Holy Week Music

Agnus Dei(Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings):




The past two weeks have been very busy - including a weekend retreat at a monastery in Oklahoma - obviously too busy to blog about. Someday I shall get more posts on this blog....

Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

I am Really 100% Irish...

...born of parents who were 100% Irish(both families settled in Philadelphia)

But after reading some of questions, I couldn't say yes to all of them.

You're 85% Irish

Congratulations, you're a shining example of an Irish lass (or lad). There's hardly anyone more Irish than you!

How Irish Are You?

Wednesday Thoughts

Electoral Fun

Life in Texas has been very busy. I have spent most of my nights for the past week fielding calls from various political personalities. Just last night, I spoke to Barack Obama, Cindy McCain, and Governor Rick Perry. Last week I spoke for quite a while with Hilary.

I was touched, humbled, to know that my vote was important enough to warrant a personal phone call from the 'movers and shakers' in both parties. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that my blog is read inside the 'Beltway' by someone, and that the political bosses see me as an influential force to be reckoned with in the blogosphere. In short, someone is trying to 'influence' me.

Today the phones are quiet. I feel neglected.

I got the feeling that I was witnessing the start of a whole lot of new friendships, and perhaps a new career as a political consultant - a breath of fresh air for Washington; a change from politics as usual. Of course I would miss the medical practice, but when called to serve one must answer in the affirmative. It is a thankless, lonely calling, but I would be ready to answer the call in the only way any of us would answer it: YES WE CAN!

Classified Section: Infirmarians Wanted

At a recent funeral for our dearly departed Fr. James Downey, I got to thinking about the medical care the monks up in Atchinson, Kansas must get. What prompted this distraction from prayer was seeing one of the monks in a wheelchair. This monk reminded me of another priest we know who is also wheelchair-bound. I suddenly got the idea for certain medical types who seem to be wrestling with a religious calling: why not combine primary care with the monastic life? I have suggested this to some people, and they all think it is a great idea. The only problem is that all of them are married, and could not leave the world without leaving behind some very upset families.

Death and the Miser:


This painting, by H. Bosch,was featured on last Sunday's notes at Mass. Fr. W. pointed out how this painting shows a man, a miser, who is seen at two stages in life. In the foreground, he is up and putting coins into a strongbox. The armor suggests that he was a knight at one time, and must have made quite a bit of money in the process. In the background, we see the miser on his deathbed, with Death himself entering the room. Note how his guardian angel is trying to make him look at the Crucifix in the window above - to turn his thoughts toward God. Unfortunately the miser seems more interested in the money one of the many demons is handing to him....

This painting shows the problems of an unprovided death, along with the hand of Mercy that God will always extend to us. There is a lot to think about in this painting, but I was drawn toward the demon with the bag of gold.

To me, it looks as if Bosch spent some time watching Saturday monster movies in his childhood. I think he took the Creature from the Black Lagoon as his model for the demon with the gold.

I leave this up to you, the reader to decide.

Dangerous Stuffed Animals

And you thought Scorpions stalking ducks were bad, look at these stuffed animals at this website: Giant Microbes(dot)com . Check out my favorite, the Ebola virus.

A Short Film

From May, 2006

REPORT OF A BIRD STRIKE

We regret to inform you....

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL REPORT OF A BIRD STRIKE

APPROXIMATELY 0745 ON 1 MARCH 2008

EASTBOUND ON FM 664 OVILLA ROAD IN RED OAK TEXAS

WEATHER OVERCAST WITH VISBILITY 1 MILE CEILING OF 500 FEET AND 54 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT TEMPERATURE

VEHICLE 2006 FORD 7 PERSON EXPLORER VICTOR DELTA CHARLIE WITH V-6 ENGINE

OWNER OPERATED

TWO ADDITIONAL SOULS ON BOARD SPOUSE AND YOUNGEST CHILD

SPEED APPROXIMATELY 45 MILES PER HOUR

DRIVER NOTED BIRD FLYING SOUTH AT LEVEL OF GRILL OF VICTOR DELTA CHARLIE

NOTED BIRD AT APPROXIMATELY 1 YARDS OUT FROM COLLISION

COLLISION FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY AFTER VISUALIZATION

