Overheard at Dinner

The following conversation was overheard towards the end of dinner a few nights ago.

Catherine: "We only have four popsicles left."

Brendan: "One of us children will have to sacrifice. Catherine, Bernadette, Theresa, who wants to give up their popsicle?"

Feast of King St. Louis IX

King St. Louis IX became King of France at age eleven. His mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled as regent until Louis reached the age of twenty-two. Her words to her son echoed in Louis' mind throughout his life, "I would rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin."

Louis and his wife, Queen Marguerite, were the parents of eleven children. King St. Louis IX proved to be a benevolent ruler and father, fostering the Faith in his family and spreading Christianity in France. A franciscan tertiary, he did a great deal to help the sick and the poor. He also spent many hours praying, fasting, and doing penance. King St. Louis IX died in the second Crusade in which he participated.

In a letter to his eldest son, Philip III, King St. Louis IX wrote:

"Therefore, dear son, the first thing I advise is that you fix your whole heart upon God, and love Him with all your strength, for without this no one can be saved or be of any worth."

King St. Louis IX, pray for us!

The Queenship of Mary

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us;
and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, most holy mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Pope Pius XII's encyclical proclaiming the Queenship of Mary can be found at EWTN.

Our Lady of Knock and Our First Day of School

We like to start school on a Marian feast day. Yesterday, the Feast of Our Lady of Knock complemented our Irish heritage and therefore, marked our first day of school for the 2006-2007 school year.

Catherine, with whom I have been using Seton for the last four years, was very excited to sit down and start working with me on her lessons once again. She is anxious to write her book reports, as she really enjoyed reading the books Seton sent for this purpose. She truly loves to learn.

Bernadette is enrolled in Seton for the first time this year. I have questioned my decision to enroll her all summer. However, if the first two days of school are any indication of whether or not I made the right decision, then I definitely have. This is the first time that she has shown an interest in learning with me. She likes her lessons. She is enjoying working with me and her love of history is being fed with Seton's second grade materials and her sister's fourth grade history book. Before school even began, Bernadette had read and shared with us the stories in How America Began by Father Furlong. Catherine and Bernadette look like they are going to really enjoy the upcoming year.

I am pulling together my own curriculum for Brendan again this year. He will be using some of Seton's books, continuing Teach Your Child to Read in One Hundred Easy Lessons, using plenty of manipulatives, and joining his sisters in their continued study of Latin and Sign Language.

Our little angel has been joining us in our studies since last year. Theresa has never been one to be left out, so I am continuing to pull out the Montessori materials that I used with her siblings. She has insisted on beginning Teach Your Child to Read in One Hundred Easy Lessons and begged to have school books like those of her sisters and brother. Thus, she is using one of the Golden Books that Laura Berquist recommends, Everywhere We Go, and Seton's Kindergarten Handwriting for Young Catholics. She seems satisfied with these books for now, but I am prepared should she want more.

What am I doing with our little toddler? Like his siblings who were all toddlers before him, Patrick joins us each day for our lessons. He plays with plastic animals, sits on my lap, colors, strings wooden beads, naps, listens to stories, rips an occasional book, etc. His sisters and brother also take the time to play with him. He gives us the distraction we need and never lets us forget that he is present.

I pray that we and all who homeschool have a wonderful year!

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF KNOCK

Our Lady of Knock Queen of Ireland, you gave hope to your people in a time of distress and comforted them in sorrow. You have inspired countless pilgrims to pray with confidence to your Son, remembering His promise; “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find.” Help me to remember that we are all pilgrims on the road to heaven. Fill me with love and concern for my brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those who live with me.Comfort me when I am sick or lonely or depressed. Teach me how to take part ever more reverently in the holy Mass. Pray for me now, and at the hour of my death. Amen.
Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.

Homeschooling MeMe

Helen at Castle of the Immaculate tagged me.

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED
Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home, by Elizabeth Foss

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU COULDN'T BE WITHOUT
I don't know if this counts as a resource, but I couldn't be without my Catholic Faith and regular Mass attendance.

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT?
Language of God workbooks from CHC, but a friend likes them and bought them from me. Different things work well for different people. I do not mean to dissuade anyone from buying these workbooks by mentioning this.

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR
The Catholic Faith Comes to the Americas (and all of the related books my children listened to or read)

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR
Seton Home Study School

6) ONE TWO RESOURCES YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY
Signing Time (We are currently checking out the DVDs from the library, but I would like to own them.)
Latina Christiana

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED
A way to easily clean my house.

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING
Emmanuel Books

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY
4RealLearning Forums

10) TAG FIVE OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS
Life is Beauty
If you got this far, please consider yourself tagged.

