Note to Self

If God laughs at you...


Make sure you laugh with Him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
=D

Mix Match

How well do you know our Lady's visits?
(oohhh...I got eight out of ten!)

Click here


Picture from Patron Saints Index

What CT, Cy, & Sunny did during the Summer

Hide from the camera


Fill up gazillions of boxes


Carry them...somehow...


Read lots'n'lots of books


Get dizzy from rides on the swirly chair


Attend a couple of retreats (Cy and CT)

Explore!


Go camping...the tent is much bigger than it looks!


Play


Watch plants grow



...Oh, and eat cookies!!!!

We thank God for a fantastical summer!!!

Hope you had a great summer!
Well, back to school! Another year of learning fun. Yup, fun!! Who says reenacting the Civil War complete with swords, costumes, and music was boring? :-D

Solve the riddles

Can you guess the answers to these saint riddles? :-)

1. Blood and sweat on He so tired
The veil at hand; and so inspired,
I rushed then quick and pressed it fast
And beheld an image that would long last.

2. I traveled far where none would go
To depressed hearts and hopes bent low
Across the isle on mule did I ride
For Christ in every leper does reside

3. Hermit in my own garden near
Bearing the sufferings of Our Lord dear
Devoted to Saint Catherine in Italy
And entered the same as a tertiary

Adventure

There was a storm here some days ago and it was not so bad, but it was hard enough that the electricity went out. Well, shrieks came and a flashlight was found. Quite unperturbed, the flashlight's radio was turned on. More flashlights were uncovered, and we put on a twirling light show. We started searching for some news on the radio but ended up dancing and singing to one of the songs instead! We hadn't eaten dinner yet, and unfortunately dinner was accidentally left inside the microwave unheated. Chili is as good even though it's not heated, but best of all was dessert: ice cream!!! Haha, we had to eat it so it wouldn't get melted. I've forgotten what we did after that. When the electricity at night goes out it's usually pretty dark, but we turned it into an adventure!

Penguins!!

Wasn't going to post anything today. (don't worry, Pueo and Aunty Esther, I haven't forgotten the memes!) So the past hour was spent in wandering around the wonderful Catholic blogs, trying to find something to post. Well, quite near giving up, I was staring at the penguins on Cookie's sidebar. The funny bumbling birds walk around until your mouse gets near them, then they stubbornly follow it thereafter. You can pick them up and drop them (er, yes, even throw them :-[ )
Then, I remembered to look up today's readings as we hadn't gone to Mass because my younger brother had sports. Going to EWTN, a quote came up:
"We are at Jesus' disposal. If he wants you to be sick in bed, if he wants you to proclaim His work in the street, if he wants you to clean the toilets all day, that's all right, everything is all right. We must say, 'I belong to you. You can do whatever you like.' And this ..is our strength, and this is the joy of the Lord. "
-- Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Rain or shine for us, we can't forget that God knows what He's doing
"All weather is good because it comes from God"
-Saint Teresa of Avila

...and all that came from staring at a cluster of penguins?



UPDATE
Now I remember why this was so familiar! Saint Therese said something about that! She was a little toy, content with however her Child played with her. He could bounce her, hug her, leave her in a corner, poke her, even leave her to go to sleep. Yet she knew that He would never forget her.

Mahalo nui loa to Aunty Esther, Kaila, and Mom!!

k, now I'll nominate...

All my homeschooled blogging buddies in the middle of the ocean! :-D

Optical illusions

We went on a field trip to the museum a couple of weeks ago, and the exhibit topic was the brain. The brain needs us as much as we need it, which is a good thing because we wouldn't be ourselves without it! Optical illusions occur when "the information gathered by the eye is processed by the brain to give a percept that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source." (don't worry if you didn't get that, I barely understand it myself) : P


Here are a couple - um, three from my Aunt's email:

Focusing on the dot, move your head toward the screen, then back.

"To test this, stare at one spot for a couple seconds and everything will stop moving. Or look at the black center of each circle and it will stop moving. But move your eyes to the next black center and the previous will move after you take your eyes away from it.... ??

This one won't really work here...

Confusing....but thank God for brains!

Cross(eyed)word puzzles

I don't really like crossword puzzles that much, but for anyone who does, here are a couple!

Saints Crossword

and a much harder one:

Catholic Crossword

Matching Saints

Is St. Simon Stock picture in holy cards with two candles, or was it St. Blaise? Who is shown with a lion, St. Mark or St. Matthew? Can you get all of them correct? Click here for the game!

If you need help, head on to Patron Saints Index where the picture is also from.

