Who needs good taste?

... when you have a moment like this, all decency standards in blogging have to take a back seat!

Windy on Whidbey

It's begun. Every area of the country seems to have some kind of natural disaster to toil with (heat waves, blizzards, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes etc...) wind storms are the beast here. So far only about 5 or 6 shingles have blown off the roof so that's pretty good compared to last year. Thank the sweet Lord I married a handyman who is able to shimmy up on the rooftop and patch us up in a lovely, effective way. My windchimes have taken a beating though...

Today being Veteran's Day, I got to enjoy a FULL day off with Steve. We listened to the walls creak and shake for a while and then decided to get out of town and face the comercialistic craziness at the Bellingham Mall. It was good to let the kids run around but thousands of other people in NW Washington had the same idea so the place was a madhouse.

So we've had a whirlwind few weeks here. Our friend Rachael came to visit for a bit and that was awesome to see her. I must admit there are things (people) I do miss about our life in California.

So here's some belated Halloween pictures. We aren't the hugest Halloween fans so I was slow to think about any costume ideas so these came together literally that same day from a friend who loaned the Duck and Dalmation costumes to us. Xavier's quasi-viking came out of the toybox and some face paint... and Papa quickly crafting a sword and shield for him out of some spare wood in the garage.

Leo turns 3; St. Francis Xavier; Hiking up Mt. Eerie

He asked for a cat cake... a cat cake he'll get! Xavier dressed up for All Saints at Mass. The face painted facial hair got a lot of giggles. We were treated with a visiting bishop from Nigeria. Steve's mom came to visit which gave us a good excuse to get outside in the fresh air and hike up Mt. Eerie to be treated to a glorious view of the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Mountain range. She took this great picture of our family (Dominic is on Steve's back, unfortunately.) And finally, we have Dominic doing his trademark snear with Uncle Charley. Please pray for my family... that we put full faith in God's providence and mercy.

Dominic turned One; Beth visits; Whale watching

He's walking all over the place now... our little one year old football-loving bundle of joy! He's the first kid so far who was not interested in eating the cake; he smashed and threw it all over!


Here Xavier is enjoying little brother's birthday present, his walker wagon. He uses is A LOT. But he also climbs into it and sits proudly like King Tut while his brothers scoot him around the house.

And Xavier's godmother and my dear friend Beth came out to visit last week. It's so good to have godparents be an active, VISIBLE part of our children's lives! Here they are flying kites at the Fort Ebey bluffs nearby.

... And on the ferry to Mukilteo, Leo claimed her as "his girl" while she was here.
And my soon-to-be brother-in-law Eric, generously insisted on taking the boys and me (and his visiting mother, stepdad and fiance of course... Steve had to work) whale watching.

This is what we saw:

(I think that's a distant boat on the horizon.)

memememememememe

I've been "memed!" by my friend Therese in Australia (we still want to come visit sometime; as soon as that money appears on the cherry tree!!!)

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?

There's no TLM nearby so it's the N.O. for us.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?

N/A

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?

Catholic. Either you're Catholic or your not, forget the labels!

4. Are you a comment junkie?

Not so much, only now and then.

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?

Yes. Some of the time. Sometimes I forget where I have left comments so I don't go back.

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?

Yes, but I don't anymore.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?

I don't really know.

8. Which blog is the first one you check?

I have exactly 12 blogs bookmarked, and I only check half of them frequently... as in weekly or so.

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?

I've met my friends Stephanya, Jess, Erin , Rachael and Paul. And of course Sia and Hope from the old Coffee and Diapers website we ran.

10. What are you reading?

The World's First Love by Fulton Sheen. A book that I'm convinced would convert the hearts of any truly open-minded person within the first 3 chapters. The man is brilliant with words.

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II?

No, it has not. I'm sure if they knew me in person they'd ban my existence though.

8 months later...

We have given our dog away. Luna was a great pup but she deserved a lot more time and attention that we had to give. So after screening dozens of craigslist and freecycle responses, we've given her to a family in Graham, WA. They have a couple acres, another dog and horses. They are a total redneck family... which is good; these type generally take very good care of their dogs. And I felt really good about them when we met them. Anyway, the boys did fine with the transfer, Steve too surprisingly. Having a dog was just more of a commitment than we were ready for. Maybe when the boys get older and can take more responsibility for her.

We've been busy here. Just had Xavier's godmother and my dear friend Beth visit last week. And another Californian friend is coming at the end of this month, maybe a Utahn in between! Oy! It's good to have people visit!

Dominic turned one last month, I've not uploaded those photos yet. Here are a couple from our trip to Tillamook, OR last month.

Thank you Lord

You know, it doesn't really do any good to get angry or upset about things one can't control. I was looking forward to one of my few moments of solitude and peace (in the shower) this morning, when the whole day blasted me with the realization that I am not in control. Thank you God for relieving me of that responsibility! Say it with me: I am not in control here!!! Glory and praise to Him. And that's all I can do.

Right about 2 minutes into the shower, Xavier announces that he has to use the toilet. Our other bathroom toilet is out of commission as of late since Leo flushed swimming goggles down the toilet; Steve hasn't gotten around to fixing that just yet. So my peace is broken as he spends about 5 minutes sitting on the toilet. As he finishes up, Leo walks in announcing that he has to go too. Not feeling entirely patient as I should have been, I ask if he can wait. He says yes. Dominic comes crawling in about this time and begins pulling the shower curtain open. I try to be calm as I say: "Okay, everyone out of the bathroom, Xavier get the baby out." Then, Xavier shouts, "Ewww, Leo peed his pants!" So I swallow my scream and tell Leo to take his pants off and get out of the bathroom; I'd take care of him later. Finally the boys finish up and I resume my conditioner application pretending nothing bad has happened and ignoring the toxic "aroma" wafting my way.

I get out of the shower and ask Xav where Leo is... "he's going poop on your toilet in your room". "WHAT?!" I shout. Not that toilet... but sure enough, I charge in there towel wrapped around me and he's done his business on the broken toilet that can't flush and smeared himself while getting off too. I clean him up, open the bathroom window, and shut the door... dreading telling Steve about this when he gets home today. So I think it's all finished and I'm about to put my clothes on but Dominic is suddenly silent. Knowing what's happening but in denial all the same, I race back to the other bathroom where he's playing in brother's pee on the floor. So I clean him up... still haphazardly trying to stay decent with a towel around me. I put him in the living room and SHUT the bathroom door this time and go back to my room to dress.

Well, I thought that was the end of it, but when I finally went back to clean up Leo's pee on the floor, I picked up his undies and a giant "patty" falls out. Sweet merciful Father... thank you for the chance to practice love and humility. How else can I react? I live in a home full of wild, rambunctious, body-function obsessed boys and how could I possibly be annoyed and angry and frustrated. This is my vocation. May I honor it with patience and love.

I just ask to be fully dressed for future infractions.