Prayers
First, pray for the repose of the soul of this man who died trying to save the life of his son. I never met him, but I knew several of his sons, one of whom is a priest in the Arlington, VA diocese(that is where my brother, Father Uncleofnoisykids has his parish). This is what he sent me:
"Dadwithnoisykids, you also may have met Mr. Vander Woude when you were in college.
He was a model of Christian manhood - a Navy and airline pilot; then,
when he had to retire from that because of age, he became athletic
director and coach. I could tell you much, much more.
Suffice it to say he died the way he lived - truly a man for others.
May he rest in peace, and may God have mercy on his family who are now grieving his loss.
Please take some time to say a Rosary today for the Vander Woude family. If
you don't know them - they are Holy Trinity parishioners with seven sons,
one a priest, one a teacher at Seton School, another a coach at Seton, and
the youngest Joseph(in his teens) has down syndrome. Today he fell into a
well on their property and his dad heroically jumped in to save him.
He treaded water holding his son up until rescue workers could get there. It
only took 17 min to arrive from the phone call but Mr Vander Woude senior
did not survive. Please take a minute to pray for the repose of his soul and
give all your children a big hug. Thank you."
May his soul, and all the souls of the Faithful Departed, rest in peace.
Birthday
Yesterday was the 7th birthday of Noisykid #10, sometimes referred to as the 'Ritalin poster child' and one of those who inspired the concept of the 'Ritalin dart.' We are blessed to have such an enthusiastic child living in our midst, for he is always making us laugh with his antics. He was named after a pope and a priest, both of whom we think will intercede for him in Heaven.
We brought Noisykid #10 home on September 11, 2001, which brings me to the next part of this post:
The Empty Sky
Two years ago on September 11, I wrote
this post about 9/11. I think it is worth bringing up again because it is good for us to remember what happened on that fateful day in 2001. I render my own opinion as to why 9/11 happened....here is a picture of a priest I know praying for those outside of the Pentagon:
Noisykid #15 Captured on Film!
Alright, enough melancholia and navel-gazing! Let's look at ultrasound pictures of the 2009 Model Noisykid!!!!
Noisykid #15 kept waving his arms in front of his face, so the pictures are not the best quality. Still, it was great for me to see a moving body - and a four-chambered heart beating merrily away.
Here is a foot.
Another shot of the face gives a little better view of the eye sockets.
Here Noisykid #15 shows off his fingers. But here below is the MONEY SHOT, the one we were waiting for. The sonographer asked us if we saw what we saw, and sure enough, it looks like outdoor plumbing.
By nightfall, Noisykid #13's old crib was stripped of any evidence of pink, and large crates of 'boy' baby clothes were opened. The baby dresser was emptied of all girl stuff, and every shade of blue material was put in its stead. Of course, deficiencies in the inventory were duly noted, and shopping expeditions were planned.
Meanwhile, a little baby danced in his mother's womb, waiting for the day that he would join the ranks of the Noisykids.
Deo Gratias!
Thank you, Theodore, for interceding for us!
This a view looking west at about 2,000 feet. Those little bits of cloud below us were cool. A while later we drove through them - after they drifted over the road.
Here is another shot, about 2655 feet, looking east toward Washington, D.C. If you look closely, you can see Congress in session:
Meanwhile, back on the west side, clouds were still hanging low....
More little bits of clouds:
Again:
We have looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down. Still, somehow, it's clouds illusions we recall. We really don't know clouds at all. Send in a clown to explain it. Don't bother, they're here.
Here is a picture of our college student. Note the facial hair. I was feeling a bit of 'beard envy,' since I can't grow enough facial hair. I tried several years ago, and after 6 weeks a nurse took me aside and told me(respectfully) that it looked "really bad" and "not professional." I took her advice, and shall remain clean-shaven for the rest of my life. Not so for my sons:
