Random Thoughts of a Catholic Husband, Father, Physician, Licensed Commercial Septic System Operator, Driving Instructor, Tractor Mechanic, Gardener, Deliverer of All Foods Carry-out, Amateur Book Reviewer, Neo-Texan, Novice Chicken Rancher, Beekeeper, and Writer of Really, Really Bad Poetry. I try to live up to Chesterton's observation that 'a thing worth doing is worth doing badly.'
Take a good look at our iTouch. The picture is one of Bernard taken in San Antonio back in 2009 when he was just about 6 months old.
Note that the iPod is disabled.
Note that it is disabled for the next 21,768,474 minutes. That is what happens when Bernard just sits there trying to unlock the iTouch for a long, long time.
All in a day's work for my two year old son.
He also likes to take apart the children's kitchen set and climb into the space designated for the sink.
Not one to ignore the creature comforts, he likes to make sure he has a beverage to go along with it.
I recall some workers at McDonald's got fired for bathing in sinks in the kitchen - or maybe it was because they went the extra mile and videotaped said bathings and posted them on YouTube.
Heavenly Father, Lord of Life, send us more little ones to raise up to live with You forever in Heaven!
Yesterday afternoon, after much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we got all three tractors up and running. I was surprised that all three started up so well, seeing as how neglect was the main way that they were prepared for the inactivity of winter.
The resurrection of the dormant tractors coincided with the start of a fine drizzle, which progressed to heavy rain by sunset. That ended any plans I had for mowing the lawn. That was all right, because there is always something else to be done on our property. The children and I spent time hauling downed tree branches to the site of last year's bonfire. It was a big job; many trees on the property still need to be trimmed of dead branches. Dead tree limbs pose a real threat to the the children. In my practice, I have cared for several patients who had been injured by falling tree branches. One woman actually had a limb penetrate her skull.
But enough of my morbid medical stories.
If you look carefully at the picture above, one can see the pile of wood in the distance. Now it is larger, and obscures more of the distant house behind it.
Here is a video from last week, which shows how beautiful Spring is in North Texas, and some of the children working or playing in the back yard:
Springtime in North Texas is heralded by the blossoming of flowers, especially the Bluebonnet, which is the State Flower of Texas. I believe it is illegal to mow areas where the Bluebonnet is in bloom. Another floral rule or tradition of this season is to force little children to get photographed in Bluebonnet fields - regardless of where said fields are. It is not uncommon to see dozens of cars pulled off along the interstate to take advantage of the flowers blooming along the embankments.
Thankfully, we do not have Bluebonnets, but we do have these little flowers all over the property, which are just as beautiful and smell nice. One of the things I like about them is that they follow the sun throughout the day. In the morning, they lean towards the East, and by the end of the day they are facing the West. When I picked these flowers, they were turned toward what would have been the setting sun.
Another great thing about having so many flowers around is that the children can pick them any time to give to their mother. Even husbands can pick them, especially if they have to make amends for thoughtless infractions they may have incurred.
In one way, these floral arrangements are far more beautiful than those purchased at a flower shop, but I suspect women still love to get roses whenever possible.
Here is a photograph from Christmas Day. One can imagine the challenge of getting us all facing the camera....I am going to include this in the photographs commemorating our 20th anniversary.
Front Row: Genevieve(12) holding Bernard(11 months), Marcellinus(8), Cornelius(9), and Maximilian(6) Middle Row: Carolyn(young), ZelieLouisa(4) held by Bernadette(18), Benedict(13), Jacinta(11), Stephen(old) Back Row: Augustine(14), Nathaniel(16 today, 12.30.2009!), Dominick(19)
We are blessed with all of our children. Today is especially wonderful, because today we celebrate the birthday of Nathaniel, who turns 16 today. A driver's license will be following shortly, I am sure.
We are running our tails off, trying to complete the house renovation before Christmas - so we can start preparing for the birth of Christ. There will be more pictures of the house, maybe even another video tour ("Is it beautiful, Linda?). For now blogging is on the back burner.
Below is a picture of Bernard before he got his bilateral myringotomy and grommet insertion ("ear tubes") last Friday. He did well, although the other children expected tubes hanging out of his ear canals.
Tomorrow, St. Andrew's Feast Day, begins the St. Andrews Christmas Novena.
