Seven Quick Takes

1.  Having a bit of this lately:

2. For which reason I can completely associate with Simcha's post about the same -- which, if you've ever had insomnia, or been pregnant, or if you just like to laugh, you totally have to go read.  (So, go read -- but come back, ok?)

3. Are you back?  Good!  I'm glad to see you.  Wasn't that hysterical? Anyway, where was I?  Oh, yeah...  Because of the lack of zzzzz lately, I find myself careening wildly up and over and around a roller coaster of moods, between having a crazy urge to dance across the living room one minute and collapse on the couch, comatose, the next. Between pulling all my notebooks and files out and spreading them all over my bed to organize for the next school year and then discovering I only have enough brain juice to maybe fold washcloths.  Between gathering up all the littles and herding them up to Cascade Falls for an outing one minute and wondering what the heck I was thinking by the time we got there.  But, still, it was fun.  I survived the hike up.  The kids didn't fall off the cliff.  It was all good.  And we were certainly all better for the excursion.  Though it didn't help a lick to get me to sleep that night.  Here are some pics:



The bottom of Cascade Falls
The Little Falls



Anna



Gabey



William

Cathy

Michelle

Theresa

Heading up the trail to the Big Falls

Cascade Falls
The Big Falls
The Real Thing

Playing in the spray and the pools at the bottom

Climbing up

Way up.
(Yes, that's Dan with William way up there...)

Up to the cave.
Can you see the little cave?
Can you see them all in it?

There they are.
As seen by my camera's zoom.

But here they are in the real life, big picture.

And here they are after they came down.
Playing in the spray.
Soaking wet.

And safe back down again.
Thank-you, God.

4.  Which reminds me about worrying.  You know, like how mothers sometimes do.  And confidence. Like what kids are so full of. 

We keep seeing this tee shirt in the mountain gift shops around here:

Nails it, huh?  Not always, but sometimes, us old-timers (or, more correctly, I guess I should call myself a "middle ager" -- or something like that) actually do have hindsight that has, over time, wrapped around to foresight.  And, when you've been kicking around the old planet a little while and slipped off enough ledges and been blindsided by enough big waves, you come to know that you almost never fully understand the situation.  When this finally sinks in -- if you're lucky -- that which used to be confidence turns to caution.  And that which you feel for those who haven't figured it out yet is worry.  Just so you know, kids.  We have full confidence that we'll worry even more before it's all said and done.

5.  Which reminds me of intrepid William the Conqueror who

                       dared the sea to catch him...

And it did.

Sometimes we have to accept when something really is bigger than we are.

6.  Like getting old.  In my recent bi-polar-zombie-like state, especially in the wee hours of the morning, when I'm pondering things like how my hips creak when I roll over and how I don't think I used to always miss when I slapped at mosquitoes, I think of things like the aging process.  And how it really sucks.  (Yeah, that's slang, but perfectly descriptive slang even for an old timer like me.) And there's nothing I can do to stop it.  It's like the tide eroding the coast.  You can shore things up, you can decorate the edges with brightly colored umbrellas, you can haul away the seaweed... 

You can try to keep your feet dry and the sand out of your bathing suit...

But... Now where was I going with this?  Oh, yes...  on to the last quick take, number seven.

7.  Where I get serious and remember that, truly, we are all destined once to live and then -- the four final things.  A good friend died this week.  Someone I saw nearly every day.  This has never happened to me before, which, I realize makes me very innocent in the way of the world at this late date.  I loved my grandparents, but their deaths didn't impact my world in a practical way because we never saw them more than once a year.  The same is true of friends and other relatives that have passed away in my memory.  When our baby, Matthew, died in utero, I had known him in a real way for six and a half months as his mother, but he had not yet become part of my real daily life.  So, this death in very close proximity has been a rather hard one for me to bear.  Any day I attended Mass, I saw my friend.  And had coffee and conversation with her afterward.  I wish I had been there more often than I was.  For many reasons. 

