montage for miércoles

 Time for another montage.  Some of you Frodo Seven faithfuls may be wondering what happened to our other four girls.  You know--the ones who did not recently celebrate a birthday, lose a tooth or start horseback riding lessons.  Maggie G has definitely been in the news lately.  You'll be happy to see that today's post includes a little bit of everyone.
We're in ordinary time now so these are snapshots of normal life for the residents of Casa Doyle.  I love normal life.  I love vacation life and holiday life and birthday life too but normal life is special in its own ordinary way.  I'm sure you know what I mean.
So without further ado, las damas--and one dude--Doyle just....being us

 Sophie's Show and Tell assignment was "D".

She did "disguise" and "Daddy"

 Braids by Madeleine.  She happily helps her little sibs get ready for Holy House

Here, a better look

 inspired by Sophie's assignment, a surprise dinner guest

who looked a lot like Mia

 getting in the spirit of things, I donned my disguise for the dining divas

 Family photo

A spontaneous night out to eat at Kings Harbor.  So much fun.  No one I'd rather be with.

 We participated in the march of the surviving youth in Houston

We walked around and around, praying and singing...

...and blowing the horn.  It was an amazing experience that I will not soon forget.  Some may wonder why we bother but truly, I see with different eyes.

This evil institution will certainly crumble in God's time.  We pray that hearts will be converted.

 RAIN!!

 Two sights for sore eyes--rain and our bathing beauties

 Sophie's new bed

Here's hoping she'll practice in her sleep  (what was I saying about Harriet?)

 Love this smile (she was lying in our blanket basket and wanted me to take her picture)

Out and About: photos from my phone (the pictures look good on my phone but pretty bad here.  I must be doing something wrong when I transfer them but you get the idea.)

First time riding in the car with Madeleine driving

which turned into our most expensive Sonic run to date

After repairs, our van, at 180,000 miles, looks brand new

we love craft time at the library!

beautiful mariposa

So this is funny--

Ella, our biggest animal lover ever, is deathly afraid of Chuck E Cheese

 and the Chik Fil A cow

I had her put the glasses on so the cow wouldn't be able to see her

She was still nervous

Also funny.  Ella has a thing for the Biebster

No idea how that happened.  I think I prefer Fr. TJ

photo from the Life Chain (Grace, friend Catherine and Sophie)

Too tired to stand but still witnessing

Seeing a horse about a bath

and finally...

Adieu Señor Jobs

Tribute photo from the Apple website

In an a-ha moment, I realized that the reason I have such an affection for Steve Jobs may be that he has a few things in common with House.  Of course, that may be an insult to Steve as House has become much less respectable of late.  I'll say this--if all of us were as single minded, passionate and creative in the way we approach our lives and, especially, our faith as Steve Jobs was with Apple, our world would be so different that I can hardly conceive of it.  Steve Jobs had a lot to teach us.  I am truly sorry he's gone and hope he's in a better place.  We are praying for him and his family.

To read an excellent article about Steve Jobs, click here.

Cuídate bien and see you here soon.....

Monday Marauders

In the midst of normal Monday busy-ness, I walked into the living room yesterday afternoon to find this:

Evidently, I was not their preferred rescuer.

Truly, never a dull moment!

Yes, Grace Doyle, There IS a Santa Claus

This week marked our fourth at Holy House.  At the end of her first day there, Grace surprised us with a question.  "Truth or Dare: is Santa Claus real?"  She asked the same question about the Tooth Fairy.  Apparently, a child lost a tooth during class that day which led to a discussion of these important topics.
I'll be honest--I was pretty upset.  Obviously, there's a certain loss of control that comes with putting children in a school environment.  Still.  The first day?  Really?  Of course, with our clever daughter waiting for an answer, we had to move quickly into solution mode.
Fortunately, Chris and I land on the same page when it comes to parenting.  We want our kids to come to us with their questions and to know they can trust us.  We take their questions and concerns seriously. But we truly wondered what to say to Grace.  Interestingly, big sister Mia was unconcerned by the questions. She is a very young nine and has an innocent way of seeing things.  Still, we knew that the way we answered Grace's questions would impact both Mia and all of her sisters.
We put her off for twenty four hours or so during which I pouted and mourned the loss of the game for all of us.  I assumed rather than thought about our answer.  And then, it hit me.  I believe in Santa Claus.  I do.  As real as he is for the many children who have loved him--myself included--he has to be real.  Honestly, I believe the same thing about Sophie's mangled mermaid doll, Harriet.  Every time Sophie responds to my pretending about her with, "she's not real", I put my hands over Harriet's non-existent ears in horrified shock.  I love Harriet because Sophie loves her.  And doesn't Sophie herself prove Harriet's realness by needing her so urgently at bedtime each night?  If ever a doll deserved to be real, it's Harriet.
Then there's Ann with an e Shirley.  She is as real to me as any friend and has always inspired me to use my imagination and be brave.

