My Boy is Eleven!

On Sunday we celebrated Bilby's 11th birthday! We had a very full and happy day. My husbands Mum, Jane, joined us for the week end which was a lovely blessing for us all.


The day began very early, with presents. He was particularly taken with the plush Red Panda I found at the Taronga Zoo on-line store. Bilby has taken a real interest in Red Pandas so we've planned a Red Panda lap-book next term.

At the end of Mass, Father Brady asked Bilby to come out the front where he told everyone that he was celebrating his 11th birthday. Father asked everyone to sing him happy birthday, which caused Bilby to turn a pleasant shade of red! I thought this was a lovely way to acknowledge his contribution to our community, as he serves on the alter very often as we have very few alter servers at our Mass.

Following Mass, we headed off to our Regional Show.

Bilby has always had a cautious nature, and has never been very interested in fast and thrilling rides! When he was little I nick named him "safety boy." Koala made up for his lack of daring in full measure, and hence he was nick named "danger boy." So it was a big step for Bilby to face his fears and take on the Farris Wheel! Once he realised that he was quite safe, he had a ball!

Roo was taken with the animal nursery, especially the piglets and sheep. He also had a great time on the Cup and Saucer ride with Granny Jane!

Koala had his yearning for speed and thrill satisfied! Can you guess which parent he gets it from?

No show is complete without a show bag! At least this one will last longer then 5 minutes! It's a Ben 10 satchel filled with lots of goodies. Koala chose a Wall-E show bag.
We also chanced to meet a young man from our parish, Adam who had come to the show alone, so we invited him to join us. He joined Bilby in a game of laser challenge, which looked like great fun! Adam firmly believes he has a vocation to the priesthood, and plans to begin his studies in a year or so. Adam has asked for prayer, so please join with me in praying for him. He will make a wonderful priest.

Tired and happy we made our way home, before Bilby and I prepared to head off again to celebrate with one of his homeschool friends who also celebrated his birthday on the same day!

We returned home once more to cut the birthday cake after a great day.

We love you very much son!

The Feast of The Annunciation.

Today we celebrate the beautiful feast of the Annunciation. I think the above image by Waterhouse, beautifully captures how the moment might have been. An extraordinary event, amidst the ordinary!

Once again, I find I am not as prepared to celebrate this feast as I would like. So this evening we will simply read from Mary the Mother of Jesus, by Tomie De Paola , listen to CatChat and read Luke's beautiful account of the annunciation, which wouldn't be complete without the magnificat, simply because I love it so much!

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm.

He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things.

And the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath helped his servant Israel as he promised to our forefathers Abraham, and his seed forever.

Perhaps...

Those who know me, know that I am passionate about literature. I particularly love the novels of Jane Austen. My favourite being Pride and Prejudice.

This morning I was reflecting on the main character, Elizabeth's education. She was of course, educated at home. The following conversation between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine de Bourgh had me rather excited!


"We never had any governess."

"No governess! How is that possible? Five daughters brought up at home without a governess! I never heard of such a thing. You mother must have been quite a slave to your education."

Elizabeth could hardly help smiling, as she assured her that had not been the case.

"Then who taught you? Who attended you? Without a governess you must have been neglected."

"Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such of us as wished to learn, never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary..."


So could it be that Mrs. Bennett was an unschooler?

A Special Blessing.

Making friends has never been top of Koala's priority list. He certainly enjoys having friends, but he is more than happy to play on his when other children are around. For quite some time, he hasn't had anyone who he could call a friend. Hence, I have been praying that the Lord would send someone into his life that understood him, and with whom he could share the special connection that comes with having a friend. I believe that that prayer has been answered.

We have made a new connection with a lovely Christian home education family. Like us they have a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. It has been wonderful for me to be able to talk to another mum, Tanya who understands what living with ASD and home education is all about.

This week we visited Tanya and her children for the day. Tanya's son and Koala spent hours happily playing together. For children who often prefer their own company, you can imagine how happy both mums were! It was wonderful to watch them together. They both enjoy making and watching movies. Koala makes paper movies and his new friend acts out movies. I think they understood each other, which is a rare thing.

My prayer is that the children will continue to build their friendship.

Thanks Tanya for the beautiful photo!

Unbelievable!

If you had told me this was a real interview, I probably would have thought you had miss heard what was said. Very scary, on many levels.

Quotations That Inspire Me.

"If you want [your children] to lose their faith, send them to a Catholic school" -Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. This observation was made in the 1970's. In my humble opinion things are getting worse.

"A person is a person, no matter how small." Horton Hears a Who.

"The fact that the rest of the world has lost its innocence has no bearing on the way I choose to raise my own children." Annon.

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality." Beatrix Potter.

"My grandmother wanted me to have an education, so she kept me out of school." -Margaret Mead.

"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." - St. Francis of Assisi.