Angels Feastday Craft!

Happy Feast of the Holy Archangels! It is my tradition to post this simple, cute pattern... have fun with it!

Two clever Picture Books!

 A Filth of Starlings and A Drove of Bullocks by Patrick George, May 2011

I loved Portuguese collective nouns as a child in Brazil, and have been intrigued and amused by them in English. These two new pictures books I found at the library offer a fun array of animal collective nouns! These books bring the fun of words and the visual satisfaction of art all in one package. The clever, imaginative illustrations reveal the words as visual puns: the dolphins in a "pod" of dolphins are listening to their iPods, and the the hogs in their "parcel" are... wrapped as parcels and ready to ship!  

Don't miss them!

New DVD series: Catholicism

Ask your friends to duplicate this request! Every library should have it.

Catholicism DVD Box Set, by Fr. Robert Barron, directed by Matt Leonard, Word on Fire,  August 2011

Amazon link here.

This is from an Amazon customer:
This series is epic and Fr Barron is an incredible teacher and lecturer...I know he will make many more converts with this new book and DVD series...there is a long waiting list for these at my city library...I am donating my copies to my Church library...

Editorial Reviews
CATHOLICISM will have a national footprint. This series will be of great interest to viewers who want a better understanding of the impact and meaning this faith has throughout the world. --Dan Soles, WTTW Senior Vice President and Chief Television Content Officer, PBS affiliate - Chicago

Product Description
Journey Around the World and Deep into the Faith For the first time, in breathtaking, high-definition cinematography, the beauty, goodness and truth of the Catholic Faith are illustrated in a rich, multimedia experience. Journey with acclaimed author, speaker and theologian Fr. Robert Barron to more than 50
locations throughout 15 countries. Be illuminated by the spiritual and artistic treasures of this global culture that claims more than one billion of the earth's people. From the sacred lands of Israel to the beating heart of Uganda... from the glorious shrines of Italy, France, and Spain, to the streets of Mexico, Kolkata, and New York City, the fullness of CATHOLICISM is revealed. Journey deep into the Faith as you watch each episode. Mike Leonard, a veteran NBC Today Show correspondent and acclaimed filmmaker, is the Executive Producer of this groundbreaking series. The box set includes five DVDs, each containing two episodes. Each episode runs 50-60 minutes. English and Spanish subtitles are included as viewing options.

Dom Gilson's ordination

I remember him as a young teenager running around our family property near Rio... enjoying the fellowship and swimming with the youth group. I was in college and when I visited home I used to spend time and help at a French retreat center which was at walking distance from there. My parents had helped establish this retreat center in the mountain area, run by the religious order Foyer de Charite, founded by the Marthe Robin in France. I made many retreats there even still as a child, and as a teen and college student. I enjoyed very much going  to stay there as a helper, and during those years I grew immensely in faith.

The Foyer attracted a wonderful local group of young teens and adults, and vocations came out from that. One is the newly ordained bishop, Dom Gilson de Andrade Silva, ordained this past Saturday at the Cathedral in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro. My sister, his colleague at the Seminary and close friend, told me on the phone yesterday how wonderful and moving the ceremony was, and how the packed cathedral showed pride and happiness! People from his native area came in throngs to celebrate with him. Dom Gilson has been a faithful, intelligent and wonderful priest and monsignor, undoubtedly God in His Infinite Wisdom has great plans for him as coadjutor bishop in the large and first diocese of Brazil, Salvador of Bahia. Congratulations and may God bless you, Dom Gilson!

First time!

Number Six played a hymn in the organ this morning at mass for the first time! The picture is from my Blackberry... She continues her beloved organ lessons and when Number Five goes off to college she will be ready to take over playing for mass!

Stuffed Peppers!

To use the multitude of green peppers, Husband and I decided on a large batch of stuffed peppers. We cut them open, cleaned inside ad boiled them for 3 to 4 minutes, and added a little olive oil inside each. For the filling I used onions, almonds and chopped Hungarian sausage sauteed in oil oil and a little curry, adding rice and chopped apples. I made the tomato sauce with plenty of red onions and blended it before pouring on top. They baked for an hour and were absolutely divine!