The following prayer is repeated 15 times per day up until Christmas:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)
Imprimatur +MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, Archbishop of New York New York, February 6, 1897
Last year, I tried to put up a video for every day of advent. I shall do something like that this year, but more of the 'home grown' variety. There are only so many times one can see Jon Anderson in tights. So here is one of the children playing Greensleeves:
That would be Genevieve, Noisykid #7, in December 2007.
Bernard loves to be outside almost as much as he loves to be around his brothers and sisters. I took him outside to let him walk around with his walking toy, but he wanted to sit and watch the boys play baseball in the front yard. He also got a chance to sample some of the dirt and grass clippings which were nearby....
I think every time he looked back at me I got a picture of him with his eyes closed. He looks so angelic in this picture:
Several of the younger boys were outside playing their version of baseball. Their backyard baseball field is still a bit moist from all the rain we had back in October. It is time to take the plug aerator to the back yard and back field.
Maximilian has just hit the ball - and thankfully did NOT throw the bat back towards us - and is heading for first base. Bernard is trying to figure out what I am doing.
Another picture of this happy little boy. He was clapping for his brothers.
Here Bernard studies the game so he will be able to play it when he is bigger.
Since Carolyn was gone today, I had to stay up and watch Bernard. I made lentil soup and wheat bread for dinner, and broke one of the attachments on our mixer. I realized too late that there is a special attachment for making bread.
At least the lentil soup didn't turn into paste as it has on previous occasions....
Bernard is working on becoming a true toddler. Watch with us:
Today is the birthday of Fr. Denis, one of my older brothers. Please remember him in your prayers on this day.
As an aside, here is a video from our All Saints Day Party. The children dress up as saints, and we have to guess who they are. This one included a dramatization:
No one was injured during the making of this video, but note that it appears as if St. Stephen's soul was caught in the ceiling fan.
Two years ago we learned that the 'next year's model' Noisykid had died in utero at 11 weeks gestation.
This child would have been born around the time that Theodore died.
We named her Therese Mary Catherine.
Today I was reminded of this when we saw an autistic child in a restaurant, and my wife reminded me of something which our Priest said shortly after Theodore's death.
"The only thing harder than living with the Cross is not living with it."
We thank God for all of our children; those who live and for those who have died.
On a lighter note, here is the youngest, Bernard, sporting some cool shades:
July 1, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of our marriage. God has blessed us in so many ways over the years, and I thought a few pictures would be nice to put on the blog.
1989. Here we are saying our vows. The color is due to the natural light rather than a flash during the wedding:
1990. Our oldest son, Dominick, came along in April:
1991. The following year brought us our first daughter, Bernadette. She looks very serious in the picture:
1992 is the year we were blessed with Theodore. He slept through the shoot while I had to hold Dominick:
1993. Nathaniel arrived right before the end of 1993. I recall going to the department 'Holiday' party a few days earlier, and everyone kept grabbing Carolyn's belly. It just drove me nuts - I would never do that to someone else's wife! Note a recurrent theme in this picture: sleeping baby and squirming older brother.
1995. Augustine was born in March of that year. Dominick and Theodore were just doing their own thing when this picture was taken. Theodore had a red ball in his hand that we could not get away from him.
1996. San Antonio, Texas. Benedict was just a few months old when we moved to Texas. This was our almost last time getting our picture done at one of those 'studios.'
1997. After four boys in a row, Genevieve joined us in June. She was the first Texas Native, the first Air Force baby(at least on while we were on active duty), and our largest baby to date. The Air Force didn't believe in inducing labor, so she was born on her due date at 11#, 4 oz. No obstetrician has let Carolyn go full term since. Here Genevieve is giving a big Texas Howdy! to all the folks:
1998/1999. This picture is either really late 1998 or early 1999, because Jacinta was born in December of 1998. Also, there is no way we would be wearing jackets in the summer in San Antonio.
1999. One day after our 10th anniversary, we lost our first child when Carolyn had a miscarriage at about two months. We named our little one Anastasia Innocent. This was a painful lesson in realizing just how much our children are a gift from God, whether we have them for years on Earth or just a picture on an ultrasound.
