Blueberry Picking

July, 2011

Every Summer for the last seven years our family has trekked off to East Texas in search of fresh blueberries for picking.  We have found the best blueberries at Echo Springs Blueberry Farm in Brownsboro.  Located between Athens and Tyler, it is about a 2 hour drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Here is a picture of the pickings from 2011:

2011 was the first time I went with the rest of the family.  I had never been blueberry picking before, so I really was looking forward to the day.  It was a lot of fun, only we went in July, in the midst of the 100+ days of no rain in our part of the state.  Unfortunately most of the berries had been picked, and the heat made it a bit less comfortable than we wanted it to be.  The picture below of Bernard summarizes the day: hot and sweaty, with an empty bucket.

The folks at Echo Springs recommended that we come back the following year in June when the berries are at their biggest and juiciest.

Carolyn took some of the smaller children into the store when they got too hot.  Here she is with our youngest daughter ZelieLouisa.  Two of the beautiful women in my life. 

In this picture, Maximilian gets into the frame along with Bernard's forehead.  I just love to take pictures of Carolyn; she is so gorgeous!

We can't recall how many pounds of blueberries we picked last year.  Regardless, the ones we brought home were used for muffins and other delights from the Donahue kitchen.  We froze them in small plastic bags so we could pull out as much as we needed. 

June, 2012 

This year we took their advice and came in June.  We arrived around 2 p.m. rather than early in the morning as I had hoped we would.  I was on vacation, and so I was enjoying the rare day when I could just wake up whenever I wanted.  Our late arrival actually was providential, because a torrential rainstorm hit the farm that morning.  So when we arrived, the temperature was in the 70's and the clouds remained overhead for the whole time we were there.  Occasionally raindrops fell on us, and our clothes also got wet from reaching in to pick berries off of the wet bushes.  A cool breeze made it even more comfortable.  I don't think we could have had better weather for picking blueberries.

Here is Augustine, busy picking berries.  I have to say that it would be easier to get a picture of Sasquatch or the Yeti than to get some of my children to pose for a picture.  So if you get to wondering where the other children are, trust me.  All but Dominick(the oldest) were with us, and if they don't appear below it is because I could not get a good picture of them.

Thankfully Marcellinus, or 'Marc' as we commonly call him, was not camera shy.  Here he demonstrates his award-winning technique for picking berries. 

"Any questions?"

Benedict was diligently picking away and could not look up from his work. 

Jacinta not only looked at the camera; here she actually smiled for me. 

Bernadette showed her technique for picking as well.  With so many berries on the trees, we found the best way to pick them was to grab a cluster; the ripe fruit would separate easily and either fall into the hand or the bucket underneath.  The unripe fruit would resist the slight pressure needed, and would remain behind for someone else to pick at a later date.

Here I catch Cornelius and Maximilian at work.  Max is closer to me; Cornelius is on the other side of the line of bushes.  That black thing in the foreground is the dripline which runs along the bottom of each row.  I don't think I could have hidden my children's faces any better if I tried to.

Bernard is too young to be camera shy.  He actually did some picking this year, and then knocked over his bucket for reasons best known only to him.  He had a great time, especially when he took on a supervisory role and toured the grounds to check on his siblings and parents.  That is Carolyn's foot and dress.

ZeleiLouisa is not camera shy either.  Here she poses before getting back to picking blueberries. 

It may not be obvious from the picture from 2011, but the whole farm was greener and more lush than it was the year before.  That made for really good blueberry picking.

Here is a picture of either Maximilian, or Sasquatch, or a chupacabra.  You decide.  Something tells me that I doubt any of those mythical beasts would be collecting berries in a bucket.  More likely they would be storing them internally.

We didn't realize that the farm closed at 4:30 p.m., so we had to rush at the end.  Part of the experience of blueberry picking is to sample all of the jellies, soups, salsa, dips, and baked goods which are available in the gift shop/store.

So, in a little over two hours, we collected 70 pounds of blueberries!  That is 10 buckets full by 13 people - where the two youngest were 6 and 3 years old.  There were a lot of reasons why we were able to pick so much.  One is that there were a lot more berries on the bushes, and they were arranged together in clumps rather than individually, so each time we reached into the tree we got more than one berry.  Another reason is that the weather cooperated.  I know I would not have just stood there picking berries for as long as I did if it were hotter and more humid.  Most of all, though, is that our children are growing up, and have learned how to pick berries efficiently.  Carolyn pointed this out to me as we worked until 3 in the morning to put all the berries in the freezer.  The berries we picked had a lot fewer stems, leaves, unripe berries, and other waste which usually accompanies the picking of berries. 

