Tuesday DayLook: February 25, 2014

 

Looking out from my back porch... it looks crisp, cool and slightly windy.  I really don’t want to stick an arm out to see if the temp predictions are accurate!

I am thankful for... warmth and a solid home – who in these northern climes isn’t thankful for those two at this time of year?  Also thankful that in February I can start to see the end of some homeschooling subjects…lighter days are ahead.

I am reading… newspapers and blogs.

I am praying for... a good friend’s father who is in the hospital with pneumonia.  Graham, who is preparing to receive his first Reconciliation this coming Sunday.

I am hearing... the water trickling through the filter of our aquarium.  It’s a peaceful sound.

I am wearing… black knit pants (kinda like leggings, but heavier material), a purple knit top with a green/aqua cami underneath.  I needed color today.

From the School Room... as I mentioned earlier, we are seeing the end nearing in some subjects.  It’s a great feeling and makes the kids want to work ahead even more.

From the Kitchen... over the weekend, I made up meatloaf and meatballs to ‘base’ our meals for the week.  We look forward to spaghetti and meatballs today.

From the Garden… if I’m going to start seeds, it will happen in March.  Will I have the gumption?

From the FarmYard… a friend in Fargo sells eggs for me, thank goodness!  Last year, Angelina was interested in Polish chickens, so we purchased 10.  There were quite a few cockerels, so not all are laying hens.  However, between them they produce about 2 dozen small eggs each week.  I don’t sell these, but they’re great for egg dishes like omelets, french toast, scrambled eggs or boiled eggs.

A successful moment… the boys (Graham and Zeke) wrestled in their first tournament last Friday and each placed third in their group.  They were happy and we thought it was fun to watch.

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Tuesday: Little Loboe wrestling practice for Zeke & Graham, Greg will help with practice

Wednesday: Eric and I plan to attend a sponsored talk on ‘technology’ – free meal with the deal – is it a date?

Thursday: Little Loboe wrestling practice for Zeke & Graham, Greg will help with practice, Ballet Academy for Angelina

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Well baby check for Marcus, bulk shopping in Fargo, First Reconciliation Retreat & First Reconciliation for Graham, Scrap quilt workshop for Angelina, Crop Judging for Zeke & Angelina, Possible Wrestling Tourney for Zeke & Graham

A picture memory...

Zeke above and Graham below in 2009.  Zeke would have been six and Graham three.  My how they change over the years…the interest in Legos and building, however, has NOT changed!

Just stuff

Since this is my record/journal, I’m using it to record dates and facts I want to remember.  It helps me keep my head on straight sometimes to be able to look back!  I’m not sure it will be interesting to everyone, so just skip it if it doesn’t appeal.

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1. I helped plan and facilitate a Reconciliation Retreat for the second graders in our parish on April 28th.  To my knowledge, this is a first for our parish.  Their teacher and I (in my role as DRE) are trying to implement diocesan guidelines.  The retreat, in my mind, was a success.  I switched out the saint play-acting with rosary making and the kids LOVED it!  It was gratifying to see them enjoy the activities and stations that their teacher and I planned out.  The diocese actually has a script we can follow, but we are able to add our own activities or choose those we want to include.  One young girl even said, “I thought this was going to be boring, but I’m having a lot of fun!”  This was said while we were making rosaries.  At least one parent per child was asked to attend, and they had a parent session with our priest.  I’m so thankful he was willing to give a talk.  I still need to talk with parents to get their perspective on the afternoon.

This happened to be the same day that Eric and Angelina were at the Aerospace Camp, so Zeke came along to watch Marcus.  So thankful the weather was decent so he could stroll around outside!  He’s such a good big brother.

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2. Angelina ‘got’ shingles.  Yes, my not even thirteen-year-old daughter has been dealing with shingles.  They are on her upper right chest, go under her arm and around to her back.  They also travel down her right arm to just above the elbow.

When she first showed me, I thought it was just a rash or reaction to an environmental allergen.  But, then, as I sat and continued what I was doing, the pattern of the rash (which at the time was a patch on her upper check, a spot under her arm, and a patch on her back) started to bother me.  Within a very short time, it occurred to me that it could be shingles.  Both the pattern and the ‘texture’ of the rash were typical of shingles.  But, in a child so young?!?