 My friend was not a young woman, but she was vital, intelligent, and filled with energy; she had lived an extraordinary, purposeful, faith-filled life; she mothered sixteen children and loved many, many grandchildren; she literally built a faith community by her determination, hard work, and prayer; she was respected, admired, and loved -- dearly -- by everyone who was blessed to know her.  Her example and her faith has influenced me more than anyone's I have ever known, and because I only got to know her a few short years, I have to say I feel a little gypped that I couldn't benefit still more by her friendship and her counsel. I will miss her more than I think I even know yet.   But,  I have little doubt that if this dear soul is not already seeing the face of God, she will be very soon.  There's no greater joy than that, and so my sadness is really more for myself.  I'll miss her. 

The world has lost a remarkable, wonderful, dynamic woman.  Heaven has gained her.  God bless you, Jan.  Look down on me from where you are and nudge me when I need it.  And don't worry, we're all going to make sure that the flowers in the Grotto are weeded.

*For more Quick Takes from many wonderful bloggers, run over to Conversion Diaries!

Gratuitous Pictures of Grandbaby, Gavin

We love him just a little bit!

Here's Gavin with Dominic (our seminarian) and Michelle (Gavin's Godmomma)  just after everyone got back from the beach near Camp Pendleton last week (Was that last week or two weeks ago now?  Hmmmm...  Totally losing track of time here these days...)

I have a bazillion more pictures of Gavin with his other aunts and uncles, parents, and grandparents -- but most of them are still stuck on Dan's laptop -- which I have yet to access...  So -- um -- well-- look out... :) More yet to come.

What I'm Really Thinking Wednesday

Not that I don't love every hair on every sweet child's head in this house, but (bless their hearts) the enthusiasm is wearing me out around here. 

What I want to know is:

How is it that two little boys who have a house full of toys can each drum up so much vigor in his determination to possess the same matchbox car at the exact same moment?

Can we ever really and truly actually get all the blocks picked up and put in the block box?

And, why is there a ramp running down off the side of the laundry basket in my bedroom when matchbox cars aren't going to roll on the carpet in there anyway?

How many times will it take watching Tangled,  Ice Age III, and Despicable Me before folks around here can turn down the sound and say all the dialogue and sing all the songs themselves?

Why is it that summer music is played louder than winter music?

And doesn't it bother anyone besides me when someone is playing the piano when Pandora is on and everyone's talking all at the same time?

Will certain people ever realize that careening full speed on their bikes down the hill and around the corner of our gravel driveway is running us out of bandaids and Neosporin?

Why are there half a dozen different Nancy Drew books lying around the house?  Are the preteen girls each reading two at a time?  Is one girl reading six at a time?  Do they just not remember where they go when they're finished reading them?  Or do they just like the ambience of having them lying around indiscriminately?  Nancy's cute, girls, but I'm getting a little tired of her face every time I turn around.

When will a particularly persistent little man around here figure out that no matter how many times he asks for snack he's only getting something at 10 am and 3 pm?  And it's not going to be ice pops every time.

If I had a quarter for every flip flop I've picked up out of the middle of the floor so far this summer, how many venti mocha coconut frappuccinos could I buy?

Whatever will I do all day when summer's over and the kids are in school (even William this year!) and it's just me and Cathy left in a quiet, boring, old house?

City Mice, Country Mice

Before we went on our western United States road trip a few weeks ago, Dan and I got to spend a weekend, celebrating our anniversary in downtown Denver.  This was a departure for us, as we almost always get off the beaten track on vacations, spending most of our time hiking or four-wheeling or just soaking up the country somewhere.  But, we thought it might be time for something a little different.  And, though, I can't say I'd want to make a habit of spending our precious down time in a city atmosphere, we were both pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed ourselves amidst the hustle and bustle of downtown Denver. 

