Friday, February 8, 2019

Why 2018 was Homeric*

Let me explain.

No, there is too much.

Let me sum up.

- Inigo Montoya

January 3, 2018

Lillian Eleanor Davis is born.

The second daughter, third child of our first son,

Paul and his beautiful wife, Nicole.

Such an angel, ohmygoodness!

She was 7 lbs, 4 oz and 19" long.

The whole family: Paul and Nicole, Gavin, Evelyn, and Lillian

*Also: In December, Paul (with a full heart) retires his military career as a Captain in the United
States Marine Corps, takes a private sector job, and makes a cross country move with his family from Florida (a long drive from Iowa!) to Minnesota (a hop-skip-jump at only 6 hours away for us grandparents!)

* And, no less important: Paul receives his MBA from the University of North Carolina in the fall of 2018!

February 11, 2018

Our number four son, Dominic, marries our dear friend, Monica.

So many blessings in this marriage already! They're so perfect for one another!

(Stay tuned about these two. More below!)

The whole kit and kaboodle, including grandchildren, grandparents, spouses

and Auntie Linda at Dominic and Monica's wedding.

February 18th, 2018

Sr. Maria Antonia (formerly Theresa Philomena) receives the black veil,

the first step into the Congregation of Mater Dei ( headquartered

here in Iowa and affiliated with the Congregationof Maria Regina Immaculata).

All of Sister Maria Antonia's new sisters, her family in Religion.

May 3, 2018

Our number three son, formerly known as Johanath Charles,

is ordained to the priesthood as a Religious Father of the CMRI.

Here you see the moment of consecration, Bp. Mark Pivarunas presiding.

Fr. Philip Marie Davis, CMRI, at the Consecration of the Wine, his first Mass, May 4, 2018

(It was glorious!)

* Also in the new year (much to our delight), Fr. Philip is transferred to Paul and Nicole's parish in Minnesota! It's not a long drive for us to see both our boys (and Paul's family), and it makes us happy that they're together. No telling how long it'll last, but it's golden for right now. :)

May, 2018

Child number seven, Catherine, graduates from high school and snags a boyfriend,

Louis, who happens to be Michelle's (child #5) brother in law. Everyone approves.
(And aren't they so cute?) Cathy also landed a full-time job at Hobby Lobby.
(Can I hear a Huzzah! fellow-crafters!?)

June 2018

Number five child, Michelle, and her husband and children move to Nebraska!

Less than an hour away from the Iowa homestead!

Mommom and Dandad are very very happy about this.

Pictured here: on Dandad's lap, Daria; on Mommom's lap, Ella

August 11, 2018

Second son, Kevin, marries sweet, lovely Ina in Uberlingen, Germany. The nuptial high Mass

and bestowal of the sacrament of Holy Matrimony is officiated by Kevvy's brother,

Fr. Philip Marie, his best friend, Fr. Carlos Borja, and his good friend and pastor, Fr. Johannes Heine.

Words cannot describe the beauty of this Mass, the church, the countryside, the reception...
Every little thing is perfect and amazing!

Love these two! Wish they lived closer! They've set up housekeeping in Germany.

(I've got tons of photos of our European trip to share at some point. Keep checking in!)

August 31, 2018

Daria and Ella get a baby sister! Claudia Cecilia is born and gets to be baptized

by her uncle, Fr. Philip. Mommom gets to play proxy Godmother and hold

baby Claudia at the big moment. (photo montage courtesy of Michelle)
<3 12="" 20="" 7="" and="" at="" came="" div="" in="" lbs="" long.="" oz="" she="">

Michelle and Ben's littlest cherub.

Almost five and a half months old now.

September, 2018

Anna, child number eight, turns sixteen and decides it's time

to move on from homeschooling (seeing as everyone else is doing the same thing),

and enters Mater Dei Academy as a junior (where her brothers and Michelle

went for high school). My loss = Sr. Gertrude's gain...

We kinda like this beautiful girl. Just a smidge.

(She's doing great!)