It was too late in the day to make an appointment (May 9), so I called asap the next morning.  When asked why I was calling, I said something like, “Well, I know this sounds impossible, but to my non-medical eye, I believe my daughter has shingles.”  And then I described the rash.  Thankfully we were able to get her in to the clinic that afternoon.

They physician was skeptical as first, too.  But I said, “Wait until you see the rash, and you’ll see why I think it’s shingles.”  She then examined Angelina, and it was almost comical to see her reaction and expression of agreement.  It’s so rare for a child, you see.  And the kicker is that Angelina did not have the vaccine, she really had chicken pox.  For some reason I expected if she had a real case of chicken pox, any onset of shingles would come at a much later point in life. 

The physician did some research in the office…her database didn’t show any cases in children my daughter’s age.  I assume they just haven’t been recorded…I believe there are more cases, but maybe they were more mild than Angelina’s.  Anyway, the physician prescribed Acyclovir – 5 times each day.

The medication (which, by the way, is the first medication Angelina has EVER taken) really helped shorted the length of the shingles.  They scabbed over quickly, and the tingling pain subsided.  I pray she doesn’t have to go through this again, but contrary to common belief, you can get shingles multiple times.

At this point, the rash blisters are healed and it’s not inflamed and red.  You can still see where she was affected, though.  I am not sure how long that will take to fade.

And the three youngest boys have been exposed …maybe.  They can get chicken pox from shingles (we do not vaccinate for chicken pox), if they are exposed to the liquid from the blisters.  Shingles is not a respiratory ailment like chicken pox, so contagion is not as easy or as great if the rash/blisters are kept covered.  So, we’ll see.  I wouldn’t mind the boys getting chicken pox, but it’ll make for an interesting couple months if they do come down with it.  Prayers for God’s will appreciated because I’m not sure of my will!

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3. It’s finally starting to green up.  The trees JUST budded out last week and the grass is greening up.  I even went out last week to see if any were living because buds weren’t visible!  Turns out the trees know what’s going on with the weather. 

I am worried about the landscaping we had done in the fall.  Hopefully everything will make it…but I have a feeling we’ll have the company replace at least a few plants/shrubs that winter-killed.

Last night was the first measurable rain we’ve had in some time and it was needed.  After so many wet years, this is a very different kind of Spring.  I like rain and not having to water the gardens and lawn.

The trees we ordered through the soil conservation service arrived on Friday, too:  two honeycrisp apple, one connell red apple, five black chokeberry and five golden currant.  The five nanking cherry were backordered.  Now to determine where I’ll plant!  You’d think I would have figured that out before placing the order, but I was not thinking as clearly and just wanted bit of Spring.

Nephew’s Baptism

The first Miller Grandbaby of 2012 was baptized on Father’s Day Sunday – June 17, 2012.  We traveled to Lowry, MN for the weekend and enjoyed the visit with my sister, Julianne, her husband, Ben, their kids and quite a few extended family members. 

My sister & her husband on the left.  My brother Pat and his wife, Anna, on the right are baby's Godparents.  BTW, Anna is due a couple weeks before me in August and it’s their first!

Grandpa Dave is a grandkid magnet.  There’s always a treat in his pocket or some other distraction to keep the kids entertained.

They are members at St. John Nepomuk.  This is a picture that is displayed in the church.  It’s a beautiful and old, but well taken care of, country church.  MN has many such churches, I’m told.

Confirmation & 1st Eucharist

 

Homemade cake for Zeke’s celebration. 

Zeke asked his Uncle Ben Hawkins to be his Confirmation sponsor.  The Mass was in Ellendale (70 miles from our home) on Friday, April 13, 2012… the kids, at least one parent, and sponsor were to be there early.  The parish served a meal for those of us who lived far away – very nice.  The rest of us arrived around 6pm to reserve seats and let the little guys run off some steam before Mass began at 7pm.

The kids did a great job during Mass.  They are so uninhibited and raised their hands eagerly to answer the bishop’s questions about their knowledge of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The Bishop’s homily was once again so perfect for the kids and adults alike.  He always reminds us that Confirmation is not the end of our Catholic learning, but only the beginning.  He encourages kids and parents to keep learning about and improving their knowledge of the Catholic faith.

Zeke’s classmates from LaMoure with Bishop Aquilla and our local priest, Fr. Okafor.

