The Art of Giving

During a top secret carving session, Peter snaps a self-portrait at my request.

Peter inherited an artistic gene from his paternal grandfather and his maternal grandmother, both exceptionally artistic and creative.  Peter's passion for art, manifest in his first attempts at drawing as a toddler, continues to this day in his carving, painting and creating.  As the recipient of one of Peter's recent masterpieces, I am in awe of his determination, motivation and creativity.

The artist at work

I knew Peter was up to something, and that his project was somehow connected to an image of our Blessed Mother Mary holding the infant Jesus.  I sensed that carving may be involved, by the noises emitting from his room when the "do not enter" sign was posted.  The bandaged finger was another clue pointing toward whittling in progress.

My hand-made gift from Peter

My handmade gift, given first thing on Christmas morning, holds a very special place in my heart.  Knowing that Peter created this lovely Madonna and Child statue from a block of wood, working for many hours to design, whittle, sand and paint it in time for Christmas, brings me great joy.  Peter asked that I have it blessed by a priest ~the final touch~ making it a truly holy, treasured gift from my son the Christian artist.


P.S. to those who may not understand Catholic teaching: 
I assure you I do not worship this statue of our Blessed Mother holding Christ.  Rather, I look upon this and other holy images for inspiration ~ just as we look fondly upon photos of our loved ones or cherish shared memories brought to mind by prints or keepsakes.

Extraordinary Jaunts {Sundays in Seattle}

Ryan, Joseph, Peter and Peter enjoy baked goodies.

In this Year of Faith, our family set a goal of participating in and growing more familiar with the 'Extraordinary Form' (Latin) Mass.  This form of the Mass is not offered in our city, or county, or neighboring counties, but it is offered at North American Martyrs in Seattle, about a 90 mile drive from home.  FSSP priests pastor this technically 'homeless' parish, which worships at St. Alphonsus Church and at Holyrood Cemetery Chapel in Shoreline.  This ancient ~extraordinary~ form of our Holy Mass almost disappeared in my lifetime after rapid changes implemented following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960's.  I don't remember the 'old' Mass, nor was I taught about it in my Catholic upbringing; but I always fostered a special attraction to the enlarged, framed black and white photograph of my parents' Nuptial Mass, said in the 'old' form at Holy Rosary in West Seattle.

The 'Ordinary Form' (Novus Ordo) Mass which we know, love and attend daily at Sacred Heart follows basically the same 'order of events' but with significant differences, not the least of which is the language in which the Mass is said and the manner in which we receive our Lord in Holy Communion. Following along in the little red booklets offered at the entrance, or fumbling along with the 1962 (heirloom) Missals we have inherited, we can mostly keep up with the Mass and prayerfully worship. The solemnity with which the Latin Mass is celebrated, the profound reverence and the decorum of the congregation are awe inspiring to say the least.  The preaching is certainly not for the faint of heart!

Our special Sunday journeys to Seattle punctuate our ordinary calendar and offer us extraordinary ways to keep holy the Lord's Day. 

Peter holds his God-brother Samuel

Meeting in the middle, each family driving about an hour, we celebrated a recent Sunday in Seattle with our dear friends from Tacoma.  Aileen's family honored her wish to attend Latin Mass and we combined the main event with a tasty side-trip to a bakery a few blocks from the hospital in Ballard where Joseph was born almost 15 years ago.  'Ballard Blue,' the first house Tim and I owned happens to be just a few blocks from the Church, so we are familiar with the surrounds, though the area has certainly been further developed and more densely populated since we moved to Bellingham in 1998.

Bridget, Samuel and Aileen, together on Sunday morn

King Tut's exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, another Sunday side-trip during Zachary's Christmas break, offered a glimpse of history for about the price of a sarcophagus.  Being linguistically inclined, Zachary especially enjoyed the inscriptions on the various artifacts.  King Tut's name (or one of his names) included a sign meaning 'manifestation', which when being viewed by those of us celebrating the Epiphany (which means Manifestation) held special significance.  King Tut, you may have been a king, but you were not God. 

Brothers in Seattle

Spending time at Great Grandma's house on a Sunday afternoon included being catered to and well loved.  Grandma and I feigned interest in the Seahawks game, while the guys intently cheered for the home team, which on that day reigned victorious.  The views from her windows overlooking the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains beyond are phenomenal, but sitting in the company of my 95 year old Grandma would be a pleasure in any environment.

Guests of Great Grandma for the Seahawks playoff game; watching her double-decker TV

Peter cheering for the Seahawks in his Sunday best

Birthday Boy {Peter Turns 13}

Sorry about the broom, Mom...

Why is this birthday boy repairing a broom before breakfast on his 13th birthday?

Because he broke it jousting his older brother on their elevated back-deck ice rink after dark last night.  Go figure!

Diving In {Home Schooled Varsity Swimmer #2: Joseph}

Joseph launches into the 4x100 relay at a dual meet at home.

Participating in varsity athletics with our local high school teams is a right of passage in our Catholic home school.  This year Joseph, a freshman, joined the swim and dive team which was captained by his older brother last year and state champions four years running swimming.  The coach, in his 30-something-th year of coaching at Sehome High School, is a fantastic leader and runs a tight ship.  From the very first varsity team meeting, Joseph noticed the difference in Coach Don's 'all for one/team' focus from the 'all for me' bent of the local club swim to which he's belonged for several years as part of our home school's daily PE requirement.

Tim and another volunteer stop the clock at the conclusion of Joseph's 500 free.

