Of Fairs and Bookwork

My apologies for my recent unexplained absence. I was unable to post a farewell note before my sisters and I left out of town last Tuesday to be with my dad's parents in Wisconsin at the Fond du Lac County Fair. We didn't return home until Monday evening, and these past several days have been quite taken up with unpacking, trying to recouperate :), and catching up on bookwork, mailings, and lots of emails for my movement.

You see, our family has some history in the FDL Fair. It's not just any common carnival. My parents met oh, so many years ago at no less a romantic occasion than this fair. They knew each other vaguely from many years of showing cattle (dairy for my dad, polled hereford beef by my mom)...my dad knew that there were "a bunch" of Huspen girls - my mom has 7 sisters - and always said he would like to date one. Their first "real" date was the demolition derby at the Fond du Lac County Fair in (let me check my history book)...1977. And next year they will celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary!

So our family always enjoys trekking back north to partake of some fair fun each year. Only, our kind of fun doesn't exactly consist of stuffing ourselves with cotton candy and getting sick on rides. My sisters and I have a tradition of helping our Grandma work at the Farm Bureau Women's Food Stand...and let me tell you, that's an experience I hope to tell my grandchildren about. :) How many 18-year-olds have the chance to flip dozens of pancakes, make 10 huge batches of scrambled eggs, take and fill orders, and run the cash register for hundreds of customers all in the same day? Considering that we were at the stand from 6:30am to 9:00pm each day, you can now understand why my list above of recent activites included "recouperating". There is nothing quite like that mixture of enjoying work yet being exhausted at the same time!

Pray for our Senators...

...as they vote today on several key bills regarding pro-life and pro-family issues. Let us storm heaven that truth will hold the victory!

Today's Quotes II

"Love is the fusion of two souls in one in order to bring about mutual perfection."

"He leaves His angels and millions of people, to come into your soul, to consummate in you the most intimate union, to transform you into God, to nourish in you the life of grace with which you will attain heaven."

"When we're there in His presence, if just gazing at Him is enough to make us love Him, and if we are so captivated by His beauty that we can't say anything but that we love Him, why...should we be upset?"

- Saint Teresa of the Andes (Memorial July 13)

"We need Catholics who are alert to the present moment...modern Catholics who know how to nourish themselves in the past but whose eyes are fixed on the future."

- Blessed Carlos Rodriguez Santiago (Memorial July 13)

Also on today's Liturgical Calendar:

Saint Margaret of Antioch

For the complete list of Saints celebrated today:

The Patron Saints Index

Today's Quote

"The will of God:

nothing more,

nothing less,

nothing else."

(Author unknown)

Ave Cor Mariae Camp in Photos

Getting ready to hike into town to watch the fireworks on the 4th!

(Notice the chapel behind us. Father led our "parade" in his cassock and baseball cap!)

Formal dinner on Thursday evening...learning the proper way to eat :)

I was the hostess of my table
The Miles Jesu sisters eating after they had served all of us
Skit night...Saint Paul's cabin performed "Saint Dorothy"
Father played the piano for our talent show!

Girls from the Little Flowers Club danced

(the white blurs are scarves and rose petals being thrown!) Mom and my sister Sarah did a cheer!
The whole group

Back and Refreshed

What a week of grace! The "Ave Cor Mariae" (Hail Heart of Mary) Catholic Girls Camp by Miles Jesu was wonderful. Nearly 70 Catholic girls from all over the country, ages 10 and up were there. Being 18, I was actually a camp leader (adult) this year and in charge of the St. Paul cabin (they're all named after biblical charaters!) . It was actually somewhat fun being in the most rustic of the cabins. Not having electricity made the experience more authentic, in a way...and a friendly bat hanging out in our cabin only added to the excitement!

I also lead workshops on hair braiding each day and did, oh, about 50 french braids over the course of the week, as well as teaching several other girls how to french braid. Whenever I'm asked if my fingers get tired, I just laugh and say I hope all the exercise will help them never to get arthritis!

Our days were filled with such activities as swimming, canoeing, sports, archery, folk dancing lessons, crafts, and best of all, sacraments. Daily devotions (morning and evening prayer together in the chapel), rosary, and Holy Mass made the week very much like a rejuvenating retreat. We were so blessed (and I would say spoiled) to have a wonderful holy priest as our chaplain for the week, available at any time for Confessions. And to have our Lord right there, in the camp chapel, so that you could run in at any time to be with Him. And each afternoon there was adoration and exposition...oh, what peace, what consolation. There is nothing like sitting in tranquil silence before your King and your God, just basking in His Love.

