All Saints Eve {Halloween}

The other day, I walked into the post office with a package to mail and was delighted to find no one in line. 

No line!

What a great day... I was first in line at the post office!

Wait... there was no one behind the counter, either.  

There stood a can of Lysol, front and center, in front of a cash drawer, left unattended on the counter.

Shortly, I heard an unfriendly, angry voice, "Don't come near my work station" and something along the lines of "you have no business coming to work sick."

As a meek rebuttal came from the sick person in the back, the angry worker approached the counter and made eye contact with me and retorted, "I'm with a customer," and then something to the effect of

stop talking to me and go home you sick person... 

Next, the voice of the sick person in the back mentioned something about 

prostate cancer and having compassion.

The angry worker offered some curt reply, and forced himself back into his work station,

putting the Lysol down under the counter.

 He weighed my package, as if he could just barely bring himself to touch the key pad on the register.

Package weighed, the angry worker grumbled, "The nerve of that guy! He has no business coming to work sick and claiming he can't stay home because he doesn't have any more sick days!"

Just a postal customer, happy to have my package in the mail by the deadline,

I asked if the Mother Theresa stamps were available.

"Yes."

And as the angry worker reached down to the shelf to pick up the panel of Mother Theresa stamps, he looked at her face on the stamp and said, 

"Speaking of compassion..."

Yes, speaking of compassion indeed!

Blessed Mother Theresa chose to live with and serve the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick.

It was as if just looking at her image caused the angry worker to reflect on the state of his own soul, and upon his reaction to his sick co-worker.

Nothing else was said, outside the usual closing of a postal transaction, 

but it felt like something had changed.

How often we push the sick away, whether they are sick in mind, body or or spirit.

How easy it is for us to just erase them from our minds and spray some 

Lysol to rid ourselves of their contagion.

In Blessed Mother Theresa we have a model of humility and service to the sick and the poor.

We remember her and all the saints in a special way on All Saints Day.

May their example lead us to holiness!

Timely Manner {Pumpkins}

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater!

Since our pumpkin patch only produced a few flowers this year, we purchased 

carving pumpkins and pie pumpkins.

Waiting until the day before Halloween to pick up the carvers, 

we found the selection was quite limited, but the sizes were enormous.

All the smaller pumpkins found homes first, I guess!

As a result of their monstrosity, the goo had to be removed prior to 

bringing the pumpkins inside for carving.

Afraid our dining room table would have collapsed under the weight of 120 pounds of pumpkin!

Boxing and Bullets {entertaining friends}

What?

How did you think they would spend their free time?

I successfully kept my granddad's boxing gloves hidden in a closet for many years.

But they were recently discovered, and before I knew it, the boys were boxing, and inviting their friends to join in the action.  No one was (seriously) hurt, but given the number of complaints about aches and pains, the boxing rink has been shut down and the boxing gloves have been re-hidden.

I have hidden many items from the boys for similar reasons over the years, from light sabers to wooden swords to baseball bats.

Bullets are not usually present at our dining room table, but the Scouts were participating in shooting sports this month, and Tim was leading the event.  Our eager helpers counted out bags of bullets for the Scouts to purchase at the range on meeting night.

(It was a great break from boxing!)

Blessings Upon Marie

Marie-Therese Louise Agnes 

2/18/1924 - 10/22/2010

Our family visits with Marie at her farewell Mass at Sacred Heart 10/09.

Marie with the guys.

A tremendous woman has gone.

May her path to heaven be sure...

Marie receives the sacrament of anointing by Father Qui Thac.

We visited Marie weekly in her home as part of our Church's outreach to home bound parishioners.  We had the joy of bringing Marie the Blessed Sacrament (Jesus) and joining in her prayers as she received Him.  The boys would often participate in the Eucharistic celebration, taking turns reading the Gospel and leading the prayers of the faithful.  Some of their friends were also able to visit Marie with us.  Marie took a special liking to our family, as we fell in love with her.  She suffered greatly with her physical ailments and was embarrassed about her dental situation, but somehow always managed to be extremely welcoming, friendly, and a most gracious host.  

She would always offer the boys a piece of candy, draw their attention to the barge docked in the bay just opposite her condo (a blight with which she had become fascinated), or comment on the coming & going of tug boats.

Marie blessed us with many love letters, sent via email, which were delightful to receive originally, but have been especially touching to re-read after learning of her death.  

It's as if she's speaking to us again...  

Her words are full of encouragement and genuine love, as well as constant promises of prayers and requests for prayers.  What a blessing to have gotten to know Marie so intimately in such a short time during her last years.  Her faith was so strong, and she remained close to our 

Lord and our Blessed Mother until the very end.  

