This movie had a very solomn impact on me.

How many more days are going to go by before I become the person God made me to be?

(Humor) Date Of Apple Backlash Set For March 21, 2008

NEW YORK—In the face of Apple, Inc.'s 3- billionth iTunes sale and soaring stock price, some Wall Street forecasters are predicting that consumers will finally get fed up with the computer manufacturer's high retail prices and various product bugs sometime between March 20 and 22 of next year.

"At the current rate, we believe that at this time a sea change will occur in which people will look down at their glossy white or black devices and feel a sense of embarrassment and gullibility," Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Shore said. "They will realize that, despite all the sleek design, they got caught up in a wave of hype that made them shell out additional hundreds of dollars for options and features they didn't need. Until then, I would like to point out that my iPhone is awesome."
Apple has responded to the backlash rumors by announcing the late-October release of a mint green iPod in time for the holiday shopping season, a strategy that appears to have silenced naysayers at least temporarily.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

The kids watched the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie the other day. It was a hit, the kids really liked it. 
Maria in particular wanted to watch it again. She said," Can I watch the scary Bambi movie."

While we were checking over our living will this morning we explained to Joshua that if Anna and I were to die that he would go to Uncle Ben and Aunt Cindy and they would take care of him and his brother and sister.

We gently asked, "Do you understand?"

He said, "Yes, but I won't be able to drive the car to get to their house." 

#1 Bella takes the cake last weekend.

In case you hadn't heard, Bella the movie debued last weekend. It is an incredible film that everyone over 12 should go and see.

It was #17 as far as box office take with a healthy $1.3 million...but it was being shown at only 165 theatres nationwide. That is a huge $8,051 per theatre which puts it at #1. The next closest was earned only $6,100 per theatre and the rest were way below that. (source Yahoo box office)

Way to go Bella. I hope you make it into EVERY theatre in the world because people need to see this movie.

Halloween, the only to time we see our neighbors

We had a very nice Hallowed Evening. Cindy brought her kids over (they like our neighborhood because it is fairly dense) Dominic and Damian were running from house to with excitement on their faces. Joshua, Maria and Sam were quite a bit slower. I think they got lapped by their cousins who ended up with their buckets overflowing.

I know many of you don't like halloween because of all the scary stuff, but we look past that and use it as a time to get to know our neighbors. Most of the time people are cloistered in their homes with blue light (from the TV) flashing in their windows. Tonight, only one night of the year, everyone is standing in their front yards smiling, talking, and handing out candy to kids. We just found out that one of our neighbors has a kid named Joshua Thomas, too. I think it's great.

Maria and the tub are friends

Maria learned how to turn on the cold water in the bathtub a few weeks ago. And just this week she learned how to plug the tub to fill it up.

In case you didn't know Maria is crazy about swiming, baths and water in general. This afternoon Anna found Maria dancing around in the tub in 2 inches of ice cold water; she couldn't figure out how to turn on the hot water but it didn't bother her.

Back in the day we used to dance more

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Sensitive kids and their sense of justice

This afternoon Sam appeared to be getting ready to draw on our globe with a marker. Anna and I both interviened from the couch by saying "NO" very firmly.

Well apparently Sam was not planning on drawing in it, and he was very sad that we had been so abrupt with him. He came over wimpering and looking for us to apologize. But we didn't apologize as first; instead we cuddled him. He continued his little fussy wimpers so my adult mind told me "distract him."

So I tickled Sam while doing the "your foot bone's connected to" song. He layed quietly and even laughed when I got to his collar bone. But when I finished he started wimpering again. So I did the whole song again with the same reaction. And again, after I stopped he started fussing again.

I thought for sure I could just get him to forget our mistake, but Anna finally realized that he wanted us to apologize. After we apologized he stopped and went back to his normal self immediatly. Aren't kids amazing?

This afternoon while putting the kids down for a nap the kids, as always, asked for a story.

I started telling them about my Boy Scout days, camping and climbing mountains.

Maria was so funny she kept interupting and telling me how she was there with me.  It went something like this:

Me: "it took me all day to climb up the mountain..."

Maria interupts: "Yeah, I was with you daddy, and I carried you when you got tired."

Me: "Oh yeah, was I heavy?"

