One Little Piggy

Draw a Pig Personality Test

Toward the top of the paper, you are positive and optimistic.
Toward the middle, you are a realist.
Toward the bottom, you are pessimistic, and have a tendency to behave negatively.

Facing left, you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates (birthdays, etc.)
Facing right, you are innovative and active, but don't have a strong sense of family, nor do you remember dates
Facing front, you are direct, enjoy playing devil's advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussions.

With many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful.
With few details, you are emotional and naive, they care little for details and are a risk-taker.

With less than 4 legs, they are insecure or are living through a period of major change.
With 4 legs showing, they are secure, stubborn, and stick to their ideals.

The size of the ears indicates how good a listener you are.
The bigger the better. You drew medium sized ears, you are a good listener

The length of the tail indicates the quality of your sex life.
And again more is better! You drew small tail :)

On the other hand, maybe my pig is facing left, and has a long tail.......

Preschool by the wayside

Anyone reading this blog for "homepreschool" blogging need not check back for a while. With JR still in the hospital, I have not been spending much time on learning activities with kids. My siblings and I have been taking shifts in his room to ensure that someone he recognizes will be there when he becomes more aware. Auntie M and I have been trading off so that one of us watches the kids while the other visits JR. The kids (including Auntie K's, who are babysat by her in-laws when she visits JR) have all been very good, but are definitely thrown off by the changes in their routines.

JR's pneumonia is finally improving a bit, but it looks like it will be a long road yet. The prayers seem to be working, so keep at it please.

The warillevers do Washington

Or trip to Washington was not all business. We spent some time visiting with Mr warillever's brothers Uncle Ichabod and Uncle 7, ate great food, and patronized two of the Smithsonian institutions.

My favorite was the Lebanese food on Saturday, but I think the agents had the most fun at the National Zoo.

More Prayers, Please

It looks like your prayers for my uncle have been helping, so I have another request.

My brother JR was admitted to the hospital this weekend for pneumonia. While there, he had an asthma attack which exacerbated an already precarious situation. He is doing much better, but it looks like he will be in the hospital for a while. Please pray for him and his recovery.

March for Life 2007

March for Life 2007
Originally uploaded by warillever.

Mr warillever, the agents, and I joined up with friends from college and their children for the March.

Nothing went according to plan, but that itself was a blessing. By the time we arrived at the Verizon Arena (an hour before mass), the building was over capacity, and we could not attend the Youth Mass. We were instead directed to a local parish, which was already at standing-room-only itself. In all, 3 churches, a lecture hall and a professional sports arena were filled with worshipers. I was brought to tears by the mass of humanity gathered in prayer.

The weather was miserable -- it was colder and snowier in DC than it was in New Hampshire -- but if anything the adverse conditions intensified the experience. Thousands of people coming together to stand up for justice is always an incredible thing, but to see people who traveled hundreds or thousands of miles stand in the cold for two hours in order to find a space in line to trudge a mile in the slush was inspiring.

This is our third trip time marching, and I think that we will continue to do so, even with small children. The kids were real troopers and really seemed to enjoy the experience. They do not comprehend abortion (nor should they at this age), but it was nonetheless educational. Agent 002 was reading letters off of the signs around us, and pointing out each picture of Jesus he saw. He understands that we love EVERY SINGLE human being, no matter how small or how weak. I hope that all of the children will understand how important it is that we stand up for things that we believe in.

Here and gone

As always, when I have the most to say, I have the least time to write it in.

A capsule summary:

• Cousin D was baptized last weekend. It is so wonderful to witness a young child entering the faith.
• Agent 002 started school on Tuesday. I cried. Mr warillever fretted. Agent 002 loves it.
• Agent 004 wants to "go ool" too. So we now have a formal "homeschool" time for her. She loves it.
• We are heading to the March for Life this weekend. We'll be meeting up with friends from college and their kids. The agents made signs today -- I'll post pictures when I can. Agent 002's says "Smile! You were born."

When you say your prayers today, please leave a word for my Uncle Festy. He fell very ill a few days ago. My mom and her brother here in the states are flying to Ireland to see him -- please pray for their safe travels as well.

On the first day after Christmas

...the house feels so naked!

We took the decorations down yesterday, and the house is so bare.

