Midsummer Daybook

Outside my window:  Warm and muggy.  It rained last night.  I let the dog out in the rain this morning, but it looks like it's stopped now.  I don't mind the rain in the least!  My flowers are very happy (I'll get Arwen to find us some new pretty pictures soon!)

Plans for the week:  dentist appointments.  Every mother with children knows that getting through the annual check-ups is a huge victory.  I've got two this morning, had one last week, and a couple more later this week.   Check!

So excited:  I should have shared this a long time ago because Arwen first did this--and completed a full nine months of prayer, twice!!:  spiritually adopting a baby who is at risk of abortion.  Well, she's got us all doing it now.  My baby is "Philomena Grace".  Aragorn chose "Vincent Anthony" for his baby, and Gimli chose "Andrew Philip".  Arwen wants me to add that her current baby is "Emma Cecilia."  We will pray this prayer every day for nine months:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much!

I beg you to spare the life of _________, the unborn baby

that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion. Amen.

Somehow, choosing a name makes it seem so personal, and is an awesome way to do something very powerful and concrete for the Pro-Life movement.  If you are doing this, or have done it, share your baby's name with us in the comments!

**Arwen just informed me that this was Fulton Sheen's prayer!  I'm probably the last person to know about this.

Pets...pets...My mom asked me if the bunnies were taking backseat now that the puppy is here.

The thing is, bunnies are very different pets than dogs.  They're messier (think Timothy Hay and bedding), but they're outside.

They are also quieter.  Silent, really.  And oh-so-fluffaliciously cute!

love me!

So, no, they're not being neglected.  At least not while the weather is nice and we're out back anyway.

We still love our bunnies. :)

No. No this is not a picture of "the curls". This is all about the bunnies. What's that? You WANT to see the curls? Well, ok.

Curls interlude:

And now, back to the bunnies:

Thankful: Galadriel received the Annointing of the Sick this past Sunday in preparation for her surgery.  I know it is not super high-risk, but she will be put out, and there are risks involved.  I am just so very grateful to our wonderful pastor for being so willing to accomodate us in giving us the Sacraments at a moments notice--again.  Did I ever mention that I called him from the hospital on Friday to schedule a Baptism on Saturday night because I wanted Eowyn to be baptised on the Feast of Christ the King?  No? Well, I did. And my sainted mother hosted a dinner party afterward for us--and our wonderful Godparents (who also humored us by wisking their six children to the event as well!)  ...be glad if you only know me here on the blog.  I don't think I'm an easy friend to have in real life.  heh heh

Procrastinating: I am going to plan our upcoming school year one of these days...soon! And I'd love to share about those plans soon. Soon. I'm going to.  I just have to do it.  I want to.  I mean, I love school...it's just...that...well, it's summer!!!

{PFHR} July in pictures

{Pretty}

                                                                 

{Happy}

romping on the sidelines of another baseball game

The first of Arwen's seven medals, won during our town's festivities on the 4th of July: 2nd place for the 5K "Fun Run"!  And for those who were wondering--she tied for first in the bike decoration contest!!

{not-so-Funny-but-very-much-our-Real}

This has been a remarkably cool summer!  The evenings have gotten ridiculously cold.  I bring blankets, jackets, even winter coats to the baseball and softball games.

Even Reina curled up in a blanket and fell asleep!

I won't complain--if it gives me a chance at a cuddle!  Eowyn will be 20 months old on the 20th, and I'm not expecting another yet.  This is the first and far-and-away the longest break I've ever had between children.  How can my baby be not only walking and talking, but running and playing with the big kids?! Un Real.

A Monday Daybook: Hazy July

Outside my window:  Hazy, humid, and warm.   It's quiet outside.   

I am listening to:  Shouts and booms from the basement.  Laughter.  We watched the Women's World Cup last night: the kids are playing soccer.  In their pajamas.  "SCORE!!!!"

pondering and pondering:

One positive that has come from the Supreme Court's decision is the opportunity to revisit, rethink, and reeducate ourselves as to what we believe about marriage and the family.  There is so much beauty to contemplate in the teachings of the Church.  I can't help but share a little here.

I thought htis article was especially helpful in making the distinction between what the Church sees as love verses what so many others mean by love:

The thing is, love does win. But I think that what's making the difference is that "love" means two different things here. For people using the hashtag, love means the amazing feeling you have when you find someone you want to spend your life with. For the Church, love means the cross. But, but, but...what about the love between couples married in the church, you say? Well, of course romantic love matters! The pursuing, relentless love of eros is an image of the way God wholeheartedly pursues us. But the eros only finds its fulfillment in caritas - a love willing to die in order to save the soul of another.

read the rest here

Chesterton makes a similar distinction in this article.  Our society is not alone: the Church's view of the sacramental union in marriage was contraversial, seen as an incredible or impossible ideal, from the beginning:


"But Christ in his view of marriage does not in the least suggest the conditions of Palestine of the first century. He does not suggest anything at all, except the sacramental view of marriage as developed long afterwards by the Catholic Church. It was quite as difficult for people then as for people now. It was much more puzzling to people then than to people now. Jews and Romans and Greeks did not believe, and did not even understand enough to disbelieve, the mystical idea that the man and the woman had become one sacramental substance. We may think it an incredible or impossible ideal; but we cannot think it any more incredible or impossible than they would have thought it. In other words, whatever else is true, it is not true that the controversy has been altered by time. Whatever else is true, it is emphatically not true that the ideas of Jesus of Nazareth were suitable to his time, but are no longer suitable to our time. Exactly how suitable they were to his time is perhaps suggested in the end of his story."

