Wednesday, November 30, 2011
St. Andrew
Tomorrow is the feast of St. Andrew, apostle, and martyr.
St. Andrew was St. Peter's brother. St. Andrew actually heard of Jesus first and took his brother to meet him. What a wonderful example of the importance of Godly siblings in our lives and the positive influence they can have on us!
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles scattered all over the known world to spread the Gospel message. Andrew went to Greece where he was eventually martyred. Andrew felt that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as our Lord, so his cross was set up diagonally like a big X. This type of cross is called "St. Andrew's Cross." (Andrew's brother Peter also felt unworthy to be baptized as Jesus was and was consequently crucified upside down.)
St. Andrew is to the Scottish what St. Patrick is to the Irish, although as far as we know, the saint never set a foot on the isle! There are two legends explaining this. The first is that St. Regulus had a dream that was to move the remains of St. Andrew to the far corners of the world for safe keeping. Apparently he only got as far as the eastern shore of Scotland before he shipwrecked, and the stop where he came ashore is today's St. Andrew's.
The other legend is that the Bishop of Hexham:
"who was a reknown collector of relics, brought the relics of St. Andrew to St. Andrews in 733. There certainly seems to have been a religious centre at St. Andrews at that time, either founded by St. Rule in the 6th century or by a Pictish King, Ungus, who reigned from 731 - 761."
The Feast of St. Andrew sets the beginning of Advent! The first Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday closest to this feast day! It's a great time to say the Christmas Novena!
(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
Imprimatur
+MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, Archbishop of New York
New York, February 6, 1897
St. Andrew was the patron of fisherman (so a fish dinner to celebrate would certainly be appropriate!) and unmarried women. (There were a few neat traditions associated with that. Apparently if an unmarried woman throws her shoe at the door on St. Andrew's day, if the toe points outward, the woman will be married and out of the house within a year!
For more links and info, see below!
St. Andrew Catholics Online.
Catholic Culture - St. Andrew
St. Andrew's Christmas Prayer
traditional bannocks recipes from scotland biscuits cakes and sweets
Baking for Britain Blog.
What are Bannocks?
Tea Time with Scones and Bannocks.
More info on St. Andrew from St. Ann's Helper
St. Andrew's Connection to Scotland!
Coloring pages of Scotland!
Some info on St. Andrew and some fun Scottish customs.
Catholic cuisine
Scottish Short Bread
Fish craft
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
My Daily Domestic Clips 11/30/2011 (a.m.)
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“Craft of the Week” Kick-off « Our Domestic Church
Make aluminum foil fish - because St. Andrew was a fisherman!
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Liturgical Year : Christmas Anticipation Prayer (Prayer) - Catholic Culture
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How to Change the World: Ten Questions With Penelope Trunk: Career Guidance for This Century
I just started following Penelope Trunk and her blog. She has some fascinating answers and opinions on things, especially succeeding in the new economy. I should probably buy her book for Christmas presents.
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Grad school generally makes you less employable, not more employable. For example, people who get a graduate degree in the humanities would have had a better chance of surviving the Titanic than getting a tenured teaching job.
- Don’t place too much importance on your first job. You’ll have a lot more. Most people have eight jobs before they turn thirty, and that’s fine. It is nearly impossible to know what career will be a good fit for you until you start trying things. So give yourself the latitude to try a lot. And don’t get hung up on a big soul search. To land a great job, you don’t need to know the meaning of life, just the meaning of hard work.
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On some level it would be insane not to move back home, which is why more than fifty percent of graduating seniors do it. Moving back to your parent’s house is a smart step toward finding a career that’s right for you.
Entry level jobs typically cannot cover the cost of rent, college loan payments, and insurance premiums—all of which are rising faster than wages. If you don’t have to worry about paying rent, you have more flexibility to wait for the right job and to take a job that feels very right but pays very poorly. The rise of the prestigious but unpaid internship intersects perfectly with trend to move back home.
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Advent/Christmas arts and crafts
This first week of advent in the Catholic Mosaic book is about preparing and decorating - so the girls and I did that yesterday.
I found a very cute book at the library called My Christmas Art Class
I let Rosie look through and she decided she wanted to make the Christmas birds.
I just have to poke a hole in the top and they will be ready to hang on the tree.
We also worked on our first bird seed wreath.
Here are the girls working to mix up the gelatin, flour, corn syrup and water with the bird seed. and here is what the first one looks like so far!