I praise God for the opportunity to have visited her in Spokane a few months ago, and for the gift of being there right when she needed someone to help her bandage a wound. 

May she rest in peace, 

and may we be forever changed by her love.

In Marie's words....

Just a note to say "hello", thank you so much for the photos as well as the note and please know that I SHALL always, forever and ever, keep in touch with all of you. There is no way at this point now that you can rid yourselves of me....I'm with you in spirit and mind forever....always.  I will be so interested in the boys as well and all of their activities, that I will hang on and on.

What a blessing it has been getting to know all of you and how very fortunate for me to have been able to become a part of your lives.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers.....and do know that once I get settled over there, I will start stopping by for little visits, always with the request that you, ALL OF YOU, NOT FORGET ME BUT KEEP ME WITH YOU FOREVER. 

God bless, one and all..........
Marie

*******************************************************

Take care, dear one....my prayers have been and will continue to be with you "round the clock".  As I said, HOW LUCKY AND BLESSED HAVE I BEEN, THANKS TO THE LORD, TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND CARE.  God bless you....look over you continually every moment of every day, and grant you the patience, tolerance, understanding, and love which you will continue to need to help you, your husband and all of your family to continue His wonderful work.

I trust I will remain in the prayers of your entire family, because with that extra special involvement, I know that the Lord and His Blessed Mother will be with me always and help me face whatever He passes along to me.

Love & Prayers, always...... Marie

You will remain in our prayers, Marie, 

as you so often requested (with all caps) 

FOREVER!

Marie-Therese Louise Agnes 

2/18/1924 - 10/22/2010

Flashback Friday {Seattle, 1958}

Grandpa Peter, at age 14

I love this photo of my dad!

As a teenager, my dad was named "US Catholic Youth of the Year," and traveled to 

Washington DC to receive his award.

Joseph, age 11, miter bearer for Bishop Tyson

(Father Qui Thac's Pastor Installation Mass 2009)

Peter, age 10 (Easter Sunday 2010)

Zachary, age 15 (Acolyte, Easter Sunday 2010)

I met a nice Christian lady at a training session recently who implied that I (my husband, our children, and all our relatives) had been baptized illicitly because we were baptized as infants.

Yes, our parents and Godparents brought us to be baptized and made baptismal promises on our behalf.

Yes, we came into the Body of Christ before we could articulate the desire to accept Jesus on our own.

Yes, we were washed clean of original sin, saved through Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, and received special grace and virtues.

For some reason lately, I'm being asked all kinds of questions and/or being challenged for my beliefs, and 

I want real answers!

I don't know about you, but I will follow Jesus wherever He leads me!

I've found a great resource for answering such questions {like the one about choosing baptism vs. being baptized before you're old enough to choose for yourself} at a great website called Bible Christian Society.

Question posted @ Bible Christian Society:

I’m a Born-Again Christian and I was wondering why the Catholic Church doesn’t do the altar call to have people accept the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior since it says that you must make this declaration to be Born Again?

Answer posted @ Bible Christian Society:

The Catholic Church does, in a sense, make an altar call at every Mass. When people approach the altar to receive Communion, they are indeed accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, as they accept His body and blood into their bodies. Jesus says in John 6, verse 51 and following, that unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood, you have no life in you. If you eat His flesh and drink His blood, you will have eternal life He says, and He will raise you up at the last day.

He repeats Himself on this matter in John 6 like He does nowhere else in Scripture. Catholics take Jesus' words literally - we believe what He says. That is why we believe we receive His actual body and blood during Communion (or the Lord's Supper as you might call it). So when a Catholic approaches the altar to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, they are saying with their bodies, “I believe.” And just minutes before they approach the altar, they have, with the recitation of the Nicene Creed, declared with their lips that they believe. They believe Jesus is the Lord and Savior of mankind and they believe He is present - Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - in the Eucharist that they receive.

My question to you, however, is where does it say that someone must make a “declaration” in which they "accept the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior" in order to be born again? Nowhere does the Bible say such a thing. In fact, the Bible says that one is born again by being baptized. John 3:3-5 says that unless one is born of water and the Spirit (baptism) one cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

So it is through water and the Spirit that one is born again. All Catholics, by virtue of their baptism, are Born Again Christians. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that one should not make a declaration that Jesus is their Lord and Savior - we need to constantly proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ - but the Bible does not say that one is "born again" by making such a verbal declaration of acceptance of Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior....

Double Season: XC

With two high school XC runners in our house, there's double the reasons to cheer at XC meets.

Today Sehome HS swept the NW Conference Championship Meet!