I was very proud of the work the children did, and I look forward to a year full of muffins, pancakes, and whatever else can be complemented by the addition of blueberries.

By the way, this is almost what 70 pounds of blueberries look like.  They were still packing them when I took this picture.

The Classical Week: Day #1

About a week ago, I attended a Parish Youth Group meeting where the pastor spoke about an experiment using classical music.  In this experiment, Fr. L- claimed, classical music was piped into one chamber, while rock music was played in another chamber.  Connecting these two boxes was a tunnel, and as soon as rock music started playing, all the mice (or was it rats?) would scurry off to the box featuring classical music.  Padre mentioned other experiments, including one where the rock and roll groupies ate one another, but I shall not go into more of that kind of stuff.

What struck my children and I was one experiment where classical music was played as background music.  It had a soothing effect on the people exposed to this music, and made their home a much nicer place to live.  In short, music helped to form the culture of that family in a favorable way.  So last night (Saturday) my children suddenly mentioned that they would like to take part in the experiment - starting the next day.  That would be today.

Carolyn and I were very interested in participating in this experiment.  We have noticed that the children who live at home have developed a hankering for both types of music - Country and Western - and some of it has caused us some concern.  I even started listening to the lyrics and telling the children that some songs are not appropriate for their listening.  Heck, a lot of it is not appropriate for my listening....

Our little unscientific experiment is not about lyrics.  As Father L- said, never mind the lyrics.  A lot of the music is detrimental on a more basic level.  To paraphrase (badly) his thesis, one must consider how Man and Music have parallels in their construction.  For Man, the Intellect informs the Will, which then directs the Body.  This is how one attains an ordered life, where the Body is subject to the direction of the Intellect and Will.  In Music, Melody creates Harmony, which then directs the Rhythm of the piece of music.  This is how one attains an ordered piece of music, where the lower part is subject to the higher parts.  Unfortunately rock music - and even most contemporary country music - put rhythm ahead of melody and harmony, creating disorder.  When Man puts Body before Intellect and Will, an even greater disharmony occurs.

Our experiment will be to see if playing classical music rather than rock or country will help influence our family in a positive way, encouraging all of us to put Melody and Harmony, or Intellect and Will, ahead of Body and Rhythm.

So what's with the aircraft at the top of this blog?  Well, during the Life Chain event at church this afternoon, one of these things flew over.  I had never seen one in the air before, and it stopped me in the middle of an Ave Maria.  I still need a lot of work when an airplane can distract me from my prayers.

For the next week, I shall make some comment on how this little experiment is going.  Stay tuned!

And no, you can't follow me on Twitter!

Rugby Weekend

I spent last weekend visiting with our two oldest Noisykids who are away at college.

Ostensibly I was there to watch my oldest son play rugby, but also to catch up with the 'kids while they are away in school. This was a chance to see them on their current stomping grounds, knowing that soon they will be heading out into the world to make their own way. This was another time when I would be able to talk to them alone and see what wonderful things a liberal arts education was breeding in their minds.

I also went because one of the nurses I work with was very irate when I told her that my son was playing rugby and I had not ever seen him play. She let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I would be neglecting my responsibilities as a father if I did not go see him play. I assured her I would go as soon as possible.

To make the trip more interesting, I brought along my 16-year old son so he could have a look at the college. I figure he could start thinking about what he is planning after high school, and what better way than to sit in on some classes with his older sister. He also brought along his license and the insurance papers for the Aardvark so he could drive that while on campus.




Since I am always thinking about 'what if,' I brought a stack of reading material and directions to the National Rifle Association Museum if it turned out that the 'kids had other pressing obligations. Needless to say, I never got to the museum, and I only read while waiting in the airport or before drifting off to sleep; the whole weekend was full of visiting with one or both of the 'kids.

We flew in on Thursday night and were picked up by the college 'kids. We had a late dinner - they were waiting to eat until we got there - and then we dropped off the teenager at his dorm where he would be spending his time. I headed off to the hotel.

In the morning, I woke from a dream where someone was screaming at me. I realized that it was the telephone ringing for my wake-up call. I did some basic maintenance for the Aardvark and then headed over to the campus for Mass. After a beautiful Mass, we got together and went out to lunch. After that, we did some shopping, restocking the student's supplies and snacks. We went out again for dinner, and then began the weekend of rugby.

