I am so, so tired. but if I never write when I'm tired I'm apt to never write because I'm tired quite a bit, to be honest.

Went to a beautiful wedding today. Sarah and David-- two great Catholics. It was lovely. I love Sarah. She helped me drive out to New York once to pick up Mike. She was great company and I so enjoyed spending all that time talking and getting to know her. She's one smart, good woman and I'm happy she has married a very good man.

Liz has left for camp for a week. Monday is her birthday but we celebrated it on Friday.

Tomorrow is Zach and Anne's first wedding anniversary. We were having so much fun one year ago!!!! They went away for the weekend to celebrate.

My kitchen table is a mess. I'm sitting here looking at it and wondering why I don't just CLEAR THIS STUFF OFF. But I'm too tired.

Off to bed.

People Talking!

The other night, for no apparent reason, our power went out. There was no storm, no wind. We still don't know what was the reason.

My husband Mike and I started to take the dog out for a walk. Our neighbor, who is a bus driver, came home just as we were leaving. He told us that all the lights on this side of town were out. Even told us the intersection where the outage began.

We continued on our walk. Every neighbor we passed made eye contact and then started to talk. "Do you have power?" And then the conversation would continue, each person sharing what information they had.

We went to Meijer to buy some dry ice for the freezer. Sure enough, there were a few people approaching the ice boxes. We all looked at each other questioningly. Yup. Each one had no power. As Mike and another man pulled out bagged blocks of dry ice someone noticed that the price was per pound....and the bag felt a lot heavier than a pound. As we went through the you-scan line Mike turned around and confirmed for the other man. "Yup. It's fifteen dollars." The man smiled and nodded. Just as he had thought.

I said to Mike, "People are talking to each other." It was so pleasant. There was a feeling of camaraderie. We were all in this together. We were verbally linking arms. Neighbors talking to neighbors. Customers talking to customers. This is valuable. This is good. Talking to those we don't know well, or maybe even don't know at all, is a way of expressing Christian charity. It's a little thing perhaps. A smile. A kind word. It's a way of providing just a little bit of heart warmth to another. A way of recognizing Jesus in another.

With pillar candles left over from Anne's wedding lit in all the rooms on the main floor, the power came back on at about 11:00 PM. It was a relief. And it was a blessing to have had the gears of normal life shifted just a little bit.

Today is my sister's birthday. She is pictured below on the left. I'm on the right

This photo was taken waiting for the ferry to take us to Mackinac Island just a few weeks ago.

Maryanne was born when I was 8 years old. I've been crazy about her ever since.

The week we spent up north together with our families (and also my brother and his family) was really fun. We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. As one of my children once said, (I think it was Anne) "We almost laughed off our heads."

No one can make me laugh the way my brother and sister can.

Anyway, more about our trip later. Just wanted to say....

Happy Birthday, Maryanne!!!

May the Lord bless you and keep you now and forever!!!!

As I'm a little rusty from lack of blogging I'm just going to write here and there about what has been happening this summer until I can get a little more creative juice flowing :-)

Here we are, the whole family, celebrating John's graduation.... Above-- Mary and John.

Below-- Husband Mike and I....

Mike with his girlfriend...
Anne with my favorite son-in-law Zach...
Liz, Jim, and Mary....
Jim, Mary, and John the graduate...
This was a special day. It was special because of what we were celebrating....And it was special because everyone was there--- all my children. Anne and Zach were here from Atlanta. Mike came to town from Indiana.

There is just something very special for a mother when all her children are at the same table. At such times I can only smile with sweet contentment and think. "No one is missing. We are all here." Just love it. I know all you mothers, and mothers-at-heart, understand.

OK. I really want to get back to blogging. I have let this slip way too long. I like blogging. I think it's good for me. Forces me to put words together in a complete sentence. (Never mind the one I just wrote.) Teehee. All right. It forces me to put words together in a way that people can understand. Below is a photo of my oldest son's birthday celebrations. He turned 27. TWENTY-SEVEN!! Can you believe it.

Hubby Mike is on the far left, then Mike's girlfriend, followed by the birthday boy. On Mike's left is an old friend from grade school and high school who was able to join us. After that-- all siblings. Only my daughter and son-in-law were not there. (Since they live in the Atlanta area.)
Mike does not really like cake so I made him his favorite Dutch Apple Pie.

