Pondered In My Heart

I Just Have to Say

You should have seen her! She jumped a foot off the ground!

So said my daughter, recounting to her brother my reaction to today's news.

She was bouncing all over the place!

And so I was, with tears in my eyes as well. I cannot overstate my joy at McCain's pick of a truly pro-life running mate. Jonathan just thinks I'm brilliant because just yesterday I was telling him how McCain should pick a strongly pro-life woman. How did you know, Mom?

I didn't know. All I knew was the mentioning of various potential candidates by the media was making me ill.

It is so rare to have a truly pro-life candidate; one who you can believe really cares about the issue. Sure there are plenty of politicians who say they are pro-life but it seems like they are just repeating the words to toe the party line. And sadly there are even clergy who seem the same way - giving a nod to the pro-life cause but so half heartedly they seem to be just toeing the denominational line. And here we have a woman who believes babies are blessings, unlike Obama who has referred to them as a punishment. That's quite a contrast.

This pro-life candidate is a woman. And she is a mother. She knows that all that mumbo jumbo talk about choice and a woman's right to her own body has nothing to do with anything. She knows that the issue is all about someone else's body. A little tiny body straight from the hand of God and tucked away safe inside to grow and to be born into this world to be cared for and loved. Sarah Palin knows this and understands this because she is the mother of five children. She herself has experienced the swelling, full womb and the joy of the leaping baby within. She has known the exuberance of giving birth and bringing new life into the world, again and again. She has experienced this great gift from God and she sees children as the blessings that they are declaring:

 Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in

But even more than that she is the mother of a special needs child, a child with Down syndrome. I can't describe the thrill I feel at the thought of this woman being nominated for the second highest office in our land. Having a special needs child was easy for me to accept. My Eliza was made by God and He made her exactly the way He wanted her to be. What is very difficult to accept is how the vast majority of the rest of the world sees her - completely unworthy of life. But Sarah Palin is not like the rest of the world. She recognizes the gift from the hand of the Creator. She has described her special blessing like this:

we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives.

She gets it. She gets life.

She believes it and she knows it and she lives it.

She knows it's not a choice - it's a child. A gift.

 

And she is in an awesome position to help the rest of the world see it too.

And that gets me very, very happy.

WHOO HOO!!!

Hip

Hip

Hooray!!!

Oh, How I HEART U, Too!

A little background...

In typical new house/ new development fashion, we have a beautiful new house with a lousy lawn. After determining that it is important to improve the attractiveness of our property, my husband set out to get us a lawn.  In the spring he contracted with a lawn serviceman to spread top soil and re-seed the whole lot, all for an exorbitant fee. It didn't work. The seed never sprouted and the lawn remained as pitted and grassless as ever. Undaunted, my dearly beloved husband has been working hard to improve the lawn, bit by bit. He's been very busy spreading buckets of topsoil here and there, sprinkling seeds, and watering, watering, watering to try to get some grass to grow in the worst areas.

I have been supportive of his efforts, but not without a good bit of teasing. Every night he goes outside after dinner to tend the bare spots, coaxing a bit of green. He has made numerous trips to the hardware stores trying out all manner of watering mechanisms, all the while taking this teasing from his wife. I joked about his brief love affair with the lawn tractor, his search for the perfect sprinkler, and the like. He has been sustained by the reward of seeing his patches of grass filling in, glorious green amidst the dismal brown. As is always the case in August, the rest of the lawn is dormant and completely brown and dismal looking from the lack of rain. I said the little random green patches look silly, and my dear husband actually agreed.

So you can't imagine how my heart swelled as I laughed out loud, peering out the window this morning to see this:

Oh, I do love this dear, patient, clever man that I married!!!

I can't stop grinning.

Isn't he a peach?

Missing

The picture tells the tale of woe.

Poor Eliza. Every morning her biggest brother comes up to the bedroom to carry her downstairs and out to the car to go Mass. But this morning he was gone - off to 'check in' at college. I told her to come downstairs and she said, "No! Jonathan!" She resolutely trotted off down the hall to his room to find him.

But he wasn't there.

She put her head down in dismay on his empty chair and there she stayed.

Oh, honey, I know just how you feel!

But - psst, I have a secret. Just for today he'll be back in time to walk you to sleep for your nap.

Deo Gratias!

Today's Filming: Aslan's Camp

I love looking out the window and seeing sights like this.

The children are squeezing in plenty of fun during these last bits of the summer hols.

The director knows the green scenery he needs won't last forever.

And soon Peter will be too busy with college for such shenanigans.

Stop your fussing. You look lovely.

He betrayed them, Your Majesty.

Don't worry, Beaver. I won't let Peter turn you into a hat.

Simple Woman's Daybook: August 25

Stop over to see The Simple Woman who has all of this week's links here.

