Studeo

Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Santa Barbara

2012-01-12T13:46:00.000-06:00

This video was made by a co-worker of a friend...

Winter Monarch Butterflies from JNB Photo on Vimeo.

Jumping Back In Again...

2012-01-10T20:27:00.001-06:00

It's such a funny feeling jumping back into blogging after being gone for awhile. And yet here I am. :)

Here's a little overview of what we've been up to lately...

We enjoyed a very, very lovely Christmas season with Ria home from college for three weeks. Didn't manage to get Christmas cards out (again) this year. Ah well. Can't have it all!

I have a new great-nephew who was born on Christmas Day - five weeks early! Thankfully he is home at last.

I got a Kindle (Keyboard) for Christmas and am really enjoying it. Finally read Manalive. (GREAT BOOK!!!) Also making good use of the Universalis Liturgy of the Hours program for the Kindle as well as lots of free classics and, of course, a few games like Scrabble and Shuffled Row.

My husband and I have gotten involved in our parish's marriage preparation ministry. We use the Catholic edition of the FOCCUS program where we basically walk couples through discussions of material from the pre-marital inventory. We have found this to be a very rewarding and worthwhile project!

I'm sure there's a lot more too, but that's what I can think of for a start. Here is a very quick book overview from the past few months...

What I've been reading:

Finished -

The Hunger Games - Excellent! Kind of a mix of futuristic sci-fi, classical Greek and Roman mythology with a bit of a Flannery O'Connor twist. I understand a lot of middle schoolers are reading this, but my gut reaction was that it was more appropriate for older teens.

The Help - Quite a good read. I just loved the characters she created in this story. The whole concept of white children being raised by black servants is rooted in the author's family background. The movie pales in comparison.

The 39 Clues - I finally finished reading all of the books that are in print. We've been enjoying this series a lot. The first part of the series (11 books) is really terrific and delightfully surprising in many ways (though it doesn't really get going until the 3rd or 4th book). It's a little harder to tell so far about the second series (there are only 2 books available so far of this series).

The Anatomy of Peace - Definitely a worthwhile read about how our attitudes towards others affect them and us. Basic premise is that we can achieve peace (on a small or a large scale) by treating people as people rather than objects. I agree!

In Progress -

The Mysterious Benedict Society - We are reading this aloud (about 1/4 of the way through the first book) and are loving it so far!!!
Work Hard, Be Nice - Quite interesting so far! I always have a lot of Educational Theory books going, and the Kindle will be very handy for this, especially since usually no one else in the family reads them.

Cranford - Instantly engaging, but currently distracted by the Mysterious Benedict Society.

The Immigrant Advantage - A very intriguing book about customs that have been brought to America by different immigrant groups. I have to admit I got stuck on the education chapter and am planning on getting back to it soon.

Open to Correction in the Family or How to Take Ideas Lightly

2011-11-20T07:36:00.001-06:00

I'm still stewing a lot on the ideas about docility and being open to correction that I wrote about in my last post. And while I'm at it, I'd like to thank my alma mater for the shout-out for that post on their Faith in Action Blog.

What I've been thinking about in particular is about how to apply these ideas to raising children in general and to homeschooling in particular. First perhaps, we could consider...

How to Be Sure Your Children Will Not Be Open to Correction

The wrong-headed way to go about it would be to fill your children's lives with as much critique and criticism as possible; to be nit picky about everything they do and say all day long. Nope. Not helpful. Inflicting constant criticism on your children will only make them defensive and insecure.

This is mistake might be an easy one to jump to because our society really has wrong-headed notion of criticism. Again, we tend to think of criticism as an attack on ourselves and an entirely negative thing. What I'm talking about here is a different notion of criticism we're open to learning and growing from each other and willing to bring up questions and concerns and corrections. Really, in a way, what I keep thinking of is a true, deep and open sort of friendship. The roots of this idea are most easily planted and nurtured within the family...

Playing with Ideas

One of the many great things about sharing a meal as a family is that it's the perfect playground for ideas and that's a big part of the point here. We need to be able to treat ideas with a certain amount of "lightness", to be able to detach them from our ourselves, bat them around the table, consider them from different angles and be willing to pull them apart and put them back together with others.

What About Things We Know to Be True?

It's tempting to shelter things we know to be true from such a "light" treatment. After all, even a doctrine of the faith that everyone present holds true is something that will be misunderstood or rejected by others that we encounter. Being able to "play" even with a doctrine can be quite helpful. We need to be willing to look at our beliefs from different angles and to take objections to them seriously (and charitably!) enough to imagine where a non-believer is coming from and help them understand what that belief means to us. It is the Catholic Church, after all, that came up with the concept of the "Devil's Advocate"!

Besides being more prepared to defend and promote our beliefs to others through this process, it is also a great way to move from acting in a certain way out of obedience (not to belittle obedience here!) to really WANTING to follow what the Church teaches.

We never need to fear opening Catholic ideas up for criticism. They really stand up well to reason!

Setting the Tone

Parents play an essential role in modeling all of this: playing with ideas, getting comfortable with having our ideas questioned, and of course learning how to answer questions and delve into the truth of the matter.

Our own tone in discussions, the parents' way of talking to each other and the love we use in how we speak to each other all play a substantial role. Here are some great phrases that we shouldn't be afraid of saying or hearing at our dinner tables:

"I don't know."

"I could be wrong."

"I wonder if...?"

"I don't understand why the Church says..."

"What do you think about..."

Open to Correction Redux

2011-11-15T07:23:00.001-06:00

I just had to share this amazing quote from my friend Robert Gotcher's blog, Classic Catholic:

"Back in the 1940s and '50s and '60s, men believed that the best friends that you could have were the ones who would openly criticize your work and lay bare to you the mistakes and errors that you made, so that you might learn from them and correct them. In today's world, if someone criticizes your work openly, it has become fashionable to hate them for it. That is extremely foolish. You cannot learn from someone who always agrees with you; you can only learn in the fire of disputation and dialectic." --Douglas Gresham in an interview in Columbia Magazine.

It reminds me a bit of an old blog post I wrote back in 2008, "Open to Criticism", though that one was particularly focused on the subject of criticism from the angle of book reviews.

I strongly believe in the concept of changing the world by changing one's own self. Our culture today, and our human nature in general I suppose, tends to focus on what the other guy is doing wrong. Any critique of myself or my favorite politician (or whatever) is viewed as an attack. I believe that we will never get anywhere good in politics until we hold ourselves and "our side" (whichever side that may be) accountable for our faults and stop making excuses.

I think this is related to part of what makes traditional liberal arts education (such as what my husband and I encountered at Thomas Aquinas College) so valuable - especially in an age where education is so often considered to be equated with a list of information stored in one's head.

In our round-table, seminar-style classes, we learned to take some else's ideas, make sure we understood them, formulate our own opinions about the material, articulate those opinions to others and thus lay them open to challenge and critique. We had to sort out the criticism as objectively as possible in a context that helped us not just respond emotionally to the fact that someone disagreed with us, but work our way through the questions and problems in a reasonably logical manner. The whole program helped us to develop skills that I find myself using on a daily basis in the real world - to fully understand what others are saying and respond in an appropriate, not a reactionary manner.

Here are a few other quotes that seem relevant to this concept:

Most people tend to allow the truth they possess so to dominate their thinking that they see few other truths that place their one truth in perspective and balance it out. There is probably no heresy in the history of the Church that did not have its truth. The problem invariably is that the one truth so took over the heretic's mind that he was committed to cast out any number of other doctrines that clashed with his interpretation of it. (pg. 34, Authenticity by Fr. Thomas Dubay)

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle

This last one, again is from Dubay's Authenticity, in which he discusses the word "docility":

The word means, of course, a capacity to learn, to be taught by another. Yet in recent years the idea came upon hard days, for it spoke to many of a passivity, a weakness, a refusal to think for oneself. But then on the scene came a new label: openness, listening. Now openness and listening to others mean nothing if they do not mean exactly what docility means: willingness to be informed, instructed, changed by what another says.

A man in trouble laments that he did not listen to his teachers, and thus he finds himself in a sad state, utter ruin. A candid admission of a blunder is refreshing and not often heard in human affairs. It is the saint alone who is large-minded enough to think and speak in this way. This is part of his authenticity.

The person who is swift to hear and slow to respond is a stranger to an all-knowing illuminism. He believes that others, too, have some truth, and he is willing to be instructed by them. He is ready for the mind of God.

We are to welcome instruction, yes. But this is not enough. We are to welcome correction as well, being told that we are wrong. This is living the virtue of docility.

As the word indicates, docility is the capacity to learn, a willingness to be taught. One is docile when he recognizes his own lack of information and expertise, on the one hand, and the superior knowledge and skills of his teacher, on the other. In this context a synonym more acceptable to modern ears is receptivity.

There are two types of receptivity: one toward the indwelling Spirit and the other toward human teachers. Like other moral virtues, docility lies in a mean between two extremes. One extreme is the more or less arrogant refusal to accept the thoughts of another. The other is an exaggerated credulity that has lost a sense of proper discrimination and healthy criticism.

I think the virtues of humility and gratitude are also closely related, which, of course reminds me of St. Francis:

...his first reaction was always gratitude. He accustomed himself, in everything that happened in his life, always first and foremost to praise and to give thanks, even before he knows what it is, in fact, that he has received, even before he accepts what he receives, looks at it, and gives it shape. (from Book of All Saints by Adrienne Von Speyr - chapter on St. Francis of Assisi)

Frank as Pippin

2011-11-11T23:02:00.001-06:00

Pippin, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Deacon Carlos' Ordination

2011-11-10T14:12:00.001-06:00

P1000558, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

John and I and Terri attended the diaconate ordination of one our "adopted" seminarians on Saturday. It was beautiful! Please keep him and his ministry in your prayers!

Hula-hooping Ninja

2011-11-10T11:23:00.001-06:00

Hula-hooping Ninja, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Rapunzel in Hightops

2011-11-10T11:22:00.001-06:00

Rapunzel in Hightops, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Terri in costume at our co-op. (She changed before gym!)

Gates of Moria Pumpkin by Terri

2011-11-10T11:18:00.003-06:00

Gates of Moria Pumpkin by Terri, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Yoda Pumpkin

2011-11-10T11:18:00.001-06:00

Yoda Pumpkin, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Gus had fun carving this Yoda pumpkin with some help from a template found somewhere online.

Costume Fun

2011-11-10T11:17:00.001-06:00

P1000426, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Bernie decorated this knight-costume shirt (from a rummage sale) with stickers to make a White Tree of Gondor for Frank's "Pippin" costume. She later ended up tracing the tree and painting it on with white puffy paint.

Our Kids on PBS ;)

2011-11-01T18:35:00.000-05:00

Our two oldest - Ria and Gus - joined a parish mission trip to Virginia last summer. It turns out that they and a bunch of their friends from the trip ended up in a PBS piece when they visited a local music event. Gus is the tall one in the green shirt (Ria is harder to spot)...

On The Crooked Road: Pickin' in the Pound from Carol Jennings on Vimeo.

Another Lovely Photo from TAC

2011-10-30T08:08:00.001-05:00

P1000165, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

I think this is taken in Dr. Dillon's Memorial Garden.

Romans 8:31

2011-10-28T06:27:00.001-05:00

Are there some Bible verses that really jump out at you and make you want to read them again and again and chew on them for awhile? I fell in love with the book of Romans in college, but in the last year or so, Romans 8:31 really jumped out at me. This week it came up twice at church AND I happened to be the one reading both times. On Wednesday morning, it was the reading at Morning Prayer which I sometimes pray with a group at church. Yesterday, it was the first reading at Mass, and I was lectoring. I don't fully understand it, but I find it so beautiful and moving... gotta love St. Paul!

Here's the quote. The Morning Prayer reading included just the second half or so...

What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers,nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Saint as Antidote

2011-10-19T15:52:00.001-05:00

I came across an interesting quote from G.K. Chesterton's Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox that I'd like to share here, but first I had to tell the funny little story about why I picked up the book today. It seems like I often end up reading long-neglected books because of odd coincidences.

I was picking up vitamins at Walmart today (and I almost never shop at Walmart - just happened to be more convenient today than other options). I was wearing a Thomas Aquinas College sweatshirt and the cashier asked me about Thomas Aquinas (the saint, not the college). Although I was able to tell him some basic facts, like where he lived, it sparked an interest today in wanting to read more - and I've had this book on my to-read list for many years.

Here's the quote...

The saint is a medicine because he is an antidote. Indeed that is why the saint is often a martyr; he is mistaken for a poison because he is an antidote.He will generally be found restoring the world to sanity by exaggerating whatever the world neglects, which is by no means always the same element in every age. Yet each generation seeks its saint by instinct; and he is not what the people want, but rather what the people need.

Rejoice in the Good!

2011-10-13T16:53:00.001-05:00

The Holy Father said this today:

The Pontiff noted how "we are always attentive to problems and to difficulties," but there is almost an unwillingness "to perceive that there are beautiful things that come from the Lord."

Attention to the good, "which becomes gratitude," he said, "is very important for us; it creates in us a memory for the good and it helps us also in times of darkness."

"God accomplishes great things, and whoever experiences this -- attentive to the Lord's goodness with an attentiveness of heart -- is filled with joy," the Pontiff affirmed.

This is something I often bring up in my talks on culture - to rejoice in the good. I bring this up not because I'm good at it, but because I know it's important, yet often struggle with it myself.

You can read the rest of his talk here: Don't Get Lost in Problems, says Pope.

And speaking of being grateful for the good, 35 men from the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican were ordained deacons last week. You can see a photo here: (the settings won't let me share it). The deacon on the far left was stationed at our parish for the last three summers. We are so happy for him!

I have yet to type up my notes from my conference talk in Napa last summer. Maybe this will remind me to get to it soon. Have a beautiful day!

Fall Tree

2011-10-12T08:06:00.001-05:00

P1000385, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Lion Cub!

2011-10-07T19:28:00.001-05:00

P1000337, a photo by Chez VH on Flickr.

Bernie caught this great shot at the zoo yesterday.

What We've Been Enjoying This Week..

2011-09-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

The 39 Clues Series - I'm on book 8, the kids are all over. It's been tough covering an 11 book series from the library with 6 different readers/listeners with a crazy combo of audio and print!

Watching YouTube videos related to topics that came up in the 39 Clues, like Terra Cotta Army, Amber Room and Catacombs of Paris.

Discovering Music DVD series by Dr. Carol Reynolds (I love how she incorporates art, architecture, history, culture, politics, science, etc. along with LOTS of stories and excellent recordings). Already touched on a few topics from The 39 Clues here too. :)

Good stuff!

P.S. An extra motivation for me to finish the series is that the 1st book in the second series, (Cahills vs. Vespers: The Medusa Plot) is waiting for me to read from the Amazon Vine program. Terri's already cruised through that and eager for the next volume (which comes out in December!)

New Digs Again

2011-09-25T11:07:00.001-05:00

I am really liking the improvements to Blogger, though there are still some ups and downs to both Blogger and WordPress. In the end, having all of my archives and such in one place and a MUCH better tag-labeling system pushed Blogger ahead. I've already moved all of my favorite posts from the new blog over here, just have to tag a few of the untagged posts at some point.

Test Post

2011-09-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

Blogger has made a lot of improvements, so I'm toying with the idea of moving my blogging operations back here.

Here's a test quote (partly testing the editor here) that I stumbled on today in YouCat:

My past no longer concerns me. It belongs to divine mercy. My future does not yet concern me. It belongs to divine providence. What concerns me and what challenges me is today, which belongs to God's grace and to the devotion of my heart and my good will. - St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Distribution of Artwork

2011-09-22T11:05:00.000-05:00

I just stumbled upon some old pictures that I've neglected to post this month or more now. Before Ria left for college, she held an informal distribution of a bunch of her artwork to her siblings (ahem, mom and dad rescued a few too). This brought about both great delight, and not a little bit of angst in deciding what would go to whom. On the whole, it was amazing to see the enthusiasm with which each drawing or painting was greeted and, I guess I'll let a few photos tell the rest of the story...

A Homeschooling Meme!

2011-09-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

Wow, I haven't been tagged for a meme in a very long time. So long that I almost forgot what a meme was! Thank you kindly to Kimberlee of Pondered in My Heart for the generous nudge to write. :)

One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.

Gotta pick at least two. I think my favorites still (partly because of the way they impacted me at the time I happened to read them) are For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist. I think I'm really ready for a re-read of that first book especially. I'm also looking forward to reading A Little Way of Homeschooling and The School of the Family, both of which are waiting for me on my shelf!

One resource you wouldn't be without.

Honestly, truly, I would have to say our parish. Not only daily Mass, wonderful sermons and twice-weekly school Masses (today three children in one family were baptized during the school Mass - what a beautiful thing!), but also free musical opportunities (through various choirs my kids sing in), school sports and other school activities like Chess club (which all parish children are invited to participate in) and, on the whole, what has become for us an extension of our family and an essential aspect of our children's education - a loving group of people who have chosen to embrace us as we are (including things like our odd propensity for enjoying ancient music and Marian hymns, which they allow us to sing at Mass as a family on occasion) rather than consider us a threat to their way of doing things. I am so very grateful every day for this great blessing!

And... if you want a more bookish answer, I would say the old Catholic National Readers (basically Catholic versions of the McGuffey readers). They're written for a different era and a different educational system, which is always refreshingly compatible with what we do around here. We don't use them all the time, but when we do (which is generally for at least a few months of each year) I'm always reminded of a one room school house and an era that in some ways was simpler. The simplicity is evident in these books in the way reading, spelling, grammar, dictation and reading comprehension are combined and the students alternate between independent work and some simple feedback from the teacher.

One resource you wish you never bought.

It's really hard to pick on one book, but I have learned over time that I really can't stand scripted curriculum (though I understand that they are wonderful for those who like them) and that I am allergic to teacher's manuals. (Achoo!) I like to be able to sit down with something (like the Catholic National Readers mentioned above) and just start using them without having to read over 5 pages of material just to get started. That's one thing I've always liked about the MCP Math too.

One resource you enjoyed last year.

Our road trip! Traveling makes for wonderful educational opportunities I think partly because we parents are pulled away from the computer and the telephone and a lot of other worries. Our month-long road trip to California last year was fantastic.

One resource you will be using next year.

Next year is too ~~soon~~, ahem, far away, maybe we'll talk about this year. Perhaps our favorite new educational resource this year is the fabulous Catholic liberal arts college that Ria is attending. She is completely smitten with TAC, and we really can't blame her. Just last weekend, for example, the "Theologian of the Papal Household" visited TAC, gave a lecture, said Mass and visited with students, etc. You can read more about Rev. Wojciech Giertych here.

One resource you would like to buy.

The new Catholicism DVD series from Fr. Robert Barron sounds fascinating, although we still have so many unwatched DVD resources around here at the moment that it would hardly seem reasonable. One DVD series we have very much enjoyed so far and need to get back to is Dr. Carol Reynold's Discovering Music Series.

One resource you wish existed.

Inexpensive add-on space to our house for more elbow room (and messy project space) especially in the winter. Oh yes, that and a self-cleaning floor (really a self-cleaning anything!). One other thing I have learned about our family over time is that we don't need any of those learning-to-be-creative-as-a-family-type-books. We exude creativity, or at least that's the positive spin I put on the trail of artwork and projects that is generally to be found all over every available surface and overflowing onto the floors.