Also in September

Children numbers nine and ten, Gabe and William, decide they want to give the Minor

Seminary in Rathdrum, Idaho a try this year (2018-19) instead of next. And how is a Mom
to say "no" to that? I couldn't possibly have, and though I miss them like crazy, they're both doing great,
pulling As and B sand becoming independent and mature young men. (sniff!) We're all very proud of them!

Gabe's taken up juggling! He's a pro now!

And William -- is just William.

Thank goodness!

December 13, 2018

Last, but not least, this sugarplum finishes off our year of amazing

and wonderful things: Dominic and Michelle's first baby,

Margaret Mary Anne Davis: 8 lbs, 6 oz and 20" long.

Our seventh grandchild, sixth grand daughter!

Doncha love it? Another new little Catholic family. <3 td="">

And there you have it.
2018 in a nutshell. Still more like a coconut shell, even when it's summarized, I guess, but this is as bare bones as I can excavate. There's so much more!Believe me, there are stories and rumors of stories and jokes and pranks and miraculous saves behind every one of the year's milestones! But this gives you an idea, at least, of why other things took precedence over blogging this past year.

Things have calmed down considerably in 2019, though. So far. I think. As you've gathered, I'm sure, I'm pretty much home alone these days. The boys are in Idaho most of the year now, Anna is in school most of the day, and I'll only get to see Cathy and Dan when they're not at work. Which is weird. But it's all good. I'm working (or, more aptly not working) to kick the Lyme's Disease I contracted last fall (something else that happened), so I'm not up to getting a paying job at this point. I have time now (theoretically) to loll around, get healthy, and blog. And other stuff, too, I imagine. I'll let you know about that as it comes up. I'll share some of the photos I collected on our European adventures, at some point here, too, and I have a backlog of memes and links and random thoughts to share -- a lot of them based on this new phase of our lives right now -- and goofiness where ever I can find it, of course. Keep checking back to see what I'm in the mood to post as the days go by!

And, do please leave comments! Bloggers live for comments! Keep in mind, if you're coming from facebook that II won't see them on my FB link, as I'm on hiatus there, but I'll see them over here. Don't be shy!

I'm determined to get this ball rolling again. This is going to be fun!

* Homeric

adjective

Ho·mer·ic | \ hō-ˈmer-ik \

Definition of Homeric

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the Greek poet Homer, his age, or his writings

2 : of epic proportions : heroic

Thursday, February 7, 2019

The French Have a Word for it

Hi! Hello? Is anyone out there? See me over here waving? It's me? Remember me?

I know, right? It's been a long separation. I haven't written a blog post since June of 2016. That's more than two and a half years! Crazy. But the time has flown.

Our homeschool now has ten alumni,

seven graduates, only three still

in school -- but no longer at home.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Ponderings From the Hammock

You might be able to tell from the header photo up there that our hammock is near a little wilderness. It's actually right on the edge of a small forest within many square miles of countryside. I love it. Such beautiful views, and all the birdsong... It would be wonderfully peaceful -- except for one problem: there are lots of creepy sounds of creaking and randomly snapping twigs and rustling in the underbrush up there!

Hammock-sitters are speculating: is it something perfectly innocuous or something that should come accompanied with scary-warning music? Nobody's heard any screeching violins or repetitive 4-note themes pulsating in the depths of the forest. So... Perhaps what we're hearing really is just the wind, or the dogs and cats, or squirrels and raccoons...

BUT. What if it's really (shiver) the neighborhood mountain lion? Or... (Insert scary music) Is it...

BIGFOOT?

Monday, June 6, 2016

Maybe Not the Longest Day

William, inspired by D-Day movie, "The Longest Day."

What's Up:The Specs

* headed for "Oaktree Beach"
* a member of "Paddy's Light Infantry." (Paddy, btw, is the cat.)
* a "corporal and a group leader of two divisions." (Huh?)
* tells me he won't be in this division much longer because he's " getting too fat and these pants barely fit my legs."

So I'm wondering what does this mean? Does he get a promotion when he moves up to the next size pants, or what? I guess I'll have to wait and see, though. He wouldn't tell me because I was laughing...