I used a bird seed that cardinals are supposed to really love, because it seemed to have the most interesting variety of seeds. We'll make a few more and then I will purchase the ribbon!
I found a very cute book at the library called My Christmas Art Class
I let Rosie look through and she decided she wanted to make the Christmas birds.
I just have to poke a hole in the top and they will be ready to hang on the tree.
We also worked on our first bird seed wreath.
Here are the girls working to mix up the gelatin, flour, corn syrup and water with the bird seed. and here is what the first one looks like so far!
I used a bird seed that cardinals are supposed to really love, because it seemed to have the most interesting variety of seeds. We'll make a few more and then I will purchase the ribbon!
Monday, November 28, 2011
simple woman
Outside my window...
I am thinking...
Our life is over like a sigh.
Our span is seventy years
or eighty for those who are strong. Psalm 90
Life is too short for family squabbles and yet I find myself in the midst of one. When Thanksgiving got moved to my house I wanted to do my best to be inclusive of my oldest son Calvin and his girlfriend Sarah. First I suggested that maybe we host Sarah's parents too, but there was a tradition they had with other family members that they didn't want to disturb and I certainly understand and appreciate that. Then I suggested moving our Thanksgiving to Friday, but Calvin had to work. So finally I said we could have ours late at 5 p.m. At 5:10 Calvin called to tell me that they decided not to come. We're talking about a 15 minute distance here. While everyone else was able to shrug, call him a jerk and move on, my mother's heart is shaken. I think the dilemma is how to be open to forgiving and forgiveness but at the same time avoid being hurt again. Is part of growing in holiness putting your heart out there to be hurt again? My husband's solution is to put it out of mind and if and when Calvin comes around again, act like nothing happened. I love the way men handle things.
I am thankful ...
my baby girl who is really enjoying the holiday books I picked up at the library for her yesterday. Last night we read
From the learning rooms...
Getting back into a groove. I do have two Tom Sawyers for Gabe and Noah to start on! I also want to make those bird seed wreaths with the girls this week. Since the community center no longer has art classes, I need to try harder to get art in there for Rosie!
From the kitchen...
Turkey and dumplings tonight. Chili tomorrow and then chili cheese potatoes for Wednesday!
I am wearing...
Black pants and white sweater.
I am creating...
an atmosphere of waiting during Advent - of prayerful preparation for the birth of Jesus.
I am going...
to try to work some extra prayer time into my days. Praying for the healing of my family after a Thanksgiving day of some hurt feelings - probably mainly mine. I'm still trying to resolve my two natures - the one that wants to lash out and hurt back OR go totally stone cold vs. the loving nurturing, St. Monica type mom I want to be for my adult son. I did talked to my husband about this and he said the lashing out or the cold shoulder aren't so much to hurt as to protect my heart and feelings. He knows me so well.
Hoping to get some exercise going here starting tomorrow too! I don't think I over did it at Thanksgiving but I want to get back into a regular routine again.
I am reading...
a multitude of e-books that I have bought and are stuck on my computer.
Latest debate... Over at Association of Catholic Women Bloggers of all places - once again defending the Duggar family only this time against allegations from a fellow Catholic Woman Blogger who opines:
Now both of these examples are exploitative; the Duggars who want to preach to American their version of Family Value when it seems to me that they are in it for the media attention and frankly to make more money for themselves, and Glee whose producers want to make money glorifying sex. My hubby and I have friends in Arkansas who tell us that the Duggars are very savvy business people and everything they do is very calculated. The Duggars are revered in their community and seem to be fairly nice people, but for me...not so much. I see Ms. Duggar abusing her reproductive nature. She barely carried her last child to term and what will happen to this one? As we age our bodies slow down, our reproduction takes a back seat as we reach menopause and for good reason. My hubby and I have friends with large families; so we sat down one night with our good friends who have 13 and talked with them about this. The mom said: "Frankly as I had more children the elder ones had to take over some of the more mundane parenting duties. Now there is good and bad to that; they learn something about the humdrumness that is part of parenting, but that also means I am not the one parenting. Don't get me wrong I was MOM, but the older kids were sharing a lot of manual responsibilities, never the Parenting Duties." My friend is no Stepford wife, no prairie long skirt mom. She is hip and the most beautiful slim woman I know. She has it all together. As far as I am concerned she is the total Faithful Mom: Hip, with it, cares for herself mentally, physically, spiritually.
