A Prayer for Holy Week

O God, holy and eternal, you permit us to enter into the fellowship of that holy suffering by which your dear Son, our Savior, conquered sin, death and the power of the devil. Grant that we may celebrate his passion with true devotion, accept the cross as his disciples, and thus fulfill your holy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rain Showers

We had rain showers (actually downpours) off and on all day. There was a downpour right before church, so we did not process outside for Palm Sunday. Then when we were home we had 2 more thundershowers.

The kids are looking forward to sunny weather this week.

Anna and Gabriel went to the junior high retreat this weekend and loved it. Marian was sad without them.

Cold mornings/hot afternoons

The kids love the weather, especially when they come home from school and it is 70 (F). They tear off their school clothes and put on shorts and enjoy the weather. The mornings are still cold, in the high 30's.

Daffodils everywhere in bloom! Although, none in our yard. It appears the previous owners liked easy to maintain bushes, rather than flowers or bulbs.

I think spring will be short

Since it already feels like summer. It's 60 (F) right now and today's high was in the 70's.

We are sad that we didn't plant any bulbs in the fall, but we hope to do that this fall and be able to see the colors bloom the following spring.

Anna had a bike accident today, only scrapes, so no broken legs...

Spring is in the air!

Although it is colder today, it has been nice and warm this week. Bright sunshine and flowers coming up everywhere.

Bogdan's department attempted to apply for some funding for a new project, but they were rejected. They basically told them that they needed to have the project done and then they might get funding. That's wonderful federal bureaucracy for you!

Gabriel slept over at a friend's and we haven't seen him in 24 hours! The girls haven't missed him too much.

Marian is off to a friend's house soon and anxious to play for 6 hours!

Happy Spring!

St. Patrick's Breastplate

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Vacation Events

Monday we went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga with the Moshers, our friends from NH. It was fun for all, and only once did someone stop and ask us if "those are all your kids?" We had 9 kids between us.

Tuesday we went shopping (spring clothes and then food) and also had our carpets cleaned. The blue stain is now much fainter.

Today we are having all green foods. Green eggs and ham for lunch and then we're having multi-colored fettuccine (yes, there's green in there) and rainbow sherbet for dessert.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Matt Maher

All went to a Matt Maher concert tonight. Excellent. The Bishop came and it was so encouraging to see him there.

Vacation

Kids are excited, today is the last day of school before vacation begins next week. We are planning some day trips and looking forward to warm weather. It's been in the high 50's (F) for about a week now. We hope to at least visit the Aquarium and the Whitwell Paper Clip Project.

Off to a church retreat tonight and tomorrow, led by composer and musician Christopher Walker.

A Cradle Song

The angels are stooping
Above your bed;
They weary of trooping
With the whimpering dead.
God's laughing in Heaven
To see you so good;
The Sailing Seven
Are gay with His mood.
I sigh that kiss you,
For I must own
That I shall miss you
When you have grown.

William Butler Yeats

A lovely night sighting

As I came home from my Girl Scout planning meeting, I spied 3 white-tailed deer on my neighbor's lawn. I ran in to get the kids and we all tiptoed out to see them, as they munched my neighbor's grass. They didn't care we were there at all.

A lovely sight!

Oscars

Best part of Oscars: seeing Sandra Bullock and Mo'Nique win in their category, James Taylor playing "In My Life".

Worst part: seeing what's her name win again for costume and saying "I've got 2 of these already", let's not rub it in shall we?

Beautiful weather

While the saying says that March roars in like a lion, here it is almost 50 (F) today and lovely. I am kicking everyone out for some fresh air activities.

The crocuses and bulbs are already out around here, a lovely sight, since it's probably still snowy in NH.

Double Birthday

Happy Birthday to both Fayth and David today. David is so old I can't even tell you his age (two years more than me) and Fayth is old enough to make me feel old.

Best to both of them!