June's around the corner . . .

Well, we finally broke down and turned on the A/C on our window unit in our bedroom last night. We have great ventilation downstairs when we have the windows open, but it's just pretty uncomfortable downstairs. We had really hoped to make it to June 1, but I hate sweating when I sleep . . .

Shan's about to finish her first Bradley class cycle next week. I know she really likes it; I'm calling her out right now to post on her experiences with this first go-around. This first time through has been rough on everyone somewhat. Not only is each class nearly 3 hours long, but Shan has been preparing for each class for about 2 hours. So that's about 5 hours a week that I have to take the rugrats solo.

Now I know that sounds like I'm being a baby about it, but it's actually proven to be quite difficult since I basically have to get them out of the house each Thursday night since class is held in our living room. I tried the public library a couple times and the play area at the mall, but I realized that nearly every time we visited one of these two sites, our kids were ill about 2 days later. It also doesn't help that I feel like less of a parent when Shannon isn't around. It's just a mental block of some sort, I think, but my anxiety level dramatically increases when I have one or both of the kids by myself. Even when we're all playing and Shannon has to use the bathroom I feel a bit uptight for the 2 and a half minutes that she's out of the room. So now imagine what my weeks have been like for the past 3 months when I've had to keep them occupied for 5 hours each week! It's been a bit easier the past few weeks as Kellyn has matured, but it's still emotionally exhausting sometimes . . .

Lots of fun stuff planned for this coming month. Our clan and my folks are all heading out to DC in the middle of June. I'll be attending a Sacred Music Colloquium out at Catholic University while the rest of them will be seeing the sights and lounging in the hotel. I think it will be tons of fun, though I'm not sure how Kellyn will handle the 11-hour ride to and fro. At the end of the month, St. John's will be hosting a Choir Alumni weekend. We've invited all the choir alums who have ever participated in a St. John's choir back to campus for a weekend of fun, food, and singing. We'll record a CD and sing at the two weekend masses. I've had people contact me that sang here in the 70's! I'm estimating about 100 people at this point and it should be a hoot . . . it's just been a real headache to plan!

Fence Update

Well, our neighbors came by and fixed our fence the morning after my wife's previous post. All is well now, though there was never any explanation on why they were 48 hours late repairing the damage. Shan and I were both a little peeved at the time (as you could tell by Shannon's post!), but we're over it.

I'm hoping the children next door learned a good lesson from this whole debacle, but I really don't know. Shan and I both talked about how we would have dealt with the situation had Cavan and/or Kellyn done something similar. At lot would depend on their ages, of course, but I think it's safe to say that the following would happen:

1) A good old-fashioned scolding, followed by a dialogue (not a lecture) on the importance of respecting other people's property. We would tie in the Christian virtue of justice in some fashion.

2) A personal apology to the offended party both from my wife and myself, but especially from our child/children, regardless of age.

3) A monetary penalty to offset the cost of the repairs. Obviously, a 5-year old with a dollar/week allowance can't help much financially, but they can sacrifice what they do have.

4) The child would help fix the fence/whatever. Even if they couldn't do much, they would do something, and they would be present the entire time that the project was happening.

5) Loss of certain/all privileges for an appointed time.


In this way, the child not only acknowledges his wrong actions, but also apologizes for his actions, asks for forgiveness, and then makes reparations for his actions.

Hey, it's just like the Sacrament of Reconciliation!

: )

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

(Does everyone have Aretha Franklin in your head now? Good!)

On Saturday, Heath and I discovered that some boards (10 of them, to be exact) had been knocked down from our wooden fence in the backyard. However, none of them were lying in our yard, which is where you would expect them to be if someone kicked them in. Instead, they were all piled together in a stack behind our neighbor's house. Our neighbors have two "energetic" children and the other day, I politely asked them to stop jumping and trying to climb our fence (which would shake greatly every time they took a running leap onto it!). Suffice it to say, that request went ignored.

After our discovery, Heath went over to speak with their mother. Apparently, she knew they were playing on our swingset earlier in the day (when we were not home) but was unaware of the damage they caused. Later, she sent over her boyfriend and brother-in-law to speak with Heath. They told us they would fix it the next day after they purchased some lumber.

Two days have passed and NOTHING has been done. I guess I never really expected them to do anything about it, but it is the whole attitude surrounding the issue that bothers me. As a child, I NEVER had such a complete lack of respect for others' property. Granted, I was a more mild-mannered girl, but still...I could not even imagine kicking in parts of someone's fence and causing such damage. Further still, I cannot imagine trying to hide the evidence! (As if you could not see the gaping holes in our fence).