Do I feel my Mom of 13 friend is wrong in her decision. No, I don't. For her and her husband this was a prayerful choice they made for their family, but where the difference is from the Duggars, for me, is that the Duggars seem to parade around to impress. There is just something icky about the Duggars that I can't get my head around.
She can't seem to get her facts around it either. I took a few comment spaces to challenge her on this and she responded to none of them, in the end saying that she WOULDN'T argue. Which begs the question, then why bring it up at all if you're not prepared to defend your post?
I am looking forward to...
the Christmas concerts. I have three in the next week.
Around the house...
keeping it relatively clean in time for Christmas - with special emphasis on the laundry room which never seems to get under control.
Pictures I am sharing:
Sunday, November 27, 2011
My Daily Domestic Clips 11/28/2011 (a.m.)
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Sadlier Religion | We Believe | Liturgical Year
This is really cool - you can read the scripture and prayer for each liturgical week online or use the handy dandy printable version. Neat!
Advent thoughts
Yesterday I heard the old rite for the very last time. It seemed proper that it should be at a funeral. A lovely 96-year-old wife and mother had finished her earthly race and gone on to be with the Lord. She really must have been well-loved as the church was very full and the first ten pews or so were packed with tearful family members.
One of the younger members of the family got up to read the petitions but her tears and grief kept her from uttering more than a few words. I think that really says something when the young ones love a grandma or great grandma that much.
This woman was extraordinary. She penned a note to be opened after her death where she promised to take all the petitions and needs of her children to Jesus herself when she gets to heaven and she urged them to GET THERE so that they could all be together.
What a great idea.
When I got home I started writing a note too to see what it would feel like to write something knowing it would be read after I was gone. But it started sounding too much like a rant so I pitched it. I think something like that will have to be written when memories fade and the heart is more full of mother love and warmth - Apparently I'm not there yet.
She also had a saying that when we light another's candle with light from our own, it does not diminish our own light. I love that thought and vowed right then and there to try and be a better mentor, teacher, mother, wife and friend. Sometimes I think these funerals do more to edify the living than to send off the dead but I suppose in the Catholic Church we do a good job of doing both.
Last night I put away all of the Thanksgiving decorations and got out our Advent wreath. Inside the center of the wreath is the lovely statue of Mary I purchased at a tag sale this fall. The whole thing is surrounded by our Jesse blocks. I decided last year that I was done trying to find a place to keep a Jesse Tree - so Izzy made these cute blocks - there is one for each day of Advent. I'll be sharing them with this blog every day so you can see them too.
Here's the one for the first day of Advent - Creation!
Today at mass I had all of my music in order and was armed with my worship aid for the new mass prayers. I don't think I missed a single, "and with your spirit." I did blow the "under my roof" part - but I'll get it next week.
In the Cleveland Diocese, we have been mandated by the bishop to learn the Mass of St. Paul because it has all of the new words and the Gloria doesn't repeat with a refrain. The bishop wants us to learn it and for the faithful in the diocese to be able to sing it well. I'm not wild about any of it except... the Lamb of God. I think that is truly inspired composing and I love, love, love the flute part that goes with it. It is just beautiful. There is no orchestration in this clip but it gives an idea what this lovely music sounds like.
Today we had ten for Sunday dinner - which is kind of ironic considering how Thanksgiving turned out. A neighbor kicked her teenage son out of the home and since he had no where to go and nothing to eat, we gave him some of our Turkey pot pie. His sister eventually wandered over as well. I tried to talk to them both about reconciling with their mother and trying to bring the family together. I may have to say something to her myself. In the meantime my own son has not spoken to me since Thanksgiving and ignored my texts. It seems we will be a family divided - something I never thought would happen to us, but has.
After dinner, I went over to get books for Rosie at the library so that we can follow along in the Christmas Mosaic book. Can't wait to delve into those! Rosie right now is my #1 fan. I need a #1 fan about now and cuddling with her on the couch reading these books will be very soothing for both of us I think!
Overall I'd say it was a good start to the Advent season. Oh come Baby Jesus - I need your baby tenderness just about now as the skies turn gray and the light starts fading.
One of the younger members of the family got up to read the petitions but her tears and grief kept her from uttering more than a few words. I think that really says something when the young ones love a grandma or great grandma that much.