 Zac participated reluctantly in XC his freshman (@ homeschool) year, never having participated in school sports (or school anything, really).  We simply required that he participate in HS sports, for important reasons like serious physical fitness and personal discipline.  

Zac was excited to run his sophomore (@ homeschool) year (2009-2010), 

and Ezra joined the XC team reluctantly last year as a freshman just a few days after he moved in with us.

This year, Zachary had decided not to join XC due to his class schedule at WCC, and Ezra entered his second XC season a bit iffy about his desire to participate.  We have encouraged {required} Ezra to either participate in high school athletics or find a part-time job; 

he's chosen school sports every season so far.

On the way home from the first day of practice this season, Ezra told Zac that the XC coach said "Hi" and that's all it took~ Zac decided to turn out for another season of XC.

Both Zachary and Ezra finished the XC season strong this afternoon at the 1A/2A/3A NW Conference Championships.  Did I mention that their team swept the event?

Fun stuff.

Showman Results

Peter, Nolan & Brayden's "Crazy Chicken" puppet show was a big hit at last night's pack meeting.

Check it out!

Listen carefully at the beginning to the whispered compliment...so sweet.

Webelos: Showman {Then and Now}

2010 Webelos Showman Badge

Webelos 1 & 2's prepare to construct & decorate a stage for their puppet shows.

As an assistant den leader for Peter's Webelos den, I taught the Showman badge in September.
Tonight is their grand finale, as they will be performing their puppet shows at the pack meeting for all the Cub Scouts and their families.
On Friday we met to construct, design, and decorate a main puppet stage and 4 different back-drops.

In 2007, I led Joseph's Webelos den in the Showman badge.
It was during our Showman meetings in 2007 that we met Boaz and Ezra, who had just been adopted into the Bergeron family.  I remember how Boaz and Ezra stood like statues against the wall in their matching neon yellow and green coats, just staring, as the den practiced drama skills under my direction.
Yesterday, we celebrated the 3 years anniversary of Ezra, Boaz and Keziah's arrival in the US from Liberia.
It's fun to look back at our early adventures with Boaz and Ezra, who became great friends and visited our home regularly with their brothers Judah and Enoch (all homeschooled).

Here I am helping Joseph's den in 2007 with stage construction.  

See Ezra and Boaz in the background?

This is one of the first nights we met Ezra and Boaz, as we were preparing the stage for the Webelos' den puppet shows.  Notice the two of them glued to the wall near their dad, Chuck?

It took a few weeks before they were comfortable joining in the den's activities.

Amazingly, they were both able to earn their Webelos Rank as well as their Arrow of Light and cross over into Boy Scouts along with their den.

Flash forward back to Showman 2010:

Nolan and Peter enjoy mixing colors to make a tie-dye house for their show's backdrop. 

Enoch paints the sunshine on his puppet show's backdrop.

Jonah puts finishing touches on the big red barn.

I'm excited for tonight's performances... they are cleverly written scripts
and the puppets are all quite unique~
just like the Webelos who created them.

A Scout is Adorable

Aren't my Scouts adorable?

Here's a brief look at what they're up to in Scouts:

Joseph earned 5 Eagle required merit badges over the past 4 months, and his Star Rank.

He's currently serving as the troop Chaplain's Aid, leading prayers at meetings.

He's always ready to lead or join in a game of any kind.

Zachary is still progressing (slowly but surely) on his Eagle project.  The process of obtaining a building permit for the carport construction is proving to be a project all by itself!  No date has been set for his project, as it all depends on the permit issuance.

Zachary's current position is patrol leader, but rather than calling 

the weekly meeting reminders, they are texted.

He's been working on Ad Altare Dei for about three years, 

and we have high hopes that he will complete it soon.

Peter is well on his way to completing all of his Arrow of Light requirements.  

He's earned over half of the Webelos badges, and his Webelos rank.  

He's halfway through his Parvuli Dei. 

He'll cross over to Boy Scouts in February 2011.

He's come up with some interesting names to throw out for his new patrol come February~ most involving terms like flaming, burning, exploding, charred, etc.

Guess we could have seen that coming with his older brothers' patrols named 

Kentucky Fried Dragons and Burning Bullfrogs.

How will Peter's patrol top names like those?

Suggestions welcome!

A Scout is Adorable

Aren't my Scouts adorable?

Here's a brief look at what they're up to in Scouts:

Joseph earned 5 Eagle required merit badges over the past 4 months, and his Star Rank.

He's currently serving as the troop Chaplain's Aid, leading prayers at meetings.

He's always ready to lead or join in a game of any kind.