Where does the time go? I know it's a trite question but every year it takes on a deeper meaning.

Happy Birthday, Mike! You are a son who has brought his parents nothing but joy. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May you continue to live the life that the God who infinitely loves you has planned. God is good. All the time. :-)

Chris Wallace asked Michele Bachman: "Are you a flake?"

There seems to be a pattern developing in presidential politics.

When an attractive woman starts to yield some power even men who agree with her policies seem to feel the need to put her down in some way. There are numerous examples of this problem with the way Sarah Palin is treated in the media.

On Sunday Chris Wallace, after mentioning a few things Michele Bachman has said that perhaps should not have been said, actually asked, "Are you a flake?"

I'm sorry. I've watched Fox News Sunday for a long time and I don't think Chris Wallace would have asked a male candidate such a condescending and disrespectful question. After her excellent answer he fumbled to try to explain why he would ask such a thing and finally said,

"Do you -- do you -- and I think it's important to say that. But do you recognize that now that you're in the spotlight, in a way that you weren't before, that you have to be careful and not say what some regard as flaky things?"

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/transcript/rep-michele-bachmann-talks-earmarks-obamacare-and-gay-marriage-sen-kyl-debt-talks#ixzz1QaJoBTCh

Oh please. Chris. You are not speaking to a child. Please keep the sexism a little more under wraps. I know that as a Christian I should not be assigning motives to people. I'm sure that Chris Wallace did not say to himself let me see how I can belittle Michele Bachman. No. I think it was more the unconscious drive that some men feel to put down an attractive powerful woman.

I do not consider myself a feminist because of the gross distortions feminism has promoted in regard to the role of woman in our society and, needless to say, in regard to the sanctity of human life. But when a respected journalist on FOX treats a woman in a manner that he surely would never treat a man, something is wrong. Whatever his intent was, this is sexism.

I was appalled. I can't imagine what he was thinking. He should send her a hand written apology followed up by a phone call with no excuses about this being what some people are saying.

Just my opinion.

P.S. I guess Mr. Wallace did apologize by phone to Michele Bachman yesterday and she accepted his apology. Still, it raises the question of why there is this unequal treatment of candidates.

Algebra Memories

I'm sitting in the library catching up on some things while Liz meets with an algebra tutor :-). I'm still teaching her, but we meet with the tutor about once a week to further answer questions, teach her things a different way, and to clean up explanations of mine that just aren't working.

I used to be good at algebra, although I do remember quite a few times grabbing my friend Susan Andrews the genius (May she rest in peace.) and asking her to PLEASE explain this concept to me again. She was a brilliant woman and she could explain things better than any of the math teachers. Besides that, she was patient and kind and didn't mind my frequent requests for additional explanation. Of course, she was so good at boiling it all down it only took her about five minutes to sum up what the teacher had been confusing me with for an entire period. OK. Let me restate that. I had good teachers. It only took Susan about five minutes to figure out where my glitch was and to clarify. In my teachers' defense, it also would have helped if I had paid a little more attention during class and spent less time talking to my friends. The fact that I knew I could always fall back on Susan's laser explanations probably gave me permission to focus a little less in class.

Susan died a few years ago of breast cancer. She had become a doctor which was no surprise to me. She had also been my lab partner in biology. While I squeezed my eyes shut during dissections and moaned and groaned, Susan would just laugh and gently encourage me along.

May she rest in peace, my math friend and biology lab partner. Oh Lord, please remember the kindness she showed me and others. May she even now be seeing you face to face, praising the Author of all math and science.

Algebra Headache

I am helping my daughter with algebra this summer.

As a result, I have discovered that there is such a thing as an algebra headache.

It starts with a feeling that the brain is being overworked. Then concepts start to get a little foggy. The forehead starts to feel kind of full. Then there is a mild feeling of panic that seems to ascend from somewhere around the base of the skull. I know it's an emotion but it seems to accompany this physical sensation. Then you are distracted from the topic the grey matter is working on because the entire head starts to feel pressured.

Then... the actual ache starts. It's time for caffeine and motrin, and maybe even a little break. A funny or lighthearted activity is recommended.

I like to watch news shows in the evenings.

But I am tired of hearing about Casey Anthony's murder trial and Congressman Anthony Weiner.

What on earth is the fascination the press seems to have with these two very, very sad news stories.

Is it that this "news" is easy to come by? Maybe. But I think people must also be enjoying hearing about it. Maybe "enjoying" is not the right word.

