goof off week, days #3,4,5

Day 3
We went to the ceramics shop. This brings back wonderful memories for the 3 oldest; we haven't been since Roo was born. Everyone picked a piece to paint. Poor Roo was done in lightening speed, so we set about re-painting his dragon. He faithfully repainted that thing until the colors were just right. He now has a beautiful patchwork dragon. The others were carefully painting their Father's Day presents. Oh my, after 2 hours I was beyond bored. So now ~I'm ~ the one whining "when can we go?" This is what happens, I suppose, when you get older!

Then we went to a friend's home for Rosary. This is when I realized that I misscheduled the goof off week. Pooh and Tigger were anxious to get home and 'do some work' Pooh is taking a class at the local Community College. It is only 5 1/2 weeks long, but they squish a whole semester's workload in. Tigger was in his last week of an online essay class. He had to write 3 essays this week. Bad planning on my part. Sorry!

Day 4
Pooh and Tigger are mostly working, and Piglet, Roo, and I are goofing off. It just isn't the same without them! Too, I remember yet another reason that this was a mistimed so-called at-home-vacation week. Pooh's graduation party is on Saturday. We've done virtually nothing but send out invites. Panic!

Day 5
We are preparing for Pooh's graduation. She has lots of great ideas...LOTS. Well, this was a day of work and paring down the ideas.

Even though the end of the week was less fun than the beginning, I am still glad we 'goofed off'. We need to plan it better, but I can't wait until next time!

-kanga

goof off week, day #2

Feed the Ducks!

We went to Feed the Ducks at the Arboretum. Roo and cousin X. found out that, yes, ducks and geese will peck at you if you don't move fast!

Piglet and Tigger enjoying the day.

Kanga and nephew A.

Me and A. watching the wildlife.... kids and animals!

Tigger and Piglet's favorite animal to feed, the squirrel. They did get him to come very close, only to be scared away by Roo and X.

Afterwards we went to the 'Cows' and I took more pictures. Enjoy!

goof-off week, day #1

Memorial Day.
We finally made it to the 'Prince Caspian' movie. Despite reading some less than glowing reviews, I'm glad we went. It is a tremendous film, even if not perfectly matched to the book. Yes, Prince Caspian is decidedly older in the movie, and distractingly darker (isn't he a blond narnian in the book?), but overall the characters and the feel of the movie are good. Reepicheep is especially on the mark. I'd go see it again, just for him. The only 'huh?' moment that is really out of character from the book and even the movie, is when Susan kisses Prince Caspian. Obviously this wouldn't happen in the book (he's a child!...but not so in the film), but even in the film a romantic relationship isn't developed at all. I don't even think it is hinted at, other than, yes, Caspian is tall, dark, and handsome. Still, go see it! It's worth ignoring one scene.
Then I took a nap, had lunch, and played board games all afternoon with the kids and Robin. Play Trivial Pursuit if you want to wonder, 'why do my hubby and oldest son use so much brain space on completely useless information' YES, I said useless because using the info in a game doesn't count! =)
After dinner, we walked to Cups and Cones. I love having an ice cream shop close. And, I love family days!
-kanga

Pooh is finished!

Yes! She handed in her very last High School assignment to me today. WOOHOO!
She is done with HS, She is done with HS..... I am singin' now.
I am so proud of her, and soooo relieved for me. I am looking forward to one less educationally dependent child.
Next week, we are planning our in town vacation. The plan: do some things we never have time to do, including and especially goofing off!
I'm so glad she finished, I'm so glad she finished ...sorry, singing again.
Next Saturday we are having a graduation party, so she is done in the nick of time.
I better get busy planning our goof-off week!

Mother's Day

I don't want today to end.

I mean it! I've made a concentrated effort today to pay no attention to time, which is freeing, and besides we've just had lots of fun family time.

Breakfast in bed, very sweet and potentially relaxing until you realize that 4 kids + mom + french toast topped with powdered sugar and assorted beverages in my bed + a duvet cover that I am overly attached to = one nervous mommy! Still it was a good morning. I love my family.