Harvest

After two light frosts last week it is time to bring the sweet potatoes and peppers in... We were able to protect the tomatoes and eggplant by leaving the sprinklers on overnight. We are supposed to have a warm spell yet so the winter squash is still out there.

Pope's Address to Germany's Muslim Representatives

Dear Muslim Friends,

I am glad to be able to welcome you here, as the representatives of different Muslim communities in Germany. From my heart I thank Professor Mouhanad Khorchide for his kind greeting. His words show me what a climate of respect and trust has grown up between the Catholic Church and the Muslim communities in Germany.

Berlin is a good place for a meeting like this, not only because the oldest mosque on German territory is located here, but also because Berlin has the largest Muslim population of all the cities in Germany.

From the 1970s onwards, the presence of numerous Muslim families has increasingly become a distinguishing mark of this country. Constant effort is needed in order to foster better mutual acquaintance and understanding. Not only is this important for peaceful coexistence, but also for the contribution that each can make towards building up the common good in this society.

Many Muslims attribute great importance to the religious dimension of life. At times this is thought provocative in a society that tends to marginalize religion or at most to assign it a place among the individual’s personal choices.

The Catholic Church firmly advocates that due recognition be given to the public dimension of religious adherence. In an overwhelmingly pluralist society, this demand is not unimportant. Care must be taken to guarantee that others are always treated with respect. Mutual respect grows only on the basis of agreement on certain inalienable values that are proper to human nature, in particular the inviolable dignity of every single person. Such agreement does not limit the expression of individual religions; on the contrary, it allows each person to bear witness explicitly to what he believes, not avoiding comparison with others.

In Germany – as in many other countries, not only Western ones – this common frame of reference is articulated by the Constitution, whose juridical content is binding on every citizen, whether he belong to a faith community or not.

Naturally, discussion over the best formulation of principles like freedom of public worship is vast and open-ended, yet it is significant that the Basic Law expresses them in a way that is still valid today at a distance of over sixty years (cf. Art. 4:2). In this law we find above all the common ethos that lies at the heart of human coexistence and that also in a certain way pervades the apparently formal rules of operation of the institutions of democratic life.

We could ask ourselves how such a text – drawn up in a radically different historical epoch, that is to say in an almost uniformly Christian cultural situation – is also suited to present-day Germany, situated as it is within a globalized world and marked as it is by a remarkable degree of pluralism in the area of religious belief.

The reason for this seems to me to lie in the fact that the fathers of the Basic Law at that important moment were fully conscious of the need to find particularly solid ground with which all citizens would be able to identify. In seeking this, they did not prescind from their own religious beliefs; indeed for many of them, the real source of inspiration was the Christian vision of man. But they knew they had to engage with the followers of other religions and none: common ground was found in the recognition of some inalienable rights that are proper to human nature and precede every positive formulation.

In this way, an essentially homogeneous society laid the foundations that we today consider valid for a markedly pluralistic world, foundations that actually point out the evident limits of pluralism: it is inconceivable, in fact, that a society could survive in the long term without consensus on fundamental ethical values.

Dear friends, on the basis of what I have outlined here, it seems to me that there can be fruitful collaboration between Christians and Muslims. In the process, we help to build a society that differs in many respects from what we brought with us from the past. As believers, setting out from our respective convictions, we can offer an important witness in many key areas of life in society. I am thinking, for example, of the protection of the family based on marriage, respect for life in every phase of its natural course or the promotion of greater social justice.

This is another reason why I think it important to hold a day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world, as we plan to do on 27 October next, twenty-five years after the historic meeting in Assisi led by my predecessor, Blessed Pope John Paul II. Through this gathering, we wish to express, with simplicity, that we believers have a special contribution to make towards building a better world, while acknowledging that if our actions are to be effective, we need to grow in dialogue and mutual esteem.

With these sentiments I renew my sincere greetings and I thank you for this meeting, which has greatly enriched my visit to my homeland. Thank you for your attention!

