Snowmen and Other Updates

*  So, you know how we had a couple of back-to-back snowstorms last week, right?

Well, Dominic (bless him) came to visit and to help out at home with some of the bigger chores while Dan is still recuperating.  This is how he arrived:

Yep.  Slid right past the driveway and into the ditch.  Good thing we have a 4 wheel drive and he has a mother willing to pull him out with said 4 wheel drive. Especially since the last thing she said to him on the phone before he came over was, "Be careful turning into the driveway;  it's really slick down there."  (Just sayin.)

* Then, being the spontaneous kind of fellow that he is and seeing that the woodshed was plenty full of wood for the weekend, Dominic decided on the spur of the moment Friday morning that he wanted to drive to Denver to see Kevin before he left for Europe. (Kevvy is going on a month long tour of England, Ireland, and Germany before he starts his new job in South Dakota in March.)

*  And, because I can also sometimes be spontaneous -- especially when Dan is home to watch the children and swears he really is feeling up to it and I should just "Go, for heaven's sake!"  -- well, I went.  Packed my bags and within an hour of having the idea, jumped in the car and headed west.  I was glad I did, too; it was a good trip.  Got to see my Mom and Dad, several of my siblings, and of course, Kevin.

Here is the amazing Colorado sunset Dominic and I enjoyed as we approached Denver Friday evening

*  While I was in Denver this past weekend, hobnobbing and playing Scrabble...

with my sis, Nina (left), my Mom (right), and Dominic (left) and Kevvy (right)...

*  The Five Kids at Home were busy building this:

 These kids are nothing if not tenacious.

* When we got back home, the foot of snow was a foot of mud and all the snowmen had vanished.  So sad.  Apparently the children built several other snowman vignettes which they didn't photograph -- and so I missed them!  They're lost to posterity.   But everything (besides the mud) was fine and dandy at home while I was gone and pretty much just the way I left it when I came back -- except that Dan felt well enough to go back to work on Monday. Which is good, really. We're so happy he's feeling better, but we miss him more now that we're used to having him home!

* Dominic's still here, though, to keep us amused -- for a while.  He's in between jobs right now, but has a plan to stay here in Nebraska, helping out at home while his Dad's still not up to full strength, which plan also allows him to sing with the choir through the Holy Week ceremonies and Easter Mass.  Then he's aiming to head back to Colorado after Easter to begin training to be an electrician.  It's a good plan.  But we'll miss him!

We're making the most of him while he's here, though.  Check it out.

* Here's Cathy today, trying to teach Dominic how to "Say, Say, O Playmate"

* And here's Dominic drawing us a new whiteboard Quote Meister:

See who it is this time?  We're really going to miss Stan Laurel, but G.K. Chesterton seems like a better match for Lent -- which is coming up super fast!  A week from today, in fact!

How's that for a quote?  One of his I found that I hadn't seen before, but which sure rings true.  Definitely drives me mad. being methodical! I'm not a detail-oriented sort, I'm afraid....  I think there's more madness to the method around here than method to the madness, but we try to keep things fun, while getting in all the important stuff, too.  And now I have Mr. Chesterton here, front and center thanks to Dominic, to help me keep things light - but focused!  Heaven knows there is an omnibus of Chesterton quotes to choose from -- for every possible occasion.

We're sure going to miss Dominic being around to draw on the whiteboard!  But we're glad to see him progressing in the awesomeness of his future -- and I expect one of the other artists around here will pick up the whiteboard slack.  It'll be fun to see who does and how their style will differ.  :)

The actual statue of  Our Lady, the Immaculate
 Conception at Massabielle, 

*  Coming up this week:

1) Mass today, on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, my very own special feast day!  I'm a Slave of
Mary (Through Total Consecration to Our Lady) and chose the Blessed Mother's patronage under the title of "The Immaculate Conception," and my middle name is Bernadette.  Today is a red letter day for me!  We just got a new copy of Song of Bernadette, too!  Our original copy was so old, it was unplayable, so we haven't seen this movie in quite a while.  We're excited to watch it tonight!

(You can find years of posts on Lourdes here!)

2) Planning out some spring cleaning of the house and grounds to do during Lent. Thinking of possibly repainting our living room walls and maybe the stairwell...

3)  Contemplating some spiritual house cleaning, as well, of course, this coming week.  Trying to discern what to offer up, myself, this Lent -- as well as helping the children with their choices.  A friend suggested the idea (described here) of dedicating each day of Lent, with all of its sacrifices, to a particular intention -- for individual people and more general petitions. We'll be marking each day on the calendar with something or someone special this year, an idea that I think will make us more focused.  If anyone visiting here would like us to add your intentions to our list, please leave a message in the comments and we'll add you to the calendar!

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes!  

Happy last week before Lent!