Nature Walk

     One of the goals of many Homeschoolers (is this one word or two?) is to allow the children to be out-of-doors often, in every type of weather, to experience for themselves the beauty and wonder of God's creation.We really hit the jackpot in this area last Wednesday and found a treasure trove of wooded trails hitherto unknown to us.We had taken the girls to the horse farm, gotten another two subjects done in the van and then started to get hot and restless.We decided to walk down the driveway in a different direction but still on the property. It was such a warm and sunny day. In fact, it was St. Patrick's Day and about 72 degrees.

John pointed out these frog eggs in the water which I wouldn't have recognized.He had seen some just like them in our neighbor's pond. It will be fun to see if these hatch out.

Sam had loaded his bike before we left and hurried to catch up with us after finishing his work. It is always interesting to see how fast things get done after the removal of a captive audience!

   We came upon many deer stands and some old farm equipment.

Then we stepped out from the woods and saw this vista. The very tall hunting cabin on stilts looked  intriguing.

    This cabin is elevated on four telephone poles. There was an amazing view from the staircase and in fact, we saw a herd of deer nearby.When we were driving home from the farm, we could see this stand way back from the road but of course had never noticed it before.

As we walked along enjoying the warm sunshine, I meditated on how tremendously blessed I was to  be spending this time with my own children. I  was touched with appreciation for my husband who was working in the next state to provide this opportunity. I did have a tiny bit of regret that we had not known about these walkable trails for the past year of coming to this horse farm! Oh well... God's timing is always perfect. This impromptu nature walk was a real gift from God to this winter weary Mom and kids and I can't wait to go back!

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Spring = Hope!

       About seven years ago, I hosted a baby shower for my dear friend, Julie (who did indeed help influence the name of Miss J.!). She brought  a pot of  planted crocuses as a gift to me. Every time I see them, I am reminded of her and that thoughtful gesture. Although  I could never be accused of having a green thumb, I was able to transplant the little bulbs into the ground after their bloom faded. We have enjoyed them every Spring since! It is sweet to see how excited the kids get when they find them blooming and run in to tell me about them. It has been a fun winter with all the snow, but the beauty of springtime is an irresistible tonic to the soul.We are starting to see robins and hear our neighborhood woodpeckers trill each morning and  throughout the day! Hope abounds in the warming days and the reawakening of God's marvelous creation.

Homemade Vanilla Custard

           Talk about comfort food! This quick and easy recipe came in handy to serve Tori after her dental surgery last week.The great thing about this dish is that it is prepared from items that we usually keep on hand. All of the kids wished that they could have some because we all love pudding. I am thinking that this would be nice as an after dinner desert, easily whipped up in the evening. The texture is not as nice as  store bought pudding mix, but the simplicity and freshness of the ingredients make up for that. The next time we make it, I will experiment with slightly less corn starch to reduce the thickness.
           This is the recipe for Vanilla Custard. In a saucepan, combine 1 and 1/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup cornstarch (you could try slightly less), 6 eggs and 5 cups of milk. Cook over medium heat while stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, add 4 Tbs of real butter and 2 Tsp.of vanilla. We enjoyed this custard a lot and it must be nutritious with all these healthy and inexpensive ingredients.

St. Joseph, Pray for Us

     Friday, March 19, is the Feast day of St. Joseph, patron saint of all Fathers and of the Universal Church. He is known as the chaste spouse of Mary and the Guardian of the Redeemer. In Scripture, he is called a "Just " man. He is also known for his humility and hard work ethic. He must have been a great guy! In the minds of most Catholics, he still is! We love him. This statue, which is found in the church where we sometimes go to the noon Mass, is placed right next to our favorite pew. Miss J. and John usually pop over to say a prayer for their hard working Dad and the other men in the family. I once read that St. Teresa of Avila recommended asking for the Intercession of St. Joseph on his feast day in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I have been making a point to do this for many years. I am sure that this sounds like hocus-pocus to some. For me, I will give some thought to the deepest concerns of my heart and bring those intentions to Adoration tomorrow and ask St. Joseph to pray for those and especially for all the men in this extended family. It is not an easy time to be a man in this crazy world we are living in. St. Joseph gave a great example of faith, strength, courage, gentleness and holiness and raised our sweet Lord to be a great man, who was also God.

Superstar Students Unite!

On Tuesday, we gathered for our final two DVD lectures on Study Skills. The main point that I got out of these particular lectures was that education is not something that a school or home school does "to" you, but rather it is something that one grasps for oneself using the tools offered. It is a very active, not passive pursuit and good students figure this out early. They take charge of their own education. Our lecturer discussed the need to make teachers allies and not to get into power struggles with them because it is counter productive. Right, kids?!!!!!

     After the lectures, we had a snack of tortilla chips and salsa, trail mix and individual packets of peanut butter crackers. The weather was first rate and all the kids got outside ASAP! Our trampoline is showing some wear and tear from lots of use.

