The weather has been getting better and better and we’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors.

Enjoying the interesting  spring wildflowers…

This is Western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus). These bright yellow flowers grow about two feet tall, everywhere there is boggy land (which is just about everywhere in this rain forest of an island!) Gorgeous!

And we’ve had a lot of these guys hanging around the yard lately:

Talk about your backyard birds! LOL! They’ve been swooping down over the house and snatching fish from the harbor (herring, I suppose). We even saw one snatch two fish at once, one with each foot! I swear, we have no need of the Nature Channel around here. All we need to do is look out the window!

Superboy has been very busy with all of his volunteer work, Boy Scouts, and now Skateboard club…

JBug had her extra-special day!

She was so excited to be able to receive Christ for the first time! Isn’t she just glowing!?!

We are wrapping up this school year, looking forward to summer fun, and enthusiastically planning for the next school year, which promises to be jam-packed with great stuff (and the topic of another post coming soon).

So, that’s my update! Leave me a comment and let me know how your school year is winding down!

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments

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And here is a video Ed took of me having the great honor of releasing one of those Bald Eagles!

(I am the one holding the huge bird, btw.)

So breathtaking to see these birds take off, soaring away to their new lives after being nursed back from their near-death experiences.

This was an amazing experience and so much more rich a reward than I ever expected. When the Raptor Center staff called and offered me this opportunity I was ecstatic, but also humbled by their generosity, knowing I had not even come close to earning it considering the short amount of time I have been volunteering there.

Very appropriate  for the Easter season, which is all about resurrection, renewal, new life and a reward which we have not earned for ourselves, but which is freely given.

Rejoice! Life is new and strong and beautiful!

Happy Easter to you all!

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments

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Since we are using the fabulous book, Mondays with Mary, as a guide for our religious celebrations this year,  we celebrated  yesterday (monday).

What’s a birthday without a cake, right? Well, when it comes to my kids and baking, I never have to ask twice!

Superboy was chief recipe reader and mix-master.

JBug was a champion egg cracker and spoon licker.

The lovely, yummy results of their combined efforts! A delicious pound cake!

Our little Marian grotto, complete with home-made banner, the bare tree just waiting to be filled with beautiful flowers of love for Our Lady!

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments

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Here Superboy is using this pattern to whip up some snow booties for our dog, Cassie:

Tell me, ladies, you don’t think less of him just because he can operate a sewing machine, right? You know he is all boy, right?LOL!

Well, Cassie wasn’t exactly thrilled–booties take some getting used to apparently, but here she is showing off her new, warm, purple snow booties (while Hobbes looks on making sure he isn’t going to be the next victim of our generosity):

Luckily for Hobbes no kitty booties were in store today, but a cute goldfish play-toy made from this pattern:

JBug did a great job cutting, stitching and stuffing the fish with beans.

What cat could resist this fun toy?

(Yes, my daughter dresses herself, why do you ask?)

Happy feast of St Francis!

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments

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© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments

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A happy and blessed Easter to you all!

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments

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We just finished watching The Song of Bernadette (wonderful movie, btw) so it seems a very appropriate craft to do. Besides, if you’ll recall from my craft rant I do not have a problem with doing crafts that have a useful purpose, as this one most certainly does. I like that it is versatile–Lourdes water can be replaced with holy water and the image can be changed out to reflect the current feast day. So it isn’t a one-shot craft that sits on a shelf for the rest of the year, but it remains useful over and over again. I think I will skip the fun foam, however and have the children use silk flowers, buttons, or glass jewels for decorating the fonts.

Now to get some of that Lourdes water-something we could definitely use right now!

Oh, and I am having  coffee today, too.  So there.

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2008. | Permalink | One comment

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1.First Saints you “met”? St Augustine (how appropriate was that?!), St. Joseph.

2. Favorite Saint(s)? Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Francis of Assisi, St Therese (the little flower).

3. Patron saint for the year? St. Francis of Assisi (this and every year.)

4. Favorite book by a saint? The Way by St Josemaria Escriva

5. Saint book you are reading now? The Little Flowers of St. Francis

6. Favorite movie of a saint? Song of Bernadette

7. Favorite Autobiography/Biography of a saint? Story of a Soul

8. Favorite novel/book of a saint? Ok, this isn’t a book of one saint, but I just love the book Saintly Solutions to Life’s Common Problems by Fr Joseph Esper. What a wealth of aid in times of need.

9. Saint (besides your favorites) you’d want to meet? St. Martin DePorres , St. Bernard, St Thomas Aquinas, St Clare of Assisi…

10. Saint(s) you look to for help? BVM, St. Joseph, St Francis of Assisi

11.Favorite saint quote(s)? There are so MANY! How can we choose? But here is a good one:

“Those who love God will find pleasure in everything. Those who do not love God will not find true pleasure in anything.” –St Alphonsus Liguori

12. Favorite Holy Card? Our Lady of Sorrows

13. Favorite story of a saint? Saint Bernadette

14. If you could go anywhere on a pilgrimage to a saint’s homeland, where would it be? Assisi or Lourdes, or really anywhere as long as I get out of here!

15. Any Blesseds or Venerables that you would like to become canonized? Mother Teresa. We can always use another Saint Theresa!

Hat tip: I’ve seen this in many places, but the last place I saw it was at A Lee in the Woudes.

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2008. | Permalink | One comment

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I was having a bad day and it had just gotten worse. Immeasurably worse.