It was a good time, literally living the high life in the Mile High City.  We got a room in a high rise (on the 31st floor!), and spent our days wandering around on concrete sidewalks, seeing the sights, taking in the sounds, doing some people watching.  (And there are some veerrry interesting people to behold in a big city, oh boy...)   The most enjoyable sight-seeing were the tours we got to take of the historic homes around the city, though, and the walk down to the Platt River bridge (and the awesome restaurant we found there) was a lot of fun.  And we got to meet Kevvy to catch a Rockies game!  Super fun!  There's a lot to do in the city!  I'd lived in the suburbs of Denver for over twenty years and had no idea there were such great parks and restaurants so close to downtown!  Go figure.  Dan and I were both pooped by the time we got home to our home in the hayfield -- and our feet were killing us!  But it was a blast. Though I'll always be more of a country mouse, I can sure appreciate the city mouse's digs!

 Here are a few shots of our city tour:

There were several of these beautifully painted vintage pianos throughout the 16th St. Mall in downtown Denver.  Folks were encouraged to sit down and play.  Very cool.  Some people were amazingly good, some not so much.  I so wished I had a couple of my piano playing youngins around to show off!

Here's my better half at a restaurant near the Platt River, downtown.  Super atmosphere; great food!



Check out "mirror man"!



The  bridge over the Platte River.

 But, then we went on our cross (western) country tour, and got to see so much beautiful country -- I just don't have the time to download all the pictures we got of beautiful scene after beautiful scene. Needless to say, the countryside all around Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming was gorgeous. The big sky country of Montana was breathtaking -- and, just as you'd guess -- amazingly grand and expansive.  The beautiful hills and trees of Washington state were lovely; the Columbia River Canyon in Oregon was unexpectedly magnificent; and the beaches of southern California were -- well, they were the beaches of southern California!  But, the countryside that stayed with all of us as the most truly spectacular were the Redwood Forests of northern California.  We all wished we had more time to spend exploring the paths, looking for the biggest trees!  Here are a few shots from the area around the Avenue of Giants:



Sometimes you find crowds in the country --
 (You even catch some PDA occasionally -- that's Kev and Emily there, and the rest of the gang....)
Check out our trip tees.  :)  They quote Tolkien:  Not all who wander are lost...  Really.  They're not.  They just look like it sometimes.  We got more comments from folks about these tee shirts!  Made for lots of fun, having them.





William thought these great big trees were really neat, but what he really wanted to know was, "So, where's Bigfoot?"



Here's a shot up the center of a hollow giant redwood.  Amazing, huh?



And here's Dominic climbing up the outside of one -- backward. (I don't know why...)

 

And here they are, all the way up to the sky...



Winding out of the woods, heading toward the orange groves in central CA




But, one last look at the beautiful, verdant forest...





And , hey, what's that?  Look! -- Could it be?  Is it Bigfoot??

But to sum it all up, I have to say:

The city is great; the city is fine,

But we'll take the country most of the time.

Novena to St. Anne

 When you walk down the road with the saints in your life, you very often are blessed to get a sense of their personalities -- and we have been blessed to learn that the mother of Mary, the grandmother of Our Lord is a practical saint, full of humor and affection, wise and loving, and very attentive to our requests. 

 One of our dearest heavenly friends, we  named our fourth daughter "Anna" for her.  She has been my constant companion through the years, beginning as my labor partner through all our child births, up until my initiation into the world of grandmotherhood. I can't imagine going through this next phase of my life without her by my side.   I cannot recommend her friendship enough!

To learn a little bit about the life and traditions of St. Anne, go here.


Many people begin their novenas to end the day before the feast, but we've always scheduled ours to end on the feast itself. One way or another, I don't expect it matters much to St. Anne when you remember her and beg her intercession, though!

Novena to
GLORIOUS SAINT ANNE,


Filled with compassion
For those who invoke you
And with love for those who suffer,
Heavily laden with the weight of my troubles,
I cast myself at your feet
And humbly beg you
To take the present affair
Which I commend to you
Under your special protection.

(Mention the request.)
Deign to commend it to your daughter,
The Blessed Virgin Mary,
And lay it before the throne of Jesus,
So that He may bring it to a happy issue.

Cease not to intercede for me
until my request is granted.