One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading.

Honestly, I've reached the stage where I really don't enjoy reading homeschool catalogs anymore, though the one I used to enjoy reading the most was Michael Olaf's Montessori catalog, which were part catalog and part book. UPDATE: Upon further consideration, I realized that I do look forward to reading the catalogs from CHC and Ignatius Press when they arrive in the mail.

If you're reading this and haven't yet done the meme, please consider yourself tagged and let me know in the comments box! Thanks Kimberlee!

This'n'That, 9/17/11

2011-09-17T11:04:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered the Christian band, Future of Forestry (the name comes from a poem by C.S. Lewis) via a link to from Jennifer's Favorite Links. I found a lot of songs that I really like (and a few that just aren't my thing), including this one, called Close Your Eyes...

Another of my favorites is Slow Your Breath Down...

And speaking of slowing down, I've been working hard to slow down a bit - simplify my life and my commitments and it's not easy, but I can definitely see it making a difference in many ways and that it's something I've REALLY been needing to do.

I know I'm always saying that I'm getting rid of stuff, but I really did make an extra big dent in the last few weeks, especially with books, but other stuff too. Sometimes I just have to make myself pretend that I never happened to find it at a rummage sale or whatever because it looks really interesting, but I don't really need it and in the end it's just getting in the way.

We've also been busy with lots of painting projects - inside and out. There's nothing quite like paint to give your house a new outlook on life. ;)

Ria is doing very well at TAC and seems very happy. I can't believe that she's been gone a month already! It's funny how her departure made us start looking at everything in a new way again. It was definitely an impetus behind my simplifying of things around here, both because her departure reminded me of how quickly everything goes (it's not long, really, before other kids are ready to test their wings) and how much time I want to spend with my other kids right now both because of that and because of what we have left to do together before they're ready to go.

We eased our way into school a bit this year by giving ourselves a week and a half (or so) of part-time school before diving in more fully. On our first day of part-time school, I made a list of things for the kids to do, including "spend 15 minutes observing something outside". Well, this first day also happened to be our homeschool park day, so we decided to do our observing at the park. Late in the spring, at the same park, we got to watch a turtle laying eggs in a hole in the grass. We went home to look up when the eggs would hatch, but it was a wide range (9-18 weeks, I think), so we didn't hold up much hope for observing things on the other side. As it turned out, that first day of school, there were some new hatchlings nosing around in the hole and one that had escaped but had fallen down into the curb of the street where it was stuck on the wrong side from the river. Terri rescued it with a leaf and carried it down to the river. She set it down on the bank where we all got to watch it leap in (and it was a tiny thing!) and wriggle around happily in the water. So nice to spend time whenever we like in the greatest classroom in the world. :)

Tradition vs. Traditionalism

2011-08-31T11:03:00.000-05:00

This is a really interesting thought that popped up in the middle of an article about the Chieftains performing at the Communion and Liberation gathering (seems like too small a word) in Rimini, Italy. (Hat-tip to to my sister who was there!)

I think that there is an important distinction to be made, which Don Giussani, the priest who founded the movement this Meeting comes out of, made clear between tradition and traditionalism. Tradition is the wisdom of inheritance. It is something living. Traditionalism is the obsession that comes with preserving this, keeping it safe and free of all other influences, which is a terrible thing.

I think part of the problem we have with traditionalISM today is that tradition is under attack and it's easy to respond to that attack in an unbalanced and inappropriate way. I find the distinction above extremely helpful in understanding where the balance lies. The whole article is quite fascinating.

You can read it here: RIMINI MEETING/ The Chieftains, a living tradition discovering the world

I was already a big fan of the Chieftains - their Christmas album, Bells of Dublin, is my favorite Christmas album ever, and I have the San Patricio album and at least one other one too.

By the way, the quote above also reminds me of something Pope Benedict said in his book, Light of the World:

…to what extent do people still belong to the Church in the first place? On the one hand, they want to belong to her and do not want to lose this foundation. On the other hand, they are of course also shaped and formed interiorly by the modern way of thinking. It is the unfermented coexistence, with and alongside each other, of the basic Christian intention and a new world view, which leaves its mark on all of life. To that extent what remains is a sort of schizophrenia, a divided existence.

We must strive to integrate the two, insofar as they are compatible with each other. Being Christian must not become a sort of archaic stratum to which I cling somehow and on which I live to a certain extent alongside of modernity. Christianity is itself something living, something modern, which thoroughly shapes and forms all of my modernity – and in this sense actually embraces it.

That a major spiritual effort is required here I expressed most recently by founding a “Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization”. It is important for us to try to live Christianity and to think as Christians in such a way that it incorporates what is good and right about modernity – and at the same time separates and distinguishes itself from what is becoming a counter-religion.

Additional afterthought:

It’s important to keep in mind that there are different meanings of the world traditionalist and, naturally, not everything that is described as traditionalist is bad. An example that comes to mind for me of the problematic kind described above would be someone who strongly objects to the addition of the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary. a) They probably have an unclear concept of the origins of the Rosary (and thus think Our Lady gave it to St. Dominic exactly the way it was before Pope John Paul II changed it, which is not correct) and b) I think anyone who looked at the concept objectively would see that it’s not only *not* a detraction to the Rosary or its particular tradition, but in fact an enhancement and completion of it – more like a restoration of something that was lost than any sort of negative.

Because We've Been Watching the Two Towers

2011-08-30T11:02:00.001-05:00

...and I love this line:

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

And this one always makes me laugh...

Treebeard says, "That doesn't make sense to me. But you are small."

A Few Photos from Ria

2011-08-30T11:02:00.000-05:00

Fountain at TAC:

P1000017, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Ria sent us a few photos now that she has a camera. Isn't this lovely?

Amazing View from the Dorm Courtyard:

P1000015, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Another beautiful shot from Thomas Aquinas College

Do You Do Temperaments?

2011-08-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

I've been hearing about the temperaments for awhile - you know, sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic - but never really paid any attention to them until recently. I know I had a book on my shelf once about it that I didn't get around to reading and just passed it along after awhile. A number of my family and friends would talk about them and I couldn't get straight which word meant which thing.

But a few weeks ago, the topic kept coming up in the randomest places, enough that I started to have a guess of which temperaments I had. During this random streak, I was at a friend's house and she had a copy of The Temperament God Gave Me sitting out from the library. I picked it up and quickly read an overview of one of the temperaments I thought I was - melancholic. Wow. There was an awful lot of "me" on that page, including: "They are skeptical about what may appear to be simplistic labels and categories - such as the four temperaments." (Ha!) - But really a lot more too, including the need to fight to achieve self-confidence and "Ironically, however, although small details can stump them, melancholics can often handle the truly big crises with grace and aplomb."

I went home and ordered the book right away. I haven't finished it, but have found it quite helpful overall. For those of you who aren't familiar with them, the temperaments refer to the part of your personality which is innate rather than learned. I had a sense that some aspects of my personality that were frustrating to me had pros and cons, but this really helped me sort some of them out and stop battling my own nature unnecessarily and try to work with what I have.

Upon further reading, I discovered that the other temperament I had suspected belonged to me - phelegmatic - was actually the dominant one. The section in the book entitled "Discovering Your Secondary Temperament", which describes temperament combinations, including potential pitfalls, was particularly helpful. This paragraph particularly rings true (and I've been working on doing many of these things, especially in recent years):

This temperament combination can face at times a greater challenge to your confidence than other temperaments (especially the choleric or sanguine). For this reason, when you are facing a major challenge or have been given a multifaceted and demanding project, it will be absolutely critical for you to maintain your level of energy and motivation - not to mention your prayer life - to complete the project. You will want to anticipate the way your moods can get you off track and take concrete steps to maintain accountability in order to remain focused and energized throughout the task. Motivational tapes, exercise, a healthy diet, spiritual guidance, and a strong sacramental life will be critical.

I haven't come close to finishing the book yet, but have found it quite helpful so far. The book is written by a licensed marriage and family therapist.

7 Quick Takes, 7/19/11

2011-08-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd use the Quick Takes Friday to catch up on a few things now that I'm trying (again) to get back to blogging.

1.

I mentioned in the previous post that we held a performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It (or rather selections from...) in our backyard a few weeks ago. It was directed by my daughter and some friends. I think it went really well and we sure enjoyed the performance. Here is the first video:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLrOVx1Kxvc]

You can find the rest of the videos here. Unfortunately the quality isn't great as we just had a little Flip Video and we missed a significant chunk in the middle. You can view pictures from the play here.

2.

I was so excited to hear that our friend, Matthew Alderman, is having some artwork published in one of the editions of the New Roman Missal. Congratulations! (hat-tip Robert Gotcher)

3.

I haven't yet put my notes together on the blog from my culture talk at the homeschool conference in Napa. I am working on an article on gratitude that's kind of grown out of the talk for a future issue of mater et magistra magazine. I'm excited about the article and hope to sit down and spend some time on it.

4.

We got together with some friends at a nearby lake last weekend (and has the weather ever been beautiful lately - what a change!!!). I was pretty impressed with what the kids built on the shoreline (and many of them were just little tots):

5.

I really enjoyed this animation of a talk by Sir Ken Robinson. I've been hearing about this educational speaker for a long time (including from my brother Dan) but had somehow neglected to actually listen to any of his talks until this week. Here's the video:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U]

This was a great time to watch this video as I'm trying to get my head into gear for the new school year and I continue to wrestle with conventional wisdom vs. what actually seems to work with my kids. The video also brought to mind a few related items:

a. Lots of bits and pieces from the book Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Angela Merriman, b. The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #1937 (we all have unique gifts and we're supposed to share them with each other - not turn out the same as each other!) and c. the article "Listening to Experts Inhibits Decision Making in the Brain" from the Eide Neurolearning Blog.

6.

On Monday, our family sang for the feast day of the Assumption at our local parish. Ave Maria in 3 1/2 parts (a little family joke since the tenor part is a little hit and miss still), and little harmony on several classic Marian hymns (Immaculate Mary and Hail Holy Queen) and also on Holy Is His Name. We love singing as a family and it was nice to get one more chance before Ria left for college.

7.

Before Ria left for college, we had a bit of a movie festival with flicks we wanted her to see. We got through maybe a dozen of them, including Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Premonition, Regarding Henry, A Good Woman, and The Mission. They were some really good, though serious, flicks, and we enjoyed working our way through them with her.

She's Off!

2011-08-18T10:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted here in an awfully long time. It's been a busy summer (homeschool conference, mission trip, trying to get the house painted, etc. etc.), but mostly we've been focused on getting Ria off to Thomas Aquinas College. She has arrived safely and gets to start moving in and getting oriented today.

She flew out by herself. I would have loved to have driven her out or flown out with her, but it seemed neither necessary, nor reasonable, since we have family right nearby who were able to transport her about, we're completely familiar with the college (John and I are both alums), and we all drove out there in April and had a nice visit.

We all (John and I and the younger five kids) had a great time with all the conspiracies of preparation. I think these projects were quite therapeutic for us! These mostly fell into three categories:

1. Ria had a notebook out at her graduation party last year for people to sign. There was a lot of room left and she came up with the idea a few weeks ago of having all of her friends write notes for her that she could read on the airplane on her way out. Well, the rest of us really ran with this and had a blast getting as many people as possible to sign it (or share a favorite quote, draw a picture, or whatever). At one event at our parish where the notebook wasn't available, Gus and Terri got a bunch of people from this summer's mission trip to write little notes on post it notes, which not only added to the substance of the book, but made a fun and colorful display as well. We also put together a few fun collaborative "features" in the book. The one that worked out the best (and came out to ten pages!) was a conglomeration of "Things We Say", which included things like silly words our family made up for things (like "squeezy cheese" for grated cheddar cheese), funny Freudian slips among family and friends (like "Miller Lite Stadium") and favorite and oft-quoted movie tidbits (like "in the best sense" from Sense and Sensibility).

2. We helped pull off a surprise goodbye party that a number of her friends put together at a friend's house the night before she left. Our job was to get her to the party location without suspecting. Our ruse was that we were all going to meet Daddy for dinner in a town where some dear family friends live. One of the party planners was with us and part of the scheme was that we picked her up for a visit to Old World Wisconsin and that she was going to dinner with us (which was plausible under the circumstances). Pulling it off required some clever and impromptu acting from everyone involved and they played their parts beautifully - including Frank who pulled off an "I have to go to the bathroom" moment (which was true) at just the right time (which was part of the ruse) in order to get a freezer chest with the cake snuck into the back of the van. Such fun!

3. Since Ria was flying out, we shipped most of her stuff to the college. It didn't seem like unreasonable stuff getting packed, but it was amazing how much stuff it turned out to be in the end (just heard from her - she's mostly unpacked now and it really isn't too much stuff, LOL). Just the bedding is so bulky, but she had won a nice comforter in a raffle a few months ago at our parish (that also came with a Target gift card - woohoo!) and we didn't want her to have to deal with buying EVERYTHING once she got out there. We shipped a couple of large boxes (mostly the bedding), plus two small book boxes (media rate is still a great deal!) and the rest were in those wonderful USPS flat rate Priority Mail boxes that cost $15 to send (including the price of the box). The clerks at the post office love to tell you how much they would have cost without the flat rate box - one of ours would have come out at $37!

One of the great things about boxing up her stuff for her (she had a busy last few weeks with, among other things, a Shakespeare play in our backyard) was that we got to sneak all kinds of goodies in for her. Chocolate, cocoa, tea, a small set of Prismacolors, a deck of Five Crowns and Terri's little Woody action figure (if you've seen Toy Story 3, you'll understand the significance and fun of this!) and some other goodies were squirreled away in the nooks and crannies. Again, being in on the surprises was really great for the kids.

_____________________________________________________________

This is, naturally, a difficult transition for us. We are thrilled and excited to death for her and I think I'm basically at peace with potential worries about her safety or how well she'll do and with the distance and length of time she'll be gone. I've also been overwhelmed in the last few weeks with gratitude for who she is and how God has blessed us through her, but I must admit that it's a challenge to accept that things will never be quite the same again and that that's the way it's supposed to be.

Commencement Address Notes

2011-07-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a lovely trip to Napa and the San Francisco Bay Area in order to speak at the homeschool conference sponsored by Kolbe Academy and Ignatius Press. During the trip, I also gave the commencement address for Kolbe Academy's homeschool graduation. I think it went quite well. Having a short-length talk with a subject of my choosing meant, among other things, that there was plenty of time to mouth my way through it (as well as tweaking it) on the morning of the talk. These are my slightly cryptic and incomplete notes from the talk, which I didn't follow exactly...

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

To be a homeschooler is to be a little different.

In fact, being a homeschooler is a little like being a San Francisco Giants fan in Milwaukee...

[Here I told the story of our family going to the Brewers-Giants game in Milwaukee - which was pretty much what I wrote about in my blog post here: Baseball! - with an emphasis on how conspicuous we felt wearing all of orange and carrying all of our signs through a sea of blue-clad Brewers' fans, the instant camaraderie with other Giants' fans (esp. in light of the exciting Grand Slam by Crawford) and the curiosity of those who politely asked why were Giants' fans.]

It's good to get used to being a little different. As Christians we are certainly called to be a little different from mainstream society.
We need to be capable of being different when we need to, but also friendly and polite to those who are curious to know more.

St. Peter ... be ready to give a "reason for the hope that is in us".

Those who ask questions, who are curious about us are probably searching too.
God puts them in front of us for a reason and we want to be prepared to plant seeds for him.
Expect very small seeds and not to know how it turns out...

Today... Three things that involve being different.
Commonly neglected or significantly misunderstood by many (including faithful Catholics)
I know because I have struggled myself with even understanding them. I hope what I have learned
will be helpful to you.

These three things are love, gratitude and humility

LOVE COMES FIRST

Greatest commandment according to Jesus (love God, love your neighbor)
Church teaching confirms this in every age:

"The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love." (CCC#25 - quoting Catechism of the Council of Trent)

It comes first both because of the nature of God (God is love) and the needs of mankind (everyone is ready to be treated with love, even if they're not ready for something deeper or more complex - like philosophical proofs for the existence of God)

How do we love? We do our best to manifest God's love others:

1. try to look at them as God looks at them - hate the sin, love the sinner!
2. make Christ present in the world through our words and actions - be witnesses to the love of God!

Love authenticates our beliefs in the eyes of others - which makes it a powerful weapon against relativism. Certainly more powerful than argument. (e.g. Mother Teresa)

GRATITUDE (REJOICE IN THE GOOD)

Look for the good in people and in the world and thank God for it.

1. All good things come from God. We owe it to God to recognize His gifts and be thankful.

2. His plan includes us all working together for the good. We're not all starting from square one.

3. Good things we find are starting points for building bridges and relating to others.

4. We are happier and more content and more hopeful when we appreciate what is good.

Gratitude gives us perspective - we have to work at keeping our perspective!
Studying things like history helps a lot! Prayer & sacraments are a big piece too.

One story from my life that gave me a lot of perspective (man at church story)

It's easy to be a critic, especially in today's world. It's important to recognize evil, but if we're nothing but critics, if we lack appreciation for what is good, we have a grave danger of becoming Pharisees, the ones Jesus had the harshest words for.

HUMILITY

We are the creature. God is the creator. We are not God!

This means two things especially:

It's not all up to us to change the world!

The gifts we have are gifts from God. We can't take credit for them nor deny that we have them. We have a responsibility to develop and share them. Nothing wrong with confidence. Beware of arrogance!

"I distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each person, but some to one, some to others... I shall give principally charity to one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one... And so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another... I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me." (CCC#1937 - Dialogue of Jesus to St. Catherine of Siena)

Acknowledge our weaknesses and limitations
Be open to learn and open to correction.

Evil is tricky - it knows how to get at ME in particular.

What are our danger areas? We tend to be most aware of the evils that really bother us.
Those usually not the ones that are most dangerous for us.

Humility leads to trust in God.

[eeek - I think I'm missing a line or two of notes here - can't remember what goes here!]

“To have Christian hope means to know about evil and yet to go to meet the future with confidence. The core of faith rests upon accepting being loved by God, and therefore to believe is to say Yes, not only to him, but to creation, to creatures, above all, to men, to try to see the image of God in each person and thereby to become a lover. That’s not easy, but the basic Yes, the conviction that God has created men, that he stands behind them, that they aren’t simply negative, gives love a reference point that enables it to ground hope on the basis of faith.” (Cardinal Ratzinger, Salt of the Earth)

[I can't remember exactly how I concluded here either, except for a little about how Mary is the ultimate example of saying yes to God.]

UPDATE: I just remembered another piece. I think I might have skipped the above quote, but I know that I did wrap up with recommending a simple prayer one of the nuns taught me in grade school: "Lord, Tell Me What You Want Me to Do With My Life and I Will Do It."

Google+

2011-07-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

Just had to add my voice to the other voices explaining what's up and what's the point.

