Let's Polka!

Yesterday evening we met our friends, the Dalys, at the Kennedy Center for some hard core polka. Mary and the girls picked me up from work around 5pm. We parked near the Kennedy Center and had dinner. Then we went to polka. There were lessons for half an hour and then live music. The little girls were dancing the night away. They danced to every song with the boundless energy characteristic of their age. Unfortunately, the camera battery died five minutes into this fun event. The photos are sparse, but here they are.

A Comic Strip Dedicated to my Wuffy

Mares,

I thought of you this morning as I read this comic strip in the newspaper on my way to work. I have always loved Pearls before Swine, but wordplay in this one is clever as ever.


You'll always be my "huffy wuffy," even if you don't provide free wifi! I love you and appreciate all that you do for me. I can't get over how much the little girls adore you. It's wonderful. You're the best. We'll have to hit a coffee shop this weekend in search of Pig.

Love you,
Caleb

Summer Sunshine

It's a real blessing to be so close to so many historical areas that are enjoyable to romp through. We were able to visit Mt. Vernon once again this past weekend, and what a ball we had visiting the gardens, walking the cobblestone lanes, and taking in the sunshine with the beautiful view of the Potomac River before us. The best view of all was the threesome that pounced before me.

Sunny Days

Another fun day at "Fancy" Park!

What Lies Beneath

Awesome article on reality, being positive and joyful, working together and loving one's spouse.

Pro-Life Article of the Day

Thoughts from an ex-fetus

A good read (from a Canadian source, none less)

You, a runner? Hah!

I had to laugh. I went for a run during my lunch break today (probably around 4.5 miles) wearing a shirt I had received from a 5k I had run a couple years ago. I don't consider myself a great or natural runner. However, I also don't consider myself a wimpy runner. Lo and behold, a guy passes me today with a t-shirt from a 5o mile run he had participated in. He probably passed me and smirked as he saw the 5k emblazoned on my t-shirt. "Loser" may have even passed through his mind. While I did run one marathon, I can tell you that in my opinion a continent separates 26.2 miles and 50 miles. I chortled out loud as he passed, and, I continued to run.

Memorial Day

Today we give thanks for all of the men and women who have fought for our country and died in sacrifice for our freedom. We continue to give thanks for the brave men and women who continue to serve. We lift up their families in prayer. For, it is no small thing to give up a spouse, a mom or a dad to go abroad to fight for our freedom or to live in constant service to our nation ready to go and defend her freedom without a moment's notice. It is a job that is often lonely, thankless and taken-for-granted. Today we thank you. We also remember all of the men and women who have been sacrificed without ever seeing the light of day: those who have been aborted. God, please give our country the grace to realize that it is killing off generations through the attrocity, not "choice," of abortion. There is no choice, no freedom in killing the unborn. We love you, dear brothers and sisters.

THE PARATROOPER'S PRAYER

I'm asking You God, to give me what You have left.
Give me those things which others never ask of You.
I don't ask You for rest, or tranquility.
Not that of the spirit, the body, or the mind.
I don't ask You for wealth, or success, or even health.
All those things are asked of You so much Lord,
that you can't have any left to give.
Give me instead Lord what You have left.
Give me what others don't want.
I want uncertainty and doubt.
I want torment and battle.
And I ask that You give them to me now and forever Lord,
so I can be sure to always have them,
because I won't always have the strength to ask again.
But give me also the courage, the energy,
and the spirit to face them.

I ask You these things Lord,
because I can't ask them of myself.

(Written in today's Magnificat Meditation of the Day)

Thankfully, we have been given life and freedom, and so we are able to live in peace and travel without any worry. Today we are celebrating our freedom together as a family. We woke up to a beautiful day. After enjoying a delicious crepe breakfast, we traveled to the river-lined Belmont Bay. We enjoyed the sunshine and the gorgeous scenery of trees, boats, the Occoquan River, and blue herons soaring above. God is so good to bless us with beauty. Thank you, Lord.

