Feast day today

Please offer prayers of thanksgiving for all Jesuits today, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. May the Lord continue to do great work through this order of priests. Please pray for those in formation (like Mark Mossa, SJ -see You Duped Me Lord on sidebar), and for those ordained that those who are faithful to the Magesterium and the Holy Father may be infused with the courage to remain so and that those who are not may return.

The elder boy's first entry.

As dictated by the 4 year old.

We just came back from Barnes and Noble and now we're going to bed. I don't know what else to say. Good night!

What's up? What's up? What's up? What's up? (His favorite TV show is ZOOM on PBS. They have a segment called "What's up" which repeats the phrase 4 or 5 times in the intro-ed.note)

obnoxious things kids say

I'm supposed to be cleaning my room. We're having a big party next Saturday for my mom's 50th birthday. Bubba keeps yelling up the stairs "Downstairs now!" He has also taken to screaming "What!!????" when you call him. It's not that cute anymore.

cute things kids say

We just returned from the local bookstore with cafe with the boys. The little one, I'll call him Bubba, is nearly 2 and he's talking, but he doesn't say the first sound in a word all the time. If he says the word for this number: 11, he says leaven, Daddy is addy, etc. He has been trying to say prayers before bed. The sign of the cross goes like this: "Fathuh, Un, Oley Pirit, A-em!" DH went to the cafe to get cookies and coffee and Bubba shouted :"Addy! Back eere!" Which tanslates into :Daddy get back here! He said it at least 3 probably 4 times. It was pretty funny.

Be on the lookout for a post by the elder boy this weekend. We tried working on one before bed, but he's just too tired to do it. He totally clammed up. Which is funny because he never usually has a problem talking.

Too funny not to post in its entirity

Lifted with great aprreciation from The Shrine of the Holy Whapping, July 18, 2005

As Zenit reported last week, Pope Benedict will be writing his first encyclical while vacationing in the Alps.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I would like to take the opportunity to reproduce here the best Envoy Magazine "At Ease" feature ever, since this one, for whatever reason, is nowhere to be found on their website. If they have a problem with me typing it up and sharing it, they're welcome to email me. But really, it's too good not to be on the internet.

So, without further ado, here it is, in its entirety:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Jackie Navarro-Valls IV, (212) 555-1173

Vatican City, Aug. 15, 2141 (ENS) White smoke rose above the ancient rooftops of the Vatican today, signaling the election of the first American pope. Stanislaw Cardinal Koslowski has begun a new life, as Pope John Paul V. If his tenure as Archbishop of Chicago is any indication, he will be a tough-minded, street-smart pontiff who won't mince words when tackling tough issues.

Like his predecessors on the Throne of Peter, Koslowski is know as a staunch defender of Pope John Paul the Great's 1994 declaration that the sacrament of holy orders is reserved to men (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis). Koslowski's Chicago-style bluntness in dealing with radical feminists and liturgical innovators was showcased dramatically when, in his first month as Archbishop, he issued his one-page pastoral letter, You Got a Problem With That?, condemning liturgical abuses, reinstating the mandatory use of communion rails, and formally abolishing several contemporary liturgical songs, calling them "dumb, stupid, I'd rather listen to a traffic jam."

A source close to the new pontiff has told us that, in the year prior to his unexpected election to the papacy, Koslowski had drafted fifteen new pastoral letters for the Archdiocese of Chicago. The source said that one of the pontiff's first actions will be to revise those pastoral letters into papal documents for the entire Catholic Church. We were provided with a list of the new documents we may expect to see from the Holy Father in the near future:

Tu Et Quis Exercitus? (You And What Army?) Encyclical laying out the pope's reaction to media reports suggesting he might be pressured to abandon his support for the Church's traditional opposition to abortion.

Amen Amen Dico Vobis; Nihil Muliebrium Sacerdotum (Read My Lips: No Women Priests) Encyclical asking radical Catholic feminists what part of Pope John Paul the Great's Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (on the reservation of holy orders to men alone) they don't understand.

Rursus Dicam: Nullo Modo (I'll Say It Again: No Way) Encyclical explaining the pope's position on women priests even more plainly.

Fac Ut Tui Meis Loquantur (Have Your People Talk To My People) A apostolic exhortation to the editors of Envoy magazine, expressing the pontiff's exasperation over their incessant requests to "do lunch" with him sometime.

