Prayer for Denise Mooney

Dear Lord, relying on your promises to us, I turn to you in trust that my friend Denise is with you and that she is enjoying your loving embrace. You alone know how she loved the best she could and how she faithfully endured the struggles that she faced. You know the graces you gave her and you know the grace she was for so many. She truly loved the way you loved her, please reward her, Lord. May she enjoy the communion of all her family and friends who are with you.

Lord, I know Denise still loves us who are still here on earth. I ask you that you might listen to her fervent prayers for us.

I ask you this with faith in the resurrection, Amen.

And the grade is

Anna got 105% on her American History Project! (extra 5 points for presenting in class)

Yahoo!

Prayer of St. Bonaventure to the Holy Spirit

Lord Jesus, as God's Spirit came down and rested upon you,
May the same Spirit rest on us,
Bestowing his sevenfold gifts.
First, grant us the gift of understanding,
By which your precepts may enlighten our minds.
Second, grant us counsel, by which we may follow
in your footsteps on the path of righteousness.
Third, grant us courage,
by which we may ward off the enemy's attacks.
Fourth, grant us knowledge,
by which we can distinguish good from evil.
Fifth, grant us piety,
by which we may acquire compassionate hearts.
Sixth, grant us fear,
by which we may draw back from evil
and submit to what is good.
Seventh, grant us wisdom,
that we may taste fully the life-giving sweetness of your love.

Nine days of school

The kids (and I imagine the teachers) are excited that there are only 9 more days of school!! Everyone is looking forward to no alarm clocks!

May has been very busy, with Girl Scout events, softball practice (and many rained out games), final projects and much more. Marian has successfully completed the Daisy level of Girl Scouts and will move onto the Brownie level in the fall. She is going to Girl Scout day camp in June and is looking forward to it.

We are contemplating putting a shed in the back yard, as we really need a place to keep our stuff (that would normally be in a garage) Hopefully, we'll find a suitable place. There are many building codes that we must comply with.

Anna's Project

Check out Anna's American History project. We'll let you know her grade!


PS We realized the typo after the project was all done, we know, it's "Yoko Ono"

Rain and Sun

Lots of rainstorms and lots of warm weather here lately. Gabriel didn't want to mow today, it being so hot, and as luck would have it, the mower broke. He has his sight set on an electric mower by Neuton, so he thinks this will be the perfect time to swap out this gas powered for an all electric.

Anna is busy with final projects for 8th grade. She has a history project and has decided to do the music of the 1960's, her title being "The Times They are A-changin'". She is trying to do the project as a movie with music as the background for her still slides. (Mainly a PowerPoint with music) She is focusing on Rock and Folk. She also has to do a "book report" on the holocaust book "Night" by Elie Weisel. (Who by the way is Romanian)

Marian and Anna had hot practices today and everyone has a game this week.

Gabriel is back to school and spring football practice is over for now. It will ramp up in August.

I've joined a casual Scrabble club here in Knoxville and am hoping to start a club at the school. I just have to find a teacher to help sponsor the club.

Peer Pressure (from Gabriel)

Pressure: the external force on one object causing a change in behavior or actions.
Peer Pressure: People coercing someone to do something they want them to do.

I was recently involved in a situation where I was pressured to do something wrong. I was called names over and over and over again. People who pressure others don’t stop until you do what they want. It was like pests annoying you until they get what they want. It made me feel like an insignificant person and very hated. I felt like all the names they called me, I felt like there was no way out. I once told someone about this, and then I was called a snitch. They said no one likes a snitch, and everyone hates me.

I would’ve changed my reaction to it if I had thought about the big picture of life and what and who I was affecting. So this is my personal advice: 1) If your peers are telling you to make fun of someone else, don’t listen, tell someone you trust 2) Tell the bullies stop it and ask then yourself why you are doing it. I know I should have stood up to the bullies and ignored their requests. Unfortunately, the quotes below are true, but knowing it and experiencing it are very different things. Hopefully, I will learn from this experience.

“No child is immune to peer pressure” ~Kathi Hudson
“Kids ... can get to the point where they feel peer pressure isn't even there” ~Walt Mueller

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is often a day for accolades. A day set apart for honoring mothers. The first thing I should mention is that my mother always told me she hated Mother's Day. She said that every day should be Mother's Day and that it shouldn't take some artificial holiday to tell your mother you love her. I could tell you about my mother. I could tell you how she was born in 1942, grew up on the West Side of Manchester, NH. Or that her name was Joanne Duval Weed. I could tell you she was a lover of music, how she played and taught piano. I could tell you countless stories of her, her love for God, her love for life. But, I will also have to share that she died March 2, 2007. If there could be a World's Worse Disease, Lewy Body Disease would surely be close to the top. It is a disease that combines the symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and eventually robs you of mind and body. When my mother was finally diagnosed with this disease, we all searched the web for information. I found countless websites about this disease, that just months before I was clueless about. It was a disease that, according to most medical records, came on slow and progressed slowly. But in my mother, it was like a cassette tape stuck on fast-forward, all of us fumbling to stop it. But it did not. And so we saw and she experienced on a week-to-week basis what for some took years. The reality of this life is that we all will die someday. When my mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body, I knew she would die, most likely sooner than later. But, we all thought there would be more time, one more birthday, one more celebration. For the most part, I lived my life here in NH. Yet there was a chunk of my life, about 10 years, when I was living elsewhere. I have always wondered the reason why I came back. Of course, I can point to the need for a better job, a stable life and a safer place to raise kids. But, looking back it was more than that. I was called back here so that I could have 12 more years with my mom. 12 years when I became her true friend. Years not encumbered by my adolescent hormones. Years of sharing stories, countless phone calls, years of becoming each other’s confidantes. And in the past months, seeing my mother change and become consumed by a disease she could not control. There are so many things that go on between mothers and daughters, some said, some unsaid. I am not ashamed to say I love my mother and I miss her. People have told me what a good daughter I am, how devoted to my mother I was. I tell them honoring our parents is a commandment, not a suggestion. But it can also be a tremendous blessing.

