Well, Merry Christmas to us.
Our upstairs bathroom redo is almost done thanks to Tim and the guys at Zancro!
Tim has worked so hard on a project that, as usual, has had to be done in an unorthodox way.
Older houses are a challenge!
Here is a picture essay of the project:
So it begins....
Before...
UGH
Zank's part of the project.
Tim's side...
Tiling by the experts.
Wiring and new fan
Toilet wrasselin'
Putting down the floor
Paint
Light fixture and fan
Out with the pink and gray
New sink
Closet overhaul
Shower
Mostly finished!
All that's left is a little more paint.
It's just so nice! This has been on the list for so long, and now it's done!!
Yesterday was probably the best day of the week, school-wise.
That's because seeing, touching and learning with friends is always better than sitting at home with the books.
So we went to THIS:
It was so great!
Several families from our co-op joined us and we were able to see antiquities and precious treasures from our Catholic Heritage.
Many of the really old things were copied, like the ceramic and plaster pieces from the time when the church was being established.
I took pictures of some of my favorites within the exhibit.
The descriptions are below them.
I love this
So Amazing
Papa
JPII's Hand
Lego Vatican-Cool!
Nun with Selfie-stick, really.
No trip to the museum is complete without a picture in front of "Big Ben"
We went bird watching last week and Paul got some great pictures. Winter isn't a great time to catch perching birds, but the water fowl are plentiful on the Bay!
Our Good Shepherd Youth group was so blest to host a wonderful evening with Praise and Worship music by Mathias Michael, our very own recording artist, and an inspiring talk by Clare Daly of Generation Life!
This event was truly given to us by the Holy Spirit to help us prepare for the upcoming March For Life in Washington DC. Many of our youth will be attending.
Mathias started us off by asking everyone to stand and really ask the Holy Spirit to join us. The music was a mix of well-known P&W and some new songs that we didn't know. I was really taken by the way Mathias led the group in both song and prayer. The evening really was a prayer.
After a short break for snacks and stretching, we sat and prepared to listen to a multimedia presentation produced by Clare and Generation Life.
I met Clare Daly at Camp Veritas a couple of years ago. She is just a beautiful, intelligent young woman who is devoting herself to spreading the Gospel of Life. Her organization brings the message of the dignity of human life, at all stages, to groups all over the country. Her talk was just such a reminder of who we are in Creation, and what we are called to be for Christ.
Next up, are looking forward to the March For Life in DC!
I think one of the biggest lies that our culture has perpetrated on it's youth is the idea that:
"You can do anything if you just want it bad enough!"
How many times, in our youth and school years, did we hear "It's only a matter of making up your mind. If you want to, you can be an astronaut, an engineer, or even the president!" OK well, considering the caliber of recent administrations, anyone probably can be president.
The question is, why are we telling children that they can do anything, and at the same time diagnosing them with every kind of learning problem, mental health issue and personality disorder we can think of? You got your label? Great! Now, tell us what you want to do with your life and we will find some way to accommodate your limitations and get you the help you need so that we can shove your square little hiney into that round hole. Why not just go find a square hole?
There are people that can run a marathon in record time. There are people that can run a marathon in a day. There are people that can run. I am not one of them. I can tell myself that I can all day long, but I can't. I have bad hips and knees.
I can't do higher math. That's OK. I get to a certain point and it starts to sound like Swahili. I think I could learn Swahili, but there is something in my brain that inhibits my ability to learn math. I don't think God is disappointed, after all, He made me this way. He obviously had a plan and higher Math wasn't a part of it.
Tim would have loved to have been a pilot. He has the aptitude and tons of desire, but he also has terrible eyesight and vertigo. Fact.
The things that we can't do don't define us, they direct us toward the things that we actually have been given, our gifts.
Telling students that they can "do anything" really doesn't mean "do anything". It leaves them feeling like they are expected to shoot for Wall street or the White House and then if that doesn't work out they can teach or become a landscaper. What if they already know that they would LOVE teaching or landscaping? Are their gifts less worthy because they didn't attempt the highest peak and shoot for the top first? What's wrong with just shooting for the best version of yourself from the beginning?
What happens in a classroom when a person with intellectual or physical limitations hears the teacher telling the class, "If you want it, you can do it!", whatever "it" is? What if you just can't? It's OK not to be that high academic achiever or athlete. What's not OK is to drive yourself for the dreams of someone else or because "it" has to be attempted before you can settle down and find where you fit. If you want it, try it. If you can't get there, try something else. Life is too short to buy into other people's ideas of what your life should look like. Follow your dreams, within the bounds of your capabilities, but don't beat yourself up because you have to modify the dream. Try, yes. Try as hard as you can, and when you feel that you have tried yourself out, try something else. And don't bring up Rudy Ruteger because he tried as hard as he could, and he did play one awesome football game, but then went out and did what he's really good at, motivating people.
We do live in a land of opportunity, but one of the most beautiful things about our country is what the old-timers called "Yankee Ingenuity". Genius is not defined by IQ, but by the ability to find, develop and use the gifts that we have been given to their true purpose. You might be a math genius and win a Nobel prize for Science. Awesome. You might be a literary genius, and write a Nobel prize-winning novel. Fantastic. What if you are a people genius? You might not win a Nobel prize, but your contribution is no less brilliant. You have to ability to motivate and move others in ways that a math genius could never figure out. We need you!
Don't get caught up in the lie that you can do anything if you just want it bad enough, because while you are trying to figure out how to achieve the impossible dream, you might miss the thing that makes you truly happy. It's not enough to want it, it has to be meant for you, and the One who made you is the One who has the perfect plan for you. Ask Him, He'll tell you!
Sure, it was raining and icky outside, but so much the better to stay in and catch up on a lot of tasks that got put off over the weekend, plus it's just nice to be able to look out at the rain and know that I can stay inside!
I got some bills paid, the laundry is caught up, school went well, I got my planning for Friday co-op done, and the email is under control!
The boys had drama at the activity center, but that's not too far to drive.
Tomorrow will be different....
9am- The contractor is coming to start the tile job in the upstairs bathroom.
11am- Brendan has Math.
1pm- John and Brendan to PE
1:30pm- Jen and Paul head up to Wilmington for GI appt.
6:30pm- Brendan and Paul have another rehearsal.
Whew!
I will post a few "before" pictures of the horrible, terrible, bathroom, before they tear into it.
So excited!
