Calling All Movie Buffs

Okay - thanks to my dad [:o)] there are a bunch of us trying to remember something from a movie - it's what I was thinking about before I went to sleep last night.

What is the movie where a guy is twirling a toothpick in his mouth and it gets stuck? And you get bonus points if you can tell me the name of the actor!!

Fishing for Ideas

One of the homeschool families in our group is moving to Alaska in a few weeks and we're throwing a Farewell Party at my house for all the moms - our own MNO in honor of Wendy-the-Alaskan-Bound :o)

So we're trying to come up with some creative things to do as far as the party goes - decorations and such. I need your help. We'd like to use an Alaskan theme for the cake, but haven't thought of anything solid yet.

Please don't be shy all you creative bloggin' peeps - let me hear whatchya got! Let the comments flow!

Cinderfella!

Therese's First Holy Communion!

Sorry I've been slacking on posting this, but here it is!

What a wonderful day! I just love First Communions; I feel such joy for my children receiving!

Therese with Fr. N

Love the family shot! - slight sarcasm - You can see what a psycho the 3yo is from this shot. I mean, just look at his face! Like he has to let everyone know that he's the crazy nut case of the clan - I mean that in the most loving way :0) The almost 5yo didn't want to even be in the picture, so I had to scoop him up real quick. Drives Paul crazy --- that boy not wanting to have his picture taken formally or semi-formally.

He'll do this:

But not this:I just take it with a grain of salt. One thing I've learned is that you can't force someone to be happy - especially a 4yo boy who is adament not to get his picture taken [can you see his clenched fists?]. So I just have to cling to that saying that gets me through life: This too Shall Pass! He'll get over it. . . . . someday :0)

We had some friends and family over for a fun day back at our home. Therese had a blast!

It was truly a blessed day!

Our Little Flowers' May Crowning

On May 5th, our Little Flowers group had their May Crowning. What a glorious day it was! It was really touching to see these little girls - just forming bonds - come together to honor Our Lady!

I - of course - forgot to grab my camera [which was placed where I wouldn't forget it!], so these pictures are courtesy of my friend, Michele. Thanks!

Here is Sophia putting her rose in the vase:Here's Therese doing the same:The Crowning:

My favorite picture:
We headed back to our meeting place for a light reception and a little play!

Preparations

This Saturday is Therese's First Holy Communion. Which means: I'll be in crazy mode come Friday afternoon. I'm a procrastinator by nature, but have been trying to do things earlier to alleviate any stress that may come my way. Now I know this is NOT going to happen, but maybe I can trick myself into believing it could happen and is happening!

I've got so much to do and if I tell you what I have to do - your bottom jaw may be on the floor. So I'll spare you. Plus, I already have a list on Word. Which might be a good idea if I finished it and printed it out.

Here is Therese's banner which she and I made this evening. We still have the dowel and hanger cord to finish it up, but we are so pleased with it.

Banners. To be honest, the word makes me cringe. I HATE banners. It's so.....70's. Our parish is adorned with banners. I can't stand them. They had a new one for Easter. Hmmm... I just had a bad attitude.

Anyway - this isn't about me. It's about Therese's First Holy Communion!

Please keep all the First Communicants in your prayers this week!

It's Comin' Off!

Here is Joseph before the de-casting:



And here he is today, afterwards:

He did great! And, yes Chris, I believe his arm did indeed float!

Irony

When you have a good 13:01 minutes, watch this.

Want to See Something...

...cool? Facinating? Awesome? Get your kids gathered 'round. You're gonna want them to see this! You'll want to make sure and watch it to the end. The really cool part is the last part!

Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?

Can you figure out what these words have in common -

1 Banana
2 Dresser
3 Grammar
4 Potato
5 Revive
6 Uneven
7 Assess

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Silly Stuff

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 9 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

This is including my first and last name. How many in the U.S. share your name?
H/T: Therese

Save the Bottles!

Wow! Have you noticed all the "Save the Earth!" Earth Day stuff in the stores lately? I usually just pass it up with a "yeah, yeah, yeah" attitude. But...

...while at Wal-Mart a couple weeks ago, I saw some Coke t-shirts - so I got Dani one [you'll remember it in the photos below :o)]. She needed a real comfy shirt and that one sure is. It's that nice light-weight soft material. Well...

...tonight I went to the big "W" to buy snacks for the girls' softball team. I ended up with more, but you know how that is. So - I was by the same Coke shirt display and I decided to get Dani another one and get Kayla one too. I got those from the women's side. Well, on the other side of the display were the children's designs - at least I thought they were kids' sizes - as I looked through them, I realized they were still women's sizes. And I found a "Pro-Life" shirt. At least it was for me. There's a picture of a whale saying "Save the Humans". I was SO excited. I got 3. One for me, one for Dani, and one for Kayla.

As I looked at the inside tag it was speaking to Earth Day stuff. So then I started thinking what was really intended with the message. I knew it wasn't what my first thought was.

So, I got creative.

It went from this:

to this:

I'd really like to get some fabric paint to make it more permanent. I just used a Sharpie. I plan on altering the girls' shirts too.

And, get this, I was reading the inside of the Coke shirts - they have some pretty wordy messages :o) - and they're made partly from plastic Coke bottles! Who knew?! It states something to the effect of "this shirt has approx. 3 20oz plastic Coke bottles in it". You'd never know by feeling them! Pretty cool, even if it's all Earth Day-ey!

Off to Become a Saint! [part vi]

But like the Capuchin superior a few years before, Father Cafaro gave him no encouragement. He was too frail for the rigorous tasks of a lay brother. Despite the rebuff Gerard was not disheartened. He was convinced that God wanted him to join his new Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. He went on making preparations for departure.

