Poems and Songs by Mouse

Baby

A baby is joy and laughter
all concealed in one small
bundle of soft baby skin.

It is the beginning of a life,
the beginning of many
birthdays (and cake) yet to come.

Someday, they will become our senators and our priests, our deacons
and our presidents.

And someday, maybe, they will grow up
and become mothers and fathers
to another
baby.

Even in the most hard-hearted
mothers and fathers, babies are able
to weave a thread of everlasting
love,
in a parent’s heart. And eventually, the thread will weave itself
into a blanket of love. So many people wear that blanket, and the ones who do
usually give the baby
a blanket back.

Some Songs

Walking the Highway

Walking the highway,
on a rai – ai- ai – ny day,
umbrella in hand,
with me feeling sad,
walking the highway.

Splashing in puddles,
feeling all in a muddle,
you’re feeling so grand,
I’m feeling so sad,
why can’t we switch for a while?
You’ve got tons of fans that I haven’t,
you’ve got the better friends, too,
so maybe it’s time to establish
something entirely new!

Maybe it’s true
maybe they deserted you
while you were walking the highway
but don’t let that get you down, girl,
‘cause now I’m here in this town, girl,
the two of us, the two of us, two of us, two of us, two of us, two of usssss! Walking the highhhwayyy!

Rock and Roll

I’m getting higher above
the earth below
as I’m flying, flying, flying,
towards Albany’s home.

I’m gonna see the sights,
gonna rock and roll,
when I’m at – at – at – at
Albany’s home! Oh yeah, oh yeah, Albany’s home, oh yeah, oh yeah, Albany’s home…gonna rock and roll! Gonna rock and roll! Gonna rock and roll! Gonna rock and roll!

River, river

River, river, flowing, sparkling in the water towards the sea.
In the water swim the fish,
they get faster every swish;
the birds are gliding in the sky,
then I see the frogs hop by!
Then on the flowers are the butterflies,
then comes night, the owl comes out
hunting for mice and hunting for trout.

Then comes morning, birds come singing,
let it happen over again.

Why Don’t You Come Home

No one here with me to hold my hand
it’s almost too much to withstand.
Oh my sweet baby, why don’t you come home,
why do you have to go out and roam
beyond the valleys, beyond the trees?
Oh my sweet baby,
come back to me.

Losing You

It’s a loss and I can’t even bear it
it’s a sadness seeping to my bone;
to get it away, I just can’t scare it,
so let’s just say I’m done!

It’s just something I can’t admit
because it has just begun
my heart is everything but moonlit;
my soul just feels so barren;
He was so full of humor…
why, why did he have to die?
Why did he have to die?

Why did he have to die?

Why did he have to die?

Bear's Poems

Ice Cream

I like
eating ice cream
on a hot summer day.

The fantastic, refreshing cold
like ice.

Haiku

The good banana
delicious to be eaten
banana goodness.

The Grocery List

Cheese, cheetah chews,
apples and apricots,
cool canned carrots,
grand granola,
for free.

Tipping

The bucket is tipping
l
e
t
t           that water is
I                                   po
n                                       ur
g the water out then           ing

out
of
the
buck-
et
and

            onto the floor.

Poems by Jubilee Girl

(Seven-year-old Jubilee Girl has been working on writing poetry, with the goal of creating a book.)

The Apple Tree

A tree wiggles an apple—

The apple wiggles
and wiggles and it falls.

Crunch!

The Sea

The water splashes.

The waves swish.

But she swims

faster….

The sea is fun!

The Whale

Splatsh!

The whale…

Splatsh!

Oh the whale…

Splatsh!

Plop! Splooth!

Spray

Wish Star

Oh wish star oh wish star.

I will tell you my wish,
but keep it a secret—
oh I forgot!

Brothers and Sisters

She did it!

No fair!

You guys stop!!

Rrrrr….

He hit me!!!

nooooooooooooooooo

(sorry and sorry)

Jaybird: Annoyed at not being part of the family before her birth

Where has Gracewatch been lately??? I have all sorts of wonderful video/photos and stories to tell, and so little time to tell them! All I can say is that lately my kid-free time has been limited to MAYBE an hour in the afternoon and an hour after bedtime...which gets sucked up into other things, like doing our taxes! I promise I will catch up soon.