Zachary is still progressing (slowly but surely) on his Eagle project.  The process of obtaining a building permit for the carport construction is proving to be a project all by itself!  No date has been set for his project, as it all depends on the permit issuance.

Zachary's current position is patrol leader, but rather than calling 

the weekly meeting reminders, they are texted.

He's been working on Ad Altare Dei for about three years, 

and we have high hopes that he will complete it soon.

Peter is well on his way to completing all of his Arrow of Light requirements.  

He's earned over half of the Webelos badges, and his Webelos rank.  

He's halfway through his Parvuli Dei. 

He'll cross over to Boy Scouts in February 2011.

He's come up with some interesting names to throw out for his new patrol come February~ most involving terms like flaming, burning, exploding, charred, etc.

Guess we could have seen that coming with his older brothers' patrols named 

Kentucky Fried Dragons and Burning Bullfrogs.

How will Peter's patrol top names like those?

Suggestions welcome!

Flashback Friday {Kauai 2003}

Joseph (age 5) and Tim

Zachary, Peter & Tim kayak along the Wailua River

Peter, age 3

Our Local Hero: Brian Barr

Watch this powerful testimony from a daddy, deeply convicted to prayer and action to help end abortion.

You'll be moved to learn from whom he heard this call to action..

Thank you, Brian, for your tireless efforts on behalf of the unborn.

Thank you for calling us in the Body of Christ to defend our weakest, silent members.

Thank you for your courage in standing up and speaking out, despite the attacks and persecution you face.

You are a true hero!

Harvesting Creation

How did our gardens grow?

Some great, some not so great.

But the real pleasure in growing a garden around here 

comes not from enjoying fresh food, 

rather 

from making weapons.

Peter enjoys his freshly picked corn on the cob with butter.

Our onion harvest.  Can you see the onions?

Pumpkins showed promise with bountiful flowers, but didn't produce. 

Joseph as secret under-cover corn harvester.

Peter harvests the corn.

Carrot collection & backyard corn with stunted pumpkin flower.

Forget about the veggies for eating, 

let's talk about the stalks for gun making!

Just add electrical tape, and a bit of imagination, 

and the corn stalks are transformed into weapons!

Did you know apples make fine weapons/toys, too?

The ones that aren't fit for eating are launched in distance throwing competitions. 

The rest will soon be processed into homemade applesauce and pie.

YUM!

What's in a Godparent? {Flashback Friday}

Our Godson, Niko, celebrated his 17th birthday yesterday.

(Mike, MacKenzie, Jacob, Zac, Brendan, Peter, Joseph and Niko, April 2008)

Our Goddaughter, MacKenzie, received her First Holy Communion April 20, '08, (our wedding anniversary!)

at St. Charles Borromeo, Tacoma;

together with her twin brother, Brendan.

Tim and I with our Goddaughter, Hope, baptized May 10, 2009.

(photo by Renee)

What's in a Godparent?
Not long ago, I overheard a conversation that went something like this:
"(Name and name) are going to be (child's) Godparents."
"Oh, that's great!  When is (child) being baptized?"
"(Child's) not being baptized, (name and name) are just going to be the Godparents in the general sense."
Huh?

The role of a Godparent is very specific, and Godparents take on some pretty big responsibilities in the promises they make before God and His Church at the baptism.
At baptism we are born again in Christ, set free from original sin.  We are given the gift of salvation! Redeemed with sanctifying grace!

But we can lose that precious gift, for we are also given the gift of free will ~ and we can choose to follow Christ or to turn away from Him.

Godparents promise to help guide the baptized in the Christian life, to help the baptized grow in virtue and grace.  Parents are the primary teachers of the faith, but should the parents turn away from the Church, and away from God, the Godparent's role as teacher in faith would become primary.  That's a pretty big responsibility, with even bigger implications.

As Godparents, the greatest gifts we can give our Godchildren is the example or witness of our living faith, our constant prayers for their spiritual growth, and our continued efforts to build them up in Christ.

This week I have witnessed Anna's(+)  Godparents, Rebecca and Nick, humbly walk along with Anna's parents through the suffering and sorrow of her tragic death ~ into the celebration of Anna's life at her funeral today.  Rebecca said, "I always prayed that she would become a saint, I just didn't expect it would be this soon."

Rebecca and Nick serve as a great reminder for all of us who have taken on the role and responsibility of being a Godparent (and certainly for all Christian parents).  Let us recommit ourselves to leading our Godchildren (and children) along the road to sainthood, to heaven.  Let our prayers for them never cease.  Let our example be one that brings the Gospel to life.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Dear Anna Marie, pray for us!