A Day at the Park

There is an awesome park nearby. It was designed by 5th graders, so it is right up a kid's alley with tunnels and bridges, a tire swing, and plenty of swings to accommodate a lot of kids at one time. We headed there the other day and had a great time swinging, eating our packed lunch, soaking up the sunshine, playing in the sand box, balancing on the rubber rope, and taking in the gentle breezes from the 60+-degree weather. These are some fun times, Girlies. Thanks for sharing your times with me.

A Fun Day Together

As we prepare for going abroad there are a bunch of steps leading up to the final goal: working and living abroad in an embassy. What is my favorite part about these preparations is the fact that we get to take so many steps together, as a family. A couple of days ago we headed downtown for our medical clearances. Afterwards we got to share our picnic lunch with Daddy in DC (Maddy calls it "Daddy's City"--DC. I think we better let the urban planners know that there has been a change to the meaning behind 'DC.') It was a beautiful day on the lawns near the Jefferson Memorial. Maddy absolutely loves playing with balls and frisbees ("spisbees"), so she and Caleb got some frisbee-throwing and hide-and-seek in before he had to head back to the office. We had a fun afternoon together; one step closer to your dream, Sweets, and one more day growing closer together.

Just You and I

Pita, you and I were in the car together yesterday visiting. It was so enjoyable having you on my lap in the driver's seat. You love that. You love to be where it all is happening, and that is the spot to see it all. Your big sister was in her car seat asleep. You both had been troopers in the back seat while I traveled to 5 different homes checking them out from the road before we went to walk through various later that evening. I love you, Sweets. You are spunky and curious, and oh how you love to walk. You have tasted something excited, and you are not willing to sit back. You are our "Ra-Ra Girl."

A White Skirt, Painted Hands= A Painter's Delight

Yesterday Madge was back at her easel painting away. This time she was painting turtles and lots of other things. At the end I painted her hands for her "signature" painting, and then she got to do her own painting of the hands. When I painted her hands she said, "That feels nice!" What a ball we had. A sign of your precise painting skills, Madge, were obvious in that there were no paint splatters on my white skirt. Nice work, Beauty Queen. I love you.

Read My Lips: C-L-O-U-D

Here is a funny video of Maddy telling me how she says the word "cloud." She was painting clouds this day. Love you, Madge.

Family Vacation in Texas

We had a marvelous vacation in Texas. We spent the week in Dallas and Houston. In Dallas we enjoyed visiting with Matt & Sayeda, and Amy, Abdullah and Nadia. In Houston, I attended a conference during the week. Mary and the girls joined me later in the week.

Enjoy the photos!

Pawpaw and Madge

Last night, I was holding Madge in the kitchen when she noticed the family photos on the wall. For whatever reason, she screwed up her eyes on Pawpaw. I was about to set her down on the ground. She told me that she wanted to stay in my arms so that she could "talk to Pawpaw in the picture." She stayed in my arms for a few more minutes and stared intently at Pawpaw in the photo. Madge loves you, Pawpaw!

The Little Things of Everyday

Dear Madge and Pita,

The two of you are growing by leaps and bounds everyday. The nuance of spending so much time with you is that the gradual changes are seamless, indeed sometimes unnoticeable. Nevertheless, whenever I am able to take a step back, I marvel at all the little changes I see in you.

Madge:

1. This morning as I was leaving for work, you used the idiom "all of a sudden" a few times in our dialogue. It was priceless to hear you use that phrase so expertly. (I think you became cognizant of how proud I was of you--you gave me that cheeky, gleeful smile!)
   
2. Mom told me last night that during the day you were using complex sentence structures. Not just "if"..."then", but with multiple scenarios played out, depending on the circumstances. I laughed as she said that you were now really a little diplomat.
3. Over the past week, you have been really cute in using your words to express yourself. Your vocabulary is expansive. Yet, you forget sometimes the word for certain things. When that happens, you say: What is the name for that? As you say this, you're pointing to some object or else you will describe it. "Mom, what's the name for that little, red berry...oh, yeah, cranberry."

