What Are The Odds?

Conor had his arm broken on the sidelines at football practice on Tuesday evening.

A Prayer for Today

A Prayer For Today

Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life
-in disappointments,
-in the thoughtlessness of others,
-in the insincerity of those I trusted,
-in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.

Let me put myself aside
-to think of the happiness of others,
-to hide my little pains and heartaches, so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.

Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it
-that it may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me,
-that it may make me patient, not irritable,
-that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty and overbearing.

May no one be less good for having come within my influence. No one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble for having been a fellow traveler in our journey toward eternal life.

As I go my rounds from one distraction to another, let me whisper from time to time a word of love to Thee. May my life be lived in the super-natural, full of power for good, and strong in it purpose of sanctity.


A Thought For Today
This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss; good, not evil; success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it.

August Moments

Conor on his 10th birthday
Conor on the first day of football practice
The only picture I have so far of Brian at football practice.


Natalie in the play yard
Noelle in the play yard, on the old, old spring horse that I repainted
Brian showing off his awesome guns
Conor and Natalie

Clare and the most perfect S'more ever made

First Injury of the Summer

The date on this photo is wrong...it was taken today, August 31, 2008.

Last night around 9:00, Brian was chasing the 4 little girls around the living room, growling. He startled Clare, who spun around to run away, but she lost her footing and went down on her left arm. Immediately she starting saying that her arm was numb. I knew that didn't sound good, but most people who know Clare are aware of her "tendency to over-dramatize things," so I had her rest quietly for a while to give the initial pain and indignation time to fade. After 15 or 20 minutes, though, she was still crying harder than usual, couldn't rotate her wrist, and her legs were shaking.

After a few quick phone calls and an emergency baby-sitter (thanks, Mam-Mam) we were off to the E.D. During a surprisingly short (45-min total) visit, it was confirmed that she did indeed break her arm - a buckle fracture of the left radius near the insertion. They gave her a half-cast wrapped in a bandage, which will be replaced by a full cast this week, which will probably be on for three weeks)

She's not in much pain at all and is in pretty good spirits, all things considered.

Here's the picture we'll use when she wants to engender sympathy...

Clare lost a tooth!

It's been at least a year since she lost her bottom front teeth, so she was so excited when her top one started to wiggle. She yanked it out herself. Here's a picture of the Toothless Twins, Clare & Heidi.This was Tuesday August 4th. On Sunday, Clare left for 5 days in New Jersey with maternal grandparents, and she came home on Thursday the 13th with the other top tooth wiggling. By Friday she had pulled that one out as well! No more corn on the cob for a while!