I dropped Facebook about six months ago because of frustrations with privacy issues (and the arrogance of the people running Facebook regarding them) and trying to communicate with my 500+ friends all at once. It just drove me nuts. I also felt like it was a time-sucker without a particularly worthy purpose (partly because my hands seemed tied in many potential areas of communication because they didn't necessarily seem appropriate to my whole network of friends). It seems so designed for hype and making people stay on more.

I've been on Google+ for almost a week and I really like it. I'm sure it has some of the Facebook potential for addictiveness (and I'm sure there's more to come), but to me it has a classier and more honest feel. It's not only great as far as simple privacy goes, but allows for communication to and from your own carefully selected "circles". Circles are double-sided. You can use circles to read only posts from selected people (and you can jump between your circles very easily) or share your posts only with certain circles. Beautiful! This really opens up the communication potential with a much broader group of people and allows for elegant interaction in one account between varying realms of interest (including friends, family, fellow-hobbyists and all sorts of other things).

It has the potential to be a more elegant combo of both Facebook and Twitter (aside from the required shortness of Twitter, which can, at times, be more "elegant") because of those circles. You can post public content for anyone to see or share with anyone you choose. By the way, you can choose either groups of people "circles" or individual people to add to the list of those who can see a particular post. There's also a way for those you share it with to see how limited the post is. There is some trust involved that the people you share private stuff with won't pass it along (though there is also an option for disabling a particular post).

What I'm liking in the end, aside from the user-selected privacy options is that it provides a friendly and safe forum for collaborating on things with people you don't know very well, but that have common interests with you. I've already experienced this today when asking for help finding a quote I needed for a project I'm working on. I can imagine a number of my projects that would be aided in this way.

And so basically it offers Facebook's connectedness and Twitter's information-sharing strength with a broader collaborative angle that I haven't really seen elsewhere.

Oh yes, and one more big bonus on the privacy issue (again it comes in two parts): the names of your circles and who belongs to which circles are known only by you. Very smart.

The Continuing Adventures of Chicken Bean

2011-07-01T10:54:00.000-05:00

Frank has had a story character in his head for many years, called Chicken Bean. I blogged about Chicken Bean back here (when Frank was just four) and Gus blogged (and Frank danced) about Chicken Bean here (when Frank was three!). Just this week, I think it clicked with Frank (who is now 7, for those of you who are struggling with the math!) that he is now capable of *writing* about Chicken Bean. He sat down very patiently for about three hours one morning this week and wrote and wrote and wrote. I think he wrote three pages of the story that day. Here is page one...

Gus helped him record an audio version of the story in the tree house the other day. Frank read the story and had Gus do sound effects and a few special voices. It really is sweet and funny. I'm gonna see if we can find a way of adding the audio to this post. It's also funny to hear Frank read his own writing because he gets a little mixed up on words like "treasure", which he had spelled "chreshr". The spelling is primitive, but I can definitely tell (especially in the audio) that he has picked up a bit about story structure from overhearing so many audio books that are primarily aimed at older siblings.

Newsy Stuff

2011-06-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

I've gotten word that my Love2learn Moments will soon be playing on Baton Rouge's Catholic Radio (1380/WPYR).

Also, I'll be speaking at the Northern California Homeschool Conference & Curriculum Fair in Napa, California, on July 16th. My talk is on engaging the culture. The conference is co-sponsored by Kolbe Academy and Ignatius Press. It is a free conference, with no pre-registration necessary, and will feature Joseph Pearce.

A Few Quick Book Notes

2011-06-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer - This the third book in an autobiographical trilogy by a child abuse survivor (It follows "A Child Called It" and "The Lost Boy".). The abuse was horrible, but the meat of it is understanding how he survived psychologically and how others unraveled the lies and eventually rescued him from his abusive mother. This third book focuses on his adult life and how his past affected him and his loved ones. I also found his attempts to understand his mother and the culture she grew up in to be quite fascinating. A harrowing and engaging book, though you can feel the uncomfortableness of the author sharing his own story. Definitely worth a read, but best read in the context of the series, I think.

Patriotic Grace: What it is and Why We Need It Now by Peggy Noonan - This was an interesting, thoughtful, quick read. I'm not so sure about her predictions of a large-scale catastrophe in the U.S. (in terms of an attack on the electric grid, or something like that), nor all of her solutions, but I really liked her points about the need to change the tenor of our political discourse, including: we have to be careful that politics doesn't become our religion! Amen to that!

Not So Much to be Defended As Shared

2011-06-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

I know this is old news by now, but did any of you watch the Today Show segments from the Vatican last week? It was really a very nice, though not at all a fluff piece, and the Today Show crew was guided by Archbishop Dolan. Dolan's been a favorite in this household since he took Milwaukee by storm in 2002 (you can read a little bit about that at my old blog, Studeo). I think he's done a lot of great work, but a particular strength is how able he is at the important art of meeting people where they are and helping them move forward, even if it's just a little bit. A big piece of that, I think, is trust in God and a setting aside of fear. After all, a strong faith should help us to remember important things like: God will help us say the right thing at the right time and He has promised to protect his church.

When Archbishop Dolan went to New York, we watched all of the proceedings on EWTN. A particularly memorable part of what we saw was an interview he did with Raymond Arroyo. Among many other questions, Arroyo asked him about a tough moment in his time in Milwaukee, when he received a letter from a number of his priests asking him to consider having some dialogue on the question of celibacy. To many people, this seemed like a very contentious and controversial question. But Dolan always seems to know where he stands. He answered Arroyo that we don't need to be afraid of questions and that the Church is always willing to talk about things.

That was a really striking idea to me. Not an entirely new concept, but an important one that I hadn't seen with quite that much clarity before. It certainly has an application within my home too - to react kindly and patiently to any questions my children have and to develop a home environment in which they will be (hopefully!) comfortable bringing questions to me. Questions and doubts are a natural part of life and should be treated accordingly (and graciously!).

Somewhat along these lines, the interviews with the Today Show (which you can view through the link in the top line of this post) made me realize/remember that our faith is not so much something that needs to be defended (though there is a place for that) as to be shared with others. I know I sometimes get my priorities confused in this regard.

My thoughts came about also from some training that John and I did over the weekend in order to get involved in the marriage preparation ministry at our parish. The facilitator of the training very wisely informed us that we may very well be these couples' gateway into the church. That's a tall order. Thank goodness we're supposed to lean on God! :)

And on a related note...

This is a quote I really like from Archbishop Chaput's book, "Living the Catholic Faith: Discovering the Basics"...

'Go, make disciples of all nations was the last command Jesus gave to us before returning to His Father. It's a big one. How can simple people like us convert the world? That brings us back to Mary, and to the apostles at Pentecost. They changed the world by letting God change them and work through them. We don't need to be afraid. We need to be confident in the promise made by Christ Himself: 'I am with you always, to the close of the age.'

Don't be afraid of the world. The Holy Spirit is on your side. Charles Spurgeon once said, 'The way you defend the Bible is the same way you defend a lion. You just let it loose."

Baseball!

2011-06-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

IMG_1707, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

I'm really quite behind in my blogging, but just had to mention how our baseball game went a week ago Friday. We get to a Major League Baseball game once in a blue moon. I'm a huge San Francisco Giants fan, but have been to more Brewers games than Giants games.

The kids have really gotten excited about baseball (and the Giants especially) since the Giants won the World Series last fall. And so, we thought we should try to make it to a game when the Giants came to Milwaukee. In fact, I asked for it for my birthday, not quite sure if we could find reasonable tickets. Fortunately there was a deal at Sam's Club a few weeks ago - $10/ticket for the $40 seats. We jumped on it.

Two days before the game we had tickets for, one of our favorite Giants' players, Buster Posey (who subsequently won the All-Star voting for his position) broke his leg and tore several ligaments in a traumatic and highly controversial home-plate collision. We were bummed! He was one of the players we were most excited about seeing in person.

But we pulled ourselves together and figured the Giants' would be especially in need of fan support at an away game, after a losing streak, after losing a key player. We found all the orange and black clothing we could and made LOADS of signs.

We arrived at Miller Park about an hour before the game and ate dinner at the car (a.k.a. tailgating). It felt really funny walking through rows of tailgaters all in blue on our way through the parking lot. It definitely felt like everyone was looking at us (maybe it was just the six kids - LOL). But it was fun to stumble upon the rare Giants' fan who was pleased to see us. The camaraderie in being such a minority was amazing.

The game didn't look too good early on, which didn't surprise me. I thought we'd be in tough shape. But suddenly, things began to turn around (maybe because my husband decided to start cheering with the rest of us, instead of going for the Brewers!) and it turned into a really exciting game. After Posey's injury, the Giants brought two players up from the minor leagues. This was Brandon Crawford's first game in the majors and he managed to hit a grand slam. Only the 6th time that's happened in history. It was a great moment, partly because the team needed the boost, but also because we could suddenly see all of the other Giants' fans in the park.

One news article mentioned that Brandon Crawford hit a home run in front of 500 people that Wednesday, and suddenly pulled off a grand slam on Friday in front of 40,000!

Here's a video of the great moment. It sure seems like we can hear our own screaming in part of this:

I couldn't get the embed to work, but you can watch the clip here.

Because we were such a big cluster and the other fans were so few and far between (perhaps a few hundred obvious ones in the whole park), we got noticed a lot. One Giants fan came to the game with a bunch of friends who were Brewers' fans. He walked by us early in the game and shrugged in disappointment about how they were doing. After the grand slam he paid us a visit and gave all of us high-fives individually.

We were a little nervous at the end of the game, because the score was close. We were expecting to see Brian Wilson (the Giants' amazing closer-pitcher) come out to help hold back the tide. But no Brian through the 8th inning. Our seats were not greatest - the players we could see best were out in left field (and we couldn't see them very well). But when Brian Wilson finally came out to pitch in the 9th, you couldn't miss "the Beard". And, naturally, he came through.

The pitching was perhaps the most amazing thing to watch. Getting to see Tim Lincecum AND Brian Wilson pitch in person was a real treat. Oh yeah, that and watching Brandon Crawford's stats on the scoreboard jump from .000 to .333. :)

There were a few slightly rude comments from Brewers' fans (it was a night game and so there was definitely some drinking going on), but most people were curious and interested.

It was such an exciting game that the whole family has been pumped up about baseball ever since. We have an online subscription to MLB.com's audio stuff - which basically means we can listen to all of the baseball radio broadcasts. The kids have hardly missed a Giant's game since then.

giantsfanspic, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This is a much better picture than the one I found earlier. We sure felt conspicuous walking through a sea of blue with all of our orange! :)

7 Quick Takes, 5/27/11

2011-05-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

1.

Wow - it's been a busy week around here (!), beginning with Ria's 18th birthday last weekend! I was recovering from Strep, so I couldn't do much of anything. Ria and friends and siblings did most of the planning and I did some quickly grocery shopping (we had hot dogs, ice cream, watermelon and misc. potluck items). We also had a lovely may procession and crowning around the yard and under the beautifully blossoming trees before having the crowning in the house.

2.

Monday morning we learned that good friends of ours in Joplin lost their home in the Tornado. Fortunately they are all well, though they had some worries at first as their older son was at the movies with friends when the Tornado hit. We are praying for all those who have died and for all those who are suffering in this terrible tragedy. Seems to hit a little closer to home as we just drove through Joplin at the end of our big road trip earlier this month.

3.

Last night was our homeschool group's high school graduation. We had a whopping SIXTEEN graduates! I was in shock that they were old enough to graduate. SO many of them are ones we've known for years and shared classes and performances with over the years. Had a nephew in the crowd who is following his older brother to Christendom in the fall. Very exciting!

4.

Yesterday morning we had big news in Milwaukee! The beloved rector of our local seminary, Fr. Don Hying, was named auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee. It seems like everyone is bouncing off the walls with joy. We have many friends who are close to him and our pastor was one of his teachers in the seminary. Happy day!

5.

In bummer news, one of our family's favorite athletes, Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, had a season-ending injury in a dramatic home-plate collision on Wednesday night. Buster is the reigning Rookie of the Year and a significant part of the heart and soul of his team, playing a big role in their World Series win last fall. A little extra bummer because we have tickets for a Brewers-Giants game this weekend here in Milwaukee and were hoping to see him play.

6.

Now that Ria has been accepted to the college of her choice (although there is a short waiting list) it seemed a reasonable time to start getting rid of school paperwork that she didn't need to save for sentimental reasons. So often, on a day to day basis, I don't feel like we've accomplished that much in the way of education. So I was a little surprised to see how much evidence there was of education going on around here. She picked out a smallish pile of things she'd like to keep (including many delightfully funny drawings and a page with two or three paragraphs on it labeled "A Novel".

7.

I'm really behind on writing notes about movies I've watched and books I've read. Here are a few quick lists I hope to spend more time with in the near future:

Movies I've seen lately:

127 Hours (I think my expectations were too high - didn't like it very much).

Finding Fatima: An interesting documentary which uses some footage from the movie The 13th Day (which I haven't seen).

The Shroud of Turin: 3 Movie Collector's Edition - Three interesting documentaries on one DVD. Silent Witness, produced in 1978, is one that made a big impression on me as a child. It's a little spooky for the younger set, but quite interesting (though sadly faded - doesn't look like they digitally remastered this one). The second film was produced by the BBC in 2008 and focuses on beginning to address the carbon dating process that seemed to prove the Shroud a Medieval fake. The third movie is the official movie for the exposition of the Shroud in Turin in 2010 and is quite lovely.

Books I've read lately:

How to Eat a Small Country - (Slightly rough around the edges, but loved it on the whole. The story of a Food Network chef who quits her job and moves with her family to France in order to try to save her marriage)

The World is Bigger Now - (a journal/memoir about two female American journalists who were captured by the North Koreans and held hostage for 5 months back in 2009). The book is a very personal account of the ordeal written by Euna Lee, one of the two journalists. It was a quite a good read, and very moving at times - especially in recounting her relationship with her husband and young daughter. An unexpected spiritual theme runs through the book, including the journalist's decision to admit her belief in Christianity, even though she knew it was a dangerous thing to say.

The King's Speech - A rather thorough double-biography of Lionel Logue and King George VI. Fascinating and a great follow-up to the movie. We listened to this on audio during our road trip.

Schooled - I've been curious about this title for quite a while and finally picked up a copy at a rummage sale. A light young-adult novel. A homeschooled and socially isolated teenage boy (homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, with lots of hippie values, minus the drugs and free love) is sent to a public school he definitely doesn't fit in, but has some interesting and humorous adventures anyway. An interesting theme to play with, and the author uses it largely to shed some light on social problems common in today's schools.

As I Am - by Patricia Neal - A harrowing but very spiritual autobiography of the famous movie actress who converted to Catholicism on her deathbed a few years ago.

Books I've Started Reading Recently:

Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather

The Penderwicks at Point Mouet by Jeanne Birdsall

It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh

The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin

Happy 18th Ria!

2011-05-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

Gargoyles in Flagstaff?

2011-05-19T10:42:00.000-05:00

Gargoyles from Flagstaff!, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We stumbled upon a lovely old Church in Flagstaff,, Arizona, along an accidental detour made by our GPS on our way to the Grand Canyon. Our Lady of the Nativity Church was built in 1930 (though the parish dates back to 1888). The dark rocks visible here are local volcanic rocks. We thought the towers and gargoyles were pretty cool. :)

Wedding #2

2011-05-19T10:40:00.000-05:00

DSC_4231, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The wedding (just to remind you - our second for the month - both of them my nieces) was beautiful. This is one of my favorite photos, with my nephew and godson, the ringbearer, trying to get a better view. :)

DSC_4706, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Mission almost accomplished. :)

John and I and Frank enjoying the reception.

DSC_7978, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

M&J are quite the dancing duet as you can pretty much tell from this picture. :)

Our Little House Moment

2011-05-19T10:39:00.000-05:00

DSC_7376, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Our last big push before arriving in Oklahoma was on Wednesday of Easter Week. We hit the Petrified Forest in the early afternoon and still managed to cross all of New Mexico (and two time zones!) before we arrived at our hotel in Amarillo, Texas, at about 2:30 am (we pushed a little farther than intended due to some miscalculations on my part). Thursday we arrived at the Guest House at Clear Creek Monastery where we stayed for the weekend.

We reserved the large bedroom upstairs (in the enormous and incredibly gorgeous log cabin guest house), not remembering how many beds there were, but vaguely remembering one large bed and some bunk beds (we stayed at the Guest House a few years ago, but in several smaller rooms downstairs). It turns out it was one large bed and ONE bunkbed, plus a few loose mattresses we were able to dig out of various closets. But lo-and-behold, there was an exterior door to a balcony, which was enormous and well protected from the rain. Most of the kids decided to sleep outside (we had to block some large openings with some of our luggage just so I wouldn't worry about someone rolling off the balcony during the night). And so the space was really quite nice for us, even though it was quite chilly the first night and we scared up all the extra blankets we could find in the whole place.

This rather fuzzy picture is from the night before the wedding. The kids had played at my brother's house while John and I went to the rehearsal dinner (since he was the official photographer) and we were instructed to make sure they washed up to avoid ticks. The girls also wanted to dry their hair and put in curlers. So this picture was taken late at night with everyone hanging around in one spot while Daddy read from Kate's journal of the trip. It was perfectly lovely!

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, Arizona

2011-05-19T10:38:00.000-05:00

DSC_7268, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert (two parks for the price of one) was well worth the visit. As directed by the AAA guide, we entered from the south, which took us along another bit of the old Route 66. We duly noted the famous Wigwam Motel and suspected that it was another inspiration for a piece of the Cars movie (it was).

The little walking tour by the visitor's center was amazing. This is one of the more colorful specimens we came across. We also recommend the audio tour on CD that is sold in the gift shop. It included not only scientific information about various points along the way, but also included interesting stories. Well worth the $10.

DSC_3815, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Near the visitor center at the Petrified Forest.

DSC_3826, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Kate was our most faithful journaler on the trip. She would sit down each night (no matter how late!) and write some of the essential details of the day. She did a little sketching too, which is, I think, what she's up to here. Although she's working on a computer version of the journal (my excuse to get the kids doing more writing) the journal itself is be a priceless keepsake.

Petroglyphs at Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert also featured the ruins of a pueblo, an historic petrified wood bridge, some badlands, some incredible vistas and some genuine petroglyphs (shown here).

She Flies!

2011-05-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

DSC_3907, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This is Bernie in mid-flight, somewhere in the midst of the Petrified Forest in Arizona.

Da Pacific!

2011-05-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

Da Pacific!, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We only really had one day in the Bay Area before it was time to turn around and head back. We got a very brief visit in with a dear friend, before heading down the coast and meeting my little brother and his family at a beach in L.A. It was cold and windy, but quite lovely and it would have been such a crime to miss the beach when visiting California!

It was a fun day anyway. Lots of loud music and kids seat-dancing. Tons of gorgeous scenery and a beautiful sunset at the beach with cousins. What could be better! :)

Yes, that is me dancing in the waves. The kids ended up getting a lot wetter than I did (jeans and all!) and we had a lot of very sandy laundry to wash at the hotel the next morning.

Easter!

