Anticipating the Pinewood Durby

It is in mine, and my husbands nature to be last minute. Not complete procrastinators, but always up to the last minute with the finishing details. I'm afraid we are passing that trait on to our boys. Maybe they can't escape it. It's just in their geans.

Last night I was pushing John to finish his history report. Tonight he was working with his Dad to finish up his Pinewood Durby car. The race is tomorrow. Just in time for the boys to go to bed, the car is finished. A big bonus, the wheels are on, and it rolls.

This is Johns 4th Pinewood Derby. The first two were hard lessons in loosing. The first year was tears and frustration. Last year was just a bit of frustration. This year we took time while building the car to reinforce that the fun was in the journey. Win or Loose, we pointed out that he enjoyed the time he spent with Dad. The he had fun creating the design, and changing that block of wood into a new toy. Here's to a good nights sleep, and a fun day tomorrow. Hopefully no more tears.

Waiting for the snow, daydreaming about spring and summer.

Pinewood Durby comming up

It's that time of year. The boys have been working hard whittling that box into a car. Weighing, sanding, gluing, painting...All the while building his hopes that it might be the fastest one in the lot. The race is only days away.

Did I miss it? Pro-Life March in Washington

I had friends who marched in Washington on Friday. I know it happened. I saw it on EWTN. I am a bit of a news hound. I was watching the local stations, and my regular, The Today Show. Maybe I was caught up with the kids, or on an errand when it was covered. I was hoping to see the sea of people standing up for what they believe in. I was looking for the marchers in Washington. I did not see it on the national or local news. Surely it was news. How could it be missed? Maybe it was just me not paying enough attention, or was it the media that was out of the loop?

We are being flooded with seed catalogs. The past few weeks have been snowy and very cold. The thought of spring is a welcome one. However, I am not ready for the work a garden requires. Last year the fruits of our labor were stolen by a raccoons and deer. It is frustrating to put so much into the planning, planting, watering, and nurturing only to have it taken from you. As they say 'spring is hope eternal.'

I have friends planing for a trip to Washington this weekend. If you are one of a million getting ready to march. Good luck to you, drive carefully, and keep hope.

No big toothless smile for the book. humm.

Sunday Fidgets

Do not use being busy as an excuse not to pray.

The rewards of prayer are always worth the time and effort.

tooth fairy in our mist

John (10) finally lost a tooth. He spent two days trying to decide what a little fairy could bring that would be a fair trade. He surprised me when he asked for a book. He was thinking a Black Lagoon, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid would be nice. You know the tooth fairy amazing. I can't wait to see his face tomorrow. I'm hopping for a toothless grin. :)

Why is Santa so shy?

"Why is Santa so shy? It would be better if he delivered gifts on Christmas Day. Then we could see him, and thank him." - Nicholas age 6

This speared a debate among the boys (age 8, 6 and 4) about how long it would take to stop at each house. How they would greet him, the parties Santa would go to at different houses... This would certainly throw off the Big guys schedule.

Amongst all the Christmas chaos, I feel very lucky today.

Sunday fidgets

"Avoid excess. Excess will detract from what is important."
Great advice.

Thanks and Giving... holiday to remember

We had a great Thanksgiving at my sisters house. The boys and I rode a train to her town, and she picked us up at the train station. I love riding the train, and thrilled to share that with my boys. They have been building and rebuilding wooden train tracks on my living room floor for the past 7 years. Finally they know what it is like on the real thing. During the ride, we made a trip to the dinning car to spilt a candy bar and share a soda. They loved every minute of it.

The next day was Thanksgiving day. We walked a 5K together. This is becoming a Thanksgiving Day tradition for my sister and I. We usually walk in separate towns. What a treat to walk and talk together. The boys came along for the walk and were real troopers. Like most 5Ks the money for the walk went toward a charity. If you were fast...You could win a pie to take home for your thanksgiving feast. With 3 boys in tow we were happy just to cross the finish line.

My brother in law deep fried the turkey. Everyone pitched in by bringing the side dishes. My sister and her husband were gracious hosts. It was so nice to get together with my family. It was nice to catch up, talk, joke, and laugh. My younger brother and his wife announced that we will have another addition to the table next year. We look forward to the happy event. Meanwhile, we missed my older sister. She lives too far away to make the feast. I hope to see her soon.

Christmas is only weeks away. It is hard to shake away from Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. We will just have to count our blessings for now.

Sunday Fidgets

We were present for a baptism Sunday. Welcome Baby Allison! We are glad you are here. We are happy to witness your baptism, to be a part of your special day. We welcome you to the Catholic Church. Congratulations!

Where's the remote? hit pause.

I feel like my life is in fast forward. School is in session, and I thought things would settle into a routine. I guess we are in a routine. Its just that it seems to move at the speed of light. It's almost 8:00 p.m. Time to see if I can get three boys to go to bed. (I have hidden the Halloween Candy...that should help:)

Why is the sky blue?

Donald, "Why is the sky blue?"

Before I could answer....

Nicholas responded, "God made colors so you can see things. If everything was the same color, everything would be camouflaged. You wouldn't be able to find anything. That's why God made colors."

Finaly, I think we are on the way to well. Keep well, will write soon.

Hard to believe, but we have yet another bug going through the house. (No big worries, just the normal back to school stuff. We kicked the fevers, and now we are on to the stomach bugs.) As soon as all the household duties are through and all is well, I will try to reconnect with writing. Hope you and yours are staying well.

shoot and miss

My goal was to have a quote from St. Terese for each day of the novena. Sick kids, late nights, early mornings = missed goals.

Words of a Saint

"You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much

at the greatness of our actions,

nor even at their difficulty,

but at the love with which we do them."

-St. Therese

visit catholic by grace to read the novena to Saint Therese.

words of a saint

"Let us see life as it really is...

It is a moment between two eternities..."

-St. Therese

Sunday Fidgets

Today the sermon ended by father saying, "Live the life of a prophet, spread the good news of God's love. Live your faith."

I was talking with a friend this week about St. Therese and the quotes I had found on line. In particular, "Jesus does not ask for your accomplishments, He only asks for our love. He thirsts for our love." I told her that she shares her love of God with such grace, that it is inspiring. She is the mother of 4 young children, and is an active church member. She joins groups, leads groups, encourages others to share their love of God. Not all of us are inclined to lead a Church group, but there are many opportunities to be involved. From adoration chapel to St. Vincent De Paul. As Saint Therese said, "a word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart." We all touch the lives of others everyday.

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted" -Aesop