Lawyer Visits {Pawn Shop Stop}

My husband Tim and my brother (our lawyer) Peter exchange goods for services at our pawn shop. 

 

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In order to get my little brother to drive north for a visit, we required his legal assistance for a matter plaguing one of our pawn shops.  We tried all the usual avenues for enticing him and his family to drive the full two and a half hours up Interstate 5 to see us, but none brought us a victory like needing his legal help.  Now we know the secret to getting a piece of "Uncle Pie" as we lovingly call my little brother Peter John. 

 A little glimpse into Tim's work life

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Visiting our pawn shop(s) is never dull.  On this occasion, we were showing my brother Peter one of our "new" locations (been doing business there for 3 years now, but hey, it's new to him).  While there, we found the perfect 'payment' for his legal services.  Peter so generously donates his time and talent for our benefit, and it's a pleasure to be able to find a tangible way to show him our appreciation.  Peter drove home with 250+ pounds of weight lifting equipment, bars, plates and accessories to make it happen.  He had a bench at home, and just needed the hardware to seal the deal.  Probably hoping his boys will beat our boys at arm wrestling

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Did I mention we opened a new music shop?  With lesson rooms in the back?  Here's proof. 

'Luke' and 'Leia' in the (constant) act of climbing

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Our former foster twins spent the weekend with us, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company.  They have mastered the art of climbing, and found every occasion to stretch their vertical limits.  Leia took a few steps, but still defaults to crawling and begging to be held.  Luke runs, and says "car" every three seconds.   Their mom needs help with occasional babysitting, so we are blessed to be included on her list of helpful and willing twin-sitters. We do miss them dearly.

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Joseph made a 'gold' time in the 50 free at his swim meet Saturday.  This means... he swam fast.  His teammates had a sharpie war on deck, and Joseph's back was decorated to look like abs (as in abdominal muscles).  Beats having a pig on his belly, like one of his (very thin) friends; or a handle-bar mustache on his face, like one of his (goofy) teammates.  Who says swim meets aren't entertaining? 

Goofy hat (Chris) with wild hair (Zac)

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Zachary's psyche sheet is posted and he's heading into his final 2 weeks of varsity swimming.  Although I am excited to cheer for him at the district meet and (hopefully, if he qualifies) the state meet, I am most eagerly anticipating the return of my clean-cut son after the big shave later this week.  We are hosting his pre-district team dinner this week at Grandma Billie & Grandpa Cliff's place, which is much bigger and more awesome for entertaining than our humble abode.   The menu calls for tons of pasta and a several baskets of bread.  Nothing like a good carb-loading fest to kick off the post-season competitions.

me

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When given the choice today between the Knights' big screen Super Bowl party or a quiet afternoon at home followed by evening Mass on campus with a friend (who missed our morning Mass with a sick kid), which do you think I chose?  Not a bad way to begin the week!  May your week be blessed.  Thanks for stopping by.

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Spring Skiing {In Winter}

Joseph + snowy mountain

Vitamin D day at the Mt. Baker Ski Area today, with bright blue skies and a balmy 43 degrees.  The mid-week prices make a day off work pay for Tim, who loves skiing with the boys any chance he can get. Today's ski trip conflicted with First Friday Mass and a planned visit with our former foster twins, Luke & Leia, so Peter opted to stay back.  Tim and Joseph stayed on mostly groomed runs for a change, after finding the outer limits heavy and difficult going.  Tim took the biggest fall in recent memory, and has the ice packs on his knee to prove it.  No one got sunburned, so the injury count remains relatively low.


Calling the ski report from bed makes sense in our neck of the woods.  No use making coffee if you can keep sleeping.  We are not exactly fair weather skiers, but the last planned ski day was promptly cancelled after the phone results, "It's 32 degrees and raining on the mountain".   Something about driving for an hour and paying a fortune to ski in the rain just doesn't sit well.

An inversion weather system hit today and caused confusion at the early morning departure.  The car (at sea level) was iced over while the mountain was a reported 43 degrees.  The higher they climbed, the warmer the weather.  Strange day, beautiful scenery.

The Presentation {Samuel John Baptized}

Rob and Aileen's newborn son, Samuel John, is dressed in his baptismal gown ~ the gown worn by his mother ('67), brothers Peter ('99) and Ryan ('03), and by his dearly departed sister Lucy(+'01).