Home

I'm home...but just for one day. :) We pulled in only a few hours ago from a wonderful 4 days at the 2006 Couple to Couple League Family Convention in Arkansas, and have only today to do laundry and repack before my Mom, sisters, and I are off to the Ave Cor Mariae Summer Girls' Camp run by Miles Jesu.

A few random highlights from our trip...

Playing violin and piano and singing for the daily Conference Masses
Meeting up with new and old friends from around the country (particularly one whom I hadn't seen in four years!)
Being a childcare leader/helper for 45 eight-and-nine-year-olds
French braiding about 20 little girls' hair from the above mentioned group :)
One smiling little boy from my group asking me if I've seen the Sound of Music and telling me that I "reminded him of Maria".
Being told that I "looked like Anne of Green Gables"
Being greeted by a Southern gentleman sweeping the sidewalk with "Good day, miss. Lovely bonnet!" as the group of children and I walked past (I was wearing a straw hat).
Enjoying volleyball each night with wonderful, faith-filled teens from all over - and the rosary afterward, right there in the sand.
Enjoying the AR natives' accent...quite the twang they talk with down there, y'all know?
Driving through the lovely Ozark Mountains and lots of red-colored earth!

Surprise!

The first time I've been able to post while away from home. :) So while you and I thought I wouldn't be back here for a week (maybe two), here I am! Here's some wisdom for today from G.K. Chesterton...

"Coincidences are spiritual puns."
"If I had only one sermon to preach it would be a sermon against pride."
And best of all...
"Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions."

-Gilbert K. Chesterton

And while I'm away, you may enjoy visiting a few of my favorite blogs -- that is, if they aren't already your favorite too!

Catholic Mom and Author Danielle Bean

Biblical Womanhood

Here in the Bonny Glen and The Lilting House by Catholic Mom and Author Melissa Wiley

The Rebelution by Christian Homeschooled Twin Teens Alex and Brett Harris

Pax tecum and God bless!

I'm Off...

with my family on vacation for the next week. In the meantime you will all be in my prayers.

And a note from Claire's secretary (aka: sister Sarah)
In case Claire doesn't get a chance to write during the one day we are home between being gone, we're off to a Catholic Girls' Summer camp the first week of July! So if you don't hear from her until the middle of July...that's why.

Blessings!

A Lost Art

Few youth have had the chance I had last week: to enjoy real dancing. Not hip-swaying, body jiggling, or head jerking. Real wholesome, enjoyable, fun dancing in a group of lighthearted young men and women who don’t leave respect behind to enjoy themselves. Have you noticed the strange majority of young folks nowadays who have been deprived the simple joy of learning how to polka? Or waltz?

Perhaps a significant part of our problem is the absence of real music. I'm sorry, but you just can't call what's now blared at most weddings music. And it seems that the movement taking place on the dance floor is either something inspired by hip-hop or a hugging session. Dancing is indeed a lost art. And I daresay one which needs to be restored as part of the Culture of Life.

“..thou shalt again be adorned with thy timbrels, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.” (Jeremiah 31:4)

5th-Grade Schoolchildren Folk Dancing in 1935

A Beautiful Story

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a disease and needed a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liza." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

- Author Unknown
From "Glen's Story Corner" on Relevant Radio

Happy Father's Day!

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." (William Shakespeare)

Thank you, Daddy, for knowing me so well! God bless all our wonderful fathers, and all our priests too.

Chapters of Life

Graduation was beautiful. Not so much an end, but more so a beginning. My education is not over...it's just beginning another chapter. I love this quote from Robert Hutchkins, which we put on the graduation invitation: "The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." Over the years, I have met so many students in the "regular" school system who simply loathe school and despise learning. And I remember listening to these grievances with the curiosity of one to whom learning was an adventure, and wondering what they meant. I often reflect on how my education, my years of homeschooling, have been so much more than simply book-learning. Of course books played a key role for me - and they always will! - but our "life skills" days of cooking, or cleaning, or sewing projects, or preparing for houseguests were just as much a part of fashioning me into who I am today. Homeschooling at its best is the cultivation of not only knowledge, but wisdom. Of not only brainpower, but heartpower. Of not only hearing and grasping, but seeing and understanding. Of not only principles, but truths. Of not only facts and figures, but virtues and values. Of not just preparation for a job or career...but preparation for LIFE. For the next chapter.

At the Graduation Mass, I read the following poem just before we graduates presented our parents with roses...

For all the heartfelt prayers for us
You’ve offered through the years
For all the sacrifices and struggles,
All the sweat and toil and tears

For all the times you held us
And wiped our tiny tears
For all the time you hugged us
And soothed away our fears

For all the smiles you gave us
When you wanted to give a sigh
For all the times you went on strong
When you wanted to sit down and cry

For all the years of learning
Of sitting on your knee
For all the years you’ve showed us
What a Christian ought to be

For loving us when we’re not loveable
For teaching us what’s true
And most of all for giving us life
Mom and Dad, we’re trying to say…thank you

P.S. No photos are available yet, but when they are, I'll try to post some. :)

Presently Occupied :)

I will be taking a break from blogging for the next week as I try to finish sewing a dress for my graduation. Adieu till then...

