Hey!

So last week, the newest priest at our church, Father TJ, helped me with something special--a birthday blessing for a friend.  I was expecting a quick sprinkling with holy water, but he went all out and the small ritual was the highlight of the day for me.  When I called about the blessing, I also invited him to dinner at Casa Doyle and tonight was the big night.  I am sorry to say that the girls were not on princess behavior.  To be fair, they were so excited to see Father TJ that they talked over each other, interrupted and generally forgot every single table manner we've taught them.  Then there was the spilt milk and Grace's dive under the table that prompted Sophie's loud, "Hey!  You're wearing my panties!"  I told Father TJ that he has a standing invitation to dinner with the Doyles anytime he needs to reconfirm his vocation.  Chris and I enjoyed his company so much that we're hoping that next dinner isn't too long in coming. 

Peace all around

Silly faces?

Father TJ brought it to the birthday fun with this Viking pose

Don't ask why we happened to have a Viking hat on hand...

Another Way?

So, I'm not much of a news hound, but I did read a snippet today that caught my attention.  The man responsible for the sniper shooting spree in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC in 2002 was executed in a Virginia jail tonight.  At the time of the killings, we were living in Fredericksburg, VA, the location of one of the shootings.  I remember the widespread fear about where the killer would strike next and a huge relief when he and his teenage accomplice were finally caught.

Seven years later, the governor of Virginia denied a request to convert his sentence to life in prison, and he was put to death.  I don't know about you, but I am always uneasy when the government takes a life.  I could probably argue both sides in a debate on the death penalty but in my gut, I hate it.  That so much violence would end in more violence--in the name of justice--leaves me feeling empty and wondering--isn't there another way?

Pretending

Great readers in the making

Madeleine used to pretend to read too.  I have pictures of her as a little girl with big, fat books open in front of her.  These days she's an excellent reader.  Hopefully her sisters will follow in her footsteps.

Hallowistmas 2009

Wow-it's been almost a week since my last post!  That's a first since I started blogging.  I set a "one-post-a-day" goal for myself last December and I've come very close to achieving it.  I obviously have some catching up to do this month.

This year, Halloween found us in Austin with my brother Neil and family.  We had a fun--though very short--weekend.  The highlight for me this year was Mia and Grace's choice of costumes.  They both wanted to go as saints.  Grace was St. Rose of Lima and Mia was Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.  To give a little background to this--Chris and I have met several families over the years who require their children to dress as saints for Halloween in honor of All Saints Day.  We have liked the idea but never took the path of requiring our children to be a saint for Halloween.  Practicing the Catholic faith in its fullness can sometimes be challenging, and we haven't wanted to add to the difficulty or restrictions.  Of course, we still have guidelines for costumes--nothing gory, gruesome or immodest will pass inspection.  So, we've had gypsies, pirates, characters from popular stories, princesses and fairies.  This year though, Mia and Grace wanted to be saints.  All on their own, with no prompting.  This was one of those "aha!" moments I've talked about because we saw the fruit of one of our parenting principles.  We gave them freedom to choose and they used that freedom to choose something we would have wanted for them*.  A beautiful thing.  It was a bit of a hassle because I didn't have anything to pull out of the dress up box for them to wear.  My friend Misty made Mia a beautiful skirt though and Grace was fine with a very simple costume.  They were both adorable little apologists as they explained several times who they were supposed to be.

I have to admit, I was a little bothered by Halloween this year.  When I was growing up, it was a one day celebration.  My brothers and sisters and I pulled together costumes from things we had at home, took our pillowcases and walked around the neighborhood where we would receive one piece of candy per house.  These days, Halloween is like a little Christmas with all of the lights, decorations and enormous amounts of money spent on costumes and candy.  I even saw a gingerbread haunted house this year.  It makes sense to celebrate Christmas as a season because of its meaning.  It makes no sense to do the same thing with Halloween.  So, at the end of our weekend, I felt a little hollow inside.  Yes, we had fun but because of the fuss around the 31st, but we didn't do justice to the beautiful feast of All Saints--a day when we remember all the saints and angels in heaven.

I think maybe next year, we'll make a bigger deal of All Saints Day.  We'll still celebrate Halloween--as animals, hippies and saints--but put it in its proper place.

*This is the beauty of God's gift of free will.  

I also have to give credit to the families we know who focus on the saints and All Saints Day.  I think it was important to give the girls the freedom to choose their costumes but if we hadn't educated them about the saints or provided them with playmates who also know and love the saints, it never would have occurred to them to choose those costumes.

GETTING READY

Neil went as a Beach Body coach--not much of a stretch

TRICK OR TREATING

THE TRADITIONAL HALLOWEEN DONUT GAME

Ella's second outfit

Better

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that today was a much better day than yesterday.  That's the great thing about bad days--they make you appreciate the better ones and make the mediocre ones look pretty good too.  

Today wasn't a complete reversal of yesterday but it did end with a pretty big aha moment.  Tonight, we officially began Mia's preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  She will receive it on January 30th at our home parish.  After that, she will prepare for her First Holy Communion which she will receive from Father Peffley in Woodstock, VA next summer.  We are all excited about that.  So tonight, we completed a ritual involving blessings with water and talked about the Sacrament of Baptism.  I read the gospel passage about Jesus' baptism and we talked about the significance of water in both the Old and New Testaments and how Jesus sanctified the water by being baptized Himself even though He didn't need it.  All of the girls were able to answer questions about baptism and the presence of the Holy Trinity at Jesus' baptism but the best was when I asked why John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Mia said, "in the Old Testament, when people did something wrong, they sacrificed a lamb to God but when Jesus came, He was the lamb for all of us and died for our sins."  Pretty amazing answer from a second grader but even better was where she learned it.  When we went to the art museum last month, we saw a painting of Noah and his family offering a sacrifice to God after the flood and I explained why they did that and why we don't need to do that anymore.  We didn't have a religion book with us that day or pens or paper but obviously a lot of learning went on.  And it was fun too.  So, despite the struggles, I already see so many victories.  More than enough to persevere.

Tomorrow: photos!

Horrible

So, today was what I would call a horrible day.  If that sounds like an exaggeration, unfortunately, it's not.  It started with my ipod dying six minutes into my run and went downhill from there.  At one point, I went into our room to get something and caught Chris in a rare unencumbered moment.  I told him I was out of ideas to deal with some persistent behavior problems we're having and maybe it was time to consider putting the girls back in school.  In the year and a half that we have been back at homeschooling, today was the first time I seriously suggested that.  I love homeschooling mainly because I love being with my kids.  I love the one on one time I spend with them and the books we read.  I love the field trips and the family friends we have made through homeschooling.  Today though, I really wondered if it was the best thing for all of our girls.  Chris didn't hesitate though.  His response was, "wait a minute, we're all in on this."  And he affirmed all that I am doing for the girls.  The day went on being horrible after that and maybe in the past, I would have searched for solutions--the technique, the schedule, the planner--that would make the difference.  These days although I know there's always room for improvement, I also know that the bottom line is--life is hard.  Chris' firm stand in favor of homeschooling as the best path for our children and our family was the best thing that happened today because I believe that too.  He reminded me that we're in it together and tonight at dinner, he also made me laugh a lot.  What a great thing that is.  

(So, to top it all off, I didn't even get to lose myself in House tonight because of the World Series.  I know tomorrow has to be better.)

Elves

Christmas came early to Casa Doyle!  Look what we found in our yard when we arrived home this evening....

Ella was so excited I could only get her to bed after promises of much playtime in the house tomorrow.  Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Claus (aka David and Catalina) for your generosity!