Ultrasound

I had my 20 week ultrasound on Monday, August 14. Our baby rubbed his eyes and was kicking his little feet. He is currently in a breech position. I know the position can change, but my only other child who was like this at 20 weeks never turned, please pray that this little one does. We did not find out whether we are having a boy or girl, but my oldest son says that the baby's face looks like his so "the baby must be a boy."

I was given a due date of December 26. My two previous due dates were December 27 and December 23. I am curious to see whether this little one will make his appearance on Christmas or simply during the Advent or Christmas season. Thank you, God, for the wonderful blessing of pregnancy.

Pierce County Fair

Yesterday, after Mass, some friends surprised us with tickets to the Pierce County Fair. Their children were showing their goats. We decided to take an impromptu trip to the fair. I am so glad that we did.

We visited various animal barns as we looked for the goat barn and our daughters' friends. We soon found the goats. The children were happy to see their friends and pet the animals. One of the boys was very happy to share the fact that two of their goats had received ribbons. I was impressed as I knew it was the first year they had participated in the fair. After saying, "Goodbye", the children wanted to go on some rides.

Upon seeing the rides, this ride-nauseous mother tried to talk the children out of the rides, but the father's common sense prevailed. Brendan and Theresa enjoyed driving cars. Catherine was thrilled with the roller coaster. What about Bernadette? Well, let's just say that she takes after her mother ~ the roller coaster was a frightening ride.

in addition to the above, we enjoyed cotton candy, lemonade, playing in a grassy area, and eating ice cream. We were thankful for the hard work of the 4-H members who were participating in the fair. We were pleased to find he fair was just the right size for a family with five young children and a pregnant Mommy. We look forward to hopefully going again next year.

Thank you, God, for a wonderful day!

Tagged

I was tagged by Lynn, at the inspirational blog Life is Beauty, five days ago. I guess it's time for me to share, BookMeMe style.

1. ONE BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE:
True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis De Montfort.

2. ONE BOOK THAT YOU'VE READ MORE THAN ONCE:
How to Raise Good Catholic Children by Mary Reed Newland

3. ONE BOOK YOU'D WANT ON A DESERT ISLAND:
The Bible

4. ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH (I have to list two):
My Cup Of Tea: Musings Of A Catholic Mom by Danielle Bean and Please Don't Drink the Holy Water! by Susie Lloyd

5. ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY:
The first book that I remember reading that made me cry was Karen by Marie Killilea.

6. ONE BOOK THAT YOU WISH HAD BEEN WRITTEN:
Hmmm, I will have to think about this.

7. ONE BOOK THAT YOU WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN:
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

8. ONE BOOK YOU'RE CURRENTLY READING:
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton (I started this a few months ago, but I have been reading it off and on. I am determined to finish reading it before starting something else.)

9. ONE BOOK YOU'VE BEEN MEANING TO READ:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (My husband and I started reading this together, but we never got very far.)

10. TAG FIVE OTHERS (I only have time to tag 4):
Among Women

Castle of the Immaculate

Catholic Mom's Journey

The Family-Centered Life

Happy Name Day Claire!

I first became interested in the life of St. Clare when we gave our children volume 7 of Glory Stories from Catholic World Mission. St. Clare's story is one of inspiring faith and trust in God. St. Clare, pray for us!

Imbued with a Catholic Worldview Throughout Its Curriculum

I am currently reading The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB. I believe that the following statement is important and true not only for Catholic Schools, but also for those of us who homeschool:

All instruction, therefore, must be authentically Catholic in content and methodology across the entire program of studies...If a Catholic school is to deliver on its promise to provide students with an integral education, it must foster love for wisdom and truth, and must integrate faith, culture, and life.

This little book is published by Sophia Institute Press.

Does Anyone Have Any Nails?

This morning, I heard what sounded like hammering coming from my sons' room. A few months ago, Brendan pounded some nails into the wall in the shape of a cross. Thus, I said, "I hope you're not pounding nails into the ceiling." Theresa responded, "We're not. We don't have any nails."

Field Trips

Alicia is asking that we share our favorite places to visit in our state.

Below is my preliminary list. I will edit it and add it to my sidebar when I have a little more time.

Leavenworth
Mount Rainier
Mount St. Helens
Pacific Science Center
Point Defiance Park and Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo

Counting the Days Until Baby

Today, Catherine informed me that if the baby is born on Christmas, then we only have 142 days to wait. It seems like such a long time, but I know that our little one will be in our arms before we know it. On a side note, I am impressed that Catherine took the time to count out the days on the calendar.

Quoth the Raven Nevermore

Actually, this is a crow. It is one of many birds that we have visit our Lady's garden. The birds usually remain at a distance when we are outside. When I saw this bird hopping around, as the children played, I was a little surprised. My surprise changed to amusement when I saw how the children, or one of my children, had attracted this crow ~ with his unfinished lunch.