Man-a Lisa Pumpkin Pictures

"Man-a Lisa" Pumpkin

It's Maddy's 3rd Pumpkin Carving (2 outside the womb, and 1 in). We had a great time on Sunday as we watched Caleb carve our plump pumpkin. Afterwards he told me the story behind the mouth: if you look at it and see on the left side (facing it) it appears to be smiling, but if you look at its other half, the right side appears to be frowning. He is our "Man-a Lisa" Pumpkin.

Little Pro-Baby Girl

A couple of days ago Maddy and I headed out to support the 40 Days for Life Campaign by meeting a friend and her baby boy at a nearby abortion clinic, where we walked along the side walk in front of the abortion mill, with other prayerful pro-lifers outside. I brought a sign, and Maddy practiced holding it before we left. But really, I didn't need one. I had a beautiful witness to the beauty, sacredness, simplicity, and laughter of life in my arms: all 20+ pounds of her. Cars passed and honked quite frequently. Maddy just stayed there, complacent in my arms, and waved back. She'll be making friends with passers-by for the months to come as we make our way back on a monthly basis. Who knows what future friends she is helping save by just being.

Happy Birthday, Lou! 10.28.07

Happy Birthday, Louise. We are thankful to God for your life. You were born in a year that has been etched in American history. We thank Mom and Dad for welcoming life right off in their marriage, and for giving life to you, my oldest (and shortest) sister. You are my sister and our friend. We love you and pray that your angel may watch over you and guide your footsteps in this journey called life. Thanks to God for yours. Much love from us.

Homonym or Homophone? Or, Neither?

Today, soon after Maddy woke up from her nap I asked her, "Would you like a snack?" She responded with an action: she started to snap. I think we will begin the homonym and homophone lesson tomorrow.

One Way to Measure a Leaf

The Stumpies

On Saturday afternoon we headed out for an excursion along the Occoquan river. Occoquan Regional Park is a beautiful Fall wonderland and the leaves are changing into beautiful burnt oranges, roasting reds, and beaming yellows. While there at the river walk, we also found our namesake.

10.10.07

I am so thankful for my life. I have so much to be thankful for, so much that some will never experience, and in response to what I have been given I say, "Thank you" to God, my little family of Madge and Caleb, my parents for giving me life, my siblings for being with me from childhood until now (and again to my parents for giving me siblings), and my new family through marriage, and to such dear friends. How blessed I am. With each passing day and each passing year, I realize how blessed I am and how I should share my joys with others and show them how much I appreciate them and how much they are loved. I had a wonderful birthday on the 10th. Caleb had given me the wonderful gift of taking off the day of my birthday, the day after, and then he had that Friday off for his flex day. So, I thought, we would have some really special time as a family. I was right on the part of having special time, but there were a few others besides the three of us. On Tuesday evening, Maddy and I had stuck close to home and done a few things around here. Caleb was due back at around 7pm. Because I hadn't gone out for errands, the car was in its spot throughout the day, until I headed out around 5pm to take out trash. A few minutes before Maddy and I headed out to drop the trash in the dumpster, Maddy stood at our bedroom window and looked out saying, "Da-Da." I told her, "No, Daddy doesn't come home for a couple more hours. Then we headed outside, only to find that our car was gone. I had seen it all day sitting there, so I thought "Oh great, it's been stolen." I called Caleb immediately at work. No Answer. Then I tried his cell phone, which he answered and said that he was running errands. He had taken the early shuttle home to surprise me and picked up the car. So here Maddy really had seen Caleb out the window. Within 45 minutes, Caleb was home and I was preparing dinner. He asked if I wanted to make a bit more chicken, because he had plans for the next day. I told him I could make it later, since it was no big deal to defrost it and bake some more. Little did I know he was trying to subtly say: "Please make more. We're having company in 15 minutes." Sure enough, there was a knock at the door the eve of my birthday, and it was Caleb's day and his little sister and brother. They had driven 10 hours just to surprise me on my birthday. I was stunned, surprised, so happy. I was so touched. His little sister and Dad had to leave the day after my birthday, but Joe would stick around for a week. I got some great gifts, but they visit was amazing. That night Caleb's Dad surprised me with a crockpot (something I've been wanting to get) and brought handpicked apples so that he could make his special "Beeba Applesauce." So there he was at 9:30pm, peeling apples and starting the aromatic apple blend that would creep through our house throughout the night. The next morning I woke up to my sweet baby girl holding my face and kissing me. We went to 9am Mass and then headed down to Occoquan to this little park on the river where I opened my presents and ate homemade cupcakes. Afterwards we walked to my favorite shop in Occoquan, came home and prepared the lasagna for dinner, and then got changed to play Aussie tennis --Caleb, his Dad, and I--while Mary and Joe watched Maddy play at her favorite little park. I had a wonderful day filled with calls from family and notes from friends, cards, presents, and surrounded by the love of others. Thank you, everyone. I had a super day.

