Happy Birthday, Peter!

Peter is presented with his first birthday present. This will be the first time he ever attempts to unwrap a gift, so Nana explains that it's okay for him to rip the pretty paper in the process. He is intrigued.





Fifteen minutes later, Peter celebrates as he finally manages to tear a corner of wrapping paper from the box.








Another fifteen minutes pass - yet Peter carries on, undaunted. The rest of the children demonstrate a miraculous level of patience.

"Uh oh."

Happy 1st Birthday, Peter!

Just one of the many reasons

... that we disconnected our cable television service yesterday: Joy Behar and The View.

After referring to homeschoolers as 'demented', Behar explains, “They’re afraid of children, they learn to be afraid of other children.”

Vatican Cardinal: "A New World Order is Gaining Ground"

Speaking at the opening of the 23rd plenary assembly for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the president of the Council, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, warned, "The idea of creating a 'new man' completely detached from the Judeo-Christian tradition, a new 'world order,' a new 'global ethic,' is gaining ground."

And of particular interest in light of my previous post, Cardinal Rylko also had this to say:

"Our true problem is not being a minority, but rather having voluntarily become marginal, irrelevant, because of our lack of courage, so that we will be left alone, because of our mediocrity." "For Christians," Cardinal Rylko added, "the moment has arrived to free themselves from a false inferiority complex … to be valiant witnesses of Christ."

And of course there is what was left unspoken in my own post... because it is a given:

He warned, however, that such faithfulness would come at a personal cost. "Whoever wants to live and act according to the Gospel of Christ has to pay a price, even in the highly liberal societies of the West," he said.

From LifeSiteNews.com:
Vatican Cardinal: "A New World Order is Gaining Ground"

The varying degrees of "Catholic"

What exactly is a 'liberal' Catholic? For that matter - what is a 'conservative' Catholic? If I had a mere nickel for each time I've read the words "I'm a Catholic, but..." around the internet over the last few months we could probably manage to Christmas shop this year without tapping out the Christmas club account at the credit union.

Here.. Let me try it: I am Catholic, but I really mean it.

Yeah - I was born to Catholic parents. I was baptized in a Catholic Church. I went to a Catholic school. These are all statements which are usually followed with "but..." Eh. Not this time.

I don't merely attend a Catholic church on Sunday. Catholic is not merely my 'denomination' or 'religious affiliation' for the sake of filling out forms and registrations. Nor is my catholicism reduced to just one of the many aspects of my cultural heritage.

I am Catholic. Completely. Thoroughly. Joyously. Gratefully. Imperfectly. Hopefully. Catholic.

There was a time - a time that doesn't seem that long ago - when the statement "I am Catholic" said it all. No longer. But this is as much my fault as it is the fault of the "Catholic-in-name-only" types: For over and over again when the Catholic Church is brought into a public forum - it has been the "I'm Catholic, but..." crowd that has been there to jump into the fray and make themselves be heard. You see - if I had a dime for every time I've quietly bemoaned that fact without actually making myself heard I wouldn't even need that Christmas club account.

So there it is. I'm holding myself accountable. Starting. right. now.

Cookies Round I 2008

Since there's already a tree upstairs... it should come as no surprise that cookie-making has started a little early this year as well.

Already?

Yes!

Of course this isn't our official Christmas tree. This is our new official upstairs Christmas tree. :)

It all started when I had the wild idea that listening to Christmas songs while working on our various home repair/improvement projects upstairs would help to energize and motivate me. It worked so well that I was inspired to start digging through the storage room for decorations as well.

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Prioress

You scored 5% Cardinal, 64% Monk, 56% Lady, and 46% Knight!

You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over.

You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

(h/t Vehige at Thursday Night Gumbo)