Where we learn and play

Some of my listserv friends have been posting pictures of their children's work and play areas. I figured that I would join in on the fun with some shots of our art, play, and "school" areas. Both sets of cubes are covered with red sheets so that the kiddos aren't as tempted to grab new things before the first one is put away. They have free access to the "tabletop" items, but obviously not to the art supplies. You can't tell from the picture, but the cubes on the right are set on top of a table.


The wading pool is full of uncooked rice and pine cones. I guess that would make it our "sensory table," but we use it more like an indoor sandbox. It is honestly far less messy than I would have expected.

Graham Cracker Houses

The Agents saw me at the computer and wanted to look at pictures. I figured that I would do double duty and post some at the same time. These are the graham cracker houses they made before Christmas. My sister-in-law built the houses, and I helped the kids dip candy into frosting to make it sticky. It was very simple, and even Cousin F (age 19 months) was able to join in.

A snippet

At this moment, Agent 002 is sitting in a wading pool, pouring colored rice from an egg carton into a sour cream container. He claims to be "cooking muffins." Agent 004 sits in the next room playing with her "laptop," which plays a different song depending on which letter she presses. I could justify these activities as educational -- he is getting sensory input, role-playing, and developing fine motor skills, while she is working on language development, fine-motor skills, and imitating adult behavior. Or I could say that that they are little kids playing, and having a good time doing it.

I think that I prefer the second description.

In the time that I have spent writing this post, they moved on to playing with "shakey car," a race car that drives when it is shaken (see here). Then Agent 002 set the keyboard to "demo," and they both danced around the room. They then took turns singing Jingle Bells into the keyboard's microphone as the tune played -- preschool karaoke.

A hug request just came in - gotta go!

Left-handed typing

If only y'all could read the blog posts that I compose in my head. I "wrote" about Epiphany (they sought, they found, they celebrated, they did the prudent thing), but due to out-of-town guests and a hand injury, I haven't had a chance to type it.

Yes, I cut my hand washing dishes. The amazing thing is that it is the first time that I've done it...
Be back with you once my hand hand heals up or I get the patience to hunt and peck with my left hand.

Ouch

Even without record-setting quarterback Brady Quinn, receiver Jeff Samardzija and many more of its best players next season, Notre Dame will finally end its postseason drought, now the longest in NCAA history.

The Fighting Irish will end the postseason losing streak that dates back to 1994 because next season they'll be playing in some second-tier bowl game in a non-descript place like Shreveport, La., which is where they should have been playing during much of the last two decades.

If you can stand to read more....

Wisdom of the Ages

Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Fortune Cookie

Welcome Nathaniel!

I haven't checked LJ recently, so I am a few days late on congratulating Library Gal and her family on the birth of their son Nathaniel. He has been blogging since birth, and looks to be doing very well.

Good luck with those diapers, Mommy and Daddy!

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Today is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (EWTN, Wikipedia, About.com). Even though the obligation was transferred to Sunday this year, we had planned to attend daily mass as a family anyway. A nasty little ice storm, however, deterred us from leaving the house. We figured that God would prefer to have us alive at home than sliding off the road on the way to church.

Instead, all five of us -- both agents, me, Mr. warillever, and Janice the cat -- tried to pray the rosary together. We chose the Joyful mysteries because of they celebrate Mary as mother.

The agents were impressively attentive, patient, and respectful, but by the time we got to the fifth mystery -- Jesus is found in the temple -- the only family member under 50 pounds who had remained prayerful was the cat. She was curled up peacefully on my lap with wooden rosary beads around her neck. Agent 002 (who had placed the rosary beads on the cat), was giggling uncontrollably and Agent 004 was in full wiggle mode. My mind was starting to wander a little as well, and I could not get Eamon Kelly's Christmas Eve in Ireland out of my head.

My father, with his mind a thousand miles away, was doing eleven Hail Marys to the decade and twelve Hail Marys to the decade. My mother said 'Glory Ned,' and he, taking that for encouragement did thirteen to the decade.

Yes, that quotation is entirely from memory, and it too is from Paddy Noonan's Christmas Time in Ireland.

If I were to make a New Year's resolution (which I promised myself that I would not do), I would resolve to say the rosary daily. Maybe I'll start out by promising to do so tomorrow. And maybe, if I make that same promise every evening, I will make a habit of it.