Playing "War"

Gabe Terrorism Methods

(While watching the WWII movie, "Midway" this morning):

L: Gabe: really good at deadpan sarcasm
R: William: really good at self-righteous disgust

"So, Hiroshima is in Pearl Harbor?"
Eyeroll
"Gabe! It's in Japan!"

"Oh! Then Pearl Harbor is in Japan?"
William chokes on his bagel.
"Are you crazy?! Why would they attack themselves!?"

"And Normandy is an island?"
Facepalm
"Gabe! You're embarrassing me!"

Gabe's over there, hiding a smile behind his blanket.

"And that's Cary Grant, right?"
"Gabe! That's a bald Japanese guy!"

Sooner or later William's going to realize that Gabe's playing him. Hoping it doesn't escalate into violence before then.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Happy, Blessed, Glorious Easter!

Our beautiful church, after Easter midnight Mass, 2016

Big Brother Social Studies Lesson

Dominic to William:

"Totem poles? Yeah, an interesting history. They were used in warfare...

"The Indians would tie their captives to tall poles...

"...and throw toads at them."

"That's why they call them "toad 'em" poles"

(Well, I laughed, anyway.)

What Most People Didn't Do On Holy Saturday

We had a small window of time for this project while the big brothers were in town, and the days were so filled with ceremonies and traditions on Thursday and Friday (when the boys first got to Iowa), that Saturday was the only day to get it done -- we really needed the extra muscle for this! The following pictures show better than I can tell:

(See our daffodils? :) Love 'em!)

"Use your knees and not your back!"

"Heave Ho!"

Drizzly, chilly day... and the roof was slippery! :/ Thus the bare feet, for traction. (But I was more worried about Dan right about here...)

I started to breathe again at this point.

And here you have it: Gabriel is a very happy young man! This shelving unit is his baby, you see: Mr. Organization's Dream Shelves. How can a parent not move mountains for a kid who wants to be more organized!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Day Palm Sunday Happened

It's easy to become so accustomed to the Bible stories we've heard since childhood that we forget they're not just stories; they histories. Every incident related in the Bible was a day in a life: a day in the life of Jesus, our Saviour; a day in the life of His apostles; a day in the life of the people they met as they walked the dusty roads.

Following is an excerpt from one of my favorite Lenten books for meditating, The Day Christ Died, written by Jim Bishop in the late 1950s. For filling in all the little details, and for making you feel like you're there by the roadside, palm in hand, experiencing the day in His life, this book cannot be beaten. It's available on Kindle and can be found for as low as .50 a copy used (+ shipping, of course). Take a look: here.

Within a month of having raised Lazarus from the dead; within a week of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, having poured the bottle precious oil upon his feet:

By Sunday morning, the news of the arrival of Jesus was known in every alley in the Holy City. The people, not bound by the Sabbath, which expired the evening prior, came down the sloping road from the temple toward Bethany to greet him. They came in festive flocks, and the high priests, watching from the great height of Solomon's Porch, were vexed and passed a resolution condemning Lazarus to death. They knew that the raising of Lazarus from the dead had excited the people of Jerusalem to a pitch of frenzy for the Messiah; even some who had argued most vehemently that Jesus was not the elect of God were now admitting that he was, and were in the procession which set out to meet him.

It was a clear, cool, lustrous morning, with the spring sun spangling the dewy leaves, and the sky over the white marble of the temple spires was china blue, It was a day to drug the senses with goodness, and soon the road to Bethany was jammed with families, all of whom had their backs to the temple. Some of the pilgrims from Galilee joined their brethren from Judea and many began to pick branches of palm to lay down before the feet of the annointed.

In Bethany, Jesus thanked his hosts, and with his party of apostles and disciples was ready to leave. They walked out to the crossroads, and Jesus pointed to a village nestling against the slope of the Mount of Olives. He said to two of his disciples: "Go into the village directly in front of you and as you enter you will find hitched a foal on which no man has ever sat. Unhitch it and bring it here.