Haec Res Est, Conveniamus Optime Vel Exite (That's The Deal, Take It Or Leave It) Encyclical explaining that priestly celibacy in the Latin Rite is a non-negotiable job requirement, and that the only dame he'd better ever find in any rectory after 6:00pm had better be over sixty-five with a dishrag in her hand.

Aio, Tibi Dico (Yeah, I'm Talking To You) An apostolic letter reminding dissident liturgists to obey the liturgical reforms decreed by Vatican III, which forbade the liturgical use of felt banners, tacky guitar hymns, or using the phrase "we are church."

Soli Rationi Fides (Blind Faith In Reason) An encyclical explaining the fundamental intellectual silliness of atheism.

Non Solum Balaenas Sed Primum Prenatos Liberos Serva (Save The Whales, But Save The Unborn Babies First) Encyclical asking humanity to respect God's gift of nature, and inviting the world's "animal rights" activists to extend their corporal works of mercy to include mammals of the human variety.

Da Mihi Quinque! (Give Me Five!) Apostolic letter announcing with great joy the doubling in twenty-five years the number of ordinations and seminarians worldwide.

Splendor Coquinae Poloniae (The Splendor Of Polish Cooking) encyclical explaining that the pope doesn't necessarily have anything against the traditional cuisine of Rome. He, like one of his more famous predecessors, just likes a little pierogi now and then.

Matrimonium Primum Est DEINDE Liberi (It's Marriage First, THEN Children) An apostolic exhortation to young people about the sanctity and duties of the married state.

Lege, Mehercle, Librum (Read The Book For Crying Out Loud) Encyclical directing the faithful to open the family Bible beyond the page where you write down everybody's birthday.

Nonnumquam Vos Facis Ut Tumescear (Sometimes, You People Really Tick Me Off) Encyclical reaffirming Catholic teaching on birth control and the sanctity of human life in response to yet another effort by the United Nations to push contraceptives, abortion, and euthanasia in the Third World.

Quid Nunc Quaerunt? (Now What Do They Want?) An apostolic exhortation to the editors of Envoy magazine, admonishing them to stop asking the pope for a promotional blurb and to stop dropping by tea Apostolic Palace just because they "happen to be in the neighborhood."

Me Esse, Credo Papam (No, Excuse Me, I believe I'm The Pope) Encyclical reiterating the absolute primacy of the papal and episcopal magisterium in matters of doctrine; and condemning various theological errors propounded by dissenting theologians.

-Envoy magazine, Nov/Dec 1999
Thanks to Emily for Retyping this from Envoy Magazine!

House full of love

Hat tip to the Lady in the Pew for this article about an amazing family!

I love Dr. Seuss

He can be a little ovious with his message sometimes, but I love him anyway. We read "The Big Brag" tonight before bed, which can be found in the book "Yertle the Turtle and other stories."

"The Big Brag" is the story of a rabbit and a bear who are bragging about how awesome they are. The rabbit thinks he's the best because he says he can hear a fly cough 90 miles away from their hilltop. The bear thinks he's the best because he says he can smell a slightly stale hummingbird's egg 600 miles away.

They get their comeuppance from a little worm who says his eyesight is better than the rabbit's hearing and the bear's smelling. The rabbit and bear ask him to tell them what he sees. The worm says:

"And I kept right on looking and looking until I'd looked 'round the world and right back to this hill! And I saw on this hill, since my eyesight's so keen, The two biggest fools that have ever been seen! And those fools that I saw were none other than you, who seem to have nothing better to do than sit here and argue who's better than who!"

Then the little old worm gave his head a small jerk and he dived in his hole and went back to his work.

I have been reading a lot of comments on these blogs lately, and as my husband read this to our sons tonight, I thought it might be useful for those of us who blog to see this and think about it a while.

Goodnight boys and girls.

Reading Lumen Gentium

I'm reading it for Ecclesiology I in Franciscan U's distance Learning Program. I have 12 undergrad theology credits to make up before I can start the MA Theology program. It is a really exciting document! I would have finished it last night if the baby hadn't woken at 11:00 to demand I snuggle with him. Ah well. I'm a wife and mother before I'm a student.

Can't wait to read Gaudium et Spes!

Thanks for the MEMEories

I saw that Karen Hall had tagged Mark and I hoped he'd tag me! Here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago? I was working at Midlantic Bank (now PNC Bank) helping with summer bank teller hiring and getting ready to go back to Allentown College (now De Sales University) to start my junior year-the year when I met my husband. I was 19.