Really easy!

Thanks to Jessie for the quiz....

World's Easiest Quiz!!

Passing requires only 4 correct answers.... a mere 40%..

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific is named after what animal?
7) What was King George VI's first name?
8) What color is a purple finch?
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

All done?

Check your answers below!
Scroll Down!

ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ
1)How long did the Hundred Years War last?
116 years
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
Ecuador
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
Sheep and Horses
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
November
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
Squirrel fur
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific is named after what animal?
Dogs
7) What was King George VI's first name?
Albert
8) What color is a purple finch?
Crimson
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
New Zealand
10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?
Orange, of course..

What do you mean you failed???

(if you didn't, Congratulations!)

So much for "easy" :-)

Tagged by Mom :-)












Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the Person before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. Now Go!




1. Famous singer/band: Caedmon's Call

2. 4 letter word: Cool

3. Street name: Cole St.

4. Color: Cornflower Blue

5. Gifts/presents: Cockatiel

6. Vehicle: Celica

7. Items on a menu: Crepes (strawberry)

8. Boy Name: Caspian

9. Girl Name: Claerwen (Welsh for snowwhite)

10. Movie Title: Cars

11. Drink: Cold water :-)

12. Occupation: Clarinetist

13. Flower: Columbine

14. Magazine: Consumer's Report

15. US City: Corpus Christi, Texas

16. Pro Sports Team: Californian Angels

17. Reason for Being Late for Work: Coaxing a song from the piano

18. Something U Throw Away: Creepy-looking-food-that's-a-month-old!

19. Things you shout: Christmas!

20. Cartoon Character: Clip (experiment 117) from Lil&Stitch the series

Whoever wants to do this meme, go ahead!

Why did the people cross the river?

From an email from Mom.

Here's a little brain exercise for you:
This is an IQ tester.
The object of the game is to get everyone across the river. This is a test some Japanese applicants have to take when applying for a job in Japan . The odd thing to me is, once you begin taking people across the river, you can't remember how you got them there when you have to start again. Once you begin this test, it's hard to stop. You feel so determined to get these people across.
The instructions are listed below. After reading, click on the link. Enjoy!

http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf

Click on link, and then click on the big blue circle.
Use the rules below.
This is going to do your head in, but it can be done.
Apparently this is an IQ test given to job applicants in Japan : "Everybody has to cross the river".
The following rules apply:
Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
The father can not stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence
The mother can not stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence
The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member, if The Policeman is not there
Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft
To start click on the big blue circle on the right.
To move the people click on them.
To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river.

Have fun! (I failed, you'll probably do better! :-P )

About Mememe ???

Tagged by Joey :-)

1. Male or Female:
Female

2. Married or Single (or religious):
Single

3. Dream vacation:
It's really a dream vacation! The Shire : )

4. Birthplace:
Orange County, California

5. Area I live in currently:
Somewhere in a galexy far, far away from the one in Star Wars.

6. Someone you wish you could meet:
Hmmmm.....no one really...at least, no one currently on earth.

7. Biggest "pet-peeve":
I don't have one, actually...

8. Favorite Religious devotion:
Daily Mass

9. Favorite Saint (besides the Blessed Mother):
Ack...St. Francis Solano right now.

10. Favorite sport that you play:
Soccer

10. Favorite food:
Same as CT's!

12. Tridentine or Novus Ordo:
I haven't attended a Tridentine yet, but either one, as long as it's well done.

13. Would you (or are you) home school or public school:
Homeschool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14. How many kids do you have:
Do Sunny, Lilo, Stitch, Merri, and Pippin count?

15. Ever been in an auto accident:
Not a big one.

16. Ever seen a pope in person:
No :'(

17. Languages that you know fluently:
English, and Pig Latin ;-) (ig-pay atin-lay!)

18. Last movie you saw in theatres:
Meet the Robinsons

19. Favorite Blog:
This one! Without Mrs. Esther's help, we wouldn't be blogging!

20. Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Claus:
Barney: Aren't dinosaurs extinct?!? Easter Bunny: Mom is better. Santa Clause: Isn't he the one who sings at the Christmas Vigil Mass?

Umm...who to tag?
Well, whoever wants to, you're it!

I counted 8...plus two

Something to cheer you up :-)

I know May (or around this time of year) for most students (and teachers) is a hectic time filled with intense studying and tests. I hope this relieves some tension.



Remind me, how many senses are there?



