Burning the Candle at Both Ends

One Halloween costume decided...

I think I'll paint her orange and she'll go as a jack-o-lantern!

School Days

Well , I have decided that our first day of school will be September 8th.  A certain dear friend of mine once said it is a nice thing to start the school year on a Marian Feast.  Since I can also make a brithday cake for the Blessed Mother for her birthday on September 8th, it seemed like a good day to start!

For some reason I got it in my head that Thomas and Hannah should come up with a name for our school this year. We've never done this before and I think coming up with a fitting patron saint  or name for our homeschool will help build some  homeschool spirit here in our house.

Here are some of the options we came up with:

St. Thomas Aquinas Homeschool

Holy Family School

Academy of the Guardian Angels

St. Thomas Academy

St. Anne's School

But then Thomas came up with this perfect name and I knew the decision was made:

The Wannabe Holy Family Academy

 I love it! On the first day we are going to design some kind of banner with our school's name.  Maybe t-shirts or caps would be fun to do. I love this title, not just because it is  tongue-in -cheek funny, but also because it is a reminder that we all "wannabe" holy and it is something we will strive for together, as a family, throughout the year. 

A beautiful song...

This song was performed at Ryan Barrett's funeral. To my untrained ear, it sounded even more beautiful than this.  But this version does  come close to what we heard on Wednesday.  As you listen, please whisper a little prayer for Ryan's soul and for healing for his family.

A Bishop Shepherding His Flock

I wanted to share something that happened at Ryan's wake last night.  I looked up at the doorway and saw our newest bishop on Long Island, Bishop Peter Libasci walking in.  Now, by marriage, Mary Ellen is related to a pretty high ranking monsignor in our diocese, so I figured he must have called for the Bishop to pay a visit.  I went over to greet the Bishop, since I felt somewhat of a connection... as a young priest he was assigned to the parish I grew up in and his first funeral there was my mother's. He also confirmed my niece, while still a priest, with a special dispensation.  Last year, this time as a bishop,  he confirmed my daughter with this same niece as a sponsor.  Full circle!

The Bishop spent quite alot of time with the Barretts and at the end of the evening, after he had left, I spoke with the Monsignor and thanked him for arranging this visit.  He looked at me puzzled and said "I had nothing to do with that.  The Bishop said he had read in the paper that Ryan had wanted to be a priest.  All priests are entitled to a visit from the Bishop at their wake!"  Wow! 

When I met Bishop Libasci at the door he said to me "I just had to come and see the little priest."  Maybe because this is the year of the Priest, but this story really touched me and gives me incredible hope for the Church. Let's all continue to pray for our priests... new priests, seasoned priests, and future priests!

In Mary Ellen's Words...

In the very first hours after learning of Ryan's death, we were led to believe it was by drowning.  Please read, in Mary Ellen's own words, the events of the day to clarify some of the details.  Alice has been kind enough to post them here.

Donations In Ryan's Memory

The outpouring of love for the Barrett family has been amazing. Many people who don't know Mary Ellen, Dave and their family "in real life" have come to know and love them through the sharing  of Mary Ellen's gift for writing on the internet. All have been touched deeply by this family's tragedy.  Many are asking what they can do.

The Barrett family has requested that anyone who would like to make a memorial
gift in Ryan's name to please give to one of these two charities:

- http://www.autismspeaks.org/
There is a donation page at the website where you can opt to make a memorial
donation. By doing this, they will send the Barrett's an e-card so they can
acknowledge any gifts made in Ryan's memory.

OR

- You can make a donation to The Friar Suppliers* in Ryan's memory.
Checks can be made out to "Friar Suppliers" and mailed to:
Rich Garbe
108 N. Greene St.
Lindenhurst, NY 11757
Please include a note on the memo line that this is a donation in Ryan's memory.

*Friar Suppliers is a non-profit organization which is a fruit of our Friday Night Family Rosary group. People from all over the country send a monthly donation to the above address and volunteers buy food and supplies for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.  The Renewal is made up of Franciscan Monks and Sisters who are totally commited to living a life of poverty and service to the poor according to the Rule of St. Francis.  Ryan had aspirations of one day becoming a Friar and often visited their friaries in the Bronx where he prayed with them and played music with them.

Please feel free to link to this page to spread the word. Thank you.

I am sad

I can barely believe I am typing the words that Ryan Barrett was found drowned on the annual father/son campout. My heart is breaking for his family who is so dear to ours. I just wanted to share a picture from last year's campout to show what a great group of Dads and sons this is.  Ryan is on the right wearing his favorite Indiana Jones hat.

Please pray for comfort for the Barrett family in the coming days, weeks , months.

 

My heart is overflowing with grief and I cannot write any more. I am off to try and close my eyes...

      On our trip to Florida back in July, we made a stop in Washington, D.C. to tour the Smithsonian American History Museum.  It was a very interesting day. My favorite exhibit was the Star-Spangled Banner.  We learned the complete background of the song , and what inspired the words of Francis Scott Key.  All were amazed at the tremendous size of the actual flag!

I do have to say, though, throughout most of the museum, political correctness is king.  Or should I say "royalty" since that would be more inclusive, and I would never want to offend all the queens reading this!

Winner for "most ironic sign in an exhibit" goes to the "History of the Pill in America" display.  Mind you, this exhibit was fairly large and I doubt many people really  spend the time reading all the fine print (except for the woman on the left, biting her nails in fear), so as you pass by, what is the message you do read?

 

So, man has improved on God's design for human life? Interesting.

Happy Music

This morning my four oldest children got up at the insane hour of 3AM and took the train into Manhattan to see Jason Mraz perform on the Today show. I don't usually watch the Today Show, but I love the fact that in the summer, they feature popular performers who perform outdoors in Rockefellar Center... free to the public. It warms this mother's heart that my kids, really young adults, planned and carried out this little field trip on their own. So for all you moms of bickering children, take heart! They may actually grow up and like each other. I think mine just might. What I like about Jason Mraz is his music seems to send a very positive message... at least the music I've heard. It is really upbeat and just makes me want to smile. And so I share this you tube video of today's performance:

You can also hear one of his most popular songs on this   wildly popular post  from this past May.

Those Summer Days...

A few of my favorite pictures so far this summer:

Thomas turned nine this summer and one of his favorite things is spending time at the ocean.

 

Becky and Jess love getting a bit of sun, too.

 

Hannah commands the waves.

 

Two best friends awaitng the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

 

No summer would be complete without plenty of tree climbing.

 

My fun-loving brother got all excited to see he shared his name with the ice cream man... had to get a picture of that!