Where were you 10 years ago?

In a grocery store with my son and the man in front of me in line told the clerk about the crashes. It didn't become real until I listened to it on NPR and saw it on tv.

This week

Just a normal week
-Anna got into the fall play "Backstage", and they asked me to do costumes for the drama department
-Bogdan lost his passport, had to be issued an emergency one and is flying stand-by from Oslo
-Gabriel put off mowing lawns until tomorrow, when it's NOT going to rain (at least he hopes)
-Marian begged for a sleepover at a friend's and I said yes
-kids all got to school on time each day
-made 10 meals for freezer
-looking forward to Katerpillar Kids' Camp with Anna (this weekend), doing the music for the kids
-I found out that both Anna and Gabriel have significant others!

Happy 20th Anniversary

Labor Day Camping

We finally made it to the Smokey Mountain National Forest for camping! There are a number of campgrounds within the National Forest and we chose Abrams Creek, because of the the hiking and fishing. Gabriel caught some the 2nd day and we also went on a family hike. The girls did 1 mile up and back and the boys did the long hike, 5 miles up (straight up in some places) and then swimming at Abrams Falls and then 5 miles back down. They were tired! We swam in the creek and then went to get more ice while they did their long hike. We encountered about 100 motorcycles, and found out that there is a Harley shop about 5 miles from the campground.

Anna successfully drove the whole way home, in Bogdan's car. Gabriel and I were safely in my car. :)

Bogdan leaves for Norway in another hour or so. Some business development there, home on Friday.

The Twinkie Diet

Now, here's a diet I can take. The Twinkie Diet.

For 10 weeks, this guy ate mostly junk food, Twinkies, Oreos, etc. The article says he ate 2/3 junk food and augmented with some vegetables. He lost 27 pounds and his cholesterol went down.

Saint of the Day

St. Monica--ever faithful mother, prayer and Woman of God, well known for being the mother of St. Augustine

Dear Saint Monica, patroness of all parents, please take our children, especially those who have turned from the ways of Christ and His Church, under your protection. Let them always remain faithful to their Baptismal vows. Give them the strength to walk always in the ways of the Lord, despite the temptations and false values they find in the world today. Pray for them that they may share with you the joys of eternal life. Amen.

Hurricane watch

Why do we have this fascination with hurricanes and other natural disasters? We watch it just waiting to see the train wreck, waiting for the worst? Maybe we should hope and pray for the best and not wait with anticipation for the worst.