"And, in case anybody asks you: 'Why do you unhitch it?' just say: 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"

The two went to the little village and found a young donkey, hardly more than three feet tall, tethered to a public post. They looked around and, seeing no one, untied the line. Two men walked up and, studying the apostles suspiciously, said: "Why do you unhitch the foal?" The chosen ones looked worried and said: "Because the Lord has need of it." The owners bowed low and turned away.

When the two apostles returned leading the donkey -- it was gray, with dainty hoofs, as was common to the country -- the others tossed their cloaks onto its back and Jesus, turning his back to the animal, jumped off his toes and sat sideward on the cloaks.

Some started to lead the animal by a halter, but the crowd pressed in heavily on both sides and there was no need to guide it. The road was so thick with people that many families were forced higher into the hills, to ensure a look at the Messiah. Those close to the side of the road threw their cloaks before the hoofs of the donkey and the owners of the capes counted themselves fortunate that the weight of the Saviour had pressed on their apparel. Others threw palms and early spring flowers.

The Messiah went up the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, and, when he started down the western side, those who called themselves disciples of Jesus gasped as a panorama of people spread below them all the wqay to northeastern gate of the temple. At once, the disciples burst into song:

A blessing on the King

Who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

And glory in the heights above!

The donkey moved slowly, and crowds pressed from all sides, crying, "Hosanna to the son of David!" and the people threw the palm branches out and made a pliant green road for him all the way to the city. The Pharisees cupped their hands above the din and said:"Rabbi, reprove your disciples!" But Jesus, moved by the demonstraation, shook his head and said: "I tell you, if these are dumb, the stones will cry out."

The procession moved down the Mount of Olives and close to the garden of the gethsemane, then across the Brook Cedron and up the far side, past the cemetery of white stones and ossuaries, and into the northeastern gate, between the temple and the Fortress Antonia.

The Roman senties looked down on the scene, and they called to their superiors to come look at the Jews in a happy mood. The hosannas rang to the sky and fathers held infants as high as possible to permit them to look upon the face of the Lord. A group of Sadducean priests tried to use this gate to the temple and were forced by the press of the mob to go around to the western side. They were frightened at what Jesus had done to the people of Jerusalem, and some reported to Caiphas that not only had the people acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, but that some Pharisees and elders had been seen bending the knee to the faker. Unless something was done quickly, the temple would have no authority.

When Jesus reached the gate of the temple, he stopped the donkey. The press of people on three sides of him was now augmented by pilgrims running from the Gentile court toward him.

Jesus broke down. Tears shimmered on his lids and then he sobbed. He bowed his head and murmered:

Oh, if you, too, did know,

at least on this your day,

what makes for peace!

But alas it is hidden from your eyes!

Days are coming upon you

when your enemies

will throw a rampart round you,

and encircle you,

and press hard upon you on every side;

and they will dash to the ground

both you and your children within,

nor will they leave stone upon stone

within your walls'

because you didnot recognize

the time of your visitiation."

From The Day Christ Died, by Jim Bishop
Nihil Obstat: John A. Goodwine, J.C.D.
Imprimatur: Francis Cardinal Spellman, archbishop of New York, 1957

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

As-wordless-as-I-get Wednesday

"William, you know, with my reading glasses on, I can count all your freckles; I can see the pores in your skin!"

"Can you see... my... soul?" Grimace. "No, don't answer that. I know you can. You're my mother."

Note this, kids: all mothers can. wink emoticon It's a skill that comes with the eyes in the backs of our heads. And your Guardian Angels tip us off all the time, too. So just be good.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Tickle Me Tuesday

We call this photo:

Some People Pose

And Some People Don't

But their Momma thinks they're both beautiful, regardless.
(Cathy on the left, Theresa on the right.)

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Spring Cleaning

And summer cleaning, and fall cleaning, and winter cleaning...

I remember reading a commentary once from a woman who objected to being called a housewife. "I'm not married to my house!" she said, insisting that a better title (if one has to have one) is "home maker."

