Davidisms :)

My 13-year-old brother had us all in stitches this morning. You kind of had to be there to "get it" fully, but I'll see if I can repaint the scene. :)

The four siblings were sitting in Church, and Sarah had David reading aloud The Universal Prayer of Pope Clement (okay, every version I can find online has a slightly different translation, so that messes up the dialogue a little bit). Anyway, the prayer book we have says, "Lord, make me...diligent in my duties". Now if you know my brother, you know that he can be a little, shall we say, hard to keep focused sometimes. So when we hit that part of the prayer, here's what transpired:

Sarah: Um, sir, repeat that line!

David: "Diligent in my duties"

Sarah: Try it again.

David: "Diligent in my duties"

(Repeat this exchange at least once more)

*Insert sibling chuckles here*

David: Well, I do a pretty good job when I'm motivated.

Me: What about the other 99% of the time?

Sarah: Well, there's this thing call SELF-motivation that you need.

Me: It's interesting, isn't it, all the words that start with "D"? David can either be a distracted, destructive dawdler or a diligent, dutiful...

(Sarah and Claire look at each other, searching for the right "D" word to finish)

David: ...DUDE!

Answers & Winners :)

Okay, here are the answers for the Easter greeting languages. And congrats to Nati, who correctly identified 10 of them! Runners up are Larissa and Catherine, who each knew 7. Hope you had fun. :)

1. Cristo ressuscitou! Ressuscitou verdadeiramente!
Portuguese

2. Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
German

3. Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
Dutch

4. Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Latin

5. Christ est ressuscité! Il est vraiment ressuscité!
French

6. Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
Italian

7. Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!
Spanish

8. Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
Greek

9. Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес!
Russian

10. Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!
Croatian

11. Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!
Polish

12. Christos voskresen! Naistino voskresen!
Church Slavonic used by Slovaks

13. Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!
Lithuanian

14. Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
Irish

15. Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!
Scottish

16. Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!

Filipino

17. Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!
Hawaiian

18. Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!
Hungarian

19. Kristus er opstanden! Ja, sandelig opstanden!
Danish

20. Ha Masheeha houh quam! Be emet quam!
Hebrew

Sources:
http://www.oca.org/OCpaschalgreetings.asp?SID=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paschal_greeting

Doesn't anyone visit here anymore?

...or is everyone too shy to participate in my Paschal languages contest? Come on, come out of hiding! :)

Feminine Hairstyles, Day 1

Here we go!

Model: Miss Havilah

Style: A updo variation on the diagonal french braid. I've given names to some of the hairstyles I will post this week, but some (including this one) are currently nameless...so I'm going to invite reader participation to help me out here! What do you think this braid should be called? Give your suggestions or cast your vote on others' suggestions in the comment box!

Supplies: Comb, one hairtie, about 10 blonde bobby pins and (optional) a double-comb piece like those shown here (they are sold at Jewel, Walgreens, or Wal-Mart for less than this site).

Time: About 10 minutes, maybe less

Photos (these are also in chronological order so you can see its progression!):

Diagonal braid, down

Side view

Other side — you can see where the braid was started

Braid up with end tucked in — voila!

Front view of her pretty face!

Hair comb duo added for decor

Finished product, one more angle (and different lighting)

Don't forget to submit your name suggestions! :)

See the list of "Week in Feminine Hair" participants here.

All Saints

All Saints' Day was actually Saturday (Nov 1), but this song was too fun not to share. Enjoy!

"Saint Song"

Meme

One or two blogging friends "assigned" this to me quite a while back, so I'm finally snagging a few moments to complete it! It's been a packed last few days, so this is a welcome creative respite. I've seen plenty of other memes before, but this open-ended type is probably my favorite... Hopefully it may help you "get to know" me a bit better. :)


I am...a handmaiden of the Lord

I think...about His mysteries

I know...He is Prince of my heart

I have...lots of hopes and dreams

I wish...I knew His will with certainty

I hate...heavy metal "music"

I miss...my grandmother (deceased), and Malori (far away)

I fear...putting my own desires above His for me

I feel...somewhat overwhelmed at my current to-do list

I hear...my little brother practicing his cello upstairs, being coached by Sarah

I smell...the lingering scent of the frozen blueberries on which I just finished snacking (mmm!)

I crave...words of affirmation

I search...for meaning in everything

I wonder...what my future husband (Lord-willing) is doing right now

I regret...not practicing my violin more

I love...life

I ache...for children starved for truth; victims of the culture of death

I am not...quite ready for bedtime to be here yet; it would help the progress of my week if sleep wasn't required. :)

I believe...in miracles

I dance...at every opportunity

I sing...to give glory to God

I cry...for the pain in the world

I don't always...maintain the balancing act of life very well

I fight...my will sometimes

I write...plenty of things inside my head, and wish I had more chance to put them down :)

I win...word games frequently

I lose...chess! (In fact, I never even play it. My mind isn't wired for that kind of thing; I leave it to my dad and brother).

I never...want to fall into mortal sin

I always...long for motherhood when a baby is in my arms

I confuse...the days when they all "mesh" together!

I listen...to uplifting music whenever I can

I can usually be found...happiest when surrounded by children

I am scared...of hurting others by uncharitable words

I need...my sisters!

I am happy about...finishing this meme and posting on my poor, neglected blog

I imagine...Heaven and those who rejoice there

I am wearing...a light pink top, cross necklace made by my cousin Gabrielle long ago, and a dark skirt printed with vivid blue roses and pink flowers of a tone that I can't properly name right now.

I confess...to being chronically "time challenged" (I truly am working on that, though)

I anticipate...seeing Fireproof (hopefully) this weekend

I read...the Fairy Tale Novels when I need a "book escape"

I play...volleyball with my family on the beach when we go on vacation

I smile...whenever I see a reminder of His love

I laugh...when surrounded by joyful girlhood friends

I can't wait...for the next time I can go to Adoration

I believe...that we need to really storm heaven for the upcoming Elections!

Now, I think I'm supposed to "assign" this to a bunch of people, but since I'm not sure who may or may not have done it already, if you read my blog and haven't done this yet, please consider yourself tagged! And please comment and let me know if you do it!

Excellent

Lady Clare from Romance and the Roses very sweetly awarded me with this a few weeks ago. Thank you, Clare!

I'm supposed to award it to ten others, but I think I will just keep it simple and say that if you're on my sidebar, you are one of my favorites and I hereby award it to you!

The occasion calls for a quote :)...

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

-Aristotle

Tagged

Deb kindly tagged me, so I am supposed to (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Six random things about me? Hmmm...

1. I was born nine days early. And I daresay it's about the only time I've been early in my life. (I'm working on it, though!).

2. My mom tells me I sat at our kitchen table at 12 months and said distinctly, "Cheese, please, mom!" Her follow-up comment is always that I started talking at a year, and never stopped. (A funny aside is that I still love cheese, but am sensitive to dairy!).

3. My mom tells me that I sang "Jesus Loves Me" from memory at 18 months. :)

4. The first time someone told me I was "charming", I was eight years old and didn't know what they meant. I had heard of (never tasted) "Lucky Charms", and so thought they were somehow talking about that!

5. I have a great weakness for garlic bread.

6. I rolled off the top of a bunk bed once during the middle of the night, was found by Dad and put back, and never woke up!

I'll admit that was a little fun. :) Okay, so now I'll tag...

Lady Rose, my goddaughter
Malori, my bosom friend
Lisa, a pen pal (even though I've not written you in a long while!)
Both Anna and Miriam from Maidens of Worth
Either Leah or Therese from the Miller family :)

If you were tagged, follow the instructions 1-5 above!

Into the Land of Fairy Tales...

My goddaughter Amanda (er...excuse me, Rose), and my sister Veronica had the time of their lives the other night with a Fairy Tale Novel-themed sleepover. Such laughs! I would post some of the (numerous) photos I took of them here, but since they did a duo post from "Blanche and Rose" over at Amanda's blog, I'll just send you over there. :)

(I didn't take this one—Sarah did— but it's one of my favorites from their "event"!)

For a good chuckle!

We got the link to this video in an email and I got a real kick out of it! Just a minute or two of some truth mixed with fun...enjoy. =)

"A Homeschool Family"

I know this is rather pointless,

but how is it that I never noticed the whole assortment of text color selections in the blogger post-writing box? =) What possibilites!

Well, my family does call me "the font queen", but...what can I say? Give me fonts, give me colors, and I'm pretty happy! ;)

Funny, but True!

Men and women. Yes, our differences run deep (and thank the Lord!). There's a short but true and amusing point here:

Body language differs by gender. Men tend to stare as they listen and nod to signify they understand. Women may nod when they don't yet understand to encourage the speaker to keep talking.

