St. Francis Cafe is now open

Well, we tried to switch to a feeding system for the outdoor cat. (Mom's idea in the first place... I thought making the responsible boy do his daily deed was working pretty well.)
I didn't think about the food outdoors until we suddenly became the St. Francis Cafe and our first (noticeable) client was a SKUNK!! It sure was a good thing we didn't happen upon Pepe Le Pew whilst he was still upon our porch, or someone would still be sitting in a tub full of V8 tonight!
I'm thinking that said boy in charge of feeding cat will now have to set food out each a.m. and take it inside each p.m. Hmmm...

Well, at least I don't have killer roses (check out Sister Mary Martha's blog).

WARNING - Adult content!

An IM from a friend who lives in the same school district I do. It leaves my scratching my head and wondering about the state of the world. My prayers are with my friend on this one! Please pray for her children on this matter. On condition of anonymity, I got her permission to post this:
_____________________
my friend: you still there?
me: yup
my friend: you aren't gonna believe this
my friend: ds#1 just handed me a paper he had in school...... a test
my friend: on contraceptives
my friend: wt (expletive deleted)??
my friend: he had to write a paper on whether or not he wants to have s** [word for marital act] then he had a contraceptive match-up test.....can you believe it???
me: Oh my goodness! that is exactly why these guys are home with me!
me: that is ridiculous!
my friend: yes it is
my friend: they also discussed with them s** [word for marital act] toys!
me: what grade is ds#1 in?!
my friend: what do s** [word for marital act] toys have to do with anything?????? He is in 8th grade!
me: talking about such things is PORNOGRAPHY!
my friend: yep
me: what can you say [to the school] about that?
my friend: i really don't know, i'm (expletive deleted)
me: I'll pray for ya on this one - this is totally uncalled for! 8th grade?! I wasn't introduced to such topics until college and then I had to get special permission to take a course that "talked a little more explicitly about personal matters of sexuality" Students had to be 21 or older! Oh, and my college course talked about diseases and rape - not toys and related stuff!
my friend: i can't believe they did not get my permission to do this
me: you'd better check this out - but I believe that the schools have taken the position that they no longer have to bother getting permission from the parents on any "health education" matters
my friend: s** [word for marital act] toys? health education?? lmao
my friend: the kid can't spell but he knows how to use a d****??
me: <---- shaking my head -- exactly the sad state of things, yes?
my friend: i need to get him alone and find out exactly what was said
me: oh goodness - how sad! it still blows my mind what kids are 'taught'... mercy!
___________________

Sts Margaret of Cortona, Agatha, Dymphna, Maria Goretti
Pray for us...
Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us...

The End of the school year

Well, the 2006-2007 school year is now in its final death throes... LOL A little spelling to finish is all we require now. I have the lesson plans for 5th and 3rd grades ready for next school year. All of next year's school books are already on the shelf so that I can now relax and enjoy the summer. I won't have to do any work until the night before we begin the 2007-2008 school year.

Fratello Maggiore gets his portfolio and evaluator's letter turned into the school district tomorrow morning. I am happy his 4th grade is now finished. He starts middle school work next year already! He is now starting to earn time for the local library's reading program.

Fratello Piccolo is finished with 2nd grade and is already working on his summer math workbook. He is well into earning time for the local library's reading program, also, and is happily enjoying "summer break."

Half-Pint is busy playing with her backpack full of animals and reads the book Froggy Gets Dressed to her tankful of fire-belly toads each night after she gets her own bedtime story. She loves helping Mama and Daddy with yard and garden work.

The past month has brought us many blessings:

I just heard that a friend of ours had her 4th child! I am so happy for her family!

Another friend is awaiting her 6th child - she is in my prayers daily.

Mom and I were inducted into the Sisters of Mary Immaculate Collaborators. We now pray with and for the Sisters daily. It was a blessing to attend the 3rd annual meeting yesterday!

The boys attended another karate competition over the Memorial Day Weekend. They only competed in sparring and Fratello Maggiore placed second in his division. Fratello Piccolo was eliminated in the first round, but his spirits quickly picked up when he decided to learn to be quicker.