Pita:

1. You took your first steps last week. It was adorable how you would walk to Mom or me. A couple days ago, you started to take steps all on your own...towards one of your toys! So neat to see you using your new skills. Sorry, no numchuck, bowhunting, or computer hacking skills for you yet.
2. You also enjoy crawling over to Mom and me to use us to stand up. Then you walk around holding onto our pants or skirt. Adorable.
   
3. A couple days ago, I was teaching Madge how to hold your hand to help you walk. It was really cute to see the two of you walking around the house holding hands, all by yourselves. Madge is such a good sister to you as she let you "lead the dance."
4. Finally, you are already a multi-tasker. You enjoy pushing objects as you crawl around the house. However, you don't just push one object. The other day I saw you pushing two balls and a doll and a toy. You would roll one ball a few feet forward, then another, then grab a toy, and then the doll. You made laps around the house, bringing all the objects with you each step of the way. Classic, Babe. Classic.

So proud of my girlies. My love for you grows each day. Thanks for giving me the joy of being your dad. Keep up all the good work.

Love,
Dad

How do you say "decaffeinated coffee" in Mandarin?

This evening, Mares, you brewed some decaf coffee as you were preparing our delicious dinner. This simple act took me back.... Just about this time three years ago, we were living in Beijing. You were seven months pregnant. You had a hankering for coffee...decaf coffee, since you were preggers. I began asking Chinese friends and coworkers how to say "decaffeinated coffee" in Mandarin. They didn't know--the word was foreign to them and the concept paradoxical. I spoke with a number of expats until I finally found one who knew the magical words. That was only the first half of the battle. After that, we went through probably a half dozen stores until we found one in the basement of Jia-li zhong-xin. That became our decaf coffee depot. I remember you sitting back with your cute belly and a cup of Chinese decaf coffee in our apartment.

Let's have many more cups together, shall we? I love you. I love our life together....coffee and all! Love, CO

Her New "Feet"

It is true Pita is on the go, solo. On April 30th (a day before my bet was set that she would walk alone) Pita took 6 steps all by herself. Again she was at it tonight. Brilliant. I love watching her little toes grab the floor to steady herself. Adorable. Pita, we are proud of you. How often you and your big sister teach us that although we are physically able to go much faster than you, we must always take baby steps with full trust in the One leading us, and always be dependent on Him for the times we fall and give ourselves bumps and bruises. He is always picking us up guiding us to where we should be. We are excited to guide you on your beginning steps, but always remember that it is His path that counts. We hope we can always guide you there.

The Best Times Are My Days With You

My girls, I enjoyed another wonderful day with you. Nope, we didn't attend any special function or run around town. No, we just trotted throughout the rooms of our home. We didn't leave except to pick Daddy up after work. And you know what? We had the best day. We made Mother's Day cards. We made soup. We made French bread. We did it all, together. Madge, you were in charge of cutting little pieces for the flowers for our cards. And, how could I forget your excellent job controlling that glue stick? Awesome job and listening. I was proud of you. Pita, once again you were our jolly dolly, romping around and inspecting everything around us. Thank you, Lord, for my two delights. Life, I believe, really is about the little things and the little people. Your grace is ever present through the most ordinary occurrences, and for that I give You thanks.

Sweet Bedtime Words

I just put Madge to bed. We said our night prayers, I sang to Madge our nightly songs, and then I laid her in bed. Just as I was about to leave, she asked something that she asks some nights. She asks: "Lay with me? Just one minute?" I climbed into bed, and told her that I would love to lay with her." As I laid beside her, she put her little right arm around my neck. Oh, how I love you, Madge. You know how to get to our hearts by asking the simplest things.