NO EVASIVE ACTION TAKEN DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS

DRIVER INDICATES THAT BIRD MOVED OUT OF VISUAL FIELD OF OWNER

BIRD NOT VISUALIZED IN REAR VIEW MIRROR ASSUMED TO HAVE SUSTAINED LETHAL INJURIES

NO LOSS OF CONTROL OF VEHICLE

NO DAMAGE TO VICTOR DELTA CHARLIE UPON INSPECTION AT COMPLETION OF FIRST LEG OF MISSION

THIS REPORT HAS BEEN GENERATED AS A SAFETY MESSAGE TO ALL WHO MAY BE DRIVING EXPLORERS

THIS IS THE FIRST BIRD STRIKE FOR THE VEHICLE VICTOR DELTA CHARLIE

THERE WERE PREVIOUS REPORTED BIRD STRIKES FOR THE 2005 FORD VAN SIXTY ONE PAPA BIG BLUE MIRACLE

THERE WERE MULTIPLE REPORTED BIRD STRIKES WITH THE 1997 FORD VAN YANKEE HOTEL JOLIET GREAT WHITE

THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF BIRD STRIKES WITH THE 1998 EXPLORER NOVEMBER VICTOR DELTA THE AARDVARK

NOVEMBER VICTOR DELTA WAS FORMERLY BRAVO SEVENTY SIX ALWAYS KNOWN AS THE AARDVARK

WE WILL CONTINUE MONITORING THESE INCIDENTS

DAD WITH NOISY KIDS

Wednesday Thought

I heard a priest on KATH 910 AM radio talk about the joy of the priesthood. He mentioned how he had had bad days as a priest, but never a bad week.

That got me thinking. In my line of work, there have been bad days, sometimes weeks at a time, where I wondered if I would be more suited for driving a bus. In contrast, my vocation - that of a married man - is one which has given me great joy every day without exception.

Even on those days where the children are non-compliant, and my wife misunderstands me - even those days are full of a wonderful sense of peace and joy.

Happy Birthday, Noisykid #11!

Noisykid #11 is named after these two priests, St. Maximilian Kolbe and Blessed Miguel Pro. His name reminds me of how 'Catholic' our Faith truly is. Briefly, our children are named after saints ranging from Christ's Apostles to 20th century martyrs, from Roman soldiers to husbands and wives, from virgins to those in tremendous need of God's Mercy.

All of our children's patron saints are both examples of God's Grace working through men and women, and examples of the variety of vocations that can lead to sanctity in this world.

Noisykid #11 has already shown a flair for deep thoughts, such as this one, which I have used as a Lenten meditation:

"Remember man, you are dust, and I shall return."

Happy Birthday, Son!

Love,

dadwithnoisykids

Saturday Night Thoughts

Book Recommendation #1

I finished reading Life and Miracles of St. Benedict recently. This book is the second of the dialogues by Pope St. Gregory the Great. It tells some of the more commonly known stories of St. Benedict's life, along with commentary from Pope St. Gregory. One of his commentaries ties in with today's Gospel, which was the story of the Prodigal Son. St. Gregory comments that there are two ways to be carried out of ourselves. One is through sin, which pulled the Prodigal Son down below where he was meant to be. The other is through the grace of contemplation, where the mind is drawn up to higher things. He gave St. Peter as an example of this 'coming out of one's self' when he was freed from prison by an angel. In the case of the contemplative, coming out of great spiritual thoughts just brings one back down to the normal state.

Pope St. Gregory the Great said it a lot better than I did.

I strongly recommend this book. It was an easy read and full of good spiritual advice as well.

Stations of the Cross, ADHD-style.

Last Sunday, during Holy Hour, I decided to involve the youngest boys in a spiritual and physical exercise to keep them from rioting in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I decided to take them around to the Stations of the Cross and spend a few moments talking about the Station. I took the 7, 6, and 4-year old boys with me.

I was pleasantly surprised how all three of them could tell me the event for each Station. I couldn't talk much to them, because the boys tried to be the first to name the Station. As soon as I acknowledged each of them, the boys would genuflect, whisper the following prayer, and then dash off again:

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.

R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stations of the Cross in about 7 minutes....

Book Recommendation #2

Last night we went to Mass followed by Stations of the Cross according to the method of St. Alphonsus Liguori in Latin. This was a great way to say the Stations when our pastor was in Dallas, because Latin was the unifying language for both the Gringos and the Hispanic parishioners. If anything, I got the impression that the Hispanic folk could say the prayers better than us Irish folk. Anyway, the prayers were very beautiful and always seem to stir my conscience.

My 6-year old insisted that we pray the Stations of the Cross in Latin from now on.

