Leaving for Florida...

We're leaving for Florida in two days!! (Well, some of us are.)

We will be visiting my mother-in-law and I don't know if she has an internet connection, so I may be out of touch.

Anyway, hope to post a time or two more before I go, but if I don't get to it you'll know what happened.

Here is my thought for the day from Saint Josemaria Escriva:

"If you fall, get up with a greater hope. Self-love alone is incapable of understanding that an error, when put right, helps us to know and to humble ourselves."

Have a blessed day.

Happy Birthday Mary O.!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mary O.!!!! What a fun time we had tonight celebrating Dear Friend Mary O's birthday. It was a ladies' night out for dinner. The food was great, the conversation lively. We had a lot of good laughs, as you can see. I hope Mary O. and I didn't bore our other two friends too much with our enthusiastic discussion of the joys of blogging, why it's so much fun, how Jim met Suzanne, how it works, you don't have to know much about computers, etc. They may indeed have decided we're both nuts....smile

Anyway, happy birthday to Mary who often comments on my blog as "anonymous" but of course, I always know who it is. Thanks for inviting me to this fun party-night. May God bless you this birthday and for many, many more to come.

Jim Meets Suzanne!!!

Many of you have already seen this picture on Suzanne's blog. She took it at the Steubenville conference where Jim had the pleasure of meeting her in person!! I am so happy it worked out.

Sounds like it was a wonderful retreat and I can't wait to hear more about it from both Suzanne and Jim. Btw, Suzanne has a lovely montage of the retreat posted today....

Solemnity of The Birth of John the Baptist and the anniversary of the dedication of our church!!!

This is the interior of my church, Christ the King. It was dedicated 6 years ago. Someday, when I'm not so tired, I will tell of it's coming to be.

My son Jim from A Catholic Teen's Thoughts has just gotten back from his retreat at Steubenville where he met Suzanne from Sincerely My Thoughts!!!!!! I'm so happy they found each other!!! Sometime, Suzanne, you and I will meet too, I'm sure.

What a beautiful day today was!

Cool, sunshine-- just lovely. (My camera needs new batteries so I have no pictures :(

Swim meet this morning. Sat next to a warm and friendly mom from the country club we were swimming against. There was nothing in her manner to suggest any disdain for the little neighborhood pool we frequent. Nice.

Took care of some financial stuff with my father's estate. I don't understand finance. I am signing things that are rather confusing. I completely trust the professionals we are working with, but it's kind of unnerving. I like to feel in control and that is not at all the case here. (An opportunity to develop humility and greater surrender to God.) Don't worry. I'm not being stupid, though. I'm just learning about these things a little more slowly than the need to act on them.

The "O-family" came over for dinner along with three Notre Dame friends of my son. What fun that was. We had a simple spur-of-the-moment dinner with little planning-- the kind you have with sweet friends there is no need to impress. It was a peaceful, enjoyable time. We turned our amish table sideways so there was more room to expand, and added three or four leaves to seat 15 people. I love that table and the feeling of unity it brings when we can all sit together.

Lovely day. Another gift from our God who is so good.

One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

Wow, there is another fascinating discussion going on at Ukok's Place regarding the Catholic Church as the one true church. Deb just does a fabulous job of explaining the truth. She is a true evangelist. Check it out!

John the Piano Man

John's recital was a lot of fun. I told him he would never have a friendlier audience. Family, friends, relatives, former teachers, etc. everybody thought he was amazing. :-) This is a picture of his warm-up, before anyone arrived.

Our little reception at the concerthouse was nice too, although after driving all the way to Party Central to pick up little music-themed confetti I forgot to put it on the tables. Oh well, probably no one would have noticed anyway. What they wanted was the food. Several of my friends brought delicious dishes and we had a very nice spread.

So... thanks to the intercession of Saint Martha and others, the whole evening seemed a success. (It was not accomplished without sin on my part, however. I had a short time of raving lunacy. While looking over his shoulder grinning, my son James played for my benefit "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues," which was funny. Then Lizzie played "Cruella Deville," which was not so funny. Still, I got the message. Had to apologize a few times.)

It was a memorable time. A couple who had been at John's first piano recital came. Good friends, old and new, good music, good food....fun night.

Concert at Kerrytown Concert House

For those of you who may be reading my blog locally I must tell you that tomorrow night (Wednesday, June 20) my son John will be having his senior recital at Kerrytown
Concert House at 8:00pm. He will play for about an hour, Sonata 23 "Appassionata" by Beethoven, Ballade Opus 23 in G minor by Chopin, and Sonata in B Minor by Liszt.

We're planning refreshments for afterwards and I've been running all over, shopping for it, baking, planning, etc. You know, being Martha. But, let's not forget that Martha was also a saint. When I am planning something that involves entertaining or hospitality, I always ask for Saint Martha's intercession. I'm sure she knew how to put on a party. Don't you think? God bless her and may she pray for me.

Anyone who would like to come is cordially invited.

Fathers Day

This is the first Fathers Day without my dad. He is in a crypt in a mausoleum. This is the stained glass window at the end of the room. I went there today and took flowers. I wrote that we all missed him a lot and that he was a great father. My oldest son and I said a rosary for the repose of his soul.

Then we came home and celebrated fathers day with my husband. We went to an Italian restaurant. (above) We had to sit at two booths because we hadn't made a reservation. Oh well. At least we got in. Afterwards we came home and Daddy-o opened his presents. It was actually a very fun and peaceful today-- one of those rare opportunities to celebrate with everybody here (except my dad, of course...)

