Exteneded Family Blessings {Day 12-13: Oregon to Home}

Cousins Brendan, Peter, Lilly, Kati, MacKenzie, Jake; Joseph, Mike and Niko (all but Zac).

The route home, the final miles of our two week trek to and from Notre Dame, was dictated by the veterinary needs of our dog, Charlie, who had not one, but two tail surgeries due to injury and infection. Thanks to Charlie, our itinerary landed us in Tacoma on the evening of a family birthday celebration which enabled us to spend time with every single member of my whole immediate family (except Zac, of course).   Hot tubbing, bubble blowing, feasting and fellowship with a herd of cousins culminated with the anticipated candle-top cake and special song for Uncle Clark on his 45th birthday.  An impish teen 'five starred' his older brother in the midst of their father's birthday song, adding a 'touch' of violence to the festivities.  I guess there is something to be said for wearing a shirt at the table after all!  An indoor wrestling match after dessert helped work off a few calories and provided another opportunity for the cousins to bond.

Ouch!

As a special bonus, we were housed in University Place by our Godson, Sam, and his family, great (life-long) friends and exceptional hosts who spoiled us with fresh blackberry cobbler, eggs, bacon and sausage for breakfast, plus REAL coffee made to order throughout our stay.  Sam stole the show, with his great joy and exuberance for life, while the older boys shared a wee bit of screen time between rounds of hide and seek and tag outdoors in the summer sun.  A short visit to Aileen's childhood home, now vacated but still furnished after the passing of her beloved parents, was a sentimental walk down memory lane, and great reminder of what an impact her family's faith life had (and still has) on me.  Visiting with Aileen's siblings, spouses, and their growing families also brought great joy (and a late night!) during our slightly spontaneous lay-over.

Rob and Aileen's boys: Ryan, Peter and Sam

Final stop: Silverdale, where our surgically altered black lab had been cared for in our absence by Tim's brother's veterinarilly skilled family.   Visitors for Sunday worship at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Bremerton, we delighted to hear the beauty of Gregorian Chant from the choir loft and the sound, thoughtful preaching by Father Lappe.  Uplifting, challenging, faithful teaching combined with a solemn, reverent Mass puts this fervent parish on our home-away-from home list and is a must-experience for anyone traveling on the Kitsap Peninsula; a true gem.  I eagerly await the upcoming Frassati Conference happening there in November.

Drugged and wearing the cone of shame, Charlie recovers from a second tail surgery.

Kettle Corn for Sunday breakfast's dessert and a pizza party for lunch, we thoroughly enjoyed our sleep-over with Craig and Bethany and family and the added company of Grandma Billie and Grandpa Cliff who journeyed across the Puget Sound after their booth closed at the Saturday Edmonds Market.  Hearing the details of Charlie's tail surgeries and the drama and trauma he provided in his drugged recuperation brought home the realities of 

• just how blessed we were to have been out of town during this stage of Charlie's care, and 
• just how blessed we were to have had Craig and Bethany's veterinary expertise in the family and their willingness to dog-sit such a tough customer for those intense weeks.

Feeding the donkeys and grilling marshmallows for s'mores highlighted the boys' visit with their younger cousins, but being allowed to drive the van (slowly) up and down the long rural driveway also got high marks.  Bountiful ripe blackberries on their property kept us busy picking and snacking as well.

Violet shows Joseph how to feed Buster and Boomer.

A several ferry wait in Kingston on Sunday afternoon inspired us to take the Narrows Bridge instead, adding miles but subtracting time on the final stretch home.  One stop along the way for a super-duper inflatable neck collar to help prevent Charlie's ceaseless licking of the surgical site, and we finally arrived at home safe and sound and mostly sane.

Sort of strange to pull up at the house and see Zac's car parked out front, as if he was home awaiting our return...

Be Not Afraid {Sending Zachary to Notre Dame}

 Tim and me with our oldest son, Zachary (17) on the occasion of our 21st wedding anniversary; snapped after daily Mass by our groomsman, Mike, on leave from his job in Afghanistan.

It has been interesting to filter through all the responses (comments online and in person, text messages, phone calls) to our recent announcement that Zachary will be accepting an academic scholarship and attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall.  For those who bleed blue and gold~Notre Dame alums like Zac's Grandpa Pete~the reactions have been predictably ecstatic.  For many who know Zachary's academic gifts and love of learning, Notre Dame seems a perfect fit.  But from others comes a steady undercurrent of concern for Zachary's spiritual well being, considering the ways Notre Dame (and many other Catholic universities) have grievously failed to maintain and uphold an authentically Catholic campus from the top down.  However, we are not afraid to send our son to Notre Dame.  We are at peace with his decision, more so than when we allowed him to transition from our home school to begin attending classes at the local community college for running start/associate in arts degree at age 16.

Notre Dame is a Catholic university, as a visit to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart's page or to the campus ministry site reveals: daily Mass; Masses offered in the dorms; devotions; retreats; daily confession schedule; Sunday evening Vespers.  In any Catholic university, parish, or family each person can either choose to fully and actively participate or not, and we trust that Zachary will continue to place a high priority on living out his faith within the one+holy+catholic+apostolic Church.  Will he encounter Catholics who are unable or unwilling to fully give themselves over to ALL that our Church holds, teaches and professes to be true?  Yes.  Will he be exposed to the errors of moral relativism? Yes.   Will this be a new experience for him?  No.

We place our trust in God's divine providence, and in our son, whom we have raised to the best of our ability, and who continually astounds us with his intellect and his virtue.  We will joyfully help him make his way to South Bend, Indiana, in 108 days for the beginning of his new life at the University of Notre Dame.  In all fairness, I should mention that we also have a secret weapon, a personal security guard and a delightful advocate into whose loving care we continually place Zachary, our children, Godchildren, foster children, confirmation sponsees, and ourselves: Our Blessed Mother Mary, after whom the University of Notre Dame is named.

No·tre Dame [noh-truh deym, dahm, noh-ter] (noun) the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.  Origin: French: our lady

Holy Mary, Mother of God, 

Pray for us!

My dear Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ please note~

I am not advocating praying to the dead!

• Jesus promised eternal LIFE to all who follow Him.
• Certainly Mary followed her Divine Son.
• Mary LIVES with Jesus in heaven.
• From the cross, Jesus offered Mary to us, saying, "Behold your mother."
• We ask Mary to pray FOR us to her Son; she's an advocate within the communion of saints.
• We do not pray TO Mary, we pray THROUGH Mary (this is an optional, though very popular Catholic devotion).
  

Godbrothers

Peter holds his Godbrother Samuel

Samuel's new tongue trick

Joseph and Peter sit with sleeping Samuel while Aileen and I dart into a shop.

A side benefit to Zachary's recent appointment at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma was the opportunity for his siblings and chauffeur to visit with our Godson/Godbrother Samuel and his mom our dear friend/Godmother.  Linked by many layers of love and years of friendship (Aileen and I since second grade at St. Charles), our time together is always phenomenal in some way or another.  This recent afternoon rendezvous occurred while Samuel's older brothers were in school, Zac was touring UPS, and the dads worked, so the five remainders enjoyed a stroll in Tacoma's Proctor neighborhood with an obligatory cup of coffee. 

Samuel, with his delightful smile and energetic attention for friendly faces managed to stay awake for almost the whole visit, save a brief snooze in the stroller as we perused the shops.  He captured our hearts, and we longingly await our next opportunity to enjoy his company (and that of his fine family).
Such a treasure to behold!

Joseph smiles with his Godmother, Aileen.

Aileen and Bridget