Having said that, I couldn't let this one wait.

So...we can generally expect a fit/tantrum from Jaybird about once a day, usually after school when she is "done" in terms of her energy for being good (they have gotten less frequent and less severe over time). It's hard to know what will trigger these. Yesterday, it was dehorning paste. Yeah, I don't know what it is either, but it was in a bedtime story we read ("Betsy's Up-and-Down Year"), and she found it VERY UPSETTING.

Today she was looking through our 2004 family journal; after half an hour, she came stomping into the kitchen with a scowl on her face. "WELL. How can this be a FAMILY journal when I AM NOT EVEN IN IT???"

"Oh, this is from 2004, honey...you weren't born yet."

"Well, couldn't I have even been in mama's womb???"

"Uh, no, not yet."

"You mean...YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ME???"

"Nope. We don't know you were going to come along."

Slight pause. Then: "Waaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" And Jaybird exits the kitchen, hysterical at the thought of her non-existence in our lives....

....only to re-enter fifteen minutes later, dropping the family journal open-faced on the table and folding her arms across her chest, still scowling.

"I would like you to read this page, please."

So I take a look. Turns out she had drawn a picture of the whole family...including herself...and inserted it into the sleeve for the first page of the journal.

I have not laughed so hard in many, many, many days. I am still laughing. And I suspect I will be laughing over this for many years to come.

And yes, Jaybord, your picture will stay exactly where it is. : )

Some zingers from the kids...

Bear: "I really like praying the rosary. I'm thinking of founding a monastery devoted to praying the rosary, unless someone already thought of that idea."

*  *  *

As a family, we were reading and discussing the Sunday readings, including the iconic passage from Proverbs 31, on the virtues of a noble wife:

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

So after reading that, my husband begins: "So, kids, what we have here is the Bible's description of an ideal married woman: she is good, loving, works hard, gives to the poor, and is wise and thoughtful. Right? She is not--"

And the 11-year-old boy interjects, "Mom!"

*  *  *

Things Mudpuppy says:

"Ohhh! Okay!" -- You'd have to hear it to appreciate it; it's a long, exaggerated "oh,' the kind someone says when they finally realize something.

"whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" -- Picked up from his older sister for anything that's too exciting for words.

"Amazing Grace"

Lately the kids have been singing "Amazing Grace" to Mudpupp -- don't ask me how this started, I'm sure I have no idea. In any case, he really likes it, and demands that they sing by repeating, "Song! Song!" until they do.

Stranger still, he has started learning the song himself. A few times now, he's sung the entire first verse all the way through -- although only when we're not paying direct attention. If we ask him to sing, he just looks at us silently, smiling. His pronunciation lacks a great deal, but he gets the basic shape of the words, as well as the melody: "Amazin' 'ace, sweet ah sound, ah save ah wretch lie me!" and so on, all the way down to: "...was los', now ah see!" It gave me goosebumps the first time he did it -- while I was changing him!

Mudpuppy likes to swing on the big-kid swings

Picking pumpkins last weekend - he was a little intimidated
at first by all the pumpkins, but enjoyed seeing a real cat
close up.

Helping with the pizza dough. He believes in being VERY liberal
with the spices!

Mouse and Jaybird carving their own pumpkins. Bear is
"too old" for such things.

Grandma hanging out with the kids on a sunny fall day by the lake.

This afternoon we were prepping the kids for our All Saints party at church -- Bear went as Paul Miki, Mouse as Elizabeth of Portugal, and Jaybird as J8ulia Billiart. We helped them find symbols of their saints to use as hints in the "guess the saint" game. At one point, I asked Jaybird to pick something up in the bathroom, and as she did, she cheerfully said, "Well, I am going to be a saint someday."

"You think so, huh?"

"Yeah, 'cause a saint is just someone who loves God a real lot and is dead. And I think I will love God a real lot when I am grown up!"

That's the hard part, isn't it -- the loving. The dead part, not so much.