In my home (even with the dysfunctional chaos), that would have been a 2-week grounding EASILY. Something like that does not go ignored. It is NOT okay to damage other's property and it is NOT okay to be apathetic about it. The sad thing is, I don't know that there will be any sort of discipline or consequences for those kids. Don't get me wrong, it's not as if I want to see them punished. But what are you teaching your child by: 1) NOT following up such unacceptable behavior with any sort of consequence? and 2) NOT following through on your end of the bargain to FIX what they have broken in the first place?

I am not one to tell someone else how to parent (unless of course, they ASK for that advice ;) ), but in my opinion, you are shouting volumes to them about how we should behave in life by how you react (or DON'T react) to a situation like that. In the above instance, with no sort of apology from the children themselves or follow-up to fixing our broken fence, you are teaching them the following:

1) It is okay to disrespect others and their property.
What parents may say: "Hey, kids will be kids and your fence was too old to support their weight in the first place."

2) You don't have to be held accountable for your actions.
"You were just having fun right? Besides, their fence was old and rotting in some places anyway."

3) You don't need to apologize for your inappropriate actions.
"It wasn't your fault anyway." (Find an excuse, see above if you are stuck.)

4) What you tell people doesn't matter because you don't have to keep your word in the first place.
"Something came up on Sunday and we couldn't fix the fence. It's not like we had a written agreement."

Respect. Honesty. Sincerity. Remorse. Guilt. Accountability.

Are these really such horrible things to teach your children??? Isn't there something to be said for good old traditional values? Discipline does not have to equal punishment and consequences do not have to be physical, but it is our job as parents to instill values and morals (gasp!) into our children. If we don't, the world will. Just take a look around at our current state of affairs...it's not hard to see the damage, even if it isn't evident in the neighborhood fences.

Side note: As a follow-up to Heath's homeschooling post, our incident is the perfect example of "socialization" we do NOT want our kids to have and reason #4658 that we are choosing to homeschool.

Homeschooling

Yes, I'm still planning on broaching this subject in the future. Here's a brief article I found on the topic written from a Christian perspective.



Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schools

May 2, 2007

CBNNews.com - It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, "To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

Many homeschoolers share this sentiment when it comes to public schools, believing that the moral relativism, violence, peer pressure, drugs and promiscuity found inside their gates provide an inadequate setting to properly socialize their children.

Yet 92 percent of superintendents believe that home learners are emotionally unstable, deprived of proper social development and too judgmental of the world around them, according to a California study by researcher Dr. Brian Ray.

What makes homeschool socialization such a hot topic?

With approximately 4 million children currently being homeschooled in the U.S., along with a 15- to 20-percent yearly growth rate, many professional educators and school boards are concerned that this exodus will keep funds from entering the public education system.
Many teachers also believe that successful home instruction by uncredentialed parents undermines their expertise and jeopardizes their jobs.

Questions about inadequate socialization are often brought up as a means to disqualify homeschooling as a viable alternative form of education, but are the arguments valid?
A look at the research on this socialization debate shines further light on the issue.

There's no place like home

Why is there such a dichotomy in the socialization experienced between homeschoolers and conventional students? It all has to do with the learning environment.

The National Home Education Research Institute disclosed that the 36 to 54 hours that students spend in school-related weekly activities make peers and adults outside of the home the primary influences in children's lives - not the parents.

Realizing the harm that this constant exposure can produce, especially if it's not countered by involved parenting, most homeschoolers are well aware of their children's need for close one-to-one contact throughout the education process.

Jesus understood the importance of continual intimate contact with His students, as He ate, slept and fellowshipped with His disciples 24 hours a day. It is unlikely that Jesus would have entrusted their training to strangers.

So how do these different settings affect children? Dr. Thomas Smedley believes that homeschoolers have superior socialization skills, and his research supports this claim. He conducted a study in which he administered the Vineyard Adaptive Behavior Scales test to identify mature and well-adapted behaviors in children. Home learners ranked in the 84th percentile, compared to publicly schooled students, who were drastically lower in the 23rd.

Welcome to the real world

Many school socialization advocates argue that homeschooling precludes children from experiencing real life.