2011-05-19T10:35:00.000-05:00

DSC_6827, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

John rejoined us very late on Good Friday and then we caravaned together to my brother's house in the Bay Area late on Holy Saturday. I didn't really good much in the way of pictures on Easter itself, but we had a lovely day. The kids enjoyed Easter "baskets" (little gift bags of goodies) before Mass. We were able to attend Mass with all of my local family (two siblings and their families) at the lovely St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Palo Alto, where my sister and brother-in-law sing with the St. Ann Choir.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely barbeque party at a local park where the weather was absolutely perfect and the park was filled with other happy families celebrating the great feast. It was wonderful for the kids to get lots of time to run around in the grass - we really hadn't had a lot of that on the trip.

My sister-in-law made these amazing gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. They're made with an almond butter base and so they don't have that weird sharp taste that a lot of gluten-free bakery goods suffer from. They were SO good - I must have eaten 4 or 5 of them!

The picture, in case you're wondering, is of the house I grew up in. We did a quick drive-by on the way to Easter Mass. It's a little strange to not be able to visit the house when I go back "home". In fact, later in the day on Easter, when John and I had to return his rental car (long story), we made a quick visit to Our Lady of Peace Shrine (which we frequented when I was growing up) and there was something about stopping there, and sitting in front of the statue for a few minutes, that made me really feel like I had come home. The statue, by the way, is a 35 foot outdoor statue of Our Lady - makes quite an impression!

Wedding Art

2011-05-18T10:34:00.000-05:00

I know this is a little out of order as far as my trip posts go, but my niece who got married at the end of our trip posted on the Catholic Illustrator's Guild the artwork she drew and handed out as wedding favors at her reception. You can read all about it here.

Quiet Week at the Cabin

2011-05-16T10:33:00.000-05:00

Cabin's probably not quite the word. It's a rather nice house and holds lots of guests quite comfortably. As a matter of fact, we (the kids and I) were only there on our own for about 2 out of the 8 days and spent some lovely time with two of my siblings and their families. Terri recovered nicely and we had one big hike with my brother and his wife and my sister and most of our gaggle of kids to a gorgeous mountain vista. The kids (especially Terri) got a bit homesick as the week got quieter, but especially because they missed John. But mostly they were content to stay put and play with the cousins (plenty of cards, movies, dancing and Wii) and take a break from all of that driving around in the car and hopping from place to place.

Did I mention that this was Holy Week? Terri wasn't well enough to make it to Mass on Palm Sunday, but fortunately she was well enough for the rest of us to get to Mass (me with a cellphone on vibrate in my pocket just in case - fortunately the Church was quite close by) and bring her communion afterwards. We debated about bringing palms all the way home with us and decided that yes, we really wanted to do that (they made it home safe and sound sticking out of a little bag in the big compartment in the driver's door of the van). The church was small and quaint - one of four churches in this very rural mountain parish - which only offers Mass twice a week (one Mass on Sunday and a daily Mass just one day each week). The priest gave quite an excellent sermon on suffering which would have been twice as good if it had been half as long. Funny thing is, when we managed to make it to Good Friday services at the main church of the parish, he gave the exact same sermon. ;)

Here are a few pictorial highlights of our week:

Listening to a Giants' game (while watching the computerized online display) with my brother-in-law...

Enjoying a little sunshine on the deck (there was quite a bit of snow on the ground when we arrived, but the weather was mostly in the 50s and 60s)...

Lots of good food! After all, my sister-in-law Patricia is the blogger extraordinaire from Brownies for Dinner! The only time I thought to bring out the camera at dinner time, though was on Holy Thursday, when it was back to just us Van Giggles as we celebrated with our traditional lamb dinner:

...which we ate out on the deck as we couldn't fit around the table inside. Bernie came up with the idea of putting the two coffee tables end to end. Not quite the same as being at home and with Daddy (and just a wee bit chilly), but it was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed what they always declare to be their favorite meal of the year.

Yummy!

Crossing California

2011-05-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Cows off San Juan Grade, originally uploaded by sourskittled.

We had about 200 miles of California to cross (from west to east) and were on a bit of a tight schedule. California is interesting in that its freeways are well-designed for traveling north-south (three big trunks converge on L.A. - the 101 on the coast, the 5 in the more barren western part of the San Joaquin Valley and the 99 that hits many of the farm towns along the more fertile eastern side), but quite a bit more difficult to traverse east-west. This was made all the more interesting because our GPS (who we call Hermes) was set in a mode that always seems to favor the scenic route. It's really too bad that I had just scolded the kids about using the camera too much (it was getting a bit worse for the wear and the autofocus was almost completely dead) because no one took pictures on the drive that day and we saw a LOT of gorgeous and amazing scenery.

I found this photo on Flickr of a little of the view from the San Juan Grade, a single-lane paved "cowpath" that takes you from Salinas to San Juan Bautista as it winds its way over and around gently rolling, grassy hills, among idyllic farms - you just have to watch out for cars coming the other direction!

According to various websites I've seen, it's a popular road for motorcycles and bicycles.

We also crossed the famed Pacheco Pass and on the whole, I was feeling pretty excited about tackling some challenging geography all on my own (I can be a rather timid driver, especially in the big van). We spent a little time on both the 5 and the 99, but mostly we zig-zagged our way across the state through lovely fields and orchards of the central valley before arriving in Modesto, where we knew we could find a Trader Joe's to stock up on food for the week.

I was trying to coax Terri into eating some food all day, but wouldn't you know it, it was chocolate that got her back on the road to health. ;)

Highway 4, which takes you from the central valley into the Sierras was absolutely lovely. First it was simply straight on level, grassy land. Then suddenly it started, while proceeding straight toward the mountains, rolling up and down like a roller coaster. Then gradually we started winding in and around some rolling hills and then finally into the mountains.

It was in this area that we found our new favorite city name - Copperopolis. It has such a ring to it, doesn't it?

Sick Day

2011-05-16T10:27:00.000-05:00

The day we visited the last two missions, San Miguel and Soledad, was when Terri was started to feel sick and feverish. She mostly wanted to sit in the sun by the fountain at San Miguel and by the time we got to Soledad in the afternoon, she decided to stay in the car to rest. While John was back in Wisconsin, it worked out best for him to find hotels for me (he had Internet access, after all) and he thought Salinas would be a good place to stop for the night - fortunately only a short drive from Soledad. We had been planning on spending the next day in the Monterrey area (hoping to get to Carmel Mission again plus a visit to one of the local beaches), but Salinas was only a short drive from Monterrey and much less expensive.

He found a nice Comfort Inn with two adjoining rooms - one with two queen beds and one with a king bed and a pull-out couch. We got everyone settled in and then Gus and I ran to Target across town. In addition to some necessities, he helped me find the cord needed to connect our portable DVD player to the hotel TV so we could actually watch movies! I was delighted to find a San Francisco Giants' section in the store and couldn't resist buying myself a t-shirt. I also splurged and bought the Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the kids.

The next morning Terri was running a pretty high fever and had a very ugly cough. I didn't even stop to eat breakfast, just brought her right into the Urgent Care. It was a good thing I did as she was getting worse rather quickly (couldn't eat, etc.) and it turns out she had pneumonia. After a couple of hours and a few jaunts across town (had to go to a different center for an x-ray and then back for the diagnosis - thank goodness the pharmacy was right next door!) she started getting the treatment she needed and John arranged to have us stay an extra night at the hotel (thank goodness for having two rooms - and the staff was wonderful about accommodating us without charging us an arm and a leg). I also almost learned the hard way (came very close to a car accident during the hubbub of driving Terri around while fielding phone calls) why driving while talking on a cellphone is illegal in California (I didn't realize it at the time). It was a little nerve-wracking trying to get her to keep the antibiotics down on the first round (I was praying like crazy about that one - and it wasn't the only time I put things in God's hands that day), but after that she slept for most of the next 24 hours and felt considerably better, but still weak, the next day.

It was a longish day for the rest of the kids, but fortunately Ria and Gus were more than capable of watching them at the pool, plus they had that whole room to hangout in (with movies - the timing on the cord from Target couldn't have been better!) AND Uncle Dan had pizza delivered to the hotel for them. We even managed to spend some time on journals and writing postcards. It turns out the extra time was rather fortuitous besides, since Ria was trying to finish up her admissions stuff for Thomas Aquinas College as soon as possible. It had suddenly and unexpectedly jumped to the top of her list after we realized that the financial aid for our circumstances was virtually the same as what she would get at U.D. Anyway, that day she managed to finish up and turn in her essays while I took one last peek at her narrative transcript and got that sent off as well. It's funny how difficult it can be for me to be objective about a thing like my own child's essays. Perfectionism can be such a pain sometimes, but I managed to put it aside and move forward on that one.

We decided to by-pass both Monterrey and the SF Bay Area and head straight to my brother's cabin near Angels' Camp, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas the next day. That way we wouldn't have to worry about whether any of the kids were contagious AND Terri would be able to stay put and get lots of rest in one place for a whole week.

Mission Soledad

2011-05-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

DSC_6612, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The final California Mission we made it to on our trip was Mission Nuestra Senora Dolorissima de la Soledad, which translates: "Our Most Sorrowful Lady of the Solitude", commonly known simply as "Soledad". It's an appropriate name for a mission found today mostly in ruins and quite a ways off of the beaten path (i.e. Highway 101, which roughly falls along the original El Camino Real). It was quiet and a bit desolate, although the reconstructed chapel (which is still used as a Catholic Church on special occasions, but did not host the Blessed Sacrament) was lovely and there are a few rooms holding a gift shop and museum. A nicely cultivated area with roses brightens the entryway and parking lot, but other than that, most of the site was dirt with some random artifacts - a grave site here, a rubbly fountain there, and lots of remaining bricks from the floor of the original church.

According to a sign found on the site, the mission was dedicated in 1791 and destroyed by floods in 1828. There were signs of flooding in fields not far from the mission, so the reality is still there.

The restored buildings were reconstructed in 1955 and even when I was a child, we had friends who occasionally did volunteer work at Soledad, but somehow I missed visiting myself.

You can see the rest of our pictures from Soledad on Flickr.

Mission San Miguel

2011-05-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

DSC_6428, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We were highly amused by this sign in front of our parking spot at Mission San Miguel. It was entirely true too - the tree was enormous, but it was the only reasonable spot for us to park our enormous 15 passenger van in.

For the excessively curious: you can see a picture of the van and the corresponding tree here.

DSC_6469, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Church at Mission San Miguel was almost a twin to the one at La Purisima - the same shape and size with similar coloring and ornamentation (and there is a wide variety among all of the California Missions, so I found this similarity surprising). But it was very different - it's an active parish, there was activity and many signs of life - especially that beautiful sanctuary lamp you can see in the picture.

While not as remote and "unspoiled" as La Purisima, the setting was more rustic and much less touristy than many of the missions we've been to. Although it's only about a block from the 101, the town is small (it shares a name with the mission) and quiet. Only part of the courtyard is open to the public as a large segment of the mission is used to house Franciscan seminarians (if I'm remembering my facts correctly). There were a number of rooms housing interesting artifacts, including a large glass case filled with tools, weapons and other metal objects found on the grounds of the mission.

Mission San Miguel Website

DSC_6450, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Like many places we visited during this trip, there was a dramatic temperature difference between sunshine and shade. The shady areas, often including the insides of buildings (early spring, chilly nights, not much in the way of heating) were uncomfortably cold and the warm sunshine was most welcome (especially for Terri who was starting to get sick by this point). And so, partly for this reason, the front courtyard was a favorite spot with our family. We especially enjoyed watching (and attempting to draw) the fish in this lovely fountain.

There were a number of interesting artifacts placed around the courtyard as well, like a cannon, a large bell and an old wagon.

You can see more of our pictures from Mission San Miguel on Flickr.

The Bittersweetness of Beauty

2011-05-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about my post from yesterday, {pretty, happy, funny, real}, and I just realized that my random thoughts on the "pretty" category reminded me of this quote from Pope Benedict:

The beautiful and the good, ultimately the beautiful and God, coincide. Through the appearance of the beautiful we are wounded in our innermost being, and that wound grips us and takes us beyond ourselves; it stirs longing into flight and moves us toward the truly Beautiful.

The more I experience life, the more I find this to be true and yet I find it to be such an elusive concept. Very difficult to wrap my head around entirely.

La Purisima Mission

2011-05-13T10:20:00.000-05:00

La Purisima Church, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

After the wedding weekend and a day to visit to the Getty Villa (and meet with the financial aid director at TAC), John flew back home for ten days to work. The kids and I started to slowly make our way up to Northern California, visiting several missions and such along the way.

We were especially interested in visiting some of the missions that we had missed on our last California adventure, in 2008. La Purisima Concepcion, a state-owned historic park, was closed by the time we got to it both directions on our last visit. But this time we made it a priority and had a nice visit. It's a great place to stop along the mission tour, because all of the mission buildings appear in their natural setting. No city has grown up around this one and there aren't even telephone poles visible. It gives you a sense of what it was like then, except that it's so empty!

The Church was extremely large, quite lovely and SO empty. We've walked through historic parks like this before - no docent or guided tour (at least when we were there), but made available to the public in a simple way. The emptiness made it kind of strange to see so many artifacts - like the Stations of the Cross paintings on the wall of the church.

That emptiness was something we noticed in both de-consecrated churches that we visited. It really makes you think about what really matters in a church.

La Purisima Concepcion Mission Church, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Isn't it lovely? It's difficult to describe how big and empty it felt.

Here is the mission website for those who might be interested:

La Purisima Mission

Exterior View of the Mission:

DSC_6303, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

(Plus proof of our habit of practicing the legendary "buddy system".)

You can view the rest of our La Purisima pictures on Flickr by clicking here.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

2011-05-13T10:18:00.000-05:00

I'm finally catching up on my Google Reader just a bit and enjoyed this charming little memish thing that I noticed on several of my favorite blogs. I thought it might be a fun way to highlight the more family-aspects of our trip (as opposed to the destinations that are easier to portray in the mini photo-journal I've been doing).

Pretty:

I found this combination of charming, but boarded-up house, and spring blossoms poignant. Like many pretty things, it is bitter-sweet; a reminder of the fleetingness of life. This is from Peach Springs, Arizona, along the old Route 66. It's located in the Hualapai Indian Reservation.

We saw loads of beautiful scenery along the way and we have, I think, thousands of photos to attest to it (most of them taken by kids from the car).

Happy:

We had all kinds of schemes going with my little brother to try to figure out a way of connecting up with him while we were in California. Tougher than you might think because, despite having a whole month, a lot of big events dictated the schedule. We finally came up with the idea of meeting up at a beach in L.A. on our way back home (we were heading south to the I40 anyway) and besides, we hadn't even made it to a beach yet! (We had been planning on a day at the beach in Monterrey when Terri came down with pneumonia). And so, after a late start in the Bay Area and a long drive down the 5, we arrived at the cold, windy beach, triumphant and giddy. The kids all went dancing into the waves with their cousins, without even bothering to change into swimsuits. And the sunset looks positively unreal!

Funny:

Did I mention that there was a photobooth at the first wedding (complete with a box of silly props)? This one really cracks me up (some of my kids plus some of their cousins - that's Frank in the middle.)

Real:

Car travel is messy. This one was particularly complicated since it was a full month long (with many stops), it was right at the change of seasons AND we covered a huge range of climates along the way. We got more organized along the way, because we didn't have time to do it before we left. This is an earlier-on picture, but I have to admit that it was often messy even after we got more organized.

One thing that helped a lot was giving away the full-sized freezer chest we started with and picking up one that was about 1/3 the size. The big one took up a lot of space, was difficult to lug in and out of hotels and friends' houses and was hard to open while driving, because it always had to have stuff stacked on it. The new one was just big enough for a few things of blue ice, half a gallon of milk, a tub each of yogurt and cottage cheese and a few odds and ends. After that change we used our food AND space more efficiently and had a much easier time getting the freezer chest in and out of each stop (necessary to recharge the ice and keep the other food cold in the meantime).

We also picked up two big stacking laundry baskets along the way which we bungee-corded to the wall. They really helped keep the stuff from drowning us when we were on the road.

I always like reusable Trader Joe's bags for travel (they're $1 each, tend to stand up well and are waterproof!) but I also discovered their velcro-closing insulated ones during this trip. They're just $2 each, foldable when you don't need them and clipped easily onto the big blue clip on the back of my chair in the picture to keep things in order. They were especially welcome since there were several times when we had to do a bunch of grocery shopping before heading to a remote area.

Finally, just on our way back out of California, I discovered that Trader Joe's has re-usable wine totes (like little reusable grocery bags, but with sections) that were only $1 and were perfect for holding all of the kids' water bottles.

Thomas Aquinas College

2011-05-13T10:17:00.000-05:00

DSC07798, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

While in Southern California, we enjoyed a visit to our alma mater, Thomas Aquinas College. Ria got to stay for several days and attend classes and such (and John and I had a chance to meet with the financial aid director) and I am happy to report that she decided that's where she wants to go and she has been accepted onto the waiting list for this fall (she actually got her essays turned in *during* our trip). The list isn't very long and so it is very likely that she will be starting there as a Freshman this Fall!

Since my last visit to the college (in 2008), the new chapel was opened and dedicated and we lost two beloved teachers - Thomas Dillon and Marcus Berquist. It was wonderful to see and attend Mass in the gorgeous new chapel, but it was also an emotional visit, bringing to mind our losses.

And speaking of losses, please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr. Molly Gustin, another beloved and legendary tutor at Thomas Aquinas College (who had been retired for several years) who died earlier this week after a stroke.

The Getty Villa, Malibu, California

2011-05-12T08:16:00.000-05:00

Playing Statues:

DSC_5899, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Getty Villa, in Malibu, California, is a model of the Villa of the Papyri, uncovered in the excavations at Herculaneum (a lesser-known neighbor to Pompeii, also buried in the same volcanic eruption). It's a museum that specializes in antiquities from Greece and Rome and also features an amphitheatre (we had some fun playing with the acoustics there), a lovely children's program and beautiful gardens. There is no admission fee, but you have to make reservations ahead of time and they do charge for parking. Not a bad deal on the whole!

We were only able to take the four younger kids as Ria was visiting Thomas Aquinas College and Gus was golfing with his cousin. We had a lovely visit and especially enjoyed the "Family Forum".

Shadow Art:

DSC_5949, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This is a picture of Frank posing for a neat shadow art thing in the "Family Forum". There were lots of different backdrops and foam props to play with.

Treasure Hunt!

DSC_6022, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Everyone loved the Treasure Hunt of artwork that included neat little trading cards. It made them want to absorb every detail of the pieces that were included in the kids' materials. What a great concept!

Color-Your-Own Greek Vases:

DSC_5958, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This was a clever project from the Family Forum at the Getty Villa using dry-erase markers.

One More from the Getty Villa...

DSC_5909, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

because we found him so amusing.

The inscription below this bust reads:

Bust of a Ruler

This may be a portrait of Seleukos I Nikator (ruled 312-280 BC), founder of the Seleukid dynasty in Syria.

Reproduction of a Roman bronze sculpture from the first century AD found at the Villa dei Papiri, Herculaneum.

Wedding #1

2011-05-12T08:14:00.000-05:00

DSC_5333, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Here is my niece Miriam with her new husband, Eddie. It was a lovely wedding and we are so happy for both of them. They seem like a great pair together!