Casey Anthony. OK. Pretty clear she killed her toddler. This is such a tragic case. So very tragic for everyone. It's a heart breaker. I don't need to hear about the latest thing Casey did in the courtroom. I don't want to know if she has cried, if she has gotten sick from looking at the remains of her daughter. You know? Is it morbid curiosity that causes people to want to hear the details? I have to admit it sometimes gets my attention. Then I think--is it good for me to watch this? Is this important for me to know? And the answer is NO!

Congressman Weiner. I am not in any way defending or making light of what he has done. In fact, I would put it in the category of perversion. Clearly the man is very broken. I thought his apology was well done. Now I think he should be left alone. We have the details. We know he has only been married for a year. Yeah. Another tragedy. The man's marriage and public service career is ruined. He is probably suffering from an addiction and now it appears he is getting treatment. Why not leave him alone now!!??!!

As most of my readers know, I am a very conservative republican. But I find the ongoing news coverage of this man offensive. Let him and his constituents decide if he should resign. Is it anybody else's business really? I find the endless badgering of Weiner to almost be in the category of bullying. He has apologized. He's been publicly humiliated. He has cried in public. Can't we give this fascination a rest?

Sorry. I just had to vent a little.

Sitting in the mall waiting for Mary's haircut to be finished....

Feeling happy that I have a new MacBook Pro to play with. Finally. I was really missing my MacBook (which was stolen...Lord have mercy.)

Going out to dinner tonight with three of my children to the restaurant where another son is working.

Hoping my husband's trip to Florida to see to things for my mother-in-law will go well. Hoping and, of course, praying.

Loving the grace from my hour of Adoration today. I love Adoration hours.....

Meeting Suzanne

There is just something very special about meeting a blogging friend in person. A few years ago I met Denise from A Catholic Matriarch in My Domestic Church . We were at the March for Life. In person, Denise was just as kind, gracious, intelligent, and well-informed as she is in her blog.

My experience meeting Suzanne from Suzanne's Shorelines was the same. Suzanne is just as dear, sweet, kind, warm and genuine as she is on her blog. And her smile is just as sincere and sparkly in person as in her pictures. Yup. That's really Suzanne. What a blessing from God that we were able to meet.

May we meet again. And all the rest of our blogging friends too. In the meantime, we still have these blogs and Facebook to keep in touch with. For all the dangers and hazards associated with the internet, this technology also enriches our lives, doesn't it.

Finally we meet!

For nearly five years Suzanne of Suzanne's Shorelines and I have been reading each other's blogs.

We've come to know quite a bit about each other. We have an awful lot in common. Truly, we are sisters in the Lord.

Today we finally got to meet each other in person. It was so strange, surreal as she put it, to be meeting for the first time someone I already know so well and consider a friend.

Suzanne was coming through Ann Arbor on her way back from a trip to Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan. Her sweet friends, Lynn and Karen, generously agreed to take the time to stop so we could meet and have lunch.

It was such fun. We just couldn't stop smiling. I was able to show Suzanne the little chapel at Dominos Farms where I often go for daily Mass. And she saw the outside of my parish church, Christ the King.
Finally. We were able to meet. We talked about our mutual blogging friends and the circle of great Catholic mothers who have become our e-circle of friends. What fun it would be if we could all get together sometime and actually talk and share in person! Something to think about. I would love it.

I'm meeting Suzanne!!

Suzanne of Suzanne's Shorelines is here in town and we will be meeting in less than an hour.

This is so totally cool. And so strange. I am meeting someone with whom I have communicated on a regular basis for some 4 or 5 years. Yet until just a little while ago, I had never even heard her voice. Reading each other's blogs, we know quite a bit about each other, our families, prayer requests, background, beliefs, etc. Suzanne and I have always been amazed at how much we have in common. She is definitely a spiritual sister. And now I get to meet her!!!

Later I will post the pictures. This is going to be fun.

Still picking the glass out...

I'm still picking the bits of glass out of the inside of my car.

John drove with me to Irving, Texas (from Ann Arbor, Michigan) to pick up Jim and bring him home for the summer. We had Jim all packed up and ready to head home. Our last stop before hitting the highway was the Cistercian Abbey where Jim's choir was giving a concert. We were in there for a little over an hour. The concert was just beautiful. They sang gorgeous liturgical pieces and Gregorian chants. It was inspiring. Quite a contrast to the feelings we would have when we arrived back at the car.