Instead of being locked behind school gates in what some would consider an artificial setting characterized by bells, forced silence and age-segregation, homeschoolers frequently extend their everyday classroom to fire departments, hospitals, museums, repair shops, city halls, national parks, churches and colleges, where real community interaction and contacts are made.
Dismantling the stereotype that home learners spend their days isolated from society at kitchen tables with workbooks in hand, NHERI reports that they actually participate in approximately five different social activities outside the home on a regular basis.

Furthermore, researcher Dr. Linda Montgomery found that 78 percent of high school home learners were employed with paying jobs, while a majority engaged in volunteering and community service.

Research presented at the National Christian Home Educators Leadership Conference divulged that homeschool graduates far exceeded their public and private school counterparts in college by ranking the highest in 42 of 63 indicators of collegiate success. They were also ranked as being superior in four out of five achievement categories, including socialization, as they were assessed as being the most charismatic and influential.

Biblical or worldly socialization?

When most home educators and school administrators speak of successful socialization, are they referring to the same thing?

Education researcher Dr. Michael Mitchell found that being popular, aggressively competitive, materialistically driven and self-confident are traits promoted in conventional schools.
His study shows that these campus ideals are discouraged by Christian home educators in favor of building their children's character and dismantling selfish ambitions. Integrity, responsibility, respect for others, trust in God, biblical soundness and an amiable disposition topped the ideal social qualities they desired their youth to embody.

Many Christians who homeschool believe that the greatest socialization their children can have is to be trained to emulate Jesus, who is a servant of man. Home educators examined by Mitchell strive to dismantle any selfish ambitions and self-aggrandizement seen in their children, as opposed to cultivating them.

Getting ahead of one's peers is not consistent with Jesus' urging in Matthew 20:25b-28, which calls for Christians to seek a lowly and servile role to those around them. However, this does not mean that Christians are called to underachieve, as Colossians 3:23 exhorts readers to push for peak performance in every endeavor, but for the glory of God rather than for selfish ambition.
Pride is also promoted in the public schools. It is often repackaged as self-esteem in programs such as "Here's Looking at You, 2000," in which education researcher Dr. Amy Binder reports that students are instructed to believe that they are "the most important person in the world."
Many Christian home educators assert that the kind of pride being taught in the schools is discouraged throughout Scripture by Jesus and Paul, who preach against lifting oneself up or putting oneself first in favor of assuming a lowly position among others, as seen in Luke 14:10-11 and Romans 12:3.

They often contend that traditional students are driven to achieve high marks in order to attain lucrative and prestigious jobs that can lead to lives of self-indulgence, while the Bible calls man not to be overcome by material concerns.

Even though God enjoys prospering His children, He also warns us in 1 Timothy 6:10 that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Negative socialization

The mass socialization conducted within schools has brought about a proliferation of delinquent behavior within this nation's youth, reports education researcher, Dr. Michael Slavinski. He notes that student bodies are increasingly riddled with violence, drugs, promiscuity, emotional disorders, crime, contempt for authority, desperate behavior, illiteracy and peer dependency - just to name a few.

Today, parents are not as surprised to see reports of fifth-graders having sex in class; hear about school shootings; find drugs or condoms in backpacks; receive phone calls from the police and principals; or witness defiant, apathetic and unrecognizable tones in their children's voices.
"Live and let learn," say many parents. Most home educators are fine with this, as long as their children's learning comes from mature, seasoned and embracing adults who have the children's best interests at heart - above political or economic agendas. They believe that such training shouldn't come from peers either, which amounts to the blind leading the blind.

When the Direct Observation Form of the Child Behavior Checklist was administered by education researcher Dr. Larry Shyers to identify 97 problematic behaviors in two groups of children, traditionally schooled students exuded eight times as many antisocial traits than their homeschooled counterparts. This lies in direct contrast to claims by public school advocates that exposure to campus life leads to proper socialization.

Light of the world

Many Christian parents are concerned that homeschooling would not allow their children to fulfill the great commission of sharing the gospel with non-believers. They often site Matthew 5:14-16 about being the light of the world.

Some Christian homeschool parents argue that even though young believers are to reach out to the lost, they are not called to immerse themselves daily in a hostile setting that constantly works to influence them in the ways of the world. They recognize that those with strong Christian upbringings are still vulnerable to the ungodly climate of the schools.

In Proverbs 4:11-15, King Solomon realized the vulnerability of his son, proclaiming his responsibility to train him in godly teachings and keep him from stumbling over the vices of this world.

