Hall of Fame and Keeper of the Flame

 Aren't my mom and dad a cute couple?!

They're not really big on awards and recognition, but I got them to put on their ribbons and medals so I could take a picture of them.



My dad just got inducted into the US Army Ordnance Hall of Fame!

My mom was just given the Keeper of the Flame award.  This is actually the companion award to my dad's Samuel Sharpe medal (life time ordnance achievement award- Samuel Sharpe was George Washington's ordnance officer).

It's an award designed to honor and recognize some of the women who kept the home fires burning while their husbands were risking their lives taking apart bombs.

It sound a bit odd when put like that, but it really takes a strong stomach (and a will of steel) to deal with the continuous strain of near constant, potentially fatal deployment.  It's even harder (for both parties) to have a happy marriage while doing it!

But my Dad often said that he could do what he did because my Mom did what she did.

And in my mom's case, she kept the literal fires burning!

That's her with her ribbon, medal, and coal stove!

Wordless Wednesday: In the Garden

Finishing Awesome American History

Hooray!  After three semesters, we finished our book and our study of American History!

Naturally, we had a party.

Miss Shelli brought the photos she had taken for our "Migrant Mother" project way back when we studied the Dust Bowl.

It really is amazing what you can do with a professional photographer (and beautiful friends and children) on staff!

So we took 3 semesters for World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern.  We also took three semesters for American History.

What's next?

Well, remember The Big Trip?  It kind of petered out because I wasn't able to keep up with History and Science classes as well as the regular home schooling AND The Big Trip.  But it would make an Awesome Geography class...

Stay tuned next semester, and see where we go with that!

Poem of the Week: The Dead

The Dead

By Rupert Brooke

These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,

      Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.

The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,

      And sunset, and the colours of the earth.

These had seen movement, and heard music; known

      Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;

Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;

      Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.

There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter

And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,

      Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance

And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white

      Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,

A width, a shining peace, under the night.

HT: Poetry Foundation

Seven Quick Takes: Easter Rodents, Goslings, and Nuns Falling Down Stairs

 How's that for an appallingly click-baity title? Well, I may be throwing my sister (the nun in the title) under the bus, but at least I didn't throw her down the stairs.  Ahem.  On to the Takes!

1.  Klenda took first for her watercolor in the community college's art! Here she is with her ribbon and trophy!

Which leads us to her next big announcement: in the Fall she will be starting full time art school!
She picked the Schuler School of Fine Arts, a school known for teaching the classical art she loves.

She'll still be living at home, but commuting by train to Baltimore.

2. Oob: Come quick, Peter and John are looking for Jesus!

Me: ????

Peter and John turned out to be Sun and Moon, Leena's gerbils.  They were running in and out and all around our Easter tomb, looking very much as if they were looking for someone.

So I ask you, Catholic home school win for knowing scripture?  Or lose for rodents in your Easter display?

 3.  I'm pretty sure this photo encapsulates everything I like about Boy Scouts.

The boys in blue are Choclo and Oob.

 4. I went up to NJ on Mother's Day weekend to see my folks and my youngest sister, who was home from North Dakota for her home visit (she's a SOLT sister).

A few days before I arrived, she slipped down the basement stairs and badly sprained her arm.  (But she's feeling muuuuuch better now!).

When I got there, I realized that the outer edge of each step was worn into a slanted groove that could have been designed to shunt people down the stairs at high speed.   Klenda and I (hopefully) solved the problem by stapling these high traction stair treads across the top and under the lip of each step.

I mention all this because I accidentally took a weird picture of it: this is a photo looking down from the top of the steps, but, to me, it looks uncannily like it was taken looking up the steps.

4. After 4 days of heavy rain, we had a Ducky Day!  I haven't had one of these in years, but we did this whenever it rained when the Zoomlians were little!

The kids play in the biggest puddle we could find, quacking like ducks, then it's home for baths, popcorn, and warm chocolate. Yum!

It was kind of bittersweet knowing that this was one of the last Ducky Days I'm likely to get as a mother,  but watching Zorg and Leena swing dancing in a giant puddle sort of made up for it!