The first game was about three hours drive from the campus; it was a bit longer since I do not drive through Washington, D.C. for various reasons. I got to re-experience the Beltway once again. Yippee.

The Saturday game was against Washington College, which was established in 1792. I showed up on campus, and could not find anyone who could direct me toward the rugby match. Eventually I ran into someone who thought it was "over there, across the bridge, past the womens' softball field." That was exactly where it was. After walking around the field and discovering that the only other fans there were for the other team, I went and stood by my son's team. It was neat to compare and contrast the various cheers that the two teams were bellowing, as they had their pre-game huddle.

I am sure there is another name for 'huddle' in rugby; I just don't know it yet. Anyways, while the opposing team yelled about victory and beating the other team and 'GO TEAM GO,' all I could hear from our team were yells of 'Our Lady of Victory...PRAY FOR US!' and similar intercessions.

Then the game began; I had gotten a five-minute briefing from two of my partners who played rugby in college, so I was almost completely clueless about what was happening on the field. At first, I thought I was watching a cross being frisbee soccer and some bizarre game we were forced to play in Officer Candidate School (Jugball? I can't recall.). I started asking one of the players on the sidelines all sorts of questions, most of them starting with, "What just happened?" or "Why did he do that?" After a while, I got the general idea of the game. The purpose of the game is to score more points by running the ball into the opponent's end zone, preferably as close to the center goalposts as possible. This is important, because extra points are kicked from the field, lined up where the ball touched down in the end zone. That is as much as I could get out of the game. I started concentrating on what my son's role was in all this. He did not run with the ball very much, but I guess that was not his job. He did have one very special thing which seemed to be his alone. Anytime one of his teammates was tackled, he would appear and shove the opponents off of his teammate. This helped our team keep possession of the ball and kept our players from being crushed. It was kind of neat to watch him just push people off of others. I was very proud of him.

I took about 500 pictures with my iPhone camera; when I got home, I realized I had pretty much taken 500 pictures of a bunch of guys' rear ends. That is one of the problems with taking pictures with the iPhone. One is that even in cloudy daytime conditions one can hardly see the screen. That is one reason I just shot one picture after another. I was hoping for some of them to turn out right. Another is that the aperture on the camera takes into account the light in the sky and then closes down, making whatever one was photographing on the ground very dark. I tried to limit the amount of sky in the picture to compensate for this.

I should have brought my 30-year old Pentax K-1000 camera with me for some really good photography. Oh well, there is always next year.

Here is the team preparing for a 'scrum,' which is how the ball is brought back into play after an infringement. Don't ask me what an infringement is. Dominick is in the front line of this scrum, closest to the camera. He is most notable for being the dirtiest in the line. Also, this picture was from the game on Sunday, not Saturday.

Here is another interesting picture. When the ball goes out of bounds, the ball is thrown back into play by tossing it towards a member of each team who are standing side by side. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that they aren't really standing but rather getting tossed up into the air by their teammates. The picture below shows some of the details, but the coach was in the way. Rather, I took a picture with the coach in the way. You can get an idea that those guys are being elevated, though. Dominick is one of the tossers, too.



Here is a picture of Dominick after the Saturday game. He looked beat, but happy. The Crusaders won both games handily, and other fans did show up at both games (the other one was in Frederick, Maryland).



I showed up expecting to see carnage and mayhem, with limbs and teeth and noses being shattered the whole time I was there. I was pleasantly surprised, even though one player sprained his ankle, another dislocated his shoulder, and another was knocked unconscious for about ten seconds. I found myself running onto the field on two occasions; the third player was knocked out while I was dealing with the dislocated shoulder, and I did not find out about it until later. Still, I left the games thinking that this game was all right, fun to watch, and I would actually recommend it to my younger sons. Watching my son play rugby gave me a totally new and unexpected appreciation for the sport.

When I returned to work, I mentioned to some of my orthopaedic surgeon colleagues that I wished that they had been with me, since most of the injuries were in their field. Several of them showed me how to reduce a shoulder dislocation. One spoke about it with envy; he had never gotten his hands on an acutely dislocated shoulder. Most of them are seen in the emergency room, by which time they need pain medicine in order to reduce the dislocation. If there is a next time, I shall hopefully be better prepared to help someone with that kind of injury.

