Cupcake and the Feast of St. Martha

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her." 

~ Luke 10: 41-42

From Magnificat:

The Lord is most extravagant in his love for us; his sometimes most unreliable servants. How foolish to give our lives- our time, our attentions, our obedience - to mere idols who can love no one. Martha was rebuked not for her work but for allowing her work to make her lose sight of love.

No big plans for today. St. Martha is the patron saint of cooks and servants so serving my family a nice, albeit simple meal tonight in love sounds like celebration enough to me. That and some extra prayers for a sweet friend who is remembering her precious little saint in Heaven.

I had an appointment yesterday and we got to take another peek at this baby girl we affectionately refer to as "Cupcake". She is right on track to be about the same size as my other babies. We saw her practice her breathing which I had never seen a baby do before since I have never had a sono this late in any of my pregnancies. She is head down and likely to stay that way, we pray. We couldn't see her sweet face since she was turned away so we will just have to imagine what she looks like. Thank you for all of the continued prayers!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

{pretty}

The last little rose of summer?

{happy}

The prospect of a tropical storm/hurricane hitting Texas has made everyone very happy! Rooting for a storm? Weird, I know, but we are in a serious drought cycle right now. The people in South Texas need it even more than we do. Bring it, Don!

{funny}

The kids saw the leaves on our tiny little maple tree turning orange and asked if fall was near. Hah! Um... no. That's not burnt orange... it's just plain burned.

{real}

Auntie Leila... let me introduce you to "crispy"! You'll notice that the only parts that are still green are the parts that get some shade. Enjoy every minute in your wool socks and think of us! :)

The upside to it looking so ugly outside is that nobody wants to play out there anyway!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

Drool worthy

Both cakes turned out amazing! I forgot to mention yesterday that Jennifer is the one who introduced us to the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake recipe and the children are singing her praises today. They have dubbed it "The Reese's Cake" and have all claimed it as their next birthday cake! They did each try a bite of the Lemon Blueberry and all said it was good... except for the blueberries. Weird I tell you! :)

I also forgot to mention that this was a "milestone" birthday for Husband which is another reason he got two cakes and that most of the leftovers were sent in to work with him today. I hope his co-workers like cake! (Seriously, who doesn't?) We saved some for the kids to have another slice today, but as Amy said, a very thin slice is all you need. This cake is super rich!
 

Another Prayer Request...

...if you don't mind and because you all are so good at this! : )
This beautiful little boy, Dominic Kilian, was born on July 13th and is undergoing surgery today at 10 am (CST) to correct a malrotated intestine, an appendectomy, placement of a g-button, and to have a skin biopsy done. The doctors believe he has a chromosomal abnormality but have not been able to find out which one yet. His mom says that he will have special needs, but that is about as much as they can tell her right now.

The family is asking for prayers for Dominic, the outcome of the surgery and the medical staff providing his care. Thank you!

UPDATE: Dominic did great during the surgery, everything went as expected and he only lost a minimal amount of blood. He is still intubated for right now and sedated for pain control, but his parents are very thankful for the outcome and all the prayers.

A Tale of Two Cakes

Two cakes?

Who gets two cakes for their birthday?

My sweet husband does!!!

When your favorite cake is a very gourmet, very fussy flavored, lemon blueberry cake with a super subtle white chocolate cream cheese frosting that you just know your kids are going to grimace through every bite... you get to request two cakes! One for you and one for the kids to enjoy. And if you just so happen to end up with a piece of each on your plate, well... it's your birthday!!!

In honor of this fabulous man's birthday, I am sending you over to the Word on Fire Blog where Fr. Steve has a wonderful reflection on the saints of the day, Anne and Joachim. I tell you, my husband couldn't have better patrons!



P.S. I only make this cake on very special occasions because it's one of those recipes where you add the eggs one at a time and alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet in small portions. Very fussy, but ohhhhh so worth it! If you like blueberries. And lemon. (My kids don't. They are so weird.)