We did not take his suggestion, but we do have a way to keep the kids on their toes. The meditations are broken up with asterisks, and we assign each part to either the men or the women as we pray in the Great Room of our home. By doing this, everyone(myself included) has to follow along with the readings. If one kid misses out, we can tell right away. It also makes it seem as if we are chanting the prayers instead of mumbling them as fast as possible.

Another great book to read. I recommend this book as well, especially during Lent.

A Special St. Valentine's Day Message...

...from my oldest daughter.

It came with the message: 'Thanks for fixing my teeth! I love you!'



She sent it to my wife, who promptly started crying. I cried too, considering that I basically have a car payment going into the mouth of my children in braces. Sigh. One down, eleven(hopefully more) to go.

The orthodontist said that after all the kids have been treated, it's my turn. I told him that by that time my teeth would either be in a jar or on display along with my skull in some physician's office.

Ave Maria

by Sergei Rachmaninoff. I love this piece of music.

The Yearly Newsletter(2007)

Technically, this is not the latest letter we sent out. As was done last year, the names of various family members have been replaced with the term 'Noisykid' with the number indicating each child's order in the lineup.

Without further ado, here is the 2007 newsletter:



“The novelty has worn off.”
- After three days working his first job at a restaurant, Noisykid #1 came to tell us that.

Christmas Season starts on Christmas Day, but one would not know that while driving around in North Texas. Dead evergreen trees with remnants of tinsel fluttering in the breeze lie rejected on the curbside. Limp bodies of inflatable Santas, snowmen, and reindeer are scattered over miles of front yards as I drive, looking like the victims of some type of biological holocaust. A lone Santa lies facedown and deflated except for his right hand, which points defiantly towards Heaven. On the night of December 25, Christmas is over in the eyes of the world, and inflatable symbols of the birth of Our Lord are relegated to the attic or, even worse, the garbage.

There is one exception to this rule - inflatable NASCAR displays.

That’s how I was planning to start the newsletter when I first sat at my desk a few days after Christmas. That was almost a month ago. Now most of the people reading this are looking forward to a Lent filled with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. So, what better way to start mortifying oneself than to read this newsletter? And what could be more sacrificial than one more Christmas song? This is sung to the tune of ‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing:’


Hark! The Herald angels sing
Looks like another Christmas thing
Envelope and card are new
Perhaps it’s from a you-know-who?
Just for you, what could be better?
Warmer than a tacky Christmas sweater

Late for Christmas, our tradition
It’s the new you-know-who edition
News from missus, lies from me
You decide whom to believe
Don’t you wish in all our mess
We misplaced your address?


January 2007 started with the whole family going on a pilgrimage to Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana. We visited the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL – Mother Angelica’s cloistered nuns live there. It was a wonderful time, where we attended daily Mass, met with a dozen of the cloistered nuns, and even visited a Benedictine monastery in nearby Cullman. We visited Fr. Robert J. Fox, a priest I met at Christendom College in 1986. After a few days, we headed for St. Petersburg, FL, where we visited Nana and my brother P------ and his family. We attended daily Mass, went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, and I took some of the boys on a sailing excursion to look for dolphins. Too soon we headed for home, but not before stopping at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile, AL. We made this visit to pray for God to bless us with more children, and then it was back on the road to Louisiana to visit the P----- family. It was two of the most wonderful weeks we spent together as a family, and it was providential that Wifeofdadwithnoisykids insisted that we travel rather than plant pecan trees on our property.

February started with me getting diagnosed with high blood pressure. Being a good doctor, I waited until I was having chest pain, dizziness and a massive headache before dealing with the problem. I had the dubious pleasure of walking into a hospital and saying, “Hello, I think I am having a heart attack!” I survived, and am on medications now, but it is still strange to be a children’s doctor with the disease of a grownup.

July brought a reminder to us that our oldest children are not so little anymore, as Noisykids #1 spent two weeks at a college’s summer program. He liked it so much that he applied and got accepted for matriculation in August, 2008. Noisykids #1 and #2 both got their licenses in September, and they both revel in the joy of running errands, picking up groceries, and using the cars to go to classes, work, and any other reason they can think to consume more fossil fuels.

In August, Wifeofdadwithnoisyids learned she was pregnant – the answer to so many of our prayers. Sadly, this child was not meant to be with us for long, and she suffered a miscarriage in October. We named our little child Therese Mary Catherine, and along with Anastasia, we pray for the repose of her soul.

