Labor Day!

So, for Labor Day, what did we do?  Slept in until 9am, ate a late breakfast and had a quiet day of relaxation.  I did have the boys take a redo spelling test from last week, but that was the extent of our work for the day.

We met our friend, Sam, at the local VFW for a BBQ dinner.  It is always nice to support the VFW because they do so much for the community.

Then we made our way to the mall (I hate the mall!) to look for a suit for Edward.  We started at Sear's bt ended up at JC Penney's for a three-piece suit that we both liked.  Edward is a hard shopper...only the best for him.  However, I did not want to spend a lot of money because I know he won't be wearing very often before growing out of it.  I did let him have the final say after choosing from our price range, so I think he feels good about it.  It was a special mother-son experience.

We followed that with a trip to Marble Slab!  This was something we have been trying to make happen for over a month.  I am so glad it all worked out to get there today.  Everyone got their favorites...from root beer floats to orange sorbet.  We all left happy!

We ended the day with a movie and popcorn at home.  If you have never seen 'Faith Like Potatoes,' it is a must see.  The movie is about a man in South Africa who gave himself to Jesus and was then called to witness to others.  He decided to take a leap of faith during a drought and grow potatoes.  All about placing your hope in God....and based on a true story.

I am so glad we were able to enjoy this day together.  Back to the grind tomorrow!

Top 5 Extra Activities This Week

So, this last week was busy with all our activities.  Here are the top five events that I did not blog about:

5.  We got Brendan into the periodontist to schedule his root canals.  He is a trooper as he actually loves going to the dentist (not my son in this regard!).  We just hope that he likes the dentist after the actual work is done in October.  I am a little concerned about this because Michael will already be back to work and I will need to do this solo.  NOT FUN!!!  We are already praying that the first appointment goes well, as he will need to go through this twice before he is done.  The older boys liked this dentist also because there was a touch screen computer in the waiting room.

4.  Michael and the boys did actually get back to the zoo on Saturday to see the new lion cub.  They enjoyed the experience even with the crowds of people who arrived to view along with them.  One other cool thing about the zoo trip was they learned about a baby sloth born that morning!  Maybe we can make it back to the zoo one more time before Michael leaves so they can see this baby also.

3.  We were able to FINALLY get all the thank cards (current gifts for Zaira) and birth announcements addressed today.  Maybe we will actually get to the post office sometime this next week to mail them off.  I also have some packages to mail that are WAY OVERDUE!  So I am very determined to make this happen.  Hoping the time does not get away from me again this week.

2.  Michael and I were given the privilege to read the Mass readings for the day.  I read from the lectionary frequently and feel so blessed when I do this.  Michael rarely has this opportunity.  So, for both of us to read on the same day was a double blessing!  I mentioned the readings were perfect lessons related to baptism in my blog yesterday.

• The first reading was from Deuteronomy 4: 1-8...which attests to the great nation given the commandments from a wise God.  I thought it was great that Fr. Paul talked about how we should not mess up a good thing by going against God's commandments.  We make God look bad by not remaining the nation deserving of these commandments.  
• The Psalm sung at Mass was from Psalm 15..."One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord."  Staying with the theme of keeping the commandments, we can see that staying connected with God can only happen if we keep his commandments.
• The second reading was from James 1: 1-27 (the first of 5 readings over the next few weeks).  This is one of my favorite books in the New Testament.  This particular passage is about receiving the blessing God has given us in his commandments.  The verse often noted from James, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves." is one of my favorites...going along with the idea that in following God's commandments there can not just be lip service.   Also, an awesome definition of religion is noted, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:  to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
• and to keep oneself unstained by the world."  This is the best tie into the baptism of the readings.  Our goal in life is to remain unstained by this world in order to remain with God in heaven for eternity.  Also, church buildings are not important as we are to go out into the world and help others.
• The gospel reading was from Mark 7:1-23 when Jesus calls out the hypocrites who perform acts of unrighteous cleansing.  We are to follow God's commandments and not man made laws.  Even following God's commandments should be done from the heart and not for show.

1.  This was hard to put as number one (seeing the toss up with number 2).  However, considering how Michael finishing his rough draft paper affects all of us in the house, I had to place it as number one.  As I mentioned in my first post, Michael is trying to finish his masters.  Finishing this course will put him at the half way point.  Besides, having this paper over his head has made him grouchy, which I understand completely.  He just needed to turn in his rough draft today.  He has three more weeks to tweak it and turn in the finished product.  Much relief in the house tonight when he hit the send button.

Zaira's Baptism

I thought I would start off this post by telling a little about what baptism means to Catholics.