Maria: "No, I was so much huge-er than you, you were just a baby."

(she had Anna and me in stitches)

 

During our yummy pumpkin-pancake breakfast this morning Joshua had his mouth full, but his plate had just become empty.

He reached his arms out and made grasping motions as if to 'sign' that he wanted more.

Anna asked, "are you trying to say more please?"

Joshua responded, "I can't say more please because my mouth is full."

But he said it with his mouth full...hahaha, I thought that was funny. 

I don't know about you, but as the temperature drops our family starts to drink more hot tea. The like it because it makes them feel all grown up as they sip it in their special mugs.

I tried to add less honey today, so it was slightly less sweet than the last time. 

Joshua took a sip and set it down with a tired expression on his face. Then he said, "I don't really want to drink this its too hard to hold."

Anna questioned, "Do you mean its not sweet enough and you want more honey?"

"Yes!" Was his response. (which in the moment was very funny)! 
After we sweetened it he drank the whole thing.

Looks like its worth seeing

Check out this movie trailer for Juno (not the city in Alaska). It looks good.

NEW Ray Family Picture Gallery

We have a new place to view all our pictures.
just go to http://gallery.mac.com/rayfam
Be patient as they load, because there are lots of pictures within the events and you can skim through them by moving the mouse over the top of the event.
Enjoy.

Aunt Threatens To Devour Helpless Newborn's Toes

WALDEN, TN—While family members stood silently by and did nothing, visiting aunt Debbie Koeler proclaimed her desire to consume the "tiny little toesies" of her nephew Daniel, a powerless infant less than one-fifth her size, after the child's christening Sunday.

"Who's my little sugar pie? I could just eat you right up," Koeler threatened as she held the vulnerable child above her cavernous mouth and simulated the impending act of cannibalism on his tiny, dangling legs. "I've gotcha! I've gotcha! Yes I do! Yes I do!"

Koeler then returned the confused and speechless newborn to the bouncy seat, prodded his abdomen, and disappeared behind her own hands.

I'm the first crazy one in the my family

I have been thinking about it for a while, and I finally made the switch from a PC to an Apple.

Kids say the funniest things

Joshua was picking through the trail mix at the table and I interupted him saying, "Josh, you can't just pick though and eat the chocolate chips."

Josh responded, "I'm not, I can't find any."

(that's probably because he already ate them all)

Sammy is two, but he still doesn't talk very well

As you may know, Samuel is a boy of few words. Anna had told Josh a while ago that when Sammy turned two he would start talking more.
Well Sam's birthday rolled around, and after a couple of hours Joshua said with a bit of annoyance in his voice, "Sammy's two but he still doesn't talk very much."

Isn't it funny how kids see things in black and white--of course on September 13th everything should have changed for Sam (but alas, he is but one day older).

A Bath, or two

Maria came bouncing up the stairs with one of her baby dolls and asked cheerfully if she could take a bath. It was very spontanious--tonight is not bath night and she wasn't dirty or anything.

Only a few seconds had passed, I had put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, and I looked for Maria...she had already stripped down and was in the tub with her doll.  She was prancing around making little pattering sounds with her bare feet and had this amazing look of joy in her eyes. I had never actually said "yes" to her bath request, but she knew I would turn that warm water on for her because I love her.

After the water started flowing I ran down to share this memory in the journal so I would not quickly forget it. Within the time it took to write the first part of the title "A Bath", it suddenly became two. 

Samuel began crying. I ran upstairs to find that the little clothed kid had climbed on the edge of the tub and had fallen in, sweatshirt and all. I guess he was a bit excited to take a bath too.

My new iPhone

Yes, what you may have heard is true. I don't mean to brag or anything, but I have an iPhone. I didn't have to wait in line at the stores--and I got it for free. I didn't steal it, yet it wasn't a gift. Anyhoo, if you want one click here.

The new iPhone. Does it Blend?

I thought this guy was really funny. You should see some of the other things that blend...well what do you know.

Lives filled with lots of BUGS

The kids love bugs. Their favorite thing to do is run around the yard at dusk looking for fire-flies. Joshua has gotten very good at chatching them in his hands, but he also uses his butterfly net. It is so much fun to hear the chorus of voices proclaiming, "there is a fire fly!"