With great joy we present our newly baptized Godson Samuel John, born again in Christ through the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism on January 8, 2012.  As Sam's Godparents, we promised before God and the entire community to support his parents, Rob and Aileen fulfill their duty in raising and forming Samuel in the Catholic {Christian} faith for his entire life.  On his behalf, we renewed the vows of our own baptism(s), vows made on our behalf at our baptism(s) by our Godparents and parents.  We renounced sin and professed our faith, after Father Hagelin solemnly reminded us:

Dear parents and Godparents:   You have come here to present this child for baptism.  By water and the Holy Spirit, he is to receive the gift of new life from God, who is love.
On your part, you must make it your constant care to bring him up in the practice of the faith. See that the divine life, which God gives him, is kept safe from the poison of sin, to grow always stronger in his heart.
If your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility, renew now the vows of your own baptism. Reject sin; profess your faith in Christ Jesus. This is the faith of the Church. This is the faith in which this child is about to be baptized.

Father Brad Hagelin baptizes Samuel John with consecrated (holy) water and the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ

The light of Christ, represented in the Pascal candle

Fr. Hagelin lights Samuel's baptismal candle (from the Pascal candle) and presents it to Tim and me, as a tangible reminder for us to keep the light of Christ burning bright as we support Samuel in his Christian life.

 

“Christ himself says, ‘I am the light of the world.’ And we are the light, we ourselves, if we receive it from him.... But how do we receive it, how do we make it shine? ...[T]he candle tells us: by burning, and being consumed in the burning. A spark of fire, a ray of love, an inevitable immolation are celebrated over that pure, straight candle, as, pouring forth its gift of light, it exhausts itself in silent sacrifice” ~Pope Paul VI.

Baby Sam, born again in Christ!

 Godparents, parents and brother Ryan, together with Sam after his baptism.

Our new Godson, Samuel John, cherished child of God

Now, Master, You can dismiss your servant in peace;
You have fulfilled Your word.
For my eyes have witnessed Your saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see:
A revealing light to the Gentiles,
the glory of Your people Israel. 

~Luke 2:29-32

This Gospel passage, known as the Canticle of Simeon, proclaims the moment the Light of Christ, Christ Himself, entered the temple in the arms of his parents, who dutifully presented their firstborn Son to the Lord.  The Presentation of Our Lord, celebrated at Mass today, February 2, with candle-light processions, has been a part of Christian tradition since at least the fourth century.

The Presentation of the Lord in stained glass;

Church of the Assumption, Bellingham, WA

Senior Send Off {Varsity Swim & Dive}

 Team Captain Zachary leads the pre-meet yell

Today marked the final home swim meet for Zachary and the other seniors on his swim team.  Following team tradition, the five seniors were honored with a call-out by Coach Don, a run through the team tunnel and a gift (purchased by their parents; presented by cheerleaders).  The guys beamed as they took the blocks for a moment of honor during a short break in the swim meet after the diving competition.  The gifts this year, embroidered team towels, seemed to be a big hit, and rather more useful than a bouquet of flowers as presented in previous years. Although Zachary has been home schooled since kindergarten, our high school PE curriculum centered around participation in sports through the local public high school.  

Coach Don congratulates Zac on his four years as a varsity swimmer.

 Zachary's senior gift, presented by cheerleaders~~from the high school he never attended but represented well as a four year letter man and team captain.

 

Although Zachary was quite forced to join his first public school sports team as a home schooled ninth grader (freshman), he developed a great love of especially swim team.  Zachary participated on the (phenomenal) cross country team for three years and the track team for one, but swim team became such a focus that he rejoined the club swim team last winter to train all year in preparation for this final varsity season.  Together with his coach, he set high, yet realistic goals, and stands a good chance of reaching them in the next few swims before the final varsity splash in a few weeks.

Ezra in air

Ezra took first place in the diving competition, beating out three divers from the opposing team.  His dive scores weren't as high on the whole, but the six dives he performed ranked at higher degrees of difficulty, so adjusted scores gave him the win.

Zachary's still looking to shave a few minutes off his times, and has high hopes that the well planned taper will give him a burst of speed to round out post-season competition with all-time PR's.  Speaking of shaving, the facial hair, body hair, hair-do-shaving ritual happens in a little over a week.  I am looking forward to having our clean-cut son back after the scruffy swim season.

Our local newspaper covered today's swim & dive meet: gallery here.  Enjoy!