"Baptism incorporates us into Christ and forms us into God’s people. This sacrament pardons all our sins, rescues us from the power of sin and darkness and brings us to the dignity of adopted children, a new creation through water and the Holy Spirit. Hence we are called and indeed are the children of God" (Christian Initiation: General Introduction, #2)

Jesus tells Nicodemus in the Gospel of John: "Unless one is born of water and Spirit, one cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (Jn 3:5).  The great commission of Christ to his disciples at the end of Matthew’s gospel (Mt 28:19): "Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". Thus there is an inseparable connection between faith and the acceptance of baptism.  Baptism is the very basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to the Spirit and the door to the other sacraments (CCC 1213) without which no one can enter the Kingdom of God.  The Church knows of no other means by which one is assured of entry to the Kingdom of God and so takes great care not to neglect this divine mission to teach and baptize.

The baptism is a sacrament and as such is the outward expression of an inward grace: a celebration of God’s faithful love, made primarily manifest in the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because it is a sacrament, it is a public celebration of the whole Church and it is upon this fundamental understanding that a proper baptismal liturgy must be built. Baptism is a sacrament of faith, but faith needs a community of believers. By Baptism one comes to share in the priesthood of Christ and in his prophetic and royal mission and having become a member of his Church one must profess the faith he has received from God and participate in the apostolic and missionary activity of the People of God (Lumen Gentium 11).

In the parents asking for their child to be baptized, we are asking God to give the ultimate gift of grace to our child.  We are also committing ourselves to provide a teaching of the faith for our child.  We do not take this lightly and must also seek the assistance of the community to help.  We do this by asking a couple to stand in our place should we not be able to fulfill our duties, due to death or illness.  We choose godparents to take our place in teaching the faith.  From its very title you can see that this role is connected with "God" and therefore belongs primarily to the realm of the spiritual and the holy.  The role is to assist the parents in guiding their child to know God and to belong to his Church in the fullest way possible.  They should be a model of Christian living through the practice of daily prayer, weekly attendance at Mass and an active and full participation in the life of your own parish.

The symbols of baptism are very important to show the reality that takes place within the individual that is being baptized.  The waters wash away sin and restore us to new life in Christ.  The new life is signified in the white garment, the oil of chrism that brings both healing and strength and sets us apart for the work of the Kingdom, and the lighted candle symbolizing that Christ and his Gospel has become in the words of the psalm a "light for our feet", guiding us along the road of faith.

All of this took place today at a little church in the woods.  We arrived early to help prepare for the celebration after Mass.  We also wanted to have plenty of time to dress Zaira in her beautiful baptismal gown.

The godparents we chose are very dear to our family.  It is hard to believe we barely knew them a year ago. Father Paul and Mrs. Key are true blessings to all who meet them.  Father Paul was a Presbyterian minister (from a long line of ministers) and he married the most gracious and faithful woman who happened to be a devout Catholic.  After many years, Father Paul had researched the Catholic faith and found the truth in her teachings.  Then he began the process of conversion, choosing to ask permission from the Vatican to become a priest.  He found his home in our parish not too long ago and we have been blessed to have his wisdom of years to teach us.  Mrs. Key was the strong woman who helped Father Paul in his conversion through teaching and mostly through prayer.  Michael and I knew that Zaira would need strong witness in her life and thought of no one better to take on this responsibility.

Not only did Father Paul take on this duty of godfather, but also arrived at the church today to be the main celebrant and give an impromptu homily.  This is why we knew we had the right person for godfather.  He was able to quickly change his homily designed for college students into a homily related to baptism and the importance of parents being good examples for their children (who are always watching).  He even talked about the importance of supporting our young adults at the college chapel.

After the Mass, which so beautifully included Zaira's baptism, we invited everyone to enjoy a lasagna dinner (a family tradition). We had about 20 people attend and we had a nice fellowship.  We were especially thankful for our friends Manuela and Colin for attending the baptism as well.

Fridays are always test days at our little schoolhouse.  Personally, I tell the boys get them done quick and enjoy the rest of the day!  In fact, I try to have fun activities planned for Friday afternoons.  But, my boys have not fully grasped this idea.  We spent much of the morning wrestling this big bear of a school day until I had almost given up!

I had hoped we would go to the library in the afternoon.  I wanted to return the much overdue books (we had not to the library since before Zaira's birth) we had  at home.  Also, my goal to start Brendan's pre-school program was dependent on finding FARM books!

Now I have to admit we had a little bit of a distraction this morning.  Seeing that hurricane hit so close to our path made me convince Michael to find a company to fix our generator.  I really did not want our generator busted if the power went out again.  We did not know exactly what was wrong with it but knew the battery did not look good.  So, we had a man come check out the damage (praying it would not be completely ruined.  He arrived right as we were really getting into the school day.  And, knowing our boys, they could not concentrate on school with a man and tools at work.