While we were up north we were walking in the woods and for the first time the kids got to see dangerous red ants. Of course we told them how dangerous they are, and Sam who speaks few words was sure to repeat over and over "ow, ow, ow" while pointing at them just to make sure we didn't forget they could hurt us.


Papa Ray found some baby monarch butterfly caterpillars while we were river rafting, we were able to bring them home. It is amazing how fast they grow. One of them was not even a centimeter long when we found him, but within 10 days he was huge. Just look at the two pictures to see how much of the hand-sized leaf he could eat overnight in the course of 10 hours.

Baby Birds in the back yard

Did you know that Mourning Dove couples are faithful and mate for life? Well we have a a neat couple that nest in our wysteria vine every summer. The same pair of birds build a new nest in the same place and every year. The kids think it is really cool, and they were excited when I took them up the ladder to see these two baby doves that you see in this picture right here.

Lots of Eggs

This morning Maria was talking about her special tummy that could hold babies when she gets married. I told her that she had hundreds of special eggs in her tummy right now. That made her so proud, she marched around the house telling Joshua that her tummy was really fat because it was filled with lots of eggs.

Severed Head

Joshua's middle anme is Thomas, we chose it after watching "A Man For All Seasons" before he was born, so we consider June 22nd as Joshua's feast day. Every year on the feast of St. Thomas More we celebrate with a tradition we started a few years ago. We stuff green peppers with spaghetti and turn them into what looks like a severed head. This is to remember that Thomas More was beheaded for his steadfast courage with which he held on to his religious convictions in the face of ruin and death.

Bella

Anna and I were blessed to be able to see this movie recently; it was one of the best movies I have seen. It is trying to get traction so it can be shown across the country. If you get a moment go to youtube and give it a high rating!

www.bellathemovie.com

Sticky hands

This morning after a breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns and waffels, Joshua exclaimed, "my hands are sticky, I'm going to go out and climb trees!"

Hey, that makes sense...but he ran ouside in his underware (his favorite clothing) and said that it didn't help much to have sticky hands.

An innocent prank? Yeah, I think so.

It was a beautiful Memorial day and we decided to stop at Sparbucks and Kellog park in down town Plymouth after mass this morning. We used a gift card to buy some yummy chocolate frapuchinos and walked over to the fountain in the park. To our suprise, and the kids delight, the fountain was full of thick bubbles. Being a male who played a lot of pranks growing up my first thought was some teens put a LOT of bubble bath in to make that many bubbles. Anna, innocent as she is, thought the city must be cleaning out the pump system. We'll the kids took no time at all to jump up on the edge and put their feet in. They played for a while, popping bubbles and getting them all over their hands and feet. I thought the bubbles smelled familiar, some scent from my childhood. Well it turns out I was right all along. on the far side of the fountain, behind, not inside the trash container, was a BIG box of Tide detergent. The culprits left behind evidence of their crime.


I couldn't help but think about hoew much fun it must have been to run to the center of the fountain and dump a box of powdery whiteness into the spashing water and watch the hydrophilic wonders come forth.

A rainy Saturday

Anna found the kids a neat teeter totter at a garage sale a few days ago and the kids have been trying to wear it out.
It's especially cool because one, two or all three kids can play on it.

Joshua the Legislator

This morning while Maria was helping clear the breakfast dishes she grabbed a glass that still had some orange juice in it and carlessly spilled it while she walked. I said something to the effect that I would have to make a new rule that nobody could leave the table until they finished their drink.

Joshua, excited about his new talent at writing words (exceptionally well), immeiatly offered to "write the new rule on a note."

Hopefully he won't end up drafting some bad legislation when he gets older.

Joshua's Story

Every night I tell the kids a story, but they can never seem to get enough so they keep asking for more. Sometimes I'll ask Joshua to tell a story because I am all tired out; normally he'll turn down the offer. But last night he quickly agreed and this is the story he told:



In case you couldn't pick up everything he said it was about dogs chasing after a woman who had a bag of treats. When they got too close she used a "tazer" which is a self defense device that shocks people (or dogs).