O.K. There's definitely something to this. Homemaker does sound better than housewife. Say it out loud:

* Homemaker: Can you smell the cinnamon rolls baking in the oven?
* Housewife: Oscar the Grouch slippers scuffing across the linoleum to dump the trash.

Right? It's bad enough that those of us who stay at home have to put up with the disrespect of most of the modern world; at least we should have a glam-title for our chosen vocation. Homemaker sounds nice and cozy, and rather... what? Admirable?

But, I have to come clean on this. (Pun intended) Though I certainly aspire to and sometimes imagine I approach the ranks of a June Cleaver homemaker in real life -- ~~sometimes~~ ~~maybe~~ once in a blue moon -- in the day-to-day, minute-to-minute, real-life analysis.... I think I'm really more like a housewife.

It's just the daily-daily of it all, ya know? The never-endingness of the gritty housekeeping tasks take away all the glamour. Homemaker sounds too nice for the reality of it most of the time. There's just so much reality.

Let's talk about throw pillows, for instance.

I can't tell you how many thousands of times I've picked the throw pillows off the living room floor. It seems that nobody else notices when they fall on the ground. The anonymous couch-sitters here stand up with a pillow on their laps, the pillow falls on the floor... but they continue rising, and walk out, leaving the pillow to lie there. Surely they notice. How

could they not? But they don't care like I do that pillows are scattered all over the floor instead of arranged artistically in the corners of the chairs and couches.

Then there's the kitchen sink.

Of all the people who live in this house with me (and there are quite a few, big and little), not a one can clean the food particles out of the strainer in the bottom of the sink. Ev.er. As kitchen chores go, a couple of them can fairly efficiently empty the sink of dishes and adequately fill the dishwasher, but it never occurs to any of them to wipe out the sink and dump out the strainer. And why is that? I'll tell you. It's because they don't look at the sink and see it there, looking pathetic and neglected, like a child with a dirty face that needs to be washed. They don't care about it like I do.

How about dirty doors and doorknobs?

Nobody notices them at all, except to slam in and out of them -- with dirty hands. But I hate not to see them shining and clean. I love my children, but I don't need to see my children's fingerprints all over everything to appreciate that they haven't grown up and left me yet, God bless them. (Have you ever read that poem? ) For heaven's sake, kids, wash your hands before you touch the doorknobs and doorjambs! (And the walls going up the stairs!)

And, of course, there's the never-ending floor problem. You know about floors, right?

They're the biggest, most obvious continuous surface in the house; it's a shame and disgrace for them to be unswept and smudged with scuffs and mud and spilled tea and I-don't-even-want-to-know-what all over them. I can't bear for my beautiful tile and hardwood to look so unkempt. Much less the formerly-white carpets. I care about them, and I can't avoid seeing them, no matter how hard I try to walk around without looking at my feet.

Bottom line is that I care about my house. I want it to be healthful, tidy, and respectable. It's my workplace. The place I do the important work of nurturing my husband and children. It's the place where we bond, where memories are made, lessons learned, prayers said, jokes made, songs sung, tears dried, life lived. And this is the life -- the sometimes hard, but rewarding life -- that I love. The life that I love because of the people in it. The house that I love because of the people in it. For better for worse; for richer for poorer; for Nevada or Iowa... Wherever it happens to be. I'm committed. Hopeless.

Married to it.

Housewife.

Tripping over the pillows and loving every minute of it.

Some Thoughtful Words on the Subject

“No occupation in this world is more trying to soul and body than the care of young children. What patience and wisdom, skill and unlimited love it calls for. God gave the work to mothers and furnished them for it, and they cannot shirk it and be guiltless.”
― Isabella MacDonald Alden

“I believe that a godly home is a foretaste of heaven. Our homes, imperfect as they are, must be a haven from the chaos outside. They should be a reflection of our eternal home, where troubled souls find peace, weary hearts find rest, hungry bodies find refreshment, lonely pilgrims find communion, and wounded spirits find compassion.”
― Jani Ortlund

“It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, [but] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's the flowers you choose, the music you play, the smile you have waiting. I want it to be gay and cheerful, a haven in this troubled world. I don't want my husband and children to come home and find a rattled woman. Our era is already rattled enough, isn't it?”
― Audrey Hepburn