Source: NCR
 

Improptu Special Occasion

While Number Seven is gone to a One-Room-School-House field trip for the day (hopefully I will have pictures later), Number Six had old friends S. and C. over and I made them a special lunch, thanks to the late abundance of tomatoes. They all loved the homemade soup and sharp-cheddar grilled-cheese sandwiches! Here is my own...

Homemade Tomato Soup recipe:

 Heat up your pot and throw in several garlic cloves cut in half lengthwise to roast

Add olive oil and diced up onion to sauteee, salt to taste

Add tomatoes, washed and quartered 

Simmer covered until soft, add some water and blend (I use a hand blender right in the pot)

Quantities vary depending on how much soup you want to make: I used six cloves, 1 onion, six tomatoes, 1 C water, and it served four generous bowls.

Charles de Foucauld

It is time to return this book to the library as Inter Library Loans are not renewable... I am sad as I have so enjoyed getting to know this new friend in heaven. After  a life of privilege and pleasure, and wild adventures and explorations in Morocco, Charles de Foucauld followed an interesting and tortuous path towards God... and in an spiritually honest pursue of his ultimate vocation. The first part of the book is a biography of his fascinating, courageous life, and the second part is a collection of his writings, an intimate portrait of a holy soul seeking humility and holiness.

"Love consists in not feeling loved but in wanting to love."  

“Father of mine, I abandon myself to you, make of me that which is pleasing to you. Whatever you might do to me, I thank you.”

“The one thing we owe absolutely to God is never to be afraid of anything. ” 

From Alli

I got this email from Number One's girlfriend Allison, whom I love. She is starting grad school in TX and has recently made a new and good friend, and wants to spread the word about her and their family's needs. I read quite a bit of their blog and am left wondering how mysterious it is that God allows such good people to carry the heaviest crosses in life...

One of my new classmates has a young daughter (Leah Grace; she's 4) who had a heart transplant a little over a week ago.  Everyone is of course excited that she has a chance to live, but Leah still has a long recovery ahead of her, and she faces many struggles with her new heart.  Leah will have to have surgery annually and will be on steroids and anti-rejection medications for the rest of her life.  Plus, the transplant and transplant-related expenses alone are estimated to be at $75,000.  So Leah's family is (and has been for over 18 months) raising money through Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA).  Here is Leah's (COTA) page where one can make a donation and learn more about her.  As you can see, they are more than half way to their goal!
We are having fundraisers here, and I was asked to send out an email to all of my "non-departmental Waco friends" informing them of one such fundraising event.  The thing is, I don't have many non-departmental Waco friends yet.  And that's why I'm emailing you!  I need to spread the word about fundraising in other ways.  Would you mind sharing Leah's story and some of her links on your blog?  I know you have a lot of followers, and maybe some of them will feel called to donate to Leah's fund.  Even a couple of dollars would get them closer to their goal.
Here is the family blog.  The Parkers have been great about posting every day, and have been incredibly courageous and cheerful throughout this whole thing.  Click "older posts" a few times to see how far Leah has come this week.
And one more link--a video of Katie (Leah's mom) talking about Leah's heart condition.  It's long (10 minutes) and quite sad, but it puts things in perspective.

Picture Book of the Week

Out of Sight by Pitaus & Gervais, 2011 Chronicle Books 

Number Seven has enjoyed this new title from the library immensely, opening the  creative windows and learning all sorts of interesting new animal information. Large format, great art, a winner!

Homeschooling Meme

I was tagged by reading Karen's Blog.

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED

Books that initially convinced me I could handle homeschooling:

It wasn't a book that convinced me. 

Books that initially influenced my style of homeschooling:
 
Mary Pride's Big Book on Home Education

Books that nourish me, especially when I'm feeling burn-out:

Laura Berquist's --it is simple.


2) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT

My iPad.
3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT

Expensive Math manipulatives. We don't need them. 
4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR

Two: Behold and See 5 by CHC. Mapping of the World With Art.
5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR

Teaching Textbooks.
 6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY

Dr. Carol's Music course.

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED

A great, state of the art, comprehensive, easy to do Catholic Art Curriculum.

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOG YOU ENJOY READING

I love Emanuel Books.
If you read this, and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged. 
:) 

Zinnias!