If I gave Joshua any ideas about tazers it was a long time ago. It is amazing how long things can remain latent in a childs mind and then pop up at any time. Anna and I laughed so hard after this story I was compelled to run down and get the camera so I could share it with everyone. Hopefully you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Lots of changes

Sorry it has been so long since our last post...over a month I think. Well lots has been going on and blogging just seemed to be a low priority. Among other things I was sick for 5 consecutive weeks with the flu, cold, pnemonia, and ear infections.

Anna has accepted a job at Providence Hospital as an RN in Oncology. She just started on April 30 and will be in training for the next 6-8 weeks. So far she really likes it and it we are finding it to be a great blessing. You should see her in her cute Navy Blue scrubs.

I am watching the kids a few days a week and doing much of my work from home on the wonderful tool that is the internet.

I really enjoy being with the kids, as you'll see in later posts, there are lots of laughs throughout the day.

Lucky Kid

Samuel is a lucky kid, his mom lets him hang out with her whenever he wants. Even when food preperation would make it inconvenient to carry him Anna finds a way to compromise. He sure is a luckly little one.

Why the heavy hand in promoting the HPV vaccine?

By: Joseph A. D’Agostino,

The efforts to force all American girls to receive a new, unnecessary vaccine with unknown long-term side effects seem to have lost much of their momentum for now. Merck has dropped its campaign to convince states to mandate the vaccine for sixth-grade girls before they can enter school, and strong public resistance has appeared in many states. This curious episode in the history of American public health is likely to be repeated many times over the next decade or two as the health profession grapples with the ever-rising rates of sexually transmitted disease in this country.

Some states are still moving forward with mandatory plans, but generally with allowing parents to opt out of the vaccination program. Even Canada’s provinces have so far decided not to distribute the vaccine at government expense.
Forty-five years ago, only two sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were known to have firm footholds in the American population, and they were largely confined to high-risk populations such as prostitutes and sailors. Today, there are at least 26.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of those and is very widespread among sexually active girls and women. Scientists think that the four strains (there are others) of HPV included in Merck’s vaccine cause 70% of cervical cancer cases and 90% of the genital warts in the United States.
So what’s the problem with giving this vaccine to girls?

First, it implicitly normalizes the abnormal state of modern girls’ self-destructive sexual practices. It says that girls as young as 11 could be sleeping around and must receive this vaccine, called Gardasil, for protection. Rather than spend hundreds of millions on injecting everyone with this HPV vaccine, a better strategy would be to tackle the culture of promiscuity instead, especially since Gardasil will do nothing to combat all the other dangerous STDs girls and women can catch.

Second, like most medical treatments, Gardasil has side effects. National Vaccine Information Center analyst Vicky Debold, RN, Ph.D., says, "The most frequent serious health events after Gardasil shots are neurological symptoms. These young girls are experiencing severe headaches, dizziness, temporary loss of vision, slurred speech, fainting, involuntary contraction of limbs, muscle weakness, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet and joint pain. Some of the girls have lost consciousness during what appear to be seizures." NVIC says that 82 adverse event reports have been filed between July 2006 and January 2007 for Gardasil, suggesting that serious side effects are rare but hardly unheard of.

Third, no one knows what long-term ill effects Gardasil could cause. It is simply too new, and untried in a large population.
The most curious thing about Gardasil was the attempt to force it on 11- and 12-year-old girls across the country. Why was something so new, so relatively untested, with unknown long-term effects so quickly adopted as mandatory by some such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R.)? Virginia’s Gov. Tim Kaine (D.) is also considering mandating it. Both states will allow for parents to opt their children out.

Obviously, there are the lobbyist connections and campaign cash drug companies have. But there is a more fundamental problem: The assumption that youth sexual promiscuity is here to stay and fierce measures must be taken to combat the resulting diseases, and caution cannot be afforded when a promising new treatment comes along. Would that such energy be directed at keeping pornography away from minors or high school students of opposite sexes away from each other when not chaperoned. These measures would combat all STDs at once and reduce teen pregnancy as well.

It might make sense for parents who believe their girls are at high risk of sexual activity to give their daughters the vaccine, and for girls and young women who intend to sleep around to take it (hopefully, at later ages than 12). Then ten or so years down the road, after the vaccine’s effects are better known, perhaps the health profession might encourage—-not mandate—-more widespread use of the vaccine.