What's happening

Very warm weather here, finally turned on the air conditioning. Bogdan is very happy. The fans in the master bedroom and the family room also help to circulate the air.

Anna lost her first softball game, 7-1, but she had a good hit (first at bat) and played well overall.

Gabriel is home for 3 days because of a school suspension. Short story is that he was being pressured by some older boys to write harassing and damaging things about a girl in class. He wrote them and she reported him. We're dealing with it.

New Hampshire State of Mind

The most hilarious video, check it out on YouTube

Here are the words

Yeah. Yeah, Imma up at Conway
Now I'm down in Manchester
Next to Adam Sandler
But I'll be woods forever
I'm the new Salinger
Cuz I could live anywhere
But I choose to live here
The middle of nowhere
I used to shop in Salem
Next to Rockingham Park
Right there up on 28
Youll find Canobie Lake Park
Bring me up to Portsmouth
the saloon at State Street
Catch me up at Gilleys after closing for some late eats
Its not the kangamangus
The Kancamagus
Its a scenic byway
That I like to drive in August
Now Im down at Bedford
Home of Seth Meyers, yeah
Also Sarah Silverman
were funny ********** here
We like to say whatsup guy, its the way we say hi
In February it is good to know a plow guy
It is shaped like a key, also where I like to ski
Tell by my belt buckle that I most definitely from...

NEW HAMPSHIRE
LAND WHERE THERES NO INCOME OR SALES TAX
THERE S NOTHING MUCH TO DO
HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
THESE TREES WHERE LEAF PEEPERS DRIVE TO
MAPLE SYRUP IS PRO-DUCED
THIS IS NEW HAMPSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE

Catch me up at Loudon, at the Speedway for the race yo
I made the flannel shirt more famous than a scarecrow
Dont drink and drive here, listen to what I say
even though we put our liquor stores right on the highway
You can drive Mount Washington
hike up Mount Monadnock
in 1787 we invented the alarm clock
Concord Coach, Dartmouth Coach, DowneasterAmtrak
On Squam Lake, Henry Fonda taught yall how to act
Derrys Alan Shepard, first guy in a spaceship
Its a pity Christa McCaulliffe didnt make it
Didja hear about the ice storm in December of 08
I went without power for eleven straight days!
You can buy a handgun
You can buy some fireworks
Sandwich Fair, Rest in peace Daniel Webster
Americas Stonehenge, long live the dairy trade
Long live the old man
I'm from the Granite State thats

NEW HAMPSHIRE
PLACE WHERE STONYFIELD YOGURT IS MADE IN
AND COW TIPPINGS SO COOL
HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
DSL SERVICE IS BRAND NEW
YOU MIGHT EVEN SEE A MOOSE
HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep

Thats some Robert Frost, hes our most famous poet
It was actually written up in Vermont but its associated with
The 603, where its a fact I
Dont know any Hispanics and just one black guy
You can go to Bike Week thats up in Laconia
In the winter months hit the notch in Franconia, home of
B-O-D-E our Olympic Ski Champion
He faced high pressure like my man Al Kaprielian

NEW HAMPSHIRE
IF YOU DONT WANT TO WEAR A HELMET
THERES NOTHIN THEY CAN DO
HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
MARKEYS VERSE BROWNS ON THE SEAFOOD
TELL ME WHICH ONE WILL YOU CHOOSE
WHEN YOURE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE HAMPSHIRE HAMPSHIRE

NINTH STATE RATIFIED OUT OF ALL FIFTY
IT CAN GET COLD
BUT STILL THE AUTUMNS VERY PRETTY
WHEN THIS SONG MAKES ME RICH,
I'M A MOVE TO RYE
EVERYBODY PUMP YOUR FISTS AND YELL
LIVE FREE OR DIE! LIVE FREE OR DIE!

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
STATE WHERE TRIPLE H THE WRESTLER HAILS FROM
THAT GUY WOULD DESTROY YOU
IF YOU KNOCK NEW HAMPSHIRE
ITS JUST LIKE OLD HAMPSHIRE BUT NEW
WERE OUT OF JOKES TO DO
ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE

Best Muffin Recipe

The kids love these muffins and eat them up whenever I make them. Makes 2 dozen.

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs or equivalent egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups applesauce
4 cups flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup oat bran
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Mix in ingredients, one at a time, until all blended. Pour into 2 muffin tins (24 total) and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Enjoy!

Rainy season

There was considerable rain this weekend. We stayed high and dry, but others we know had flooded basements. Even the interstate flooded.

We went to Dollywood yesterday and had a short but fun time. Great roller-coasters and Marian is now tall enough to join everyone on the big and scary rides. She loves roller-coasters, in fact all the kids do.

Marian's game was canceled because the rain made the fields too we to play on (despite it being very hot today!) Bogdan lost his game, and Anna plays tomorrow. Gabriel has spring conditioning for football for the next 2 weeks. He loves playing again. Because it is a school team, he has a football locker, which he thinks is cool.