made big ones a while back when we were studying owls, but this one is made from the 6-inch paper plates.
Supplies: 3 paper plates; yellow or brown construction paper; orange construction paper; scissors; glue (or a stapler); googly eyes (optional); crayons, paint, or markers; small brown feathers (optional)

On one paper plate, fold about a third of the plate over (have the bottom of the plate facing forward). This paper plate will be the owl's head.

On the folded part, cut two short slits and fold them back up. (These will be the owl's tufts - although they look like ears, they are only feathers. An owl's ears are simple holes on the sides of the head).
Glue the center section down.

Glue googly eyes (or construction paper eyes) on the folded-down section (or cut two large circles and glue them down, then draw a dark dot in the center).

Using construction paper, cut a small half-circle with a little square off the rounded side. Curve the edges around, forming a cone. Glue or staple it shut.

Glue the cone to the paper plate (using the rectangle, just beneath the folded part of the paper plate.
Glue or staple the head to another paper plate.

Cut another paper plate in half (these will be the wings).
Glue or staple the wings to the body at a slight angle.
Using construction paper, cut two tiny feet. Glue them to the body.

Color in the owl, drawing feathers, wings, or other patterns.

Hoot Owl Cookies are also fun to make in October, so I included them also. Have fun!

Crafty Monday

2007-10-01T17:22:00.000-04:00

I'm often inspired by Alice' blog,
Cottage Blessings. Last year, I saw these cute spoon saints, and we're just getting around to
trying them. We started by making St. Therese for her feast day today.

We've also been putting off, er, I mean waiting for a good opportunity, to make these apple trees, which Emily had posted at her blog for the 4Real Craft-of-the-Week Club a couple of weeks back. Very fitting after our apple orchard visit on Friday. Things
got a little crazy, as usually happens when I get out the paint. The boys were so excited about getting to paint their arms!
We were all happy with the results. Two crafts in one day! Whew!

Happy Michaelmas Day!

2007-09-30T00:03:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrated the Feast of Saints Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, Archangels. St. Michael is the patron of our homeschool, St. Michael the Archangel Homeschool. Having read a Bible story about each archangel earlier in the week, we made a special angel food cake for dessert. We prayed the St. Michael Prayer, then discussed what each archangel's name means, and what we had learned about them while we enjoyed our cake.

Apple Picking Time

2007-09-29T22:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we joined our friends, the Wyss family, at a local orchard for some apple fun. At first, the littler ones had trouble finding any apples low enough to pick, but then enjoyed using the long apple pickers. We had a little trouble identifying some
of the varieties we ended up with, but think we came away with Empire (the kids said they taste like bananas), Golden Delicious (that one we're sure of, at least), Northern Spy (possibly), and Granny Smith (pretty sure about that one, too).

Half the fun was sampling the different varieties, as Sam is doing here.

Patrick peruses the shelves of honey while he holds his chosen Indian corn. The little store at the orchard also sold cider, honey, pumpkins, etc. We bought some of the local honey with the comb. The boys were fascinated that the honeycomb was edible.

Sam was eager to use some of our apple as table decoration. They do look pretty in a wooden bowl.

How could twenty years go by so fast?!?!

2007-09-12T18:01:00.001-04:00

Twenty years ago today, I married my best friend. Yes, I know that sounds corny and cliche, but it's oh so true.

I was a lot lighter twenty years and five kids ago.

Here's to many, many more happy years together!

Check out...

2007-09-03T22:25:00.000-04:00

a wonderful Autumn post on Elizabeth Foss's blog, Real Learning in the Heart of My Home. I'm so impressed by the myriad ways homeschoolers celebrate the Liturgical Year. Especially when there are so many feasts so close together, like in the next two months. Thanks, Elizabeth, for sharing your celebrations with all of us.

My Daughter's Buying Her Own Clothes

2007-09-02T15:29:00.001-04:00

and I'm not sure if I should jump for joy, or be really sad. So I'm doing a little of both. MJ is 13, and just now really starting to get interested in clothes. She is tall for her age, and finding decent (meaning modest) clothes for her has been r-e-a-l-l-y
difficult in recent years. So I guess I'm glad she is finding good clothes, and Jim is so happy that she is paying for them herself.
It's just weird going into the teen stores with her, instead of the girls' department at J.C. Penney. *sigh*.

So Happy It's September!

2007-09-02T15:15:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I'm really ready for Autumn to arrive. The coming of September has caused a debate in our household, though, over When Fall Really Begins. Yes, I know, technically, the first day of Autumn in September 23rd, but I never considered
September to be part of summer. Let's face it, in our culture, Labor Day is usually thought of as the last day of summer. That doesn't seem quite right, either, but for our purposes, I have always called September the first month of Autumn. Tiger insists that September 1 was the first day of Autumn, but my daughter M.K is holding onto summer as long as possible. She won't admit to Fall's advent until, oh, probably the first of October. Anyway, when we did our annual Labor Day Weekend shopping yesterday, I broke down and bought some Yankee Candles. It's a little early yet, but I can't wait to fill the house with the aromas of Farmhouse Apple, Autumn Wreath, and Spiced Pumpkin (saving that one for October).
I'm enjoying reading Dawn's Labor Day post from last year,A Harvest of Autumn Delights. Delights. It's really getting me thinking about what defines the beauty and pleasure of Autumn for our family. For Jim, it's Notre Dame football all the way! The kids like the cooler weather, looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving, and we all enjoy a trip to Hilger's Fall Festival.
Before that, though, is the Johnny Appleseed Festival, and this year I hope we will get to the Fall Harvest Festival
at Salomon Farm. I'm also planning to see if we can't get to an apple orchard this month for apple picking and cider buying. That's a lot to look forward to!