P.P.S. Not having any corn syrup, I used a different ganache recipe than the chocolate peanut butter cake called for over at the smitten kitchen. I think that's why mine looks fluffier and less glazey than hers. But having sampled the peanut butter cream cheese frosting, I can tell you this cake is gonna be good!

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Lucie Lin Frazier

Lucie, the wife of a former college classmate, passed away this evening surrounded by friends and family. Please pray for those she leaves behind and for those who will miss her.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Please pray...

...for Lucie, the wife of a former college classmate, who collapsed from a brain aneurism on Friday and for the family and friends who are waiting patiently by her side for God's will to be done.

St. Lucy, pray for us!

Update: According to the Caring Bridge site, Lucie is still hanging on. The doctors are beginning the protocol for declaring her brain dead. Her mother is due to arrive from Taiwan around 3:30pm. Please pray that if it be God's will she will have the comfort of seeing her daughter one last time.
 

My sympathies...

...to the people of the North who are suffering terribly from this pressure cooker sitting on top of us right now. As I was saying to Sean the other night, down here, we have the means to deal with the heat, it's just a matter of whether or not we have the endurance. Your heat waves are more like a sprint but one that you don't really get to train for. I hope it's over soon!

My suggestion... freezee pops! Lots of freezee pops!

The Netflix gods must be crazy!

Who knew that the other entertainment Netflix provides is making you laugh yourself silly with their kooky recommendations and categorizations?

Let's play a game... I'll show you what they recommended and you tell me what you think I searched for.

I'll be back with the answer in the combox later!

Homeschooling Resources:: The Phonetic Zoo

A sweet friend was asking for a spelling program recommendation so I thought I would share the thoughts I shared with her. First, let me just reiterate that I claim to be no homeschooling guru. I still feel as though I am fumbling my way through. My biggest strength is a husband who is 168% supportive and helpful along with a built-in extended family support group including my children's grandparents who have either been in the homeschooling trenches themselves or who generously give my kids the support they need to be successful. That being said, here is what has worked for us...

The Professor, along with being a very early, very natural reader was also a naturally good speller. My theory is that children who are predominately visual learners tend to be good spellers because it's easier for them to see the word in their mind. The Professor is primarily a visual learner. (Funny enough, being more visual and less auditory, he will often times mispronounce a word he hasn't encountered before.) He has plenty of auditory learning skills and loves discussion and dialogue, but his visual skills are his primary means of absorbing information. I used an MCP Spelling Workout workbook series (no rotten tomatoes, please! Some kids like workbooks!) because even though I knew he could spell, I needed to check that off my list and he didn't mind spending the two minutes it took to do a page (plus, he liked the sports theme).

Then came Sunshine. Sunshine was an average reader when she was just learning. She read right on time and at just the right pace; not too fast, not too slow. She enjoys reading and has quite an artistic eye, but her learning style is definitely more auditory based. I remember trying to use that same workbook with her. Boredom. Frustration! Agony!!! Not successful, to say the least. So, going with my developing theory, I got this book as a means of testing my auditory theory, while I scouted around for something better suited.

What I found, that I'm here to tell you about, is the IEW Phonetic Zoo. We have been so pleased with this program. I'm not going to go so far as to say that the girls LOVE spelling, but even they admit that they enjoy the results they've seen. They both recently just finished Level A. Their final quiz consisted of 50 words that they did not get advance notice of in order to study ahead of time. These words were just pulled from the 47 other lessons that came before. Both missed only one word! Whoo hoo!!!

I purchased the Level A starter pack but both of my girls use it and I plan on having BigBoy use it when he's a little older. He's more like his big brother. I dedicated an old CD player and set of headphones as the "Spelling Lab" and watched them go. They sit down, review the words visually on the cards and the jingle or reminder that comes with them, pull up the track for the lesson they are working on, and listen as the man on the CD reads the words to them and they write them down. They attempt to spell the words that are read to them and then go through the corrections at the end of the lesson. Automatic self correction! I have them spend a little time (5 to 10 minutes) reviewing the words they missed because they keep attempting the same lesson until they get 100% correct twice in a row. Which means they each learn at their own pace although my girls have stuck pretty close together.


