Ironic

This is a very good read, one to call to mind in these next days leading up to an election that will alter the course of so many lives, born and unborn.

Watch out, your candy might be redistributed...

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

Happy 35th birthday, Aunty Lou! We hope you have a wonderful day, a wonder-filled week, a year of peaceful moments and happy times, and a lifetime of joy knowing that you are loved by so many family and friends, with whom you've shared yourself and your many talents. Our love and prayers are with you today, especially. All of our love and prayers to you, Mary, Caleb, Maddy and Pita.
Here is a song for you!
Sts. Simon and Jude, please pray for us.

Laughing Contagion

It's great to see Madge and Pita already entertaining each other!

Shenandoah Valley Camping Trip, October 3-5

We had a wonderful camping trip with our friends Tom and Rebekah, and their girlies Moira and Addie, and several of their friends a couple of weeks ago. It was breathtaking to be outdoors all weekend, sleeping in a tent, hiking in the mountains that overlook the picturesque Shenandoah Valley, sitting around the campfire at night with only the moonlight and stars shining above, playing Apples to Apples, and enjoying the special moments and conversations of life with good friends. Maddy had a blast and an adventuresome time boating in Tom and Rebekah's raft-canoe on the Shenandoah with Caleb and waking up to find her good friend in the tent beside ours. Does life get much better than that when you're two? Pita was a trooper and had a ball sleeping outdoors and falling asleep at night in our arms as we chatted and roasted marshmallows beside the bonfire. It was such an enjoyable weekend hanging out with dear friends and just having time to appreciate the little things in life; the things that we take for granted on a daily basis. The beauty of the earth was something to be in awe of and reflect upon. God is good.

How much clearer can things be?

"Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not... with regard to abortion and euthanasia." - Pope Benedict XVI

Remember Us

The other day I turned on the vacuum here at home: something ordinary that no one would really think much about. There was one thing that made me flinch, though, after I saw Pita break into tears at the sound of the vacuum. The sound of it and the timing of that sound, broke her little world of quiet concentration and peacefulness. And yet I was there to comfort her. At that moment I thought about the little people, the little people that are often forgotten, especially in this country where they are not only forgotten, but there is aggressive promotion to forget them, agressive promotion to kill them. The unborn baby's silent, peaceful, and cosy existence in her mothers' womb is broken on a daily basis, in fact, thousands of times each day when tools are used to suck every part of the unborn children's bodies from their once-safe and cosy haven--their mothers' womb. When I saw Pita flinch at the noise of the very powerful vacuum, I could not help but think of how awful, how scary, how excruciating it must be for these babies, their tiny bodies that DO. FEEL. EVERY. BIT. OF. PAIN. to undergo murder under the hands of doctors, doctors that one moment can welcome life into this world, and in the next moment end an innocent baby's future in that same world. Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night by some noise, a dream, a bad pain? How blessed we are in those moments afterwards to experience that it was just a dream or that the noise came and went, or that the pain was oh, so temporary. Not for an unborn child, though. That pain is real. It is life-threatening. It kills. It even leaves her mother wounded for life. Abortion is not silent. (Last Sunday as the four of us were praying outside a local abortion mill with fellow families, the woman who leads Respect Life at our parish told us that AAA is located next to this particular abortion mill, where on a daily basis, they can hear the abortion machines being used. It is that loud that they (AAA) turns on the Divine Mercy cd not only to drown out the horrible noise but also to be used its prayerful message as a means of mercy to the abortion staff and the disillusioned moms undergoing the torture of abortion.) Although many people want to dismiss the atrocity of abortion and pretend that it is just "one" of many important issues at stake this election, we cannot deny its gravity, its severity, its fundamental importance upon which all other issues, yes, ISSUES, are built. If the president of the U.S. cannot guarantee the safety and protection of the feeblest, the most innocent, and precious lives: the unborn, how can a citizen (outside the womb) be even slightly sure his or her safety will be upheld?. As a priest at our parish mentioned in his homily this past Sunday, "It is as though Satan is chewing life up at both ends--in the womb and with the sick and elderly with euthanasia. Before going to the polls in less than two weeks, let's not kids ourselves and pretend that abortion is a side issue. But rather, let us recall the protection that our mother's gave us when each of us was just a little embryo, a fetus, a little one, a human being in utero, and speak up for the voiceless who would do anything to be in our shoes where we are safe, free, unscathed, and able to choose life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness not only for ourselves but more importantly, for the unborn and elderly whose voices are being muffled.

Saturday Sleepy Time

After a game of golf for Daddy with his friends, and a morning spent at the playground for Maddy with her friends, there is a sleep duo here on the couch. Well, one-half of the duo is on the couch; the other is standing on the floor next to her Daddy, and she is asleep!

Only Cold Stone Can Complete the Birthday

Okay: better late than never. The nice thing in posting about Mary's birthday a bit late is that I am able to include photos. First of all, a belated Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife! Really, the birthday week wasn't over until we made it today to Cold Stone (sweet cream with heath bar--oh, yeah, baby!). Now, it's complete. We had a great time celebrating Mary's life and all things connected to her--particularly Madge and Pita. Fortunately, my sister, Miriam, was in town to celebrate with us. Madge enjoyed spending time with her cousins, Zelie, Eli, and Jacob. (We probably visited half a dozen parks!) On the birthday morn, we made it out to the National Zoo. In the evening, we had Mary's famous lasagna. I think that Madge enjoyed the birthday cake more than Mary. She had been singing "Happy Birthday" to Mares for the previous few weeks...quite a great preparation. Happy Birthday, Mares. By the year you are growing older...and more beautiful!



Happy Birthday, Mommie!

Life

A few days ago Maddy and Pita and I joined a friend and her little boy down in the city where we prayed outside Planned Parenthood with Fr. Pavone of Priests for Life and David Bereit of 40 Days for Life. It was a blessing to be there. God supplied us with a parking spot right in the middle of the day. That is a feat in itself, considering DC traffic, possible tickets, and limited parking. We arrived and joined in on the Rosary. Fr. Frank prayed, and then David spoke words of encouragement, thankfulness, and perseverance. He had been in 38 cities within the last 21 days. A true missionary for life he is. The hustle of the city ran about us; people scurried before us; prayers were calm and constant as we stood before Planned Parenthood a place of death and lies. Maddy and her little friend prayed too, and how could anyone deny the beauty and innocence of a child? David and Fr. Pavone made some very good points, some of which were: how important it is to pray before an abortion clinic where, at the end of the day, we can say that by our presence, the consciences of the doctors, nurses and staff within were probed; and, no child died alone for we were with them in prayer. To see our picture with other 40 Days for Life participants, visit: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=154.

Happy 1/4 Birthday, Sweet Pita!

Today, October 1, you are 3 months old. What laughter and joy you have blessed us with in three month's time on this earth. Your life is beautiful. Thanks be to the baby Jesus of Bethlehem for such a sweet blessing. Our Lady of Guadalupe, thank you for holding Pita in your gentle arms.

Charlie Brown Sightings

The other day, Caleb's Grandma, Nana, sent Maddy and Pita a package of goodies. And, inside the package there was a special gift for Madge: a Charlie Brown doll. Madge was taking him all over. He was like another member of the family. He was being trained like one too, when, Maddy called me into the bathroom to tell me that Charlie was using the toilet. This is what I found:

(Is this how he got his name?)

Later, she had kindly buckled him into the bouncette so that he could just chill, cautiously.