After the game, the team gathered in the end zone and began to sing 'Non nobis,' a Latin hymn associated with the Knights Templar during the Crusades. In Shakespeare's play Henry V, the Te Deum and Non nobis are ordered sung by the king after the victory at Agincourt. Here are some of the words of it:

Non nobis, non nobis, Domine
Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

...for those of you not fluent in Latin, here is the English:

Not to us, not to us, o Lord,
But to your name give glory.

The version sung by the Crusaders is that one which was composed and sung by Patrick Doyle in the 1989 adaptation of Henry V. Here is the video:



Here is the link for the video for those of you on facebook. It is impossible for me to hear this, or watch this video, without getting choked up.

What the heck, here is a video for Te Deum while I am at it; this is another favorite of mine:



An here is the link for facebookers:

I had a wonderful weekend visiting with my two oldest children and seeing how they are growing up so much. It was such a blessing to spend time with them and to give them encouragement and advice - not always fun to do as a parent. I came back home to the rest of the family full of love and pride for my oldest son and daughter, and joy in being reunited with the rest of the children and my wife, the woman who is such a wonderful mother to all these little - and big Noisykids.

60,000 - Plus

Today the 60,000th viewer stopped by the blog!





Thank you all for visiting over the years!

God bless you all!

DFW Street Scenes

New this Lent. Purple Sno-balls from Hostess. Unfortunately, I could not find any of the 'rose' ones which were sold only on Laetere Sunday - that's last week for those of you who don't know.

They taste the same as the white, orange, and green ones:
Here is a sweet little boy with bacterial conjunctivitis shopping while his prescription is filled. He demonstrated 'purulent discharge' from his nose all over Dad's shirt while at the pediatrician on Saturday morning.

If Obamacare takes effect, I foresee no more Saturday hours....

A fifteen year old shows off his size 15 boots. Smooth ostrich. I hear once you wear ostrich, you will never want any other kind.

I am sticking with cowhide for now.

A typical scene in a dining room at a restaurant in Fort Worth. Riscky's makes a good hamburger. I recommend it for those visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Hey! Someone with more vanity than me:

A Mother's Bouquet

Carolyn was arranging some flowers we had just bought from Costco.

"I want you to always have fresh flowers in the house," I murmured in her ear as she removed some of the extra greenery from the roses.

"The most beautiful bouquet a mother can have is her children surrounding her," she replied.

"True, but sometimes they don't smell as good as these roses."

"Especially those teenage boys," she said.


Costco-Style Romance

Love on a Budget - a helpful hint for the frugal romantic male:

The next time you are in Costco with your wife, pick a bunch of flowers; even better, have her pick them out.

Let her admire them for a while before handing them to the youngest child with you - so he or she can hold on to them for Mommy.

Invariably, said youngest child will set them down and forget the flowers - probably while sampling gourmet meatballs.

Check out when shopping is complete. When you get home, suddenly remember that the flowers must have been left behind. You score points for picking out flowers, and save money by not buying flowers!

It is a WIN-WIN situation!

LIFECHAIN 2009

Here are some pictures of LifeChain in Greenville, Texas. It was a cool day - about 60 degrees and overcast. Drizzles kept coming in short spurts.

This picture was obviously taken from the street, looking north. A man had offered to let me stand on his chair to get an 'above the crowd shot', but I declined the offer. When I told him where I wanted to take the shot below, he said, "nice knowing you!"

Note some of my Noisykids goofing off in the foreground....

One of the kids called it 'Life Change.' Carolyn and I laughed and told them that was something different.

Here is a 'behind the scenes' look at the Life Chain from St. Williams Catholic Church in Greenville, TX. Our group was the largest, stretching from Wendy's to Taco Bueno. That translates into about one eighth of a mile.

I think we had the most number of people representing Life Chain. I think other people driving by thought so too, because they kept waving "WE'RE NUMBER ONE" as they drove by....

I jaywalked across the street to take this picture of the folks holding signs. These are low quality pictures taken with my iPhone. In 100 years, we have gone full circle from a box camera with no controls to a high-tech box camera also with no controls, and the pictures look about the same.

Perhaps I should pull out my Pentax K1000 which I bought in 1983....

One of the girls told us that we should have another baby. We agreed, and reminded her that we pray for more children every day. It is another sad thing about abortion; we would love to have another child if God wills it.

Speaking of babies, here is a picture of the 'tar baby' - in this case Rice Krispy treats were used instead of tar:



The children just informed me that a bear is going through our garbage, and I have to go and shoot it....

Emergent Infant Baptism

Emergency Infant Baptism

I recently baptized an infant before he died, and the experience made me pull up some of the teachings of the Catholic Church on infant baptism to review in the event anyone questioned me on this incident.