When his mother discovered the plan she was frantic. His three sisters wept aloud, pleading with him to stay. “Mother needs you at home,” they insisted. But Gerard stood firm. He was going to Iliceto to become a Redemptorist! They ran to the missionaries, begging them not to accept their brother. Father Cafaro has no intention whatever of accepting the young man. However, he shrewdly foresaw it would be hard to dissuade this importunate youth. “Detain him at home somehow the day we leave,” was Father Cafaro’s advice to Gerard’s distracted family. They promised to do so.

Benedetta bolted Gerard’s door the morning the Redemptorists left Muro. But later when she tiptoed into the room, he was not there. His bed-clothes, knotted together, streamed from the open window, and on a small table lay a scrap of paper: “Mother, I am off to become a saint,” it read. It was signed “Gerardo.” He had gone after the missionaries....

A Science Lesson in Evaporation

A few weeks ago the kids found some itty bitty tadpoles in "some water" - a puddle perhaps? They brought some home in a see-through plastic box. There were about 1o of them. Take note of the word were...

They were very cute. There was a rock in there ready for them for when they grew their legs. They seemed happy.

I'd periodically check on them out on the back deck. The kids would check on them too. But not as often as they should have...apparently.

The water evaporated. I told them they needed to fill it up with more water. I felt awful for those little guys! Just thinking about their last moments. Not a good thought.

At least we're not the only tadpole killers. There are more of us out there!

Therese - the optimist & animal lover - said, "Well, at least one of them might have lived. The one that went down the sink." I told her that all pipes lead to the ocean!

St. Gerard - Always in Church

No matter what was ado about the cathedral, Gerard was there. He attended all the Sunday Masses, the May devotions, the tridua. In fact, he often spent the whole night locked up in church. One of his relatives happened to be sacristan. The rest was easy.

One evening while deep in prayer, Gerard heard a voice . . . “Pazzarello . . . My little fool, what are you doing?” looking up at the altar, he answered. “Ah, but you are more a fool than I, a prisoner for me in your tabernacle.” *could you imagine!!! When the bells rang for Mass the next morning, Gerard was still in church.

He was there the afternoon of Low Sunday, April 13, 1749, for the start of the parish retreat. A newly founded congregation of missionaries were to preach in all three churches of Muro. Their founder had been a well-known lawyer at Naples, Alphonsus de Liguori. Wherever these missionaries went, they moved all hearts with their fervent words. It was the same in Muro.

One of the missionaries, Father Paul Cafaro, made a deep impression on Gerard Majella. “I must join these men as a lay brother,” he decided. Each day the resolution grew more insistent in his heart. He even gave away all his worldly goods – one extra shirt and a pair of linen breeches! Finally, he went to see Father Cafaro.

*remark mine

just for fun

Thank God...

I'm a Country Girl!

He's Done Training!

John Paul is the youngest of our brood - at 4 years old - to do this and this is what we're watching on this beautiful afternoon, the first day of May!.......

This is the second sibling Dani has taught to ride a bike. She got Paul's ratchet set out of the basement, found the correct size and went to work removing the training wheels. She informed me that John Paul is just like her...he just got on and rode! No practice required :o)

Hope Deferred ~ St. Gerard Story Part iv

Twice he had applied for admission to the Capuchin monastery at Muro. But a glance at his sunken chest and thin white hands, and the Capuchins turned him down. Candidly, they told him, he had not the health nor stamina for so strenuous a life. Perhaps he should go off into the hills to live as a hermit in seclusion and holy meditation! He tried it but his confessor firmly forbade it. So Gerard went back to his needles and tape. He understood that a man can achieve holiness in any walk of life, in the faithful discharge of his duties. If it were God’s will that he be a tailor, then he would be a good one.

And God showed evident approval. The whole countryside spoke openly of his supernatural powers. Had he not cured little Amata Giuliani! The little girl had tumbled into a vat of boiling water and for all the medications of oil and wax, the child whimpered in her mother’s arms all day. As Gerard was passing the house he heard the child and went in. “It is nothing,” he said, laying his hand on the scalded skin. Suddenly, little Amata Giuliani was smiling. The next morning all trace of the burn was gone.

Walking down a side street of Muro another day, Gerard noticed a new house abuilding. Work was at a standstill. The carpenters stood awkwardly by while the foreman ran his fingers through his hair in a helpless rage. The rafters had been sawed too short. “Pull them with ropes,” suggested the onlooker. Practical men though they were, they took the suggestion. The rafters fitted snugly from wall to wall, and work was resumed.

Let the Bucks Begin Rollin' In!

Sunday night Sophia [aka 'the six year old'] was terrified - really, freaked out - to go to sleep. She was afraid she'd choke on her very loose tooth. Her very first one. I had to assure her that she would not. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea. But I just needed her to get a good night's sleep! And I needed one as well! I figured that her body would wake her up if it happened to come out during her sleep.

The next morning - - - Sophia is brushing her teeth, against her better judgment, and then I hear some scream-crying coming from her. She's on her way downstairs into the schoolroom saying: Mommy, my tooth came out!

She was a little nervous at first. Then after all the drama...she put it in a ziploc baggie and put it under her pillow. Then she was extremely thrilled!Even more so when she awoke the next morning to find a $1 bill under her pillow. There were some rumors started by the neighbor girl that the tooth fairy gives $10 for a first tooth - but we quelled those rumors immediately :o)
Of course, as is the nature with baby teeth, her other tooth is loose and ready to come out any day now. Gosh - makes me wonder how it is in homes with multiples [ie. twins, triplets, etc...]!