New Budding Begins

Pita got her 7th tooth just this past week. It seems as though Pita keeps doing some new big girl thing as soon as we blink our eyes. Her little tooth is just on her lower right side, next to the two front teeth. It is making its way through her gums at a very fast pace. This is the same way all the rest came through fast! Since the beginning of March until now, seven teeth have arrived. What a trooper she has been. We love you, Sweet Girl. When you read this, you can look back and see that your big sister Madge went through the same thing. Growth can be a pain, but whether physical or spiritual, growth brings us to new heights (sometimes literally).

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Dear Meema and Beeba,

31 years ago today two young people in love made a commitment to each other. Today, two mature people in love are celebrating a commitment beautifully upheld. Here's to another 31 years of togetherness! Our heartfelt congratulations and love to you both as you celebrate another year of marriage. You impress us. You inspire us. You challenge us.

I can only imagine that not every day has been easy, let alone perfect. Nevertheless, a marriage is not about convenience or perfection. A marriage is about journeying life together and persevering as a unit, in good times and bad. And, that, Mom and Dad, you have done to perfection.

We love you deeply and admire you profoundly. I owe my life to the existence of your marriage: I wouldn't be alive otherwise. I owe a great part of my person to the witness of your marriage: I wouldn't be the man I am today without your daily example of love.

Congratulations, love, and prayers from all of us. May God continue to bless your love and make it fruitful.

I Love You

Today, Madge, was one of those olden days. Pita was asleep in her carseat at Mass this morning. You and I were having some special time. You know those little times when you sit really close to me and we just talk and I give you lots of kisses? Yeah, it was one of those days. I stopped counting how many times I told you that I love you, because I love you so much and I don't think I could ever say it enough or count how many times I tell you. I think I just intermingled the kisses on your golden locks with the "I love yous." You are my little companion. We have shared so many times together, trips, conversations, laughs, cries, bumps and bruises, cooking moments, teaching moments, songs, joys, sad times, and bonding moments. More and more each day I see that God is present in each of us, and especially in you and your little sister, innocent and full of love. Madge, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you. You are a true gem to me. Thank you for blessing our lives with love, love, and more love. Here's to you, your song.

10 (from a multitude of) Homeschooled Celebrities

(As featured today in MentalFloss and CNN.)

Agatha Christie was a painfully shy girl, so her mom homeschooled her even though her two older siblings attended private school.

Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia, but her family moved to China when she was just three months old. She was homeschooled by a Confucian scholar and learned English as a second language from her mom.

Alexander Graham Bell was homeschooled by his mother until he was about 10. It was at this point that she started to go deaf and didn't feel she could properly educate him any more. Her deafness inspired Bell to study acoustics and sound later in life.

If Thomas Edison were around today, he would probably be diagnosed with ADD -- he left public school after only three months because his mind wouldn't stop wandering.

His mom homeschooled him after that, and he credited her with the success of his education: "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint."

Ansel Adams was homeschooled at the age of 12 after his "wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers" disrupted the classroom. His father took on his education from that point forward.

Robert Frost hated school so much he would get physically ill at the thought of going. He was homeschooled until his high school years.

Woodrow Wilson studied under his dad, one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS).

He didn't learn to read until he was about 12. He took a few classes at a school in Augusta, Georgia, to supplement his father's teachings, and ended up spending a year at Davidson College before transferring to Princeton.

Mozart was educated by his dad as the Mozart family toured Europe from 1763-1766.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was homeschooled until her parents finally settled in De Smet in what was then Dakota Territory. She started teaching school herself when she was only 15 years old.

Louisa May Alcott studied mostly with her dad, but had a few lessons from family friends Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Can you imagine?

Happy Birthday, Beeba!

Dear Dad,

Happy Birthday! We hope that you have an enjoyable birthday, filled with love and applesauce. You know the rule: the crock pot is a must! It's difficult to put into words my ever-growing love for you and my appreciation for who you are and all that you do. I can say that your life has been an abundant blessing to people everywhere. The virtues that you exemplify are numerous: some salient and indicative ones are your thoughtfulness, caring spirit, generosity and spirit of prayer.

