The Nunettes

Today marks the official date of departure for my Mom and my sister, Sr. Ilaria of Jesus (The Joy/Laughter of Jesus). In Hannah's words, "I sure am gonna miss you." We all had loads of fun and Hannah especially enjoyed spending time with her Aunt. Little Hannah looked with envy at the Franciscan habit and on Wednesday night was allowed to don a mini version of the religious garb. Unfortunately, I can't find those pictures so you will have to be satisfied with pyjamas and a veil. Also, a video of a fiddling Sister and a step dancing mini-Sister might also keep you entertained. (Pardon the sound quality - those who have heard the good Sister play live know that she sounds a heck of a lot better in person.)

Seven Quick Takes Friday

The end of the summer is drawing near and it has been an extremely busy one with lots of visitors and visits away from home. With all this busyness, we can only hold things together so long; consequently, the following quick takes are Seven Quick Takes of Destruction.

1. Good friends of ours came for a visit on Wednesday with their two children, Norah and Simon. Their mother, Jaclyn, brought homemade pretzels and turnovers and refreshed me with some good conversation and old friendship. Daddy Francis is a kid magnet and willingly allowed our children to use him as some sort of playground apparatus. However, as any seasoned parent knows, allowing the kids to crawl all over one's self while said parent lies on the floor is really a last ditch attempt to alleviate exhaustion while entertaining the kids. Well done, Francis. 2. Dave and I spent the day in Ottawa yesterday talking to, among other people, the world's most clueless used car salesman. (But that's another story.) My mom, sister and father watched the kids for a VERY long period while we were gone. The result was a bit of a catastrophic morning the following day. The pictures only tell part of the tale - I wish I had audio. Or maybe I'm glad I don't.

3. At one point Joseph was inside the open cabinet behind the Lazy Susan screaming for attention.

4. Both of my parents are avid users of the Internet and the breakfast table often looks like this during breakfast. Actually, this is an accurate after-dinner shot as well.

5. Jacob and Hannah mock fighting as part of the chaos.

6. Benjamin and Joseph not mock fighting. Joseph is really being squished by the gate and I am really taking a picture. The shame.

7. Me, still in pajamas, lamenting the Seven Quick Takes of Destruction.

Not much Monday

No pictures today, folks. The battery on our camera died and we have yet to replace it. We discovered the dead battery on Friday night while attending the final eremitic vows of a friend of ours. What?

We have a friend who is a hermit and she took her final vows on Friday night. I know that it sounds contradictory to have a friend who is a hermit but we do and, I guess, that's that.

It was a beautiful mass celebrated by the Bishop and attended by close to 100 people. The dead battery was discovered at exactly the moment at which our dear friend professed the evangelical counsels as well as a life of silence and solitude. We attempted to take a picture of the sacred moment but were thwarted by the zoom function causing the camera to turn off. While Dave and I fought sotte voce about the ability of a dead battery to power a camera, the vows carried on, and, by the time we looked up, the vows were over. Just like that. Apparently eremitic vows are very fast.

We have family visiting for the week so I should have pictures coming to you soon of many adventures. Part of the visiting family is my younger sister who is a professed religious sister in full habit. I am wondering how our next door neighbour will approach me about the nun in my driveway as I have already seen a few questioning looks cast this way. I am sure that the habited sister will only add to his confusion about our family as he is already agog about our quantity of children and the potential for increase. Also, when we left for our vacation to Nazareth Family Camp, Jacob (never shy) yelled at him, "We are going to Nazareth for the week: Not the one in the Holy Land." (Just in case he thought one could drive to the Holy Land in a Dodge Grand Caravan with a roof rack, four children and no passports.)

So, I will sign off now as Hannah is writhing on the floor with a sore tummy that (she says) is not leading to throwing up and Joseph has just now found the drip function on his bottle and is using it in an art project. Bye for now.

