A Low Week

Definitely a good thing!  After much running around with baseball and horse back riding lessons along with a Confirmation and doctors appointments thrown in, we have about a week of rest.

Our oldest was Confirmed on Monday, May 16th.  The class was huge...and only about half of this year's class.  Some were Confirmed this past Fall and some were Confirmed this Spring.  The other night there were 141 teens!  To put it in perspective - imagine 141 teens + 141 sponsor (give or take a couple of them who sponsored 2 teens) + parents (for 141 teens) + siblings, grandparents, godparents, etc.  Oh my!  : ) it was a full house!  We thought - we'll sit in the cry room (where we NEVER sit), it should be less populated considering its 6:30 at night and most parents will want to be as close as they can....Now i remember why i really dislike sitting in the cry room.  And we had never been in the one at this church so we were in for a few surprises!  But all in all, we had a beautiful Mass, the Teens worked hard to prepare for this amazing sacrament, and we are so proud of our son! 

One thing the teens do while preparing for Confirmation is choose a saint to take the name of.  They research and write a report on that saint and explain why they chose him or her.  Our son chose St. Ambrose.  You can find out a bit about this amazing man from my brother's blog as he too had chosen St. Ambrose for his Confirmation saint and discusses why on his blog.  There is more there than B. was even able to find.  Very interesting information.  Funny, B. Chose St. Ambrose forgetting that his uncle had too...and then he asked his aunt (Joe's wife) to be his sponsor!  Ah, well .... just one of those things.

Baseball is finishing up in the next few weeks.  Riding lessons are over.  We have been slowly going through boxes, one at a time from the garage.  School is getting back to normal.

On the subject of school, once the new catalogs come out, the conferences start, etc don't you find yourself looking more toward next year than focusing on finishing this year?  I do. I need to remind myself that yes, they do need to finish the science, math, whatever in order to start the next year's materials.  yikes! 

Right now i am trying to focus on materials for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd as opposed to next year's stuff hoping that will keep me focused on the finishing of the year. 

B. is flying through things now...we were so far behind but he will end up finishing by the end of June.  Once he found what worked best for him school has progressed quickly.  The next two in line after him need to finish math definitely and well, i'll make them keep working at the other stuff until B. is done -  i'm mean like that. : )

Bear is working only on math and reading right now.  When they are learning to read, that is always the most important, greatest focal point of their year.  But for him, math is a favorite and he is already halfway through next year's book.  I am getting ready to add in science and geography for him in a more montessori style as well as Catechesis of the Good Shepherd  (CGS) for religion.  The funny thing about religion is that they are surrounded by it and so daily they are learning and living their faith...but there is more to learn and CGS is by far the most wonderful way to present the Truths of our faith. 

My brother is slowly making his way home from Afghanistan - thank God for his safe return!  We hope to see him and his family sometime in the next few weeks.

And last, one more bit of news!  Wee dunphy #6 is due to arrive around the 16th of September!  We are all very excited about his arrival.  Yes - this is really late to be handing out the news but so what.  I am about 23 weeks! 

Well i best run as the kids will be making their way downstairs soon and i have yet to do much of what i really should be doing!  (that translates into cleaning, cooking, going through boxes...etc)

Have a beautiful afternoon!