What were you doing 5 years ago? I was working at Seton Hall University and I was pregnant with boy #1. I had been married for 4 1/2 months. I also recall wishing I was still in Key West, FL, where we shared a hotel with various spring breakers and Mardi Gras partiers (March 4 was the Saturday before Ash Wednesday-yes Ash Wednesday on my honeymoon. I'm not a great planner. and yes, we did fast.). I was 24.

What were you doing 1 year ago? I was in the throes of Vacation Bible School, week 2. I was still bringing both boys with me to the office every day, but, blessedly, the elder was old enough to go to the preschool VBS. Unfortunately, we were still trying to potty train him. I was also still nursing the younger boy, who was 10 months old at the time. I was profoundly stressed out. I'm much nicer now. I was 28.

What were you doing yesterday? I came to the office and did far too much blogging. I cleaned up from VBS. Found out our friend got engaged! Got a postcard from my best girl friend and her family. They're down south for the month. Hubby is in the naval reserve and got called up to serve in FLA until December-that is of course unless the Navy decides to change its mind and send him to Iraq for another full year away from his family-but that's a different post. We went to the Winfield Park firefighters carnival around the corner after dinner and saw lots of CCD kids there. They're a little too cool to say hi to the "CCD Lady." I am 29.

I will tag the Twins and Der Tomissar.

Which Theologian are you?

You scored as Augustine. You have a big view of God and also take human sin and depravity very seriously. Augustine 93% Anselm 80% Karl Barth 80% John Calvin 67% Friedrich Schleiermacher 67% Charles Finney 60% J?Moltmann 47% Martin Luther 27% Jonathan Edwards 13% Paul Tillich 7% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

I only just started my theology classes, so I was sweating this one a bit as I took it. I'm just glad I'm not a heretic. ;)

Oh, for the olden days

I'm not 30 yet, so it is truly far too early for me to start reminiscing about the good old days, but as I was in Mass this weekend, I found myself (an Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion) wishing that the priests would come out to distribute communion-like they used to do here until a few years ago. I began to think this as I realized that there were 5 laypeople serving as EMCs for that Mass. We have 4 priests living in our rectory. Where are they? I thought.

While I was at it, I began to miss the communion rail. I miss kneeling to receive Our Lord. At least our tabernacle is in the center of the church, behind the altar, where it ought to be. And we've got a real crucifix hanging above it.

I'm posting this because I read Dr. Blosser's page today where there is a good discussion about the Liturgy. He also had a link to Fr. Joseph Fessio's article about the Liturgy called "The Mass of Vatican II", which I found to be extrememly edifying. After reading it, I'm not sure I should go back to singing with the guitar group for 7:00 Saturday night Mass anymore.

Mercy me!

Goodness, it must be 6 years ago now when my brother and I drove from Philadelphia, PA to San Diego, CA. He is in the Navy and had just finished college and was being stationed in San Diego. We decided to drive since we were both going to be married the next year (not to each other, duh!) and we didn't know when we'd get to take such a road trip again (turns out he and his wife have done it a few times since then, moving from CA to SC, back to CA, now in CO-yes, there is no ocean in CO- he teaches Navy ROTC classes at UC Boulder, smartypants).

Anyway- it was 1999. We were trying to do a time zone a day and were in Terre Haute, IN the first night. We left on a Saturday, so naturally, it was Sunday in Terre Haute and we wanted to find a Mass before we continued the journey (We also first experienced the Bob Evans resturant chain in Terre Haute. I love that place.). We went to Mass at St. Margaret Mary Parish before hitting the road. The pastor was presiding and he informed the assembly that there was a new person in their parish. He reminded them that within the parish's boundaries was the federal prison and the new person was there. He had been baptized and Father said he was ministering to this person. He reminded the assembly of what Jesus taught us about forgiveness. The assembly was rapt. He then revealed the name of the inmate: Timothy McVeigh.

When we were all able to draw breath again, Father reminded us that whether we like him or not, and no matter how much we hate what he has done, and whether or not he wanted to be called Catholic, Timothy IS a Catholic because of his baptism. He asked us all to pray for his repentance and for God and the Courts to have mercy on him.