And the above blog author's comment?

"Ahhh . . . so when she nods it means something different? This is useful."

Absolutely! :)

I know, I'm supposed to be gone from the blogsphere

but as I'm sitting here taking care of emails and follow-up before leaving, this email just came in and I thought it was rather too timely!

............................................................

Dictionary.com Word of the Day for Saturday, July 28, 2007

matutinal \muh-TOOT-n-uhl\, adjective:
Relating to or occurring in the morning; early.

............................................................

That's me. Okay, not usually, but right now it is... Now back to work! =)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAIRE!

Yes, today is Claire's birthday!

(the bow on her head is because we have a picture of her on her 1st birthday with a bow on her head ;)

The Birthday Girl!

We love you, Claire!

Affectionately,
Your Staff

Today's Funny Moment

Our little 6-year-old friend, when instructed to place his hand on David's cello to feel the vibrations as it was played:

"It feels like a massage!"

~ ~ ~

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How Ever-Gone Your Branches

Yesterday was Candlemas Day. The Feast of the Presentation. And the traditional close of the Christmas Season. Duly so, our tree was taken down and hauled to the curb last Saturday.

A great deal of family tradition is wrapped up in our Christmas Tree...is it progressively decorated throughout the four weeks of Advent, in order to be completed by Christmas, and is left intact and lovely for the Christmastide celebration through the end of January.

But this season, our tree was even more special than usual. I know, I probably say that every year, but allow me to elaborate. In part, because the day this story happened, my parting comment was, "Well, at least it'll make a good blog post!" (And no, I didn't get to it). And in part because Veronica made sure to remind me this week that "Claire, you never did do your Christmas Tree post!"

So, in honor of the close of Christmas, the adventure this year's tree-cutting comes to you now, in style.

It was the first Sunday of Advent: over the last few years, we've established a pattern of cutting down our Christmas tree (the self-cutting down being a long-standing tradition for us) on the first Sunday of Advent. We then bring it home, rearrange our dining room to make room for it, and give it the honored placed in the big front window, where it sits in water for a week before anything more is done to it. The second week of Advent, lights are added; ornaments, the third; and finishing touches (namely, hand-done strings of cranberries and popcorn -- a custom from Mom's childhood) in the fourth week. Thus, the state of our tree progresses with the observance of Advent -- a decorating method which works very well for us.

But back to the cutting on the first Sunday of Advent...which, by the way, just so happened to be bitterly cold this season (a little like today -- we're talking wind chill here!). We had just had our first big snowfall of the winter a few days earlier, and this had come after a good rain-turned-to-ice storm. This didn't deter us, though: we simply bundled up like eskimos and went to the tree farm. Now, our all-time favorite type of tree is a Frasier Fur, and this took us to the far back field of the farm where they were located. We children hopped out of the car and took off in all directions, as we always seem to do upon reaching the tree field. ("Look at this one!" "No, this one's better!" "I found a good one over here!") In a moment or so we spotted some nicer-looking trees in the next lot over, and so scampered over there. Mom followed at a somewhat slower pace, and Dad decided to bring the car around.

(Significant detail: The rain-turned-to-ice storm meant lower sections of the mud road were covered with frozen-over water.) "Turning the car around" entailed driving over a section of ice...

"Okay, but don't get stuck!" were Mom's last words before she started to cross the field on foot toward us.

"Don't worry, I won't", Dad assured.

Next thing we know: Dad waving to us from across the field.

Yep, he was stuck...rather, the tires were cracked clear through the ice to the 8 inches or so of water underneath!

Well, we tried pushing. Which colored things up a bit (literally), because Dad had Sarah in the diver's seat with her foot on the gas and the car in reverse, while the rest of us tried pushing against the hood.

"Step on it a little," Dad instructed as we groaned and feet slipped. She did. "A little more...wait, not that much!" Thank goodness Dad was wearing full cover-alls, because they were now fully splattered with muddy water from those spinning tires! It's laughable...now. :)

When all our pushing efforts only produced more spinning tires and spurting muddy water, Veronica and I hiked back to the front of the farm (and I mean hiked!) to get some help.

"Sir?" I approached the gentlemen in the paying booth. "We're...stuck."