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

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January 28: Tim, Zachary and I were baptized.  We joyfully celebrate our Triple Baptism Anniversary on this, the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Agnes (her secondary feast).  Tim (in 1968) and Zachary (in 1995) received this new birth in the Holy Spirit at St. Benedict Church in Seattle, and I (1968) at St. Agnes Church in San Francisco, in the Haight Ashbury district near my dad's medical school, UCSF.  Do you know your baptism anniversary?  If not, do some research and discover the date so you can celebrate it and praise God for such a tremendous gift!   Trust me, it's no mere coincidence that my husband Tim and I share this exact date of our baptisms... God arranged it precisely so that we would know for certain that we were created to be married to one another.

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Officially now a foster-free zone, we have begun deliberations over the possible return to a new normal with Zachary moving back to his old bedroom upstairs.  Zac rather enjoys the seclusion and quiet of the downstairs room, which is also warmer; but it's tiny size makes his giant mess harder to conceal.  Many have inquired if we intend to continue offering foster care in our home, and the honest answer right now is we don't know. After six+ months with three foster children ages 5 and under, and 2+ years with Ezra, we are eager to spend some quality time as our family of 5.  If we do take on future foster placements it will be after careful, prayerful consideration of where and to whom we're already committed and how we are called to best use our gifts.

 Scoutmaster Tim + a few Scouts {tackling a gigantic mess under Peter's direction} = Scout Service Project Saturday.

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As the newly elected Quatermaster, Peter's leadership responsibilities in our BSA troop include organizing and cleaning the disastrous Scout Room.  Part storage room, part meeting room, part garbage can, the Scout Room can go from neat and orderly to downright dangerous in a matter of minutes. Boy Scouts heading out on camping trips, in their pre-departure mode with last-minute furious searching and 'packing' give way to uninhibited chaos in the gear room.  Having a clean-up day a few times each year beats back the mess and gives our Scouts one clean room to share.  Next stop: bedrooms!

 Sorting the useful from the useless, Peter and helpful Scouts Enoch and Bryce attempt to make order.

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An Eagle Project of enormous effort and profound perseverance, Zachary's carport project built up a little steam this weekend as a talented construction worker (Scout dad) volunteered his time and expertise to install the rebar forms for the concrete pour to begin actual construction work.  This endless ongoing project continues to offer opportunities for leadership, vocational awareness, technical training, communication skills, and character growth.  Continuing tomorrow, and many work days in the next few weeks (months?) the carport will take shape soon, mark my words...

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In a shocking phone call from Liberia today, Ezra heard that his father spent two days in a coma after a tragic car accident in which at least one person was killed.  Reportedly, he was one passenger of many piled in the back of a pick-up truck which spun out and overturned.  Ezra spoke to his father, and offered him prayers for healing.  Unfortunately, the whole report could be fact or fiction.  You see, there is an ongoing history of many, many phone calls from Liberia; most all in a given series culminating in a desperate plea for cash.  In fact, when I reported today's news to Ezra's mom, Renee, she replied: "We had a call a couple of months ago that (Ezra's cousin) Stanley was in a car wreck, broke his arm, and was in the hospital for several days."  When I asked Ezra how he felt after hearing the news today about his father's accident, he replied, "Stanley told me my dad was in a car accident a few months ago."  Either the Liberians are in an awful lot of car accidents, or...
 

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On the business front, my entrepreneurial husband Tim opened another new venture: music lesson rooms.  These are adjacent to our new Music Store, next door to our first pawn shop.  For a small fee, music instructors can rent a room in which to provide lessons for students.  A small waiting area for parents as a bonus, plus high hopes that a few will spend time and money shopping for at least part of the time they're waiting. 

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Our home might catch you off guard if you've never visited real honest-to-goodness out-in-the open Catholics before; or if you're not in touch with you inner teenage male; or don't enjoy large rowdy labs knocking you over at the entryway.  Zachary hosted a houseful of (relatively new) friends from his swim team recently, for a few hours of fun and games (DnD).  Unfamiliar with some of our visible sacramentals, his Jewish friend asked him about the holy water.  "It's a powerful weapon against evil," was Zachary's simple and honest explanation.  Baptized in it (on this day), we keep the holy water handy at our house for blessings.  (No, it's not magic; no we don't worship it.) It's just holy water, on tap and available at your local Catholic Church.  Take some home and keep the baptismal blessings flowing!

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