Well, we all know that Timothy did not repent and that the Courts in your name and mine put him to death. I saw that priest on TV again the day Mc Veigh was executed, standing next to Bud Welch, whose daughter was killed in the Murrah Building on that terrible day in Oklahoma City. And both of them were standing there on Good Morning America talking about the injustice of the death penalty.

Doesn't Jesus teach us in explicit terms how we must forgive? In the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to forgive us the way we forgive others. Doesn't God forgive us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as long as our sorrow is sincere and as long as we truly want never to commit that sin again? Can we forgive each other so radically?

Can we also develop the courage to oppose the death penalty just as vehemently as we do abortion and euthanasia? We are charged to protect ALL life-innocent or guilty.

I was thinking about that priest today. Maybe if you know his name you can email me or post it here. Even though Mc Veigh was executed, the message is the same. There is probably someone who is going to be sentenced to death today. Pray for that person, for his/her repentance and for the family of his/her victim(s) and for the criminal's family as well.

prayer request

We're trying to conceive another RC Baby! Please pray for us through the intercession of St. Gerard Majella. Thanks!

Get yourself a pair of cheap sunglasses...

Though those shades don't look cheap. Thanks to Fr. Mike for the picture!

VBS 2005

We've been running Vacation Bible School here at St. John's this week. Tomorrow is that last day. We have nearly 80 kids from ages 4-11 in the classes and we have about another 20 teens helping, mostly for Confirmation Service hours, but we got a good number of high schooler who just wanted to *gasp* help out! It's been awesome!

We're running the Catholic Edition of Group's "Serengeti Trek" which a lot of Bible Churches are running too, so I get all these people asking me: "Do you know that this is the same thing as blankety blank Bible Church is doing" To which I say, "The theme is the same, but a Catholic Publishing company made over the program to make it conform to the Catechism."

Gosh, I'm getting tired of saying that.

THIS is what I'm talking about!

On a search for a link from Catholic Pillow Fight, I came across this article on on Catholic Exchange. Read it. It helps articulate what I'm getting at below.

Mrs. O'Leary's son

There is a priest in Japan named Fr. Joseph O'Leary whose prodigious blogging has gotten some attention from other bloggers, specifically since he posts so very often on Dr. Phillip Blosser's blog. The Angry Twins wrote about his posting on Dr. Blosser's blog as well a few weeks ago.

The twins posted a link in a since-deleted (I think) entry to a post Fr. O'Leary wrote about the "Neo-Caths." I found a number of things disturbing about this post (my "My Generation" post below was a first response to his writng). To begin, he paints Pope John Paul II to be what I can only term a cult leader of the ilk of Hitler and David Koresh: self-seeking and manipulative, not the Vicar of Christ on Earth. He paints people of this "Neo-Cath" generation (me and many others descended from the baby boomer generation of Catholics that he calls the "Vatican II Catholics") as hateful, decidedly un-Christan, unthinking, unsympathetic morons.

Since I can only speak for myself (Though I cannot imagine that my take on his opinion of people of my generation isn't shared with other "Neo-Caths"), I have to say that I have given what the Church has taught through the centuries a lot of thought and have struggled with some of it. The fact that I and others like me do not worship our own intellects before The Lord does not make us stupid. It makes us humble, even if my saying so doesn't make it sound like I'm trying to be.

What Fr. O'Leary charcterizes among the youth as militantism (is that a word?) or an unwillingness to think for ourselves is in fact a response to the relativism ushered in during the botched catchesis of the late '60's and 70's (and even '80's. I thank God for the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary of Philadelphia for their teaching me the right stuff when I was in Catholic elementary school in the '80's).

The youth of today look around and see that our culture tells us is that there are no absolutes. And in our hearts we know that is false. Our grandparents know that there is good and evil: not everything is smudged gray. These men and women sacrificed much to rid the world of the Axis powers of world War II. Theirs is a generation of, yes, flawed (aren't we all?), but selfless poeple who suffered during the great Depression and who saw heavy combat in Asia and Europe and then did not discuss it when they got home. They wanted to save us and spare us.

By contrast, the parents of this "Neo-Cath" generation are selfish, ushering in an untold era of consumerism and waste in every facet of their lives: from the gas-guzzling cars they drive to the babies they killed for convenience's sake. This is a generation of women who bought into the myth of "having it all:" career, children, and a husband. The spouse and the kids became a symbol of status for some, while most other women struggle with the daily grind of trying to do the job of two women. Marriages have suffered and ended leaving an unprecedented number of children without strong male and female parent figures present to them on a consistent basis. They have brought up children who feel entitled to everything. "Who works for anything anymore? If mom or dad whine long enough or yell loud enough I won't have to do this or I'll just get that."