Every five lessons is a personal spelling list. I set up a clipboard with a divided notepad and they kept a running list of words they spelled incorrectly in the course of their other studies along with any words they asked me to spell for them. "Mom, how do you spell..." Those words are the words we added to their personal spelling lists when they rolled around and those are lessons that have to be read by you because they obviously aren't on the CDs. If you listen to a few of the lessons though, you can easily pick up on the format.

So, it's a program that is mostly auditory, but slightly visual, and they are much better spellers now! Is this sufficient proof of my theory? Not necessarily, but we are pleased with the results and that's all that matters.

 

P.S. If the price is prohibitive, you can order the Budget Package without the CDs and be "the voice" yourself for all the lessons. Since I had two using the same level but moving at slightly different paces, the CDs were a time (and sanity) saver.

P.P.S. I was not compensated for this "review" in anyway. I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for a homeschooling resource we have enjoyed using.

Harry Potter analysis by Fr. Steve Grunow

I'm not trying to start a debate. I just wanted to share what I thought was an excellent summation from Fr. Steve over at the The Word on Fire blog. The Professor is the only one of our children who has been allowed to read the whole Harry Potter series* (after both Sean and I read them) so I also allowed him to read Fr. Steve's analysis of the final movie installment which you can find in the links above.

It opened up a wonderful discussion this morning touching on a few different areas... the meaning of 1 Cor. 15:26 ("The last enemy to be destroyed is death.");  how three Lord of the Rings characters can each be considered "Christ figures" and how that allegory serves the story. But most importantly, the real tragedy of the character of Voldemort. As Fr. Steve so succinctly puts it, "If we are sympathetic to his plight it is because we know that he is not a fallen angel but a man, and therefore his tragedy is that the offer of grace remains until the end--- but it is an offer that he chooses to refuse." Anyway, because of the great conversation it inspired, I wanted to share it here with anyone who might also enjoy it.

Literature and theology discussion before 8am... I love homeschooling!



*None of the children have seen beyond movie #3 and even then, there are parts in each that we skip over. I've found with my children that movies can be more visually disturbing than books. No movie is worth disturbing a good night's sleep... there's and mine!

The Amarillo Armadillo

Driving in the car the other day, one of the kids piped up and asked when summer will be over. Husband (in a fit of heat related delirium most likely) told them the "story" of the Amarillo Armadillo who predicts the end of summer in Texas. Sometime around the end of August when the Amarillo Armadillo takes his regular stroll down the streets lining the "Helium Capital of the World" all of Texas turns its eye towards this leathery little mammal with these wise words ringing in the ear:

Armadillo in a ball, there's gonna be an early fall.

Hit by a Hummer? Well... six more weeks of summer!

They believed him for a split second. Do you think the heat has gone to our heads? : )

Actually, we were some of the lucky few who saw showers yesterday. So, some real time singing and dancing in the rain was in order...

My camera lens kept fogging up after a few minutes of snapping pictures... it was that steamy outside, like a hot shower. I think the heat index was 106 when this little sun shower started.

Stay cool y'all!

Who's really learning here?

I sat down to do "science" with BigBoy today. This sounds much more official and structured than it really it. We do picture book science and history around here throughout elementary school but I like to use an old grade school science book as a backbone to our studies to make sure we are covering subjects that BigBoy wouldn't naturally choose to study. Right now, he has a fascination with sea creatures (I'm sooooo glad he's gotten over his most recent fascination with snakes) and when we go to the library, he fills up the basket with all kinds of shark and whale tales. But studying something like nutrition, wouldn't really enter his mind on it's own, so I nudge a little and it makes me feel better about letting him direct the rest of his studies.

So, when I picked up our spine and saw that today's subject was nutrition and the food pyramid I remembered reading something recently about the food pyramid changing. Turns out it wasn't just a weird dream I had. It's true. Whoa!!! You can't do that!!! Doesn't that just negate all of the science I learned as a child. Was my second grade year all a joke? 