John and I and the four older kids, along with my sister and brother-in-law, led the music at the wedding. We especially spent a lot of time working on the parts of Victoria's "Ave Maria" which I think went pretty well. The kids fell in love with it (especially Terri and Bernie who learned the Soprano line) and so we sang it lots on the trip and can do at least three parts just with our own family. It would be nice to master that some day!

Great-nieces at the Wedding:

DSC_5404, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

I love this picture! :)

California is a Funny Place

2011-05-11T07:27:00.000-05:00

DSC_5280, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

(One of the kids took this shot from the van on the way to my niece's wedding.)

We arrived safely in California after about a week on the road and jumped into wedding weekend festivities with lots of my family while staying with John's brother and his family. We spent a LOT of time driving through L.A. traffic, but it was a lovely wedding and it was well worth the travel to be a part of everything.

Hoover Dam

2011-05-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

DSC_4939, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

After the day spent at the Grand Canyon and the Route 66 Loop, we spent the night in Kingman, Arizona and ate at a very tasty Chinese Buffet restaurant. John proclaimed the food very authentic as there were flavors included which he's only previously encountered in the Orient. Unfortunately a number of us had stomach aches the next day.

I really like this picture taken from the top of Hoover Dam. It was very impressive and VERY touristy (MUCH more crowded than the Grand Canyon, probably because a. space available to people is extremely limited, b. the weather was nice and c. it's really close to Las Vegas).

The kids had way too much fun making "dam jokes". The impetus for getting to Hoover Dam was the Percy Jackson books, which meant that the dam jokes and the angel with the golden toes were high priorities.

We did bring David Macaulay's Building Big: Dams DVD with us, so we were able to pick up some of the historical and scientific details in an interesting and inexpensive fashion (many of the visitor areas at the dam required an entrance fee, so we didn't bother).

Dam Family Picture:

DSC_4963, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The memorial bridge that frames this family picture is gorgeous, but the sides are so high that we didn't really have a sense of what we were going over until we saw it from below.

The kids got a big kick out of walking back and forth across the state line (Arizona/Nevada), which, of course, is right in the middle of the dam.

One More Picture Just Because:

DSC_5005, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

I really like this reflection/self-portrait taken by Bernie. This is taken outside the snack bar at Hoover Dam, which was, not surprisingly, overpriced and overcrowded. John braved the lines and got a few Gatorades for us to share.

Old Route 66

2011-05-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

DSC_4721, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We saw a number of pieces of the Old Route 66 as quite a bit of our trip followed essentially the same path - especially from Barstow, California to Oklahoma City on our trip back.

On the way out we took the actual 66 between Seligman and Kingman, Arizona, which looks like a match to the map shown in the Cars movie. It's a windy segment, about 20 miles longer than the equivalent piece of the Interstate. Seligman has a lot of things reminiscent of Radiator Springs (and there were a number of murals of characters from Cars around town), while Peach Springs holds a similar place and commonality of name with Radiator Springs. Most of the route was empty, peaceful and lovely. We were easily able to picture driving through there in a time long past. Single-lane rambly highways - and a bunch of Burma-Shave signs to boot!

Seligman was a hopping little place, but it was sad to see, especially as we got farther from the Interstate, a number of ruins of broken dreams. Peach Springs, in particular was a contrast of lovely pink blossoming trees and quaint boarded up buildings.

I like this picture in particular because the blurry edges remind me of an old photograph.

We also passed bits of Route 66 on the way home, especially the segment leading to the South entrance of the Petrified Forest (Holbrook, Arizona), where we spotted a Wigwam Motel (which specifically inspired the Cozy Cone Motels in Cars).

Anyway, it was an interesting little side-trip that took only a little extra time (and took in some breathtaking scenery!) and gave us an interesting little glimpse of history and socio-economics.

You can view more of our Route 66 pictures on Flickr (there aren't a lot).

The Grand Canyon!

2011-05-06T07:21:00.000-05:00

DSC_4480, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Grand Canyon was absolutely spectacular and it was neat for us that we all saw it for the first time at the same time. Rather surprising really, since John traveled with his family all over the West when he was a kid - and for goodness sakes - I'm from California! The weather was quite cold and rainy, but that may have actually enhanced the view. I imagine that, like the Badlands of South Dakota, the layers of reds and browns are a bit more vibrant when they're wet.

John and I were both a little anxious about kid safety at the canyon. This was somewhat alleviated by learning that most of the accidents happen from people over doing a large climb up and down the canyon and getting disoriented because of altitude sickness (or going outside of the railing to get a better snapshot). We weren't doing anything quite that adventurous (we really didn't have the time).

Once we got there, we made a simple rule: "You're not allowed to touch the railings." I held onto Frank's hand anyway, but everything went very smoothly and easily there.

Once we finally got to the viewing area and looked at the canyon, my first thought was: "That can't be real!"

We enjoyed reading some geologic detail about the Grand Canyon from Roadside Geology of Arizona and bought a lovely topographical map of the Grand Canyon at a gas station in Seligman for a very reasonable price. I already have it hanging on the wall alongside some panoramic postcards and hope to spend a little more time with that.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, Santa Fe

2011-05-06T07:19:00.000-05:00

DSC07560, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We really enjoyed the beauty of New Mexico on the whole and Santa Fe in particular and the cathedral in Santa Fe was definitely a favorite spot. The place is lovely in itself and steeped in history: Archbishop Lamy, the inspiration for Death Comes for the Archbishop is buried there and a side chapel contains a 400 year old statue of Our Lady - entitled Our Lady of Conquistadora (oddly translated as "Our Lady of Peace").

I think also, after the spiritual emptiness of the Loreto Chapel (which is no longer a consecrated Catholic Church, even though it *looks* the part), the cathedral seemed especially alive and complete.

It was neat, after a parish and school field trip to the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee earlier this year, to be able to identify the symbols of a basilica that were present in the church. In this picture you can see one of them - the ombrellino - rather well (and can read more about the symbols here).

Click here to see the rest of our pictures from the Cathedral Basilica on Flickr.

Loretto Chapel and "The Staircase" in Santa Fe

2011-05-05T07:17:00.000-05:00

See our photos from the Loretto Chapel on Flickr

DSC07428, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This is a touristy (no longer a consecrated Catholic Church) yet beautiful site. The kids enjoyed trying to sketch the lovely and architecturally breathtaking staircase.

An out-and-out miracle? Perhaps not. An answer to prayer? I very much believe so.

We were amazed to discover that the stations of the cross were a match with the life-sized ones at Holy Hill, just up the road from us. We've seen an unpainted, but otherwise matched set in another church nearby. There's a story in there somewhere, but I'm not sure how to uncover it.

El Rancho de las Golondrinas, New Mexico

2011-05-04T07:16:00.000-05:00

See our photos from El Rancho de las Golondrinas on Flickr

Visit the Rancho Website

DSC07219, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

It's hard to know where to begin with this lovely living history museum that we visited in Santa Fe (and many thanks to Mary Machado for the recommendation). We just managed to squeeze into a scheduled tour by making a phone call the day before. The lady who answered the phone apologized that it was a "Josefina" tour (as in the American Girl Doll). It couldn't have been more perfect for us.

I will try to add more to this post, including a link to all of the pictures we took from this site, a little later.

Funny Quotes from the Trip

2011-05-04T07:15:00.000-05:00

"Did we go through Left Virginia?"

"I haven't seen a Roadside Geology of Tatooine."

"There isn't a single grocery store in the entire South West that carries lembas."

Gus: "Is Neptune a car?" Mommy (mishearing): "No, we don't have any tuna left."

...to be continued...

I think.

Capulin Volcano, New Mexico

2011-05-04T07:12:00.000-05:00

DSC_3861, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Capulin Volcano in New Mexico. The homeschool family we stayed with in Colorado told us about this volcano in the northern part of New Mexico, only about half an hour off of our planned route.

A little while before we arrived, I decided to look it up in our AAA guide and realized that we would probably be getting there just after closing time. I was ready to skip it, but Gus in particular (who can be very tenacious about holding onto travel plans) talked us into continuing anyway. It turned out to be a great thing because what closing time meant was that the road up the volcano was closed to *cars*, and it was actually the only time you could walk up. Unfortunately this also meant that the bookstore was closed and we just missed getting what turned out to be our only shot during the trip at picking up at copy of Roadside Geology of New Mexico (we could see it through the window!) - which would have been lovely since we so thoroughly enjoyed the rugged beauty of New Mexico and would have liked to have better understood what we were looking at.

Even though the camera was a little dirty, you can tell that the vistas from the volcano were incredible. We only managed to climb half-way up because we were tired and a little worried about over-doing it, but it was well-worth the jaunt.

DSC_3854, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The walk up the volcano was sunny and beautiful, but quite chilly.

Colorado

2011-05-03T07:09:00.001-05:00

St. Anne Shrine in Arvada:

St. Anne Shrine, Arvada, Colorado, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Our family went to Sunday Mass at this lovely little church and historic shrine in Colorado. We were amazed that they have a relic of St. Anne (the grandmother of Jesus!) contained in the tiny shrine.

Debbie, Mary and Me:

DSC_3178, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Our hosts for our first weekend away from home were the lively and gracious Nowak family. We were very grateful that they were up to hosting us for two nights - especially since our one day of snow on the whole trip fell on that day off!

While we were there, Debbie hosted a fun party (with buffalo chili - yum!) at which occasion I was fortunate enough to meet Mary Machado in person.

We had a few unplanned days set aside between Colorado and our arrival in Los Angeles for the first wedding. After consulting with Mary, with the Nowaks and with various weather websites, we decided to head due south into Santa Fe. We were very grateful for all of their New Mexico recommendations! We weren't able to make it to all of the possibilities, naturally, but very much enjoyed the four places we were able to visit.

Southern Colorado:

Colorado, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Southern Colorado was incredibly gorgeous. The kids took hundreds of pictures to prove it (taking photos was a favorite car-ride activity, much to the chagrin of the over-taxed camera) and this is one of my favorites. If I remember right, it's in the general vicinity of the Air Force Academy.

Lunch with Karen

2011-05-03T07:09:00.000-05:00

DSC_3130, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

I finally got to meet one of my long-time blog buddies in real life! Karen is a great writer and a great friend and we all thoroughly enjoyed a lovely, but short, visit with her whole family.

Guadalupe Shrine, La Crosse

2011-05-03T07:07:00.000-05:00

DSC_2960, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Our first day of the trip, on our way to visit the Braga-Henebry family in South Dakota, we stopped by the lovely Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It was lovely, quiet and cold there.

This is the photo of the top of the baldaccino in the church, which was designed by Duncan Stroik.

Long Trip, Short Version

2011-05-03T07:06:00.000-05:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, May 3, 2011 -

Hello All! It's been awfully quiet around here because we've been gone. We took an enormous month-long road trip (2 weddings, 14 states, 32 days) and just returned yesterday afternoon. I was using a private twitter account to keep a few people updated while we were gone. Here it is (and I expect to do a lot more blogging about this trip eventually).

March 29:

Got a throat bug going around with two of us on antibiotics. Hope we're better by Friday!

Bought Tangled this morning (almost) first thing. Now the kids are highly motivated to take care of their clothes...

...not just packing, but sorting and getting rid of clothes too. Trying to leave the house really clean (and decluttered).

1 of our circuit breakers started glitching. Ordered a new 1 online b/c it's not sold in stores anymore. Can't believe it shipped today! :)

Ria's college app. process has been simplified. Notre Dame said no.

Ria's teaching her last set of Irish dance lessons upstairs. I can't believe how much her students have learned in 8 weeks!

John and I are trying to race through just a few more items on the to-do list. I feel SO sluggish! Next up - suspend Netflix account.

The younger kids have the most energy for trip prep and I am beat! So I am paying them nickels and dimes to do a bunch of cleaning jobs.

Gatorade is magic. I'm just sayin'. ;)

March 30:

Apparently not enough going on around here, so Frank cut his foot (on the driveway!). Happily, no stitches.

Well, we didn't need a new tire on the van after all, just a patch. And that was free! If only everything was this easy. :)

March 31:

24 hours and counting - eek and yay!

Need a new candy thermometer as the kids are making caramels for the parish youth mission trip bake sale. Hoping the local store has one!

Yay! Caramels are done and ready to be delivered. On to packing! ;)

We are nearly packed (but not organized into the van yet) and most of the kids are in bed. Not *too* bad for 9:45. But I am BEAT!

April 1:

Wow, everyone seems to be traveling this morning! We're taking off in about an hour. Happy trails all! :)

April 2:

Great trip so far, but not much computer time. Spent last night in S.D. Dinner with Braga-Henebrys.

Just had lunch with the lovely (and funny!) Edmisten family. Life is good. :)

April 3:

Hanging out in Denver with the lovely Nowak family. Will be getting back on the road tomorrow towards Santa Fe and then the Grand Canyon.

April 4:

Haven't had much computer time, so missed a few things along the way... (time for a quick catch-up)

April 1 - Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Our first time there. It is gorgeous and we enjoyed the quiet, but cold day.

April 2 - Mostly very long day of driving, from South Dakota to Colorado, with a very lovely break for lunch.

April 3 - Mass at the Shrine of St. Anne in Arvada. Neat history! Also got to meet Mary Machado. Yay!

Today we're off to Santa Fe and are very excited about it. Tomorrow we'll head to Arizona and the Grand Canyon.

April 5:

Yesterday we climbed halfway up a dormant volcano - Capulin in New Mexico. Gorgeous vistas, not enough time.

Arrived in Santa Fe late last night. Have reservations for a "Josefina" tour at a living history museum this morning!

"Elevation" stats on GPS are really fascinating. Really help you understand terms like high plains and high desert.

Here's a link to the living history museum, El Rancho de las Golondrinas: http://www.golondrinas.org

Hope to get some pictures up on Flickr tonight or tomorrow. Haven't had much time for the computer!

April 6:

El Rancho de las Golondrinas was lovely and very interesting. Buildings from early 1700s and early 1800s on original site.

Santa Fe: Also saw Loretto Chapel (lovely though touristy) and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis. Cathedral was my favorite.

I love how the kids have taken to journaling - especially Kate (age 9) who carefully describes each place - with very creative spelling.

Scenery has been breathtaking ever since Denver - especially continental divide at I40 in New Mexico.

Off to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam today as well as the "Cars" loop (from Pixar's "Cars").

April 7:

Grand Canyon was beyond stunning. We finally got to the first viewing spot and my first thought was "This can't be real!" Cold, rainy, wow.

Did find a copy of "Roadside Geology of Arizona" at the gift shop. It's technical, but poetic. Lots of geology around here!

We did the Old Route 66 loop starting at Seligman that was the inspiration for "Cars". Lovely backroads, complete with BurmaShave signs!

Yesterday, Frank got his locations a little mixed up. He asked when we were getting to Burger King, when our next stop was Kingman. ;)

A little memory game of "Peaks, Plateaus and Canyons of the Grand Circle" has been a big hit at the hotel. Time for another game!

Haven't made it to Hoover Dam yet - should happen today.

April 8:

Saw Hoover Dam yesterday. Very impressive, but VERY touristy! The kids especially enjoyed walking back and forth across the state line.

Mission accomplished (so far): Made it to California last night! Next up: 1st wedding and family time this weekend. (plus lots of laundry)

April 11:

Wow, haven't made it to a computer in days! Wedding was lovely, Ria is enjoying a visit at TAC, Gus went golfing with his cousin today.

The rest of us had a lovely visit to the Getty Villa today. It was lovely, fascinating, and also free! Great stuff for the younger set too.

John heads back home to work tomorow while we hang around in various parts of California. He'll rejoin us on Good Friday.

April 12:

Can't believe how much there is to do on our day "off". Laundry, cleaning, e-mail, phone calls and starting to pack everything up again.

April 14:

Ria had a lovely visit to TAC and hopes to go there in the fall. A few more hoops to jump through yet.

We finally made it to La Purisima Mission - it was closed by the time we got to it on the last trip (twice!).

The kids and I had dinner with John's parents last night after mission visit. Discovered 2 degrees of separation with the waitress...

Her 2nd cousin was a member of the Violent Femmes which my father-in-law's brother used to manage.

Anyway, we're now hanging out in San Luis Obispo. Cheap motel with huge rooms and worst continental breakfast ever.

Later that day...

Saw two more Ca. Missions today that we've never seen before - San Miguel and Soledad. Both are quaint, a bit off the beaten bath.

Got to hotel early b/c Terri is sick. Something's going around, but seems to be over quickly.

Had a lovely walk to In-n-Out Burger to bring back dinner for the gang. Nice to find another gluten-free-friendly fast food joint!

They actually wrap their "protein-style" burgers in lettuce so that you can pick it up!

April 15:

We are spending a second night in Salinas b/c Terri has pneumonia. It was tricky for awhile, but she is sleeping well now.

We'll be skipping the Bay Area :( and heading straight to the cabin tomorrow in order to get her some good rest (and avoid sharing germs).

And on a more positive note, Ria had time today to finish her TAC admissions stuff and get it all e-mailed in today.

April 16:

Quote from Frank: "I have a crush on swimming."

I love our parish! Six people from our morning prayer group took John out for dinner last night.

April 17:

Last night we made it safely to my brother's cabin in the mountains. GPS took us on quite a ride to get here - scenic but crazy.

So nice to be settled in once place for at least a week. And Terri is on the mend. Happy Palm Sunday!

It's funny to be seeing snow again. There are pretty big patches on the ground here still (we're at a ~4000 ft. elevation).

Went to Palm Sunday Mass at a teeny parish up here in the mountains that only has one Sunday Mass and one Daily Mass (on Fridays) each week.

Really it's one of four churches that form one parish. Have to head down the mtn. to the main church for services like Holy Thursday Mass.

Yay, my sister and her family are on their way up!

April 19:

My little bro and his family are up here too now. Nice to have a chance to hang out for a bit (they live about 2000 miles from us).

Nice to be back in SF Giants' territory again. Got myself a t-shirt and I love this: http://bit.ly/fPlnk4

Had a great hike this morning with a gaggle of kids to "Top of the World", with a great view of the Sierras.

April 21:

I have to admit that playing cards while singing polyphony is an entirely new experience for me.

Some of the kids are getting homesick (especially since Daddy is still gone). Playing board games and cards are helping.

Been downloading a lot of pictures to flickr, but it's not letting me do much editing. Stuck with fuzzy pics and disorganization for now.

We're having our traditional Holy Thursday dinner at the cabin tonight, even w/out Daddy. It's the kids' favorite meal of the year. :)

Murphy's law strikes again - after complaining about flickr, it seems to be working properly again.

Lamb is coming out of the oven in about two minutes. Table is set out on the deck. Should be fun!

Yummy dinner! Sad not to be going to Mass tonight, though. Not willing to drive so far on mountain roads at night. (I'm a big chicken)

April 22:

Made it to Good Friday services with all the kiddos in Angels Camp this afternoon. Looking forward to John's return tonight!

This area, by the way, is Gold Rush and Mark Twain territory. Angels Camp was the site for "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".

Too bad the kids are travel-weary and don't want to go exploring. Gus and I have been reading Twain's "Roughing It", though. Funny stuff!

April 23:

John finally arrived late last night after a lot of travel delays. We are so happy to have him back!

April 24:

Happy Easter! We had a long late-night ride last night from my bro's cabin to his house, but enjoyed Easter with two siblings + families.

