A Decent Snow

February 2018

This winter we had lots of ice events and teaser snow that didn't really amount to any accumulation. And then we got one snow where the snow stuck. It was only a few inches but it was lovely, not too cold and it was a weekend. The little girls wanted to get out in it, so I overrode the "no" I my head, and went with the "yes" in their eyes. We geared up and headed out.

We decided to walk to the local senior center and go sledding. It is a biggest enough hill to satisfy the desire for a bit of a rush without being too intimidating. Down and up, down and up we went. Individually, in pairs, as a train over and over again. Laughing, smiling, landing in piles and finally a little tired.

Megan Confirmed

February 11, 2018
Confirmation

What a blessed day!
Megan received the Sacrament of Confirmation at St Mark Church supported by her Godparents, and her family both present and through prayer.

We went out a few weeks ahead of time to find a good dress for the special occasion, it took a bit of patience but the result was beautiful. Also as a gift Megan got a second set of holes in her ears. She got the first set when she received the Sacrament of the Eucharist so it seemed fitting when she asked. Grandma Kate and Pawpaw had sent a gift which included a wooden cross and Megan chose to wear that to Mass.

We had had obnoxious weather for most of the new year, with evening ice but not much snow and it wound up that some of the Confirmation prep was canceled including all of the Sponsor interactions. Megan had her Godmother, Kirsten Brink, stand for her as sponsor but sadly I feel like they missed the richness of what that could have been.

The Confirmation Mass was offered by Bishop Madden and he read from portions of the Confirmandi's letters during his Homily. I always love the beauty of the laying on hands and the sealing with Chrism, it always makes me take a deep breath. Megan chose Silvia as her confirmation name. Saint Silvia was new to me and so I asked Megan to tell me about her. Saint Silvia was the mother of Pope Saint Gregory the Great and is the parton saint of pregnancy and midwives. I asked Megan why she chose Saint Silvia and she said it was because she loves babies and because of me and her aunts and our pregnancies. I felt really honored by that and hadn't expected it. It reminded me that our approach to life can be a witness in big ways and small.

With Kirsten and Jim Brink

After the Confirmation Mass we hosted the family back at our house for a meal of spaghetti and meatballs, plus cake of course. I ordered a cake for the occasion and continued the use of red, the color of the Holy Spirit. I realized upon handing a piece of cake to a nephew that red icing is a terrible idea.

Megan is now fully initiated into the Catholic church and I pray that she draws strength, wisdom and grace from the Church and goes out to be disciple full of the Holy Spirit. Jim and I gave her a necklace of a small enameled egg with a dove and this prayer card. I found this prayer card and felt that it offered a very useful prayer for a young disciple.

Megan may you rely upon the Advocate, Peracleate, and Helper as you live the life you were created for.

Celebrating Megan's Birth

February 9-10, 2018

Parties tend to get less formal during the teen years and this year to celebrate Megan's 14th Birthday she had a few friends over to hang out.

Megan picked some easy foods and snacks and the plan was to enjoy a fire pit together  in the back yard and then have a sleepover. A party like that doesn't take a lot of preparation or managing. As a parent it is a different sensation to do set up and then let them go. I do some background guidance and step in to help a little here and there but mostly I just stand back, near enough if they need me but not exactly invited to participate. Pretty similar to adolescence itself I guess.

Megan invited her crew from school and they entertained themselves talking and laughing over food. They grabbed blankets and continued to hang out around the fire. Megan picked cheesecake as her cake. And Bridget was thrilled to be responsible enough to carry the dessert for the singing of "Happy Birthday". After Megan opened presents they all headed down to the basement and laid out their sleeping bags.

I don't know how much sleep they actually got but they were all sound asleep in the morning. A few of them had sports events to attend so we had fruit and doughnuts ready for a quick breakfast. I am pretty sure Megan went back to bed after they all got picked up.

Ahh to be 14.

God Bless you Megan!

Clues for an 11th Birthday

February 3, 2018
Bridget's 11th Birthday Mystery Party


Our sweet girl got wanted to throw a Clue themed Birthday Party, and so that is what we did to celebrate her 11th birthday.

The sisters collected weapons, Bridget came up with a list of suspects, we designated rooms in our home as game areas. I then created a deck of cards to match our game and we worked out the rules. Since we had made this up I convinced a reluctant family to do a dry run and play the game. We discovered a bunch of kinks in the play progression and worked through some options and solutions.

Bridget put together an evidence board that became the main decoration feature and I made a cake complete with blood.

Bridget invited her friends and delivered to them their character parts, asking them to come dressed in the color. Bridget was Mrs. White.

Once all of the suspects arrived, our Clue mystery party commenced. Bridget and her guests moved from room to room spinning the spinner and using action and clue cards to narrow the suspects, location and weapon used in the crime. They were sneaky and competitive, and they had a good time. There were a number of false accusations before we finally got someone to solve the crime.

Bridget had decided to collect donations for a charity supporting orphans in China with heart conditions, in honor of a preschool classmate who died after a heart transplant. With the gifts portion being quick we got right to dessert and singing Happy Birthday.

Then the girls put on music and came up with games to play together including a spontaneous conga line, until the parents arrived for pickup.

We ended the evening with a tired and smiling Bridget.

May God Bless you Bridget.