Well, if you are just as shocked as I am, let me totally blow your mind and tell you that the food pyramid didn't just change... it doesn't even exist anymore. Now... it's a plate.

I KNOW!!!

Seriously... go see for yourself. I'll wait.

It isn't surprising that this newly appointed recommendation has taken some heat. Apparently, the history of the USDA recommendations for nutrition has always been fraught with angst and division. Dairy farmers and ranchers fighting with the wheat and corn farmers. You can read all about that here.

Now, in all seriousness, I must admit this colorful little plate is growing on me. I find it much more visually appealing and easier to decipher. It looks like it would also be easier to actually implement, should one feel so inclined. I printed out the coloring page to go along with it and called it a day for BigBoy's "official" science class. He's off to go read about nurse sharks. According to him, they look ferocious but they're kind of lazy... just don't try to bother one! Wise words.

 

Hope for the Future

Sr. Lisa, a Canossian sister, has posted on her blog a letter from Sr. Giovanna Tosi, the Provincial Leader of North-Eastern Africa, requesting prayers for the people of Sudan particularly the newly recognized Republic of South Sudan. Please take a moment to read the entire letter... it's incredibly moving and informative as to the real needs of the people who are most directly affected right now.

Geographically we are in the North Sudan, predominantly Muslim, while the Republic of South Sudan is Christian. Our 12 Sisters there are safe, though stressed by the tension of the uncertainty of this moment. Our ministries, however, are affected; our institutions had some Christian staff and co-workers from the South. The North Sudan Government has issued a rule that obliged all employers to terminate the work contract with employees from the South, giving them their due and forcing them to return to South Sudan. Because of this we lost many teachers and collaborators, but even with shortage of personnel, sisters continue with the mission of education and serve the students in our schools regardless of who and which religion.

It remains with us now, as Sr. Margaret Peter mentioned in her recent prayer appeal for Sudan, the search for God’s will and the continuity of our presence in the North Sudan. Dearest Sisters, do not get tired to pray with us and for us, for the discernment we are called to do and the choices and decisions we have to make.

 God bless these sisters in their work! Please add their intentions to your prayers!

Prayer in Honor of St. Josephine Bakhita

To obtain favor from St. Josephine Bakhita please say this prayer, an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be and kindly remember to pray for our suffering Christian brothers and sisters in Sudan, her native land, who at this very moment are being persecuted, sold into slavery, and converted against their will to the Muslim religion:

Loving God, rewarder of the humble, you blessed St. Josephine Bakhita with charity and patience. May her prayers help us, and her example inspire us to carry our cross and to love you always. Pour upon us the spirit of wisdom and love with which you filled St. Josephine Bakhita.

By serving you as she did, may we please you by our faith and our actions. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Baby Update

It's hot.

Really hot.

I didn't think my size 10/11 feet could get any bigger, but apparently summer + pregnancy has proven me wrong. Thank God for Birkenstocks! I'm not complaining. I said a long time ago that if the good Lord ever granted us the gift of another child, I wouldn't complain about being pregnant. Really, I don't have anything to complain about. My pregnancies have never been a problem. I am still able to do everything I need or want to do, I just do it all indoors right now. Errands get run before noon or not at all and the air conditioning flows freely all day long.  I don't even have to go outside to get the mail, that's why God made teenaged boys. : )

If I was tempted to complain about anything it's that all this extra swelling (which my OB assures me is totally normal given our current weather situation, not an indication of anything wrong) means that my plans to crochet Cupcake's baptismal gown have been crossed off my list of things to do. All this extra fluid is causing some crazy carpel tunnel. My wrists ache pretty much all the time and my hands go numb just trying to hold onto a pencil for a little while. Thankfully, I have a bargain hunting SIL and a generous mother who have both offered to help acquire something beautiful for her when the time comes. I know that I could use one of the ones I used for the other girls, but it has sort of become our tradition to give each child their own.