“I'm only a housewife, I'm afraid." How often do we hear this shocking admission. I'm afraid when I hear it I feel very angry indeed. Only a housewife: only a practitioner of one of the two most noble professions (the other one is that of a farmer); only the mistress of a huge battery of high and varied skills and custodian of civilization itself. Only a typist, perhaps! Only a company director, or a nuclear physicist; only a barrister; only the President! When a woman says she is a housewife she should say it with the utmost pride, for there is nothing higher on this planet to which she could aspire.”
― John Seymour, Forgotten Household Crafts

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The Feast of St. David of Wales, 2016

We celebrated the ancestral feast day of the Davises, Dewey San Day this week! I've mentioned it before (like every year since I've been blogging, probably? Ahem.) But, in case anyone wandering by (what are the odds?) missed those posts...

All Davises (so they say) trace their ancestry back to the first Welshmen so named to honor the great King St. David of Wales! Which gives us an opportunity the first of March to shake off the winter doldrums for a day with a look back at our Welsh history, a little conversation about the lessons of St. David, and an opportunity to, indeed, feast a little!

It is a big feast day for us, as you can imagine, and we like to "do it proper" -- but within reason, considering the time of year. Since "Dewey San Day" always falls during Lent, we suspend our voluntary Lenten sacrifices for the day (on St. Patrick's Day, too), and remember the feast with a special (though appropriately subdued) celebration. Which means food. Naturally!

The traditional fare for this Welsh holiday is actually somewhat Lenten, anyway: potato leek soup. This year, for a change of pace (and because Dan's tummy doesn't like potatoes), we made cauliflower leek soup (it was great! Recipe here.), served with bacon crumbles, fried ham, and bread sticks (since this was our main meal and meat was permitted). For dessert we finished off the end of Cathy's chocolate éclair pie from Sunday. (Scrumptious! A

facsimile of Cathy's recipe here -- except she made the frosting and pudding from scratch and omitted the Cool Whip.)

We give up movie/tv viewing for Lent, but on behalf of the day, we borrowed a documentary about Wales from the library to watch. And we spent the afternoon decorating with yellows and greens, imitating the traditional Dewey San symbol, the daffodil. Everything looked festive and the food was all good! A very nice mini-break near the middle of Lent!

For some posts on the feast day, including the biography-in-a-nutshell of King St. David, a multitude of links and coloring pages, and craft ideas, click here.

King St. David, pray for us!

Some photos of our day:

The table, with the potted daffodils and the heavenly-smelling hyacinth.

We made these "saint wheels" last week out of the brie cheese "boxes"
we've been saving forever. I could never throw them away; they're just
so nifty.... But we finally came up with a craft project we liked for them!
Each child let his or her creativity run wild, decorating both sides with images
and quotations of the saints -- and we turned them into a mobile where our
snowflakes used to hang.

We made these pinwheel daffodils on Dewey San Day
to fill out our second mobile.

Anna

Gabe and William

Theresa

Cathy

The breadsticks Cathy whipped up with Anna's help, while Theresa
entertained us all with Celtic airs on the piano...

And the chalkboard art, also by Cathy, quoting King St. David's
final words of advice for his people. Pay attention to the little details!

God is in the details!

Heavenly Father, we ask You to guide our children in the choice of spouse. Don't let them be carried away by false charms or be fascinated by mere outward glamour, but guide their minds to look beneath and beyond all external attractiveness for the deeper things which alone are worth while.

Especially let the choice be of one who is a fervent Catholic, true in thought and word and deed to those ideals which are Yours, especially the value of their purity.

Dear Father of us all, give Your guiding help to our children, who are Your children, too. We will be letting them go soon, but please don't ever let our children go from you. Amen

St. Valentine, patron of romantic love, pray for us!

O, St. Joseph...

...whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O, St. Joseph, do assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me from thy Divine Son all spiritual blessings; so that having engaged here below thy Heavenly power I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. O, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thy arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name, and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.