The joys and blessings of 2007 far outweigh the sorrows that we experienced. We are still blessed to have twelve wonderful and beautiful children who daily remind us of the greatest gift God has given our marriage. Here we include a summary of 2007 as seen through the eyes of our own children:

“I want to go to confession.”
“Noisykid #11, you’re too young.”
“Okay, then. I’ll keep sinning and sinning and sinning and it’ll just keep getting bigger and bigger….”

Noisykid #1 (17) is finishing his teenaged years and preparing to become a Boring Adult. He is now a senior, and attends chemistry classes at a local community college. He attended a college summer program in July, and enjoyed it to no end, what with the dancing, visits to Washington, D.C., dabbling in college courses, deep philosophizing, and general hanging-out. The rumors that he intends to marry someone he met there are baseless. He still plays piano and reads books a lot, but has taken up running and guitar playing. He wishes y’all Happy New Year.

Noisykid #2 (16) Her favorite things to do are read, practice piano, sing, listen to music, spend time on the computer, and hanging out with her friends. She received a learner’s permit in February, and now has her driver’s license, which she got two days after her birthday. She is president of the home school youth group. She does not know how she is going to ”survive” when Noisykid #1 goes off to college; because after four days off him being gone in July she said “ok that’s it he just NEEDS to come home.”

Noisykid #3 (15) spends his time drawing airplanes, collecting military vehicles, and in general enjoying living in Texas. He still suffers from seizures, and we ask for your prayers for him.

I, Noisykid #4 (14) have had a good time this year. I haven’t done much. In January me and my family went to Alabama and then to Florida. I’ve had lots of fun in the youth group and I hope to run for some term. My favorite subjects are reading and arguing, and my least favorite is all the rest. I hope to start driving next year. This was written by Noisykid #4, the Ridiculous, Senseless, Naïve, and Virtuous boy.

Noisykid #5 (12) has made great strides in mastering humility: “This year we went to Florida. Also, I joined the Youth Group. My favorite subject is reading and I enjoy playing outside and grilling.”

Noisykid #6 (11) THE DUDE I like to play battleship  risk  Legos  end war especially when I win or die  and I like KNIGHTS KINGS and PRINCE Edward the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, end I am the eleventh PRINCE Edward I LIKE THE DUDE DRUM A LOT it is half made up that I am Noisykid #6 because I am PRINCE Edward or Dude Edward and I like Flags Id like to catch a snake I am waiting for a ether orange green blue or red moon but it will come in maybe April 66 if it comes YES a red moon tomorrow I be came a dude because moved to TEXAS then became a Dude  did you  laugh  at all I did not but you laugh hard .

Noisykid #7 (10): Sorry I have nothing to say. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I like to play with my siblings. I love Christmas because it is when Jesus was born. I want my mom to have twin babies (boys or girls). On December 16 was our piano recital. Christmas is so much fun. I like decorating cookies; it is fun. I like playing the piano, it is fun. On my birthday I had one of my friends over. I got one of the American Girl dolls. God bless.

Noisykid #8: (age 9): for my birthday, December 15, I got to go to the new American Girl doll store in Dallas. I got to eat lunch there and Nelli got her hair done. I had lots of fun. For my birthday I got Felicity. I play the piano and I enjoy it. I want to play another instrument like the violin. I used to like phonics but now I don’t because I went up a grade and now it’s harder, same with reading. Noisykid #1 went to college for two weeks and I really missed him. When he came back I gave him a big hug! My favorite thing to do is play with Noisykids #12 and #7. I want my mom to have twin baby girls. Please pray for her, too.

Noisykid #9 (7) enjoys shopping at Bass Pro Shop. He wants to go to Cabela’s some time. His favorite subject is reading. I like playing Uno Spin and plain Uno. I like my new cap gun. When I turn eight in August, I want to go to Bass Pro Shop and buy a Soft Air gun if Dad will let me. I want to get wood to build a fort and get more Legos.

Noisykid #10 (age 6) I don’t love school. I love my cars. I’m happy I have cones and signs to play with my construction cars. I like to dance for Our Lady of Guadalupe and I use a bucket and sticks for my drum. I like playing with my friends the D's, M's and J.B. I love playing with them best, but my best friend is Noisykid #11.

Noisykid #11 (age 4) recites the alphabet: “A, B, C, D…H, I...Q, R, S, T, U, V, WWW (DOT) COM Y, Z.” He continues, “I’m never never never gonna break stuff because that cost money. And I don’t like to waste money. I like to eat cookies and have Aunt G. come to our house. I wish we had nine more manger scenes, five fireplaces, and four Christmas trees. I’d like a pistol or a bow and arrow, a machine gun and a big gun like the D's. I like to do things outside and build forts.”