Mass at St. William's, where they had a May crowning...very lovely. Plus this congregation is very reverent. I'm not sure how with the large number of people that attend how the Church can be so conducive to prayer, but it is. I like our 8 am mass at Emmaus, but it is completely quiet and I think it is good to have Roo know some typical catholic hymns and sung responses!

Lunch and dessert, the kids treated me to italian food and starbuck's (yum!) and a little more resting for me. The afternoon was filled with volleyball and my requested family hike. Back home for dinner and brownies (they know how to make me smile!) and basketball.

Roo wanted 'snuggle time' , which eventually had to end for his bedtime. Then, I looked at my calendar for tomorrow. Oh no, regular life returns!

I don't want today to end.

cousins

The cousins, A. and J., came to visit while their mom was at a wedding out of state. A. stayed overnight and the next night J. also slept over. Apparently, he was pretty excited to be a homeschooler for the day and he energized Roo and A. to do school too. However, we normally do not start school in the 7 o'clock hour before breakfast.

While they were here, we laid 3 pallets of sod. Mostly me, Tigger, and Piglet, while Pooh made us lunch and lemonade. These 3 guys were very excited at the beginning, but then it digressed into them making forts and moving rock. Though, we do need them to move lots of rock! Pooh took them to the pool to cool off. This picture is after the pool and bath, but obviously I am just taking a quick break from the gardening. Whew! It was a lot of work, but the backyard looks good now!

Roo sure loves his cousins. Well, we all do, but it is especially wonderful for him to have kids his own age ready to play in ways that he wants. You know, hours of endless make-believe and silliness in a way that is impossible for those of us who are all growed up. I am so grateful that he gets to share his childhood with all his cousins!

-kanga

visit to Wichita Falls

19 March 2008

On the way back from Nationals, we stopped by Wichita Falls where my brother E and his girls live. It has been a while and was SOOO good to see him adn catch up a bit. Plus, it was my first visit to a "Cracker Barrel". I must admit, my imagination had me beleiving that all they served was cheese, of the liquid and fake type. I was pleasantly surprised by the food and the atmosphere, but most of all the company. My brother and his girls and his mother in law are all delightful. Can't wait to see them again!

I'm baaaack!

And so hopefully is normal life!

Since the beginning of the year, we have been in a whirlwind of BB, birthdays, college decisions, and Lent. We have gone very light on the schedule. I mean, how do I wake the kids at 8 am when we have been out until 12 midnight at a game? And isn't it legit to push off some of Pooh's and Piglet's schoolwork to help me prepare for Roo's birthday party? Or how do I persuade Tigger to stop doing Calc homework for something else?

It's been pretty out of bounds, but happily we are trying to settle into a 'normal' routine again. We'll see if we remember how to be normal!
-kanga

Alleluia

He is Risen!

Eastertime is here. We had a wonderful Easter Sunday of Church, family, and good food.....and of course, egg hunting for the young'uns.
Reasons I think Easter must be the best holiday:
1- the waiting beforehand (did I mention that I love Lent....strange, but true)
2-it's Springtime
3-dark chocolate bunnies, and jellybeans
4-no commercial pressure to buy presents
5-family comes together

and lastly but most important,
The Great Love our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ has for us that he died upon a cross so that we may live with Him.
-kanga

blog beating and prayer update

My blog is taking a beating during Lent! I am limiting my screen time and, well, this blog is the sorry recipient of severe neglect! Oh well!
One massively uplifting update: My brother E has full custody of his daughter! Woohoo! It is only a temporary order (he is going through a divorce), but this is such good news for his little A. Her mom is still being extremely hurtful to her (at least only emotional with the custody arrangement), but at least there is some buffer. Hopefully this little soul will be able to heal. I will update the prayer requests too.
Maybe soon, I will update on all that is happening here too!
kanga

6 months to live

What would you do if you had only 6 months to live?

