We are Thankful

Today on Thanksgiving we give God thanks for so many blessings from the gift of our new daughter and sweet joy, Pita, to the fact that Madge potty-trained herself, gives us kisses when she plays pretend and "leaves the house for the store," and for the most fundamental and yet precious gifts as our very lives. Thank you, God. We woke up this morning (something we are grateful of in and of itself) to Madge and Pita nestling together, snug in our bed. Their presence was a treat, a real reason to wake up thankful for a new day. Once our feet hit the ground we were off slowly but steadily to brew some "coppee" before returning to resting in bed as a family. These are the best times, and I love them. After getting some breakfast we got ready for 9am Mass. How thankful we are to have a real Thanksgiving Meal everyday in the Eucharist. In his homily the pastor stated how we often take things so for granted and that we don't need to wait for this official Thanksgiving day to come before we say thank you.
When we arrived home from Mass we made a small brunch of simmered apples with brown sugar and cinnamon, pumpkin bread, delicious coffee, and fresh whipped cream. The morning was beautiful: sunny and low 50s. We headed to our neighbors' for a visit before heading outdoors to play and then take a walk through the sun-lit sidewalks. The fresh air felt so nice and energizing. The girls layed down for a nap, while we tried to organize Christmas gift ideas. Dinner was in motion, and there was one last pie to make: a St. Louis Custard Pie. While I finished dinner, Madge awoke, frazzle-haired and rosey-cheeked and joined me in the kitchen. Caleb and Maddy took another turn outside with Maddy's friends and played soccer and catch. Pita didn't even eat turkey, but she slept over three hours. (Sometimes the habits of Thanksgiving are just instinctual.) Our dinner menu consisted of a turkey breast (made as closely to Dad's as I could); gravy with sautteed onions and celery; garlic mashed potatoes and mozzarella cheese; Mom's green bean casserole; Baking Powder Drop Biscuits; cranberry sauce; and, sparkling cider, followed by pecan pie and pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream (and maybe even some Custard Pie later). And, a larger-sized pair of pants. All in all, it was a very special day. I am thankful for so many things, but I was able to synthesize my thanks into five gifts this evening as we began a new tradition at our dinner table. We each had a cut-out of a hand and wrote what 5 things we are thankful for. We will tuck those away in a little envelope and re-read them next year while adding to our bountiful blessings as each year passes with abundant gifts. We are truly grateful to God for so many gifts including the love we have for one another, within our own family, and for our families on both sides. Each person has impacted us in so many ways, and we thank God for each member of our families as well as our dear friends and the graces we have been granted through these connections.

Poop on Elmo

I have been waiting to use this title for a post for a long time. Other parents around the world can share in my jubilation. A week and a half ago, Maddy decided to cut the diapers cold-turkey. Mary and I didn't put up a fight to that. She has done really well, no accidents at day or at night. We'll see how this continues, but it's neat to see her reach these milestones independently. Anyway, I still wish I had an Elmo to poop on. P.S. Have you visited your library recently?

First Bangage Trim = First Haircut!

Last week we trimmed Maddy's hair a bit... just the front. The curls have remained untouched.

Revisiting All Saints' Eve

Madge and Pita were a pair: Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. In the last photo, we were at friends' home where we entered our Bob the Tomato jack'o'lantern and our Apple Cobbler. Both won!

Happy Birthday, Matt and Micah!

Today we celebrate a dual-birthday of our brothers. Happy birthday, Matt! Happy birthday, Micah! We love you and are thankful to God to have you in our lives. Thank you for the love you have shared and the people you have brought into our lives. You both have beautiful treasures, and we thank God for these jewels. May God bless you on this special feast day and may you always know the love and joy of your family and friends who rejoice in your lives this day. All our love.

Happy Birthday, Aunty Mimi!

Today we celebrate your 18 years on earth, a place that is blessed with your existence. We love you and pray that you may always know how much joy you bring to so many lives, including the four of ours. Our love and prayers are with you today, tomorrow, and always as you journey onwards reaching the goals God has planned for you. Happy birthday! Our prayers are with you in a special way on this memorial.

A Slipper Sort of Day

As the days get colder, so do our toes.

Divine Mercy Care (DMC) Gala

Last night, Mary and I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the DMC Gala near Dulles Airport. Invited by some friends, we enjoyed a night out on the town, dining, conversing, and dancing with hundreds of staunch pro-life families. Divine Mercy Care is a fabulous apostolate and it was through them that Pita came into this world. Here are a few photos from last night.

Pictures from Visiting Caleb's Family Last Weekend

There is hope beyond abortion

Check this out.

One Year Ago Today

...Maddy kissed her (on the inside).


Now she can give her a kiss on the outside. How happy she is to have Pita here.

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.

Great Article on the Catholism and (Homo)Sexuality

I recently came across this transcript from a speech by the Bishop of Sacramento to the National Association of Diocesan Gay and Lesbian Ministries. Read it if you can spare a few minutes.

I particularly like his line that sex is not love but rather an expression of love. A great article on a touchy topic.

Thanks, Nana!

Thank you, Nana, for our little gifts in the mail. It was such a treat to open the big, white package that you sent for us. How blessed we are to have such a loving and considerate Nana in our lives.
Much love,
Madge and Pita

Fashion Designer in the Making?

Madge really enjoys her magnetic dressing doll from Nana. This is what she put on her the other day. When you are lacking in proper hat ware, know that an upside down scarf will suffice. Be chic and switch up your shoes.

Sisters

...sharing a wardrobe.