Mass today was with the St. Anne Chapel Choir. Gorgeous music!

Had a lovely potluck/picnic at the park after Mass. A beautiful day!

April 26:

Left the SF Bay Area yesterday morning after a lovely visit with my dear friend Katrina.

Made it to L.A. yesterday to meet up with my bro and family at a beach. The wind didn't stop the kids from dancing in the waves. Fun!

We met a man there who is profoundly lonely and searching for God and reality. Please pray for him!

April 27:

Made it back to Flagstaff, Arizona yesterday. We're staying at the same hotel as, what, three weeks ago? Petrified Forest later today.

iPods are great for travel. Lots of audio books available, plus we can introduce our kids to such classics as Yellow Sub. and American Pie.

I guess it's a good thing we didn't get around to coloring Easter eggs. Just opened the Paas box for the first time and it was empty!!!

April 28:

The Petrified Forest was beyond amazing!!! Got loads and loads of pictures. Hope to get some up on Flickr soon.

We made it all the way to Amarillo early this morning (crossed two time zones in one day!). Tonight we'll be arriving in Oklahoma!

It's likely that I won't get a chance to a make further updates until we're home since the guest house at Clear Creek Monastery is low tech.

Or would that be no-tech? LOL

May 2:

We are home and ready to sleep! Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes - it was a great trip!

On the way home, we found out that Ria got accepted to TAC via the wireless in the parking lot of a McDs - and celebrated with milkshakes.

Surreal moment last night: We pulled up to a nearly empty gas station just over the border from St. Louis at about 11:30 pm yesterday...

A guy who was done pumping gas pulled up next to John to make sure we heard about Bin Laden. It was a memorable way to hear the news.

What I'm Reading for Holy Week

2011-04-18T07:05:00.000-05:00

I did finish the Pope's new book on Jesus of Nazareth, which was breathtaking! Today I started Caryll Houselander's The Way of the Cross. I'm only a few pages in, but it's quite lovely and moving so far. Here's a little snippet:

All his secrets were out. Every detail of His Passion revealed something more of His character as man - not only His heroism and His majesty but His human necessities, and the human limitations which He deliberately adopted as part of His plan of love in order to be able to indwell us as we are, with our limitations and psychological as well as physical necessities and interdependence on one another. He was not only simulating our humanness outwardly but feeling as we feel; not only feeling His own grief, fear, compassion, need of sympathy, and so on, as man, but ours; not only knowing every nerve and fibre of His own love for us, but that of each one of us for one another.

Ignatian Retreat Notes

2011-03-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

(I'm getting rid of a lot of paper around here and thought I'd type these up quick and then get rid of the scratch paper.)

This is from a really wonderful Ignatian Retreat with Fr. James Kubicki (director of the Apostleship of Prayer) that I attended last fall...

I was reading Caryll Houselander's Reed of God and Hans Urs Von Balthasar's Does Jesus Know Us? Do We Know Him? (which are both wonderful books!) during the retreat, so a few of the notes may be related to the interconnections... I don't exactly remember!

Talk 1. Love -

"Anyone who loves God in the depths of his heart has already been loved by God. In fact, the measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him. - Diadochus of Photice"

Talk 2. Meaning -

Ways of Knowing - Wissen, Kennen

Talk 3. Letting Go/Surrendering/Death

We appreciate the beautiful partly because it is uncommon, e.g. experiencing the love of God in prayer.

"It is the blight man was born for, it is Margaret you mourn for..." Gerard Manley Hopkins

Psalm 90

St. Ignatius - Major decision - imagine yourself at death and consider what you wish you had done. Do you organize your day according to your ultimate purpose? The things of this earth are designed to help us attain our ultimate end - hang on to what helps, let go of what doesn't.

Reflect on... Imagine your eulogy. How do you want to be remembered? How does that mesh with reality? What is our "whole life"? What is most important to you?

Talk 4. Sin

We're created by love and for love.

Freedom - we must be capable of choosing or rejecting love. Why doesn't God stop us from doing bad things?

The laws of God are built into our nature - we suffer natural consequences when we violate these.

"We're not punished for our sins, but by our sins."

We have, deep down, a sense of fairness.

Three Hebrew words for sin - breaking of relationship, being off target, ?

Prepare for Reconciliation -

Luke 19: Zaccheus - lesson: hurt people, hurt people (recycling hurt)

2 Samuel: 11 - David's Sin - Shirking responsibility, objectifying other people. (objectification)

St. Augustine Confessions - "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you." ("idolatry")

Book note: Ignatius of Loyola: Founder of the Jesuits - His Life and Work by Candido de Dalmasus, S.J.

Talk 5. What was Jesus' greatest joy? Answer: Forgiving

Mark 2, Luke 15

Spiritual healing and forgiving sins above physical healing.

Prodigal Son - Listen to pain.

Body of Christ - John 20 + "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

James 5

In things like AA, it's people who are honest that are able to recover. When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and God.

The closer we get to God, the more aware we become of our faults and how we have responded/not responded to God's graces.

Talk 6. Life of Jesus

(Note: Corresponded beautifully with the Advent Section of Reed of God that I had just finished.)

Romans 7

We can't save ourselves. We cannot change another person, we can only change ourselves, but really it is God who changes us with our cooperation.

"I'm only human" excuse - but we were created for something better, for example, Jesus and Mary. We look to Jesus to see what it means to be human. (c.f. Does Jesus Know Us? Do We Know Him?)

God doesn't impose himself on us - he proposes... doesn't compel, but invites.

Romantic love is dazzling, parental love wins in endurance.

God as suffering parent (with wandering adult child, you cannot force them to change).

Sharing suffering will bring us closer to God.

JPII - Letter to Women - Women see persons with their hearts.

Augustine - "If you can comprehend it, it's not God."

How would you explain color to a blind person?

Assignment... Imagine Annunciation and Birth of Jesus

Note: Bethlehem means "House of Bread"

Talk 7. What is the grace I'm seeking on this retreat?

To know Him, to love Him, to follow Him.

"See thee more clearly, love three more dearly, follow thee more nearly."

Hebrews 4: Word of God is living and effective.

What is forming our attitudes?

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St. Jerome

Romans 8:28 "God makes everything work for the good of those whom he loves."

At the time of St. Jerome, translating into Latin *was* the vernacular. Jerome studied Hebrew and Greek to distract himself from sexual temptations. What was Jesus like? Hebrews 2 - became like His brothers in every way. Hebrews 4 - Not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses... tested in every way. Hebrews 5:8 - He learned obedience from what he suffered when He was made perfect. He grew physically and emotionally and spiritually. Obedience perfected on the cross and in the garden of Gethsemani - He struggled!

Problem: All or nothing approach to faith and virtues. Reality is we're continually working on all these things. Act as if! Act your way into feeling. Virtues are acts of will - not a feeling! Dry prayer is very efficacious.

Two common problems (filled out from above):

1) All or nothing - thinking we're either brave or fearful, etc. when it's really by degrees.

Kind of Calvinistic, really, if you have faith you've got all the virtues in spades - you're saved!

But life *is* a struggle - We're continually (or should be) striving to attain these virtues.

2) Virtues aren't feelings, but acts of the will. Dry prayer through struggles is particulary efficacious.

Act as if! Act in the right way and the feelings will follow.

Remember Blessed Mother Teresa (I need to read this book!)

She felt only emptiness and darkness with regard to her relationship with God, but eventually came to love her darkness, accepting it as part of the suffering of Christ.

Talk 8. Lectio Divina

Imagine the scene as if we were there. "Talk" to people in the story, really enter into the scene.

The only way the virtues grow and develop is through exercise, and that's hard! Find an exercise you like.

Teresa of Avila - I never prayed without a good spiritual book n ext to me. She would pick it up whenever she needed inspiration, help with distraction, etc.

True humility is honest and gives glory to God. (c.f. our pastor - Remembering that God is the creator and we are the created.)

True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Putting the spotlight on God and on other people.

Try to imagine what Jesus thought and felt: joy, affection, impatience, anger, sorrow (all of our emotions, but with divine intensity). Jesus liked some people more than others - e.g. favorite disciples. Different than loving some people more than others. Love is not a feeling, but an act of the will.

e.g. Impatience is not a sin, but a feeling. What we do with it can be a sin.

The appropriate response to injustice is anger. There are things in this world which we're supposed to get angry about. The anger should energize us to right the wrong. Jesus wept. St. Paul cried.

Entering into t he mind and heart of Jesus. Think about getting into the part as an actor in a movie. Not what would Jesus do, what would he think or feel? How do things look to him.

Book Reference: In the Footsteps of Jesus by Bruce Marcciano

Read the Gospel, try to go deeper. Take on the mind and heart, thoughts and feelings of Jesus.

Talk 9. Definitive expression of God's love for us.

Becoming more aware of how much God loves us so we can love Him more.

Deus Caritas Est - True definition of love can be found in the pierced side of Jesus.

Who stood under the cross - John and a group of women.

Sources - A Doctor at Calvary, Video - How Jesus Died, "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ", from a medical journal.

Garden of Gethsemane - Jesus sweated blood (mentioned in the Gospel of Luke - remember that Luke was a doctor) - caused by great stress, leaves skin *highly* sensitive. Not just anticipating his death - Jesus was tempted in the Garden.

39 limit of scourging hits - he didn't scream, was silent, made soldiers more brutal.

Isaiah 53, Isaiah 52

Ecce Homo

The beam weighed 125 lbs. Was tied to his arms, he walked a disatnce of 650 yards and carried the cross across his shoulders.

Loincloth in deference to Jewish sensibilities.

Nails were through his wrist. No artery severed, but medial nerve hit - incredibly painful.

Crucifixion is a slow process of suffocation, which includes a need to push off of the nail through the feet in order to breathe.

Seven Last Words:

1. Father forgive them... (Luke 23:34)

2. This day you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)

3. Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.

4. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me. (Matthew and Mark) quoting Psalm 22

5. I thirst. Darkness? (John 19:28)

6. It is finished. (i.e. accomplished)

7. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (Luke) quoting Psalm 31

This is a related piece from Does Jesus Know Us? Do We Know Him (Von Balthasar) that I was reading at the time:

But it is quite possible to speak of the Son of God suffering what the sinner deserved, i.e., separation from God, perhaps even complete and final separation...

With every fiber of his being he clings to the God whose presence he no longer feels, because now, in the name of sinners, he is to experience what it means to have lost contact with God...

In the New Covenant we have the experiences of the saints. If genuine, they can only be interpreted as a gift of participation in the Son's forsakenness. John of the Cross, for instance, does not hesitate to describe the dark night of the soul as a kind of experience of hell. God has left the soul and it knows that this must be timeless and hence ultimate. Being truly forsaken by God always has this definitive quality: there can be no forsakenness 'for a time' or involving room for hope. Other mystics in this situation have felt, not only that 'it will always be like this', but 'it has always been like this': they experience a kind of eternity of this 'hell' from which no one can deliver them but God himself. And he has disappeared.

Again, it is unthinkable that people following Christ should have had to go through more terrible experiences than their Lord himself; their experiences can only be a muted echo of the unique and incomparable burden which the God-Man endured.

Physical suffering on the cross - suffocation, blood loss (racing heart, heart failed), shock.

Pierced side - blood and water. We come from the side of Christ! Blood - Eucharist, Water - Baptism

At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God's love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." He affirms that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many"; this last term is not restrictive, but contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique person of the redeemer who hands himself over to save us. The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: "There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer." (Catechism of the Catholic Church #605)

Christ suffered for all. We need to accept this love.

Talk 10. Happy Easter!

Every Sunday is a little Easter.

Risen body of Jesus still had the wounds.

"Have you anything here to eat?"

Corinthians 1:15 - How are the dead raised?

John 20 - story of St Thomas (doubting): "My Lord and My God"

Think about Heaven - Hebrews 12 - Cloud of Witnesses - waiting to welcome us (the saints).

Who will welcome you? Who are you eager to meet?

No goodbyes in Heaven - one big reunion.

St. Thomas Aquinas on Heaven:

a. the person is united with God

b. compete satisfaction of desire

c. joyous community of the blessed

Good things on earth are little appetizers of the heavenly banquet.

1 Corinthians 2: What God has prepared for thsoe who love him. God cannot be out done. You cannot outdream God.

Pope Benedict on Engaging the Culture

2011-03-03T16:53:00.000-06:00

This is from Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times:

...to what extent do people still belong to the Church in the first place? On the one hand, they want to belong to her and do not want to lose this foundation. On the other hand, they are of course also shaped and formed interiorly by the modern way of thinking. It is the unfermented coexistence, with and alongside each other, of the basic Christian intention and a new world view, which leaves its mark on all of life. To that extent what remains is a sort of schizophrenia, a divided existence.

We must strive to integrate the two, insofar as they are compatible with each other. Being Christian must not become a sort of archaic stratum to which I cling somehow and on which I live to a certain extent alongside of modernity. Christianity is itself something living, something modern, which thoroughly shapes and forms all of my modernity - and in this sense actually embraces it.

That a major spiritual effort is required here I expressed most recently by founding a "Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization". It is important for us to try to live Christianity and to think as Christians in such a way that it incorporates what is good and right about modernity - and at the same time separates and distinguishes itself from what is becoming a counter-religion.

It seems to me that this has a lot of significance for Catholic homeschooling and for Catholic education in general. We make a deliberate attempt in our family to introduce our children to age-appropriate things in the culture (movies especially come to mind) that we can enjoy and discuss together, with a special emphasis on recognizing what is good (but naturally, noting what we have issues with as well). For the same reason I enjoy watching the Oscars with my high schoolers. I would love to hear what ideas you have for incorporating this important concept into your family's education.

Jesus of Nazareth, Part Two: Holy Week

2011-03-02T16:52:00.000-06:00

I am so thrilled to be in the process of reading the Holy Father's new second volume on Jesus of Nazareth. The book is published by Ignatius Press and will be released on Thursday, March 10th.

I loved the first book, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, which I reviewed on Love2learn.net. I led a discussion group on the book with some homeschooled teens that proceeded slowly through the book over the course of many months. I wrote a number of blog posts about the book and the discussion on my old blog. We also own the first book on audio, purchased especially for my teenage son, who plugs through complex material rather well when it's in audio format. I like to keep this audio on my iPod and re-listen to chapters here and there. It's that good.

I want to make very clear that the teens in my group and I as their leader all got a lot out of the book, but didn't pretend, or even really attempt, to understand everything in the book. We studied one chapter per week and tended to focus on the additional significance and meaning that Pope Benedict brought out of each of the Gospel stories. There were some tough vocabulary words here and there, but the process of understanding became easier as we encountered the words multiple times and were also aided by a very handy glossary in back (this second book also includes a glossary).

I just received my soft-review-copy of this new book yesterday, so I've just made it to the first segment that I'm permitted to talk about before the release of the book: Chapter 3, Section 4 on "the Mystery of the Betrayer" (in the midst of a chapter on the Last Supper). There are two things that caught my eye in this segment that I thought I'd share here. The first is that the pope interprets Jesus' words regarding his betrayer as something that also applies to some in the Church in the future.

So the psalm verse casts a prophetic shadow over the Church of the evangelist's own day, in which the Eucharist was celebrated, and indeed over the Church of all times: Judas' betrayal was not the last breach of fidelity that Jesus would suffer. "Even my bosom friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me' (Ps 41:9). The breach of friendship extends into the sacramental community of the Church, where people continue to take 'his bread' and to betray him.

Jesus' agony, his struggle against death, continues until the end of the world, as Blaise Paschal said on the basis of similar considerations. We could also put it the other way around: at this hour, Jesus took upon himself the betrayal of all ages, the pain caused by betrayal in every era, and he endured the anguish of history to the bitter end.

I'm always amazed at how reading Pope Benedict's writings (both before and after he became pope) challenge me - not only in forcing me to put in the effort to understanding, but also, in a more philosophical way, to expand the way I look at my faith and at the world through the lens of my faith.

The second piece that struck me is the concept of Judas' second tragedy and the idea of a wrong kind of remorse:

His second tragedy - after the betrayal - is that he can no longer believe in forgiveness. His remorse turns into despair. Now he sees only himself and his darkness; he no longer sees the light of Jesus, which can illumine and overcome the darkness. He shows us the wrong type of remorse: the type that is unable to hope, that sees only its own darkness, the type that is destructive and in no way authentic. Genuine remorse is marked by the certainty of hope born of faith in the superior power of the light that was made flesh in Jesus.

Powerful stuff! I think both of these passages help illustrate how much we should look on the Gospels, and an illuminative study of the Gospels, as something comprehensively relevant to our lives today.

On Devotion

2011-02-24T16:50:00.000-06:00

Lately it seems like everything's been coming up St. Francis de Sales, and his classic book Introduction to the Devout Life in particular. It's a book I've been curious about for a long time. I think my big sister (and godmother) gave me a copy in college. But I never read it.

Anyway, in recent weeks, it came up not only in this great blog post from Conversion Diary - 4 Ways to Place Yourself in the Presence of God - but also in conversation with several different friends and one memorable homily. So I cracked it open yesterday.

I've been really happy with the spiritual director I've been working with for about a year now. I've had spiritual directors before, but they never really worked out for me. I've learned that it makes a big difference having one specifically trained in spiritual direction (I didn't even realize that there was a distinction until this last year). This spiritual direction is extremely helpful for me, but I find that I'm still catching up on some of the details, like a sense of what living a good, balanced life should look like and even, at times, finding the words to talk about what's going on in my prayer life and things like that.

I'm only a few pages into the book so far, but it looks like it will be extremely helpful. These paragraphs spoke volumes to me on what exactly the concept of devotion means.

As there is only one true devotion while there are many imitations, unless you know how to recognize the true you may easily be deceived and waste your time in pursuit of what is merely false and superstitious...

One who is bent on fasting considers himself devout on this account even though his heart is full of bitterness. He fears to moisten his tongue with wine or even water, in the name of sobriety, yet does not hesitate to drink deep of his neighbour's blood by calumny and detraction...

Another cheerfully opens his purse to give alms to the poor, yet will not open his heart to forgive his enemies; another will forgive his enemies yet will not pay his debuts until forced to do so by the law. Such people are often considered devout though they certainly are not...

Real living devotion, Philothea, presupposes the love of God; is in fact that very love, though it has many aspects. In so far as this love adorns the soul and makes us pleasing to God it is called grace; in so far as it empowers us to do good, it is called charity; when it is so perfect that it moves us, not merely to do good, but to do good carefully, frequently and readily, then it is called devotion...

In fact, then, devotion is nothing else but that spiritual alertness and vivacity which enables us to co-operate with charity promptly and wholeheartedly; and as it is the work of charity to make us keep generally and universally all God's commandments, so it is the work of devotion to make us do so promptly and diligently. No one, then, who fails to keep God's commandments can be counted either good or devout, for to be good one must have charity while to be devout one must not only have charity but practise it cheerfully and with alacrity...

In conclusion, then, charity is to devotion what the fire is to the flame, for charity is a spiritual fire which is called devotion when it breaks into flame, which, added to charity, makes it ready, active and diligent not only in keeping God's commandments but also in practising the heavenly counsels and inspirations.

