Happy Birthday Liam!

Liam turned 7 today.  We went to the free movies this morning, met Alan for lunch and had Liam's favorite dinner.  If I have to tell you what he requested for dinner, well you just don't know the kid very well.  :)  He was even happy with a cake from the store which made me happy since I am not super mom and hold no illusions.  Sometimes you just have to cut a few corners.  Besides, the Toy Story legos more than made up for the store cake.  Happy birthday little man.  Given your constant energy and talent for taking things a part and trying to put them back together, I have a feeling you have a very interesting life ahead of you.  So do we as we try to keep up and keep you from getting hurt.

Little Boys and Ice Cream

Not sure if this needs any words.

Strawberry Picking

Saturday morning was spent picking strawberries.  I really must remember to do the math better.  9 people picking strawberries means you rapidly end up with more than you thought you would get.  Not that we won't use them all but we really didn't intend to buy 45 lbs of strawberries.  The berries were mostly on the smaller side this year so by the time all of the containers were full, we'd picked a lot.

May I say that for some reason Katie seems to be suddenly very grown up to me lately.

Gabe actually did a very good job picking strawberries this year. As long as you count green ones as good and you ignored the child eating pretty darn close to his weight in berries.

The older boys make up a pretty decent work crew and do a great job.  But some of them still tire out before the job is done.

Here is Robert with his mouth full of the strawberry he finally managed to get from Dad. Alan had this issue about having juice running down his back and insisted that no one share with the poor boy.  I think this must have really ruined Robert's day because he refused to smile for the camera.

 Since we spent so much time out in the strawberry field, the ladies directing traffic to the appropriate rows took pity on the children and gave them a ride back to the car in their super special green tractor.  This was, I do believe, the highlight of the day for at least a few of the kids.

The next few days will be spent making jam, strawberry pancake syrup (yum, the no corn syrup kind), strawberry muffins, strawberry shortcake, chocolate covered strawberries and putting quite a few in the freezer for later this year.  No, we will not buy any strawberries from the store for the rest of the year.

Book Review: Fatherless

I recently read the book Fatherless by Brian J Gail.  This book just left me with a wow kind of feeling.  I was actually in the middle of reading a different book when this one arrived in the mail.  I thought I would just skim a few pages to get a feel for the book and was instantly sucked in.  Yup, the book I was reading before is still sitting on my desk unfinished while I quickly devoured Fatherless.

Fatherless chronicles the lives of several fictional Catholic families during the 1980's.  It shows how the rapid changes in the Church impacted each family in ways none of them expected.  This book is full of real characters and true to life experiences.  These families could be your neighbors and friends.  The folks you see in church each Sunday and the folks you don't.

Even though this book is a work of fiction, it seemed to me to be a very real book dealing with the real issues facing many members of the Catholic Church in America today.  In a strange way is has helped me to understand in some way the disconnect I often feel between those in my parents generation and our own family when it comes to matters of faith.  An atmosphere of such confusion had to have an impact.

My favorite quote from this book is "Father, we love love.  We really do.  But. . .you don't feed us.  We're hungry.  We've had a taste of the whole truth, and we want more."  This line spoke rather loudly to me when I read it.

I encourage you to add this book to your summer reading list.  It packs a very powerful punch and you won't be disappointed.

This review was written as part of the Catholic books reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Fatherless.

Books, Books and More Books

This is what I call really getting into your reading.

Caution: Children in Training

Liam appears to be a bit eager to pass his daily chore down to one of the younger ones.

No more waiting for Mom and Dad to do the chore training. He's going to take on the effort himself.

Small Steps for Catholic Moms - Companion Journal

I spent some time this weekend while Alan was working reading the book Small Steps for Catholic Moms Companion Journal.  I loved this short book. It is meant to be used during the year to help guide you in living out your vocation as a mom.  There are monthly entries focusing on a single topic, followed by several questions to get you thinking about what changes you need to make in your life to more fully live out your calling as a Catholic mom.

My favorite part of the book was the section daily prompts for Lent.  This section gives you daily ideas of things to fast from, pray about and ways to give more to those in your life.  I found many quotes in this section that truly jumped out at me and caused me to question how I am living out my own vocation and allowed me to reconsider the influence of others in my life. 

This simple, easy to read book has the potential to have a very powerful impact on your life.  Constant encouragement and gentle reminders of ways you can improve will change the life of any mom who is willing to take the book to heart.  I strongly recommend this book to all Catholic moms who feel the need to be refreshed and reminded of why they are doing what they do.

This review was written as part of the Catholic books reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Small Steps for Catholic Moms - Companion Journal .

Fort Leavenworth

Ok, who is reading the blog from Ft. Leavenworth?  I don't know anyone who lives there any longer.  If it's you, please leave me a comment.  Thanks.