I said, "Is that glass on the pavement there?" Yup. It was glass all right. The driver's window was completely smashed in and the lock also pushed out.
They stole THREE laptop computers, a digital camera, a small suitcase, John's backpack full of his music, and a number of other items.

We were so stunned. I wasn't quite sure what to do next. After calling the police we called an auto glass place out of the yellow pages. Would you believe they arrived before the police? The police arrived a few minutes later. The window was repaired in about 20 minutes and we were on our way....minus several thousand dollars worth of cargo.

I had prayed we would have a safe trip. We did. What we lost was just stuff. Just stuff.

Lord have mercy on the people who did this.

Liz in her play...

Please bear with me as I post more pictures of my family so other family members can see them.

Liz played Lucinda, Cinderella's stepsister, in the play Into the Woods this weekend. If only my mother, the drama queen, could have been there to see her youngest granddaughter, who is her spitting image, playing this role. Somehow, I'm sure she did see it.....

Liz is in the light pink.

It was a very, very busy and fun weekend.

Graduation Pictures

The graduates entering "The Big House," (Michigan Stadium).

No, we did not start out wearing matching Michigan hoodies. We were dressed up. But it was so awfully cold on the metal seats. And the sun was not shining as had been predicted. So my husband very chivalrously went into the MDen and bought the three of us these sweatshirts.
The graduate with the pleased parents....

Here he is in front of Alumni Plaza, himself now an alumni :-)

Yup....a dream come true. Blessed be God!!

Congratulations, John!!! I can almost feel Grandpa's joy.....

Oh Happy Day!!

Some of you may remember when I posted the photo of this folder some two and a half years ago. I wrote of my joy that my son John had been accepted into the University of Michigan Music School. It was his dream to attend U of M and it was finally being realized....

Today he will graduate from the music school with a degree in piano performance. I couldn't be more pleased or proud. He has worked so very hard. I will write more later. I need to get to a meeting. But just had to post this very important news for our family :-)

More Florida Fun...

Turns out all ages can enjoy building a sand castle. My twenty-five year old initiated this architecture project.

Here it was in all its glory. By evening it had all washed away. A life lesson.
I find the Florida vegetation very interesting. This tree, which looked like a group of trees that had grown together (is that possible?) had an enormous diameter. My three girls could just barely hold hands around it.

What fun it was to be able to spend an entire week with Anne. We picked her up in Atlanta, went to Florida for three days, came back to Atlanta, and spent a few more days with her and Zach. Great fun.

You may be wondering what on Earth this picture is. It's my husband Mike's travel mug on our way home. And, no, he was not popping pills. But he was popping Good and Plenty candies. teehee. I thought it looked so funny I had to take a picture. It was a long way home. What can I say.

Beach Photos

Our family really enjoys the beach. There's just something about the salt water, the waves, the whitecaps. It's so dripping with the glory of God that His peace just feels all over it.

So we mostly spend our time in Florida on the beach.

Because my oldest daughter was able to rearrange her work schedule we were able to pick her up in Georgia and bring her with us! Such a joy because we all miss her so much. And my younger daughters have so much fun with her. I think the three of them spend probably half their time together laughing. I can't even keep up with the jokes.

We stopped at this little restaurant right across from the beach. Delicious food. Nice people.

And you can sit outside! Just where we want to be in Florida.
More photos soon.....:-)

Oh my word. I can't believe I haven't posted anything in nearly two weeks. I do still pray for the intentions of my e-friends. :-)

My girls are on spring break and we're in Florida visiting my mother-in-law. It's just beautiful here. The week before we left Michigan we had to scrape ice off the windshield in the morning every day. Here it's sunny and very warm. We're loving it. Walking the beach every day.

My little winter pansies froze solid every day last week. I mean the little leaves were stiff every morning. By afternoon they had thawed in the sun though. Not sure how long a plant, even a hardy one, can take that. I guess I'll find out.

I understand the day we return to Michigan will be 75 degrees. That will be lovely to return to. It is April, after all. It's time for a little thawing.

My daughter Liz was kind enough to come to McDonalds with me so I could use their wifi. I bought her some fries. If we're here long enough I suspect she will want a happy meal which I would gladly buy her. :-)

Hope you are all well. I do plan to start posting again regularly soon.