Still here

I realise that I have been a little slack this summer with my blogging. I imagine that my posting will pick up once the school bell starts ringing again. Dave has been at home for almost two months now and having someone in the house between the ages of 18 and 35 every day, all day (except when he's on a tractor baling hay) does something for one's need for Internet conversation. But, Dave is back in the classroom come Sept. 1st and I will be alone with two boys under the age of four. Look for a post that day...

Speaking of our two youngest, our very youngest (Joseph, 21 months) is pictured below. I mentioned in my last post that he had a a slightly allergic run in with a balloon. We have had balloons around numerous times and Joe had never had a problem before. However, the new shiny balloons caused our little boy to break out in welts while his eye and nose ran with bodily fluids. So, I took a picture.

No, the picture wasn't just for my readers; it's also for our doctor so that I can just show her the shot instead of launching into an elaborate description of what I remember happening. Here's hoping that the welts don't lead to anything more or we'll be sending gifts to birthday parties via Canada Post. This is the five of us last night at a local stop known for its crooked waterways. Dave was determined to snap this shot but I was equally determined to keep everyone alive and, thus, was getting a little, ummm, upset. The smile is fake. The little boy in my arms who is set on throwing himself into the crooked waterway is very real. (Just click on the picture and all will be clear.)

The four children below (two of whom are ours) are enjoying a canoe ride courtesy of their swim teachers on the last day of lessons. The last week of lessons was finally summer-like and erased all memories of the survival lessons from earlier on in the summer. And, if I can toot Jacob's and Hannah's horns, they passed two badges this summer. Way to go, twinlets!

Lessons ended on Friday but the fun didn't stop there. There was a wrap up BBQ on Monday. There were about 150 kids there with their responsible adults as well as many hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and balloons. Dave's time was spent keeping Joseph from the balloons. Jacob's time was spent entering the jellybean-in-the-jar contest and the break-the-balloon-with-the-dart contest. Jacob loves contests; if he were of age he would close the Casino each night. After Dave and I decided that we no longer wanted to keep Joseph from the balloons or allow our kids to participate in the drowning of a child, we packed up and began to leave. Jacob insisted that he tell his swim teacher that we were going so that he could find out if he had won the jellybeans. His eagerness resulted in his teacher asking if we could stay a few extra minutes as they were handing out the swimming awards. Little Jacob's ears perked up: Awards?

All 150 kids surrounded the four teachers in eager anticipation of winning some sort of acknowledgement of their accomplishments. Jacob positioned himself to quickly receive the best swimmer award. Hannah sat quietly waiting to cheer her brother on. And then their swim teacher made the announcement: "And the most improved female swimmer for Session One is ... Hannah Afelskie." Hannah's eyes grew large and she accepted her gift bag as only a shy, little girl can do: quickly and with eyes cast downward. My heart beat in happiness for my only girl. Meanwhile, her twin brother was beginning to bounce as the next prize was surely his.

But it wasn't.

I watched as he quickly cast his eyes downwards in an effort to hide the tears that welled up as quickly as he had been willing to accept the award. I stayed put. I sensed that this moment was one in which he was making a decision that would help shape his character. He breathed deeply and slowly and politely asked Hannah if he could see what was in her gift bag. The tears sprang to my eyes and I thanked God for the grace that He extended to my little boy in that moment: the grace of not giving him the award and the grace to accept that. It was an incredibly poignant moment for me as I literally saw my eldest boy grow up just a little right before me. (I have to say that the shirtless boy in the grey shorts seems to be channeling Jacob's disappointment.)

Fortunately, that morning, some new books had arrived in the mail from Amazon and Jacob's sore feelings were eased by E. B. White's famous pig. Awesome. Terrific. Some kids.

A Quick Question Answered

The students from Saturday night's post have come and gone. The three of them, along with my father, are somewhere in a provincial park travelling by canoe, eating dehydrated food and changing their clothing minimally - for twelve days. Twelve days. Have I mentioned my dislike of camping and the benefits of a career as a stay-at-home mother?