Don't get me wrong... I love the idea of having an heirloom gown that gets passed around to each family member. It's sounds so old fashioned and just lovely! We did not have anything like that in my family so when The Professor was born, having no luck finding a boyish Baptismal gown and having a personal aversion to those little Baptismal suits, I made his out of muslin and decorated it with blue ribbon. Sunshine, being a girl, couldn't wear the same gown because in my mind it was too boyish, so I gave her my Baptismal gown (while pretty, it was far from heirloom). Shortcake arrived as a surprise to us all (her gender that is). Thinking that she was a boy while I was pregnant, I had made her a gown similar to The Professors but with silver ribbon. When she arrived all pink and pretty, in a tearful haze of postpartum hormones, I rushed out to buy her the frilliest, girliest gown I could find. Thankfully, a resale shop in town sold beautiful handmade gowns sewn by an immigrant woman from Portugal so I didn't blow the budget as much as you might think. BigBoy in turn used the gown I had made when I was expecting Shortcake and looked very dashing if I do say so myself. So that's how we ended up in this "tradition" and I intended to keep it going by crocheting the next one.  I guess, if I think about it hard enough, another aspect of the "tradition" is that my boys have worn gowns I made while my girls haven't... so there you go! It fits. And I'll just save this yarn and pattern for when I'm not pregnant. It will either be for another child or a grandchild, but it will get done because it's so pretty!

Things might be a little quieter around here for the next few weeks as the kids and I have begun their lessons for the next school year. We are hoping to get a good 10-12 weeks under our belt before the baby comes so that we can take a nice break once she's here. Of course, education happens all the time and she will be our real life "early childhood" class because none of these kiddos knows how to care for a baby and it's high time they learned! We are also going to make one last push towards decluttering and streamlining in these next few weeks so if you don't hear from me much that's what's going on.

Library Finds

Thanks to a nudge from our piano teacher, my children just saw the Music Man for the first time the other day and it's set us off on a musical (rest of the) summer.  We've decided to watch one musical every week until the end of August. Why? Just for grins and giggles and because it's too stinkin' hot to do anything else! One of the first ones that came to my mind was My Fair Lady and this stunning book we discovered at our library seemed to give that idea two thumbs up. Just Being Audrey is pleasantly written and beautifully illustrated. It describes her childhood during WWII and the beginnings of her acting career. Her kindness and work ethic is applauded although after dozens of movies under her very tiny belt, "her dream role was being a mother". Her final years, working for UNICEF, harken back to the help she received as a child of war.

My girls already want to know if there are more Audrey movies they can watch, but unfortunately, most of them are more adult oriented. I'll have to think about that. But I think this book is going on the Books to Own Someday list!

Right next to it on the new acquisitions shelf was another find called Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. It tells the story of the collaborative ballet created by modern dance pioneer Martha Graham, composer Aaron Copland and set designer/artist Isamu Noguchi which you can watch on YouTube. (Don't click that if you are not a fan of modern dance! I will not be held responsible if you snort coffee out your nose onto your computer! : )  A few months ago, Google celebrated the anniversary of Graham's birthday with a special doodle. Again, some people aren't fond of her modern "ballet" techniques but I like the idea of introducing my kids to various forms of art (within reason) to help them figure out what kind they best appreciate.

So, have you made any fabulous book discoveries lately? Which musicals do your children enjoy? Kelly mentioned her family enjoys Brigadoon; that one is on our list for sure! We'd love your suggestions.

UPDATED TO ADD CURRENT RUNNING LIST: A (?) indicates might contain questionable material or scenes of peril for more sensitive children. I plan to preview those before showing them to my kids.

Brigadoon

My Fair Lady

Sound of Music

White Christmas

The Music Man

Mary Poppins

Meet Me In St. Louis

West Side Story (?)

Fiddler on the Roof (?)

The King and I

Annie (with Victor Garber)

Oliver (?)

Oklahoma (?)

P.S. We've tried Fiddler on the Roof and my more sensitive kiddos aren't ready for that one yet.  I'm not sure they could handle West Side Story either. Singin' in the Rain is a favorite.