This woman was extraordinary. She penned a note to be opened after her death where she promised to take all the petitions and needs of her children to Jesus herself when she gets to heaven and she urged them to GET THERE so that they could all be together.
What a great idea.
When I got home I started writing a note too to see what it would feel like to write something knowing it would be read after I was gone. But it started sounding too much like a rant so I pitched it. I think something like that will have to be written when memories fade and the heart is more full of mother love and warmth - Apparently I'm not there yet.
She also had a saying that when we light another's candle with light from our own, it does not diminish our own light. I love that thought and vowed right then and there to try and be a better mentor, teacher, mother, wife and friend. Sometimes I think these funerals do more to edify the living than to send off the dead but I suppose in the Catholic Church we do a good job of doing both.
Last night I put away all of the Thanksgiving decorations and got out our Advent wreath. Inside the center of the wreath is the lovely statue of Mary I purchased at a tag sale this fall. The whole thing is surrounded by our Jesse blocks. I decided last year that I was done trying to find a place to keep a Jesse Tree - so Izzy made these cute blocks - there is one for each day of Advent. I'll be sharing them with this blog every day so you can see them too.
Here's the one for the first day of Advent - Creation!
Today at mass I had all of my music in order and was armed with my worship aid for the new mass prayers. I don't think I missed a single, "and with your spirit." I did blow the "under my roof" part - but I'll get it next week.
In the Cleveland Diocese, we have been mandated by the bishop to learn the Mass of St. Paul because it has all of the new words and the Gloria doesn't repeat with a refrain. The bishop wants us to learn it and for the faithful in the diocese to be able to sing it well. I'm not wild about any of it except... the Lamb of God. I think that is truly inspired composing and I love, love, love the flute part that goes with it. It is just beautiful. There is no orchestration in this clip but it gives an idea what this lovely music sounds like.
Today we had ten for Sunday dinner - which is kind of ironic considering how Thanksgiving turned out. A neighbor kicked her teenage son out of the home and since he had no where to go and nothing to eat, we gave him some of our Turkey pot pie. His sister eventually wandered over as well. I tried to talk to them both about reconciling with their mother and trying to bring the family together. I may have to say something to her myself. In the meantime my own son has not spoken to me since Thanksgiving and ignored my texts. It seems we will be a family divided - something I never thought would happen to us, but has.
After dinner, I went over to get books for Rosie at the library so that we can follow along in the Christmas Mosaic book. Can't wait to delve into those! Rosie right now is my #1 fan. I need a #1 fan about now and cuddling with her on the couch reading these books will be very soothing for both of us I think!
Overall I'd say it was a good start to the Advent season. Oh come Baby Jesus - I need your baby tenderness just about now as the skies turn gray and the light starts fading.
Friday, November 25, 2011
7-Quick Takes - the after Thanksgiving Edition
Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary.>
1. I guess I would start out by saying that holidays are important. It is important to remember certain historical and religious events and it is important to reflect on this yearly touchstones of life as we journey through life. If we can share these special times with family and friends- all the better.
2. But as I grow older I am finding that I dislike the expectation of the holidays more and more. Certainly the culture puts a lot of pressure on the holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, that they be filled with a lot of stuff, more-than-you-should-eat food and that you have to be just over-the-top happy and filled with joy. I think we're very lucky if we hit these expectations a handful of times in the average lifetime. The rest of the time I think if we just have "nice" or "enjoyable" or just "pleasant," it doesn't seem as if the day (and make no mistake in the culture Thanksgiving is one day and Christmas is one day and there is a big season of SHOPPPING in between)was really successful and there can be a sense of let down.
3. There is nothing wrong with a holiday that is simply, nice, enjoyable or pleasant. Bigger is not always better.
4. One little bit of middle-aged life that no one tells you is - after a certain point there will always be a tinge of sadness to the holidays. That magical feeling from childhood will never be what it once was. Part of that is because it is now our sole turn to MAKE the magic happen. We do the shopping, we do the wrapping, we do the cooking and cleaning and make all the lists etc. This all gets done in addition to the regular every-day work and life stuff that we are obligated to do anyway. We do it willingly and with love for our family, friends and community. It is added burden and stressful nonetheless and I think it's important to recognize that and to cut ourselves a little slack!
5. There is also the small sorrow that the people we once shared these days with have gone to their graves. Nostalgia is a wonderful and beautiful thing. It is also a little painful. But I think it is painful because we loved. Love and Loss are first cousins me thinks. The sense of loss is like a hollow feeling inside of me, and yet I know it exists because it was and even still is, a place of love.