As you might recall, I wondered on Saturday night what these students might think of our little family. While I didn't ask them outright ... I do think that they enjoyed themselves. At least Jeff, the fellow pictured below, seemed to really like our children and the feeling was definitely mutual. Jeff, from San Diego, was the first to arrive on Sunday and he settle in quite nicely even joining us for family prayer when Jacob, without prompting, asked, "Are you coming to say your prayers with us?" Jeff, much to his credit, replied, "It's been a while; but why not?" We then moved to the living room where we petitioned the Good God while our kids simultaneously prayed for a smattering of relatives, friends and wildlife while reading books, turning somersaults and climbing chairs. Ours is a joyful faith.

The above picture is not of family prayers. However, it is a fairly accurate portrayal of our religious practices.

The above shot is actually a picture of us practising and watching the play which Jacob wrote on the occasion of the students' visit.

More particularly, Jacob wrote the play in honour of Laura on the day after her birthday. Note the balloon. (I could also note Joseph's resulting welts from the balloon but I'll save that for a hypo-allergenic post entitled "Why Joseph will never attend a birthday party.")

Anyway, when I say that Jacob wrote a play I am overstating things. On Sunday night, Jeff and all family members were each handed a sheet of paper on which Jacob had scrawled the name of our character, our costume and a waiver stating that if we had any objections regarding character or costume, we could consult the director. (Yes, Jacob was the director.) My father was cast as the Stone-Hearted Lion who thinks of nothing but rocks while Jeff was the three- legged donkey. (Note the raised leg in the above photograph.) While successfully casting each of us as members of the Stone Forest, Jacob had failed to devise a plot. Thus, we were left to create our own dialogue and storyline during the dress rehearsal which doubled as both first rehearsal and performance.

The end result was all of the children climbing on the three-legged donkey while Grandpa Nick provided live-action narration. The play was mildly successful in that we all laughed and Jacob didn't cry. It was vaguely reminiscent of the play scene from Atonement.

The next few days were spent packing, shopping and repacking and the group finally set off on Tuesday morning. Here are Jeff and Duncan discussing the merits of air photos vs. topographical maps.

Here is Benjamin attempting to prove that he should be taken along on the excursion due to his his superior climbing abilities. They left without him.

Here is Grandpa Nick looking not much like a grandpa and always in need of a haircut.

Mommy, who wears sunglasses and her favourite black t-shirt in almost every picture on this blog.

Jacob and Benjamin checking out some sort of rock that was a good indicator of something geological and beyond my comprehension. Having finally answered my quick question, I am off to face the heatwave along with Joseph and the stroller. Wish me luck.

Two Josephs - One Hat

We all have to start somewhere. Hats off to both.

A Quick Question

My father is visiting us on his way to 'the field'. He is a geologist and university professor and spends much of his summers in the field (i.e. remote islands/campsites/outcrops/blackfly-infested spaces) conducting research. As an adolescent I tagged along for a couple of summers driving the boat and spending long days in the sun as he hit rocks with hammers. As a 21-year old I accidentally broke his camera with a hammer (but that's another story). Despite my familiarity with his camping gear, odd schedules and beard growth, I can't hide my ignorance: I don't really know what he studies except that he brings home lots of rock samples that have always littered the windowsills of our family homes. Nevertheless, my question is not about my father - I just got a little carried away with the intro.
Rather, tomorrow some of his field assistants will be pulling in to spend the night. When I was growing up, Dad's field assistants were always much older - a 21 year old university student is untouchable to a 13 year old girl. But then something happened. I grew up. Suddenly I was older than the field assistants. The students to whom I once looked with such longing are now a decade or more my juniors. Highlighting my seniority are the raw facts: I have a husband, a mini-van, a mortgage and four children. It is the latter point that brings me back to my question.
I was pondering dinner tomorrow night and wondering what these single, kidless students will think about a 31 year old with four kids and homemaker as occupation. Will our life silently confirm what so many people believe?:

It's all over once you get married and have kids.