Several months later, our parish started to put together a directory with family photographs. On summer evening we posed for this picture in a sweltering office. The photographer later disappeared with all the money he had collected, leaving just proofs behind. Some of the children were noticeably wilting in the photo:
2000/2001. January, 2001 shows that we learned our lesson, and we now take all family pictures during the cooler Texas months. No more August photo shoots. Cornelius was born in August, 2000. He was the first complete 'civilian' child we had, as I had separated from the Air Force in July, 2000.
2001. September 9, 2001, Marcellinus was born, and he came home on 9/11.
2003. In 2002, we moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. One of our wildest adventures in this neck of the woods was building a house. Here we are posing in front of it with our first Dallas child, Maximilian:
2005. You can barely tell we are posing around one of our tractors in this picture. Our youngest daughter, ZelieLouisa is sitting on Carolyn's lap. Note the brown grass - that is what happens when it doesn't rain for months.
2006. Note the boys are getting bigger in each picture. Our numbers have not grown, despite our prayers for more children.
2007. Once again, the joy of a new life became sadness as we lost another child at just a few weeks after conception. This year we posed by our picture of Divine Mercy, and we took consolation in the prayer which ends with the words "....Your Will, which is love and mercy itself."
2008. In the picture above, Theodore stood by the picture of Divine Mercy, with his head inclined toward it. Theodore died suddenly on April 3, 2008. In the picture below, we included his portrait as a reminder of how much he remains in our hearts.
2009. This photo montage helps explain why for years the customary greeting I would hear was, "how are you? Is Carolyn pregnant?" It appeared that those days were over, but God smiled on us again, and in January of 2009 we were blessed with another son, Bernard. He is a blessing to all of us, and here he is braving the 100+ heat in San Antonio last weekend:
Our life together has been blessed beyond our comprehension with our children and friends, and most importantly our Faith. We have tried to do the Will of God in our marriage, and in particular we have been open to life since the the beginning. Over the years, rather than wishing for this part of our lives to end, we find ourselves praying and begging God for more children. Our children are the only gifts we have on Earth that can follow us to Heaven, and we intend to see all of our children there one day.
I recall a comment from a book on marriage which has stuck with me for years. It said that choosing a good spouse would bring a bit of Heaven into the marriage. I have been blessed with my wife Carolyn. She is my best friend, and she is motivated by the desire to see her husband and all of her children get to Heaven. It helps that she loves God so much, for I can be difficult at times. I thank God for my wife, and I thank Carolyn every day for saying 'I do' to me twenty years ago.
UPDATE, DECEMBER 30, 2009!
LATEST FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH:
Front Row: Genevieve(12) holding Bernard(11 months), Marcellinus(8), Cornelius(9), and Maximilian(6)
Middle Row: Carolyn(young), ZelieLouisa(4) held by Bernadette(18), Benedict(13), Jacinta(11), Stephen(old)
Back Row: Augustine(14), Nathaniel(16 today, 12.30.2009!), Dominick(19)
UPDATE: HERE IS OUR VIDEO COMMEMORATING OUR 21ST ANNIVERSARY:
ANOTHER UPDATE: A PICTURE FROM CHRISTMAS, 2010: ...and for good measure, here is a picture of Carolyn and I from over the Summer. Carolyn is so beautiful, and I am so blessed to be her husband.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Here is our latest picture from January, 2013. Note that the children are getting bigger while we seem to be shrinking. Also, the photographer neatly arranged it so the Native Texans are all in the front row, while the 'Northerners' are in the back. Actually, since I was born in California I should be in a row all by myself.
Back Row, Left to Right: Nathaniel (19), Augustine (18), Carolyn, Stephen, Dominick (22), Bernadette (21), and Benedict (16)
Front Row (The Native Texans): Marcellinus (11), Genevieve (15), Maximilian (10), Bernard (4), ZelieLouisa (7), Jacinta (14), and Cornelius (12)
This has been a busy time at the Noisykid household. Work, extracurricular activities, and just keeping things going has made it harder to blog. Part of it is because I have a Facebook page, and it is really easy to put something on there without much thought. Blogging - believe it or not, is more intellectually challenging than Facebook.
Speaking of Facebook, I actually culled a lot of people off my friends list. Nothing personal, but I spent too much time wading through 'bandwidth' produced by various adults putting on a lot of links to things that I found distracting. I had to get back to the original purpose for Facebook: spying on my children.