This is a generation craving boundaries and Orthodox Catholicism provides that. Othrodox Catholicsm provides absolutes and structure for a generation adrift. And Pope John Paul II was a powerful, holy grandfather figure: a member of the Greatest Generation (to use a popular phrase) who loved us not just for who we are, but for who we could be if we would turn away from what we know in our core is false and embrace Christ, the Truth, and the Church, His Bride. He helped us all see that happpiness comes from thinking of others first, not simply of ourselves and he challenged us to a humility many have not seen modeled by their parents.

And we do not all seek a return to the Church of the Lateran Council. We know that the Second Vatican Council did indeed breathe new life into the Catholic Church, and we could not go back even if we wanted to. And our hero, Pope John Paul II, was a driving force behind Vatican II and a major contributor to "Gaudeum et Spes."

Our problem is not with the Council. Our problem is that the wonderful roots of the Council were torn up and transplanted into some questionable soil. The tree is bearing some bad fruit and it's time to transplant it into good soil again. Eucmenism, in the sense of reuniting the Christian Churches, is good. Trying to splice non-christian faith practices into Holy Mother Church can only make her ill. We may have soemthing to learn from EAstern religions, Fr. O'Leary, but transplanting shades of Buddhism into the Catholic Church borders the heretical (See Fr. O'Leary's blogs for his Buddhism and forgiveness post, which I cannot insert since Blogger can't make that happen on a Mac).

The more I read his posts, the more I am reminded of a play I read in college. The name of it escapes me right now (apologies to DeSales Humanities chair Dr. Steve Myers, since I think I read the play for his class-maybe someone else can help a sister out?). It's an Irish play about a family of 2 sisters and a brother. The brother was a missionary priest who returns home pretty suddenly. Everyone wonders why. He seems a little off, buy physically he's pretty ok. Turns out, the priest assimilated the African tribal religions he encountered on his missions into Catholicsm and he was removed by his bishop. The problem with the priest in the play is that he chose to forget that there is "one holy catholic and apostolic church," and that not all faith traditions are created equal. Christianity is the true faith, the Catholic Church (Eastern Orthodox and Roman being each one of "two lungs," to quote JPII) is the one true Church. It is our duty as Christians to bring the good news of Chirst to our brothers and sisters the world over, but we are not to dilute the truth to get numbers.

I'm probably not as smart as Fr. O'Leary, and I am certainly not as well-studied as he is, but I think I make my point. I am not calling him out. I am simply defending my own good name, as well as the good names of the other "Neo-Caths." And while we're talking about it, can we please come up with a better nickname for ourselves?

Viva Christo Rey!

Oh, the places you've been

I have to confess that I listed places I drove through as well as places where I got out of the car to look around or stayed in. Maybe that's cheating. As you can tell, It's the I-70 to I-15 corridor (Philadelphia, PA to San Diego, CA) and the route from NJ to Pensacola, FL.

The only foreign country I have visited is Canada, if you count Canada as a foreign country.



create your own personalized map of the USA

I'm just wild about Harry...

4 more days until the new Harry Potter!

You scored as Albus Dumbledore. Strong and powerful you admirably defend your world and your charges against those who would seek to harm them. However sometimes you can fail to do what you must because you care too much to cause suffering. Albus Dumbledore 90% Hermione Granger 70% Draco Malfoy 70% Remus Lupin 70% Harry Potter 65% Severus Snape 65% Ron Weasley 60% Sirius Black 55% Ginny Weasley 50% Lord Voldemort 15% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

JP2 Generation

Sing to The Who's "My Generation"

People try to put us down (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
Just cause we don't sleep around (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
Bashin' the pope is awful cold (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
When did "Catholics" get so bold? (Talkin' John Paul's generation)

Don't want Vatican 2 to fade away (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
We just don't dig a liberal way (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
We wanna cause a big sensation (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
Through the New Evangelization (Talkin' John Paul's generation)

People try to put us down (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
Cause we don't want Mass said by a clown (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
We are young and we are bold (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
You all know we won't be sold (Talkin' John Paul's generation)

We wanna keep with our history (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
You ain't gettin an apology (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
We don't mind the way you treat us (Talkin' John Paul's generation)
Got our eyes on the Lord Jesus (Talkin' John Paul's generation)

Corrupting the youth

My DH made me a cup of iced coffee with chocolate milk. I suppose one would call it a mocha.