I can't help posting about flowers... I was surprised by an organic bouquet of zinnias Husband brought from the farmer's market. These dark, coldish days of late summer can only benefit from their cheerful, colorful presence!

Art project

We took photos for a self-portrait project... these are my high school and middle school students at co-op. Watch for results!

Unseasonal frost

 Number Seven helped me gather tomatoes yesterday afternoon as the weather service warned us about an unseasonably cool night. We were one of  three states to get a frost before summer's official end. Temperatures did not plunge as low as they predicted, but alas a frost we did have. We covered the peppers and left the sprinkler on all night on tomatoes, eggplants and green beans. I found our dear and clever farm cats sunning themselves and keeping warm... 

Composing a Letter to the Editor...

... of National Geographic Magazine concerning this piece on women and the fertility in Brazil. If you have the magazine in hard copy, one of the full page photos is of my cousin Maria. My point is neither popular nor easy to make, so I am welcoming any helpful insights. I do not believe women are better off having fewer children, or that economies are better with lower fertility rates. It is acomplex web of factors that National Geographic is over-simplifying. In any event I am starting the letter with the rather anecdotal evidence not only of my family in Brazil-- upper middle class, high level of education, ten children--but also of the families with whom we share our family life in this country.

Update 7 PM: found three great sources so far: a recent book, an older book, and these videos!

Working on the new Workbook

... for the Catholic Textbook Project newest volume, Light of the Nations Part 2. I must admit I love the work although it is difficult to manage the time for it at home sometimes.

Nature Photos

...taken by photographer Number Six!  The weather has been absolutely beautiful, sunny, cool, dry, and we have spent a lot of time outside! 

Peaches!

Homeschool Life

It began when she was much younger, but Number Seven still asks for pictures on her spelling tests... to which I am very happy to comply. After spelling tests and a few other subjects, a rest in the late summer sunshine with a beloved kitten is what makes my homeschool girls happy!

Off she goes

Number Five and Husband leave before 7 AM every day... I get up and help them with breakfast, lunch prep, etc, and watch them leave in the truck, before sunup. Today she was taking her first finished art project, her favorite homework. I am trying to get used to it, and I am delighted she is having such a wonderful time in full time school. As a junior, she is showing responsibility and maturity and we have all come to treasure the few hours she seems to be home anymore... 

A Quiz About Me

OK, so the kids have been making and taking these and I made mine. Even Husband has not scored 100%. Let's see if you can, it takes 5 seconds.

http://www.quizyourfriends.com/take-quiz.php?id=1109020800365472&a=1&

Our New Site!

Our homeschool group has a new site and it looks wonderful! Enjoy it here!

First Day at TC!

Pictures say a thousand words... it was an exciting day and it went so fast! Middle School Chemistry, Speech, Lit, Didache, Creative Writing... and History! Hope S. reflects the enthusiasm in all of the kids! 

Family Camp 2011

We are exhausted and sunburned... and happy Family Camp went wonderfully well again! Gorgeous weather, prayer, games, campfire Rosary, stars, and good friends. A winning recipe!

The top picture is a collage of our many activities. Spiraling from the top left: J. and A. chatting at the parents' usual outdoor hangout area, little Gideon K., Stations of the Cross family hike, Stations again, beautiful Rachel H., Mr and Mrs. H., A. and her wild discovery, families climbing towards the Cross, John S. and his wild discovery, the kids' volleyball team, singing Happy Birthday to Mrs. S. and more parents vs. kids volleyball.

The bottom picture is after Sunday Mass, Fr. A. was our celebrant priest and inspired us with a beautiful sermon on fraternal love and forgiveness.

Two nice blogs

There is only one conversation going in this house, and it revolves around our upcoming trip to our usual cabin for the 2011 "Family Camp".

I found respite from the frantic excitement by coming to write a post which is not at all about food, or bikes, or pets, or s'mores.

I want to point to two nice blogs I visited today, where I read about film and literature. Aaah. A review of a new Graham Greene adaptation, a review of God and Men, a trailer for what sees to be a very nice documentary on Walker Percy. Enjoy it.

High Concepts and By Way of Beauty are the blogs, and I attach the trailer.