But this cautious, common-sense course was not pursued. Instead, the top-down heavy hand came into play immediately. This attitude of our political class and medical establishment does not bode well for future efforts to combat the rising tide of sexual infections among American youth.

Joseph A. D'Agostino is Vice President for Communications at the Population Research Institute.

Test to see a website is blocked in China

CatholicConvert.com is most certainly blocked.

50 states in 10 minutes

Can you remember all 50 states? Really? http://www.ironicsans.com/2007/02/50_states_in_10_minutes.html Try this it is harder than you think.
I got all 50, but my brain got a lot of exercise doing it...I thnak i'll take a nap now.

You don't have to pick up your toys

Joshua loves the crazy poems of Shel Silverstein and has taken to memorizing them and even making up his own rhyming poems. This poem is about a toy monster that will destroy your toys if you leave them out overnight.


"You don't have to pick up your toys. When the toy eater comes tiptoeing through the crack of your door he'll swallow up your big wheel and chew off your doll heads...thats ok, you don't have to pick up your toys."

What's in your tummy?

During dinner today Maria was ferociously gulping her milk down, in between swallows she managed to say that she was going to make her cauliflower float.

This kid is going to be a lawyer

We have been buying the 6 pack "Yo Baby!" yogurts for a long time. Joshua quickly developed a preference for the blueberry flavor, but it is paired with the apple cinnamon which has always been the last to be eaten in our house. In fact, sometimes it can be a real chore to get the kids to eat the apple flavor.

Today while the kids were devouring the blueberry yogurts Anna held an apple yogurt in her hand and reasoned with the kids: "if nobody eats the apple yogurts I am going to have to stop buying the blueberry."

Joshua quickly looked up and with an air of confidence that he had found the solution said, "Ok Mom, you eat the apple."

(needless to say we looked at eachother and could not hold in our laughter)

What was God thinking?

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I had no idea these creaturs existed, and I have a tough time understanding how this breed of goats ever survived.


For more videos see this google search.

If you think this is funny please comment with your reaction.

Driving along in my automobile...

I would not appreciate it much if foreigners were driving around my city bumping into my car. Yes, it appears that our military has a hummer-driving policy designed to keep our troops from being "sitting ducks." They accomplish this by never stopping, and that involves them bumping into cars and driving like complete idiots. I am not posting this to say I am "for" or "against" the war, but this video caught my attention and I wanted others to see it too.

(watch out for the foul american language in the very last seconds of this clip)

According to rocketboom, the hummers our troops are driving do not provide adequate protection from ambush like other upgraded hummers. This weakness has caused hundreds of US deaths since the start of the war. The response: a driving policy that would make any body's blood boil.

Confidence

This weekend we were at our relatives house following a wedding. Maria was jumping between a big footrest and a couch. The distanc was not too great, but after a few close calls I told her she was making me nervous. She looked at me with great compassion and said, "its ok, you can go in the kitchen while I jump."

Winter Camping

The kids called me at work yesterday and asked if they could go camping in a tent then the snow stopped. I was so excited at the prospect of setting up a tent and braving the cold, that I set up the tent as soon as I got home. It was so much fun we slept in it all night. We had lots of warm blankets and we snuggled up close, because it was a bit chilly during the night.
We did sleep in the tent last night, and we did turn the heat down, but we set the tent up in the living room...but for the sake of journalism we thought more people would read a sensational story.

Math

Last night before bed Joshua's mind was full of math, he was counting the number of segments, or bars, that made up each number of our digital clock. "Eight has the most", he said.
So we started quizzing him on it: "How many bars does nine have?"
"Six" he corretly responed.
After that we asked him addition and subtraction questions, we used m&m's a our medium of exchange and after a few minutes it got pretty silly.
We started out with "Mom has 2 m&m's and you give her 3 how many would she have?" But then he kept adding them one by one, "if I gave you one more you'de have 6, and if I gave you one more you'de have 7..."
When he got to around 20 I tried to change things up and asked, "What if you asked foe them back Josh?" Without missing a beat he answered, "She would give them to me."
That non-math response was so unexpected it made us laugh. But Josh continued giving mom m&m's and adding up the total until he reached 30, then he stopped and said, ok the rest are for me."

