St. Faustina presents her story

St. Faustina waiting to present after St. Juan Diego.

The holy crew. Frankie is hiding behind St. Kateri on the far right.

Releasing balloons with the names of saints on them in honor of All Saints Day. Cute idea, though as one mother noted, an environmentalist's nightmare...

The kinders got to watch the balloons being released and a little skit by Fr. Juan about running the race to get to Heaven.

Francesca did a wonderful job with her saint presentation this morning. She had memorized the whole thing and so didn't need Fr. Vives's notes (he's holding each saint's notes in his hand in case someone needs them). I think she did her namesake proud.  I got to see Frankie at school in action today, and it was illuminating. She could possibly be the teacher's pet, which has its positive and negative sides. She has a quiet maturity about her. Her table got to go first to get goodies at the reception after the presentations, and she brought back one cupcake (such restraint!), which she immediately offered to David and Rose, and she cheerfully went to stand in a long line to get another one for herself. She is very aware of others and their needs; she tried to quiet down her classmates when the teacher's instructions were going unheard in the din. I can see how she might be viewed as a a little too mature or aloof, which we don't want. Our goal is to have some classmates over hopefully to develop some less formal friendships. But we're proud of our little manang, who could run the house in our absence if needed.

Francesca Faustina as St. Faustina

Francesca is dressing as her namesake for her 2nd grade saints presentation, so Grandmommy went to work on St. Faustina's garb, fitted for a 7 year old. The results are pretty impressive. I thought black and white lent an authentic feel.

Congratulations and miscellanea

Dave was able to visit Our Lady Queen of the Universe Church in Orlando when he was at his conference. This Church purchased one of Grandmommy's paintings years ago for its impressive collection. Coincidence that Dave's conference was minutes away!

Dave's office (decorated by sweet office staff for his return from Florida).

Teresa's kindergarten class got a visit from the local Fire Department, and a quick tour of the fire engine.
Teresa seems to be lost in the crowd of little people...

We got a package in the mail today... 

...oops, must be the wrong address. We didn't order this.

Frankie and Teresa with Dave in the wee hours of one cold, rainy morning, witnessing the pro-life message for 40 Days for Life, a community-based prayer movement to end abortion.

Sharing a quiet moment at breakfast with Baby Dumbo.



Congratulations, Aunt Kate and Uncle Jeff, on the exciting news that you're having a baby BOY!! We're over the moon for you both. Any names being thrown around? He has a host of crazy cousins eagerly awaiting his arrival!

Fall days

Sweet picture taken by a friend during Queen of Apostles' 50th Anniversary Mass.

Parading around the yard with pumpkins on a warm, autumn night...doesn't get much better than that.

"I got your nose!" We love visits from Dr. Steele (aka Auntie Tasha). 

Getting ready for the game on a make-shift couch. Who knew an AC grill could make a nice pillow?

Who needs jack-o-lanterns when Teresa's around with her smile?

Enter coat-weather (sigh), as well as some new yard friends.

First stab at raking.



We seem to have moved into fall, officially. Notre Dame lost to Florida State, a new season of Top Chef has begun, the air has taken a serious turn to chilly, the days are getting shorter, my sleep quality is getting poorer (I'm noticing a seasonal pattern here), and the formidable annual task is upon us of raking leaves from our tree-lined yards. Aunt Natalie is in Colorado for a month for the last push in her boss's run for Senate. School is in full swing, with a spate of holidays on the horizon. I've found this season to be particularly challenging the past couple years, what with my sleep problem and the extra responsibilities of mothering through several big holidays. But it's a time of year rich with opportunities for growth in many virtues (patience, hope, perseverance, joy, self-giving...), and above all for faith. Perhaps it's appropriate that the months entering into the Christmas season are marked with a little suffering, providing a more authentic experience of the Holy Family's plight (which surely wasn't carols, cookies, and presents), and the awareness that these feasts are but tiny foretastes of the real Feast that awaits us after a life of running the race. Happy fall everyone!

Week in review

Practicing being scary for Halloween. Thanks for the teeth Aunt Natalie!

Dave asked David to do an impression of a snail. This isn't half bad...

"Daddy, I'm sick."

The sick ward.

Watching Notre Dame beat Stanford.

We decided to bring in Autumn with a week of sickness and a little trauma, just to get it out of our systems for the rest of the year (please God...). Bright spots have included Notre Dame beating Stanford, Dave taking part in a Catholic stewardship conference in Orlando right next to Disneyworld, many fun spend-the-nights with Grandmommy (who is caring for us as I finish recovering and Dave travels), and Aunt Natalie visiting with lots of fresh vegetables from her farm-share and some Halloween goodies. David will have a cool finger scar to show to his friends; the aforementioned trauma was a finger slammed in a door. Memories have to be made out of something, right? Grateful to have the help and encouragement family so close by, as always, when life gets overwhelming. 

Waiting for the doctor. From his face, it doesn't look that serious, does it?