Don't ask me why, but I've been thinking about this lately.
For me, the first thing I would do is cut back...on everything...of course the extras, but even important, good things stand in the way of the most important.
Secondly, I'd spend more time with my family. Not sure how to spend more time, as I am with my crew 24-7....but maybe I mean spending time AND being present to them more often. I would love them more and better. I can't control C. Robin's work, but I could hope he'd be home more often too. Then I could love him more and better too!
Third, though I know my olders would remember me and would remember how profoundly I love them, I would need to find a way to translate my love to Roo. I would want him to know that I love him beyond imagination. I love them all wildly, without reason.
And fourth, I would try to finish my scrapbooks. To which Pooh said, "you better start scrapbooking again then!"
And I guess I should, if it ranks on a 6 month to-do list!
-kanga

Vice and Virtue

, which is NOT a long-lost Jane Austen novel!
In the spirit of cleansing, the theme for our family this Lent is cleaning out the vice and practicing the opposing virtue. (and the CCC says that every vice is in opposition to virtue...many quotes and ideas below directly from the CCC) However, it's not that simple. There are 4 capital virtues and 3 theological virtues. They don't correlate very easily, so I tried a different angle. "The gifts of the Holy Spirit complete and perfect the virtues" and there are 7 gifts, but these also don't correlate perfectly. And, "the fruits of the Holy Spirit are perfections that the HS forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory." But there are 12 and these really don't match the vices in harmony either.*sigh* I ask myself, "why didn't we just go with giving up TV?"*deep breath*
I think we've got it though!
The Plan:
Each week we will focus on turning away from a vice and practicing a virtue. (even if "techinically" it is not categorized "virtue) When one of us practices a good or resists a bad then we place a rose petal on our Crown of Thorns. Yes, we have a very sharp crown (C. Robin cut himself 3 times with it today!) No, not real rose petals. We'll cut some out of construction paper. The more rose petals, the softer we make the Crown for Jesus.
This week: practice fortitude, root out sloth.
Week 2: practice justice and kindness, root out envy
Week 3: practice temperance, root out gluttony (this is not limited to food, but taking more than we need in anything)
Week 4: practice generosity, root out avarice (greed)
Week 5: practice purity and self-control, root out lust
Week 6: practice prudence and patience, root out wrath
Week 7: practice humility, root out pride (we thought this would be the best week to unite ourselves to Christ's amazing humility when God-who-became-man-for-our-sake humbled himself to the point of death, death on a cross.....this should make any minor humiliations I have to suffer seem miniscule in comparison!)
I will also be letting go of sweets......oh no! (this is the little something I love so much!) I need to limit of a couple of distractions, one of which is my email and computer time. Other people in my house have to limit time with their electronic of choice. Please pray for us!

Are you doing anything special?
Let me know, I can pray for you too! (this isn't easy!)
kanga

Looking forward to Lent

I might be crazy, but I truly look forward to Lent. It is a time to deny our own selfishness and unite ourselves to Christ, expecially his time in the desert before Palm Sunday when he triumphantly enters Jeruselem. When we start the discussions about Lent, the kids usually ask, "what are we giving up this year?" And of course we are going to give up something (help me, I really like this something!) But I want to approach this more comprehensively, as an emptying of self , as a curbing selfish desires, and as a humble servant. Since Lent starts so early this year (next week!) , I want to be thinking about the following this weekend. I read this and think it a great bit to ponder:
"Clean Monday”, the first full day of the Great Fast, is traditionally a day when people prepare to go to Confession in order to cleanse the body, soul and spirit of sin. In many places and cultures, it is the custom during the First Week of Lent to clean the house, to rid our dwellings of possessions that clutter our lives, and to find things to share with the poor. The month of February gets its name from the Latin word “februum,” which means to make clean! The “theme” of Clean Monday is found in the Prophecy of Isaiah, which is read on that day during Sixth Hour: "Wash yourselves and you shall be clean; put away from my eyes the wicked ways of your souls; cease to do evil; learn to do good. Seek justice, correct oppression, care for the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Come then, and let us reason together, says the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, I will make them white as wool" (1.16-18).
We are off to Dallas for the State BB Tournament, and one of the great things about travelling in a car is that there is plenty of time to talk! Hopefully we will have much of our Lent figured out by thetim e we get back home.
kanga

