Saint John XXIII

I found this many years ago and try to read it in the morning. It seems do-able if I only have to do it for today;)

Saint John XXIII Decalog for Daily living

1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.
2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.
3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.
5. Only for today, I will devote ten minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.
8. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.
9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.
10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

To conclude: here is an all-embracing resolution: "I want to be kind, today and always, to everyone."

Saint John XXIII, pray for us!

Saint John Paul the Great

Pray for us.


Consider the lively examples set us by the saints, who possessed the light of true perfection and religion, and you will see how little, how nearly nothing, we do. What, alas, is our life, compared with theirs? The saints and friends of Christ served the Lord in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in work and fatigue, in vigils and fasts, in prayers and holy meditations, in persecutions and many afflictions. How many and severe were the trials they suffered– the Apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all the rest who willed to follow in the footsteps of Christ! They hated their lives on earth that they might have life in eternity.
Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 18 

Hmmmm.....interesting

So, the ever-so-clever Father Shelton posted on fb that this is "Palindrome Week."

My never-to-be-outdone sister, the lovely Mrs. Parsons commented: a man, a plan, a canal, Panama 

Some people are waaaaay to clever for me.

Pete and Re-Pete + 1

Big news.
I swam a mile last Monday.
Then I did it again on Wednesday.
Then I did it again on Friday.

I call that a three-peat.



cue the music....
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.
What do we do? We swim, swim...."

More Danny-isms

Last week:

I was waking him up at 6:15am  for swimming lessons. He didn't co-operate. Pulling covers over his head, etc. Then, just like that, he rolls over and says,   "Mommy, when do I get to teach monkeys how to open bananas?"

Every night since he was born, I sing him the same song before kissing him good-night. The past two months he has taken up singing a song to me as well. Made-up melody, usually about how wonderful I am (duh). And some stuff about Scott;) 

Example: 

I love

my mommy

and  my daddy

because

they're cute

and beautiful

and they love me

Awesome and so sweet.

So this was last night's version:

My sweet,

sweet Mama

and my sweet,

sweet self...

couldn't hear the rest because I was trying to choke back my laughter...

That boy!

70th Birthday Bash:: One of my favorite things

My mom turned 70 last month in in February. (see how long it takes me to blog..sheesh) 

We had a "My Favorite Things" themed party for her. A few pictures from the day ...

Raindrops on Roses

Whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

(well, the kettles are on another part of the tree)

Silver white winters that melt into springs. These are a few of my favorite things....

Here are some others...

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

brown paper packages tied up with strings

crisp apple strudel 

(okay, maybe it was extra-crisp)

A few of her favorite things

schnitzel with noodles:)

The grandkids all sang the infamous song, then added a verse that Scott wrote specifically for Mom.

We composed a book for her, "These are a few of our Favorite Things about You."

She cried.

I'm not really that creative. I got most of the ideas from the wonderful Miss Jessica @ Shower of Roses. The tree was my dear friend, Rachel's idea.

It was a fantastic day, and my sisses and I had a great time putting the whole thing together.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

***so many of these ideas came from the wonderful Miss Jessica, of Shower of Roses blogging fame:) Check out her blog for many, many party ideas. You'll thank me later;)

I have a goal

Aren't you proud of me? I worked really hard last fall at overcoming my fear of swimming. Now really, I'm not afraid of water. And I was really surprised that when I tried to swim some laps I kind of, sort of, had a bit of a panic attack in the middle of the pool. Yikes and embarrassing. Our homeschool association has a swim club that all the kids are part of. Three mornings a week, we all haul it out early to the college swimming pool. The older kids swim for 90 minutes, Danny has a toddler swim class for 30 minutes, and I usually get about 60 minutes to swim laps.

Yeah, that's right. There was a whole club worth of kids around when I had my little freak out session. Honestly, I panicked when I looked down and saw how far the bottom of the pool was. I really didn't panic too badly. Just had to talk myself back to the side. Then practiced deep breathing for about 20 minutes. I spent the rest of the semester with fins and a kick board. The last week I actually was able to swim freestyle for a few laps each day. Go me, right? I mean baby steps all the way.

Well, to make a long story even longer...our club coach has me training (oh, yeah, that sounds really athletic of me doesn't it?) to swim a mile by the end of March. At the beginning of February I could barely swim 50 yards without feeling like my heart was going to explode. Now I'm up to 1500 yards. Six hundred of them are with. out. stopping. That heart of mine - not exploding:)


So this is pretty much what I look like...

Honestly, I probably don't look like that at all. But at least I can stay on on top of the water, move my arm and legs, and breathe at the same time. This is major people!

I will most definitely keep you posted on my progress. I'm planning a big ole celebration once I can swim the whole distance...and for everyone's support, I'll make sure that you get a front row seat to my debut at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.