I, along with countless others, look to you as a source of inspiration, motivation, and strength. You never fail to provide! Thanks for giving me the gift of life and for the love that you have showered me with constantly throughout my life. The happiness I see in your face when you're around Maddy and Pita is one of my greatest joys. I feel like finally in some small way I can give back to you. I love you so much, Dad. Thanks for the example that you set of fidelity in marriage, perseverance in parenting, and simplicity of life. I keep waiting to catch up to you spiritually, but as time progresses, the more I realize how impossible the endeavor is!

The girls send you lots of big hugs and slobbery kisses. Mary and I accompany them in sending you our thoughts, our love, our prayers,

Your Son (and Favorite-Born),
Caleb

Official New Words of the English Dictionary

Will these be accepted in Scrabble? Maddy thinks so.

Orgalize: the act of ordering Easter candy.
Use: Since she wasn't allowed to eat all the candy in one sitting, she could at least orgalize them to her heart's content in the interim.





Snapnich: the only substance a two-year old is permitted to apply to her lips.
Use: As the lipstick and lip gloss in her mother's purse were not kosher, she slathered her lips with snapnich whenever there was a dull moment.




Other Madgism Words:
Musit=Music
Spisbee=Frisbee
Prow-lee=Probably
Sink=Think
Pips=Hips
Mips=Lips

Our Easter Weekend

Holy Saturday: blessing of the Easter baskets at the parish, trip to the Catholic bookstore, felt board construction, dying our Easter eggs, baking sugar cookies
Easter Sunday: unveiling of the Easter baskets, breakfast of crepes, 10am Mass...

Big Sister, Little Sister

A photo worth a thousand words...
















Title: Sister Artists in Pink - Picture Collage
Stylist: Mom
Clothing: Grandma Mimi and Pa-Pa

Happy 13th Birthday, Pludo!

To my little brother, known as Joseph, Joe, Little Joe, Little Booger, or simply Pludo (oh, Pudo and Pudy, too): Happy Birthday! I can't believe that you're already 13! I remember when you were just a cute little baby. I have such wonderful memories of times with you from that moment until now. I am proud to be your godfather (except when I have to remind Dad that you're his son ;)).

I would say that your hallmark quality, the one I admire most in you, is your sense of generosity and caring. You are already a wonderful caretaker for mom. You've always been one to spend all your purse on gifts for others. (However, I am still waiting for you to share your secret hoards of candy--just wait till I find them at home...one of these days, you just wait!) No, Joe. I'm serious. All of your little nephews and nieces flock to you because you're such fun and exhibit such patience with them. Madge is always talking about her times with you. (Pita would be too, but...) You're a superb young man, a fun brother, a caring son, and a wild uncle! We love you.

Little Milestones: Pita Walking & Madge's ABCs

Nine Months of Love, Laughter and Gratitude

Pita,
You are 9 months old today, and what a joy you continue to be. You are such a jolly girl and a ball of laughs. Oh how I love to tickle you and hear you giggle away. You are a true delight, a gift from heaven, a beautiful creation of the Lord's and we are so pleased that He has allowed us to share in your life. You have a little mouth of six teeth and you love to crawl so quickly. I love standing near you, because you crawl to me, grab a hold of my pants or legs and pull up to stand between my legs and peek through. You little sweetie! Your baby chunkiness has begun to diminish, since you are on the go. You love to walk around the chest and hold on. Aren't you big stuff! Your big sister loves you so very much and tells you all the time. She hugs you and says, "I love you so much, Peets!" There isn't a moment that she does not want to be my your side or at least know where you are. You are her joy when she awakes. You are ours too. We love you so much and give God thanks once again for the gift of you, our dear Guadalupe.