Sayings of Bear

Bear said a couple amusing things tonight.

I was moaning that I was getting to old for this whole raising kids thing (it was the end of a long day) when Bear pipes up, "Well, hold onto your horses, 'cause in another eight years you should be guaranteed to have another baby around here." Meaning we'd be grandparents, of course. I shudder to think....

Later, he decided to bravely tackle a home repair that Starling had given up on. The doorknob had fallen out of both sides of the closet door, leaving it stuck closed. Bear spent about twenty minutes working to open it. At one point, Starling said, "You don't have to keep working on that." His response: "Don't worry, Mom! My mistakes are getting smarter!" (He eventually got it open.)

Yummy for the tummy!

This was the scene at the Lakeview Drive-In during the ride around the lake that Jaybird and I went on last Sunday. The other kids wanted to stay home, so we splurged on a banana split.

Quote of the day:

"Dad, why don't you go get us some napkins, and I'll just stay here and keep an eye on this ice cream?"

"You're not my real dad..."

You do kind of wonder when your five-year-old opens up with: "You're not my real dad, you know."

"Oh?" (Imagine raised eyebrows.)

"God is my real father. You're just the babysitter."

Demoted! The perils of family catechesis....

Speaking of which, Mouse found out about children dying from hunger yesterday -- Jaybird was refusing to eat her supper but asking for something she liked better and I made a (frustrated) offhand comment about the 24,000 children who die of hunger every day. Mouse really picked up on that and started asking all sorts of questions -- including, why don't people just feed them? (Good question.) So we headed to the computer to do some research and discovered that, actually, 41,000 children die of hunger-related causes every day. We also found a number of good resources on the World Food Program website. Mouse was fascinated to know that she could fill a WFP red cup with food for just a quarter; she calculated that she could feed a child for a month with her savings of $9.

Later, in bed, she looked up at me and said: "Those kids are just like me. They want a lot of things. But I want what I don't need, like a princess tiara that costs $7.99. They want just what they need to live."

We'll see how this develops. It's poignant, because it's hard to introduce kids to such harsh realities; on the other hand, it's good for her to be able to put things in a wider perspective, and it is good that she is so compassionate.

No Common Sense

Once Bear gets set on something, he is focused on it like a laser. His latest thing is to earn enough money to buy a Wii gaming system, which costs about $200. He has it all figured out -- and one part of his strategy is to earn $3 by doing extra chores every day. You have never seen a 10-year-old boy more diligent and excited by his chores. The kids earn $2 an hour for extra chores, with the time based on about how long it would take an adult to complete the task.

Today he made everyone's cold lunches for school tomorrow (a 75 cent task). When I checked his work, I noticed he had wrapped the sandwiches in aluminum foil.

"Why didn't you use the plastic sandwich boxes?"

"Because you said not to put sandwiches in them when they were wet." (From being washed out.)

"Well, you could have dried them!"

"You didn't tell me that!"

"It seemed like common sense...."

"Yeah, but I don't have common sense." A snort at that from me, then an emendation from Bear: "Well, I have it. I just don't use it."

Yes, he was laughing as he said that. So far, he has earned or saved $11. Go, Bear, go!

More breakfast conversation

Mouse (over cereal): Mom, are raindrops really the tears of God?
Me: No, they're not.
(pause)
Mouse:  How about sweat?

Your kid quote for today

I asked Bear to take Jaybird over to a friend's house several blocks away in the neighborhood. He took a manual kitchen timer with him. This is because every afternoon after school he has to spend 15 minutes practicing violin, 10 minutes playing with the baby (yes, this has to be mandated, or the kid gets ignored), and a certain amount of time outside before he can play his Nintendo DS. Apparently, he was timing his time helping Jaybird to make sure he didn't get cheated out of any credit for time spent with siblings.

The way I heard about this was when the neighbor (later on) said, "So, Bear was carrying a ticking kitchen timer with him when he dropped Jaybird off...." Apparently he didn't hang around to chat -- just said he was short on time and sprinted home.

10-year-old boys.