Above all,
Obtain for me the grace
Of one day beholding my God
Face to face,
And with you and Mary
And all the saints,
Praising and blessing Him
for all eternity.
Pray for us, St. Anne.
That we may be made worthy
Of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray

O Almighty and eternal God,
Who chose St. Anne
To bring into the world
The Mother of Your only Son,
Mercifully grant to us,
We beseech You,
Who devoutly honor her memory,
Grace to obtain through her merits,
The blessings of eternal life.
Who lives and reigns
The world without end.
Amen.
Good St. Anne,
Mother of her who is our life,
Our sweetness and our hope,
Pray for me. Amen
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
* My apologies for having posted this so late that it's almost too late to make the first day of these novena to end on the feast day.  It's been a long and unusual day, filled with the unexpected pleasure of getting to spend a special mother-daughter day with Cathy (10), but overshadowed by a great sorrow in our world.  We had news today that someone very near and dear to us, a very special friend from our parish, is lying on her deathbed, soon to go to God.  The mother of sixteen children and the grandmother to countless grandchildren, Jan was a wise friend to all of us and a truly beloved grandmother to all the children of our parish, including our kids.  I don't know anyone as loved as Jan.  She will be sorely, sorely missed here on earth, but a wonderful addition to heaven.   We pray for her soul that she sees God face to face as quickly as possible, but, to be honest, we're not worried that it'll take long.  We can easily imagine her enjoying the perfect gardens of heaven and looking down to earth at the gardens she worked so hard to build here. 
 
My petition to St. Anne in this novena is that I can learn from my wise and dear friend's examples of wisdom, charity, hard work and faith.  God bless her.  And bless us who are left here without her.

Do You Have A Chain Link Fence?

Do You Crochet?

Embellisment on a fence surrounding construction work near downtown Denver this summer.

How cool is this?
Wonder who on earth put all the work into it!

**  Ask and you shall receive! Anna responded to my question with this link.

Souvenir

 French, noun use of ( se ) souvenir  to remember < Latin subvenīre  to come to mind, equivalent to sub- + venīre  to come.

This One From the Beach:

Michelle (16) with her brothers, Dominic (17) and Paul (23) at the beach at Camp Pendleton, July, 2011



The Mermaid

Who would be

A mermaid fair,

Singing alone,

Combing her hair

Under the sea,

In a golden curl

With a comb of pearl,

On a throne?

II.

I would be a mermaid fair;

I would sing to myself the whole of the day;

With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;

And still as I comb’d I would sing and say,

“Who is it loves me? who loves not me?”

I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall,

Low adown, low adown,

From under my starry sea-bud crown

Low adown and around,

And I should look like a fountain of gold

Springing alone

With a shrill inner sound,

Over the throne

In the midst of the hall;

Till that great sea-snake under the sea

From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps

Would slowly trail himself sevenfold

Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate

With his large calm eyes for the love of me.

And all the mermen under the sea

Would feel their immortality

Die in their hearts for the love of me.

III.

But at night I would wander away, away,

I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,

And lightly vault from the throne and play

With the mermen in and out of the rocks;

We would run to and fro, and hide and seek,

On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,

Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea.

But if any came near I would call, and shriek,

And adown the steep like a wave I would leap

From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;

For I would not be kiss’d by all who would list,

Of the bold merry mermen under the sea;

They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me,

In the purple twilights under the sea;

But the king of them all would carry me,

Woo me, and win me, and marry me,

In the branching jaspers under the sea;

Then all the dry pied things that be

In the hueless mosses under the sea

Would curl round my silver feet silently,

All looking up for the love of me.

And if I should carol aloud, from aloft

All things that are forked, and horned, and soft

Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,

All looking down for the love of me.

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson (1830)

Our Michelle -- Girl of the mountains and the wide prairie

Her motto always: Colorado 's the best --

Who'd ever have guessed?

She's also a Shell of the sea!

Wouldn't throw her back.

Souvenir

 French, noun use of ( se ) souvenir  to remember < Latin subvenīre  to come to mind, equivalent to sub- + venīre  to come.

From the Long Road Home:


Theresa and William somewhere in the middle of Utah I think...