Outside my window...It's dark  and quiet. I wonder if Mr. Groundhog is sleeping soundly in his newly dug home in our garden, or if blocking the entrance to the hole deterred him. (Harrumph.)

 

I am thinking...about how fast the summer flew by, just as it always does.

 

I am thankful for... this one last week of summer vacation.

 

From the kitchen...planning on cinnabuns for tomorrow. Eliza found a bowl of cinnamon sugar sitting on the counter along with a stick of butter on a dish. She naturally knew these two delicacies belonged together so she nicely covered the butter with the sugar, patting it on gently. This delightful concoction shan't go to waste.

 

I am wearing...a black skirt with a viney pattern in shades of brown, a cafe au lait colored top, and my favorite teapot earrings.

 

I am creating...order and cleanliness before the school year starts.

 

I am reading...Haystack  Full of Needles (isn't everyone?). Today Mary Rose showed me a little miniature she made of this book for her Miss Clavel. I'm sure Madeleine and Danielle and Nicole and all the others will glad to read it as well. :-)

 

I am hoping...to get a lot of work done and still enjoy this last week of 'summer'.

 

I am hearing...Kateri's heavy breathing as she sleeps peacefully in my arms, her still-damp-from-nursing curls glowing in the light of the computer screen.

 

Around the house...not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

 

One of my favorite things...seeing my children have a good time together.

 

A few plans for the rest of the week...more cleaning and organizing and planning for school. Hopefully we will get together with some new friends to play on Thursday. Jonathan starts his orientation activities on Thursday as well (gulp).

 

Here is picture thought I am sharing...sisters.

 

Swallows and Amazons Forever!

This is what is meant by 'summer reading' around here.

 

It had gotten to be midsummer, and no one had read any Gulps and Amazons as they are sometimes affectionately called in our house. I thought it was a bit odd to not have everyone off on sailing adventures as is their summer tradition.

But then Josiah got them out, flying through the stack of twelve familiar stories in about a week's time, and of course everyone else followed him aboard ship.

First published in the 1930's, this beloved series of books tells the adventures of  four siblings and the acquaintances they make while spending their summer holidays camping and sailing together. From the very first moment we encounter seven-year-old Roger, tacking up the lawn to greet his dear mother, we are drawn into the story and born away on a breeze to a quiet lake in the English countryside. For Mother truly does have a telegram from Father in her hand bearing the charming message:

BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN

Which of course means, yes, the adventure is on and permission is granted for all to embark on the holiday of their lives. Alone. On an island. Hurrah for daddy! indeed. Mother, the darling, most well-loved native of all, assists with preparations - Ship's Articles, provisions, maps and gear are purveyed. She's even finished making the tents! "You'll want a kettle first and foremost," said Mrs. Jackson, the farmer's wife, who was lending the things. (I like that woman.) Soon all is ready and John, Susan, Titty and Roger are transformed into the Swallows: Captain, Mate, Able-seaman and Ship's Boy - finest crew of the finest fourteen foot dinghy in all of children's literature. The ensuing tales are full of adventure of the most delightful sort. Swimming before breakfast, sighting  cormorants, rowing over to the farm for milk, and plenty of use of that dear kettle - what a life! But it's not all buttered eggs and tea of course - there are pirates and battles and mysteries and Amazons to meet, oh my!

These books are beloved treasures in our family, telling stories of the kind of life that is quite out of reach for most of today's young readers. But that's what books are for, of course, to take you to far away places in the delicious pages and leave you neither a duffer nor drowned. In our family living books are the books that get lived, and it's been a delight to watch my children live these dear books over and over throughout the years.

Having no English lake at hand Jonathan set his sails on a more commonplace vessel - the scooter. You can see the fruit of his creative labors in this vintage picture from 2004:

He couldn't see where he was going and could only sail downhill, but the effect was priceless.

When I got my sewing machine last year I had two very gallant boys who carried it upstairs and unpacked it and set it all up for me - just so I could make them semaphore flags!

But that was only the beginning. Jonathan set out to make an entire set of signal flags, which now grace his room in all of their nautical glory:

 

Lacking a mast, the ever resourceful Josiah rigged up a pulley system so they could fly the flags from the corner of the house.

 

They also sent up a signal light to use at night, with a can to cover it and thereby use Morse code.

One year Josiah made a terrific little highly detailed craft out of popsicle sticks. It had a proper sail and was quite sea (creek) worthy. 

And on it goes. If you've never sailed aboard The Swallow I highly recommend you take a journey soon. Don't worry that summer's ending, after all there's Winter Holiday! At the moment I have two girls on board sofa ships, wearing apron life jackets and punt poling with their vacuum cleaner tubes for dear life, giggling and shouting about the dangers sighted starboard. My Mary Rose is taking her maiden voyage with these books this year and it's been delightful watching her encounter these family classics for the first time. She has taken to answering my every word with Aye aye, Sir! I love it.

