Happy Nineteen Anthony!

Its hard to believe that this little guy.................

.....................grew up to be this one!
Love Ya Kid!

Daybook - June 17th, 2011

FOR TODAY June 17th, 2011

Outside my window...
its cool and sunny. We are expecting a high of 83 today. Much nicer than the extreemly hot temps followed by lots and lots of rain that we have been experiencing. This past week has actually been on the cool side.

I am thinking...
about my oldest son. How much he has grown. He is not my little boy any more. Every time I see him on the altar I am reminded that he never did belong to me. I am so aware of how much courage it takes to discern God's Will in this way.........and to be willing to say yes. I see in him the makings of a wonderful father. He would be very much like his own. Kind, gentle, firm, playful.................loving................... I see in him the makings of a wonderful Priest. He would be thoughtful, understanding, gentle in instruction, firm in the teachings of the Church, a friend...............compassionate and loving................ What is it you will have of him Lord? I ponder........ Either way he never did belong to me only to Your Most Holy Will.

I am thankful...
for strawberries freshly picked. We went for the first time ever. I grew up in Florida. Strawberry picking was unheard of in our coastal community. I remember as a child my father trying to grow a garden. Corn does not grow in sand very well. We did have some awesome tomatoes grow in the compost heap he had.

From the learning rooms...
plans, plans, and more plans. I am looking at our goals, reviewing last year, and making plans for next year. I am painting a picture of next year much like an artist paints her canvas. My theme for this year is Simplicity. Last year I made things too complex. So I plan with this in mind.

In the kitchen...
Strawberry Summer Cake! I made this for Father Bob last night and it turned out wonderful.

I am creating...
a schedule for next year. We just had our Little Flowers and Mary's Maidens Tea this past Wednesday. It turned out wonderful. I added some more tabs on my blog so I can share what we are doing with these. I know that Jessica's Shower of Roses blog has helped me tremendously with our group. Perhaps someone would benefit seeing what we did.

I am reading...
Saint Francis of Assisi by John R. H. Moorman for the 2nd time. I am looking for another biography on Clare of Assisi to read. Have any suggestions?????????

I am looking forward to...
the day I will make my final profession. I am in my fifteens month of formation with the SFO. July will mark my 9th month of Canadacy. It has gone by very quickly but at the same time profession seems very far away. Your Will Lord........Your Will........

I am hoping....
that I do not have to go in for surgery again. I had Aggie by cesarean. Unfortunately during the healing process I managed to herniate my incision. I will know on the 23rd if he wants to do surgery. I can tell it is healing but it is still there. I can feel it when I cough. Trying so hard not to irritate it.................I hope...............

I am hearing...
silence. The girls are heading out to swim, Jojo left for summer camp early this morning, Aggie is sleeping, and the bobster has not come out of bed yet. Last night we had Fr. Bob, my son Tony, and two other seminarians came for dinner last night. It was a late night for all.

Around the house...
reorganizing, regrouping, and gardening. This is the time of year I catch my breath! With Aggies arrival this past April everything is in major need of refreshing..............including me. ;0)



A few plans for the rest of the week:
Swimming Lessons
Take Dad out to Breakfast
A visit to the Science Center
My appointment with the Surgeon
Spiritual Direction

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
Scenes from our Little Flowers and Mary's Maidens Tea!

For more entries visit Peggy at Simple Woman's Daybook!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit soulemama and leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

No Longer the Wordsmith

(saying goodbye to an old friend)

His real name is Anthony. He tells me that since he is now 18 I should list him on my blog by his real name.........not wordsmith. I have always told him that Saint Anthony picked his name. Its true. When he was born on August 1st, 1992 we had been expecting a girl. Not because we wanted a girl. We were happy with either, but because those military doctors were so insistent we could paint the nursery pink. We he was born, my husband Eric asked me what we should call him. I had not even entertained boy names because the doctors were so sure. Out of the blue I told him Anthony. He was shocked because no one we knew was named Anthony (my husband had not been baptized at this time and I was a fallen away Catholic). He thought maybe it should be Eric Jr., but I really felt Anthony fit the boy. :) I finally told him to put what he thought was best on the birth certificate and let me know what he chose.
His name is Anthony Vonley W.

For 8 years he was it and I cherished every minute of it. To daddy he was "his Little Buddy". For me he was Pookie! Because Francis died in the womb and we did not get pregnant again, we really thought he was the only child we would ever have. But God had other plans. I told you I was a fallen away Catholic..........actually I was an atheist and Eric was agnostic...........but Tony believed in God from the very beginning. He prayed all the time for brothers and sisters. They seemed to have a bond.........my son and the God I did not believe in. Tony would tell me what he said and I would smile and pat him on the head. I figured it was just my mom putting things in his head...........I let it go. The only reason he had been baptized was because she had insisted. I figured he would grow out of the religion phase............... talking to God and all. He never did. My husband and I grew into it. :)
Yes, Lord you do have a sense of humor.

He now attends school here and I miss him.

His dorm is actually here.


So he can discern this....................

Please pray for him.

Maggie

Transition

This Summer has been a Summer of firsts.............a Summer of Transition and this transition continues into Fall. For Wordsmith its been a very busy time. As of August 1st my baby boy is a big 18. I wrote about his graduation earlier but I wanted to write about his special project. Wordsmith has been a Scout since he was 6. He was a Cub, Weeblo, Boy Scout, and even part of a Venture Crew. Scouting has always been a part of his life. We have been very lucky to be a part of the parish pack and troop and Faith has always taken a front and center in his Scouting Career. No surprise then when you find out that for his Eagle Scout project was to turn an old auxiliary sacristy into a confessional.

The neat thing is that although our troop is a parish troop we have a good number of boys from Protestant and Lutheran faiths in the troop. They like the Christ-centered focus of our troop. These boys and parents also helped on the project. One of the boys brought his family in to see the finished project and they asked my son all sorts of questions about confession. Wow what an evangelical tool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyhow enjoy the pictures.



Rita Chew and Jo Jo on the new bench outside the confessional.


Crown molding! and a new ceiling.......................

Before the wall went up...........



Progress






The wall and the window




Top view of the wall

Sound panels the finishing touch.
The pictures certainly do not do it justice. Im proud of you Wordsmith!

Party Time!

Good Food and Fun!

Good Friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Happy Graduation WordSmith!

Graduation Day

WordSmith Graduated from high school from the largest virtual academy in the state. It is a K12 School. They have a fabulous curriculum for the earlier years, but we don't use it for the younger ones. WordSmith started with them his 7th grade year and it has been a very good experience. But I have chosen to go Charlotte Mason with the younger for many reasons. The Virtual Academy is a public school therefore it has to meet the guidelines of the state. As legislation began to cramp down, it became more about money and meeting the state standards than learning. My 4th grader became very stressed out from the work load. I will post more about our next year plans later. I will use the K12 phonics for reading (an excellent but costly program) because I still have it from my younger kids who have all learned to read using it. They are all extremely strong readers and it was very easy to use.

WordSmith with the head of the K12 elementary school Dr. Mark Thogmartin


I'm proud of you WordSmith!

Dancing anyone????????????????

WordSmith has been dancing with the Order of the Arrow out at the local Boy Scout Camp. We went out to watch the other night. I wish I had a video to post, but my videos are too large. It has been a big summer for WordSmith. He turns 18 tomorrow, graduated, and is getting ready to go to college. I will post pictures of the graduation and party soon. I really need to catch up. I will also post about where he is going to college and his future plans soon.................