Just as parents know that children are not prepared for war, many Christians believe that youth are not equipped to fend for themselves in the spiritual warfare taking place within schools.
A nationwide survey conducted by The Barna Group shows that 80 percent of Christian families send their children to public schools where their faith is attacked. Based on the study's findings, it appears that their kids are the ones being "evangelized" by the religion of secular humanism. More than half of their Christian teens believe Jesus actually sinned and only nine percent hold to moral absolutes, while 83 percent of children from committed Christian families attending public schools adopt a Marxist-Socialist worldview, reports the group.

For more statistics on Christians in education, click on The Barna Group.

Consistent with these figures, Christian producer and occult expert Caryl Matrisciana reports that 75 percent of public-schooled American youth brought up in Christian households disown their Christian faith by the first year of college. NHERI finds that this is only true for less than four percent of homeschooled youth.

Most home educators would not trade the blessings that homeschooling brings their families and society for the world.

Loss of innocence

Cavan had his first exposure to the harshness of reality the other day, unfortunately. Completely accidental, but it happened nonetheless.

Shannon was watching a movie entitled "Fast Food Nation," a fictional depiction of the process of our fast-food from animal to check-out counter at McDonald's. It had lots of disturbing scenes that would turn you off fast-food for the immediate future.

Anyway, Cavan was in and out of the room, and at one point, it looked like they were going to slaughter a cow, so Shannon paused it and tried to get Cavan interested in other things. He remained on the couch, though, so Shannon came in to do something else, keeping the movie on pause.

Next thing you know, we both hear the background music resume and some disturbing noises emanating from the living room. I rushed in only to find that the movie had "unpaused," and Cavan was watching a cow (one of his favorite animals) being disemboweled.

I quickly shut the movie off, completely horrified at what had just transpired. He looked up at me and asked, "Why do 'dat?" ("Why did they do that?") I thought my heart would break in two . . . I had no idea what to say and I don't think I said anything. I just picked him up and brought him in the other room.

The funny thing is that he's never unpaused a movie before. In fact, he never really fiddles with the remote at all. So the fact that it just happened to unpause at this point in this movie strikes me as strange and very sad. The thing is, I'm still not convinced that he did it . . .

He didn't mention it again, but I'm sure the damage has been done. I understand that sooner or later, our beloved children will lose their innocence and come to find that the real world isn't as wonderful as they originally thought. It just shouldn't happen at 2 years of age . . .

A More Mellow Mama

Well, as most of you can see, I had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! I actually almost forgot it was Mother's Day when I woke up. Then I saw Heath cooking in our kitchen and knew something was up. ;) Just kidding! He actually made a delicious dinner this evening as well, pasta with pork sausage in marinara sauce.....Yummy!!!

On Mother's Day, I got a good dose of love, family, God, rest and relaxation. What more could a woman want? If only there were more "mini-doses" of those things everyday.....Cavan has actually wished me "Happy Mother's Day" yesterday and today as well. ;) Heath said, "See, everyday is Mother's Day!" It is sweet of him; we'll see how long it lasts.

While reflecting on being a mother, I have recently realized that there are some changes that need to happen in my daily life. In the past month or so, I have become irritable, down, impatient and drowning in stress. It seems as if the *littlest* changes or bumps in our day throw me into a sea of being overwhelmed. Obviously, this is not good for me, my husband or our children. They need a calm, loving, gentle and mellow mama.

So, here are some of my "resolutions" to achieving a more mellow frame of mind:

1) Making MORE time for God and prayer. This *always* seems to be an ongoing resolution for me, but here I am.....once again.....renewing my commitment. When Jesus is first, my days go smoother. When I stop to shoot up an arrow prayer instead of blowing up like I want to, my children are happier and emotionally healthier for it. When I seek out respite in our Lord, I am refreshed and mentally more ready for any of our common daily challenges (e.g. tantrums, Kellyn tearing up Cavan's race track, Kellyn screaming and fighting me throughout her diaper change, Cavan whining "no" at me for the umpteenth time). Lord, please help me to put you first in my daily planner.

2) Making pseudo-daily plans, so *I* and the kids know what to expect. I think this will also help me manage our days better in terms of what needs to get done, where to prioritize my time for that day and when to allow "wiggle room" for unexpected changes. Having some sort of structure helps me mentally prepare, but keeping an ongoing flexibility will keep me open to life's pleasant surprises!

3) In the same vein, looking ahead in the week. When do I *need* to have my house clean? (i.e. nights when I have Bradley classes) What room needs immediate attention? (i.e. is the most disastrous) Are those dishes REALLY a priority or can I play and dance with my children for awhile? (Most of the time, the latter is more important.)