Then there's Jaybird, who yesterday had a major meltdown -- a real no-holds-barred fit -- after I insisted that she flush the toilet. (She'd been afraid of flushing it ever since she witnessed it overflowing.) Today, after school, she went into the bathroom, used it, then flushed. I wasn't going to say anything -- you never know what might send her off. But after standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips for a few moments, she finally said, "Well! Don't I get a 'gratulations?!"

Quotable kids

We now know the name of our granddaughter. According to Mouse, she will be naming her first daughter "Clare Emmanuel."

Tonight as we were doing dishes, Bear said to me: "Dad, when you get angry, can you remember not to do an LBL?"

"A what?"

"LBL! You know -- a long boring lecture."

Me (rolling eyes): "OK, how about an SEL instead?"

"SEL? What's an SEL? Short, interesting lecture?"

"No, Short Exciting Lecture."

"Oh. What's that like?"

Perfect setup. "Well, it's like this. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" And I leaped at him, tackled him, and tickled him. Don't worry, we were both laughing.

"God Dad"

So says Jaybird. Starling overheard her talking about "God the Dad -- you know, the one who made us all!" We think she meant God the Father, not, unfortunately, me. :(

Easter

Happy Easter! We had a pretty good Holy Week and celebration of Easter.

On the night before Passion Sunday, we watched the last hour or so of Jesus of Nazareth. It's not necessarily the grown-ups' favorite depiction of Jesus, but the kids like it, and it gives them very concrete images to draw on during the long reading of the Passion. Some of it flies right by them (they had an animated discussion about whether it was safe to have a campfire indoors, all the while Jesus is offering his friends the bread and wine on the screen) -- but some of it sticks. The next day, Mouse leaned over and whispered several times during the reading of the Passion about connections she made with the movie.

We kicked off Triduum on Holy Thursday by taking the kids to an outdoor stations of the cross on the grounds of our local seminary. We brought along a picnic supper (the weather was gorgeous) and a little stations of the cross booklet for kids that we picked up at church -- one of the best little books like that I've ever seen, actually. Each of the stations featured a bas-relief carving on an upright slab of stone, so that the kids could actually reach out and touch the figures as we read the reflection. All of us took turns reading, except for Jaybird, whose job was to find the next station, based on our description. After a little bit of a rough start, the stations went pretty well -- much better than we expected, actually. Unfortunately, Mouse lost a tiny little plastic ring at the sixth station, which ultimately led to her very own version of the Passion play. It was a sad situation that should have warned me against taking the older kids to the Holy Thursday service. Mouse really wanted to do the foot-washing thing with me, so we rushed up to the front and waited in line. The people in front of us were very meticulous about washing each other's feet -- if Jesus had taken so long, he never would've made it to the Garden of Gethsemane on time to meet Judas -- so that by the time we got to the basin, things were clearly wrapping up (i.e., the music was winding down, and the acolytes were putting away the other basins). So I hurry up and whip off my shoes and socks -- only to have Mouse tear up and whisper, "I don't know how to wash feet!" I'm thinking: Exactly how complicated could this be? After a rather long whispered conversation, I finally ended up washing my own feet (Mouse dried them). And then, right before Communion, Mouse started whimpering with increasing intensity about wanting to go home -- so we did.

The Good Friday service went much better; the church had big kettle drums accompanying the reading of the Passion, which held the kids' interest pretty well; they also liked kissing the cross.

Because we were going to visit my parents on Easter morning, we went to the Vigil the night before. We came prepared with a sling for Mudpuppy and a pillow and blanket for Jaybird. Amazingly, it all worked out pretty well: Jaybird fell asleep after the Exultet (but not before getting to see the Easter candle brought into the dark church), and Mudpuppy slept through most of the service (in the sling) as well. The kids loved the drama of the readings: there were multiple readers on some of the readings, and music sprinkled throughout (e.g., the whole assembly joined in the refrain on the Genesis reading, singing, "And God saw it was good. . . "). Mouse even leaned over and whispered, "This is great!" at one point. Plus, several people were initiated into the church, including a boy the kids know from school. They waved at him and gave him "thumbs up" during his baptism.

