Gloria in Excelsis Deo: {SQT} What a Big, Zany Week!

1. Father-Son Retreat

Click here to read about the highly recommended Father-Son Retreat Chris and John participated in.

2. May Crowning 2019

We held our parish May Crowning again this year, which went off without a hitch despite my being sick and needing to hand it off to others.

3. Joseph's Double Misadventures

Joseph was climbing up to swing on the rope swing when a "gravity spike" occurred, he fell, and fractured his wrist.

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

The good that God revealed was that Joseph's sister Margaret (8) never left his side. During the tears and wailing, Margaret first disappeared upstairs to the first aid kid and returned with a splint and Ace bandage. Then she dashed off again and returned with a brown scapular for Joseph to wear: melt my Catholic mama's heart!

We did not rush off to the doctor that night, and Chris wasn't home to help: I tucked Joseph in bed and Margaret sat reading books to him until he stopped crying. Joseph didn't want her to leave, so she sat with him silently until he was asleep. In the morning, Daddy and Margaret escorted him to the urgent care center for an x ray, and I noted in the photo how she was tenderly holding his hand.

Her care and concern didn't end there. That day was Tuesday when Mary was in her evening tennis class. After dinner, I decided to walk the kids over there so they could play at the playground and then we could walk Mary home. I was walking along one way while Joseph made a beeline for the playground (within my direct eyesight) and when he was about 200 feet away from me, a giant, unleashed Great Dane began bounding directly for him. Great Danes are quite a lot larger than a six-year-old boy.

Source of image of Great dane

Joseph was terrified and began running for what he felt was his life. The irresponsible owner kept shouting, "Don't run! Don't run!" as if a Kindergartener would be able to bravely stand down a Great Down. The more Joseph ran, the harder the Great Dane ran after him.

It was all a jumble of a few seconds, but Margaret--who told me later that she was very worried about Joseph's fracture--began running into the melee to rescue her little brother. She was willing to face down this dog who was also larger than her! I--who was less afraid about his fracture and more afraid about mauling and death--began running as well, but trying to save my 6-year-old meant abandoning my three- and one-year-olds, and what if the dog turned on them? It was awfully frightening.

Joseph tripped and fell (on his fracture, causing much pain), where he curled up in a ball as the dog stood over his body triumphantly. What was the worst thing for me as a mother was not this dumb dog--who never bit him--but seeing my son's face in a state of fear probably more terrified than I've ever seen any of my children. If one of my kids was about to be killed, I think that's how he would look.

We all reached the scene and the owner grabbed her dog. I told her to LEASH HER DOG and then I held Joseph for the ten minutes before he could even form words because he was hyperventilating. Then we were able to walk away, but he still kept crying for another fifteen minutes.

Margaret showed heroic virtue twice over and I can only pray that maybe that owner will keep her dog leashed in future.

4. Major Yard Renovations

I spent the week in the yard preparing for new fence to be installed: click here to see way more photos than necessary.

5. Scholastic Scenes

One day during school, Joseph didn't want to do his phonics. I quickly wrote all his words on scraps of paper and told him that each word he read, he was allowed to cut up with scissors.

His enthusiasm was worth all the mess!

I love these last few weeks of the year, when every day brings another subject completed for the year by somebody.

I organized our science books this week, which has caused Thomas and Joseph to begin enthusiastically looking through little kid science books.

Also, I finally fulfilled my years-long dream of organizing my history books into sections according to the four cycles of history taught by Connecting with History. Next, I'd like to color code the books according to each cycle (e.g., one cycle would have red tabs on all the books' spines, another yellow tabs on the spines, and so forth).

We read a lot of historic fiction.

6. Good Listening

The children have been enjoying Quiet Time playing Legos and listening to CDs . . .

. . . in particular "Understanding the Lord of the Rings as a Catholic Book" by Joseph Pearce, as well as the story of St. Patrick.

Meanwhile, this week we introduced the children to Garrison Keillor: they are immediately his biggest fans and the only downside is that they'd much rather listen to that expert storyteller of many decades experience and beloved national fame than their dear old mom read a story. I'm feeling usurped by Mr. Keillor right now!

7. Miscellaneous

Waiting eagerly for the "package man," as they call any delivery person . . .

The persistent house wrens who have been building nests in our garage for a month or more finally succeeded in laying eggs in one . . . inside one of my children's shoes (no, I am not kidding). One egg hatched, maybe yesterday or the day before, but today the baby bird, who was alive in the morning was deceased by the afternoon, and then by the evening the mother bird removed it. Sad little saga for the children . . .