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By John Jansen on March 3rd, 2010 | Category: Family Life, ParentingRecently, our seven-year old daughter Teresa — our firstborn child — learned to knit.
In itself, this is really no big deal, I suppose, given that it’s hardly unheard of for a child to know how to knit. But for me, as her dad, the thing that struck me about her newfound ability is that this is the first time I can recall that one of our children has acquired a skill that I don’t have.
From the time our kids are very young, we teach them to crawl, walk, talk, tie their shoes, read, etc., but these are all things that we ourselves know how to do. And still, to be sure, when our children have developed (or will develop) any of these basic skills, as their dad it has brought me great joy to behold each of these milestones, and will continue to do so.
But now that our children are beginning to learn skills that I myself don’t have, it has brought me even greater joy, and it has reminded me of the importance of our job as parents to instill in them a desire to discover and nurture their own God-given talents.
[Cross-posted at Lunch Break]
By John Michael on February 19th, 2010 | Category: Family LifeThis one came from a Catholic Homeschooling Mom.
We pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays. We light a candle for each station and turn out all the lights. The kids take turns blowing out a candle for each station prayed. For the last station the last candle is blown out and it signfies Jesus’ death. There is complete silence and the kids quietly go to bed.
To help with the praying of the stations, each child has their own shoebox wrapped in purple paper with the following items (a symbol for each station)
1st station: rope (Jesus condemned to death)
2nd station: small wooden cross
3rd station: band aid (Jesus falls 1st time)
4th station: plastic rosary (Jesus meets Mary)
5th station: saint card of Simon helping Jesus (I print these)
6th station: small piece of fabric w/ iron on image of Jesus’ face
7th station: band aid (falls 2nd time)
8th station: kleenex tissue (women crying)
9th station: band aid (falls 3rd time)
10th station: small piece of purple felt (clothes stripped)
11th station: VERY large galvanized nail about 6 inches long (Home depot for $.20)
12th station: crucufix (Catholic store, plastic about $.50)
13th station: holy card of Michaelangelo’s Pieta
14th station: stone (big one from backyard or park)
I also include Fr. Lovasik’s Station of the cross book in their Boxes. My girls made theirs about 4 years ago. Last week I had moms come over and they all brought some of the items and we made boxes for our kids. I made two more for my son and 3 yo dd.
This tradition is one of the simplest. I keep the boxes and only bring them down for prayer time. They LOVE praying the stations because they get to rummage through their boxes. Free boxes available at
These are Disney shows but they’re nothing in moral content like those from the Wonderful World of Disney decades ago. So, I’m cutting out cable TV. And I’ll give a good-night talk in the way St. John Bosco did to his homeless youth. The good-night talk is done after night prayers and contains a moral lesson from something that happened during the day. That is how St. John Bosco made faith part of life. And psychologically, it is a most effective time to instill good thoughts. The talk is followed by the great silence – in the monastic tradition where no one talks unless it is an emergency. That silence ushers in sleep but also combats dissipation and distractions. The serenity and stillness brings recollection and a sense of God’s awesome and mysterious presence.
By Nod on February 7th, 2010 | Category: Family Life, ParentingWhile Mrs. Nod and I worked on shoveling out 30 inches of snow from the driveway, I sent Wynken and Blynken out back to clear away the heat pump. After warning them to be careful of the nearby outside basement steps, I returned to my grueling task.
Not five minutes go by when Wynken comes rushing up and says “Blynken fell down the basement steps and now she’s stuck!”. I rushed to the back and sure enough, she fell down the well of the stairs into the drift, arms and legs akimbo. Not only that, she lost her boot in the process.
She handled it well and didn’t panic; thankfully she didn’t get hurt – just stuck. I scooped her up in my arms and carried her back into the garage and set her down safe and sound.
She says, “Thanks, Daddy.”
I said, “Don’t you know, I’ll always come for you?”
‘Cause, you know, that’s what Daddies do.
By Rick on February 3rd, 2010 | Category: Faith & Spirituality, Family LifeI try to instill the same spirit at home by asking my kids to help each other with their chores. While they have their assignments, they’re not allowed to say, “That’s not my job.” I set the example by helping my wife. When I come home and the house is filthy, I don’t complain. When I see my wife reading a magazine, I don’t resent that dinner is not ready. Instead, I sauté some meatballs then mix it with tomato sauce while boiling the water for the noodles – still in my work clothes. I know how it feels to stay home with 4 kids because I do it every Saturday when she works. And it helps. My wife feels loved and she continues to pass that to the kids.
By Nod on February 2nd, 2010 | Category: Family Life, FunAre you ready for some football?
The Nodlings enjoy watching football with dear old Dad. My boy, Wynken, likes football; the toddlers, Nub and Nib, love to shout “Touchdown!” on every play; the older girls, Blynken and Nod-girl, just like hanging out and eating my snack food.
So with one hand on the remote to avoid the commercials and one eye on my snack plate, we are getting ready to enjoy the Game-That-Must-Not-Be-Named-Due-To-Litigious-Copyright-Holders.
A major part of The Game ™ of course is the football food. Catholics everywhere will be watching (and eating) along with the rest of the nation at the biggest football game of the year.