It didn’t start out that way. Early in the morning I had driven Modgirl to her rehearsals for a concert she was playing that night. It was a very special concert for her in a band that she had spent many hours practicing just to audition for. Competition was stiff and when we heard that she had made the band I was so proud of her, and I was excited to listen to her play that evening. It was going to be a good day.

I won’t go into details of how the day fell apart from there, because I have done quite enough whining lately. Let’s just suffice it to say that it involved disappointing news about a possible trip, one sick child, one child who refused to nap, half of a favorite book missing, muddy shoes, cat barf in the school room, sand on the train table, mud in the carpet, peed bedding, and poop in the bathtub. And that was all before noon.

So I got my little crew, consisting of JBug(6), Squirt(4), and JackJack(2), ready to go to the concert. (Superboy stayed home with a stack of Netflix, too sick to get off the couch).Without my 2 biggest helpers by my side, I knew it was going to be a difficult night keeping three wiggly little ones still and quiet during the concert. But Modgirl assured me it was only a half-hour long program, so I figured I could handle it.

We arrived at the concert hall right on time (woo hoo!), but they were a bit behind schedule and the previous band was still playing. I will spare you the long version, but it involved waiting in the lobby, waiting in the concert hall, listening to a couple of songs from the earlier band, visiting the bathroom, multiple trips to the water fountain, and going outside for a run. For a total of 45 minutes! When it was finally time for Modgirl to play, JackJack flat out refused to re-enter the concert hall. In the lobby he screamed and yelled and pitched a royal fit. I persevered and finally got us into our seats. But in the 5 minutes between the seating and the start of the program he started up again and despite my best efforts I had to leave. In the hallway he “roared his terrible roars, and rolled his terrible eyes and gnashed his terrible teeth.” He was the original Wild Thing.

The doors closed and the concert began. With Squirt and JBug still inside.

I was in a miserable state, let me tell you. Try as I might I could not soothe the boy. When I even suggested he calm down so we could go back in he screamed all the louder. My little ones were alone in the concert hall and I couldn’t go in with a screaming 2yo, and I couldn’t leave him alone in the hallway to go in and get them.

And I was missing the concert. A special concert. One of the last concerts I would be able to hear my beautiful Modgirl play before she heads off to college in the fall. Oh, the unfairness of it all! It was more than I could bear.

That’s when I fell apart. Right there in the hallway with people wandering by I began to cry. Sitting on the floor, rocking my crying grandson on my lap, my tears fell right along with JackJack’s. And under the tears came the whispered words “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee…” Over and over I chanted my prayer, desperate, begging Our Lady to somehow lift this burden from me. Mary, look with pity and see how very hard I am trying. Please look after my babies and grant me a miracle, that I might get to hear my own dear Angel play her music.

And that’s when a tall, elegant-looking woman stopped in front of me. I don’t know who she was, but she knelt down, handed me a tissue and said, “I have a son. I know how you feel. It does get easier.”

I looked up to her, wiped my eyes and said, most pitifully, “I just want to hear my daughter play,” and burst into tears again.
She responded, “I would watch him for you, but I know you’d never trust him to a stranger.”

Then she pulled a large pack of Juicyfruit gum from the pocket of her long woolen coat and handed it to me. “See if this helps. And you have some too.”

I choked back the tears and thanked the woman and she walked away. I pulled out a piece of Juicyfruit and gave it to JackJack. He put it in his mouth and gave me a cautious smile. The tears stopped and he laid his head on my shoulder. When that piece was gone he asked for another, his face showing that the unsteady peace was about to break. I gave him another and he smiled again, this time more confidently.

I tried a piece myself and the sweetness of it made me feel a bit better, stronger. I stood up and took a chance. Approaching near, but not entering the auditorium doors, we sat on the steps leading in, and I could hear the music! It was lovely. Oh, how I wished I could go in!

More gum, more smiles, more waiting and listening for a break in the music before I took my chance again. When I heard the applause I opened the door and went in. I found JBug and Squirt in the arms of a dear old friend who had moved far away a few years ago. They were smiling. I sat next to them, feeding JackJack small pieces of Juicyfruit to keep him calm.

The next song was about to begin. I prayed, “Lord, please  keep him quiet just a bit longer. Let me hear just one song and I will be happy.”

The conductor lifted his baton, JackJack rested his head on my shoulder, and I was able to hear my daughter play. The song was Ave Maria. And I cried once more.

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2008. | Permalink | 23 comments

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Anyway, here is the new puzzle, a simple nativity scene:

If I were to do it over there are a few things I would do differently, though overall  I  like it very much. I used pine this time as a step up in quality from the plywood of my last puzzle, yet still not risking anything too pricey with my beginning saw skills.

In case anyone is interested, here is the step-by-step process, so you can see how easy it really is.

First, I sketch out (and re-sketch, and sketch some more…) a design on paper, making sure that there are no pieces that might be too small and complicated to cut. Here is my original design, which ended up changed a bit in the final piece:

Then I trace it onto a piece of wood.

Then I cut it out using a scroll saw. Please ignore all the boo-boos I am still learning how to drive that thing! At this point it isn’t looking too pretty.

Then comes the most labor-intensive part, sanding.

I think it makes a huge difference!

Then comes the staining.

I use only water-based stains and finishes. Easy clean-up and less toxic. Then I put a light clear top-coat on to seal it.

The final product, again. I also designed it so that the main pieces can be set up as a simple nativity scene.

So, you see! It is really simple to do and very rewarding. If you think you can’t do it, you really should think again!I have much to learn, but I look forward to getting better and better at it with practice. That’s two puzzles down now and a lifetime to go!LOL!

© lapazfarm for LaPaz Home Learning, 2007. | Permalink | 45 comments

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