As big fans of our kids' public school sports teams, whether on the sidelines or in the stands, or in this case, as timers on deck, the natural flow of casual conversations with other parents sometimes shifts dramatically when the fact that our athlete attends school at home slips out.  Recently Tim found himself defending our decision to home school to his co-timer during a home swim meet.  The baffled mother, a long-time school district employee, expressed serious concerns for our son's well being as a home school student, sharing a few worst-case scenarios from her professional point of view.  She inquired with the usual (and usually well-meaning) line of questioning we face often as the primary educators of our kids:

"What about his socialization?"

"What about his hopes for college admissions?"

"How do you make sure he's keeping up with his grade?"

Flying into action

Answering these types of questions about home schooling in the past often involved a complicated series of answers, sometimes including statistics and some personal philosophical justifications.  This time, however, Tim simply answered, "We home schooled Joseph's older brother from first grade and he was admitted to Notre Dame with an academic scholarship." 

That simple statement pretty much summed up everything Tim had to say in that moment with regard to all the "what if's" being launched at him with friendly fire.  Point taken.

Joseph holds his own in the varsity races.

Ultimately, Zachary's academic success thus-far reflects his keen mind and his strong desire to further his education and to achieve certain goals for his intellectual, personal and spiritual growth.  Anyone who knows Zachary knows that he (like his dad) has been blessed with above average intelligence.  However, his academic path to the University of Notre Dame was paved right here at home, and we trust that Joseph's (and Peter's) preparation for higher education (and life in general) will also be best -custom made- in our humble little Catholic school at home.

Capturing Christmas {2012}

The Mass of Christ.  Christmas.  

O Holy Night!

Spending time with our extended families and friends before Christmas ~ the appetizer.

Spending time with our extended families and friends after Christmas ~ the dessert.

The main course ~ assisting and worshiping at midnight Mass and Christmas morning Mass (with a few hours of sleep in between) offers pure satisfaction to our hungry hearts.

Weston, Peter, Violet, Joseph, Sawyer and Zachary: a complete set of cousins on Tim's side

Nearly the complete set of cousins; plus a few spouses and our little (and grown) ones on Bridget's side

The heart-breaker: digesting the reality that so many baptized Christians will not choose to worship God in His Church on this holy day, nor faithfully on Sundays, nor on any day.  With lives so full and so blessed, they lack the desire ~ or the will ~ to physically and habitually return to God's house to give Him praise, thanks and glory.  The call God Himself placed upon their hearts has been somehow muted or crowded out in the noisiness and business of life.  Yet He waits patiently for each one of us to return to Him.  Our Returning King offers His endless mercy as a perpetual Christmas gift, free of charge to anyone who simply, humbly asks.

Rocky at Christmas

Our New Arrival {Zac Returns from Notre Dame}

Joseph, Zachary and Peter together after daily Mass at Sacred Heart

His first semester at Notre Dame behind him, Zachary returned to the fold for a month's Christmas break.  Luggage in tow, fully bearded and dressed to the nines, Zachary arrived in fine form and our family of five was once again whole. 

With Zachary's return comes the reunion of his old gang of solid friends;  guys who have obviously missed Zachary and anticipated his return.  He's a wanted man, and does a fine job balancing his family time and 'bro' time.  The shortage of hours of sleep notwithstanding, Zachary's adjustment to life at home seems fairly seamless. 

One semester of intense German in his wake, with another on the horizon inspired Zachary to read the Gospel of John in German over the break.  Following along in English, I listened as he read the first chapter aloud.  I'm no German scholar, but he sounded proficient and certainly confident in his pronunciation. 

In these final days of Advent, our family and individual preparations for the celebration of Christ's birth draw us closer to one another, and closer to Him.  The excitement of having our first-born son return from college, as awesome as it is, pales in comparison to our hope-filled anticipation of the coming of our Savior ~ as at the remembrance of His Holy birth on Christmas we await our Returning King who promised to come again to judge the living and the dead.  Are you ready?

Perilous Preparations {Advent Lights}

Joseph makes a mad dash to get to geometry class, with Peter on high.

Sparing no efforts and wasting no time, Joseph and Peter cooperatively executed a well schemed decorating project which effectively illuminated our exterior surroundings.  Following in the footsteps of their Grandpa Cliff, famous for fantastic lighting displays, the boys spared no expense, spending their own money to acquire new strands of lights for the festive design they envisioned.

A written plan, complete with diagrams and check lists kept Peter and Joseph focused and coordinated their efforts to meet a common goal: become the brightest house on the block. 

Alpine Christmas (a planning list)
1. Get more lights soon (extra bulbs)
2. Acquire evergreen branches
3. Place lights with branches
4. Eat dessert
5. Pray to Baby Jesus

Decorating into the night, Peter perches near his handiwork.

  
Not without great danger was this enterprise accomplished.  The farthest reaches of our roof top stand about thirty feet above the ground and come to a small point on diagonal angles.  Although Joseph knew this section of the job was beyond his comfort level, Peter volunteered willingly.  Disappointed that Dad wouldn't let them attempt reaching this corner in the dark, they begrudgingly agreed to postpone completion.  This most perilous corner had to be accessed twice, as the first attempt to secure the lights failed at first wind.   Admittedly quivering, yet bravely determined to complete the project, Peter scaled the heights a second time to attach the wayward strand. 

Joseph and Peter strike a post-decorating celebratory pose.

The great reward for their decorating efforts came in the form of Grandpa Cliff's compliments, complete with an honest expression of his amazement, "I can't believe you put lights up to that corner!"
Mission accomplished.