Waiting for pictures with the Bishop.

Grandpa and Grandma Green Acres with Zeke (above) and Eric and I with Zeke (below).

Grandpa & Grandma Golden Acres with Zeke.

Zeke, newly confirmed!

Bishop Aquilla came to the social hall and visited with as many families as possible.  He is really a blessing to our diocese.

Due to the late night Mass, we celebrated on Saturday.  We tried to make the day special for Zeke.  My dad took both Zeke and Graham fishing on Saturday morning and into the afternoon.  My brother (Collin), his wife (Anne) and their children came out to visit in the afternoon.  It was the most gorgeous day!  We spent time outside and Zeke was able to build a fire …thank goodness Grandpa Golden Acres stepped up to help or we might have all been smoked off the patio!

Louis, barefoot and ‘smore’ happy.

Grandma Golden Acres dishing up the smores.

On Sunday, our parish, Holy Rosary, celebrated the newly confirmed.  The kids dressed up again and greeted parishioners.  They brought up the gifts and sat up in front.

Eric is their teacher.  He does a really great job!

Wednesday DayLook: July 27, 2011

Looking out from my back porch... The grass is freshly cut and the garden is almost fully weeded (had about 2 feet left before I got rained out of the garden yesterday!).

I am thankful... the thunderstorms have been small and passed quickly without serious wind or hail.

I am reading… only time for reading newspapers and cookbooks.

I am hearing...Louis jabbering to himself and the St. Gerard statue he’s holding.

I am wearing… brown capris, a navy t-shirt, flip-flops.

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)…the room is clean, but alas only laundry has been happening.

From the school room... fully prepped and prepared for our ‘after Labor Day’ start.  The room has been rearranged to my satisfaction and the largest piles (some two years old) have been sorted/filed/stored/trashed.

From the kitchen... Chocolate Sheet Cake, two Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cakes, Tropical fruit bread, and Mini-Chocolate Chip scones.  (I’m getting ready for harvest and LUNCHES!!)  And, I picked up 80 lbs. cherries – both Bing and Rainier – from the fruit truck about 35 minutes from our home.  Cost is approx. $2/lb vs. over $4 in store, so the drive is well worth it.  I plan to can at least half.  The rest will be eaten and shared with my MIL.  The flavor is absolutely wonderful.

From the Garden…  the green beans are in full production mode, and the zucchini are starting to produce.  I’m having trouble with blossom end rot on the zucchini due to the wet conditions.  The sweet peas have started to bloom.

From the FarmYard…  the Ameraucana chicks are soooo beautiful.  Their feather colors are  varied and it’s just been fun to see them develop.  However, they love to fly the coop!  Hubby and I fenced their pen higher, but they STILL find a way to fly to the top of the chicken wire.  Pretty soon, they’ll just fly over and join the Buffs, Barred Rocks, and broilers.

I’m praying for… 1) Louis and Dash who have colds with slight fevers (Dash is at the end of his illness – Louis’ fever broke slightly this morning).  2) That I’ll lose my ‘thirst’ for soda/pop.

A successful moment… a baby gift and a book promised to friends (both should have been sent months ago!) were sent by mail.

A few plans for the rest of the week…

Thursday-Friday: Weed the gardens, bake scones and a coffee cake, pick beans, roast two chickens and pull the meat, can cherries.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Clean house, create flexible menu plans for the next two months, help the kids complete their 4-H animal record books.

A picture memory...

Family day trip to the Buffalo Museum and Frontier Village in Jamestown on Monday, July 25.

World’s largest Buffalo.  Yours truly is taking the pictures, but all the other rascals are accounted for.  Graham looks like he’s ready for a race … that’s pretty much what I did for the rest of the visit.  Race with the stroller to keep up with Angelina, Graham and Zeke.  You know how kids are at a museum!  Well, maybe yours like to take their time and read everything.  By the time I’d get to an exhibit and just look at everything … that’s not even taking time to read ANYTHING! … they’d be off and running to the next building.  At least most of the viewing was free.  The museum’s charge was $10/family.  That’s a great price.

 

This preserve is also home to the famous white buffalo.  Can you see the speck off in the distance??  We didn’t get to see it close up, either.  I should probably show this pic to the kids so they can say, “I was there when mom took this picture of the white buffalo!”