Jelly Fish

Joshua's favorite creature is the jellyfish. He loves to learn about them on the national geographic website or from books we get him at the library. He has the most incredible imagination and will come up with detailed stories about "swimming with Iukandji jellyfish," or getting "stung by the Portuguese Man-of-War."

I came up with a craft idea and made some jellyfish with Joshua out of egg cartons and pipe cleaners. After we were finished I was looking for a pen to draw a face. I began walking away from Joshua when he spotted a pen near him and quickly blurted out, "there's a pen over here honey!" Kids are like sponges and they soak up everything we say...it's a good thing we don't have the bad habit of swearing.

Maria is 28

During dinner today I made a homemade blue frozen Margarita. The kids were totally engrossed in it and wanted desperately for a taste. Both Maria and Josh asked, "please can I have some dad."
I responded appropriately, "you can have some when you're 21."
Maria, not really realizing what than meant, but wanting a drink all the same, replied, "I'm 28."

Tractor-tipping with Lightning and Mater

Joshua really likes the Pixar movie "Cars", and so do Anna and I. Joshua loves to reenact some of his favorite parts including the tractor-tipping scene where Lighting McQueen and Mater have a romp in the cow field. The first video is the actual scene, the second is Joshua's version. I posted this at the request of my sister Charlotte, enjoy!





for another version of Joshua's acting, click here.

Fun with the little kids

Anna took Joshua grocery shopping and I got to watch the two little ones, Sam and Maria. Boy did we have fun. First we made a fort with a fleece blanket and two chairs. After going in and out a few times Maria's hair was full of static electricity causing her hair to stand up and making her look freakishly cute.

Next, because they are always trying to use me as their personal jungle gym, I thought of a new way for them to have fun...a cross between gymnastis and a monkey bar. I did this with them at least a hundred times, until my arms practically fell off.

Saved by Amy

The big car was barreling around the bend on Ann Arbor road and did a 360 degree spin right where we would have been. We would have been in a horrible accident with this car if it weren't for Amy Redente.

Just 20 minutes earlier Amy Redente invited Anna to join them at the Ice Sculpture show near our home. We couldn't go because Maria was still recovering from her operation. But on the way home as we approched the Ann Arbor Road / Ann Arbor Trail fork in the road Anna asked me to veer off our normal path home so we could pass by the Ice Sculptures. After a small protest, I went left.

The timeing was amazing...5 seconds later a big Lincoln Towncar came speeding around the curve where we would have been, his tires hit some snow on the shoulder, he tried to pull himself out too quickly, and he did a complete 360 spin in the EXACT SPOT where we would have been passing by him. He then slammed into the gaurd rail with the side of the car.

Even though we were in a safe spot, it all seemed to happen in slow motion, I pointed and told Anna, "that guy is going to crash." We slowed down and watched as it al happened.

Thanks to Amy for your generos friendship in telling us about the ice show, and thanks to God for keeping our family safe!

(the guy in the accident was apparently more embarrased than injured because he drove away without even checking the damage on the side of his car).

Much Better

Maria had a great night sleep with no snoring and no periods of apnea. Praise God. She woke up this morning happy, hungry and smiling. She is now sitting at the table and coloring in the book Grandma Bolster gave her.

Almost Pathetic

Maria has a really good attitude, she is trying hard to communicate with us even though her throat is so sore.

I haven't seen her smile since the operation has been over. And everytime she coughs she cries the most pathetic little weak cry.


She is so cute just wanting to cuddle anybody who will hold her. In fact the nurse told us that when she first woke up from the general anesthesia she cried but when the nurse picked her up she just snuggled up to her and stopped crying--lots of other kids hit and kick.

Thanks for all the prayers: we are so happy that she did well enough to come home without having to spend a night in the hospital.

Maria's surgery a success

Maria is back home with us already after her surgery. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed early this morning, and after only a couples hours in recovery the doctors said she was fine to come home. She was a real trooper, no fear or fighting going into the operation. She was very amiable with the doctors and nurses. We had a great doctor who was a very good listener and very gentle with her.

She is going to be pretty sore for a week or so, so please pray for her recovery. The result of this operation will most likey be a sounder night sleep and no more trouble breathing.