We had another homeschooling family over one Sunday afternoon. We had such a great time! All the kids seemed to get along and we parents only had to referee once. LOL - you'll have that though - personalities and/or wills clash even in the best of circumstances... I pray that my family and Carmela's can get together again soon! We love being the "country mice" with all the space and peaceful neighborhood where my "city mice" friends can come and escape the hustle and bustle. All the adults had an equally great time talking and getting to know each other better. I think nest trip is for us to go to the city so I hope we can do that soon :-)

The kids and I attended the latest Byzantine Mass and picnic that followed. This time was not as well-attended as the previous gathering, so we missed seeing some of our friends. Fr. Paul gave a great talk about Pentacost and had the kids compare two icons he brought. We mothers decided to pray about starting a Catholic Co-op nearby. The boys had a blast playing Jedi Knights so much that I had to make them sit and eat lunch!

My grandmother seems to be doing well. I have been praying for healing for her and also for her sister who had some surgery. I know my grandmother has missed her terribly.



Now our summer can bring some warm weather joys: camping, hiking, gardening, summer reading, and BARE FEET!

Yearly wrap-up

Well, our year is nearly over. Our 180 days (PA state law) have been completed for nearly 3 weeks now, but we all know what a joke that is since homeschooling never stops...
The boys are nearly finished. This is what they had to complete this year:

Fratello Maggiore
God's Little Angels - summer reading
My Catholic Speller, C - still has 8 lessons
Language of God, C - still has couple weeks of work left to do
Faith and Life 4 - what is left will be summer reading
Writing Can Help - finished
Called to Serve - finished
Singapore Math 4 - still has a couple weeks of work left to do
Ancient History, Greece - finished
Mythology - finished and tested
Latin - finished and tested

Fratello Piccolo
Devotional Stories for Little Folks - summer reading
My Catholic Speller, A - still has 9 lessons
Language of God, A - has a week of work left
Faith and Life 2 - what is left will be summer reading
Little Acts of Grace - summer reading
Writing Can Help - finished
Singapore Math 2 - finished
Ancient History, Greece - finished
Latin - finished

This is it. Except for wrapping up things, the kids are done. All I ask of them during the summer is reading and math review. They have joined the library's summer reading program so the things we put off for summer reading will count toward their hours :-) I also have some math workbooks that will keep their minds from straying too far all summer. I figure about 15 minutes of math twice a week should to it.
I am already planning next school year so that I don't have to do it over the summer. Fratello Maggiore's lesson plans are done. Fratello Piccolo's are next. Once they are finished, I can sit back and relax with gardening and camping all summer ;-)

Camp is open!

Well, since all 7 of us were available today (no one had to work - YIPPEE), we were able to take a day trip up to camp. Our camp is only a little over an hour from here and easily accessible 24/7/365. The kids love it - camping, hiking, biking, playgrounds, pool, lake and minutes from a state park and big lake where we can fish, ride the bike trail, swim, sail, etc.
Every year, we avoid sleeping at camp until we have had a chance to clean the lots (i.e. rake and dispose of leaves) and camper. It took the 4 adults about 5 hours to clean up all leaves and scrub the camper. It was a blessing that we were able to do this all in a few hours (as opposed to days) and have it ready for any overnight any of us decide to make.
This week the kids and I may drive up on Thursday and stay through Saturday, but that is dependent on the weather forecast. No use sitting indoors in a cold rain up there if we could do it at home (and I could still get laundry, etc. handled). I just checked the weather and it seems to be a good time to go -- sunny and mid- to upper-70's!

A different experience

I just had to share a wonderfully different experience for us. We attended a Byzantine Rite Mass on the Feast of Saint George this past Monday. We met a lot of homeschoolers that I have been dying to meet for months (but circumstances had dictated otherwise since I found out about this great group). We experienced the Byzantine Rite Mass and then had a picnic at a local park. Fr. Paul gave a wonderful talk on St George and explained the major features of St George's icon. Then we spent a while letting the kids play. Some wanted to play baseball and others, like my boys, decided being Jedi Knights was the best way to expend their energy.
I really enjoyed our day and I look forward to the next scheduled BR Mass.
Carmela, it was FABULOUS to finally meet you in person! I can't wait to talk again!

Our second child's First Holy Communion

Well, Praise God for His many blessings! Fratello Piccolo made his First Holy Communion and Confirmation on Sunday. He, and 33 others, received Christ at a special 2 pm Mass. Our pew was packed with family and it was beautiful to witness another of the children God put in our home receive Him.
He was so handsome and happy. He was careful to sit straight and kneel quietly at the proper times. It was a longer Mass and the church was a bit stuffy on such a warm spring day, but he was so great about any little bit of discomfort he experienced. His godmother was in attendance and his Nana was his Confirmation Sponsor.
Of course, I was teary-eyed. I observe none of my children's milestones with a dry eye. It seems I was made to be "leaky" like in the little story Why God Made Mothers.