5.  The giant puddle happens to be next to Lake Artemesia (on the road between the parking lot and the lake),so also enjoying the wet weather were actual ducks and these fine geese.

Yeah, this is a gratuitous gosling post, but they're so cuuuuute!

 6. Wrapping up Awesome History, my photographer friend, Shelli, did a black and white series modeled on the classic Migrant Mother photo by Dorothea Lange.


Shelli came up with this shot of Klenda looking beautiful and serious.

I, on the other hand, couldn't keep a straight face,


7.   Choclo: What do you get when you cross Captain America and the Hulk?
Me: What?
Choclo: A Star Spangled Banner.

And with that, I hope you have a marvelous Memorial Day weekend!  We'll be busy visiting our family graves, hosting a cookout, celebrating another birthday, and helping our local veterans celebrate the big day.  More fun with Kelly!

Visit From Angel

 Way back when we started this blog, when Oob was just a baby, we had Angel living with us.  She was getting a Masters degree at the JPII Institute and needed a place to stay.

She got the Zoomlians started swing dancing, and she took Hula Girl for a boat ride.

She reminded me about the wonders of jello, and I advised her on naming her children.

She did award winning gingerbread, and she dove headfirst into the Zoomlian craziness.

She's a dear friend, and she helped me sooo much!

 And now she's married and lives in Switzerland!

And has 2 little ones of her own with a third on the way!!

So, when she was passing through the States on her way back home, we jumped at the chance to see her and her dear ones.

How adorable are her kids?!

And how great to catch up!

Here's hoping we get to see them all (and her sweet husband) more often!!

Wordless Wednesday: Crossover

Happy Birthday, Oob!

Oob is 11!

Oob actually had his birthday over several days earlier this month, but I am just catching up now!

He was off camping on his actual birthday, so we did our family celebration a few days early.

He had a Cooking Hero Factory cake with a Hero Factory power core baked inside.  Oob had planned a special prize for whomever got the core, but he ended up with it in his piece of cake!

His biggest birthday present hasn't been born yet: he's getting a cockatiel, but it's still in the egg.

11 Great things about Oob
1. He wants to see all of the birds in the world.
2. He takes me running!
2. He's a Minecraft master.
3. He is always willing to help out.
4. He's a very loving brother and son.
4. He likes to build contraptions.
5. He's a job thief!
5. He tells funny jokes.
6. He's an expert snuggler.
6. He's a Lego master builder.
7. He was a Webelo on his birthday, but now he's a Boy Scout!
8. He likes to cook.
8. He loves taking care of cute furry things.
9. He's really good at drawing complicated things.
9. He knows a LOT about birds.
10. He has an eye for detail.
11. He tells great stories.
11. He loves God very much!

Poem of the Week: Come Holy Spirit

 Come Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful 

and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.

And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful 

by the light of the Holy Spirit, 

grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, 

and ever to rejoice in His consolation.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

WordlessWednesday: May

Awesome History: 1973- 1981

 This was pages 308-329 in The American Story by Jennifer Armstrong: Billie Jean King (Women's Lib), Watergate, Muhammad Ali, the Edmund Fitzgerald, Mount St. Helens, Pac Man.


Our active activity was this fine baking soda and vinegar volcano. My mom grew up near (and camping on) Mount St. Helens, and I was 10 when it blew.  Ash rained down on my grandmother's house, and she mailed us some.  I went back a few years later and it looked something like this, but with more blasted tree trunks jutting from the ground like giant ribs.

 Our active activity was Pac Man tag.  If you haven't played it, it's very easy. 

You draw lines on your driveway (or use painted lines in a gym) and the Pac Man chases the other players along the lines, usually working their arms like Pac Man's mouth.

The way we played it, everyone did a fast walk, and you could not reach across lines.  If you were caught, you sat down, blocking your line.

 Our snack was goldfish crackers.  I think we were thinking of the lost ship, the Edmund Fitzgerald, and we may have been thinking it was a fishing vessel.  Actually it was the largest ship in the great lakes, and it hauled coal.

Regardless, Klenda played the song on her guitar, and then Leena played it on the piano, and my brain played it on endless loop for the rest of the day!

And we are almost done!  The last class will finish the book and we are already talking about what to do next year...