7 Quick Takes Friday (from 2/18/11)

2011-02-18T14:12:00.000-06:00

1.

Frank finished the Bob Books last night! Funny thing is he accidentally started the last set of Bob Books from the end, so he did the hardest four or five books first and then went back in order. So last night he cruised through the middle five that were left. We called everyone up to listen to the last page, caught it on video, brought the bag of completed books up to the attic and then went to Culver's to celebrate. Yum!

2.

I can't believe I still haven't given a Latin Convention update. We're still missing the official transcript of scores, I just have the notes I quickly jotted down during the awards ceremony. (The awards ceremony gives the top 5 placements for each event whereas the transcript goes all the through the top 10). Our Gus had a great first year and we're really proud of him. He's always had some learning challenges (which I wrote about a bit on the old blog) and one that still lingers is that his handwriting and fine motor skills tend to be slow going. There were a total of 12 written tests he could have taken. He was only able to finish seven in the time given. Out of those seven, he placed in the top 5 on four tests! 5th place in Roman History, 4th place in Latin Derivatives, 3rd place in Greek Derivatives and 1st place in Latin Literature! He also tied with one of his teammates for 2nd place in Impromptu Oratory. This is a lovely confidence boost for all of us and has helped me to understand that what we've been doing is really working pretty well on the whole (and more of the same at this point is good)!

3.

I really enjoy watching the Oscars every year. Do you? Sure I groan at some of the speeches and other oddities, but I enjoy a lot of the "little guy" moments, I love the tributes to those who have died in the past year and things like that. Also, I simply enjoy rooting for my favorite movies. This year I've seen four of the movies nominated for best picture: The King's Speech, True Grit, Inception, and Toy Story 3. Even among those, The King's Speech is a huge favorite for me. I let my highschoolers watch the Oscars with me and then I call all of the kids (who are in earshot) in for key moments, like Pixar Movie Moments. ;)

4.

A few weeks ago I purchased Secrets of Mental Math from The Teaching Company when it was on sale (all Teaching Company courses go on sale substantially at least once per year - we purchased this set for about $40). I thought it might make a nice break from the regular routine and give the kids a more enthusiastic angle on math. The course has exceeded my expectations and the change of pace has been wonderful, especially in February. All of the kids are interested in it and are following along pretty well. They've been doing each lesson 3 or 4 times to pick up all the details (they also pause it frequently - the guy talks fast and covers a lot of stuff!). Overall an enthusiastic recommendation so far! We also picked up the Joy of Mathematics, but haven't really dug into it yet.

5.

We're having a lovely reprieve from the ultra-cold weather this week. It's been lovely and the kids have spent lots of time outside, despite all the mud from the melting snow. During the coldest weather, the kids weren't spending much time outside and the dog wasn't getting enough exercise. She has the run of a bunch of the yard, but without some stimulation from people, she tends to just go outside and bark at the neighbors. So the kids have been making a special effort to keep her busy. She LOVES the snow and will try to catch snowballs in her mouth to the great entertainment of all. They came up with a new form of entertainment this week. They took a snowball and got her attention with it and then smushed it into the top of a very large snowball (about two feet tall). The dog would get up on her hind legs and dig through the big snowball with great excitement. I have to see if I can find the video they took of it. Too funny!

6.

I've been meaning to read St. Therese's Story of a Soul for many years. I had a copy of the famous John Beevers translation on my bookshelf at least since college. Last year I ended up picking up an unedited translation from a rummage sale. After the Ron Hansen kick I've been on lately, I decided I needed something completely different (especially after Hitler's Niece, which is a VERY disturbing book). And so I thought of Story of a Soul and I did it, I finally read it. I should do a post on some quotes and thoughts from it, but just wanted to do a quick take for now. I was amazed by her confidence in understanding how God works in her life. I was also particularly moved, as I was by a description of St. Francis of Assisi on gratitude that I've quoted here in the past, at her ability to look upon sufferings, great or small, as a gift from God.

7.

I loved this piece on "The Cross of Christ for Marriage" that I read on Ana's Blog this week. It obviously applies to other friendships as well as shedding a new light on the idea of the cross. Beautiful!

Let Your Yes Mean Yes and Your No Mean No

2011-02-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, February 14, 2011 -

Don't you love this bit from yesterday's Gospel?

Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.

Can you imagine how much heartache, misunderstanding and general contentiousness could be avoided if people actually followed that?

I think it's an antidote to a substantial piece of what ails our materially prosperous modern culture. It's a pet theory of mine that when people lack genuine hardships in their lives, many of them have a tendency to fabricate their own hardships through complex interpretations and second guessing of what other people say and think and things like that (I am certainly guilty of this at times too!). If you're not fighting for your life or working your tail off, it's very easy to fall into hyper-sensitive self consciousness.

Besides keeping ourselves busy with worthwhile tasks, I think a necessary part of surviving our modern culture is to make a concerted and consistent push towards simplicity (and that this gospel is a great place to start).

What do you think?

Sweet Victory!

2011-02-06T14:08:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, February 6, 2011 -

We had a fun little Packers party here tonight - about 20 people in all to watch the Superbowl. The kids made homemade green and yellow decorations (most prominently a huge green and gold paper chain that hung across the room behind the TV). Everyone brought food and goodies.

Frank had the idea to make a bunch of paper airplanes and hand them out to everyone to throw in the air at each touchdown. It was quite a nice touch!

We started the tradition at the Championship Game of handing out sweets at every Packers' touchdown - we call them "victory sweets". Since there were plenty of desserts at our potluck, we handed one out at each touchdown (and one was left to celebrate the end of the game).

We cheered ourselves hoarse and tried to coax the Packers into rallies when things were looking tough - and I guess it worked. :)

One funny thing happened to me. We decided to start cutting up the second dessert in preparation for the next touchdown. I announced this to the crowd and then looked at the TV and realized that the other team had the ball. Oops! But no, right then, we got an interception AND a touchdown. Best "bad" prediction I've ever made. ;)

My husband, a former DJ in college, has a little "game" he likes to play at half-time. He turned off the audio on the TV and piped in music from the computer. We started with a little Gaelic Storm (Beggarman), while the Black-Eyed Peas and their backup dancers were gyrating all over. It was hysterical! Then he switched over to the Bangles' Walk Like an Egyptian, which was somehow exquisitely timed. We laughed ourselves silly.

So if anyone is curious what we had food-wise, here's a partial list:

Chili with fixin's

Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Hot Bean Dip

Chips and Veggie Platter with three more kinds of dip

Deviled Eggs

Cheese and Summer Sausage Tray (with crackers)

Homemade pickles

Rice Krispie Treats

Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Apple Crisp

Saying Goodbye to Bob

2011-01-20T14:05:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, January 20, 2011

I can't believe that we're in the process of retiring our Bob Books! For those who aren't familiar with them, they are very simple phonics readers that slowly add new word families, one spelling rule at a time, with each book. There are five sets with about 10 little books in each set. The size is just right to help keep the motivation moving. We've used them with all the kids and they've been a wonderful and quite essential part of our learning-to-read process with all of the kids. The thing is, once you read them once, you're pretty much done and move onto other things.

We first got these (only 3 sets as 2 sets were published after that) when Ria was four years old. The two additional sets came out just in time for Gus to use them and it was very helpful for him to have the extra practice. Frank is now, quite suddenly (we're on a roll!) half-way through the fourth out of the five sets and moving fast (at a rate of 2 or 3 books a day). We are very proud, but slightly stunned at the momentous occasion that is fast approaching. We give away a lot of our stuff when we're done with it, but I'm thinking these will go in the attic for now to be saved for other family members that might want to use them in the future. Thanks Bob! ;)

Baptism Day

2011-01-18T14:04:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, January 18, 2011

DSC_1994, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we went to this little fellow's Baptism (son of dear friends) on Saturday. Isn't he sweet?

First Mass!

2011-01-18T14:03:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, January 18, 2011

Fr. Ramos with two of his teachers from 7th and 8th grade, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Fr. Joseph Ramos, L.C. was one of my students when I taught 7th and 8th grade Math and History in a small independent Catholic school when I was first married - about 18 years ago. He celebrated his First Mass in Milwaukee on Saturday at St. Josaphat Basilica and it was lovely! It really hit me, how God permits us to be parts of others' lives (even small parts) even when we're not at all aware of it. He connects us all together in amazing and mysterious ways.

Father kindly agreed to pose with two of his teachers from that era. My friend and fellow teacher Elizabeth G. was also a classmate of mine at Thomas Aquinas College. It was quite amazing for us that this small school hired four of us from the same class at TAC. In those days, the school was housed in an old, drafty two-room schoolhouse. Remarkably, the school has thrived since those days, was able to construct their own school building 5 or 6 years later and now boasts 140 students with plans for a high school in the near future. It's really an honor to be part (albeit a small one!) of Father's and the school's "story".

Frank and the Angel

2011-01-18T14:02:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, January 18, 2011

DSC_2015, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This lovely angel is one of the holy water fonts at St. Josaphat Basilica in Milwaukee. It's a beautiful church with a fascinating history that we happened to visit TWICE on Saturday. We were there in the morning for the first Mass of a former student of mine from when I was teaching in a private school when I was first married and in the evening for the baptism of a friend's sweet new baby.

A few more pictures to follow...

Happy Links

2011-01-18T13:43:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, January 18, 2011 -

Effort to Restore Children's Play Gains Momentum

Wow, this is exactly what I needed to read this morning. Society's conventions put SO much pressure on us to NOT "be" what's described in the article. Thanks for the link, Karen! :)

Audio Liturgy of the Hours Podcast

I am also delighted to have stumbled upon these free audio downloads of the Liturgy of the Hours on my friend Robert's blog, Classic Catholic. I have a blind sister-in-law who's been looking for a good audio of this for years.

And as an aside (because I wasn't actively blogging when this came up) some might find it useful to know that Apple's iPod has a built-in text-reading option for the blind. In an age in which the visually impaired population is seriously under-served (there are only a handful of DVDs that offer descriptive video for the blind, while close-captioning for the hearing impaired is practically ubiquitous), it is refreshing to see this available as a normal feature rather than a special purchase. Kudos to Apple!

More info about these accessibility features:

Apple's Accessibility Page (check out the VoiceOver section)
Accessibility For iPhone And iPod touch: A Blind User's Review

Okay, and speaking of audios, we bought Gus this new dramatized audio New Testament for Christmas and we're all enjoying it very much. It's beautifully-performed (with A list actors like Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, John Rhys-Davies and Julia Ormond) and unabridged along with being a great Catholic translation (RSV-CE, sometimes known as the Ignatius Bible). I hope to have a review up a Love2learn in the next few days. In the meantime, here's the link:

Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible

Also available from Ignatius Press in a special package that includes a bonus CD from Steve Ray.

Sample audio clips are available on both websites listed above.

Christmas Wrap-up for Twelfth Night

2011-01-05T13:41:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, January 5, 2011

DSC_1754, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Okay, I know I haven't posted in something like two weeks - eek! I've been doing too much basking in new board games, reading interesting books and working on various projects and such. It's really been a very nice Christmas.

Here, at long last, is a picture of our Christmas tree - a 10 foot tall artificial tree that we saved from the dumpster at church. Well, it didn't *quite* make it to the dumpster, but it was about 10 minutes from getting there). I think it turned out rather nice and wow - it really makes the room look good.

Speaking of the room looking good, we had a really ugly old sectional in this room for years and I was really fed up with it. Two days before Christmas, John and I decided to head to the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store to see if we could find something a little better. We found two couches with relatively coordinating plaids (shown in the picture) of a rather high quality AND all the furniture was 50% off, so we got the two for about $50. Yippee!!!

One more funny thing happened with that St. Vinnie's trip. I was talking to John about Christmas presents on the way there and mentioned that I thought we needed a little something more for Frank. I even mentioned that Frank had told me he really wanted a Nutcracker but had forgotten to put it on his wish list. Well, in the store, right on top of one of the pieces of furniture where we were browsing was a huge, beautiful Nutcracker! It was very reasonably priced at $3.99, but all of the Christmas stuff was 80% off, so I think we paid about 80 cents for it. I do have a picture of that somewhere that I'll try to post too. He ended up identifying it as his favorite present of the day.

I'm always so glad to have twelve days to celebrate Christmas, which was especially evident this year, the first year that John and I and Gus sang with a choir for midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. We also hosted a big jolly gathering on Christmas Day as usual. It was all beautiful, but somewhat hectic, and so I even more appreciated having some quieter days afterwards.

I saw two movies at the theater over Christmas time, both of which I really liked. The first was Tangled - Disney's latest princess movie - based on the story of Rapunzel. It was a little violent in one scene for the youngest set, but on the whole I loved it. It was, quite seriously, one of the most profound animated films I've ever seen. And besides, the music is great.

A few days after Christmas we took the family to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When we got there, we realized it was a 3D showing, which I really wasn't interested in. So John took the kids to Narnia and I saw The King's Speech. It's a great movie - excellent in quality and a fascinating story. It is rated R for language, but it is appropriate to the story and I think it's a fine film for older teens and up. It's the true story of King George VI of England, the one who took over when his brother abdicated the throne to marry a divorced woman. What I didn't know until hearing about this film was that King George had a terrible stutter. Couldn't manage public speaking a bit. So this is the story of his stutter, how it was overcome and why it mattered so much. The casting was *exquisite* - we recognized many actors from BBC/A&E's Pride and Prejudice and BBC's Brideshead Revisited. Okay, and it's only fair to mention that I went back and saw the movie a second time with John in tow and we both loved it.

I mentioned that we've been playing a lot of board games lately. I taught the kids how to play Risk last week. We played two games and that was about enough. It's a fun game, but can definitely be overdone.

We also played lots of Settlers of Catan, which is always a favorite and just tonight we opened a brand new game we hadn't tried before, but had heard of from many quarters - Carcassonne (not sure of the spelling). It's theme runs in a similar direction to Settlers (in so far as you build things and it looks sort of medieval), but it's a very different game and is quite a bit simpler in nature. We enjoyed it a lot!

We had our Three Kings' Day celebration last night. I know it's not perfect, but we figure if we can squeeze in something between the Sunday when Epiphany is officially celebrated and the actual date of January 6th, then we're doing pretty well. For Three Kings' Day in our family, everyone has a present for everyone else, though they're sometimes in clumps (for example, both Ria and Gus had a single present to give to all of their siblings together). The kids gather a few things on their own, but mostly I collect lots of goodies (mostly from St. Vinnie's or from Target's after-Christmas clearance stuff) and have the kids come "shopping" in my room one by one. They wrap all of their own stuff and do jobs to pay for the goodies (most of which cost between 25 cents and $1). When we're ready to celebrate, we have a big procession around the house with the kids carrying the three kings from the nativity set, little boxes representing gold, frankincense and myrrh (that Gus received as a Christmas present from his godparents one year) and something to represent a star in front. We all walk all over the house singing We Three Kings and end up at the Christmas tree. It's a lot of fun, and I've found that it helps to ease the expectations of Christmas morning, because they know that's not the end of the story.

Ah, and as you can see in the photo, we did have a White Christmas! A Blessed New Year everyone! :)

This'n'That 1

2010-12-18T13:38:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, December 18, 2010

Been too busy to post much lately, especially on Friday. So instead of 7 Quick Takes, we have simply a random jumble...

St. Lucy's Day!

Last Monday (already!) was St. Lucy's Day. Our kids LOVE our St. Lucy's Day traditions of making special buns and having the kids serve it to us (and eat it with us!) in our bedroom early on the morning of December 13th. We usually use the recipe from the Kirsten American Girl cookbook, which is quite good! Unfortunately we've lost the cookbook for the moment and decided to make a compromise. Terri baked Karen's St. Lucia Bread which seemed to work out quite well (I didn't eat any because of my gluten problem). Though it was on a Monday, John had to go into work late because of a meeting, so we enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast (the kids make sausages and hot cocoa to go along with the bread/cake). Unfortunately the camera battery was dead, so we don't have any pictures. We spread a vinyl Christmas-decorated tablecloth on our bed and gathered all around it. It's a lovely tradition!

Keeping it Clean

We got a new washing machine this week. A number of my friends have been extremely happy with a simple model (the one with the agitator) from Fisher Paykel, so we decided to give it a try. It's a top-loading high efficiency and the price was quite reasonable. It wrings the water out so well that the dryer (a basic GE model we bought a few years ago) is actually keeping up with the washer. The nicest part about this, aside from the fact that we might actually be able to keep up on the laundry, is that it looks like I'll get a chance to reduce our overall quantity of clothing as well. When you get behind on laundry, you end up needing more stuff and it easily becomes a vicious cycle.

Concerning Very Tall Trees

A few years ago we switched over to an artificial Christmas tree because of allergies. There were some tears from some of the kids, though, both because it wasn't a real tree (and there's nothing quite like a real tree!) and because the artificial tree was really small. Only five feet tall, but also pathetically skinny... we've been making do. This week because our parish is switching from having two Masses on Christmas Eve at the same time (one in the Church and one in the gym) to adding an extra Mass in Church, they were getting rid of some old, enormous, artificial Christmas trees that were no longer needed for the gym. We decided to give one a try - somewhat hesitant because they looked just awful, though it did have a nice sturdy-looking stand. We found a corner of the sunroom that was tall enough and got to work. It was a real mess - there were severed branches, branches extremely tangled with each other and a mess of lights tangled with the whole thing - partly from previous usage and partly to simply the hold the thing together. After quite a few man-hours, we got the mess untangled, reattached the severed branches, reshaped all of the branches (it was clearly a very nice tree once upon a time), added 1400 white lights (and it's still not quite full!), 100 unbreakable red bulbs and all of our odd collection of ornaments that we could find. It looks spectacular! Once I get around to recharging my camera battery, I'll try to post a picture. The kids are ecstatic about the new tree! :)

Books in Progress

As usual, I'm in the middle of reading quite a handful of books (none of them kids books at the moment, by any means, but all by Catholic authors). I started Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain and got distracted with Ron Hansen's Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which is quite fascinating and extremely well-written. I saw the movie first (which is quite good, but very psychologically intense, just so you know!), but it has so many missing pieces compared to the book - lots of exploration of the background and environment that created the legend. He's not at all "moralistic" about these topics, but just starkly brings them to light.

Advent Update

Advent stuff is going pretty well. We sit down to dinner *at the table* and light the advent wreath most nights. Jesse Tree usage has dropped off considerably this week and the kids catch up on the Advent DVD in chunks every week or so. One thing that's been going extremely well, is a new idea (we've been using it for two weeks, I think. We were getting into a slump school-wise and really needed to move in a different direction for awhile) that I'm calling "Advent School". We dropped our regular school schedule and I made a new list of things for the kids to do each day... (They have to check with me about how much of something qualifies).

Prayer
Read something fun and something religious each day for Advent/Christmas
Art for Advent/Christmas
Making Christmas Presents
Baking/Cooking
Clean House
Decorate House
Work on Christmas Music
Work on Memorizing a Christmas Poem
Earn 5 pieces of Straw Each Day (for a good deed or a helpful job)

Naturally they're also listening to lots of audio books like they usually do.