Because as I wrestled with these thoughts I realised something about myself. I've always felt the opposite:

Life began when I got married and had kids.

How about you?

Our Week at Camp in Seven Quick Takes

1. We have been back almost a week and I seem to be rapidly losing track of time. So, finally I have come to write about our time at Nazareth Family Camp. I think that I have been avoiding a summary of our time at Camp because sometimes it's just too hard to write about experiences that cut to the heart and indelibly mark themselves in the life of a family. Or maybe I'm just tired.
There were no big experiences on my part; no massive conversions; just the gentle moving of the Spirit in that Nazareth sort of way. Dave and I came away renewed in our marriage with a clearer vision for our family and children. Our children were provided with great memories and an experience of authentic Christian community. We also had a great time.

2. Before I get lost in philosophising, I will move onto the nitty gritty of camp life. Each day began with a wake up song which our children (as well as many others) eagerly anticipated and christened The Wake-up Parade. By the grace of God, Dave and I were already up when the guitars arrived and our children departed. We then trooped over to the main hall for breakfast followed by mass at 9am celebrated by a Madonna House priest. Some of the very talented teenagers and young people provided the fabulous music. In fact, mass was very reminiscent of our NET days and at times we felt as if we were back in training for NET life except that we were now married - strange juxtaposition. After mass, the kids were sorted into age groups for catechesis, arts and crafts, and games. Joseph was deposited howling into the arms of a very gracious young woman who worked her magic on our youngest lad and reassured me with a "Don't worry - he stops quite soon after you leave." Ben's lower lip quivered as he was separated from first his parents and then his older siblings. The separation from JacobHannah proved his undoing and he was given special permission to tag along with the older age group and, among other things, participate in their arts and crafts - you should see his rendition of St. Faustina. Actually, you should see all their renditions of the Polish saint: Hannah's is beautifully accurate as she paid close attention to that of her teacher; Jacob's saint has glowing red eyes that seem to follow me around the kitchen; and Ben's saint is barely visible under the black crayon scribbled over her likeness.

3. Anyway ... while the kids proceeded with their morning, the parents were shuttled off to a lakeside cabin where we watched brief clips of original Nazareth talks followed by sharings by some of the leadership couples. These times were quite powerful as we listened to the wisdom of couples who have been forging this path a lot longer than we and generously imparted what they have learned. We then headed back for an already prepared lunch (one of the biggest blessings of the day) followed by free time for the remainder of the day. Needless to say, most of our free time was spent at the lake and, by the grace of God, the rain usually held off for the afternoon so that we could truly enjoy the beach. Although the rain stayed away, the wind didn't as demonstrated by Joseph's hair.
He apparently has an affinity for pink flotation devices.
Hannah, whose smile can light up any grey day.
4. Ben had an interesting week. By the end of our session we quickly realised that little Benjo is an introvert - that is, he is quickly wearied by too many people. Thus, as we began to drive away from camp last Friday, Ben began to talk - the further we got away from the multitudes, the faster the words came until we had to ask him to stem the flow of vocabulary. Now fully spent, he promptly fell asleep for two hours.
5. Jacob loved the water.

Who doesn't love the water?

In motion.

Our three oldest eating someone else's snack ... oops. (This was a theme throughout the week.)

Jacob being Jacob. As one father remarked: "My grandfather's definition of a boy is a loud noise with dirt on it." Indeed.