We didn't feel quite so silly when this very patient man said he'd spent hours the day before pulling other unfortunate (unwise?) cars from the same predicament. His truck, a chain, and some prayers got us out...but we still had the somewhat small detail left of getting the tree we came for. At this point, just about any tree looked rather nice, so we pretty much walked up to one nearby and said, "It's good; let's cut it." We got out of the cold and took our tree home.

But what Mom thought was the funniest part is that when we got it into the tree stand that night and looked at it again after all that adventure, we realized...it wasn't even a Frasier Fur.


(P.S. Everyone agreed the tree was worth it.)

~ ~ ~

I can't take the credit

for having written this, but it did bring me a good chuckle today! Enjoy!

The Fourteen Days of Homeschooling

Compliments of Cecelia Harkins

Sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

On the first day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"Can you homeschool legally?"

On the second day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"Are they socialized?

Can you homeschool legally?

On the third day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"Do you give them tests?

Are they socialized?

Can you homeschool legally?"

On the fourth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"What about P.E.?

Do you give them tests?
Are they socialized?
Can you homeschool legally?"

On the fifth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"YOU ARE SO STRANGE!

What about P.E.?
Do you give them tests?

Are they socialized?

Can you homeschool legally?"

On the sixth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"How long will you homeschool?

YOU ARE SO STRANGE!

What about P.E.?

Do you give them tests?
Are they socialized?
Can you homeschool legally?"

On the seventh day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"Look at what they're missing!

How long will you homeschool?

YOU ARE SO STRANGE!

What about P.E.,

Do you give them tests,

Are they socialized,

Do you homeschool legally?"

On the eighth day of homeschool
my neighbor said to me,
"Why do you do this?
Look at what they're missing!
How long will you homeschool?
YOU ARE SO STRANGE!
What about P.E.,
do you give them tests,
are they socialized,
do you homeschool legally?"

On the ninth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"They'll miss the prom...

Why do you do this?

Look at what they're missing!

How long will you homeschool?

YOU ARE SO STRANGE!

What about P.E.,

do you give them tests,

are they socialized,

do you homeschool legally?"

On the tenth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"What about graduation?

They'll miss the prom...
Why do you do this?
Look at what they're missing!
How long will you homeschool?
YOU ARE SO STRANGE!
What about P.E.?
Do you give them tests?
Are they socialized?
Do you homeschool legally?"

On the eleventh day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"I could never do that.

What about graduation?
They'll miss the prom...

Why do you do this?

Look at what they're missing!

How long will you homeschool?

YOU ARE SO STRANGE!

What about P.E.?

Do you give them tests?

Are they socialized?

Do you homeschool legally?"

On the twelfth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"Can they go to college?

I could never do that.
What about graduation?

They'll miss the prom...
Why do you do this?
Look at what they're missing!
How long will you homeschool?
YOU ARE SO STRANGE!
What about P.E.?
Do you give them tests?
Are they socialized?
Do you homeschool legally?"

On the thirteenth day of homeschool

I thoughtfully replied:

"They can go to college,

yes, you can do this,

they can have graduation,

we don't like the prom,

we do it cuz we like it,

they are missing nothing,

we'll homeschool forever...

WE ARE NOT STRANGE!

We give them P.E.,

and we give them tests,

they are socialized,

AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool

my neighbor said to me,

"How can I get started?

Why didn't you tell me?

Where do I buy curriculum?

When is the next conference?

WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE?

I think we can do this,

if you'll help us,

we will join a sports team...

and we'll homeschool legally!"

Poll for Fun: Sopa de Pavo!

In addition to my sister's cake last night, I was kept busy for several hours cooking up a gigantic batch of turkey soup. That's right, turkey soup (sopa de pavo, as we had fun referring to it with our Spanish friends).

You can laugh, but for me, turkey soup has been a part of my growing up. So has turkey-eating all year round, for that matter! So it wasn't until recently that I realized most folks...haven't. Don't ask me why. Neither the visiting friend, the piano student who came for a lesson, nor the person I spoke with on the phone last night had ever heard of, much less tasted, turkey soup.

So, it being Thanksgiving week and all, I thought we should have a little fun here. How many of you lovely blog readers have heard of turkey soup before...or tried it? Leave a comment! Or maybe we're not isolated, and it's a long-standing family dinner for you, too. Let us know. :-)

And just maybe, if you ask, I'll post our special recipe so you can have a scrumptious way to use up all your leftovers on Thursday!