When someone joins me for Daily Mass, they automatically get two items on the list taken care of - prayer and 5 pieces of straw. Whatever it takes to motivate! Also, the Christmas Music has been a big part of our lives lately. Seven of us (everyone in the family but Frank) are in choirs that are working on Christmas Music (three of them are in two choirs!) and so it's been sounding a lot like Christmas around here for quite a few weeks already!

My Two Favorite Christmas Movies

2010-12-14T13:36:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, December 14, 2010 -

"Star in the Night" is a lovely Academy Award winning short film (about 15 minutes long) that can be found in the special features of the Christmas in Connecticut DVD (the one with Barbara Stanwyck). It's a Frank Capra-esque humorous, but profound, sort of retelling of the Christmas story in a modern setting. The similarities are treated in a cute and funny way, to make us laugh, but the heart is in the backstory, which I'd rather not spoil for you. It's very cleverly written, with exquisite acting and should be a delight for the whole family. I've seen the DVD in a number of discount racks - it's very inexpensive - and this short is well worth the price of the whole thing!

Highly recommended - this movie has a very classic feel to it, but isn't very well known.

You can read a little more about the film here: Star in the Night - Wikipedia.

Joyeux Noel is a foreign film (filmed in at least three languages - English, French and German) based on the amazing true story of the Christmas Eve Truce of 1914. This is not a children's movie at all, but with a little editing, it does have some incredibly beautiful scenes which could perhaps be shared with your family at Christmas.

World War I was a brutal war and the movie rightly gives some of this context which gives more meaning to the truce. We are introduced to a Scottish priest and two brothers who all serve on the front lines, to a French lieutenant who hasn't heard from his pregnant wife - behind enemy lines - for months, to a German officer and to a German soldier and his Danish wife (who are both opera singers) and other interesting, minor characters on each side who come together, partly through the gifts of song and of faith, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and celebrate and bury their dead together.

The film is beautifully made and very moving, but there are many elements that are inappropriate for children - particularly the violence of battle scenes, a brief bedroom scene and a rather disturbing interaction between an emotionally broken young man and his dead brother.

One of the most beautiful and understated scenes I've ever seen in a movie is contained in the opening scene. After a brief introduction giving a sense of the indoctrination of hatred stirred up in the days leading up to the war (particularly in the schools), we find the news of war traveling all the way to rural areas of Scotland. The scene moves to a Church where a priest is lighting candles and and a young man is working on painting a statue. His older brother storms in to ring the Church bells, ecstatic that "something's finally going to happen around here" because they're going to leave for war. The brothers leave and the wind from the door snuffs out the candles. We're left with only an expression on the priest's face that says everything. (To me, he seems to say: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.")

From what I've read about the real-life Christmas truce, the filmmakers went to great lengths to portray it accurately (if at times representatively) and I was impressed with how much acknowledgement this non-believing director (from what I've listened to of the commentary so far) is willing to give to the Faith in general and to the priest in particular, who clearly sees all of the men from both sides of the trenches as belonging to his flock.

Beautiful!

Frank the Defender

2010-12-12T13:34:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on Chez VH, December 12, 2010 -

Bad guys and monsters shall surely flee...

The Trading Cards Are Here, Part II

2010-12-02T13:23:00.000-06:00

Originally published on Chez VH, December 2, 2010

Above are Bernie's creations (she's 10). We have St. John Vianney, St. John Bosco, St. Gregory the Great, Venerable Pope John Paul the Great and St. Philomena

Below are the ones she received yesterday... St. Therese, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Jesus, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Patrick

Above are Kate's creations: St. Francis of Assisi, Mary, St. Joseph, St. Gertrude, St. Patrick

Below are the ones she received: Mary, St. Helen, St. Edmund, St. Patrick and St. Zita

Above are Frank's drawings. We have St. Michael the Archangel,St. Genesius, St. John Bosco, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Francis de Sales

Below are the ones he received: Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, St Paul, St. Sebastian, St. Joseph and St. Francis

A thousand thanks again to Kimberlee and family for this beautiful and fun project!

The Trading Cards Are Here, Part I

2010-12-02T13:21:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to Chez VH, December 2, 2010 -

As I mentioned in this post, all of the kids participated in the beautiful All Saints Day Artist Trading Card Swap (click through to get their story on the whole project) sponsored by the good folks from Pondered in My Heart. Our cards arrived today and boy were the kids ever excited! They were checking the mail every few minutes and I got a lovely glimpse out of an upstairs window of the three youngest kids each skipping down the driveway waving an envelope (we sent our cards in batches of two in business-sized envelopes).

Here are both sets of cards for each of the kiddos.

Ria (homeschool graduate and college applicant, age 17):

Here are the cards she drew: St. Edmund Campion, St. Anne Line, St. Adelaide, G.K. Chesterton and Venerable Pope John Paul the Great

She received the following cards: St. Padre Pio, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Josemarie Escriva

Gus (age 15) drew the following: St. Gregory the Great, St. John Bosco, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Pius X, St. Genesius

He received: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Martin de Porres, St. Agatha, St. Thomas More

Terri (age 12) drew the following: St. Cecilia, St. Genevieve, St. Philomena, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

She received the following: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa Benedicta 0f the Cross, St. Elizabeth, St. Maria Goretti and St. Juan Diego/ Our Lady of Guadalupe

to be continued...

Preparing for Advent - This Morning

2010-11-28T13:16:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on Chez VH, November 28, 2010

This is usually how it works for us. We have a LOT of stuff going on before Thanksgiving (like the Library Tree) and then we tend to go away for the entire Thanksgiving weekend. We get back and, bam, Advent is upon us. For this reason, I HAVE to keep my plans reasonably simple AND not allow myself to get stressed if things don't go perfectly or if I don't get everything started on day one.

My kids are all sleeping. They probably will be for awhile since we got home late last night AND Frank was sick during the night. So I'm making my plans to get Advent going this morning. I feel like I already have a jump start on our usual plans since I did manage to pull out the Advent volume of the Liturgy of the Hours for last night's Evening Prayer.

Here's what I hope to get done this morning:

1. Pull out our manger and leftover paper straw from last year.

My description of our manger tradition made it to Conversion Diary's "Baby Steps for Celebrating Advent" (which is a lovely collection of simple ideas!):

We have a simple wooden manger my father-in-law made for us years ago. It goes with an inexpensive baby doll. We cut up strips of yellow construction paper and the kids put a piece into the manger when they do a good deed. Baby Jesus arrives on Christmas Eve to a nice cushy manger.

And it really is the first (as in the most important to us) thing I think about setting up - even before the Advent Wreath.

2. Set up our Advent Wreath AND buy candles from a reliable local source (we'll be heading there today anyway). This also involves putting a few leaves in the table that we haven't been using for dinner lately (we usually eat around the kitchen counter, which has a lower counter for eating at).

3. Pull out the pink and purple construction paper so the kids can make their Advent chains.

4. I may or may not get some of the books and our Advent DVD pulled out while I'm getting the rest of the pieces together.

What I'll probably get to later:

1. Take out our Jesse Tree ornaments and put a Bible on the mantle for easy access to read the readings. We're always a bit hit-and-miss on this one.

2. Put the Nativity set stable out with the pieces that would be there initially - like the shepherds and animals - and place Mary and Joseph at the other end of the house to start their journey.

Later Still:

We get some things set up in time for special days during Advent. Our most consistent days for celebration are: St. Nicholas Day (hang stockings the night before), the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (get to Mass, bake a cake), Our Lady of Guadalupe (try to get to Mass, have a yummy Mexican dinner) and St. Lucy's Day (the kids pretty much handle this one by baking late into the night on the previous night and waking us up early with breakfast in our room the morning of).

These are some lovely free print-outs I'd like to put together for our two youngest readers:

My Little Advent from O Night Divine

Jennifer also has a lovely collection of links and ideas here:

Advent from Family in Feast and Feria

P.S. The picture is of Frank posing with his Advent Chain last year. The chain has extra large links and makes Frank look like a midget! :) The kids cut and staple their chains themselves and, of course, take off one link each day until Christmas. They really love this tradition!

P.P.S. First child just woke up (8 year old Kate). I asked her if she knew what today was. She said, "Lent!". I waited for a second and she continued, "No, Advent!". I asked her what that meant we got to do today. She answered, "Make Advent chains!" She's working on it already. ;)

A Few Photos from our Seminary Tour

2010-10-18T13:13:00.000-05:00

originally posted to Chez VH, October 2010

The Staircase, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

I just love this picture. It's one of two staircases on either side of the main seminary entrance.

Staircase to the Cupola, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Does this look unreal? I have to admit that I was a little hesitant to climb it. I convinced myself, because it's not as "bad" as the Holy Hill tower, but then again, this one is wooden and there's just so much *space* around you! It was well worth it. :)

A Step Back in Time, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Okay, last picture, I promise. I do have a few more shots on flickr for those who might be interested.

We just loved this old gym at the seminary. Looks like something out of an historic sports film (I'm thinking of Hoosiers in particular) - and it's still in use! Gorgeous!

A Perfect Day

2010-10-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

Originally posted at Chez VH, October 17, 2010 -

Cemetery at St. Francis Seminary, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

It wasn't a perfect week, mind you. We worked way too hard last weekend (and before that) in the midst of a bad cold to get our house ready for an appraisal that was extremely disappointing. And, well, there were other things too, but it's more fun to tell you about the good stuff. ;)

The good part started on Friday afternoon on my way home from a doctor's appointment (where I found out that, in fact, I did NOT have pneumonia - hurray!) when I dropped by the library of a neighboring community to check on a book. You see, we had just received a letter that day stating that the book was assumed lost and that we would be expected to pay for it. We had been, in fact, looking for it for a long time and I had begun to suspect that it was sitting on the library's shelf. It was and I was such a happy camper that I stopped by a grocery store for a treat on the way home (since all of the kids had been looking for the book for awhile even though it wasn't their fault). It's not so much the cost of the book as the joy of knowing that, in the midst of all our chaos, we still can keep some important things, like keeping track of library books, somewhat in order.

So, that was an excellent start to the weekend, but I was still feeling sick and way over tired (had only gotten three hours of sleep the night before). John and I decided to rest in front of a movie in our room. The kids decided to play restaurant and thus bring us dinner (Ria was also a "guest" of the restaurant, they brought her food while she relaxed in front of the computer). We were presented with personalized menus a little later and placed our orders. Mine was an appetizer sampler (we asked for one of each of the appetizers - apples, crackers and cheese and deviled eggs), a salad with blue cheese dressing and apples and crustless quiche.

After we placed our orders with head waitress Terri, Kate and Frank came in and announced to us (taking turns saying each word): "This." "Is." "The." "Giants." "Restaurant." (I've obviously been raising them right in the baseball department.)

Although it was a bit chaotic, we were treated to a wide variety of food, which was just what I needed to get a good night's sleep. (Slept nine hours that night!)

Saturday morning, John and I made it to Mass (the feast of St. Margaret Mary - which included an excellent sermon on her role in the church), which was really nice. Then he took Ria for a long driving-practice outing to the bookstore and they got a nice father-daughter visit in at the same time. Gus had a high school boys outing at the seminary for a long afternoon and evening (capture the flag, Mass, dinner, etc). When we dropped him off, we decided to try to say hello to our "adopted" seminarian (who was stationed at our parish last year and we got to know well because we had him over for dinner and English practice regularly - he's from Colombia). He was pleased at the surprise and gave us an in-depth tour of the seminary and grounds. It's a gorgeous place with amazing staircases - including a crazy winding one that goes up into the cupola of the dome (which he was not willing to climb himself, but we all did) and a perfect fall day for exploring the grounds - including the old cemetery.

I'll have to put up a few more pictures after this post, because it was an incredible place to visit (and John got some really neat pictures). (God is good! All the time!)

Then the rest of us headed to Trader Joe's and then to a perfect little beach along the lakefront where we had a picnic (and spent plenty of time at the playground as well) before we picked Gus back up from the seminary.

Oh, yeah, and could I have asked for a better baseball game last night? Go Giants!

Two Great Marian Books for the Month of October

2010-10-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

Originally posted at Chez VH in October, 2010 -

The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander

I've long had an appreciation for Catholic teaching on the redemptive value of suffering: that suffering isn't just meaningless and hopeless, but that, united with the sufferings of Christ, good will come out of that suffering. (What's not to like about that?) And yet, I really dislike the phrase "Offer it up!" I'm sure it was intended to be an exhortation of sorts - to encourage people to bring meaning and good out of the troubles in their lives, but so often it comes out as a simple imperative. And what we do with our sufferings is such a personal expression of our faith, that the phrase always seemed trite. To encourage someone else to believe these concepts of suffering takes a loving hand, not a commanding one.

This book offers that loving hand in a very gentle way and by means of Our Lady. Mary brought Christ to the world through her faith, love and humility and we are called to do the same. Here are a few quotes to give you the flavor of it:

Sometimes it may seem to us that there is no purpose in our lives, that going day after day for years to this office or that school or factory is nothing else but waste and weariness. But it may be that God has sent us there because but for us Christ would not be there. If our being there means that Christ is there, that alone makes it worthwhile.

(pg. 60)

We must be swift to obey the winged impulses of His Love, carrying Him to wherever He longs to be; and those who recognise His presence will be stirred, like Elizabeth with new life. They will know His presence, not by any special beauty or power shown by us, but in the way that the bud knows the presence of the light, by an unfolding in themselves, a putting forth of their own beauty.

It seems that this is Christ's favourite way of being recognised, that He prefers to be known, not by His own human features, but by the quickening of His own life int he heart, which is the response to His coming.

(pgs. 62-63)

If such is the beauty of the world to ordinary children, what must it have been to the Mother of God, when her whole being was folded upon the unborn Christ within her?

He was completely her own, utterly dependent upon her: she was His food and warmth and rest, His shelter from the world, His shade in the Sun. She was the shrine of the Sacrament, the four walls and the roof of His home.

Yet she must have longed to hold Him between her hands and to look into His human face and to see in it, in the face of God, a family likeness to herself

Think of that! But perhaps you cannot, unless you happen to be a young priest newly ordained, waiting for the moment when you will hold in your hands the first Host that you have consecrated at your first Mass.

...

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.

All other children born must inevitably die; death belongs to fallen nature; the mother's gift to the child is life.

But Christ is life; death did not belong to Him.

In fact, unless Mary would give Him death, He could not die.

Unless she would give Him the capacity for suffering, He could not suffer.

He could only feel cold and hunger and thirst if she gave Him her vulnerability to cold and hunger and thirst.

He could not know the indifference of friends or treachery or the bitterness of being betrayed unless she gave Him a human mind and a human heart.

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. (pgs. 72-73)

If Christ is formed of our lives, it means that He will suffer in us. Or, more truly, we will suffer in Him.

"And He was made man."

Our Lady saw at once what was meant in her case: supernaturally, He was made herself.

If He is made man in you, He will be made you; in me, me.

It is extremely difficult to lay hold of this fact. It is very hard not to think of a kind of mystical Christ just beside us, or just in front of us, suffering with infinite patience and joy, being obedient, humble, persevering, fulfilling His Father's will.

It is really difficult to realise that if He is formed in our life we are not beside Him but in Him; and what He asks of us is to realise that it is actually in what we do that He wants to act and to suffer. (pgs. 76-77)

I read this on retreat about a month ago (a silent, Ignatian retreat and my first retreat in 20 years - it was wonderful!) because my spiritual director had recommended it and I loved how it tied into the talks on the spiritual exercises and the book I happened to be reading alongside it - Does Jesus Know Us? Do We Know Him? by Hans Urs Von Balthasar.

Through the Year with Mary: 365 Reflections by Karen Edmisten

I love quote books. I've probably got 10 or 12 different ones on my bookshelf. They're lovely for browsing through, "chewing" on a little something (without getting overwhelmed by the whole) and have often lead to discovering new authors and new books of interest.

This is a lovely, simple little book of Marian quotations with very brief reflections (usually simple prayers) - one for each day of the year. The quotes are varied, helpful, encouraging and inspirational. You'll find the usual suspects of course - Pope John Paul II, St. Alphonsus Liguori (who are both particularly known for their Marian spirituality). You'll find quotes from an incredible variety of saints from the early Church Fathers through the most recently beatified (like Blessed John Henry Newman). Of course we also find snippets of wisdom from the Bible, traditional prayers of the Church and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These more traditional sources are nicely balanced with more modern voices, including Caryll Houselander, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Dorothy Day, a very healthy dose of G.K. Chesterton and a few living authors as well - like Archbishop Dolan, Edward Sri and Scott and Kimberly Hahn.

Karen, who is a convert to Catholicism herself, has a unique talent for making this book particularly accessible for those who haven't always had a close relationship with Mary, and so you'll many gentle, helpful quotes for Marian neophytes and non-Catholics. Several are from Martin Luther.

Thank you, my friend, for your lovely work on a beautiful book!!!

My New Blog...

2010-10-09T18:59:00.002-05:00

Can be found here: http://love2learnmom.wordpress.com

Please drop by and say hello!

I'm Still Here...

2010-10-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

But I've decided that Studeo has run its course. I'm thinking about starting a new personal blog to replace Studeo (which will not be on Blogger as the editing tools and horrible quantities of spam comments are driving me crazy - which is why I turned the comments off here awhile ago), but for now you can still find me at Love2learn.net and my mostly-quotes-and-photos blog, Love2learn Notebook.

Celtic Spring!

2010-08-12T22:41:00.000-05:00

Celtic Spring performed at two parishes in our area yesterday and today and they put on fabulous shows. It was a real treat to meet them and their concerts were absolutely incredible.

A few thoughts on the Feast of St. Laurence

2010-08-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

I heard with great interest in this morning's homily about St. Laurence of Rome (225-258 AD, martyr under the persecution of Valerian) that, because of his great work for the poor of the city of Rome (work with the poor is traditionally a role of special importance for deacons), his death sent shock waves through the pagan community at the time and a number of very important people, including several senators, ended up converting to Christianity as a result. And of course, his story has continued to inspire people over the centuries as well.

That's interesting in and of itself, but it also reminded me of a rather striking and challenging quote by Pope John Paul II that I happened to read last week in Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium:

Taking their cue from the Council, Christians can engage with the modern world and enter into a constructive dialogue with it. Like the Good Samaritan, they can also come to the aid of suffering man, tending the wounds that he bears at the beginning of this twenty-first century. Care for the needy is incomparably more important than polemics and denunciations concerning, for example, the role of the Enlightenment in paving the way for the great historical catastrophes of the twentieth century. The spirit of the Gospel is seen primarily in this willingness to offer fraternal help to those in need.

Our pastor exhorted us in this homily to try to be people who can inspire others, even in our own small ways. It makes a lot of sense to me that love tends to be more inspiring than argument. :)

Is Studeo Dead?

2010-07-24T18:16:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted here in almost a month and I've turned off the comments (been overwhelmed with spam lately). I *haven't* decided to abandon the blog, but I'm feeling rather quiet over here for some reason as of late (not the least of which has been the busyness of Kate's First Communion, Ria's High School Graduation, various speaking engagements and getting more involved at our local parish).

I have, however, picked up a bit again on my Love2learn Notebook blog on tumblr, and would love to have you drop by for a visit.

Another Cool Fireworks Shot

2010-06-27T21:15:00.001-05:00

DSC_8027, originally uploaded by Chez VH.