6. And, of course, there was a bonfire on one of the last nights. For some reason (my guess is the abundance of cute teenage girls who really liked him), Ben came alive at the campfire and showed off his dance moves. Might I add that one of the greatest blessings for me on the week was the number of teenagers there. There were at least 30 kids under the age of twelve but there seemed to be as many teenagers and young adults who were there with their families and by themselves in order to help serve the visiting families. These teenagers were absolutely beautiful. They took joy in holding the babies, in playing with the little kids, and in talking with the parents. Each time I looked at them I couldn't help thinking of the quote that the glory of God is man fully alive. I actually found myself looking forward to my own children as teenagers instead of fearing the years that I have been taught to dread. A heartfelt thank you to these teenagers and young adults who were simultaneously 'with it' and yet remained relatively untainted by the prevailing culture. Great hope.

Hannah experiencing a vision.

7. And, I guess that's the end of the pictures. I had more but didn't feel right about posting pictures of other people's kids (try to ignore the children on either side of our daughter in the above shot.) Overall, our week was wonderful. We began the week as we do all such ventures - wondering why we had left the comfort of our home to sleep on camp mattresses and shower above a dining hall. However, as we have learned, there is always fruit with the Cross. The camp mattresses were well worth it as we reestablished old friendships, made new ones, enriched existing ones and opened ourselves up to what the Lord wants to do in each of us and in our family. Our kids came away with (in Jacob's words) a little piece of Nazareth in their hearts, some pictures of St. Faustina and an affinity for the brown scapular. We left with a vision of the holiness of family life, the fear of the teenage years softened, a greater desire to place God at the centre of our family life, an increased understanding and openness to life, and a renewal of all things good. Thank you.

The Icing on the Cupcakes

We are back from our family camp (Nazareth not Cana Colony - although we did attend Cana two years ago) and I will write a bit about our wonderful week in a future post. However, before our departure last Sunday we travelled about 1.5 hours away from home to celebrate the marriage of Dave's cousin. The lovely couple had actually wed in April in the very big city and the July celebration was a chance for the extended family to get together for a bit of a reunion. The event was held at the groom's father's homestead which, as you can see, is absolutely beautiful. There were many people in attendance but not that many children. In fact, there were probably less than 20 children and ours and those of Dave's cousin, Tanya, accounted for nine of that number. It was Dave who took the following picture since, in his words, without these women the kids would, well ... ummm, not be here. So, here are Tanya and I looking far more like close relatives than Tanya and Dave.

And here is Dave looking rather manly. The John-Deere capped fellow is Dave's father and his mother is the lady sporting the fine head of white hair.

Along with the many salads, cold cuts, cheeses and buns was a three tiered plate (bottomless, I might add) of chocolate cupcakes decorated in the brightest colours of icing that I have ever seen. Now, when it comes to food, I pick my battles carefully. When at home they follow a fairly balanced regimen; but when we go to other houses, parties and and events I'm pretty laissez-faire. As one friend of ours says, "I'm happy if my kids eat chips." Consequently, I really have no idea how many of those cupcakes were consumed by my crew but I do know that they were all a little sugar shocked when we left. Here is Joseph making his way through a purple cupcake.

Outside of the consumption of cupcakes, they also enjoyed playing soccer with their second cousins. Ben trying out the orange variety. Note the glazed eyes.

This is a pre-cupcake shot when he was still pretty lucid and fully functional.

And, of course, Joseph found a ball. He actually spotted it the minute we de-vanned. His eyes lit up as he zeroed in on the red ball; he looked to the right and the left; mumbled the word ball and scooped it up before its rightful owner knew what had happened. He was quite upset when it was later used in a soccer game and attempted to follow its progress from player to player while crying, "Ball!! My ball!" We departed soon after.

And this is a picture of the nine second cousins: four belong to Dave and I and the other five belong to Dave's cousin and husband. They are a fine family of five under the age of nine - two boys and three girls.

This was my first attempt at a cousin shot until we realised that one member was missing and the ball was not an adequate stand in for a five year old boy. Despite the missing boy, this shot serves as adequate evidence of the mini matriarchs in each family - can you pick them out?

And after previewing this post, I want to clarify that Tanya is not the cousin who got married in April.