Maddy's 1st

At this point in Maddy's life: 15 months after her birth, we are still counting all of the "firsts." One of these is the fact that she is just feeling what Fall weather and seasonal changes are all about. Having been born in Beijing in the peak of summer, visited family in the Midwest in the scorcher month of August, and returned to Honolulu for the rest of her babyhood time, and then having moved to the mainland in summer, she has never felt cooler weather, i.e. anything below 70 degrees. So, here we are in Fall. She sported a jacket the other day at the soccer field and romped around with Dad and Uncle Joe. She also is enjoying her pumpkin. Welcome Fall. It is Maddy's 1st, and she is enjoying it. So are we.

Got Smoothie?

Being Childlike is so Freeing and Fun

Today on St. Therese's feast day, we will pray to God for the grace to be childlike, not childish; appreciate the gift of life and the fact that we are upon this earth (where, sometimes, the most trivial things can be made to be the greatest burdens in the world if St. Therese's Little Way is not taken into considertation); learn to better understand and grow in our spiritual lives by imitating a child's trust, vulnerability, self-less love, and innocent curiosity in truth. Life is amazing and beautiful; it is a blessing when you can sit back and let a baby teach you how to be real. St. Therese, pray for us.

Remember, Pray, Take Action

Remember that today is the Pro-Life Memorial for the 48 million unborn babies, who have been murdered by abortion since Roe vs. Wade in 1973. There are so many events that are taking place throughout this month of October, and today, October 1st, is the Supreme Court's first day in-session. Please pray that the Holy Spirit may enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills to make truly wise decisions. We were all little people, helpless and voiceless inside our Moms at one time.

Madeleines

Today Maddy and I were at St. Vinny's, where we found a shell-scallop baking tray, perfect for making Rosewater Madeleines. We are chilling the dough right now and will soon place the cookie batter into the tray and anxiously await Maddy's namesake cookies to be eaten. Mmm. Maybe we we can put Starbuck's out of business in the Madeleine cookies department after we make our first batch.

Dad, can I come to work with you?

The last couple of days, Maddy has tried to come to work with me. You'd probably call me crazy for refusing the request of someone this cute. I normally wake up at 5:15am. By now I am accustomed to the early mornings...well, as accustomed as one can be to such ungodly hours. The difficulty is getting ready without waking up the little girl. For the most part I don't have any problems. I brew some joe in the kitchen, do some exercises in the living room, and then get ready in the bathroom. I do all of this behind closed doors with the minimum amount of light.

Maybe it's because Maddy has had an unusually early bed time the last two days. Maybe it's because she has been welcoming new teeth. Maybe it's just because she loves her dad. Whatever the reason why, Maddy has been waking up with me the last two days. Yesterday, I awoke to her sitting on my head in bed. It may not sound like a great experience. But when it's your cute daughter, somehow you mind less and the act itself becomes cute. Anyhow. Today I was shaving in the bathroom and I heard her knocking on the door. There she was. I scooped her up in my arms. She was all snuggles and warmth: so wonderful to hold and hug. The best part about a breastfeeding baby is that you don't have to worry about morning breath. So even her breath was adorable. (Maybe I am just being partial as her dad. I suppose that's a possibility, too.)

It was nice to see her before I headed off to work. I just hope that she fell back asleep. Otherwise, poor Mary will have a fussy one on her hands today! She was upset that I wouldn't take her to work with me. I laugh silently to myself as I think about trying to work in my office with her roaming about: no doubt she would be pointing at everything and gibbering about all the good things in life. I left her to Mary's care and hobbled off to work.

Late last week Mary and Maddy came to visit me at work. Maddy loved all the open spaces around the DC Mall. She enjoyed the monuments and the people. Here she is, posing in front of the Jefferson Memorial. It is one of our family favorites. Mary and I would frequently go for jogs around the memorial. It's an especially beautiful area when the cherry blossoms bloom: we look forward to the springtime for that. In the meantime I am sure that we will enjoy the other seasons. After two years in Hawaii, I think that we are ready to see some seasonal variation.