~G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man   (italics mine)

read the rest here

I am hoping: That my new "running partner" will start walking on a leash soon.  I've gotta get some hotdogs to lure her off of our front lawn.  I have the laziest dog in history!  

but she's so cute and sweet!

running parner? not so much. She's my "writing partner" as I type on the couch

 prayers please:  I know it's not that big of a deal, but Galadriel has to have her adenoids and tonsils out and tubes put in her ears.  I'm thankful this is the first time I've had to go through surgery with my children, and I'm thankful that it's nothing more serious, but I'm a mom, and I'm still worried.  Help me pray for a safe operation? Thanks!!  (It's scheduled for July 16th)

Looking ahead: a few plans:  my husband just signed my oldest two boys up for their first golf tournement.  Clubs are out again.  Aragorn is worried about keeping score correctly.  Gimli? He's sweating the collared shirt. :)

Last week of swimming lessons, last week of baseball/softball (before the tournement).  Oh I look forward to a break from organized anything for the rest of the summer!

Go, go, go!  It's Monday again at Vine of Plenty. Did I mention how much I love the psalms beautifying my house each week this summer?! What will I do when fall comes?  

Happy Independence Day!

We're busy getting ready around here!

Every year at our local park there is a bike decorating contest.  This year Arwen was especially determined to win.  Especially.

But of course, when one decides to compete, the others must not be outdone!

Rosie's

Bilbo's

 May the best bike decorater win!

Oops--another of Arwen's. I'll try to go get a pic of Galadriel's

Here we are:

Galadriel's--yes, that is a feather boa!

And then there's the family picnic.  I'm in charge of drinks and fruit.  

tub-o-beverages

this isn't a great shot of the watermelon...it's really not dull and battered

 Doesn't every 4th if July picnic require a big bunch of cherries?

Where would we be with out staining red juice making our babies both sticky and risking death by choking on pits?!  Clearly, a mother of 8 would find this a super fun option.

 #whatwasIthinking #I amsoirresponsible #Iamthelastpersonwhoshouldhave8kids
#itisjustcherriesperhapsIshouldchillout 

Whatever your plans are--have a happy 4th of July! And say a prayer for our country!

**Remember**

tomorrow is also First Saturday--lets pray especially for our country!! (I'm going to try to find a link to explain First Saturdays...just give me a minute).  Here you are!

http://www.rosary-center.org/firstsat.htm

July 2nd {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

Doesn't it always seem that summer flies by until the 4th of July?  School ends, summer begins with a burst of relief and excitement for the months ahead.  You just about dip your toes into the swimming pool, eat a popsicle and it's the 4th of July?

{Pretty}

Arwen and her friend have been going to the local pond to catch frogs (love 13-year-old girls!).  I asked them to pick me some wildflowers while they were there and this is what they came home with! 

not-Arwen's bike...I do envy that basket!

looked like a flower store on our front driveway--loved how they sorted them all

(You should have seen the mud they were covered in from the frogging--I'll save that for my "Real").  

{Happy}

At Bilbo's "machine-pitch" baseball game.  These games can be...tedious.  Just a step up from T-ball, which I am morally opposed to.  Morally.  Yes. That is not overstating it.  But "happy" is being together as a family, cheering on a freckle faced boy who looks incredibly cute in his baseball uniform.

Enjoying the cool evenings.

Climbing trees.

do you see Galadriel in the tree? (photo credit: Arwen)

"Up? Up!"

{Funny} 

When your big sister is a gymnast... 

I told you these games were tedious...we get creative (stand on our heads) to pass the time

She stayed in this position, looking up at us and laughing, until she finally rolled onto her side.

{Real}

I think a lot of us are trying to digest the Supreme Court decision, its implications for our future, and finding myself reeling a bit, trying to figure out how to proceed.  

I was thankful for this post from Wildflowers and Marbles blog, encouraging us to simply "do the next thing":

The current culture has targeted the family – therefore, it makes sense that rebuilding it begins and ends with the family.  And that means kind of simple and seemingly quiet sort of stuff for us to do.  The sort of stuff that families have been doing for centuries. 

I printed out my newest Summer with the Psalms and made a little shrine to the Sacred and Immaculate hearts of Jesus and Mary.  

"He is God" is my Real.

Monday Musings in June

I am listening to: silence.  My kids are all outside!  Sometimes, I just love summer!

Around the house:

a new member of the household joined us on Saturday.  Reina has been...an angel!

My future running partner:

She may look sporty, but a few turns around the yard and she flops down and sleeps!

Do you know how difficult it is to photograph a black dog?

Contemplating:

But in this pain our God comes to us. The Gospel tells us that we will never understand God’s victory, we will never understand Easter, until we face Good Friday. Remember what Mary did when they took her Son away. “At the Cross her station keeping,” says the old hymn. We need to stand at the foot of the cross with Mary, stay right there looking at Jesus, and not run away. Because the road to Easter runs through Calvary.  

you can read the rest here


Reading: Can I recommend St. John Paul the Great: His Five Loves?

I just started it, but it's easy reading, and really really inspiring. I'll share more if I can, after I've read past the first chapter.

In the garden: I have given up.  Planting in the earth isn't happening for me this summer (or at least not now.)  I've bought planters, hanging pots, potted flowers.  I get my flowers, and all I have to do is water them.  Happy.

Don't forget: it's Monday!! I can't tell you how I love all of the beautiful scripture filling my home this summer.  My 7 year old said he had the first psalm almost memorized! 

A few plans for the week:  swimming lessons, baseball games, softball games...training a 9 week old puppy new tricks, like sleeping through the night...

Still loving:  the curls!  (last one, promise!)