July 5th, 2009

Return of the Reptiles

So I came here to post something, mostly because I am disturbed by the idea of leaving a photo of a full size roasting pig carcass at the very top of my blog page.

I’m fussy like that.

I thought I might share a photo from the boys’ fishing excursion with Dan this evening, but I’m afraid this snapping turtle they netted is not much better than the pig carcass.

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July 4th, 2009

When it comes to 4th of July Celebrations …

my brother Paul goes whole hog.

A few other views of the day:

Thank you Paul & Kristin for hosting a wild and wonderful day!

July 4th, 2009

God Bless You, America!

I found this very nice “Freedom Prayer” at  National Catholic Register:

Heavenly Father, on this holiday weekend we give thanks to you for the gift and blessing of the freedom we enjoy in our great nation.  We praise you, Lord, for inspiring and guiding our founding fathers as they struggled to build our country and create a new way of living with the goal of freedom and justice for all.

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July 3rd, 2009

One ‘Yes’ at a Time

You can read my latest column at Inside Catholic today:

One ‘Yes’ at a Time

July 3rd, 2009

Shareful

At lunchtime today, Raphael happened upon a bowl of leftover rice someone had abandoned at the dining room table.

We discourage wasting food around here, but it does happen sometimes, especially in situations like this one where I can’t be sure just who the culprit is.

“Can I have this?” Raphael asked.

“Sure,” I shrugged.

He sat in the chair, scooped rice from the bowl with the spoon, and

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July 2nd, 2009

Still Crazy

After 15 years.

I love you, Dan.

Thank God for you.

July 1st, 2009

Potty Talk cont.

“Come on over and let’s put on your Pooh pajamas!” I called to Daniel this evening.

“No!” he shouted back.

While it’s not unusual for a 2-year-old to try out his “no’s” now and then, it is unusual for Daniel to reply so forcefully and negatively to a neutral request.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, “I thought you liked these Pooh pajamas.”

“No!” he repeated with a look of

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