4) Keeping rooms at a comfort-messy level and having *one* room as a "sanctuary". Let's face it, NEVER in my life have I been a neat and orderly person. (I credit this to my dramatic, flare-for-theatre creative side. How can you be creative without chaos?!) However, I do find my stress levels inching up higher and higher, in direct correlation to how messy my home gets. So, remembering that I have small children and perfection is NOT a possibility, I will strive towards keeping afloat in the most amount of mess I am comfortable enduring. When it creeps up too high, it's time for an overhaul.

5) In conjunction with #4, ASKING for help when I need it! Especially when it comes to keeping house and getting chores done. I praise the multitudes of generations before me who were able to keep a clean home, children washed and fed and remain sane at the same time! For me, however, I need help from time to time. If this requires swallowing my pride and asking Heath to pitch in every now and then, by golly I am going to do it! I have come to learn in these past few years that I am a much happier and calmer woman for it. So THANK YOU in advance to my husband, who will probably endure thousands of tear-soaked requests for help before our time on this earth is through!

Here's to all the mamas out there...here's to keeping our sanity, enjoying our families and loving ourselves. Wishing you all a more mellow frame of mind as well!

Shannon

A Post-Mother's Day Reflection

Our family had a nice day yesterday. After I returned from my early mass, I cooked Shannon breakfast (I almost forgot how to make scrambled eggs!), and Cavan gave his mom some flowers and a card. We went to mass as a family and then out to eat at a restaurant. After returning home, we lounged around for a bit, then I took the kids to the park for an hour to give mom a break. Overall, a nice relaxed day spent with family, while taking some time to give Shannon some much-deserved appreciation for her role as mother.

Our American society makes a big deal about Mother's Day, deservedly so, but doesn't seem to make such a big deal about the importance of mothers the rest of the year. Our society does a very poor job of valuing the maternal role in the vitality of the family. Some countries (in Europe even, which seems to think less of children than we do) give maternal leaves of up to 2 years, knowing how important it is to have mom at home during those formative years. Here in America, you're lucky to get 2 months. One of my student directors had a child about 3 weeks ago, and his wife has to go back to work, against her will, next week, when her precious child is less than a month old. Granted, she provides the only real substantial source of income for the family since my director is a graduate student; nonetheless, I am a firm believer that if a mother wants to stay home with her children, we as a society need to see that that is a viable option.

It's interesting as you grow older and have children of your own that you realize how you often took your own mother (and father, but that's a post for next month :) for granted. Being a parent is one big sacrifice followed by many, many smaller sacrifices. When you hold that child in your arms for the first time, you realize that there is absolutely nothing you would not do for this little creature. Things that seemed so important just days ago, seem trivial in comparison to the awesomeness of this great blessing you've been given. Naturally, you then realize that your own parents felt and still feel the exact same way about you. You start to recall the times in which you didn't fully appreciate that love and concern and to finally start to feel a sense of contrition. I believe I've given some half-hearted apologies to my parents in the recent past for any times that I unintentionally depreciated their role as parent through my actions, though I'm not sure I could ever fully convey my regret. I'm sure they will hear some more "mea culpa" 's as my children grow.

Back to mothers in particular, I was given the great privilege last year to empathize more fully with the role of a mother, when I was able to play the role of "Mr. Mom" for about 25 hours a week when Shannon was working part-time. Prior to that experience, I was laboring under the assumption that moms and dads were somewhat interchangeable, and that as long as one or the other filled all the necessary roles of a parent, that all would be well. I don't feel that way anymore. It became quite clear to me during that 11-month period that God definitely made man and woman equal in dignity, but endowed them with different roles to play in the familial structure. In other words, He made moms to be moms and dads to be dads. Trying to be a mom to a young Cavan last year didn't work out as well as we would have liked, though it was a wonderful learning experience that helped us to bond greatly. But to think I could ever do the job as well as Shannon could is downright laughable.

So now a shout-out to all the important mothers in my life:

1) My paternal grandmother, now deceased, who raised seven children, one with Down's Syndrome, and could cook a mean hamburger.

2) My maternal grandmother, who raised ten children, and never ceases to amaze me with her mind and energy.

3) My biological maternal grandmother, who raised eight children, and seems to have truly enjoyed every second of it, even when her Air Force husband had to be absent for long stretches of time.