First of all, I asked for the permission of the infant's father beforehand. I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with him shortly before it was obvious that the child would not survive.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church can be accessed online at this website. It has a search engine attached to it, so one can browse the whole document and dive into the text at will.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church(from here on referred to as CCC) discusses baptism in paragraphs 1213 to 1284. The word baptize comes from the Greek word baptizein, which means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature." (CCC 1214)

The CCC gives several examples of the prefigurement of the sacrament of Baptism found in the Old Testament. Noah and the Ark show life starting over after washing away sin, and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea prefigure the liberation from the slavery of sin through baptism. Later, the baptism is prefigured when the Israelites cross over the Jordan to enter the promised land; entering the promised land is symbolic of entry into Heaven. (CCC 1217-1222; they write it far better than I do)

I recall reading somewhere that St. John the Baptist, when he was baptizing in the River Jordan, was baptizing on the 'far' side of the river, so that those who were baptized had to cross back over the Jordan, just as the Israelites did in the Old Testament. This brings up the most important reason for baptism: Jesus Himself insisted on it before starting his ministry.

Baptism of infants is brought up in paragraphs 1250 to 1252, and the main sentences which motivated me are highlighted below. I saw a chance to bring this infant to become a child of God, and I did not think anyone would be able to get to the child before he died.

1250 Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called. The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.

1251 Christian parents will recognize that this practice also accords with their role as nurturers of the life that God has entrusted to them.

1252 The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole "households" received baptism, infants may also have been baptized.

How to Baptize:

There are two things needed for the sacrament: one is water to pour over the head(preferably) of the patient; the other is to say the words of baptism while pouring the water three times over the head of the patient. The words of baptism are: "N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

When I realized that things were going downhill fast, I turned to one of the nurse anesthetists (CRNA) who was working with me, and asked her to get me some water from the scrub sink. She pointed to a small bowl of water on top of the anesthesia cart. "I got you covered, Doc," she said.

As a footnote, by some miracle, we were able to get this child back to his mother and father, and they were able to hold their son as he died. It was heartwrenching and difficult to talk to the young couple, but I did manage to tell them that their son had been baptized. The experience brought back a flood of memories of losing Theodore, and the desolation which accompanied that loss. The pained expression I saw on the face of this young couple reminded me of the way Carolyn looked after Theodore died.

This post is also published on the following blogs:

CATHOLIC DADS
Catholic Physicians Blog

Sunday the Queen Returns

Our Lady of the Mysterious Decapitation needs a fresh coat of paint:


She returns this evening....

My confessor remarked that all children are a cross to their parents, but that it was through the cross that we obtain our salvation. Food for thought at the beginning of another week.

My confessor also reminded me that there are only three reasons to do anything:

1. For the greater glory of God(AMDG, or Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam),
2. For the conversion of sinners, and
3. For the intentions of the immaculate heart of Mary.

After Mass, Father anointed a woman who was ill, and it brought back memories of him anointing Theodore. I thanked him later for all that he has done for our family; giving Theodore the anointing of the sick was just one way we were blessed.

When we got home, I read a book to one of the kids while the others played baseball on the newly mowed back yard. After reading a children's book from John Deere, I got back into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I was getting to the end, where the climactic battle between the evil empire and the cute and cuddly furry forest people starts. Suddenly the kids called me outside; I figured someone broke a leg. Instead, they showed me an aircraft carrying the space shuttle that was circling over Dallas. I pulled out my iPhone to videotape it, but realized I had not started the 'video' function. You will have to trust me that it happened. I think it might be good to skip mentioning that I saw Bigfoot and the Yeti at the controls of the aircraft.

I went back inside, only to be called out again to examine a snake. It appeared harmless, and wasn't even exciting to our sole remaining cat. I tried to get some action shots, but the snake just wanted to play dead. I threw it into the garden so it could go on with its quiet country life.

Here the cat - 'Skinny' - looks at the poor little snake.
Here I am holding the snake for a close-up. It was not a lively snake. Last night we watched 'Swiss Family Robinson' and apparently the fight with snake mainly consisted of trying to get the snake to stay with the actors.


After reading a little, I took a couple of air rifles outside to shoot for a while. I made some videos of the little boys shooting, but I accidentally covered the microphone. Here is the one of me shooting an RWS Diana 300R, which is an underlever air rifle which can shoot seven pellets in rapid succession without having to reload.