Also, we are looking to get a garden going. Here are the little peat pots with seeds in them:
Beans, peas, tomatoes, squash(several kinds), cilantro, watermelon, and carrots. We shall see what grows and thrives in North Texas. We tried growing peppers but something ate the little sprouts down to the roots.
I can't think of where my inspiration for starting a garden came from.....
Nope, not there....
Give me a break, or give me a [redacted] break, to quote our Vice-President. The First Lady should change into something a little more grungy before she gets out there turning soil.
Actually, my inspiration was the memory of the fresh vegetables we had in 2007 - the last year we had a garden. I really liked the zucchini, carrots, and cilantro which grew well for months before getting burned up over the late Summer.
Then there is our newest little addition, who has us wrapped around his finger.
I shall post more videos of my little son Bernard soon!
In my absence, the world has continued to turn, and our President has continued his tradition of offending the weak and vulnerable, either through passage of legislation or making jokes on a late-night comedy variety show. Nothing is sacred or Presidential to this man voted in:
Compare and contrast the above video clip with that of this backwoods, backwards country hick from some unpolished state in the Northwest:
Scripted? Perhaps, but then some things are worth thinking about before opening one's mouth. Which of the above people demonstrates the "nobless oblige" one would expect of the president?
President Obama's insult to those in Special Olympics is especially painful coming so close to the first anniversary of Theodore's death, which will be this Friday, April 3.
Today some of us participated in a test for advancement in Taekwon-Do. We started at the lowest level with a White Belt, which represents innocence - no prior knowledge of Taekwon-Do.
All five of us qualified for a yellow stripe on our white belt, which is the next level up from white belt.
Testing involves a series of patterns which demonstrate various punches and blocks. This martial art involves physical and mental effort, and one must show proficiency in knowledge of Taekwon-Do. Of course, there is nothing interesting in watching people get quizzed on knowledge of Taekwon-Do. Breaking things, now that's a different story. Watch two of the Noisykids destroy trees:
Here is a video of me breaking a board:
Here is Noisykid #4, who got the highest score on the test, going through one of the patterns. I am proud of all my children, and especially proud of my oldest son at home. He helped me with some of the patterns.
Here we have the youngest Noisykid(and Taekwon-Do student?) practicing his 'Ready' stance: Note that his shirt has a Sheriff badge and has the caption, I'M IN CHARGE! How true:
Of course, I always remember my first experience in the martial arts; this special type of hand to hand combat has almost disappeared:
Here are few pictures of the Scorpions and the Ducks(and some friends) visiting young Bernard Noisykid:
Nothing makes for more excitement around here than the addition of another Noisykid. That is my excuse for not posting anything lately. So now I plan on making it up to you - to a point.
When I last reported on Wifeofdadwithnoisykids' labor, I mentioned that my youngest son had flipped into 'breach' position - he went from being head down to being feet down. This caused a lot of consternation, as we were hoping to get this little pre-teen out without a Cesarean section.
So on Tuesday night, here was the score: Baby in breach position, baby stable - based on external monitors, and no real pressing need to slice up my beautiful wife's tummy.
We had to take a step back. Just like so many other momentous events in life, a good night's sleep helped to bring a new perspective to our predicament.
(Unbeknownst to all of us, our son took advantage of his mother's deep sleep to turn back OUT of the breach position. The nurse on that night had to come in at some point in the night to re-position the surface monitors, so she suspected....)
The morning sun brought the news that the baby had flipped into the usual position, and labor started all over again.
For those of you who enjoy movies instead of my stilted prose, I offer you this claymation version of WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. The maker of this video did take some artistic license with this situation:
Mary my mother, take my hand today, and all days. Lead me away from all occasions of sin. Guide me in fulfilling your last words in the Gospel, "Do whatever He tells you." Amen.
I used to have a section here where I listed some of my interests, but I was saddened to see that it linked my site to folks who had, well, behavior not really in line with that of a Catholic working hard to be a good dadwithnoisykids.
We have 12 living children, and their ages are: 21, 19, 17, 16, 15, 13, 12, 10, 9, 7, 5, and 2 years old.
Our third child, Theodore, passed away on April 3, 2008, at the age of 15.
All in a day's work for my two year old son.
Heavenly Father, Lord of Life, send us more little ones to raise up to live with You forever in Heaven!
