Look Who Turned Five Today!

There once was a girl,

Jacinta was her name.

In all the world, there was none quite the same.

From her raven hair to her tiny toes,

None was as fair as my sweet Jacinta Rose.

(It sounds so much better when her daddy is singing it.)

Happy Birthday, Dearest Qiu Qiu!

We Have Bluebells Too!

For four years, I lived just a few miles from Bull Run and visited there many times...but I never heard anything about the bluebells until I moved to Belgium. What luck.

I almost suffered the same fate twice.

Just last week---exactly five weeks before moving back to the US---I discovered that we have our own bluebell forest, Bois de Hal, right here in the Brussels area. It turns out that bluebells are native to Belgium as well as a few other countries in northern Europe. I was told that they were at the peak of their glorious bloom now. So, this evening after dinner, we packed the kids in the car and headed south for a walk in the woods.

Wow. I have to admit that I never understood the grand excitement over seeing bluebells. I mean, really, how spectacular could a few blue flowers be? Boy, was I in for an awakening.


Spectacular they were...and then some. There is really no adequate way to describe the magical, mystical experience of witnessing the soft carpet of lavendar blue covering the forest as far as the eye can see. It was like entering a fairyland, especially with all of the little sprites and pixies flitting about me. Because of our late arrival, we were practically alone in that peaceful place. I could have walked the paths for hours.

These tiny flowers offered us the perfect ending to a cherished visit with my brother- and sister-in-law and their beautiful children. Tomorrow they fly back to Nebraska...but we will all carry this special evening with us for a long, long time.

The good Lord certainly does know how to put on a show.

His mercy endures forever.

Twenty Reasons I Am Thankful This Week

This week I'm counting my blessings, two by two:


Two eyes to behold all the beauty before me




Two lips to catch kisses from those who adore me




Two ears to welcome tender secrets that are shared




Two hands to serve meals that are lovingly prepared




Two arms to wrap 'round precious babies as they sleep




Two knees to remind me of a Love true and deep




Two feet to carry me as we walk to the park




Two helpers to uphold me well into the dark




Two bedrooms to shelter the sweet girls I treasure




Two men to love in ways my heart just can't measure




God bless them, every one!

Oh, When the Saints...

Tonight, all of the blogging time I've been putting in earned its keep.

I'm ashamed to say that we haven't really celebrated All Saints' Day in years. We go to Mass and that's it. In Belgium, my lame excuse has been that we have no other families with whom to share it---but honestly, by the time we make it through Halloween, I'm just too tired to come up with anything else. A few weeks ago I suggested that we dress up as saints for Halloween this year, thinking it could be a great way to evangelize and to ease my guilty conscience. But my oldest balked, and I can't exactly say I blame her. We are sort of oddballs in our little American community as it is, being the only ones who homeschool.

Probably thanks to my guardian angel, I just couldn't shake the nagging feeling that we should do something. I've been so inspired reading about all of the All Saints' Day parties and costumes on my favorite blogs. And I have to admit, I kept wondering, what am I going to blog about tonight? How can I have announced to the world yesterday that we celebrate Halloween and then make it painfully obvious (by a lack of posting) that we do nada when it comes to such a sacred Solemnity as All Saints'? Just not right.

So...around 3pm (have I mentioned I procrastinate?), I announced to my thirteen-year-old that we would be having our own All Saints' Day party tonight and asked if she would help me come up with some costumes. At times like this, having a Sanguine for your oldest is a very good thing. She excitedly took charge and planned the entire evening. It was a HUGE success. We even had a couple of extra kids from the neighborhood join us. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

We began with a Parade of Saints as we sang a rousing rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In.

We introduced our roles by reading from the Picture Book of Saints by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik.

We ran out of time for the games Elena had planned---but no one seemed to care.




Who says Saints don't know how to have a good time?

(Elizabeth and Anne just lost it here...because Joachim was losing it in the rear.)

Our Litany of Saints included St Agnes, St Joan of Arc, St Anne, St Joachim, St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Rose of Lima, Bl Kateri Tekakwitha, St Joseph, St Therese, St Cecilia, St. George (not here yet) and St James the Greater (behind the camera).

We may not have had a big homeschool group to share the fun, but in the ever eloquent words of Danielle Bean...we are our own party.

Much thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for being such good sports!

And just in case my favorite saint is reading this from Heaven...Happy Birthday, Boompa!

Just call me the Grinch

When it comes to Halloween, I'm sort of a Scrooge. I admit it. There are times I wish we were morally opposed to celebrating this American holiday. And it's all about the costumes.

My perfectionist side wants my kids to have the most adorable and creative costumes ever. My slothful side insists on putting absolutely no time or effort (mental or physical) into creating those perfect costumes. And my procrastinating side ALWAYS waits until the last possible second to do anything. These three character flaws make for the most deadly combination when it comes to All Hallows' Eve. Several days (weeks) of anxiety build the crescendo, which always results in a house left in absolute shambles. Personally, I'd rather just skip it.

But they LOVE it. Dressing up, carving the pumpkins, going to parties, trekking from house to house, sorting through the loot at the end of the night, the whole shebang. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. As I suppose I did as a kid, at least until I was old enough to realize how pitiful my costumes were. So, how can I deny them?

And sometimes, I have to admit, the costumes do turn out pretty good. My absolute favorite Halloweens were our last two years in Virginia, when my very creative and enthusiastic sister Sarah transformed my family into the Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan. Last year, with the help of my artistic husband, I even managed to pull off the ensemble of Blue's Clues. But this year he hasn't been around to help, and so we ended up with a mish mash of costumes created (at the last minute, of course) from stuff we happened to have around the house.

Looking at the photo tonight, my Grinchlike small heart just grew three sizes bigger. And I realized that it's not really the costumes that matter at all. My kids are so darn cute and happy, they'd look good in just about anything. Happy Halloween!

A Little about Me

This seems a bit backwards, since I've already posted, but I think I should write a little introduction as I begin this blog. I am a Catholic, home educating mother of six. That pretty much says it all. And it will come as no surprise if you've come here from the Real Learning Forums. I am a faithful reader there but a faithfully sporadic and woefully infrequent contributor. You may recognize my signature line, which describes me as the mom to five fair lasses and one bonny prince. None of us are one bit Scottish, but we were in the midst of Martha books when I formally joined RL, we had just returned from a trip to Scotland, and my son is named Charlie. It seemed to fit. My self-conscious 13yo was a bit embarrassed for me when she saw it. :)

I've been wanting to start this online journal for quite some time, inspired by the many lovely ones I enjoy each day. (I'd link to some of them but would hate to leave anyone out. If you are a member of the RL blogroll, please assume that I'm referring to you.) It was going to be a present I gave myself for my 40th birthday, but that day came and went two months ago and no blog was begun. For weeks, I composed posts in my head. I couldn't stop thinking of things to write. When the day actually came, I found that I had nothing to say. Ah well. The Loveliness of Babies provided just the impetus I needed to take the plunge.

I'll save the rest of the details of my very exciting life (ha) for future posts. I have to pace myself, you know. Since I love putting faces to names and stories, I'll close this with a photo of my kids and me from a recent quite spectacular trip to Switzerland. (We seem to have no photos where both parents are present. Does anyone else have this problem?)