Riley took a spill and handled it like a pro. While the Moms were chatting inside, the kids were having a little too much fun outside playing "Capture The Playhouse".

One of our Newlywed couples stopped by to visit and got to see their large extended family and hung out with us. Kristy brought a plate of homemade angel food cupcakes decorated with pineapple frosting and fresh strawberries. These,of course, were enjoyed by the grown ups as she didn't plan on finding dozens of people here!

      Tori was still recovering from having her wisdom teeth removed but was able to visit with her aunts and cousins.

      It was another lovely day of being together with most of the  Homeschooled cousins. We appreciate so much the sacrifice of time and gas that Aunt Cecilia's family made consistently to spend this time together. Our next get together should be at their house, enjoying the 39 acres! How about right after Easter?!!!!

St.Patrick's Day Dinner

          Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is a day that my parents celebrated as children in Brooklyn as they are both Irish. My mother's grandparents were Irish immigrants and she saw them daily. I am lucky enough to have known these great-grandparents and I still remember their beautiful Irish accents. My great-grandfather had a deep singing voice and would sing with my uncles the old Irish songs like Danny Boy. Their entire family would march in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
         When we were children,we always wore green clothing to school and had corned beef and cabbage for dinner on St. Patrick's Day. The celebration took a more lively turn in the young adult years with plenty of green beer in crowded bars and visions of  leprechauns!!!!! Those days are over, may all the bad luck of the year go with them! For my own family, I continued to cook corned beef and cabbage yearly to celebrate until this new tradition began.

        My Dad is a Hibernian which is a group at church that celebrates their Irish heritage with an attention to the Catholic works of mercy by doing some community projects. Each year, as a fund-raiser, they put on a catered Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner that is first rate. Carrots, potatoes and Irish Soda bread are also served. My parents began the tradition of buying tickets for their children and their spouses to eat this Irish fare together. They have 39 grand-children but on this one night of the year we gather without them to converse as adults.

      There is entertainment, door prizes, a 50/50 raffle and an auction all designed to raise money for the worthy projects the Hibernian' s and their ladies' auxiliary get into.Our large family has our own special table year after year which is situated right near the food. We are the first table served. Talk about the Luck of the Irish!!!!!!! It is absolutely wonderful to see my parents, and  brothers and sisters with their spouses to share a meal and a few laughs. I am grateful for my Irish heritage and the Catholic Faith that my parents received from theirs,and which they have spent their lives passing down to us.

Dentists for the Long Haul

In this very sad photo we see Tori who had her four Wisdom Teeth removed in the office under light sedation this morning. She is actually feeling much better this afternoon and has been able to eat some vanilla pudding and drink a cup of coffee! This surgery has become a rite of passage for the teen-agers in our family. Tori is the SIXTH  member of our family that Dr. A. has taken wisdom teeth out of!!!!Back in 1991 or so, he pulled Andrea's and then Jeff, Greg, Meg and Natalie followed. Natalie had hers done early because her 12 year molars were trapped under the molars in front of them. The bottom wisdom teeth were removed so that the 12's could back up and then erupt in the correct place. That has actually happened, too. Dr. A. does a fantastic job and is a sweet man. He knows us and so do all of his long term assistants.We have a Doctor /Patient relationship that spans about 17 years.We highly recommend him and hopefully he will be able to work on our next three kids when it is their turn!

    Similarly, we have a family orthodontist who is also a great man and very good at what he does. When Jeff was in third or fourth grade and we could see that he was going to need orthodontics, we fearfully thought, "How are we going to pay for this?" I am here to tell you that the Lord has provided. Jeff started at Dr. G.'s in June of 1996. We have been paying this orthodontist monthly since that time.  He's good, but he's not cheap! Insurance paid a very little in the first few years, but none since then. By God's Grace, we have finished paying for Jeff, Greg, Meg ,Tori, Natalie, and don't have too much longer to go to finish paying for Sam's orthodontia. I have taken John in for an evaluation but the Dr. thought that he could wait a little longer to begin.

       You see, when my husband met me, my teeth were straight! He had NO idea what a challenging dental genetic package he was getting!!!! I am so grateful to my parents who sacrificed to pay the 850 dollars that my braces cost almost 40 years ago. As a young woman, I remember saying that if my kids ever needed braces, I would take a second job to pay for them. My teeth were so bucked.  Not the second job, nor even the first has been necessary, Thanks be to God. I haven't had to work outside our home in fourteen years. One month at a time, we have made this payment. I  occasionally give myself a little pat on the back for the HUNDREDS of appointments I have made and kept in 14 years of continuous orthodontics. I  very much appreciate the sacrifices my husband makes to provide this investment in dental care.
             The main point that I would like to make is that God has provided what we have needed for this large family. Are lots of kids expensive? I have no idea. I really haven't noticed. By putting one foot in front of the other and by taking it one day at a time, it all gets taken care of. Likewise, it has been a tremendous blessing to have lived in this same town for 21 years, which has allowed us to build long term relationships with these excellent dental professionals and their entire staffs.

High Water

      We have been keeping an eye on the height of the river that flows near-by our house. Because the ground is so saturated from the large amount of snow this winter, three days of rain has not soaked into the ground. This is a low water bridge close by that is flooded and impassable. The road on both sides of it is closed. We walked down for a better look and saw that these trees and other debris have created a dam that will need to be cleared after the water recedes.

It is easy to see the edge of the bridge in this picture.All those trees were floating down the river and got caught as they came to the edge of the bridge and then got hung up.

Tori had some fun pretending to be stranded. This picture shows the amount of flooding since nobody fences a river!We drove a short way to see the same river from a different angle. The girls noticed that while the water was still high, it  was lower than yesterday.We are very grateful for a dry basement!

Donut Sunday

         Our parish has Donut Sunday almost every week. The different groups in the parish take turns hosting which allows them to raise funds while offering a service to the Church. Our Sanctuary is a very quiet place since the Lord is always present there. Fellowship over coffee and donuts takes place downstairs in the Hall. The process of hosting donuts is very streamlined with written directions on how to do it.Our parish orders 21 Dozen donuts and 4 dozen Bagels each week. The donuts and coffee are offered free of charge but we do take a donation. Any money raised after costs belongs to the group.

        Our Homeschool Group hosted today. Two families each did the set-up, the 9:15 Mass, and the 11:15 Mass with clean up. We usually raise between 65 and 90 dollars for the morning. Our cousins joined our group after moving here and so we worked together. I love to help with Donut Sunday because it is service work that we can do as a family. I have other opportunities for service work in my life but I really don't feel good about leaving my family in order to do it.

        Working in my parish's kitchen to serve the donuts and make the coffee has made both me and my children feel even more connected to our wonderful church. Today, it really was a pleasure to serve.

Friday Fish Fry

Do you like fresh fish? Its just fine at Finney's Diner. Finney also has some fresher fish that's fresher and much finer. But his best fish is his freshest fish and Finney says with pride," The Finest Fish at Finney's is my freshest fish, French-fried!"
      This tongue twister is from Oh Say Can You Say by Dr. Seuss.
      We enjoyed these delicious Tillapia filets so much! I have always heard that cooking fish is so easy. I decided to try this large box of 18 fillets because it was on sale for 12 dollars.The quality was amazing to me and the kids loved them.

To thaw, I placed the individually wrapped packets of  filets in a bucket of water. I unwrapped them and dipped each one in an egg and milk bath. Then, each one was covered with a seasoned coating mix.In a skillet with heated oil, I fried 4 filets at a time for probably 10 minutes per side.

This Friday Lenten Dinner was served with leftover mashed potatoes and fresh cole slaw, homemade tartar sauce and lemon. It was a big hit. I totally regret not learning how to cook fish until last week when we first tried these!

Umbrellas Up!

          Friday, we left the house at 7:30 am to meet Grandma and Grandpa in the Adoration Chapel.The rain was actually a nice change, especially since we each had our own umbrella to carry! We've never, ever had an umbrella when you needed one in the past, but we bought 15 at the Dollar Store (for a grand total of 15 dollars) on the way to my Mother-in-Law's funeral. That afternoon, they were not needed as the weather turned sunny on our way to the cemetery.
         It has only been about 5 or 6 weeks since  Adoration has been on our weekly schedule. I have taken a regular hour before but have had to give it up because I was leaving my family at an inconvenient time. I am hoping that we can continue at this regular time as a family. In addition to being in the Real Presence of our Lord, we can share this time with Grandma who has faithfully kept this same hour, weekly, for over 14 years and Grandpa who has been there as often as possible while still working.We appreciate so much Mom's intercessory prayer for each of us and attribute the many Blessings from God and the Grace and Peace which He has poured down on our large extended family to it. I would like to do the same for my family. It doesn't cost a dime. Prayer is the least and the most I can do all at the same time.

          After Mass, which the kids attended with Grandpa, we headed home in the rain. It had only been raining steadily for about 12 hours but the possibility of flooding looked real.

This beautiful building is located a mile from the house and  used to be a monastery a long time ago.

In the past, this creek has come up over the road and flooded it. It is expected to rain until Sunday and I foresee this  happening again.

The Companionship of Cousins

The Homeschooled cousins and their Moms assembled for the fourth session of our Superstar Student Symposium. The weather was spectacular and so we only watched one lecture on DVD discussing the topic of writing a 5 Paragraph essay in 5 days.Believe it or not, they suggested having the first draft done on Day 2!

The cousins, who have been meeting almost weekly were understandably anxious to get outside and have some fun together! Seeing 19 kids having fun encouraged a couple of neighbors to join them and of course, there was plenty of room for all. 

After a snack of Chili in cups, and carrots, apples and strawberries some of the kids played inside.

This Mom will be very sorry to see this series to end. Fortunately, Grandpa has purchased some more of these educational DVD's on the topics of Logic and Writing Better Sentences so perhaps we can continue Bi-weekly so that these cousins can continue to spend time together.