After the service, there was a cake and punch reception for the initiates. We woke Jaybird up for that, because she'd be furious to know she missed a chance for cake. It's fair to say that the reception was the highlight of the night for her. Everyone is always extremely upbeat and happy at that reception. Bear sidled up to our parish priest while he was taking another piece of cake and said, "Hey! How come you get to have two pieces!" Our priest laughed and said that it was Easter, after all. Bear allowed that it was and added, "It's okay. I had three pieces."

The Easter bunny stayed up until midnight getting the kids' baskets together, which included some very good kids' music for the girls (Seeds of Purpose and Seeds of Courage from Seeds Family Worship), and Bear got a CD featuring Scarecrow and the Tinman (a pretty good Catholic alternative rock band).

The kids woke up at 6:40 the next morning and tore into their baskets before the grownups were even up. Grumpy Easter bunny!

Later in the morning, we drove northward to visit my family. Starling "lost" her wallet at an Arby's, which delayed us for an hour as we 1) tore apart the car, 2) asked the manager to go through two garbage cans, and 3) frantically drove around trying to find a phone to cancel all our credit cards. Of course, we found the wallet when we got to my parents -- stuffed under a car seat. Here are some pictures (and a video) from later that day:

Mouse blows bubbles into the ear of her uncle, who is holding a baby cousin.

Another cousin's Easter egg haul. (She goes by "Demand" on her mother's blog!)

Mouse with egg.

Click on the play button for an Easter message from all the kids:

Kid Quotes: "I'm getting older faster than you think!"

This afternoon, Bear (our nine-year-old) was gently (and appropriately!) pushing back on some of the limitations we put on him. "I think I'm ready for more responsibility and privilege. Like I think I could be doing more to help around here. And then you could give me an allowance of $42."

When I laughed at that, he said: "Hey, I'm getting older faster than you think!" So true, so true.

And Jaybird has been REALLY enjoying the tagalong that we got from a friend. (This is a bike wheel and seat that you attach to an adult bike.) After being really quite scared during the first minute or two on it, she relaxed a little and said, "Hey, I think I'm beginning to really enjoy this thing! This is fun!" She wants to go bike riding with dad every day.

Guacamole!

Jaybird has taken to exclaiming, "Guacamole!" As in: "Hey. there's only one more day until we visit grandma's. Guacamole!" I think she means "Holy Guacamole," but this is much funnier.

Bear quizzes the Bishop on football and other details

The family went to an ecumenical prayer service for life today, this near-anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It was at our town (and diocesan) Cathedral, and the local Bishop was presiding.

Afterward, as we had some cookies and juice, Bear went up to the Bishop (who he doesn't know, FYI) and asked him if he was a Vikings fan or a Saints fan--being a bishop and all. He replied he was a beleagured Detriot fan, but he'll root for the Vikes today.

It didn't help. In the great heritage of Minnesota, the Vikes came really really really close to winning the NFC championship and lost in OT, 31-28. Darn it. Bear was bummed. I have to admit, so was I.

***********************
Other than that, it has been a week with continued adjustments to me (Starling) working at school while Mudpuppy turns his nose up to the bottle. Poor Jackrabbit.

Jaybird has had strep (sad girl), and Mouse had her rite of election at church this morning--she's getting ready for First Communion.

The weather has been unseasonably warm (mid-upper thirties)...but that's a mixed blessing, with all the snow on the ground. The sidewalks and streets have suddenly become moats. Bring out the gondolas!

The Things Kids Say

The old "Starling" here.

Mouse was noting in conversation that I am old (not older, but old). After responding "gee, thanks, honey" I said:

But...how can I be old when I feel pretty young?

Oh Mom. That's just your feelings teasing you.

The Four Things Boys Like

B made the following announcement to me the other night:

"Boys like four things. Number one, food. Number two, video games. Number three, sports. Number four, more food."

I had recently read an article which quoted an old priest as saying that the three things dearest to any high school boy's heart were the Eucharist, baseball, and ice cream. I mentioned this to B. He was nonplussed for a moment, before saying -- "Well, besides those, I mean."