Enjoy:

Saturday Night Mortification

1. The First Pointless Video:

Let's start this bit of blog mortification with a video. I took a road trip with a few of my sons, and the Aardvark was our ride. Enjoy, with music by The Verve:



Remember, If you take care of the Aardvark, she will take care of you!

2. Writer's Block, or Cramps:

I have not written much lately; rather, I have been writing a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, none of it can be published, especially not here. Another reason to not write so much is that the 'official' home school year has started, and I am trying to become more than just the principal of our home school. This year I am going to be more active in the formation of my high school children.

This will certainly cut into the navel-gazing time which has produced some of the entries which you have had to read over the past three years.


I was blessed with a few days off, and I spent some of that time praying and writing in front of the Blessed Sacrament. This was a tremendous grace, and has become something which I have lately grown to cherish more and more. Perhaps one day I shall have the same kind of love for Our Lord as that of the old man from Ars, who used to sit in the chapel every day. St. Jean-Marie Vianney asked him what he was doing, and he replied,

"I just look at Him, and He looks back at me."

But that's not what I came to talk about here. Yesterday, I had to be stuck somewhere for about two hours, so I took along a book to write down some serious bad poetry. Three things had been rattling around in my creative writing part of the brain, and I wanted to try to pin them down on paper, like a monarch butterfly or some other large insect, for all the world to see. One of the ideas was about a line from Pope John Paul II's encyclical Familiaris Consortio which applies to the role of the family in the modern world. Another idea was inspired by the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the man who was part of the plot which brought that aircraft down over Lockerbie, Scotland; the poem would contrast the reception of the victims and the terrorist when they all returned to earth. The third idea had to do with an observation I made about social mobility in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Only one of these poems solidified enough to print, and here comes that mortification I warned you about. Of course, it is in the form of a 5-7-5 haiku:

Midlothian girls
desire metamorphosis
to Plano women

SMD
9.12.2009

3. The Green Belt - The Wall

Taekwon Do has been neglected this summer, mainly because this is the busy season for a pediatric anesthesiologist. Elective procedures are scheduled for when school is off, and those children who aren't planning a trip to the hospital find another way to get admitted - usually doing something stupid, or something involving monkey bars. I have missed many classes this summer. Therefore, when I have been able to make it to class, I have noticed the instructor shaking his head as he watches me muddle through 'Do San.' Invariably, the other Black Belt instructors will end up running through the pattern with me. I sweat a lot.

What I really need is to practice more, and time has become too valuable a commodity for me to spend it on Taekwon Do. This has brought me to an impasse: if I am to go on with Taekwon Do, I have to make a commitment to spend more time learning the patterns, the sparring, and the self defense moves. What I need is to make that internal commitment to devote more time and effort to this activity. This man featured in the video below had to face this same problem, and he gives me some hope and inspiration:




....the second pointless video.

Of course, some of the Noisykids have no problem finding time to practice for Taekwon Do. In fact, they are forging ahead into areas I shall never reach:



Breathing is an integral part to martial arts, especially Taekwon Do, and that is why the children are using noisemakers to ensure that they exhale at the proper moment of each move.

4. You Jane, Me Amused!

I am really enjoying Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I am reading these books because my wife and daughters are into them, including watching the movie versions which are available on DVD. It appears as if there are more movie versions of Pride and Prejudice than there are of Beau Geste. I am enjoying the book so much that if we are blessed with another child, I want to name him or her after my favorite character. If we have a boy, I shall name him FitzWilliam Darcy; if we have a girl, I shall name her Darcy FitzWilliam.

I hope we have a girl, because then her initials would be the same as those of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex: DFW.

Alas, we are not with child at this moment. I beg of you to storm Heaven with prayers that He will bless us with more children.

Thank you and good night.

Guerilla Romance

I wrote this note last week, but My Love didn't find it until today.

Remembering 1972-1973

Back in 1972-1973, we lived in Switzerland on the outskirts of a village called Durnten. Bubikon was to our Southwest. On the map, Bubikonerstrasse used to go directly to Bubikon. Now it dead ends before it reaches Highway 53, which was in the planning stages when we were there. We lived right where Rothaustrasse intersects with Bubikonerstrasse.


View Larger Map

Birth Control T-Shirt

I saw this picture online. Someone sent it to me. Also of note, Catholic Dads has been labeled as a 'spam' blog for some reason. I sent a request to correct that....

Hat tip to Mark Shea:

20th Anniversary Photo Collection

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)