1. Sense of smell

2. Sense of hearing

3. Touch

4. Sight

5. Taste

6. Common sense

7. Sense of direction

8. My favorite, Sense of humor! :-)

*Update* 5/12
Special thanks to Joey and Pueo for these ones! :-D

9. By Joey: Sense of right and wrong

10. By Pueo: who can forget pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters?

If you have another one, feel free to leave it in the comments.
Have a great day!

Darth Vader invades Earth!

Or the food drive downtown at least! ;-)

Cyd and her brothers got to meet him and his escort - uh, not that he needs one...

Saints meme

Yahooo! :-) Tagged again by A Catholic Mom in Hawaii!

I lost track of how many saints were my favorite. So here are the saints that came to mind right away. Not counting St. Therese of Lisieux (no offence!) who our group is dedicated to since it's already obvious.

List your four favorite saints, one favorite blessed and someone who think should have been a saint.

St. John Bosco
He could juggle, run races, turn cartwheels, perform magic tricks, and still attend to his duties as a priest! His main goals were helping out the youth. He wrote about the Faith, explaining it in a way that children could understand, then printed his work with his own printing press. For a time, because of his success, some men wanted to get rid of him. As Don Bosco went on his usual walk searching for homeless and unwanted boys to shelter, they ambushed him. Surprising the men and Don Bosco, the rescuer was a huge dog! In thanks for the rescue, Don Bosco offered the dog a home and dinner, but the canine hero had vanished. The dog accompanied Don Bosco on many more dangerous missions of sheltering, teaching, and comforting homeless boys, until the dog left and was never seen again.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

She's a favorite, but not because she was a princess -ok, maybe a little,-but because of what she did while she was one. We've always been fascinated by the medieval ages. I always liked the story when she would sneak into the chapel to pray when she was little. Even if it was smack in the middle of a game, she went. One of her favorite sayings was "Everything for God"

St. Francis of Assisi

Patron saint of animals! Simplicity, humility, and peace, it's amazing what he achieved. My favorite story is the one when he preached to the birds...or was it fishes?

St. Paul the Apostle

Admirable for his passion in preaching the Christian faith, especially since it was newly founded. That reminds me, I've got to start reading his letters....

Bl. Damien

Of course who could forget Father Damien? Especially since his feast day is on May 10th! CT, no doubt will have a special post that day. A recent book bought at the Pauline Bookstore renewed our admiration for him. Did you know he got together the children of Molokai, made some musical instruments and started a marching band? The marching band later performed for the visiting princess of Hawaii.

Louis of Thungria

He was the husband of St. Elizabeth. Contrary to what many people think, he was actually very supportive of St. Elizabeth. Everyone in his court disagreed strongly, but he let St. Elizabeth give to the poor and often nurse the ill back to health.

Now, I tag:

CT :-)

or anyone else who wants

...and also found in Mrs. Esther's blog

Which Saint Are You?

You are Saint Francis of Assisi! You don't care what you look like (or smell like) as long as you can live simply and help the poor. You should be receiving your stigmata any day now.
Take this quiz!

Thank goodness, I've been doing something right!

Game Challenge

From an email from Mrs. Esther


Saint Maria’s Messenger Game Challenge
Do you have an original game that you play with your friends or siblings or have played in the past? Was it a board game that you made up yourselves? Or was it a game you acted out? Was it some sort of competition between each other? Or maybe it was something totally different? We are looking for the most IMAGINATIVE AND CREATIVE games. We will choose our favorites and feature them in our next issue!
All Catholic girls ages ten through teen are able to participate. We will choose the winners and feature their game(s) in our next issue! We can’t wait to see them!
We need a description of your game, how it came to be, a little bit about yourself including your name and age, and contact information including address and email. Please send everything to:
5426 S. Gordon Ave.
Newaygo , MI 49337
or
http://us.f550.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Saintmariasmessenger@yahoo.com

God bless,
Bernadette and Rebekah Fox
Editors
http://www.saintmariasmessenger.com/

Feathered Titles

Meet the birds!

I found the Aristocratic Titles, um, generator/posts in numerous blogs, so credit to all of them!

Our birds seem to think they're royalty, so....

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Milord Earl Sonny the Kind of Gallop Hophill Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Imperial Majesty Mimi the Imaginary of Melbury Bubblewick Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Lord Stitch the Ebullient of Buzzcock Lepshire Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Noble Lady Lilo the Implacable of Fritterton on the Marshes Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Testing, testing, 123...

Thanks to A Catholic Mom in Hawaii!

Yes!!!
All the hard work in homeschool memorization paid off!!!

You are a 100% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?
Make Your Own Quiz

Err, then again, maybe not!

You know the Bible 93%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Time to study again...