Children

Children
"God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
(1 Jn 4:16)

Saturday, December 05, 2020

Rocky Douglas


With a second lockdown in place and knowing how much our children wanted a dog, on the 24th of November, Brendan, Theresa, Patrick, and I traveled two hours north to pick up our Australian Shepherd puppy. The children named him Rocky, save for Aidan who fondly calls our puppy, “Douglas.”


Saturday, January 25, 2020

Lully, Lulla, Lullay

I wish that I could embed this video,
https://vimeo.com/387119428

Please take the time to click the link and listen. This is probably the most beautiful rendition of this lullaby that I have ever heard. It is sung by the choir at our old parish, North American Martyrs. Enjoy!

Friday, December 27, 2019

Noël

by J.R.R. Tolkien
Grim was the world and grey last night:
The moon and stars were fled,
The hall was dark without song or light,
The fires were fallen dead.
The wind in the trees was like to the sea,
And over the mountains’ teeth
It whistled bitter-cold and free,
As a sword leapt from its sheath.
The lord of snows upreared his head;
His mantle long and pale
Upon the bitter blast was spread
And hung o’er hill and dale.
The world was blind, the boughs were bent,
All ways and paths were wild:
Then the veil of cloud apart was rent,
And here was born a Child.
The ancient dome of heaven sheer
Was pricked with distant light;
A star came shining white and clear
Alone above the night.
In the dale of dark in that hour of birth
One voice on a sudden sang:
Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth
Together at midnight rang.
Mary sang in this world below:
They heard her song arise
O’er mist and over mountain snow
To the walls of Paradise,
And the tongue of many bells was stirred
in Heaven’s towers to ring
When the voice of mortal maid was heard,
That was mother of Heaven’s King.
Glad is the world and fair this night
With stars about its head,
And the hall is filled with laughter and light,
And fires are burning red.
The bells of Paradise now ring
With bells of Christendom,
And Gloria, Gloria we will sing
That God on earth is come. 

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

2018 Personal Reading



Finding God's Will for You
St. Francis de Sales




The Foot of the CrossFr. Faber




He Leadeth Me
by Walter J. Ciszek, SJ




Interior Freedom
by Fr. Jacques Philippe




by Fr. Jacques Philippe




Story of a Soul
by St. Therese of Lisieux, translated by John Clarke




Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence
by Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, Bl. Claude de la Colombiere




by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Beach Days


For the last eighteen years, my children and I have been going to the beach with friends, or just as a family, once a week during the summer. 


When we first moved to the city in which we live, I thought that beach and park days would provide an easy way to get to know other homeschooling families.


Last year and this, I have come to realize that beach days provided us with more than just an opportunity to make lasting friendships.


Going to the beach each week has helped to foster friendships between my children.


It has given them something that they like doing together.


Although we still head to the beach together once a week, my older children will occasionally get home from work and ask, “Can I go to the beach?” They will follow their request by asking brothers and/or sisters if they want to go with them. 


Recently, as three of our children headed to the beach, I told my husband, “I did something right.” He said, “What was that?” I responded facetiously, “I taught our children to like the beach.” 


More importantly than teaching our children to like the beach, I inadvertently fostered loving relationships between our children.


I hope that they always find joy in spending time with each other.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

God alone Suffices



“Somehow, then, God must contrive to break through those routines of ours and remind us once again, like Israel, that we are ultimately dependent only upon Him, that He has made us and destined us for life with Him through all eternity, that the things of this world and this world itself are not our lasting city, that His we are and that we must look to Him and turn to Him in everything. Then it is, perhaps, that He must allow our whole world to be turned upside down in order to remind us it is not our permanent abode or final destiny, to bring us to our senses and restore our sense of values, to turn our thoughts once more to Him -- even if at first our thoughts are questioning and full of reproaches. Then it is that He must remind us again, with terrible clarity, that He meant exactly what He said in those seemingly simple words of the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Do not be anxious about what you shall eat, or what you shall wear, or where you shall sleep, but seek first the kingdom of God and His justice.’”
~ Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J., “He Leadeth Me”, p. 22 ~

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Accepting God’s Will


"One great means of preserving a constant peace and tranquillity of heart is to receive all things as coming from the hands of God, whatever they may be, and in whatever way they may come."
~ St. Dorotheus ~

Monday, May 28, 2018

Allium ‘Globemaster’

Some of my children used to be intrigued by our neighbor’s alliums. When our neighbor moved away, the alliums stopped growing. Last fall, I was thrilled to find allium bulbs at Costco. This spring, I think that the bees are happy to have alliums growing in our garden. I know that my little boys are fascinated by the purple balls sitting on top of green stems. I am simply thankful to have these interesting looking flowers blooming in our garden.




Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Early Spring Flowers

Muscari (Steeple Bells)

Tulips ‘Foxtrot’ (Mary’s Prayer)

Lilac ‘Josee’ (Ascension Flower)

Clematis ‘Dr. Ruppel’

Clematis


Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’

Allium ‘Globemaster’

Lupine (St. Mark’s Plant)
Our purple lupine is somehow purple and white. 

Rose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ (Mary)

Whenever I go outside, my little garden helper is right by my side.

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