4) My biological mother, who so graciously put my well-being above her own, by putting me up for adoption when other options may have seemed "easier" at the time.

and then the big two:

5) My mother, who raised three boys, and never loved me any less than her two biological children. Truly a wonderful mother and grandmother who wanted a child to love so badly that she took a chance on little old me, a child born not "under her heart, but in it."

6) And my beloved wife, Shannon, a woman who continually inspires me with her faith, her generosity, and deep love for her children and husband. I could not have asked for a better mother for my children.


I love you all!!!

Happy Birthday, Kellyn!

One year ago, I was awaking in bed to find my in-laws had arrived to meet their first granddaughter.

One year ago, I was still sleepy with the dream that I had, in fact, birthed my daughter vaginally.

One year ago, she was stirring softly next to me with that sweet newborn sound, letting her mama know she was hungry again.

One year ago, I was marvelling the fact that my daughter entered this world in the comfort of our home, in complete juxtaposition to how myson came into this world.

One year ago, I was amazed at how my body pushed my baby girl out and left me breathless.

One year ago, I was only beginning to deal with the fact that I had torn and my bottom was the sorest it has ever been.

One year ago, I smiled victoriously like a child winning a hard-fought game, thinking of my son's OB and the cesarean she had given me.

One year ago, I feared how this new world of "tandem nursing" was going to work. (Turns out my fear was mildly justified, especially in the beginning!)

One year ago, I was in awe of my husband's love for me and how his unfailing support held me up in the toughest moments of labor. He never doubted my ability to birth and that meant the world to me.

One year ago, I realized the full impact of how my body would NEVER be the same, mourning that loss and wondering if my body really did know how to heal itself.

One year ago, I began to taste the mental and emotional healing from her birth, which didn't make my son's birth "okay" but gave me insight into how strong I am.

One year ago, my little girl came barreling into this world like a torpedo shooting out of its holster. While definitely NOT ideal for a woman's perineum, it already speaks of her personality (which seemsto show a flair for drama even at this young age!). She has changedmy fears, beliefs and trust in the birth process itself. She hasgiven me the gift of healing and in turn, I pray I may give her the gift of wonderful beginnings.

Shannon

Random Thoughts for the Day

I can't seem to get my brain worked up enough at 7:30 AM to post anything too intellectual; so here's a few things happening around here:

--Kellyn has been pretty sick the past few days. High fever, runny nose, extremely irritable. It might have something to do with the play area at the mall that I took the kids to last week. It sure didn't help when she licked the steering wheel on the play ambulance. Yikes.

--We're hoping to buy a van in the next few weeks. Both of our cars are very high in mileage and we'd like to get rid of one before it gives out. My Intrepid is the likely candidate since the A/C is pretty well shot on it. My neighbors are looking to sell theirs which is a 2000 Plymouth Voyager with only 68, 000 miles on it. As our luck would have it though, their A/C doesn't work either. :) We're going to take it for a test drive tomorrow and then maybe talk about price.

--The van purchase is imperative because our clan and my folks will be taking a road trip to Washington D.C. in the middle of June. I'll be attending a week long Sacred Music Colloquium out there and we decided to make a vacation out of it. It should be a great time, but we can't fit 6 people in anything short of a mini-van. We need to get on it . . .

--I'm almost done with my first school year here at St. John's. I can't believe that the students are going home next week; I feel like they just got back from Christmas break! Why does time seem to move so much faster as you get older? I remember when I was very young and the week before Christmas and your birthday felt like an eternity; now I always lament the fact that Christmas seemed to pass me by without my noticing it. Anyways, it's been a very good school year from my end of it, though I made some rookie mistakes that won't happen in the future. Live and learn.

--Usually summers will be a time for me to recoup and catch up with various projects at work; this summer probably will be different. We're having a St. John's Choir Alumni weekend at the end of June where we've invited all the folks who have ever sang in a choir here (some people have responded who sang in the '70's!!) and we'll all get together and record a CD. Also, Bishop Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria will be celebrating our Vigil mass. It will be lots of fun, but it's been a pain to plan, and there's still much to do. I really wish I had put it off until next summer, when I had a better handle on things around here, but it's too late to turn back now. It'll be great . . .

--We're trying very hard to teach our son good manners, and it seems to be paying off. He's started to say "thank you" unprompted about 70 percent of the time I would estimate. His exact phrase is usually, "Oh, feng you" said with a hint of pleasant surprise in the word "oh." He still needs quite a bit of reminding on please, but we're getting there.