This year we tried to incorporate our past with the present. I used mom's china for dinner. She only had 8 place settings so I used a few of my grandma's pieces to fill out the table. We used my mother-in-law's turkey salt and peppers to bring in that part of the family too.
6. This year Mr. Pete and I are navigating transitional waters, waters that stretch out in front of us for 20 years or more as children get older, start relationships and then try to navigate the holiday time between two or more homes. We have six kids - that is potentially six other families to try to work a holiday around in addition to my only sibling and her family which is also looking at splits or divides. What I wanted to do (and have wanted to do for a few years now) is to just have a holiday party on Friday of Thanksgiving and have well known that no matter what, even if it is just for a few moments, our house is the place to be for food, fun and good cheer. The house just isn't up for it yet (leaky roof and a rotting out sink countertop!) but I think that's the way to go for next year.
7. Definitely think doing something outside of the house adds to the holiday. This is our second year for the Run for the Homeless and it has been good for us as a family. Next year, I think Rosie and I will try to the one-mile fun run just to get started. We shall see.
1. I guess I would start out by saying that holidays are important. It is important to remember certain historical and religious events and it is important to reflect on this yearly touchstones of life as we journey through life. If we can share these special times with family and friends- all the better.
2. But as I grow older I am finding that I dislike the expectation of the holidays more and more. Certainly the culture puts a lot of pressure on the holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, that they be filled with a lot of stuff, more-than-you-should-eat food and that you have to be just over-the-top happy and filled with joy. I think we're very lucky if we hit these expectations a handful of times in the average lifetime. The rest of the time I think if we just have "nice" or "enjoyable" or just "pleasant," it doesn't seem as if the day (and make no mistake in the culture Thanksgiving is one day and Christmas is one day and there is a big season of SHOPPPING in between)was really successful and there can be a sense of let down.
3. There is nothing wrong with a holiday that is simply, nice, enjoyable or pleasant. Bigger is not always better.
4. One little bit of middle-aged life that no one tells you is - after a certain point there will always be a tinge of sadness to the holidays. That magical feeling from childhood will never be what it once was. Part of that is because it is now our sole turn to MAKE the magic happen. We do the shopping, we do the wrapping, we do the cooking and cleaning and make all the lists etc. This all gets done in addition to the regular every-day work and life stuff that we are obligated to do anyway. We do it willingly and with love for our family, friends and community. It is added burden and stressful nonetheless and I think it's important to recognize that and to cut ourselves a little slack!
5. There is also the small sorrow that the people we once shared these days with have gone to their graves. Nostalgia is a wonderful and beautiful thing. It is also a little painful. But I think it is painful because we loved. Love and Loss are first cousins me thinks. The sense of loss is like a hollow feeling inside of me, and yet I know it exists because it was and even still is, a place of love.
This year we tried to incorporate our past with the present. I used mom's china for dinner. She only had 8 place settings so I used a few of my grandma's pieces to fill out the table. We used my mother-in-law's turkey salt and peppers to bring in that part of the family too.
6. This year Mr. Pete and I are navigating transitional waters, waters that stretch out in front of us for 20 years or more as children get older, start relationships and then try to navigate the holiday time between two or more homes. We have six kids - that is potentially six other families to try to work a holiday around in addition to my only sibling and her family which is also looking at splits or divides. What I wanted to do (and have wanted to do for a few years now) is to just have a holiday party on Friday of Thanksgiving and have well known that no matter what, even if it is just for a few moments, our house is the place to be for food, fun and good cheer. The house just isn't up for it yet (leaky roof and a rotting out sink countertop!) but I think that's the way to go for next year.
7. Definitely think doing something outside of the house adds to the holiday. This is our second year for the Run for the Homeless and it has been good for us as a family. Next year, I think Rosie and I will try to the one-mile fun run just to get started. We shall see.
A less than perfect Thanksgiving Day...
1. started a few weeks ago when I asked my sister if she wanted to plan our annual Thanksgiving and she informed me that she already had- we just weren't a part of it. Her kids were going to their Dad's and she was going to her fiance's family home. Omen of things to come.
