Stephen: (opening the refrigerator and looking for lunch)
I think I’ll have some of that turkey, some steak, and… a hot dog.

I am updating some of my links and would like suggestions for some good sites for Catholic dads and/or men. Any suggestions?

On Monday, we took the boat out on the lake. All nine of us. We packed a lunch, donned life vests, and headed onto the wide and wonderful water. It was quite an undertaking. By the time all of us were seated and the boat was actually moving, I was exhausted already.

But the fun was just beginning.

The sky was clear and sun was fiercely hot, just as it should be for the start of summer. The wind whipped through our hair and the cool spray splashed our faces as we sped across the lake. Raphael sat wide-eyed and motionless in my lap, either mesmerized or terrified. He wasn’t saying which.

Gabrielle, however, showed no fear. She repeatedly tried to lean over the side to touch the water, causing me chronic heart failure. Ultimately, she had to be relegated to sitting on the floor at my feet while I wondered aloud why on earth there would be no seatbelts in this fast-moving vehicle. Fortunately, no one laughed at my crazy-worried-mother ranting as no one heard it—the roar of the motor and the whistling of the wind filled our ears. It was a tense ride. I sat silently counting seven heads… over and over and over again.

After a short while, we stopped and anchored the boat in a quiet spot near the shore where the kids could dive and swim. Raphael doesn’t swim, though. He quickly grew tired of the close quarters and lack of entertainment and he began to cry. And then he screamed. He was hot and sweaty and miserable. I cooled him with the water and distracted him with lunch. That worked… kind of. Eventually, he fell asleep in my lap and stayed that way. All through the rest of the kids’ swim, their lunch, and then our packing up and heading out on a quiet tour of the lake.

As we glided under bridges, cruised past small islands, and visited other lake landmarks, I shifted Raphael’s heavy warm body in my arms and realized I was a great deal more relaxed than I had been a just a few hours earlier. Gabby sat close and rested her head against me. Gone was the anxiety about a potential overboard passenger. I wasn’t counting heads anymore. Okay, maybe just once or twice. But with my entire family close together in one spot just enjoying our time together, I could feel the warmth of our blessing, just as surely as we felt the sun upon our backs and shoulders.

“Where to?” Dan called out to me above the sound of the wind.

“Anywhere’s good,” I smiled back at him. And I meant it.

I have heard from a number of moms who struggle with this issue in one way or another: How to balance duties to your vocation versus time spent in leisure pursuits—online, on the phone, watching TV, or other “time wasters.”

The computer is probably the greatest temptation. It’s just so accessible, so instantly gratifying, so pleasantly connected to other real live grown up human beings. Before you know it, you might have spent 45-60 minutes reading blogs, visiting discussion forums, and catching up on news, but basically accomplishing absolutely nothing while your household falls apart around you. I know I have been guilty of this, and it always feels terrible afterwards.

One way that I control this temptation is to schedule online time only during specified times in my daily schedule, while the baby is napping and after other work has been done. I have heard of others who set a timer for themselves and only spend 20-30 minutes at the computer each day. Still others designate certain days of the week where they avoid the computer altogether.

If you are wondering if you spend too much of your day involved in any one particular activity (computer, telephone, television, etc.) a good way to test yourself is to avoid that activity for a day or so and see how much you suffer (or maybe how much your house and family benefit). In my experience, this can be a good gauge of how large a part of your life that particular activity has become.

So, share with us please. Do you spend too much time online in your day? How do you keep your online time in line? What strategies have worked for you and would you recommend for others? Answer here and then go clean the kitchen floor, okay?

Please God love our soldiers and guide them
to do good. Protect them from all harm and be
with them in weak moments. Love them so they
are strong and follow Your will. Watch over
them and embrace them in your goodness. Bring
our fallen soldiers to heaven to live with you
always. Love, comfort, and protect their
families left here on earth.
Amen.

Yesterday afternoon in the course of a fifteen minute car ride with my two oldest sons, the conversation covered the following topics:

Whether the world’s largest monster truck has ten foot tall tires or fifteen foot tall tires.

What exactly is inside the middle of the earth and how we can be sure.

Which of the Super Friends has heat ray vision.

How we used to know someone who was a super talented burp-talker, and how come we never see that kid anymore?

Which position each of them would try out for on which major league baseball teams and how many Hummers they could buy with their starting salaries.

How to make the fish you are holding up in a photograph look larger than it really is by holding it in front of you, closer to the camera.

How to make the fins of the above-mentioned photo fish stand up most impressively, by holding it diagonally.

Who could eat more cheeseburgers in a single sitting, the dog or their father.

Since I also have daughters, conversations like this one in my household are usually broken up a bit by discussions of how to wear one’s hair, which flowers might look pretty in the bathroom, and how cute the baby is.

My sweet sister has five sons. My dear friend Rachel has four sons. And I have four sons too. But yesterday it occurred to me that saying that is not at all the same thing. Not even close.

I have this cool little thing where I can look up the internet searches that have brought people to my site. These can be an endless source of amusement, consternation, and sometimes disgust. I try to focus on the amusement factor. Following are some of the searches that have brought people here to my little corner of cyberspace, along with my opinion of the likelihood that they found what they were looking for:

danielle bean ironing? Not likely. I suppose I should suspect my husband of searching for this.

gagging empty stomach? Likely, but not recently, thanks be to God.

stomach bug blog? Well, we try not to be.

girls whose shirts are too tight for their spare tire? Quite unlikely. Not around here thankyouverymuch.

child misbehaving in church? Yeah, we’ve got that.

nudist beach family pictures? My dear, dear searcher, you have truly come to the wrong place.

four months post partum and 15 pounds to lose? Very likely. Sigh…

ancient torture devices? Unlikely. But I won’t rule it out.

guiness record in baby deliveries? Not likely. Heaven help us!

finding nobility in motherhood? I sure hope so.

Saint Bean? We’re working on that.

And he said to them, “Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Mark 16: 15-16