Come to find out the battery in our generator required water to be added to it regularly (Why don't people tell you these things when you buy a house!?!).  When we did not do this, the battery exploded inside the generator.  It took almost an hour just to clean out all the pieces of battery out of the generator.  Then the residue from the acid had to be cleaned out.  Once the clean up was done, a new battery was installed and the generator started up.  It did sound rough so we chose to have tune up done as well.  An expensive maintenance call but worth every penny should we need the generator.

Once the man was on his way, the boys' progress improved exponentially.  We could then plan for that library trip.  We arrived just in time to enjoy the lull in patrons.  We had the librarians almost completely to ourselves.  The children's librarian (Chantel) helped me find the farm books.  The juvenile librarian (Nelda) helped Sean find his book report book (The Yearling).  They all gushed over Zaira!  They were also having a bake sale to aid a local girl's cancer treatment.  We bought the last of their treats.  A great midnight snack for Michael and I.

We made a quick stop at the store for last minute items for tomorrow's celebration.  Then home again, home again...just in time for the pour down rain!  Right after the rain, the sky took on a weird yellow hue.  By the time we got some photos and came back inside the sky had turned black!  Very odd!

I cannot end this post without telling a little story about Brendan.  He helped me make biscuits for dinner tonight.  When it came time to cut the biscuits, he ran over to the cookie cutter drawer and pulled out a butterfly cookie cutter!  He told me he wanted to make butterfly biscuits for Zaira!  Is that not too sweet?!

Another Great School Day Rewarded

Day 4 of school and we are doing great! I woke up to the sound of boys running around the house.  Sean and Henry were already doing their two mile run.  Edward and Brendan never made their mile but did manage a trek down the drive way before breakfast.

We had all of their school work done by the end of the morning.  It helped that the boys knew they were going to have science experiments at the end of the day.  What a smart mom to put their favorite subject at the end, right?!

So, we had a special treat today as the boys had three experiments between the two science courses.  The first was in Edward's aquatic science course.  He was learning about the ocean's surface currents, so was given the opportunity to demonstrate this effect in our kitchen.  I was a little leery about this experiment because it included TWO hair dryers and a dish full of water and cereal.  I could just imagine the mess that could be made.  However, the boys controlled themselves and had great fun seeing the water swirl around the dish.  Maybe it was because they knew there was more enjoyment to be had with the other experiments.

The second experiment was in the physical science text.  The boys were learning about measurement and conversions.  The point was made that concise and accurate measurements were important in science.  So the boys were to use an unknown unit to measure our dining room table.  What better unit then cubits and fingers?

Did you know that a cubit was the length of a man's arm from his elbow to the tip of his middle finger?  And, a finger is the length of a man's last knuckle on his index finger.  The boys took this information and made their measurements.  Of course, their measurements were different since they had different size cubits.  So, they learned that it is important to be accurate , as well as having standardized units.

The final experiment was about concentration.  No...not the ability to stay focused on school!  This was about the "quantity of a substance within a volume of space."  We began the experiment with all the materials and made it half way through the experiment....STOP!!!

Well, that is what we had to do.  We ran out of vinegar for the second half of the experiment.  BUMMER!!  So now we will have to redo the experiment after going to the store next week.  That's OK...lesson learned to verify QUANTITY as  well as availability before starting an experiment.

So, the lessons were done.  We ate lunch took a nice break and headed out to our local museum.  They were sponsoring a back to school night.  We love our museum and are always eager to go to these events for the youth.  Tonight due to several other conflicting events, we had the museum staff almost completely to ourselves, except another family with two boys.  Zaira ruled the roost as the only girl and being so adorable! The boys had a great time making crafts and eating pizza until they were beyond full!

The reason I love our museum so much is because they make us feel special.  David and Laura went out of the way to help the boys enjoy themselves.  They started out by making beaded jewelry.  The boys were allowed to make as many pieces as they liked and they enjoyed doing it!  Mostly, they made jewelry for Amanda, which I thought was so sweet!

After the pizza, they pulled out brown molding clay in little individual bowls.  They made the mistake of saying it looked like chocolate ice cream, and Brendan believed them!  I wish I had the picture of his face after he took a bite!  Poor guy...he did not taste it twice!

Several creatures were made...mostly abstract animals.  AND THEN...Henry noticed something move across the room next to us!  A MOUSE!!!  Of course, the boys all wanted to go see the little guy.  David quickly took action and closed the doors keeping the boys in with Michael and I.  He and Laura tried to catch the mouse with little luck.  So, we tried to distract the boys by having them make little clay mice instead.