“Noisykid #12 is not spoiled. It's just that whatever she wants we give it to her.” - Noisykid #8

Noisykid #12 (2 years) is Our Little Princess. She has enjoyed good health and has advanced to the level of junior boss of the house. She is not afraid to tell anyone what they should be doing. She has grown enough hair that she needs a clip to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She and all of her siblings pray for all of you, and wish you a blessed new year, and a spiritually fruitful Lent.

Hair shirts are not needed if one can read a newsletter like this. Two things should strike you after reading this: one is that God has blessed us beyond measure – even our sorrows are handed to us on a bed of roses. The other is that we need your prayers far more than you need ours. So this Lent, remember us in your hours of prayer and sacrifice.

That is all for now, from the Dadwithnoisykids, Wifeofdadwithnoisykids, and the Noisykids

This newsletter was composed while listening to Stan Getz play the saxophone. I have to lie down now….

Deep thought from a shallow mind(mine, not his)

Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan(1928-2002):

I heard this on the radio a couple of days ago - KATH AM 910, Catholic radio in Dallas - about a Vietnamese bishop(later Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan) who spent 14 years in solitary confinement. He worried for a long time about not being able to help his people, until one day he had a thought.

Christ opened the gates of Heaven while nailed to a cross, when He was unable to do anything at all physically. In other words, at His weakest moment He was able to die for all of us.

This little thought was a source of great consolation to this bishop as he spent 14 YEARS in solitary confinement.

Tidying Up Some Loose Ends

Blogging has been totally off the burner with all the things going on in the Noisykid household.

First:

I give thanks to God for sparing my life last February 11. On that day, while at Mass, I turned to my wife and told her to take me to the hospital. I did not have a heart attack or a stroke, and by the Grace of God I have been allowed to keep on sinning for another year. Thank you for your prayers. If you want to know more about this phase of my life, start looking at my blog here. Read the posts that follow....

Second:

The newsletter is done. It is being distributed by snail mail and will be posted here later this week. Some names will be removed to protect the privacy of the Noisykids and friends.

Third:

What is the blessing I wrote about in my previous post?

The blessing of bringing 8 of our children to a funeral, driving 540 miles each way, goes beyond the graces which are received by attending Mass and praying for the dead. That would be enough, but in addition we met some of the other monks and exposed our children to the religious life. Regardless of what my children end up doing, they will have had multiple times to look at various religious orders to give them some idea of the religious life.

It is a blessing to have my children see good men and women happily living a religious vocation.

Fourth:

What some call the '123 Meme:'

1. Grab the closest book.
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Type in three sentences, starting with the fifth sentence.
4. Readers, see if you can guess what the book is.

Here goes:

At the Preface. "Behold your Mother." With these words, Jesus gives His Mother to be our mother. Thank your loving Savior for the glorious title of child of Mary, which gives you a claim to her motherly love and to all her goods and possessions.

Give up?
This is from Reflection On The Seven Last Words, by St. Peter Julian Eymard. This is found in the book Catholic Prayer Book with Meditations, by Father John A. Hardon, S.J. This meme came to me from Mile Hi Mama (scroll down to February 4th on her blog) who lives in South Carolina. Thanks Mile Hi Mama!!!

And last:

Goodnight for now. Here is a taste of Night Prayers, with a hat tip to a British doctor and returning blogger, Paulinus:




These are the end credits to the BBC series of John Le Carre's book Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

A Weekend of Sorrow and Blessing

Father James Downey, O.S.B., died January 29, 2008 at St. Benedict's Abbey, Atchison, KS.

We decided at about 1230 last Thursday that we should take a road trip to the funeral Mass on Saturday. So we took the youngest 8 children with us and spent the weekend on a pilgrimage, praying for the repose of the soul of Fr. James.

Please pray for him.

While up there, our nephew/godson's wife had a miscarriage very early on in her pregnancy. Nephew's family was even closer to Fr. Downey than we were, and so I am sure it was a double blow for Nephew and his lovely wife.

I have a dream, and it is only that, that somewhere in Heaven Fr. James is sitting in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe, and holding this little child of Nephew's.

It's only a dream, and I insist on repeating that you all pray for him.

May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace.

I shall put up a picture of Fr. Downey once I figure out what's wrong with the scanner....

I shall explain the 'blessing' part later.