The viewing magnifier was free and the stage coach below was a huge hit with Graham and Louis.

Kids love to be locked in the old time jails. 

The Caboose was fun, too.  I stayed with the stroller, but assume it was cool because the kids stayed in there longer than most of the other exhibits.

 

Well, the park day trip wouldn’t be complete without a couple of these type of pictures. 

So long everyone!  We finished the trip by taking the kids out to eat at Paradiso.  The kids were very well behaved.  Thank goodness!

A Sacrament

Zeke’s First Reconciliation was on Saturday.  He wasn’t worried at all and seemed very prepared (unlike his mother, who felt like she hadn’t been nearly as involved in his preparation compared to his older siblings). 

The night before, we went over the process again, and practiced the Act of Contrition a couple times, too.  He is ready.

After basketball practice, we drove to church.  He was in the second group of kids, and with two of his best buddies.  They visited with the DRE and decided who would go first.

 

*Normally, we wouldn’t be wearing sweats and a t-shirt, but we had no time for him to change between basketball and the drive to church.  I regret that just a smidge.

 

After his confession and penance , I let him light two candles and offer a short prayer for special intentions.

To celebrate, we went out to eat.  Just Zeke, Graham, Louis and I (the remainder of the family was at a crop judging meet).  Then, he was invited by the mom of his buddies to go to a blow-up game fun day in a neighboring town.  That evening, Dad indulged him by playing board games with ‘just’ Zeke (Stratego and Chess).

Wordless Wednesday

Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist

Very Reverend Chad Wilhelm, Uncle Eric, and Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, D.D. (back row) pictured with Angelina in front of the altar at the Cathedral of St. Mary

On Friday, May 29th, 2009, Angelina recieved her sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. Our diocese gives these sacraments to third graders at the same Mass. Dash was in the first 'only third graders' group to receive his sacraments in this way. While some parents question the wisdom of this decision, it has been an easy adjustment for our family and most of our friends.

Some worry that after receiving both of these sacraments, the child will have no reason to continue religious education; they view Confirmation as 'the carrot' at the end of their child's high school years and 'the carrot' will help them stay involved in religious education through high school. My perspective is that you could think that at whatever point a child or adult has received both of these sacraments. How many parents decide, that after their 7th - 11th grade student has received the sacrament of Confirmation, the student is done with religious education at their parish and no longer needs to attend?? I was confirmed in the 7th grade. The next year, I was the only one to return to religious education classes. The truth is that we are never done learning ... whether we are confirmed in the third grade or as an adult through the RCIA process. It is also my opinion that parents need to take a leadership role in teaching their children the faith and teach that we are NEVER done learning about our Catholic faith.

Back to Friday .... the Mass at St. Mary's was beautiful and the kids were so excited and reverent at the same time. During the homily, the bishop spoke mainly to the kids; it was so fun to see them raise their hands to answer his questions without inhibition. He focused on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and how each of the gifts can be used in our lives for most of the homily. However, he also touched on the fact that as adults we don't know everything about our faith, and encouraged all of the kids to keep on learning and growing in their faith. Angelina's class at the Cathedral consisted of 21 third graders, and children from other parishes were also in attendance - a total of 41 received the sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist.

Angelina chose her Uncle Eric (my third brother), as her sponsor for Confirmation. He will be a great role model for her as she grows in her faith. And, I am confident that he will be able to help her, if ever she asks for his guidance.

Eva with Uncle Eric, her sponsor

My mom, Angelina's Grandma Golden Acres, made her dress and veil. I had planned to do it myself, but the offer from my mom made my life much simpler. It is a beautiful dress and fit her so wonderfully (unlike store bought on my very thin 8yo). For this special occaission, and since she's my only girl as of right now, I made arrangements for her hair to be styled. It turned out so cute and she really appreciated this special treat.

Angelina with Grandpa and Grandma Golden Acres

My husband, Eric, and I with Angelina

The Mass was at 7p, so it was quite late by the time sponsor pictures and group pictures were taken (parents do not have much say in the scheduling, so we just made the best of it). Therefore, we didn't take many pictures of family at the church after Mass. Eric left shortly after the end of Mass with the boys to return to the hotel. All of our relatives, who were able to attend Mass, came over to our hotel room to hang out and take more pictures with Angelina.