What Parents Want

We want our children to at least make some attempt to hike at a pace that the old folks can keep up with. Actually and figuratively. We want our children to take off their shoes and socks and put them where they belong and not in the middle of the floor right in front of the door.

We want our toddlers to go to sleep when we put them to bed for their afternoon naps so they don't crash (in the weirdest places) right before dinner. We want the kids to have fun and enjoy one another's company, but not outside our bedroom door at 6:30 on a Saturday morning.

We want them to pay at least as much attention to us as to the computer.

We want the children to study hard...

play nicely...

and clean up after themselves!
And, we want them to not sit so close to the wood stove.
(I don't know who took this picture, kids, but SHEESH! Next time scoot their little butts back about three feet, ok?)

"Parents are not interested in justice, they're interested in peace and quiet."

Bill Cosby

Six Years Ago Today

Our ninth child, our fourth daughter was born!

See that face? It says it all.

She is the original Princess of Quite-a-Lot.

Happy Birthday, Anna Germaine!

We love you to the moon!

Jinxed or Blessed?

Laura just wrote a post about how she just really doesn't like the snow, and it got me to thinking.

I definitely understand not liking the snow. I'm not sure I like it. But then, I'm not so sure I don't, either. I'm usually pretty decisive about things... But, I'm really conflicted abou this snow thing. I needed to contemplate it and maybe post on it... (Am I the only one who thinks better in print?)

But, seriously, it's too important a subject for a snap judgement, right? Weather, after all, is a divine creation!

So, thinking out loud here (so to speak). I am considering snow.

I have very few childhood experiences with snowfall for it to have made an early impression on me one way or another. I grew up in the south, and it was a very rare occurrence, which may have lent it an air of the unattainable. But, it was a generally positive thing, if a little mysterious.


By the time our family moved to Colorado, I was in my mid teens and snow meant one of two things: 1) a possible snow day, free from school, or 2) a chance to socialize, meeting up with friends to go ice skating or sledding or whatever. So, it had nice connotations, but ones that didn't really relate to the snow, itself.

By the time I was in college, it was a nuisance because it kept me from doing things I may have wanted to do. And, then, by the time I was married with children, it became the cause of messes to be cleaned up, snowball fights to be refereed, and boots, hats, and mittens to be kept track of. And mud. We have a lot of mud here where we live.

Ugh.

But, still... Even with all that said,
* I love to watch the scenery outside my windows fill up with crisp clean snow,
* I love the silence of it filling up the landscape when nothing else in my world is quiet,
* I love the sound of its squeaky crunching under my boots when I go outside,
*and I love to look up into the sky and see the millions and trillions of flakes falling from ~ where?
* The Hand of God...

But, I don't particularly like to play in it.
* Though I'm a Coloradan, I'm not a skiier.
* I might like to go sledding if I didn't have the cold fingers and noses of toddlers to contend with ~ but by the time little cold noses and fingers are not an issue for me, I'll be too old to consider catapulting myself down an icy hill.
* I'm not afraid to drive on icy roads (though maybe I ought to be), but I do hate the mess it makes of my car, and entryway, and the kids' coats and boots....

These are all the thoughts that pelted around inside the landscape of my brain when I first started contemplating my real, deep down opinion of snow.
At first thought, and the last thought, I was still conflicted.

But, that was yesterday.

This is today...

The first thought I had when I saw it falling outside our window, in great big feathery flakes was:

Whoopee! Let's get some hot chocolate going, kids! Let's see who can be the first to find a matched pair of gloves!

So, yes, Laura, I guess I actually do like the snow.

*:o)

(But, ask me again how I feel about it right around the end of February...)

Simple Woman Monday, November 10th

Run over to Peggy's to meet a world of kindred spirits at her Simple Woman Monday gathering!

Outside My Window ... the eastern sky is lightening up just enough to see that Bella (our 10 month old yellow lab) has gone over to our neighbor's where they are building a new fence and dragged a box of nails over here and dumped it out in front of our door. Bella.

I am hearing... My husband whistling, as he goes about getting ready for work.

I am wearing... pink sweats jammies and my purple velvet "queen" robe.

I am reading... The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters.

Towards a daily rhythm ... we've changed a beat in our school routine, trading out our geography tour of Europe with a study of the U.S. presidents and the states, themselves. That's the beauty of homeschooling; we can allow an event like the elections to divert our attention and lead us down a path of learning that may be more productive than the one we started out on.

I am hoping... for a peaceful, productive week ~ with everyone well. We've been fighting off a bit of a virus and colds here for a couple of weeks now...

From the kitchen ... My mom just called a couple of days ago for our annual "turkey talk." We have Thanksgiving out here at the farm with the whole family in attendance (my parents, six brothers and sisters and their families, plus a contingent of our boys' friends from Omaha who can't get home for Turkey Day), and there's a lot of food planning to do!

One of my favorite things... Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes (we're addicted!)

I am creating... handmade gifts for Christmas and crafts for our parish St. Nicholas Festival ~ coming up sooner than I want to think about!

Around the house... Just got a good price on thermal drapes for some of our leakier windows. It makes me sad to have to cover up our views and cut off the light ~ I really prefer not to have window coverings ~ but, we're trying to be as energy efficient as we can this winter. I guess I'll get used to seeing them...

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... I have this idea that I need to get down into the cellar (also referred to as the "pirates' cave" and the "general store") and do some cleaning ~ and make an inventory of what food stores I have down there, for more efficient shopping and cooking. We'll see if I actually get to this project; it'll be a time consuming one.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing:


Michelle (13), William (2), and Gabe (4). (Cathy (7), Theresa (10) and Anna (6) have already run up to the house.) We let all of them out of the car at the bottom of the driveway when we picked up the Sunday paper. Don't worry, we didn't kick them out. They always want to do this on nice days. There's something so free and young about running your little heart out in the cool, clear air, trying to "beat" Daddy up to the house. It's fun for us, too, coasting at a snail's pace behind them, watching them run ahead of us. Doesn't take much to amuse us, does it?

The theory, of course, is that some of the after-Mass-doughnut-silliness we got to listen to on the drive home will burn off with the exercise, leaving us with calm and docile children when we reach the house. Does it work?

What do you think?

Anna had a very nice birthday party today.

But now that the guests have gone home,
the excitement is over,
the cake and ice cream have been put away,
and the wrapping paper is all picked up...

...she is not happy about the color of her new mood ring.

Theresa's advice: "Go sit in your room where it's quiet and think serene thoughts."

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Must Be November...

The week in pictures...

An autumn tradition, our little brown squirrel hides all around the house this time of year. As soon as the children spot him, he scurries away to find another hiding place. So far he's shown up hiding behind the flowers on the mantle, on the shelves over the stove (above), and the latest spotting was here on the trike. Following are a few of our autumn decorations, including some embellishments for our St. Theresa portrait, a work in progress of Jon's. We put this painting out at the beginning of October for her feast day, finshed or not, and here we are a month later... Nobody has the heart to take it down. It may just be a permanent fixture here on top of the piano. Maybe when Jon comes home at Thanksgiving, he'll take the hint and get out his paints to finish it...

Some close up shots of our autumn village, below. We use the top of our school cabinet for our seasonal displays. The Bible verse on the print hanging above is Ecclesiastes 3:1. The five little pumpkins on the fence (below) we made in honor of our children's first and favorite autumn poem.

The lights on our autumn wreath were the prize for a major literary award I won recently. Don't they look neat? (Incidentally, the kids havent noticed it yet, but our little squirrel is hiding in the leaves on the wreath...)

Here are the Saints after they came marching in last Saturday at our parish All Saints' Day party...Three of our little saints down there. On the far right, Gabey as Old Testament St. Daniel; on the far left, William as his lion; in the middle Anna as St. Germaine. All Souls' Day visits on Monday, Nov.3rd, to pray for dear ones and those who may never get prayers.

Here we are visiting the grave of a dear parish priest, Fr. White. He got lots of prayers and lovin' and a bouquet of autumn leaves from Gabe.

Here are Theresa, Cathy, and Gabe, tending to the grave of our little one, Matthew. We have a bouquet of autumn flowers to add to his grave as soon as we figure out how to weight it properly so it won't blow away. Oh, how the wind does blow out here!

(We're thinking we may just fill the pot with rocks, which will hold the pot down, but we're not sure if that will help keep the flowers in place. We've had a problem with this for years ~ the flowers blowing out of the pot. Anyone have any ideas ~ outside of concrete?)

All of our faithful departed...
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace.

Amen.

Photo Charades

Wanna play?

Can you figure out what words or phrases each of these picture groups spell out?

(Hint: They're Fairytale Titles)

A.

1 word

4 syllables

B.

2 words

3 syllables

C.

4 words

6 syllables

D.

4 words

5 syllables

&

the

For a game of real charades, you can find phrase ideas here and here.

And here's a really cool online game of charades to go play.

Here are the answers for anyone who might be wondering:

A

B

C

D

Another Favorite Autumn Recipe

Last fall, at the instigation of several bloggers whose taste I trust, I ventured away from my ever-favorite morning mocha and tried Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice latte. I didn't think anything could take the place of coffee and chocolate in my life, but, for this time of year at least, the cozy combination of hot milk and pumpkin spices (with a splash of coffee) is ambrosia. I was instantly hooked. But, at $4 a cup, I couldn't afford to be reeled in by Starbucks.

So, in the spirit of frugality and knowing that homemade is usually better anyway, we went on a hunt for a reasonable facsimile to make at home. (What did we ever do before Google, I wonder?)

After trying several, this recipe we found at Baking and Books (which, incidentally is an awesome blog for recipes of all kinds!)won the taste test award. Not only is it lip smackingly yummy, we think it's actually better than Starbucks!

Here's what we do. Make a batch of these muffins, which take only a cup of pumpkin puree, leaving enough pumpkin in the bottom of a 14.5 oz can for a couple batches of Pumpkin Spice Latte ~ which we can enjoy while eating the muffins!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients:

(Makes 2 servings)

1 level tablespoon pumpkin puree
1 cup milk (whole if you dare!)
1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar (packed and leveled)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg (+ a pinch for dusting later)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups strong coffee (brewed using 2 tbs per 1 cup of water)You can also use a shot or two of espresso instead of coffee.
4 tablespoons Coffeemate creamer
4 to 8 teaspoons of granulated sugar
Whipped cream

Directions:

Begin brewing coffee.
In a blender puree the milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the milk is warm and begins to froth slightly. (About 4-5 minutes.) Remove from heat.

For each serving: Pour 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture into your coffee mug. Add 2 generous tablespoons of Coffeemate creamer. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add 1 cup of brewed coffee. Add 2 to 4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you like your drink, I added 3 tsps.) Top off with a touch more ‘pumpkin milk’ then cover with whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Serve immediately.

(The lowfat version, which is also very good, can be found here.)

If you get the chance to try this, let us know how you like it!

AWARDS

Many, many thanks to Cathy and Marie for this award. I'm humbled and honored. But, they must know, of course, that I'm turning right around and offering it back to them!
This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day. Both of these dear ladies' blogs truly exemplify these values!

The rules to follow are :
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment.
Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Fifteen is such a generous number to award this to, but, seeing as it's almost 7:30 and I haven't corrected the girls' math from yesterday, or started breakfast, I need to edit my list to 5, for time's sake. (Some of these blogs may have already received the award, too, but that just goes to show how much they truly deserve it...)

For exellence in sharing such high values, I would like to pass this award on to:

Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda
Bia at La Dolce Vita
Suzy at Sailing by Starlight
Helen at Castle of the Immaculate
Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings

Favorite Autumn Recipes

Beef Stew

We had this last night for dinner. Finally! After craving it for two weeks, I actually got the chance to make some. This is a very basic, old fashioned recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. But, like almost all recipes around here, we use it as guidebook, with good suggestions, more than the code of cooking law. The veges you use in this stew, as well as the amount you choose is a matter of taste. Sometimes we'll add turnips or rutabeggas or whatever leftovers we have on hand that look good. The cut of beef is also variable. We found an especially good deal on London Broil at our awesome small town General Store ($1.99 a pound!), so felt free to simmer up a double batch. But, any cut works, really. The cheaper the better.

There is almost no more wonderful, comforting aroma than beef and onions and garlic drifting through the house on a crisp November afternoon. And, boy oh boy, did it taste good!

(This is for you, Laura!)

Ingredients

2 pounds stew beef (whatever you have on hand that's not expensive)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped (optional ~ my gang doesn't like cooked celery))
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions
Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

For the crockpot, brown the meat and prep the veges the night before or early in the morning; make the broth and start simmering the beef whenever you like, but don't add the veges until within 2 to 3 hours of serving ~ unless you don't mind them being very mushy. Add the cornstarch within an hour or so of serving, for best results.

(This recipe makes about 6 servings.)

Catching up with Common Sense?

Some were apparently surprised to find scientifically documented proof that television affects morality.

We weren't surprised.

The Presidents

To feel better about the recent campaign process and result, and to see how well our nation bounds and rebounds, check out the History channel today, where the awesome series, the Presidents, is playing. We're DVRing it and will watch an episode a day for the next week or two to put things in historical perspective.

I gotta tell you, it was cathartic learning about the race between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson first thing this morning.

Things really aren't so bad folks. Or, well, at least we know that, though things have sunk pretty low in the past, we've always recovered.

One Thing is Certain...

... In this world which has just been made more uncertain than usual...

God is watching over us as He always has, and has heard all our prayers.

His solution for our problems, it would seem, however, is different than the one we prayed for.

And most definitely better.

As a good priest friend of ours likes to say:

Everything'll be alright in the end.

If it's not alright, it's not the end.

We're going to keep right on praying.

Pray for America!

Prayer for Offering the Daily Rosary for the United States of America

Immaculate Mother, Patroness of the United States of America,

I offer to you this rosary with all my love on behalf of my homeland, consecrated to your Immaculate Conception and so loved by you.You appeared at Fatima and Pontevedra as Our Lady of the Rosary, and asked us to pray the rosary every day and to make reparation for the sins which pierce your Immaculate Heart. You promised that if we do what you ask, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.With confidence in your maternal love and your most powerful intercession before the throne of God, I offer this rosary in reparation to your Immaculate Heart for the sins by which it is pierced by the people of my country. In return, I beg you to obtain for America, through the Sacred Heart of your Divine Son, forgiveness for the sins of its people, the grace of true repentance, the gift of true peace, and the fulfillment of God's plan for our nation for the salvation of souls and the spread of Christ's kingdom on earth. I offer this rosary and make this intention in union with the Guardian Angel of the American People and all who join in this National Rosary Crusade, for the glory of God and the honor of your Immaculate Heart. Amen.

Prayer for the Nation

Almighty God, You have given us this good land for our heritage. We humbly ask You that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will. Bless our land with honorable endeavor, sound learning and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties and fashion into one united people the multitude brought here out of many nations and tongues. Endow with the Spirit of wisdom those to whom in Your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Your law we may show forth Your praise among the nations on earth. In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble do not allow our trust in You to fail. Amen.

~~ by Thomas Jefferson

**For more prayers specifically for our country on this election day or any day, please click on the title of this post!

Who Will Win?

Attention!

An important forward:

PBS has an online poll posted, asking if Sarah Palin is qualified.
Apparently the left wing knew about this in advance and are flooding the voting with NO votes.
The poll will be reported on PBS and picked up by the mainstream media.
Theoretically, this can influence undecided voters in swing states.

Please do two things -- takes 20 seconds.

1) Click on link and vote YES! Here's the link:http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

2) Then send this to every McCain-Palin supporter you know, and urge them to vote and pass it on.

H/T: Our Nicole

What do I think? I bet you already know... Do I believe Sarah Palin, a prolife hockey mom and doting mother of sweet Trig (incidentally a Downs syndrome baby, who is also the mother of a son serving his country now in the army, who will soon be a grandmother, who also has a daughter at the homeroom-cupcakes stage, who can also shoot and field dress a moose, who is more savvy on energy issues than any of the beltway boys and knows more about the nuts and bolts of kicking butt in high places than most other political types would dare imagine, who is smart, charming, genuine, well-spoken, honorable, and a patriotic American... Who not only knows how to lead, but is currently the governor with the highest approval rating in the US...

Do I think she's qualified? Qualified? This woman can do anything she has a mind to, do it better than anyone else, and look better than anyone else doing it!

Dang Straight she's qualified. I voted yes.

The Daily Chesterton

"Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance."
- from The Speaker

Is Chesterton talking about "Undecideds" here?

Can anybody explain to me how anyone, at this point of our presidential elections, could possibly be undecided? The pollsters keep saying they're waiting to see what these people do, so I guess they must be out there somewhere. I picture them wandering around with puzzled expressions on their faces... I've been keeping my eye open for them (the one that I'm not keeping on my two-year-old), but haven't spotted any yet.

Do you think they exist?

Seriously. Is it possible to have no opinion about the issue of abortion, one way or another? Are there really people out there who haven't detected a difference between the big-government, verging (at least)-on-socialism platform of one side, versus the smaller-government, traditionally capitalist-American platform of the other? (Ahem. Detect my bias here?)

Do some people really see no difference in the characters of the two men running for America's highest office? Are these the people who are waiting for one or the other candidate to prove himself the greater idiot by some accident of speech or fashion faux pas? Or are they waiting to get a last minute assessment of the popular decision before they throw in with the crowd?

Can it really be that there are voters out there so truly impartial that they can't bring themselves to form an opinion? Is this what tolerance has come to mean? Maybe these guys are just the ones who refuse to talk to the pollsters? Or do these undecideds live in Borneo and have no television, computer or newspaper?

I'm stumped.

I bet if Chesterton were here today, he'd have a great soundbite to explain it...

What will they think of next?

Check this out!

And here's one on our side of the Pacific Ocean:

Isn't that neat? Did you catch the "Lone Ranger" tune?