I hope you all had a Happy Fathers Day!!

The Real Presence

Wow, Deb at Ukok's place had a fascinating discussion going on with some Protestants on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.


I was so impressed with the skill with which Deb and Alexa and Suzanne, among others defended the Real Presence. Are you all studying theology? I know Deb is. Anyway, it's a great read if you haven't seen it.


The original post was about why Protestants are not to receive Communion in the Catholic Church. To my astonishment there were over 50 comments!!!

Rushing and Living Well....

It seems, at least for me, that it is difficult to live well when I am consistently rushed. It is when I am in a hurry that I forget to pray, forget to notice things that need to be noticed, and generally neglect to keep the priorities that I normally would. I need in my schedule breathing room, thinking room, praying room, and plenty of room to love those around me. The schedule can become a false god.

"Catholic and Loving It"

Andrew Salzmann is a 2005 alumnus of Notre Dame. Sabitha Narendran is a 2006 alumna of Notre Dame. (Yes, 2006!!!) Yeah, that makes her about 23 years old. Sabitha is the daughter of a Hindu father and a Catholic mother. I know her mother. I remember when Sabitha was born. Here is her first book. Four years at Notre Dame and she's "Catholic and loving it."

Who knew?

I have my copy but I haven't read it yet. I will comment more on it when I have. It looks like a great source of information on Catholic traditions. Mark Hart describes the book in his introduction as "a great resource for the young, single Catholic who longs for a deeper Church experience.

Congratulations, Sabitha. And congratulations to her mother and father for raising such a faith-filled capable daughter.

(I just checked Amazon for this book and it's not listed yet, so perhaps it is not out yet.

As John graduates....

Here is my third oldest just after his baccauleate Mass. He had played the piano for the Mass. How appropriate that the piano should be in the background of a picture of him. He lives and breathes music. He is the only teenager I have ever known who will only listen to classical music. Popular music bores him. He started Suzuki piano lessons at age four and what fun we had over the years as I attended each lesson and took notes. It's been a hold-onto-your-hats ride as his gift mysteriously unfolded and our house became filled with music...

Congratulations, John, as you enter this new and exciting time of your life. God is good.

Canoing on the "Mighty" Huron

Today my husband and I and our three youngest rented one canoe and one double kayak and canoed down the Huron River. It was about a one hour trip. the weather was perfect. Blue sky, sunshine, not too hot. It was so beautiful there were times it seemed hard to believe we were still in an urban area.

They were not expensive, I didn't think. For an Ann Arbor resident it was $19.00 for each craft. There was actually a small current so if you didn't even want to paddle you would still reach your destination.

It was a fun, peaceful afternoon with the family, doing something different.

Let's motivate Ruthann!!

Ruthann at Jabberwocky who rarely writes in her blog has written two new posts. I urge you to read them and offer her encouragement by leaving a comment.... Here is why Ruthann should continue to write in her blog:

She is an intelligent, creative person with interesting, insightful things to say.

She is a good mother with a great son to prove it. :-)

She is a good Catholic who could contribute to discussions on things Catholic.

She must enjoy the blogosphere because I know she is reading at least this blog sometimes...

I think she would like the momentum of writing every day once she got into the habit. (despite childhood experiences with journals which you can read about on her blog... I did the exact same thing with diaries when I was young.)

I think it would prove to be a creative and intellectual outlet for her as it is for so many of us.

She is a reasonable, even-tempered person and it would be nice to have more of such people writing.

She uses words in a clever way. I enjoy her writing.

She has wisdom to share and we could all benefit from it.

So....... go Ruthann!!!!!!!

4New x 2 Meme!

Mrs. V and Deb have both tagged me for the



4 New x 2 Meme!


Here is the jist: You have to share four things that were new to you in the past four years. Four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years. New house, new school, new hobby, new spouse, new baby, whatever. Then you have to say four things you want to try new in the next four years.



In the last four years:



1. I started my youngest two children in school after about 14 years of home schooling.



2. I experienced the death of both of my parents. (my mother 3 years ago and my father six months ago)



3. My oldest child graduated from college.



4. I started a blog!!!



In the next four years:



1. I would like to get my house cleaned and organized.



2. I would like to write a book.



3. I want to get in better shape and lose some weight. (I have experienced this before but I would like to experience it again:-)



4. I would like to experience a richer prayer life and a closer relationship to God.



I tag: anyone who would like to do this one :-)

Title Blending Meme

Deb from Ukok's Place has tagged me for this meme.


Here are the rules:
Blend two book titles together by using the last word of one title and the first word of the second title. If you want, you can blend the authors’ names too. Like this:


The Divine Comedy 0f Errors by Dante Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince of Tides by J.K Conroy
The Canterbury Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Geoffrey Blume
The Screwtape Letters to a Young Poet by C.S. Rilke and of course,
The Last Don Quixote by Mario de Cervantes.


Here are my attempts:



In Conversation with Dummies by Brad Fernandez


A Christmas Toad by Arnold Dickens


The Legend of Sleepy Leagues under the Sea by Washington Verne

A Wrinkle in the Blue Dolphins by Madeleine O'Dell


Cover Letters for a Soul by Joyce Lain of Lisieux


I tag the following (should they want to do it) and anyone else who is inclined:


Mimi

Jodi

James

Mary Poppins Not

Kate

Suzanne

Do as many or as few titles as you like and tag six people. :-)