From Here to Eternity

The other night Caleb and I sat down with our big mugs of hot tea and enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth. It was very good, we thought. It was thought-provoking, beautifully filmed, and a "no-wonder" why it has been nominated for 3 Academy Awards. After watching the film we started talking about a topic that we discussed several weeks ago: being in tune with God and hearing His voice. The movie has so many thought-provoking ideas about humanity and eternity, and that of being in tune with the next life by being open to and listening to God's voice now. There have been many times when I have fallen short in my prayer life; it is at those times that I am hardly aware of God's many wonders--simple and complex, because I am not in the right plane. Sometimes I find myself close to drifting into a less spiritually-inclined wavelength that the world so easily sucks us into. Its moments like those that I am thankful to be reminded by God of where I need to travel in order to reach Him, hear Him, listen to Him. To be open to God's voice in the little and big things is analogous of hearing a lion's roar, like we did at the zoo several weeks ago. The other week we were walking through the zoo and heard the lion "Roarrrr!" It was low, clear, audible, but one had to be listening for it. If I had been walking through the zoo absorbed in conversation or the sites around me, I would not have noticed the lion's deep whisper. His voice scared me when I thought,"What if I were roaming through the jungle and came upon such a confident creature? I would be completely surprised, because I would not intune with that plane on which his audible tone could be heard." Then, I began thinking how many times I am like that with God. When I am open to His will, voice, and signs, I listen to Him, and hear. He is always there, but I cannot always hear Him because I am not on the same wavelength. In Pan's Labyrinth these thoughts were evoked once more as I watched Ofelia enter another world: a world that exists, but that which not everyone can see, because not everyone desires to be a part of it. These thoughts took me to another plane: eternity. Eternity: it seems so far off, and yet it is so present. It is our final resting spot with our Creator. It is the place we are all meant to return. We are here on this earth for fleeting moments. We are sojourners, who are constantly being spoken to by God, but how often do we listen to Him, let alone hear Him? Wavelengths, planes: they stretch from here to eternity.

How Old Are You?

This is fun..

Are you really your age, younger, or old(er)? Hmm, let's see!

I'm 14 months today!

I love my peaceful life.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful Boy

Nicholas, you are 3 now. Where have three years gone? I remember the day Mommy told me that she was expecting you. I was on cloud 9 the moment I heard I was going to be your auntie and godmother. I love you. We love you, Beautiful Boy.

Is it possible

...for the Easter Bunny to arrive in September?

Beauty, Simplicity, Love, Faithfulness

Recently it seems that wherever I look everything is "pro" woman. There is so much hoop-lah about moms working outside the home and trying to mother their children simultaneously and being "able" to do it all. Sounds fishy. Anybody knows that when a person is throwing oneself into a job, task, daily duty, some other thing suffers. Cause and effect... Unfortunately, the "thing" here is really a person. Kids: they are the ones who end up suffering while the media keeps throwing out the mantra that women can do it all. Women are everything. Women. Woman. Whoa-man.

Yesterday I noticed that on the TODAY show there is a whole new hour added to the show. It seemed a bit over the top. Three women were the hosts and the show was a whole lot of loving yourself. That would be fine if everyone was loving himself...err...herself, with the knowledge that each is designed by God in His image and likeness. But, such is not the case. It is all of this looking to self for some fantastic ideas, inner strength, love, etc. But, how can one get all of this from within when it is not given to or desired to be received from Another? On this note, a very beautiful and humble woman is in my mind.* She is the Mom of an amazing son who is always giving again and again, and he never counts the cost. He loves guys and girls and doesn't place one sex over the other, because he is aware of their uniqueness. He doesn't pretend that men are the same as women, because he never intended them to be. He likes different and that's what he made them: different from one another. Thanks, Jesus. Thanks for being in charge. Thanks for your beautiful Mom, who was so humble. She could have been flashy and saying how she balanced being the mother of Royalty while running a household and always being so social with your many friends, but she was not flashy. She was faithful to her vocation and prioritized her life beautifully. May each of us learn well from her, and may all women embrace the beautiful gifts that they are given instead of finding ways to "deal" with them.
*I was reading True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis De Montfort when I began comparing how Mary's humility stuck out so beautifully in contrast with the whole "over-worked woman mentality" that is out these days and filled with a lot of misguidance and yucky pride.