Everybody’s got their favorite football food; Catholics are no exception. So how will you know if you’re at a Catholic Football Fest? Let’s take a look at a sample menu:
- Beer: choice of Don De Dieu (Gift of God) or Angel City Ale
- Saints 7-Sacramental-layer dip
- Hotter-than-Hades wings
- Dante’s Onion Rings of Hell
- Immaculate Reception drink holder
- St. Lawrence’s Barbeque Ribs
- Jalepeno Popers
- St. Stephen’s Stoned Wheat Crackers and Cheese
- Heavenly Hash ice Cream
- B16 Burger and Fries
- Crusader Chili Dogs
There have to be more! Your suggestions in the combox; let’s have some fun.
——–
Cross-posted at: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
By DavidofOz on January 31st, 2010 | Category: Family Life, Parenting
Big Brothers are Great
We had a guest the other night joining us for dinner. After the meal when the children were cleaning up and washing dishes, our guest asked, “Don’t your children fight?”
Lana and I looked at each other and pondered.
“Not really,” we replied, “They have occasional disagreements but these get sorted out pretty quickly.”
“Don’t they yell or scream at each other?” our guest asked in amazement.
“Rarely, but we stomped on that behaviour very early on and now they have learned appropriate conflict resolution skills. Also, when the children fight over something – a toy, a game or anything – we will get the object in dispute and tell them ‘If this is causing you to fight, we don’t want this thing in our home’ and then throw it in the bin. Pretty quickly the children learned that it wasn’t worth fighting over ’stuff’”
“Hmm,” he said, sitting back and watching the children singing off key – but loudly – and obviously enjoying themselves while they were cleaning up.
That is one advantage of homeschooling. Rather than being thrown into the school jungle with no direct adult supervision, they are able to learn from adults when the problems occur, as memories are fresh and actions are obvious and not distorted by time and emotion. Of course, the pressure is on Lana and I to grow up too, which was probably the hardest part. We can’t expect them to follow appropriate problem resolution techniques if we are squabbling over stupid little things.
“Ahh, but what about when they get in the ‘real’ world? How about then huh?”
We actually believe
By The Dutchman on January 28th, 2010 | Category: Family Life
On 5 March 2003, I came home and, right after I closed the front door, my Bean-Girl ran up to me stark naked and give me a big hug.
So I ask, “Why are you naked?”
“Because I haven’t got any clothes on!”
You may or may not think this is cute, but I do. After all, she’s my daughter. And you might be wondering how I know exactly what day it happened on. That’s because I wrote it down. In the kitchen, right underneighth a pile of un-read newspapers (mostly the Wanderer) and magazines (Harper’s, Mother Jones) and whatever book I’m reading (Nolte’s Three Faces of Fascism) you will find my current note-book where I write down everything almost as soon as it happens.
On the same page as Bean-Girl’s clever tautology, I have other things she said or did:
• Breakfast 3/7/3: sausage, chocolate crêpes, pickles.
• 3/16/3 calls tortillas “Taco Buns”
• Visit to Nature Museum 4/7/3: “Let’s split up into one group.”
Kids do these things and you are convinced that they are the cleverest, funniest, cutest things ever, and that you will never forget them. But guess what? There are seven days each week, thirty or so days each month, and 365 1/4 days in each year and you do forget them. That is, unless you write them down.
Keep a note-book handy and, if it’s not at hand, write things down on scraps of paper or in your date book. Take a trip to the zoo or someplace interesting? Have them tell you their impressions over dinner and write them down. At the end of the year, I
By Will on January 22nd, 2010 | Category: Family LifeI almost can’t talk about Liam — at church, anyway — without having someone try to soothe my feelings. (No matter how happy I am.)
About 3 weeks ago he developed stranger anxiety. Although not all babies ever start freaking when a stranger is near (or picks them up), it’s a sign that they are drawing distinctions, so it’s a developmental milestone. The next week I bragged on him at church to Mrs. X. She reassured me that it was a good thing!
Well, yes.
Or, there’s Mrs. Y. She told me that before long Liam would be doing some other developmental thing.
I said, “I don’t think he will.” (It was something that doesn’t fit his personality. I don’t remember what.)
She said, brightly, “Well then he won’t!”
I knew exactly what she meant: that I should take comfort about that he would do this thing; or if I wouldn’t take that, I should take comfort that it was OK that he wouldn’t.
Then there’s Miss Z, who apologized for saying Liam might be normal in some developmental way, because that implied he might not be completely normal, and who are we to say what is normal, and maybe him having Down syndrome was no worse than our usual little foibles or petty neuroses, and –
I’ll be kind and assume this is all well meant — and point out that it’s just not helpful. If you feel the need to comfort someone, you might first check whether that someone looks distraught. And even if he does…
Let him have his sadness. Even if he didn’t need to feel it — and I sure did, those first few weeks of knowing about Liam’s Down syndrome — you couldn’t stop him. If you don’t need to be
 Gentlemen, please take a moment and vote for the Hadley family’s research efforts. The film “Extraordinary Measures” is promoting a contest and will donate $10,000 to fund research for the winner of the contest. You can vote here. (Just click on the link and click “Continue.”)
The family’s inspirational video is here: Hadley Hope
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