After having driven almost 3,000 (yes, count 'em; I-still-can't-believe-it, 3000) miles...

* in two cars carrying fourteen people..
* over the Rockies to Denver; from Denver to Yellowstone; from Yellowstone to Spokane; from Spokane to Laguna Beach and home again.... 



Somewhere in Utah, Nevada or Arizona
I couldn't tell you which...



* over mountains (several times), through rolling high prairies, under the big sky of Big Sky Country, past geysers and buffalo and grizzly bears, through redwood forests and river canyons, alongside the Pacific Ocean, through vast orchards, cute little seaside towns and endless teeming cities, stuck in LA traffic for thousands of years, then onto  dusty deserts, and canyonlands.... 



Somewhere in Huntington Gardens, CA



* after being away from home for two-and-a-half weeks, and...

* having left our (28-in-all) footprints at awesome Mount St. Michael's in Spokane, then at Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Sea World, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach and San Onofre Beach, not to mention at Grandma and Grandpa's and Paul and Nicole's houses...



This is the by-popular-demand "silly version" of the Disneyland photo...



We even remembered to dig these two
up before we left the beach...

 * and after having lost one whole men's suit of Sunday clothes (who lost them shall remain nameless), one pair of little boy's sneakers (which mysteriously turned up later in the bottom of a little girl's suitcase), a curling iron (which we just found in the children's coloring book bag) and several bottles of shampoo (which are apparently gone forever) -- but no children!

* we found our way  back to our very own beds in our very own cozy little log house on the Western Slope of Colorado on Monday night (the 11th)...

* and woke up Tuesday morning to little paper numbers on our doors (thank-you, William and Gabey) -- but no maid service...

Doggonit.

And so...  I've been doing laundry non-stop since Monday.   And making my own bed.  But eating much healthier food from my own fridge and taking some time to rest my poor aching feet...

And get back to the wonderful, sweet, ordinary day-to-day.

Life is good.

The Vacation was Once in a Lifetime.

But it's wonderful to be home!

St. Thomas More, Patron of Large Families

The Biography of St. Thomas  in the Catholic Encyclopedia

His story in a nutshell: St. Thomas More, the father of four children (plus the daughter of his second wife whom he adopted) and a highly respected lawyer and chancellor of England in the early 16th century, was imprisoned in the Tower of London and later martyred for his refusal to bend his religious beliefs for the pleasure of King Henry VIII.

Basic Stats:

Born
•7 February 1478 at London, England

Married
* 1505 Jane Colte, who bore their four children (three girls and a boy) before dying in 1511

Died
•beheaded on 6 July 1535 on Tower Hill, London, England
•body taken to Saint Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, England
•his head was parboiled and then exposed on London Bridge for a month as a warning to other “traitors”; Margaret Roper bribed the man whose was supposed to throw it into the river to give it to her instead
•in 1824 a lead box was found in the Roper vault at Saint Dunstan’s Church Canterbury, England; it contained a head presumed to be More’s

Beatified
•1886 by Pope Leo XIII

Canonized
•1935 by Pope Pius XI

Patronage
•adopted children
•Arlington, Virginia, diocese of
•Ateneo de Manila Law School
•civil servants
•court clerks
•difficult marriages
•large families
•lawyers
•Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, diocese of
•politicians (2000 by Pope John Paul II)
•politicos (2000 by Pope John Paul II)
•statesmen (2000 by Pope John Paul II)
•step-parents
•University of Malta
•University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters
•widowers

To celebrate the feast day, A Man For All Seasons (1966, starring Paul Scofield) provides an excellent portrait of St. Thomas' life.  It can be found on Netflix!

 


Writings and Quotes of Saint Thomas More
Treatise on the Blessed Sacrament
Utopia
 
"You must not abandon the ship in a storm because you cannot control the winds... What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can."
 
From Utopia, 1516:
"Nothing can come except what God wills. And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, even if nothing has ever appeared so bad, it shall indeed be the best... I never intend, God being my good Lord, to pin my soul to another man's back, not even the best man that I know this day living; for I know not where he may hap to carry it."