Sad News

Last night, Fr. James, OSB, one of the 'Adopt a Religious' on the sidebar, died in his sleep. He was 87 years old.



I had the honor of knowing Fr. James while we lived in Michigan. I recall one Ash Wednesday, while I was in residency and on call, he invited me to serve at his Mass at 5:30 in the morning. It was such a blessing to celebrate Mass with such a good priest. I recall working all day long, knowing that I had started the day by receiving Our Lord, and wishing I could do that more often.



Fr. James was one of the few people who called me for medical advice. On one occasion, he shared with me some of the thoughts he had about suffering, giving me a better insight into what the sick experience. He mentioned that, along with the physical suffering, there is a certain amount of humiliation that comes with pain. I had never thought how my patients' sufferings extended beyond the physical aspect. Perhaps that comment from a priest in pain has given me an added bit of compassion for those who suffer.



Fr. James always referred to me as 'his doctor' after that.



Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. James, OSB, a good priest and our friend.



Eternal rest grant unto him, Oh Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon him.



May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.

Reading Material

This week I have started reading Beau Geste, by P.C.Wren, to the pre-teen and teenaged boys, along with anyone who is in the kitchen while they are cleaning up after dinner. Reading the book also forces me to stay nearby, keeping the boys from wandering away before the work is done.

I will never forget when my father read this book to us - back in 1972 - while we lived in Switzerland. This book remains one of my favorite adventure books, with mystery, romance(very little of the yucky details boys detest), robbery, brotherly love, cowboys, and the French Foreign Legion.

The final battle in the desert is just riveting.

As always, SKIP THE MOVIES! READ THE BOOK!

Ven. Charles de Foucauld lived in a fort similar to the one in the book:

Love Token

I stubbed my toe
chipping a nail
cutting it off
I give to you
this little chip
as a token
of my true love

SMD
1.26.2008
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

How about a little BAD POETRY?

Trust

Can't look down
walking a tightrope
blindfolded

SMD
1.26.2008

Composed while attending a meeting, post-call, with less than three hours of sleep.
Bad poetry at its best.




How about a little natural science moment from Youtube?

Here is a neat one with a sperm whale - recall what sperm whales can do to a ship, as I relate in this book review HERE.

Watch this:







And here we have a bear and whale squaring off:



Nature sometimes seems cruel to us human beings.

I present this candidate for the President

I am toying with the idea of endorsing a candidate for the President of the United States of America. This will serve as a 'test' run to see how my loyal reader(s) will respond to it:



Hat tip to Cosmos/Liturgy/Sex.

Another Noisykid Video

From the Christmas Season

More bad poetry

I need to save it somewhere, cuz' what the world needs now is more Bad Poetry!

 

 

Rhyming bad poetry:

 

Christmas time has come and gone

At least the world says so

Those who seek Him by the star

Just wanted us to know

 

Christ's birthday was just the start

Of Heaven here on earth

The celebration of His life

Began with His humble birth 

 

 

Haiku: 

 

Christmas is over

Not for those who celebrate

The Epiphany

 

 

---

Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power. Play now!

What have I Been Doing?

Kindly refer to the previous blog post if you find this video confusing.

What have I been doing? I have been very busy with work, writing, and in general doing things that make me have to decide between blogging and sleeping. Sleep, what little there is, has won out.

Despite this, Wifeofdadwithnoisykids and my oldest daughter have been reading a book called Christian Courtship in an Oversexed World by T.G. Morrow. It is an excellent book for young men and women, and we have found it to be quite good. My wife has read parts to me,but I would like to read all of it in the future.

T.G. Morrow makes a good point in one part of the book, where he argues that one should marry one's best friend. The purpose, therefore, of courtship is to get to know one another without getting too emotionally or physically attached. In that way, if the friendship does not lead to its ultimate end, it can be stopped without either party giving away one's self to the other.

Even secular folk can appreciate the importance of this lesson - although usually it is learned in retrospect. Let us examine this next video clip, paying special attention to the lyrics of this song-poem, and see how an old relationship can still cause distress in a man:

What's Up?

Cute parody of a beer commercial:



Here is the original:

Christmas Season Continues....

So enjoy the following videos from our house to yours!




Enjoy this pastoral tune sung my Noisykid #8:



This is why we call them Noisykids.

Trees!

Today, while I worked, some folks came by and planted ten pecan trees on my property - pictures to follow....

These are a variety of pecan trees called 'desirable,' and I tried a sample at the store. Heck, anything can be desirable to me if it is coated in brown sugar.

More on my trees later.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry