My youngest has conquered riding a bike and is now daily engaged in racing her older brothers. The fact that she is smaller, has a smaller bike, with smaller wheels….none of that stops her from her pursuit of victory.
My oldest has been packed for DisneyWorld for about a week now. (In answer to your next question….next month.) A story like that speaks for itself. How could I possibly embellish it?
We’ve held the line on so many things. We still do not have a video gaming system in our home. My children don’t see the “latest” movies or listen to the “hip” music. They know I’d probably take my 9mm to their TV should I ever discover them watching MTV. So it is with a certain amount of chagrin that I must announce….my oldest has a cell phone.
As we told him and he has repeated in multiple phone conversations since, the stars lined up in his favor. Our cell phone contract was nearly up, they were willing to shower us with free phones to re-sign, and the Disney vacation is coming up next month. We figured that it would be helpful that when he and any of my friend’s children head off to do stuff on their own, to be able to call them and tell them to get their behinds back to wherever it is they are supposed to be.
And so he has a cell phone and a new ailment. (We did leverage the purchase with promises of free complaint-free babysitting…we didn’t COMPLETLY lose our minds.) Obessesive Cell Phone Programming Disorder. He has every person he knows listed in his cell phone and probably a few strangers. Each with their own ringtone and picture attached. He has taken dozens and dozens of pictures with his camera. (Including pictures of the USS Texas (SSN) that was commissioned in Galveston yesterday.) He has programmed alarms and played with the pre-programmed sound effects at all hours of the day and night. He walks around with the headset on, just in case someone calls. And must….simply MUST….check his voice mail with voice commands. He’s having a lot of fun. And it’s fun to watch him….mostly.
Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God by Scott Hahn and Leon Suprenant eds.
Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs by Alan Schreck
CrissCross by F. Paul Wilson
Virgin by Mary Elizabeth Murphy
Introduction to Mary: The Heart of Marian Doctrine and Devotion by Mark Miravalle, S.T.D.
Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko
Padre Pio: Man of Hope by Renzo Allegri
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Phillip Keller
Well it should have been posted on the anniversary of Katrina. I meant to get to this entry up truly I did!
In the wake of Rita last fall, I travelled I-10 on my way to Florida. The devastation I witnessed first had was heart-wrenching. Stadium parking and hotel parking lots full of cherry-picker trucks and other utility repair vehicles. Acres and acres of blue tarps on roofs. Uprooted trees and trees smashed like kindling. The high quality, heavy-duty billboards that looked like the hand of God had literally reached down and crumpled them. The contents of homes…mattresses, pictures, debris…memories and home for someone were washed/blown onto the freeways. I saw hundreds of temporary housing trailers coming into the area. And hundreds af cars clearly damaged by the New Orleans flood being towed out. There were hundreds of Red Cross and FEMA, and Department of Homeland security vehicles on the roads. There was no gas and no hotels for anything other than the most essential of workers. Working restaurants were few and far between from Beaumont, Texas to Mobile, Alabama. I drove in prayer and tears most of the way on that trip. And then left Florida just ahead of yet another hurricane and had my guts torn out at the sight of the chery picker trucks heading into the area I was leaving!
We made the trip to South Carolina a couple of weeks ago to visit with my husband’s parents and give them a little grandchild time and I had an opportunity to travel the same stretch of road that I did last year right after RIta had hit. There are still acres (but not acres and acres) of blue tarp on roofs. The debris is gone. The temporary housing trailers are in place but many have left them to move back into rebuilt homes. There is gas and restaurants. The major casinos are open or will be soon. But the economy still suffers deeply. We spent the night in Gulfport, Mississippi on the way home. The hotel that we stayed in still had water damage that had yet to be completely repaired. Near the hotel was a major steakhouse that is always busy. In the large restaurant only two tables were occupied. It was heart-warming to see just how much had been repaired in the short space of a year but sobering to realize how much was left to do. If you are travelling, consider taking some tourist dollars to the areas hard hit by the hurricanes of last year. They would really like to see you come back!!