To his daughter, from prison 1534:
"What men call fame is, after all, but a very windy thing. A man thinks that many are praising him, and talking of him alone, and yet they spend but a very small part of the day thinking of him, being occupied with things of their own."

"I will not mistrust [God], though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear... I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning."

"If any man marvel that God made all His creatures such as they should always need aid of His grace, let him know that God did it out of His double goodness. First, to keep them from pride by causing them to perceive their feebleness, and to call upon Him; and secondly to do His creatures honor and comfort."

"Often, actually very often, God allows his greatest servants to make the most humiliating mistakes."
"A man buys hell here with so much pain, that he might have heaven with less than one-half. Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be."
"If I am distracted, Holy Communion helps me to become recollected. If opportunities are offered by each day to offend my God, I arm myself anew each day for the combat by the reception of the Eucharist. If I am in special need of light and prudence in order to discharge my burdensome duties, I draw nigh to my Saviour and seek counsel and light from him."

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."

Erasmus' written portrait of St. Thomas More, written in July of 1519:
 

To begin then with what is least known to you, in stature he is not tall, though not remarkably short. His limbs are formed with such perfect symmetry as to leave nothing to be desired. His complexion is white, his face rather than pale and though by no means ruddy, a faint flush of pink appears beneath the whiteness of his skin. His hair is dark brown or brownish black. The eyes are grayish blue, with some spots, a kind which betokens singular talent, and among the English is considered attractive, whereas Germans generally prefer black. It is said that none are so free of vice. His countenance is in harmony with his character, being always expressive of an amiable joyousness, and even an incipient laughter and, to speak candidly, it is better framed for gladness than for gravity or dignity, though without any approach to folly or buffoonery. The right shoulder is a little higher than the left, especially when he walks. This is not a defect of birth, but the result of habit such as we often contract. In the rest of his person there is nothing to offend . . .He seems born and framed for friendship, and is a most faithful and enduring friend . . .When he finds any sincere and according to his heart, he so delights in their society and conversation as to place in it the principal charm of life . . .In a word, if you want a perfect model of friendship, you will find it in no one better than in More . . .In human affairs there is nothing from which he does not extract enjoyment, even from things that are most serious. If he converses with the learned and judicious, he delights in their talent, if with the ignorant and foolish, he enjoys their stupidity. He is not even offended by professional jesters. With a wonderful dexterity he accommodates himself to every disposition. As a rule, in talking with women, even with his own wife, he is full of jokes and banter. No one is less led by the opinions of the crowd, yet no one departs less from common sense . . .
 
 
 
 Prayer of St. Thomas More
Give me the grace good Lord,

to set the world at naught;

to set my mind fast upon Thee
and not to hang upon the blast of men's mouths.
To be content to be solitary.
Not to long for worldly company
but utterly to cast off the world
and rid my mind the business thereof.
Not to long to hear of any worldly things,
But that the hearing of worldly phantasies may be to me displeasant.
Gladly to be thinking of God,
Piteously to call for His help,
To lean unto the comfort of God,
Busily to labor to love Him.
To know mine own vility and wretchedness,
To humble and meeken myself under the mighty hand of God,
To bewail my sins passed;
For the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity.
Gladly to bear my purgatory here,
To be joyful of tribulations,
To walk the narrow way the leadeth to life.
To bear the cross with Christ,
To have the last thing--death--in remembrance,
To have ever afore mine eye my death, that is ever at hand;
To make death no stranger to me;
To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of hell;
To pray for pardon before the Judge come.
To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me;
For His benefits uncessantly to give Him thanks,
To but the time again that I before have lost.
To abstain from vain confabulations,
To eschew light foolish mirth and gladness;
Recreations not necessary, to cut off.
Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all--to set the loss at nought
for the winning of Christ.
To think my most enemies my best friends,
For the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good
with their love and favor as they did him with their
malice and hatred.
- Saint Thomas More

Check out:
St. Thomas More Pro Life Law Center
St Thomas More: Model For Modern Catholics by John F. Fink