2. Because of lack of planning, or whatever, our choir had to practice on Wednesday night - traditional pie making night. But even that seemed to be okay. We were going to eat late to accommodate my oldest son Calvin and his girlfriend Sarah, so it was easy to move pie making to Thursday since we were going to eat at 5 p.m. anyway.
3. On Thanksgiving morning I remembered I left my jacket at church after choir practice. I really like that jacket and I was going to need it for the race too so I drove over to church early to pick it up. And since I was there I knelt down and thanked God for all my blessings, past, present and future and I asked Him to truly make me grateful for all that I have received.
I guess God decided to test that out.
Feeling content and peaceful, I was leaving the church when...
WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOOFFFF!!! The pastor's big dog was barking and running towards me which made me jump and cry out as my my blood pressure spiked and the flight or fight instincts started to kick in.
You should know that everyone loves this dog. He is beloved in the parish. I like this dog too and I desperately want him to like me mainly because I appreciate our pastor - and the dog did like me for about 20 minutes when I was sitting in the rectory planning my mother's funeral two years ago. He has not liked me since and I have no idea why! The pastor waved and said good morning and his dog went back to him although the dog still looked like he would have preferred taking a big hunk of meat out of my own drumstick instead!
and to make matters worse, Mr. Pete was not sufficiently sympathetic when I told him about it, because our own dog, Sophie, does not like him. She runs away and hides when he comes into a room and every night when he comes home she barks and howls as if we are experiencing an intruder invasion. So Mr. Pete thinks my problem with the church dog is funny and in fact, I think he rather enjoys it!
4. I get home and poke the Turkey which has been sitting in the sink over night and still feels as hard as a brick. Now I am not a turkey novice and in fact we have turkey four or more times a year just because we enjoy it, so I was a bit surprised that I got the thaw time needed for this bird wrong. I started praying that it would be soft by the time we got back from the race.
5. The race went well - in fact it was perfect running weather and I loved watching all the runners. Noah killed his last year time by around 9 minutes and Izzy actually ran the whole 4 miles! We get home and its all hands on deck to get the dinner ready. Rosie is more than willing to help with any task we give her - which isn't a whole lot because she is only 6 and doesn't always follow directions. The three older boys were nowhere to be found so it was the three youngest ones, Mr. Pete and me.
6. The turkey was sufficiently thawed and made it into the oven about 12:15. Would it be done in time for dinner at 5? That was my biggest worry.
7. We forgot all about the cranberry sauce even though we had all the ingredients. Mr. Pete whipped that up and we hoped it would set in time for dinner. We also realized we had forgotten the french fried onions for the green bean casserole - that was a bummer because we REALLY like those onions. But we decided to go ahead without them too.
8. We set the table but with two of the girlfriends coming too I realized 8 places would not be enough, so we supplemented from an other china set - the one belonging to my grandma. Izzy and Rosie made place cards and I thought we were really whipping this together!
9. 5 o'clock came and the turkey button popped right out on cue! It was done and we could eat. The cranberry sauce had set - sort of, salad was made, pies were done, every one was ready to eat - especially Izzy and Noah, the kids that ran 4 miles that morning - they were famished! But Calvin and his girl were not there yet so I called his cell phone- no answer.
10. We sat down and started to eat anyway because I knew those two had already had one Thanksgiving dinner and everyone else was hungry.Then the phone rang and Calvin informed me that he and Sarah had decided that they weren't going to come. They were tired of trying to fit two Thanksgiving dinners into one day. This handy piece of information would have been useful on Tuesday or even Wednesday.
11. With a lump in my throat I sat down to eat with the rest of the family and I think we had a pretty good time. Green bean casserole without the French Fried onions is still delicious. The kids didn't seem upset about their brother although we all agreed that it would have been nice to know ahead of time instead of 10 minutes late.
12. The two older boys who did nothing to help prepare the feast - were great at clean up. We all watched kid movie together and then the teens went off to do whatever teens do and Dad and Noah and Rosie started to watch something about Swamp People Thanksgiving and eating alligator and such so I did something I have never done before...
13. My oldest daughter and I went to a PG 13 movie by ourselves and had a great time.
Was it a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving? - no. But we made it through and it definitely had memories for years go come.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
2011 Run for the Homeless
Three of my kids joined the over 2000 runners this morning to race for the homeless -- a big fund raiser for Gennesaret. I tried to get a few shots of the funny hats and costumes - kudos to the Stow boys who ran in the brisk weather as Indians!
If the slideshow doesn't work - here's the link!
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