2007-08-28T13:13:00.000-04:00

Well, we finally have gotten around to making Week 4 craft from the Craft-of-the-Week on the 4Real Learning Forum, these fun apple weaving projects.This craft was posted by MaryG at her blog, St. Athanasius Academy. I wish I could say truthfully that we have made each craft, each week, but I can't. Because we haven't. Hopefully we will catch up, although we may skip a few of them. Week 5's craft (actually it's two crafts) is posted here
and here. They are fun ideas from Maggie that I hope to use sometime this week.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

2007-08-24T22:08:00.000-04:00

Owl Time

2007-08-23T23:13:00.000-04:00

We're using Five in a Row this year, and the first book we are rowing is "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen. This was a perfect
week to make owl cookies, which we traditionally make in October.

This recipe was a bake-off winner in the 1960's copied by my mom from a flour
bag. It's been a family tradition each fall ever since.

OWL COOKIES

2 1/2 cups four 2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup shortening or butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 unbeaten egg 1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate or substitute four Tblsp cocoa and 1 tblsp
shortening
1/4tsp baking soda chocolate chips
whole cashew nuts wax paper or aluminum foil

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Cream shortening and sugar in
a separate bowl. Add egg and vanilla, beating well. Melt or mix chocolate and set it aside. Mix dry and wet ingredients. Remove 2/3 of dough to floured board. Stir soda into chocolate and blend mixture into remaining dough in bowl. Refrigerate bowl dough
at least 1/2 hour. Roll out half of light dough to 10x14 strip. Shape half of chocolate dough into a 10 inch roll, place in center of light dough strip. Mold sides of light dough around dark. Chill 2 hrs.Cut into uniform slices. Place 2 slices together on greased cookie sheet, pinching top of each to resemble an owl's ear-like tufts. Place cashew in center for beak. Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

And so it begins...

2007-08-21T22:38:00.000-04:00

Well, it started off fun. Some ladies on the 4Real Forums had discussed these treat filled cones, called schultuete, that are
given to students on the first day of school in Germany. These are the ones I made, filled with small inexpensive toys,
school supplies and some snacks. Of course, the older kids made dunce cap and Roaming Gnome jokes, but no one seemed to mind.

A Special Day of Prayer and Celebration

2007-08-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

The Grotto

The Log Chapel

Mass was very crowded and long, but beautiful in the Joyce Center

The main tabernacle in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Our Lady atop the Golden Dome

I wish we had gotten more pictures at the Eucharistic Congress yesterday at Notre Dame, but honestly, the day moved so
fast, I scarcely had a chance. Here are some that we did get, though.

Eucharistic Congress tomorrow!

2007-08-17T12:06:00.000-04:00

Today, besides the ongoing preparations for the school year, we are getting ready to
go to Notre Dame tomorrow. No, not to drop off a new undergrad, nor, to 8yr old
Tiger's disappointment, to watch football. It's the site of a Eucharistic Congress
to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of our Diocese. Some of the highlights will be:
praying the Rosary at the Grotto, touring the glorious Basilica, attending some
inspiring workshops, and the crowning event of the day will be Mass at the Joyce
Center, with the bishop all the priests of the diocese.Praying for good weather!

Things I hope to do more of this school year...

2007-08-15T14:00:00.000-04:00

Our new school year is fast approaching, in fact, we start next Tuesday. This year I hope to:

* have teatime at least once a week (haven't worked out
when yet)
* do a better job of living the Liturgical Year
* do a lot more crafts with my kids
* work more patiently on good habits/virtues
* be more organized/keep the house cleaner/ keep the laundry
put away *sigh*
* read aloud more, let my kids play video games less
* find time during the day to work on quilting

I'm really trying not to get overwhelmed by this, to just take it a step at a time.
I love what Elizabeth Foss has posted on her blog under " A Considered Childhood"
here. These
beautiful goals so often seem far from where we are now, but they are good things
to reach for.

Hummer Fun and Stargazing

2007-08-13T13:37:00.002-04:00

We've fallen in love with hummingbirds! We recently put up a feeder and are really enjoying watching these little charmers.
I think the birds in the above picture are the kind coming to our feeder, but am not sure yet. Since I haven't successfully taken a
picture of one yet, I found this picture at www.hummingbirds.net. At dusk on Sunday, my three little boys and I stood by the feeder just watching them flit over our heads, from the feeder to the trees, and back again.
We also piled in the van after dark, and headed out to the country to look for the Perseid Meteor Showers. Spent a lot of time driving around trying to find a place with little to no light pollution where we might actually see something. Finally we stopped at a nearby nature preserve and parked in the entrance drive, since the place was closed. A couple of the kids said they did see shooting stars/meteors/ I don't know what. It was a little disappointing, but I think we might have seen more if we had gone later. As it was, the kids were up quite late, but it was worth it because they did get quite excited just seeing all the constellations we were able to see.

A Furry Friend (?)

2007-08-11T11:40:00.000-04:00

This small bat was hanging on my daughter's bedroom window screen yesterday. The kids were thrilled to be able to see him up close as he slept.

Jumping in...

2007-07-31T14:27:00.000-04:00

Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone, but I now have a blog. I'm not sure yet what direction this will take, but I hope to share some of our Catholic homeschooling family experiences. Looks pretty bland right now, but be patient with me, I'm a newbie at this. I never would have considered starting this blog if it weren't for all the ladies at the 4Real Learning Forums and their amazing blogs.