Our New Niece--Gianna Cathrine Brown

My sister Cindy just gave birth to her third child (and first girl), Gianna Catherine on Wednesday afternoon. What an exciting time. She is a major cutie and looks a lot like Cindy, especially when you compare her to old baby pictures.

One interesting thing about Gianna is that she has the exact measurements as her brother Dominic—37 lbs and 39 inches…oh wait….I’ve just been told that that’s Dominc’s current size, but Gianna actually shared his birth weight sizes: 8lbs 1 oz., 21 inches long and a 13 inch brain holder. (as a guy it’s hard to remember all this minute measurements, it’s easier to keep track of tons and miles).
Congratulations to Cindy, Ben, Dominic and Damian on the new addition to the family.


Big Brothers Dominic and Damian Brown with their new baby sister.

Dinner and a Movie

While at the local fruit and vegatable market I saw some curly kale (also called Savoy Cabbage) that reminded me of one of our favorite movies called: In America. One of the meals the Irish family in this movie had was called Colcannon which as we understand it is an Irish dish made from potatos and curly kale popular among the immigrants in the 1800's.

We found this recipe online and wanted to share it with you. It was pretty tasty and very simple. Oh, and don't forget it watch the movie after dinner (but fast foward the scene after the FE-FI-FO-FUM game).

------------------------------

4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces1

(1 1/2-lb.) cabbage, thinly sliced1

1/4 C. water

1 C. milk

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3/4 C. unsalted butter, at room temperature

chopped fresh chives or green onion

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pot and mash coarsely. Set aside.

Combine cabbage and water in large, heavy skillet. Boil until almost all liquid evaporates, tossing cabbage frequently, about 15 minutes. Mix cabbage into mashed potatoes.

Combine milk, green onions and 1/2 cup butter in heavy, medium-size saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to melt butter. Pour over potato mixture and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mound mashed potatoes in bowl. Make a well in center. Place remaining 1/4 cup butter in well. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Cheap Gas

When I first started driving 10 years ago the price of gas always started with a "1" (except one glorious season when prices dipped to the 75cent range.


After a summer of $3/gallon gas I never thought I would see that welcome number "one" in the front again, but there it was this morning, standing straight and tall. It was like a friendly beacon inviting me to come, drink, and be glad.

Birthday Boys

Kids are easy to please; they don't have any great expectations. They are still learning so much that even the tradition of a birthday party the 4th time around is still somewhat new. Joshua and Dominic were so excited about the school bus cake.

After cake and ice cream Ben and I did a puppet show for all the kids. All five of them were mezmorized...just sitting in their seats with wide eyes absorbing everyting. We told them stories we made up on the fly about turtles, and snakes, and lighting bugs, and wild things.

The funnest part for me was when the adults were out of creativity the kids got up and tried to imitate us. They actually did a pretty good job remembering the themes and even some of the big words we had used. Dominic told the story of the Maurice Sendak's "Wild Things" which was new to him and he even remembered the "wild rumpus" and the "private boat". Maria played with the clever mommy turtle who switched her eggs with golf balls to trick the hungry snake. Kids are so fun to watch.

Joshua and Dominics 4th Birthday Cake

Anna has been making the neatest cakes for the kids brithday's from the beginning. Butterfly's firetrucks, ladybugs & inchworms to name just a few.

Well this year Dominic asked for a School Bus, so this is what we came up with. I hope they like it.

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Related Links:

Fish Cakes

Firetruck Cake

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick

Maria is going to get anointed tonight after mass. The "Anointing of the Sick" is one of the catholic church's seven sacraments. Now she'll have two including baptism.

My baby girl is going to have surgery. My baby girl is going to wake up after having her tonsils and admoids removed and look into my eyes and wonder, "why does my throat hurt so bad Daddy?" She is going to want me to make her all better. I'm going to spend a night in the hospital with her and hopefully be able to hold her while she sleeps: oh God, I pray that she sleeps.

Please pray for my little Maria, she has been having trouble breathing at night for the last 6 months, hopefully this painful discomfort of recovering from surgery on the 19th will giver her a future of peaceful sleep. Pray that the doctor will be blessed, and everything will go smooth.

Funny