The room we were in had a window looking out into the 'mouse room,' so the boys would peek out to to see if they could see the real mouse.  Lo and behold, it popped its head out again, so David and Laura tried to catch it again.  This time the children watched from the window as Laura caught it in a paper cup and  took it outside.  The boys thought that was the highlight of the evening.

So it turned out to be a good time to clean up and head home!  You just never know what is going to make a child enjoy an evening, but for a group of boys I am guessing a mouse trapping will win out every time!

Learning about Blogs

If you looked at my bog post from yesterday, you might have noticed it seemed a little short...even cutoff.  Well, that's because I was having a blog issue.  I learned that you can have too many pictures stored on a blog and that leads to having your blog stop....well actually it just meant I could not add more pictures which is the best part of the blog to me.

So this morning (and more days to come), I began the process of re-sizing my photos so they would be smaller and I would be able to add more to my blog for a few more days. However, eventually I will need to decide what to do...which probably means purchasing more space for the blog photos.  Decisions...decisions!

The boys were great about school again and we were done with morning school just in time to get ready to leave.  We had a doctor's appointment for Sean.  Then a dentist appointment for Brendan (this is the one who will be doing the root canals).  Then took Edward over to be interviewed to assure he knows his catechism for Confirmation.

We finally made it to what I consider the best mid-week pick me up...Wednesday night Mass!  Even with all the shuffle and bustle of children in the pews, I can help but feel blessed to receive our Lord in the Holy Eucharist!

We also verified all the people needed to have Zaira baptized this Saturday.  I am so excited about our daughter becoming a child of God and cleansing her of original sin.  I can not tell you what an honor it is to be the parent of such a blessing and holding them as they unite with us in the family of God.  It is so special.

For our family, we will not only have this special joy, but a week later will also see Edward confirmed in the Spirit at his Confirmation.  This will be a special month for our family indeed!  God's graces will be abundant in our house!  And be assured we will post many pictures and stories as they happen.

We ended the day with one of my other favorites...leftover night...cleaning out the frig of all the food not eaten and starting fresh.  Not to mention...no pots and pans to clean up!

Everyone is now in bed and I am heading there too!  Good night to all and God bless!

Zoo Field Trip

After the morning run and breakfast, Michel took the boys on their first field trip of the school year!  They headed out to the zoo.  They original plan was to keep the boys busy while I went to the midwife, but Zaira still had her mysterious rash.  Since the boys worked so hard to finish two days of school on the very first day back, he decided to continue with the original plans.

Going to the zoo with Michael is always a thrill for the children.  We have a annual pass that we renew each year because they love it so much.  So it was no surprise that the boys were up and out the door quick today.  They headed to the zoo arriving when the gates were opening in hopes to see the new lion cub!  They began their trip around the zoo stopping at all of their favorite stops along the way.  Here is what Michael had to say:

It was good to go when the zoo first opens.  First of all, it is still fairly cool.  A definite plus during a month when a cool day is still 95+!  But the coolest thing, was that it was just after the morning feeding/cleaning time for many of the animals, so the ones that we usually do not see active (raccoon, porcupine. and rhinoceros) were actually up and moving about.

Of course we had to visit our usual friends, the monkeys, lemurs, Komodo Dragons and parrots.  One of the Blue and Yellow Macaws recognizes me now.  We often spend several minutes at his exhibit and he and I mimic each other's movements.  Of course, he has an unfair advantage:  he can hang from the roof of his cage with his beak!

Unfortunately, the new lion cub was not out, but will be making an appearance on Saturday from 11AM to noon.  Just another reason to make a trip back this weekend.  It is times like these that we are thankful for our family pass!

Our budding photographer, Henry, took over 150 pictures of many of the animals, as well as his brothers having fun.  Near the entrance to the African section, there is a statue of a charging rhino, and Henry had great fun posing all of us with it.  The alligator and lion statues made great props as well with the boys trying to wrestle the creatures to the ground.

Our local zoo might not be as grand as one in a larger city, but it is still one of the places that we love to visit time and again.  It is just the right size to enjoy in a couple of hours with a nice variety of animals.  Besides we have the most awesome zookeepers who know us personally.  The children have been to many a zoo camp over the years!

So, you can see it was a success!  I am so glad the boys had this time with their dad.  It makes for awesome memories that will not be soon forgotten.

The rest of the day was spent gathering supplies for our 4H projects.  Michael took on the role of substitute leader for my project and then went to his first project meeting.  To read about this adventure, you will need to head to my 4H blog.