Here are a bunch of links to augment your reading adventures:

The Boats of Swallows and Amazons

Nautical and Semaphore Signal Flags and a Translator function for both

Semaphore Alphabet

Free Paper Boat Models - These are really cool yachts, but there is also a little dinghy at the bottom of the page. I made the dinghy one year to stick on Jonathan's birthday cake along with mini nautical flags spelling his name.

Sailing Terms

Pirate Vocabulary

Swallows and Amazons Trivia Quiz

Label the Parts of a Ship  Answers Here and Here

See Pictures of Coniston, the lake area where Arthur Ransome spent his holidays as a child and the inspiration for the books.

All aboard and three cheers for the stay-at-homes! (Singing Spanish Ladies is optional.)

She's One of Us!

Blind as a bat, that is. Miss Mary Rose just got her shiny new purple glasses!

We think they suit her quite well. I always love how the child stares out the window in wonder on the way home from getting the first pair of glasses. Thank you God for the gift of sight, and of corrective lenses!

Wordless Wednesday: Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car

Stitching Cuteness

The girls have moved on from coasters. Lydia has designed the sweetest little horses:

Anna Ruth can't stop making these cute kitties. Whoops - they've gotten out of their bag:

And Mary Rose is just getting her feet wet with machine sewing. She has made a little pillow and a skirt for her beloved old Pooch Doll:

It's fun to see what they will come back with after they disappear upstairs for a 'sewing party'!

Favorite Books: Tom Playfair Series

You've heard the expression, 'love it to pieces!'

Our beloved Tom Playfair books have been loved to pieces. I distinctly remember giving this set of "Fr. Finn's Famous Three" to Jonathan for his eleventh birthday. He subsequently read all three books three times in that first year we had them. I naturally had to read them myself to see what the extraordinary appeal was all about.

Written over a hundred years ago, the series tells the story of the boys of St. Maure's boarding school. That is where our beloved hero Tom is sentenced to as a consequence for 'going the limit of one's tether'. Yes, the story starts off with Tom as a lazy, undisciplined, unmotivated, sneaky boy - always in trouble with no one to help him find a way out of his wayward ways. The adults in his life don't know what to do with the insolent boy, so off he goes to St. Maure's to 'make a start'. There he meets up with a myriad of other boys, good and bad, and Tom must find the determination to make his way. His well worn crooked paths must be straightened, hard work must be befriended, and his faith must take root in order to blossom and grow.

The story is full of adventure of the most definitely boyish sort, and the antiquated vocabulary used in its telling only serves to enhance its charm. For though the details and daily routine of life at St. Maure's are obsolete, the human nature of the characters are of course timeless. As Tom discovers who it is that he wants to become, he makes friends and finds mentors who will help him on his way. As is always the case, the heart searching for truth and goodness is naturally drawn to genuine holiness, and the beloved and wise Mr. Middleton brings out the best in Tom. I think that's a large part of the appeal of the books; we all have some immature, rebellious Tom in us and we long for the right Mr. Middletons and George Keenans and John Donnels to inspire and nudge and tug and help us in our clamoring journey to higher ground. That and all of the ball games and Latin class and lightening and scap'lars and pranks and First Fridays and tree climbing and so many other things near and dear to a boy's heart make the books an entertaining delight. There is heroism and sacrifice, repentance and rebirth, friendship and fidelity, tragedy and triumph. And as in real life, there are those who continue on in evil despite every opportunity to change for the good.

The endearing characters return in Percy Wynn, in which a boy is made of him who has spent his whole life coddled by his ten sisters. The scene of the catechism class in the middle of this book is a most memorable recounting of the infinite mercy of God that every young reader would do well to always remember. Harry Dee is the third book and has a slightly different flavor to it as it is a murder mystery. These books are 'family classics' in our house that get read over and over again. Numerous lines from them are part of our every day speech, and even Tom's favorite stance - legs apart with hands thrust deep in his pockets, calls to mind that faithful merry chap we all know and love. Just thinking about him, I can hear him now, "Here, take some candy!"  You can't help but respond in kind to this fresh faced jolly fellow, just as reading Tom's stories will leave you with a light heart and satisfied spirit.

And you're sure to smile at the cover illustrations as well! ;-)

Hooded Cloak Tutorial

"Now we are all here!" said Gandalf, looking at the row of thirteen hoods - the best detachable party hoods - and his own hat hanging on the pegs. "Quite a merry gathering!"

Jonathan has posted a hooded cloak tutorial over on Josiah's blog. It's quite thorough, and he designed it all himself. Josiah also has instructions for a very cool one piece hood over there as well. I am still amazed that he designed this himself. I said I would like a pale blue hood with a silver tassel on it like Thorin's for my birthday. Jonathan said, "Yeah, but where would you wear it?" Details, details.