But why go on about this?  Someone has already written it and far better than I could ever do it.

This morning, I read Grace Francis Church's editorial response to Virginia O'Hanlon's letter twice.  I wish I could shake his hand and tell him how beautiful is is.  I especially love this line:

Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.


How marvelous.  Thank God!


For more wonderful tidbits, please read or re-read Mr. Church's article for yourself.



"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.


And Grace?

This morning, she lost a tooth of her own.  We'll see whether the Tooth Fairy forgives her....

Catch you here next time!

Two for Tuesday

I'm becoming quite the collector of horse photos.  I think I need to make a slide show.  Ella came with us to the barn this evening.  As you can see, she was well-loved and well-smelled :)

My favorite riding photo so far.  Grace was doing some no handed trotting spur of the moment and I literally had two seconds to grab the camera and catch it.

Hope you had a terrific Twos Day!

Not a Montage but....

I'm postponing this week's montage on account of tiredness.  Instead, a few pics of Grace and Nelson.  Horseback riding is turning into something much better than a birthday gift for Grace.  It's about discipline, patience, hard work and learning to care for the horses.  Last week she got to give Nelson a bath (soak him with the hose and brush him off) after her lesson.  I am enjoying being outside, petting the horses and watching the older girls in the ring make it all look so easy.

 Getting ready to ride

 In typical Grace fashion, she wanted to know when she could "go fast".  Kim let her trot a bit but reminded her that she had to work hard on the basics before doing much of that.  We'll see if she thinks it's worth it.  My bet is on yes.

Happy girl.

Montage coming in the near future.  

Sundays

    Back in the late 90s, when Madeleine and I were living in the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula, Sundays were my least favorite day of the week.  Everything was closed except churches and bars and the streets were eerily quiet as everyone spent the day with family.  I was so homesick it hurt and so after Mass (and I'm embarrassed to admit this), I would bundle Madeleine into the umbrella stroller and walk forty minutes to the only McDonalds in Santiago de Compostela.  There, while eating a cheeseburger and drinking a considerably smaller "large" diet coke than I would have been served in the States, I would gradually feel better, having satisfied my US of A craving for the week.
    Cross an ocean and fast forward a decade and I'm still not fond of Sundays.  I don't understand it.  They are our day of rest.  We go to Mass, avoid doing many chores and spend time as a family.  We try to do fun things but really, because we home school, we are together a lot already.  The bottom line is though, on Sundays, something is missing.
    And I think I've figured out what it is.  On Sundays, I long to be in context, together with the many people to whom I'm connected.  At the moment, my main roles in life are "wife" and "mother" but I am also a daughter, sister, cousin, niece, granddaughter, aunt and friend.  I am one of thirty something grandchildren on one side and twenty something on the other.  I do not know what it is like to be an "only".  I do know a lot about family relationships and connections including the fact that I would not be who I am if I had not been the oldest sister of David, Neil, Tara and Jamie.  We are a motley crew but very special.  I miss them on Sundays.
    My perfect Sunday is a typical day at Camp Kreitzer.  It is crowded with lots of kids playing some kind of sport in the front yard during which Chris inevitably injures someone.  The "girls" are in the kitchen.  I know, I know--tres cliché but I don't mind cooking quite as much when I have company.  Dinner is very noisy, dessert is plentiful and the guys do the dishes.  Extended family abounds.  Aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone I love.
    Of course, everyone I love would not be able to squeeze into Camp Kreitzer and several of the people I'd want to be there have passed on.  So, my perfect Sunday is truly a dream, something I miss but have never experienced.  I think it may be heaven.  I hope it's heaven.
Happy Sunday!

Our Day in Pictures

I posted an article to my mom's Les Femmes blog today.  It was inspired by some recent news that caught my attention.

Today was also an amazing day for photography.  We were out and about around town and I had plenty of photo ops.  I must have about 1,567,328 photos of our girls already but somehow, I never get tired of capturing their smiles.  Or funny faces.  I love it all.

So here it is, our day (or a bit of it anyway) in pictures:

 We went downtown to The Main Street Theatre to see a play

 We took pictures while waiting

(Note Grace's skirt/ shorts combo)

 Ella and her window friend

 In front of Spider's web onstage after the show

 Fly's hideout

 Speaking of Fly...

I think Ella was doing her fly imitation

 Butterfly was Grace's favorite (perhaps because she spoke SPANISH!)

 Ella was the only one interested in a photo op with Worm and Spider

Brave girl!

 Ella and "Alice"

 Alice may have surpassed Chaucer as most popular name among Ella's critters

After the show and the post show fun, we needed to eat.  Chris and I brainstormed at least ten different options but somehow, we ended up back in Kingwood at....

 Oh well, we'll try for new and different next time

 Here comes big sis

Back at home:

Happy Sunday from Tweedle E and Tweedle Ru!