Picturesque

Our mock-orange bush, which has barely shown more than a dozen blossoms at once in the 17 years we have lived in our home, surprised us by bursting into glorious bloom last week! My sisters and I had so much fun making use of the perfectly lovely setting! It's not often that photographers have a backdrop this perfect available to them. ;)

(Mom says to add that this is because she finally convinced my dad to keep the clippers away from the bush the last few years!)

A Day for Gratitude

"...highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg

November 19, 1863

Let us remember with grateful hearts those brave men who have followed Christ's calling with true completeness:

No greater love hath a man than this; than to lay down his life for His friends.

Lord, may we never take for granted the freedom we enjoy, nor every breath that we are given.

The Advantages of Dressing Like a Lady

Guest Blog by Sarah Halbur, Written 05/04/06

This past weekend, my family and I attended an event in Chicago. It was a “dressy” occasion, as it included a Sunday Mass and reception to follow. So my family and I all dressed up – for the girls, nice dresses and hair-dos; for the boys, matching blue pants, shirts, and ties.

For our family, this is normal Sunday wear. We always dress up for Sunday Mass – so we didn’t think anything special of this Sunday’s attire.

But apparently, other people did – in a nice way. Some made a point of telling our family how nice we looked. One lady even went on to tell my mom, my sisters, and myself how refreshed she was that “none of our bellies were showing.”

Then I looked around. Other people were dressed nice…I guess. But everyone looked the same – black slacks held the floor. The few ladies who wore a skirt or a dress looked so refreshing, so pretty. I appreciated their attire. Now I could better understand why others appreciated our attire. It was unique.

That evening, our family visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. In the olden days, people would dress up to go to town, or just to go out. Not any more. Here I didn’t even pay attention to what people were wearing…the lizard exhibit was too intriguing…or…um…the clothes just weren’t.

Closing time drew near and we made our way to the door. The lizard exhibit was intriguing, and we had had a nice time. I noticed a group of young adults by the exit and could tell by their laughter that they, too, had had a fun time.

As my mom, my sisters and I approached the doors; two young men turned and acknowledged us. But it was here that I got my real surprise. The young men held the doors for us. Yes…let me repeat…they held the doors for us. And no, they weren’t even workers…just ordinary men simply doing an act of kindness for a few ladies, whom they did not know. Chivalry is not dead!

You see, I have made a discovery. In the olden days, it was customary for a gentleman to hold a door for a lady because this was one way a man would show his respect for the Dignity of Womanhood.

Why don’t most men hold doors anymore? Because ladies don’t want them too, or at least it appears that way, for two reasons:

1. Because of the “do it myself” attitude that so many women exude.
2. Because when women stopped dressing and acting with dignity, man stopped treating her with dignity.

I am truly honored whenever a gentleman holds a door for me. It is an act of chivalry I won’t forget.

So ladies…let’s step up to the call, shall we? Let’s become real ladies and they’ll become real gentlemen. It’s an honor!

Quote for the Day

"He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly."

- B. C. Forbes, American Journalist and Founder of Forbes Magazine

My Heart is Full

My family just came off of organizing the 2006 Illinois Catholic Homeschool Conference and Vendor Fair. All I can say is...God is good. I could say so much, but it would be so little. The experiences of planning, preparing, working with others, learning, coordinating, and even the tiredness of it all have left me with so much meaning, so much richness. The mix of emotions can be such a strange thing sometimes...I am filled with such a sense of gratitude for God's goodness and for the sucess of this event, and yet deep down is mixed in a bit of sadness that this experience (at least for this year!) is over.

Lord, I come before You with a heart full of feeling...take me into Your hands and steady it. May I be graced to look back with awe at Your power manifested in the past, and at the same time be ready to face with sincereity, tranquility, and trust whatever tasks tomorrow will bring. Amen.

We Are an Easter People

Have you remembered that we are still celebrating the Easter Season? Of course, we celebrate the amazing event of our Lord's triumph over death all year round, but in a particular and joyous way during the Easter Season, which lasts for...50 days! That means for a full week and a half yet! Don't let the "Alleluia" slip from your lips, or the Easter song from your heart just because the Easter bunnies and eggs have disappeared entirely from store displays. Continue to celebrate! Each beautiful day of Spring should be a bright reminder that our King reigns, death has been conquered, life is abundant, and we are an Easter people.