My Younger Son was very interested in my cup with a straw. He comes up to me and says "some." OK, here you go.

He sipped from the straw, held his hand in his mouth and said "coffee," with a look on his face bordering delight and disgust.

Yeah. Do you want some more?

He nodded.

He would have drank the whole cup if I had let him. It was, of course, decaf.

When the 4 year old answers the phone

I have 3 brothers. One of them is named Christopher. The boys call him Uncle Chris.

The Elder Boy has been into answering the phone lately. This afternoon, he picked it up. Chris called for my mom. She asked who it was. The Boy's reply: "Cocoa Crisp."

Susan Torres

Susan is a 26 year old woman from Virginia, USA who collapsed about 7 or 8 weeks ago. She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time. She is brain dead and her family is keeping her on life support so tha the baby (they think it's a girl) can continue developing until she can be delivered. They are seeking donations to cover the costs of keeping Susan and her daughter alive (it costs about ($9,000 a day and insurance only overs about $7,000 of it). You can go to www.susantorresfund.org to read more about her and to make a donation. If you can't donate, please pray for her, her husband, son, and unborn child.

Hat tip to Tony at Catholic Pillow Fight.

You Duped Me Lord

is a great blog by Mark Mossa, a Jesuit scholastic on the road to ordination.

Thank you, Mark, for blogrolling me. You are most kind.

I hope your talk at Seton Hall went well. I used to work there and it's a great school. Immaculate Conception Seminary turns out some great priests.

Mark's insights into the writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola are wonderful. He can really break it down for you.

London, July 7

Please pray for the people of the UK as they recover from the terrorist attack there this morning. The people of the USA know what this feels like and the victims and their families, and indeed all of the people of the UK, need the comfort of Our Lord today.

Say a rosary today for peace.

Why I don't use real names

When I first started my blog, my husband made me promise that I wouldn't write about anything too personal and that I would not use his name or the names of our children in the postings. I did promise, though I am pretty sure that what I say here is pretty innocuous and my readers are not the type to get so mad at what I'd say that they would want to cause bodily harm to me or my family. That's why you'll see me refer to my husband as DH (dear husband, not designated hitter) and the children as Elder boy and Younger boy, or some other such euphemism. That is also why you will never see a picture of the children in question on this site (apologies to my family members who might be reading this). So, you're just going to have to take my word for the fact that my children are beautiful, and that my husband is the most handsome, kindest man there is.

Giglio family vocations

I pray that the Lord will call my sons to the priesthood. Every once in a while, I'll mention it to my older son. The last time, the exchange went like this:

Scene: Living room. Mom and Dad and 2 boys , 4 and a half and 21 months are playing with trains. Mom and Dad were just talking about mom's prayers for her sons. The Younger Boy is named for a pretty famous priest. She has just (half-jokingly) said that with a name like that, he doesn't have much of a choice but to go into the seminary.

Elder boy: I think (Younger Boy) is automagically going to be a priest when he grows up.
Me: Yeah, you think so?
EB: Yeah....
M: What do you want to be when you grow up? Do you think you'd like to be a priest like Fr. Joseph or Monsignor or Fr. Luke?
EB: No.
M: Well, What would you like to do?
EB: I'd like to drive a truck!

I'll keep praying for them, but I think I'm going to let the conversation go for a while...

Fireworks

We took the boys to see Fireworks on the 4th of July. It was a nice show and it was not way too loud. The small one looked at the first first few, then turned his head away from them, resting his tiny noggin against my chest. "Poor thing's scared," I thought, so I tried to make him feel better by covering the exposed ear and stroking what's left of his hair (see "Haircut 100" below).

Wouldn't you know that booger fell asleep?! He slept through the whole thing. He wasn't scared, he was bored! Apparently at 2 and a half and he's seen it all.

Hey la, my boyfriend's back!

It appears that my subscription to America is not expired. I got one in the mail last week. The love/hate relationship continues...

Jesus Laughed

I know that Jesus laughed. And I know that this picture is a revered piece of art to some people (Which I tried to get on the page, but I couldn't. I'm new at this. Sorry but You'll have to use the link.). I just can't get past the fact that Jesus looks a lot like Bob Marley here. Is it just me? Let the flaming begin!