flu

Something might be wrong with me, but when my kids are sick I love them a little bit more.
So, Tigger was the first one to get it. He didn't really let us know that he was sick, but after practice and a game (16 points, no less) he was wiped out. Then he let on that he isn't feeling well (fever, bones ache, tired, etc). Pooh was just bedridden and HOT! Roo woke up early yesterday with what I originally thought was a bit of a temperature...'til I took it...103! Yikes. We went to the Dr. (thanks to my sis A-L who was wise and emphatic that I take the kids in)
'Twas almost impossible to get an appointment. Roo got in first and a positive flu diagnosis was made. Tigger's doc was double-booked all day, so was every other doc in the office. The nurse found one in another office (last double booking in Austin, I think!?) These 3 are now on Tamiflu, which should help shorten the sickness and reduce the symptoms. Piglet has, what I think is, a general cold.
Ah, but the part about loving them just a bit more. They are quiet (rare in the hundred acre wood!), thoughtful (when not asleep =)), snuggly (well, maybe not Tigger), and warm. Maybe I am understating the warm part, and maybe it wouldn't be so nice in the summer....but I haven't been cold in days! But seriously, I do love my lil sickies. They aren't complainers and how many more chances do I have to mother them? I don't know, so I'm making the most of it!
kanga

lost luggage

As if 12 hours in airports or airplanes wasn't enough, American Airlines also lost a suitcase. It contained all of my, C. Robin's, and Roo's clothes for the week and a half that we were to be in Utah for Christmas. I was in a state of denial, continually thinking that they would find it and soon we would have our things.
C. Robin finally convinced me to go shopping, at least to have more than one outfit. We bought bare minimum (2 outfits for 10 days...thankfully we were at mom's so we could do wash!) I was sad, especially when I realized that there were certain things that are irreplacable... a wool sweater C. Robin gave me when we were dating, Roo's advent calendar, a Royal's T-shirt last year's version, etc....sigh... I consoled myself that all these material things pass away and I shouldn't be attached. I did cry, though, when I realized that the stockings that I cross-stitched for each member of the family was in the bag. Luckily I was mistaken! but what a fright.
We are home and I am satisfied that the airline will never find the luggage. I must go shopping to replace some things that I need. 'Tis been almost a month. Did I mention I'm not a big shopper? But Roo does need more than shorts and sport pants.
And then ****riiing, riiing*****We get a phone call, and unbelievably they have found our bag!
Apparently it had a piece of tape on the back that had C. Robin's first name...only...on it, and the employee remembered that someone with this first name had lost a bag.
Can you believe it? They found it!!!! Woo hooooooo!
-kanga

pooh's birthday

18 years ago, today, at 3 in the morning, a beautiful baby girl was born.
She changed my life. She expanded my heart. She made me understand what it is to give of yourself until it hurts....and still love. Love until my heart wants to burst.
We didn't understand what having a baby would do to our lives, our marriage, our souls. We just knew that we loved each other and wanted to expand that love. And, boy! does a child do that!
Some memories......
newborn: she was skinny, red, and dark haired. she came 5 weeks early.

toddler: she pudged up, and had curly blond locks.

preschooler: she had a interminable smile, very happy!

ballerina:she wore a pink leotard and had loooong legs.

first ski trip: she fell and I made her ski the whole way down (20 min !) when I checked her at the bottom, her goggles were busted and so was her cheek....but she got down.
recent ski trip: she can ski.....fast and fun....any run!

homeschooling: nature walks, reading aloud, history on the trampoline, a feild trip to Germany :-), watching her learn and grow in maturity, having talks anytime.

big sis: 'it was the best of time, it was the worst of time' just kidding! Pooh is a good first child who loves to help her younger sibs....usually appreciated.

teenage: so glad to have skipped the daughter/mother divide that often happens when girls are teenagers. To watch her mature into the young lady that she is now, and to have this open loving relationship is a blessing beyond words.

This post will have to be edited and embellished later. I am boohoo-ing so hard that the tears are interfering with my eyesight and the headache with my thinking.

She is too complex to express.
I love you, Pooh!

your mommy forever,
kanga

travelling-jones

Tigger has spent the better part of this week researching the best way to travel to Utah. He, and the other roos, are very taken by the idea of visiting the grandparents again. The G-parents are NOT discouraging this AT ALL. In fact, they are explaining all the fun things that can be done in Utah in the summer. Sigh. I want to go too, but have I told you how much I hate being in the car.
C. Robin thinks it's pretty cool to have modern kids, teenagers even...gasp, that want to go visit family.
Me too!
-kanga