summer birthdays

Eli and Jude have August birthdays, and consequently they always get the "best" party.  Somehow the November boys never have quite such a shebang, but we try to make up for it in other ways.  This party was really fun.  We raked out a 'campsite' in the woods just outside our front door.  Indian costumes abounded, in an effort to enjoy the teepee more fully.  We roasted a couple of our freshly harvested chickens on the spit, and the boys constructed an "outpost" from which to distribute birthday candy.  Oh my.  And the cake was mountainous, and covered in summer fruit and whipped cream.  Dreamy.

On this brisk almost-November night, that party feels so far off.  The house smells like the wood stove and fresh applesauce.  The Red Sox are on the radio, getting ready to win the world series (?!).  The baby is fast asleep.  Happy birthday all over again my big boys.  I can't believe you are 11 and 9.

pet garden spider

We did have a nice summer, after all.  It's not that there's been nothing blogworthy in this life of ours.  Here begins a series of catch up posts, mostly for my own benefit (recording a few things we don't want to forget).  I realized today (I am in bed with a horrible cold), that part of the reason I have not been keeping up with this is that I'm still largely unaccustomed (and thereby overwhelmed) by this new platform.  I must conquer this!  A whole bunch of these catch up posts will surely buy me some confidence.  I hope they aren't too tedious.

This is a video of our pet garden spider.  She was enormous, and lived next to our bean bed the better part of July and August.  We loved her so.   Sorry for the use of the term 'butt' in this video.  ahem.  Next time we'll say 'abdomen,' I promise.  Actually, I wasn't around when they took this video.  We so want to remember this friend!

choir camp results...

I'm sure you knew that when I said I would post more about choir camp 'soon' it would be in October.  And I'm sure you've been checking everyday in the meantime to see what else I would blog about in the meantime.  Good for you.

The long and short of it is that choir camp was incredible.  Ms. Ray did wonders with such a large group of children in the sheer amount of songs they learned.  The children sang beautifully both at a local nursing home for a room full of enthusiastic residents, and also at Mass on Sunday.

The success of the choir camp really laid a foundation for a new style of catechesis (CCD) at St. Paul's this year.  A vast number of the the children participate in both CCD and choir, which made it possible to organize the two around each other.  This powerful combination of the great treasure we have in the music of the Church and solid teaching of the faith has become a lovely little program for the children of St. Paul's.

As far as sharing about the week, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  Here is a host of photos of our classroom, the prayerbooks the students made during work time, and their time with the choir.